Afford Anything®

Tag: behavioral finance

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#478: Buy the Damn Guac, with Jamila Souffrant

Ever skipped that extra drink, pricey cheese, or a night out for the sake of your wallet?

If this feels familiar, then you’ll appreciate today’s episode with Jamila Souffrant.

Jamila is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, podcast host, and author, guiding us on making savvy choices to save while still having fun.

Jamila explores the power of understanding our “why not,” staying motivated on our financial paths, shaping a success-bound mindset, and posing THREE crucial self-assessment questions for goal alignment

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#474: Surviving a $35,000 Credit Card Scam, Job Loss and Foreclosure, with Tiffany Aliche, The Budgetnista

When Tiffany Aliche was in her 20’s, she fell victim to a credit card scam.

A crafty swindler convinced her to take out a cash advance against her credit card for $35,000. He said that he’d invest the money and produce Bernie Madoff- style returns. She was an inexperienced investor. She believed him.

She never saw that money again.

Aliche worked at a preschool. She didn’t make much money to begin with. But matters worsened when the school shut down, and she lost her job. She fell behind on mortgage payments and lost her condo.

In order to recover from such huge setbacks, she had to grapple with an enormous sense of financial shame.

Today, financial educator Tiffany Aliche, better known as The Budgetnista, shares how she overcame financial shame.

She talks to us about the opposite of shame, which is a sense of financial wholeness. And she discusses practical tips for how to navigate the challenges of debt and scams.

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#468: How MICE Impacts Your Money, with Bryan Kuderna

Money management is all about setting priorities.

Maybe you have the twin goals of sending your kids to college while also saving enough for retirement.

And maybe you’re struggling to figure out how to balance the two.

Today, Bryan Kuderna, a certified financial planner, shares a framework for helping us set priorities.

We talk about the importance of economic literacy, in addition to financial literacy. We discuss how retirement has changed throughout history. And we apply those broader lessons to how you think about retirement.

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#454: Ask Paula: Financial Disaster? How to Get Help Before It’s Too Late

Amy says she hit “rock bottom” with her finances. She says she struggled to ask for help before her situation became an emergency. How can others ask for help sooner?

Rebecca is a mother of four, which means she’s juggling four distinct college timelines and 529 plans. How does she make a withdrawal plan when there are so many unknowns?

Anne Marie switched jobs. What should she do with her old retirement accounts?

And Dylan wonders if the IRS Rule of 55 applies to Roth 401k accounts.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#452: Mind Games: How Confidence Shapes our Financial Markets, with Economist Peter Atwater

Peter Atwater, an economics professor at The College of William and Mary and author of “The Confidence Map,” joins us to discuss how confidence shapes our financial markets.

He explains how The Hunger Games relates to the Lehman Brothers collapse. He describes why you should “Buy Adele and Sell Pharrell.”

From the Panic of 1857 to the patterns behind modern media consumption, Peter talks us through the intricate web of behavioral oddities that extend beyond finance. 

He talks about the “K-shaped recovery” – how different segments of the population are experiencing different economic realities. 

He touches upon economic, political, and social trends, and the hidden dynamics that shape market behavior and reveal the profound impact of consumer confidence. 

Our conversation will leave you with a deeper understanding of how behavioral patterns shape the financial landscape – including your investments.

Enjoy!

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#448: Ask Paula: We Make $300k. Why Are We NOT Financially Independent?

An anonymous caller is dealing with guilt over spending a large cash gift. What’s the best use if she doesn’t have an obvious financial goal to throw at it?

Eric reached financial independence a few years ago but he hesitates to quit his job. What the heck is a Roth conversion ladder and how can he overcome his psychological barriers?

Another anonymous caller and his wife earn $300,000. He feels like they should be financially independent but they’re far from it. What’s going on?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

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#426: Key Takeaways: Best Lessons from the Last Year, with Paula Pant

Behavioral researcher, Vanessa Van Edwards, talks to us about the critical importance of charisma – and how to use the perfect blend of warmth and competence to be charismatic.

Dr. Michael Slepian walks us through what secrets mean, what they cost, and how we think about them.

We dive into the world of long distance real estate investing, and talk about two of the major components of investing – Cash and mindsets – to help you determine if long distance real estate investing is right for you.

International best selling author, Julie Winkle Giulioni, reviews eight dimensions of career development and how to navigate them.

Chris Hutchins, entrepreneur and life hacker extraordinaire, spills his best secrets on optimizing spend to travel more cheaply.

Kiersten and Julien Sanders join us to discuss money topics for couples, and their framework for being financially independent in 15 years.

Stanford professor Jeremy Utley breaks down the art of creativity and producing new ideas – and shares actionable tips on how we can be more creative and have better ideas.

Dr. Daniel Crosby discusses how we are not wired to be good investors, and how to overcome our evolutionary wiring.

Enjoy this compilation of our favorite episodes to air in the second half of 2022.

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#420: What We Learned in 2022, with Paula Pant

Dr. Ellen Vora, M.D., shared insight into the roots of procrastination, offering evidence-based tips for how to overcome our own inner demons of anxiety, fear and laziness.

Psychology professor Bill von Hippel described why too much happiness is just as detrimental to our long-term health and wellbeing as too little happiness.

Wall St. Journal columnist Spencer Jakab observed the perfect storm of conditions that gave rise to meme stonks and other oddities of our era.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy argued for “strategic under-diversification” and explained the Sharpe Ratio.

Data scientist Nick Maggiulli explains the save-invest continuum.

And financial planner Bill Bengen, the creator of the 4 percent retirement withdrawal rule, talks about what most people misunderstand about the safe withdrawal rate.

These are just some of the highlights from the Afford Anything podcast in this 2022 year-in-review episode.

Enjoy!

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#413: Why We’re Paying Attention to the Wrong Things, with Dr. Daniel Crosby

If an idea dominates the headlines, we notice it.

But maybe we shouldn’t.

Today’s guest, psychologist and behavioral finance expert Dr. Daniel Crosby, says there’s a difference between a prediction that gets repeated, and one that’s likely to unfold. 

What’s salient isn’t accurate, he says. And vice versa. 

He also talks about how money problems have morphed over time. He chats about how our evolutionary wiring is at odds with our goals. And he even discusses how we’re wired to be ‘lazy’ – and how to work with that tendency instead of fighting an uphill battle against it.

Dr. Crosby researches the intersection of mind and markets. His latest work, The Behavioral Investor, is an in-depth look at how sociology, psychology and neurology impact our investment choices. 

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#408: Build YOUR 15 Year Career, with Kiersten and Julien Saunders

When Kiersten and Julian Saunders began dating in 2012, they fell in love quickly, and their relationship felt strong – until they started talking about money.

They broke up as a result of their first money conversation.

Luckily, they got back together, figured out how to have tough conversations, and paid off $200,000 in debt over the next five years.

Then they started thinking about how to hack their careers. They came up with a plan for a 15-year career.

Today, they join us on the podcast to talk about the 15-year career framework and how to approach your career – and your finances – in 5 year stints.

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