By Paula Pant
How do you find balance between smart money management vs. missing out on opportunities?
Should you pile money into investments or take that dream trip to Tanzania?
What should you do when your heart leads you to a decision that doesn’t make sense on paper?
In today’s episode, former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I discuss the purpose and practice of mindful money.
By Paula Pant
Charlie in Cali has enough money saved to pay cash for a house, but she and her husband decided to finance their home, instead. They’d rather invest the money and arbitrage the spread.
But one problem: how can they keep themselves from touching this investment?
Jay is choosing between Fidelity and M1 Finance and has questions about tax loss harvesting.
Nicole and her siblings will be inheriting some properties that they eventually plan to sell. How should they set up or organize these properties among so many owners? Should one person take the lead? Do they need a shared business account? Also, how should they evaluate a property and make sure they get a good deal when they sell?
Ed owns three homes, two of which he plans to sell in the next few years. He plans to live in them long enough to establish residence and take the capital gains exemption when they sell. Is his plan for handling the taxes solid?
We answer these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
By Paula Pant
Anna and her husband have volatile income, but Anna thinks that having 18 months of living expenses is unnecessary. She’s torn between paying off her student loans ($30,000) or investing the money. Mentally, she always figured she would pay off her debt first, but wouldn’t investing pay off in the long run?
Charlotte and her husband are taking a phased approach to financial independence, where they need to bridge two gaps before they each turn 59 ½. How can they calculate how much they need at each phase?
Elle has a retirement plan in place, but her company is adding a Roth 403(b) option soon. Should she stay the course or adjust her strategy in these last five years before retiring?
Sara wants to purchase land and build her dream house by refinancing her rental property and turning her current home into a second rental. How can she improve this plan?
Joe Saul-Sehy, my friend and former financial planner, joins me to tackle these questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!
By Paula Pant
Julia and her husband, both 27, want to retire by their early to mid-40s. Is there a point at which they should stop contributing to tax advantaged accounts and only contribute to taxable accounts?
Ana and her family like their home, but it needs to be bigger. A cash-out refi didn’t give them enough funds for their dream renovation. Should they put their money into the market in the hopes that it will grow large enough to fund a future renovation? Or should they move into a bigger house, rent out their house, and fix it up years down the road?
Anonymous from MA is flummoxed by HSA-compatible health plans. His copay and deductible are awful, and even bronze plans seem better. Are HSA plans overrated, or does the math work out?
Aja’s mom is 75 and has to take required minimum distributions from her IRA. She doesn’t need the money. Where should she put it?
Nick has a seasonal business. Can a sweep account help stabilize him?
My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these questions on today’s show. Enjoy!
Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.
Written By Paula Pant
There are people who claim that ‘self-care’ requires wasting money.
They’ll encourage you to “treat yourself!,” because “you deserve it!”
Buy those shoes! Enjoy that upscale sushi restaurant! Upgrade to the nicer, newer car! You work hard. You deserve it!
Uh-huh.You know what else you deserve?
You deserve the relief that comes from wiping out a debt.
You deserve the joy that comes from buying an investment or a rental property.
You deserve the pride that comes from maxing out your contributions to a retirement account.
You deserve the stress relief that comes from taking a long walk in the park while listening to an audiobook, or taking a yoga class, or enjoying a hard workout at the gym.
Written By Paula Pant
A few months ago, I got an invitation to speak at Google.
“Cool,” I thought. “That’s, like, grown-up stuff!”
The invitation came from one of my podcast listeners, David Moltz, who works at the company’s Los Angeles office and who hosted the hour-long Q&A.
“Could you talk about financial independence,” he asked me, “but maybe leave out the part about everyone quitting their job?”
“Haha! Sure thing,” I replied.
Written By Paula Pant
The idea behind financial independence is that your passive income — typically through investments — is enough.
But how much is enough? Enough for what?
The typical reaction that many people have to this question is to define “enough” based on their current standard of living.
For example: “Right now, my spouse and I […]
Written By Paula Pant
I love to read. If you share my enthusiasm, you might enjoy this variety of books about money, work and life that I recommend.
Feel free to scroll, or click on one of these links to skip ahead to your favorite section.
Productivity Books Money Mindset Books Investing Books Real Estate Books
Productivity […]
Written By Paula Pant
Once upon a time, in southern California in 1994, there lived a man named William Bengen.⠀
His friends called him Bill.
Bill was born in Brooklyn, and he studied aeronautics at MIT. He wrote a big paper on advanced model rocketry. Then he became an executive at a soft drink company. Finally, 17 years […]
Written By Paula Pant
A few years ago, my friend J.D. Roth told me a story that’s stuck in my mind ever since. ⠀
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During his 20’s and early 30’s, J.D. was broke and in credit card debt. But in his mid-30’s, he started a business, and within three years, he sold it for a […]
