How much is an hour of your time worth?
Google’s Executive Productivity Advisor, Laura Mae Martin, joins us to answer that question.
Tag: lifestyle design
#511: Q&A: “I’m Scared of Running Out of Money in Retirement!”
Sara is five years from retirement with a paid-off house. But she’s worried that her money will run out before she turns 80. What does she need to do now to protect her future self?
Lauren is a personal finance nerd who gets it. But one question perplexes her: When should she choose an ETF […]
#501: Live From Brooklyn: Travel More, Work Less
Feeling stuck in a job you hate, dreaming of exotic adventures? This episode is your escape hatch.
Brad Barrett, host of the ChooseFI Podcast, takes the interviewer role in this special episode, recorded LIVE at a comedy club in Brooklyn.
Brad interviews me (!!) about how I quit my reporter gig and traveled the world for over 2 YEARS! This episode spills the tea on my transformation from newspaper reporter to world wanderer, and talks about how this podcast (now over 500 episodes!) got started. Feeling inspired? This episode is your travel hack manual for designing your dream life on a budget.
Enjoy!
#496: The Pay Cut Price of Freedom
How much of a pay cut would you take for a lighter workload?
Paul, 35, is grappling with that question. Like many of us, Paul says he loves his job, but the hours are demanding. He would love to work less. But he didn’t think the opportunity would come so soon.
You see, Paul is a dedicated saver. He’s spent years trying to build financial independence. He’s amassed a net worth of $910,000, with no debt.
His ideal early retirement, which would be filled with travel and hobbies, requires more money. Besides, he enjoys his career.
That’s why Paul thought he’d work full-time for several more years. He felt happy with that plan.
But an interesting opportunity recently arose.
Paul’s workplace has offered him the chance to drop his hours – and his salary – by 25 percent. He’d love to work less. But the salary cut is earlier than he’d planned.
Should he take it?
Today, we kick off the podcast episode with this question.
After that, we turn our attention to an anonymous caller. She and her husband want to retire at 55. They also want a bigger home, a better car, and to start growing their family. Can they afford it all?
Meanwhile, Tim spent his 20’s in medical school. He missed out on retirement savings during those years. He’s eager to catch up. What’s the shortest path to get there?
Finally, Matthew and his family dream of leaving Florida for the Pacific Northwest. Will they regret selling everything to start over?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
#495: Cal Newport: The Shocking Secret of Productivity
Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She’s famous for her work in radioactivity.
Lin-Manual Miranda is a songwriter, producer and director who won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2016, as well as several Tony awards.
What do they have in common?
They lived a century apart. They innovated in disparate fields. But they shared a similar productivity practice.
Both achieved greatness by embracing the practice of slow productivity, says Georgetown computer science professor Cal Newport.
Slow productivity is a three-part practice, Newport explains: (1) do fewer things; (2) work at a natural pace; (3) obsess over quality.
We’re used to thinking of productivity as doing more in a short amount of time. This flips that idea on its head, focusing on doing less, but excelling.
Slow productivity is the practice of doing fewer tasks better.
In this episode, Newport explains how the practice of slow productivity diverges from the normal ways that people in modern society tend to work.
If you’ve ever been challenged by the increasing demands of a fast-paced world,
Life can be stressful. Your to-do list might feel never-ending. This episode can help you focus on the few things that matter most.
It can help you feel less stressed, less busy, and yet — paradoxically — more productive, at the same time.
Enjoy!
#489: Ask Paula: What to Do with a Six-Figure Windfall?
Cara made $100,000 in commissions this year, her biggest bonus ever. What should she do with the money if she wants to retire early?
An anonymous caller and his partner have lived in an RV for years. They’re ready to settle. Should they sell most of his investments to purchase raw land and build an off-grid home?
Remy and her husband need to come up with $30,000 for IVF treatments. How do they build their family without breaking the family finances in the process?
Another anonymous caller is upset that the 401k plan he sold his boss on is charging him an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee. Should he keep the 401k at all?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
#488: Gut Instincts and Big Decisions, with Morgan Housel
Ever made a flippant, seemingly minor decision that radically changed the course of your life?
Morgan Housel has experienced this. At age 17, he made a quick decision that ended up saving his life. Sadly, two of his friends were less fortunate.
He shares that story in today’s podcast episode, and sheds light on the lessons he’s learned from it.
Housel says that his lifesaving choice — and many of our other important decisions — are snap verdicts, ones that we don’t spend much time thinking about.
If pivotal moments are decided in a flash, how do we navigate risk? How do we evaluate our options?
Housel says this comes understanding concepts that remain constant, consistent, and universal.
We need to accept that humans aren’t rational. We must appreciate the reasons why the best answer doesn’t always win. We ought to remember that we overlook many good things happening around us. These constants will most likely impact our futures.
Housel was named by MarketWatch as one of the 50 most influential people in the market. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Psychology of Money. His new book is titled Same As Ever.
He joins us to discuss the ideas in his latest book.
#487: Ask Paula: “Should I Put My Dreams on Hold … and Buy a House Instead?”
Luis’s wife is killing it at her side hustle. The unexpected income has led Luis to YouTube for hacks to capitalize on their surplus. Can a 529 plan double as long-term care savings?
Elizabeth is frustrated with the housing market. She’s been saving for years but isn’t anywhere near her goal. Should she give up and spend it on a dream pottery course instead?
Steve has a dilemma. He doesn’t borrow money on principle. And his wife doesn’t want to sell their current house until they’ve closed on the next one. How is he going to make this work?
Greta wants to “reverse” rollover an IRA into a 401k to avoid the pro-rata rule. Is that a thing?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.
Enjoy!
#483: Thriving in a High-Pressure World, with Jennifer Breheny Wallace
Competitive. Results oriented. Driven to be the very best.
These are a few ways to describe achievement culture.
Achievement culture can also be described as stressful, high pressure and unhealthy.
Yet, there is consistently the pressure – internally and externally – to make more money, be a better parent, spouse, friend, or employee. These burdens comes at a heavy cost to our well-being.
Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of the New York Times Best Seller “Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic – and What We Can Do About It” shares with us how to manage our need for success AND how to avoid the toxic traps that can accompany obsession with success.
She offers insights into the consequences of this culture on individuals’ mental health, and overall well-being, while also discussing practical solutions to common challenges.
If you’ve ever felt the burn of trying to do it all, or if you just want a smarter way to navigate success without losing your sanity, the insights shared in this interview will help you develop a more fulfilling and balanced life.
#480: Your Blueprint for Life’s Toughest Challenges, with Hal Elrod
The death of a sibling.
Being declared dead after a head-on collision with a drunk driver.
Suffering financially during the Great Recession.
CANCER.
Today’s guest, Hal Elrod, has battled all of these tough challenges.
His little sister passed away in his mother’s arms. Years later, Hal was hit by a drunk driver, broke 11 bones, declared dead, and once revived, learned that he might have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (He eventually regained his ability to walk.) And after that, he was slammed hard in the wallet during the Great Recession.
But he’s a fighter. He needed to develop practices to build his resilience.
So Hal created “The Miracle Morning,” a morning routine practice that gained massive popularity when he released it in 2012.
The six-step Miracle Morning routine is coined S.A.V.E.R.S. — silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing (writing).
The routine became wildly popular, in part due to its flexibility; Hal explains that time-crunched people can start this as a six-minute routine; dedicating just ONE minute to each of these six steps. Over time, people can see the positive changes that this makes, and expand the time they allot for this.
The routine is now the subject of a documentary, also called the Miracle Morning, available on Prime Video. Midway through filming, Hal was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and given a 30 percent chance of survival. He let the cameras roll as he coped with his diagnosis in real time.
He joins us on this podcast to describe that experience, and to talk about the practices that he’s used to stay productive in the face of grief, severe injury and cancer.
He talks to us about:
— the powerful Five-Minute Rule that helped him recover from a nearly fatal car crash
— the six most popular personal development practices of the successful
— specific tactics you can harness to create YOUR most successful life.
As we move into the New Year, many of you are setting goals and resolutions.
Hal describes specific, actionable tactics that you can use to build scaffolding and support around your new goals.
