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.
By Paula Pant
In today’s episode, I answer two questions about financial independence and the FIRE movement, followed by four questions about rental property investing.
Written By Paula Pant
The FIRE movement is misunderstood. The drama of the last two weeks proves it. The question is, how can we fix this?
Ohhh we have a new supporter!!
Last week, Suze Orman called FIRE “dumb and stupid.”
“When I was 30 I was dumb and stupid as well, okay?,” she said in an interview with Yahoo! Finance, adding that she’s “pissed off” at people pursuing early retirement.
But since then, she’s taken more time to learn about the movement — and she’s in support.
In a Facebook post titled “What I Hate — and Love — about FIRE,” Suze writes…
Written By Paula Pant
A few weeks ago, I received an email from Suze Orman’s publicist, asking if I’d be interested in interviewing Suze on my podcast.
“Duh,” I replied.
Suze is a legend in the world of personal finance. She’s appeared on Oprah multiple times, published 10 mega-bestselling books, and hosted The Suze Orman Show on CNBC from 2002 to 2015. She’s one of the most famous voices in this space.
I read her most recent book, Women & Money, and sketched out a framework for the interview. Then I threw it away, feeling dissatisfied with my questions, and I turned to the Afford Anything community on Facebook and Twitter.
“I’m interviewing Suze Orman,” I wrote. “What would you like me to ask her?”
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
There’s a scene in a classic 1950’s TV show, The Jack Benny Program, in which a mugger points a gun at the title character.
“Your money or your life,” the mugger says.
Jack Benny is silent.
“I said, your money or your life!” the mugger repeats.
“I’m thinking it over!,” Jack replies.
The scene […]
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
Brandon always wanted to be wealthy. He just didn’t know why.
“I don’t like fancy cars, and big houses just seem inefficient,” he said. “I just wanted to have money to manage.”
But in 2011, Brandon discovered the concept of financial independence.
“That just blew my mind — it was just like, oh, I […]
By Paula Pant
Scott Alan Turner used to be a money moron. (In his words.)
He traded a Jeep for a Porsche in his 20s, purchased a 3,000 sq. ft. house with two mortgages, and bought luxury furniture on credit.
The Porsche cost him $800 per month. The house cost $200,000. The furniture? Who knows.
Scott didn’t […]
By Paula Pant
This podcast is a little different.
Instead of interviewing a guest, this episode is a recording of a talk I gave recently.
The audience wanted to know more about the context surrounding the decisions I’ve made regarding business, investing, and money.
Why have I only spent three years of my life in a 9-5 […]
