Afford Anything

Tag: financial independence

By Paula Pant

#258: Ask Paula – Can I Quit My Job Before I’m Financially Independent?

“Burned Out in Boston” wants to reach financial independence.

But she’s not sure she can stick it out in Boston much longer.

She and her husband want to move to an area that doesn’t have many job prospects, and they want to make this leap soon, ideally before they reach FI. How do they know when it’s the right time to jump ship to their dream location?

Ingrid and her husband own two rentals. They’re torn between paying one of their rentals off or buying more properties. Which is the better route to take?

Pat is torn: should she convert her garage into an accessory dwelling unit, or use funds to buy an out-of-state rental property?

Chelsea wants to know: what should you do if your newly purchased home is an instant money pit?

Julia wants to know how to approach investing in sector-specific index funds, like utility ETFs. Should they be a small or large portion of your portfolio?

I answer these five questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#246: Pain, Grief, and the Pursuit of Financial Independence, with Jillian Johnsrud

Jillian Johnsrud grew up at the poverty line. Her mother had two children by age 19, and Jillian was raised in a town of 700 people, living in a home that struggled to afford the basics.

She married her husband when she herself was 19 years old. During their first year of marriage, they lived in a camper and earned a combined income of $12,000.

Her husband joined the military after graduating from college. They relocated to Washington D.C., where they earned a combined $60,000 per year. They saved half of their income and used their savings to wipe out $55,000 of debt.

At 22 years old, Jillian and her husband adopted a son. Two years later, at age 24, the couple had accumulated their first $100,000. The following year, they gave birth to a second child.
Jillian and her husband continued saving half of their income. Eventually, they bought a house in cash, invested in two rental properties, and built a portfolio of index funds.

By age 32, Jillian and her husband achieved financial independence. And they built this on a modest five-figure income.

How did Jillian and her husband live on $12,000 per year? How did they save their first $100,000 by age 24? What sacrifices did they make? And how did reaching financial independence change their relationship with money? Find out in this raw, emotional interview.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#243: Ask Paula – How Can I Retire in 10 Years with Rental Properties?

Adam is 23 years old and wants to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible. However, he’s nervous about investing in the stock market and real estate. How can he overcome his fears?

Paris, age 35, has a similar question. She earns $150,000 per year, is debt-free, and doesn’t own a home. How can she reach financial independence in less than 10 years?

Paul wants to househack his first home, but none of the properties he’s seen meet the one percent rule. He doesn’t want to rent forever. Does he need to compromise on his commute time, or wait until he finds an undervalued gem?

Anonymous Househacker rents an apartment with three bedrooms, two of which he rents out on an inconsistent, short-term basis. They want to know: does the money they earn count as rental income if they aren’t making a profit on it?

Ben is a real estate investor who’s curious about growing his portfolio from four units to 20 units. What’s the best approach to take?

I answer these five listener questions in today’s episode. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#236: How We Saved $1 Million and Retired at 31 and 32, with Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung

Can you imagine living on 44 cents a day?

Kristy Shen doesn’t need to imagine it. She lived it.

Kristy grew up in rural China, where 85 percent of the population lived in abject poverty.

When she was eight, her family emigrated to Canada. In Kristy’s eyes, her family’s newfound ability to buy a can of Coca-Cola meant that they had “made it.” Kristy loved her Coke can so much that she turned it into a toothbrush holder.

Years later, Kristy met Bryce Leung at university, where they were classroom lab partners. They married, settled in Toronto and started saving for a downpayment on a house.

When their down payment savings hit $500,000, they started to question the wisdom of dumping their money into an expensive personal residence.

Fueled by curiosity, they stumbled down the financial independence rabbit hole. After countless hours of research and number-crunching, they ditched their plan to buy a house and invested their $500,000 into the stock and bond market. Around seven years later, their net worth reached $1 million.

Keep reading...

By Erin @ Team Afford Anything

#222: Seven Ways to Escape the Rat Race, with Michael Robinson

Michael Robinson and his wife, Ellen, achieved financial independence at age 33. They ‘retired’ (they still enjoy working) three years later at age 36 on two five-figure incomes. Today, Michael and Ellen are raising their two children to be bilingual by slow traveling throughout Latin America.

Michael and Ellen blog about their FIRE adventures at uncommondream.com. They believe that “the Uncommon Dream is the dream pursued – the dream met with planning, action, and sacrifice. With just a dream and those three tools, you can accomplish almost anything.”

Today, Michael joins us on the show to talk about the seven ways that he and Ellen escaped the rat race and achieved FI at 33.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#217: Financial Independence – My Philosophy and Origin Story, on The FI Show

Earlier this year, Cody and Justin from The FI Show interviewed me and asked some excellent questions about my journey to financial independence, entrepreneurship and passion, and minding the gap between your income and expenses.

We talk about the importance of side hustling and how to create a well-paying job from your skills.

We touch on real estate and why I chose this strategy to reach FI.

We also discuss the bone I have to pick with the financial independence movement.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#195: Ask Paula – I Make $168,000 Per Year and Spend $5,000 Per Year. What’s Next?

Alex makes $168,000 per year, combined between her full-time job and her side hustle. Her company pays for breakfast, lunch and dinner during the work week, plus a cell phone subsidy, health, dental and vision insurance, a gym membership, and commuting costs. She also househacks, so her living expenses are only $400 per month. What should she do with her ample savings?

Christine is 38 and earns $70,000 per year running her own business. She holds $70,000 in investment accounts, has another $16,000 in savings, bought a condo with 20 percent down, and has no debt. What can she do to fast-track her path to financial independence?

Amy is unsure whether she should pay off her mortgage, downsize to a smaller home, or invest.

Katherine is 23 and househacking into a duplex. How much should she set aside for cash reserves?

Miriam started a podcast and wants to know how to morph a passion into a lucrative income stream.

Nick wonders if the FIRE movement should plan an annual gathering … you know, like a FIRE Festival. (But not like the Fyre Festival.)

I tackle these six questions in today’s episode.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#186: How We Retired at Age 30 and 29, with Mike and Lauren

Mike and Lauren reached financial independence at age 30 and 29, respectively.

But their story begins a dozen years earlier.

Mike and Lauren started dating high school. Mike worked as a restaurant server in high school, earning $19,000 per year. He built his first net worth tracking spreadsheet in December 2005 as a high school student. He had a net worth of $416.

In 2007, Mike dropped out of college to start a commercial cleaning company. He made $76,000 that year. As history would have it, that was the couple’s second-highest-earning year ever.

Keep reading...

Written By Paula Pant

So I Gave a Talk at Google …

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.

Keep reading...

By Paula Pant

#178: How to Make Work Optional, with Tanja Hester

Tanja Hester retired at age 38.

She had a negative net worth until her late 20’s, thanks to a combination of student loans, buying expensive cocktails and clothes, living far beyond her means, and not paying attention to her money. If you were to have met the 27-year-old version of Tanja, you wouldn’t guess that she’d be a likely candidate for retiring early.

Yet a decade later, she’s saved 40x of her annual cost of living.

How? Tanja worked as a political consultant in Los Angeles, and during her career, ascended to important high-ranking roles. Every promotion came with more grueling hours, accompanied by a raise.

Tanja maintained her same standard of living, banking every raise. This simple strategy allowed her to rapidly grow her net worth.

Keep reading...

Afford Anything