Afford Anything

Tag: retirement savings

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#387: Ask Paula: Is A Crash Coming??

Lila is concerned about inflation and the risk of a recession. Should she invest in the stock market, despite the scary headlines? Or should she pay off her primary residence or her investment properties?

Linda invested in a 529 for her son’s college, and he’ll be starting in the fall. But, the value of the plan dropped right before she was planning on using it and she is wondering how to keep from losing more money.

Jen and her husband want to retire in 8 years. They’re hoping to have paid off their mortgage AND hit their net worth goals when they stop working. How should they prioritize between these two goals?

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.

Enjoy!

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#385: Ask Paula: How to Invest When You’re Unsure of the Goal

Anonymous (“Jennifer”) keeps hearing us say that you should “start with the end in mind” – that your investments should match your goals and timeline. But what if you don’t have any specific financial goal? What if your risk tolerance is different than you once thought?

Rachel’s new employer won’t let her contribute to retirement for more than a year – what should she do??

Carri’s parents are in poor health and can’t work much – what should they do about their life insurance policy and their health insurance?

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.

Enjoy!

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#380: Ask Paula: How to Optimize Your Investments Along the Efficient Frontier (If You Dare!)

Anonymous and her spouse are both in the military and about to reach retirement. They have an expensive whole life insurance policy, costing $550 per month, and wonder if they should switch to term life insurance.

Ionnie just rolled over her Roth IRA and would like to understand how to withdraw her contributions without getting penalized

Matt wants to optimize his portfolio and wants to know if he should invest along the Efficient Frontier – despite the fact that the asset allocation it recommends is absolutely bonkers; it’s wild and risky and tilted like nothing he’s ever seen before.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

P.S. Also – we’re launching a book club!! Each month, we’ll read and discuss a book written by an Afford Anything podcast guest, starting with Morgan Housel, James Clear, Ken Honda, and Dr. Susan David.

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#368: Ask Paula: Talk Crypto To Me

Alex is curious about cryptocurrency. How should she analyze the returns promised by different platforms and where can she go to  learn more about crypto in general?

Grace wants to buy a manufactured home for rental income. Should she calculate her returns differently for a manufactured home?

Thomas and his wife have parallel goals of saving for a down payment and contributing to retirement accounts.  How should they balance both of these goals?

In today’s episode, former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these tough questions.

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.

Enjoy!

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#362: Ask Paula: Okay Seriously, Why Hasn’t Anyone Solved the Budgeting Issue?

David is questioning how to better manage his spending. He’d like a stronger framework to think through budgeting challenges.

Elisa and her husband bought a home, and now they’re saving extra income every month. She has a pension and her husband is an entrepreneur. How much should they be saving for retirement and how should they invest their extra money?

Geoff invested primarily in taxable brokerage accounts for the last twenty years. He’s built a $6 million portfolio and reached financial independence. He wonders about the smartest strategy for withdrawing from those taxable brokerage accounts to efficiently manage capital gains?

Jenna and her husband are planning on buying their next home in a few years. She wants to know if I-bonds are a good way to save for the down payment and closing costs.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.

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#354: Ask Paula: How Do I Make Sure I Don’t Spend the Money I’ve Invested?

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!

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#348: Ask Paula: How Should We Invest to Retire By Our Mid-40’s?

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.

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By Paula Pant

#332: Ask Paula: What’s the Point of Financial Independence if I’m Not Going to Retire?

Ginger’s financial independence (FI) number is $2 million, but she doesn’t want to fully retire early. Once she hits ‘coast’ FI, she wants to 1) buy her time back with outsourcing, 2) take a mini-retirement, and 3) buy a vacation home. Does it make sense for her to divert retirement contributions to these goals, or should she aim to save $2M?

Wilson plans to have a two percent withdrawal rate in retirement. Given this low rate, should he go all-in on stocks? Or should he split up his retirement funds and invest one half conservatively and the other half aggressively?

Jennifer has a low-stress doggie-daycare, but she needs a bigger space to scale up. How the heck can she find a property to suit her needs in Austin, TX?

My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of listener questions.

(If you have questions on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing, leave them here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.)

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By Paula Pant

#316: Ask Paula – I Doubled My Investments During the Pandemic. What Should I Do Next?

Michele wants to reach financial independence (FI), and her grandparents are leaving her their house. She already owns a home, and she’s torn between six potential options that will propel her toward FI. What should she do?

Fred doesn’t have access to a workplace retirement plan. Besides opening a Roth IRA, what else can Fred do to juice up his retirement savings?

Pauly from Portland doubled the inheritance money he received from $50,000 to $100,000 during the pandemic. Now he’s wondering if it’s okay to use this $100,000 as a downpayment on a home in Portland. Is that a wise use of the money?

Preethi accidentally withdrew funds from her Roth IRA as an excess distribution, and she’s already filed her taxes. What should she know for tax time next year?

Casey is in the market for a second rental property and wants to know: would we recommend purchasing a rental in a complex where she already owns a condo? Or should she diversify into a different complex in a different, nearby, more stable town?

My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these questions on today’s show. Enjoy!

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By Paula Pant

#290: Ask Paula – Is Upgrading Our Lifestyle Worth Mortgaging a More Expensive House?

Sharon owns two condos that are worth $1.4M and has a cash cushion of $120,000 plus a $50,000 emergency fund. She’d like to move into a small house while keeping her cash cushion intact. Should she take out a home equity loan on her mortgage to essentially pay for her house in cash, or get a traditional mortgage and use her savings towards the downpayment? 

Jury and her partner are torn between two options: buying a condo, which would allow them to live off of one salary and invest the other, or buy a more expensive house – a much more attractive lifestyle option. Which should they purchase? 

Daine’s IRA balance is a result of 401k rollovers. He’s concerned that his lack of monthly contributions cause him to miss out on compound interest. What can he do to grow his retirement funds?

Molly and her husband want to reach financial independence (FI) in 15 years, at age 50. They’re unsure of whether their rental property income will sustain their FI lifestyle. How can they plan for this?

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

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