Afford Anything

Tag: policygenius

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#229: Ask Paula – Help! My Mom or Dad Took Out a Credit Card in My Name. Am I On the Hook?

Helen discovered that her mother fraudulently opened credit card accounts in her name. Eek! How can she protect herself? What will happen to these accounts once her mother passes away?

Amelia and her husband cannot fire their financial advisor. How can they minimize the damage and maximize the benefit they receive from him in the meantime?

Anonymous asks if she should live off an inheritance and max out her 401k contributions during her first year of working full-time. She wants to reduce her taxable income. Is this a good idea?

A different anonymous caller read a USA Today article claiming that “index funds are in a bubble.” How true is this? How can index funds be in a bubble?

Shawn is self-employed. He invests in a Solo 401k that features both a Roth and Traditional component. How should he manage this account?

Another anonymous listener is thinking about downshifting to part-time work. He holds around $278,000 in home equity. How can he capitalize on this?

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these questions on today’s episode. Enjoy!

Here are more details:

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#227: Ask Paula – How Can I Get the Most from My Mini-Retirement?

Lien is taking a year off of work to live the van life with her husband. She wants to know how she can make the most of this sabbatical to figure out how to turn her less-than-inspiring career into a lifestyle that she loves.

Lien called in again to say that she wants to start a new business and a family when she returns from her gap year. Her former job offered excellent health benefits and maternity leave, but she doesn’t really want to go back. What should she do?

Eddie wants to build his real estate portfolio. How should he approach downpayments – put down more to net more profit, or put down less to acquire more properties?

Wilson is wondering if it’s a good idea to partner with a friend on real estate ventures. What are the downsides?

Wilson also wants to know about real estate business expenses, and the pros and cons of short-term rentals vs. long-term rentals.

Sean has an inconsistent employment history and is struggling to find a lender that will give him a mortgage. He wants to know if there are any other ways he can get a mortgage for a 4-plex?

An anonymous listener is thinking about taking the leap into real estate investing and wants to know how to overcome the fear they have about it. Also, should they put all of their savings towards real estate?

Anonymous is also wondering: how do you calculate net worth when you’re married?

I answer these questions on today’s episode of the podcast. Enjoy!

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#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.

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#219: Ask Paula – How Should I Invest $4,000 Per Month for Early Retirement?

Stella is working toward FIRE and wants to know: how can she create passive income in her retirement years? Is a portfolio with stocks and bonds enough, or should she invest in real estate?

Travis and his wife are also on the FIRE path, and are comparing their investment options. Travis is concerned about the inefficiency of reinvesting returns in real estate. How can you factor this into your decision when buying a property?

Stephanie and her husband are also interested in FIRE (hooray!) and they have $20,000 to invest. How can they best use this money to help them FIRE sooner?

Cade, a 24-year-old listener, wants to FIRE by age 30 (we’re on a roll!). He’s saving $4,000/month and wants to know how to invest these savings.

Anonymous and their partner are taking a mini-retirement and have questions surrounding the logistics of healthcare. What options should they consider?

On a different note, Amanda works in academia. After listening to Episode 12, she’s looking for tips on managing long-term, complex collaborative projects now that she’s in a leadership position.

Steve’s question brings us to the topic of building an online business and social media following. Should he have one brand for all of his interests, or divide these interests into separate channels?

I tackle these questions in today’s episode of the show. Enjoy!

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#215: Financial Independence in Seven Stages, with Joshua Sheats

We are really digging into the archives with today’s episode. This originally aired back in 2016!

Besides being another fun and fascinating interview, this is one of our most popular episodes. Which isn’t surprising, given the topic we’re exploring. 🙂

Financial independence means many things to many different people, which might be why we find it challenging to settle on a definition that everyone can agree on.

Regardless of what your personal definition is, Joshua Sheats, a financial planner and host of the well-known Radical Personal Finance podcast, says that financial independence can be separated into seven stages.

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#211: What’s Your Why? Financial Independence, Debt Freedom and More

Hey there!

I’m writing this from Croatia, where I’m beginning five weeks of travel that I’m calling my September Sabbatical. From now through September 23rd, I’ll be exploring the globe and enjoying a one-month break.

Today, I’m kicking things off with a community-based episode. Here’s the backstory behind today’s show:

There’s an event called CampFI, which is a 3-4 day gathering for people who are interested in financial independence. CampFI holds around half a dozen events per year in various locations; I spoke at one in Colorado Springs this past July.

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#204: Upgrade Your Thinking, with Super Thinking authors Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann

You make decisions on a daily basis about your career, family, friendships, health and investments; these choices shape your life.But how much have you thought about how to think?

There are common threads and collective wisdom across disciplines. These common threads create mental models, which are frameworks for understanding the world. Mental models allow us to apply insights from a variety of unrelated fields, using reasoning by analogy to make better choices about our lives.

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#196: Starting Over at 40 with Six Kids, with Wendy Mays

When Wendy Mays was in her early 20’s, she earned $12 an hour working as the office manager of a pest control company.

She wanted higher income, so she enrolled in college at age 22. By the time she finished her undergraduate degree, she was 26, married, with a child.

Her husband worked low-paying jobs to make ends meet. They struggled to pay the bills. Wendy decided to enroll in law school, so that she could bring in more money. She graduated around age 30, and became the primary breadwinner for the household. She opened her own law practice.The couple starting bringing in a combined household income of around $200,000 annually. They bought a large house, with a swimming pool.

Sounds like the American Dream, right?

Except it was all financed.

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#193: Ask Paula – I Spent Ten Years in School, and Now I’m Behind on Retirement Savings

Lori is behind on retirement savings, as a result of being a full-time student for more than a decade. She makes good money and lives frugally, but she’s aware that she’s behind for her age. What should she do?

Sierra wonders whether she should apply her savings towards paying off her mortgage or building investments.

Jenessa plans to retire at age 35, and she’s wondering if the 4 percent withdrawal rule applies for such a long time horizon. Her friend swears that it’s designed to cover a 30-year retirement, not a 60+ year retirement. Is that correct?

Jacqui is 24 and recently married. She’d like to open a 529 College Savings Plan for her future children, which she doesn’t plan on having for another 8 to 10 years. Should she do this?

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#189: Ask Paula – How Does My Net Worth Compare to Others My Age?

Julie, age 27, calculated her expected net worth based on the formula taught in the classic personal finance book The Millionaire Next Door. She’s concerned. Her current net worth is significantly lower than the number that the formula revealed. Is she on-track?

Anonymous wants to save for a downpayment on a home. Should she reduce her 401k contributions in order to amass these savings? Should she store some of that money in a Roth IRA?

Samantha is more than halfway finished with paying off her debt. In order to make this happen, she took on a second job. How much will she owe in taxes?

Maxime works at a job in which his 401k only offers expensive choices. Should he put his money in a taxable brokerage account, instead?Leslie’s parents are going to retire in five years, but they’ve only saved $65,000. What should they do? How can she help?

Clare is creating an estate plan. What should she be thinking about?

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