Afford Anything®

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income

Tag: student loans

June 17, 2019By Paula Pant

#199: Ask Paula – The Three-Year Reunion with J. Money

Ashley is paying affordable rent for a home she enjoys, but she feels certain that the real estate market in her local market will stay strong. She’s thinking about buying a home with 3 to 5 percent down, but she doesn’t have much in savings.

Should she wait for a year to save more? Or should she take advantage of a rising market and relatively low interest rates?

Ian and his girlfriend live together in Washington D.C. and have a combined 40 percent savings rate. He’d like to buy a rental property, but his girlfriend has $18,000 in student loans and is about to re-enroll in school. Should they buy an investment home, or use their cash to repay her loans and cash flow her new academic program?

Annette is about to travel to Spain with her family. How can she plan an affordable and high-value international trip?

William is concerned about losing his job. What if he can’t pay his bills, especially his new mortgage? How can he protect himself?

Anonymous is a renter, and she often encounters surprise fees and charges when she arrives at the lease signing. Can she negotiate with her landlord?

I answer these five questions in today’s episode, and I also feature a short interview with special guest J. Money, my former podcast co-host from the early days!!

Enjoy!

Keep reading...

March 18, 2019By Paula Pant

#183: Ask Paula – Should I Sell My Rental Property to Pay Off My Student Loans?

Should a newlywed couple with two cash flowing rental properties sell one to pay off $92,000 of student loan debt?

What percentage of your portfolio should you have in rental properties?

What’s the smartest way to approach rental property investing, particularly if you get anxiety thinking about tenant requests?

How much should high interest rates impact your decision to buy a rental?

I answer these four questions on today’s episode, plus, I have a big announcement regarding the future of real estate Ask Paula episodes, so check it out. 🙂

Keep reading...

February 11, 2019By Paula Pant

#177: Ask Paula and Joe: Should I Buy a House or Catch Up on Retirement Savings?

Imagine that your job is extremely well-paying, but you don’t enjoy it.

You’d like to switch employers, even though this will probably require a paycut. But before you make the switch, you want to accomplish two goals: buy a home and catch up on retirement savings.

Should you pursue both goals? Or should you defer the home purchase, given the potential future paycut?

If you decide to pursue both goals, which one should come first?

This is one of the five questions that former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer in this week’s podcast episode.

Keep reading...

December 17, 2018By Paula Pant

#167: Ask Paula – Should I Pay Off Student Loans While in School?

Angelisa is a college senior with $30,000 in student loans. She has a part-time job, from which she’s saved $2,500. Should she keep saving money, or should she get a headstart on paying down her student loans while she’s in school?

Mackenzie is also a college senior with some student loans. She recently received a settlement from a car accident. Should she invest this money? If so, how?

Franchesca is 35 and is carrying $212,000 in debt, mostly student loans. Could she reach financial independence, even with a late start?

Erica wants to make environmentally-friendly investments. How should she approach this?

Caroline is 42 and has started making after-tax (non-Roth) 401k contributions. Is this a good idea?

An anonymous listener is curious about podcasting. How did I get started?

I answer these six questions on today’s podcast episode, alongside former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy. Enjoy!

Keep reading...

February 12, 2018By Paula Pant

#116: Ask Paula – Help! I’m Underwater on My Car!

Stacy and her boyfriend would like to downsize to one vehicle. But they’re collectively $14,500 underwater on their car loans.

Stacy owes $11,000 on her car, but its trade-in value is $7,200. She’s paying a 12.74% interest rate and her payoff date is 2021.

Her boyfriend is in worse shape. He owes $18,500 on his […]

Keep reading...

January 29, 2018By Paula Pant

#114: Ask Paula – How Should I Invest $100K in Real Estate?

This week, I answer five questions about real estate investing from the audience.

Joelle asks:
I own a home outright on the West Coast. I’m thinking about taking out $100,000 from my home equity, and using this money to buy a rental property.

I found a community out east where I can buy a […]

Keep reading...

October 9, 2017By Paula Pant

#98: Ask Paula – The Side Hustle Episode

How much money should you invest in a side hustle or side business?

How do you know if your side hustle idea is viable?

What if you want to start 5 or 6 side businesses? Should you lump these together under a common business umbrella? Or should you separate them out?

These are the questions […]

Keep reading...

May 8, 2017By Paula Pant

#76: Ask Paula – How to Handle an Inheritance, Should I Invest in Properties or Start a Business, and More

This week, my buddy Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of listener-submitted questions.

Our first question comes from Hillary:
She’s a recent college graduate in an entry level job. She’s saved up an emergency fund, but keeps depleting it as things pop up. She’s also going to law school in a year and […]

Keep reading...

April 24, 2017By Paula Pant

#74: Ask Paula – How to Repay $50k in Student Loans on a $31k Income, What’s the Deal with Bonds, and Do I Really Need Insurance?

This week, my friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me for another round of Q&A in our (newly!) biweekly segment called Ask Paula!

Kicking off today’s episode, Nicky asks:

I’m young and healthy. My car is old and not-worth-much. And my personal property isn’t exactly fancy-pants.

Do I *really* need health, auto and […]

Keep reading...

March 7, 2016By Paula Pant

#15: Ask Us Anything – Stocks, Student Loans and Tax Refunds

It’s time to open the mailbag. Here are a few of the questions we tackle in today’s episode:

Q1: Should I pay off student loans? Or should I invest for retirement?
Q2: Should I buy stocks? Or should I dollar-cost average into the market?
Q3: I want to build an online business. […]

Keep reading...

  • ‹
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • ›

Most Popular

Inflation, Illustrated
How Much is Enough?
What if We Quit Setting Goals? (Seriously?)
The Incredible Power of 10x Thinking
  • Binge
  • Questions?
  • Contact
Join 70,000+ subscribers who get free email updates.

© 2021 Afford Anything. Designed By Wilnau Design. Built by Zach Swinehart. Disclosure

© Copyright 2011 – 2026 Afford Anything. All Rights Reserved.

Website by Zach Swinehart.

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income

Afford Anything®

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Team Afford Anything
    • Media
    • Questions?
  • Blog
    • Binge
  • Podcast
    • Binge
    • Sponsors
    • Ask a Question
    • Guest Guidelines
  • Community
  • TV
  • Explore
    • Your First Rental Property
    • Travel
    • Start a Blog
    • Earn Extra Income