By Paula Pant
We live in a fascinating era: huge sections of society are more prosperous, advanced and safe than at any other point in human history, yet depression and anxiety are at record highs.
It’s a paradox of progress: the richer the nation, the more likely its citizens are to suffer from mental health issues and report feeling crushing isolation and unhappiness.
What gives?
By Paula Pant
Many people in their 50’s or 60’s warn us about catastrophic or ‘black swan’ events. But what’s the likelihood that this will actually happen?
How can you use the 4 percent withdrawal rule for early retirement planning, given that your portfolio will be split among accounts with different tax treatments? How do you adjust your retirement plan for future taxes?
Should a couple in their 30’s switch from term life to whole life insurance?
Should a couple in their 50’s with adult children bother buying life insurance in the first place?
Is it okay to keep all your assets at one investment brokerage, like Vanguard or Fidelity?
And can you deduct rental losses if your income is over $150,000?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these questions in today’s episode.
By Paula Pant
Fear shows up in our lives in countless ways.
Sometimes, fear takes the form of procrastination. We’re afraid of botching something, or we don’t like the feeling of anxiety that a project gives us, so we avoid it, dodge it, and indefinitely put it off.
Other times, fear takes the form of perfectionism through endless iterating and tweaking. We want to keep tinkering with a project, to get it “just right.” We applaud ourselves for our attention to detail.
Fear takes the form of making excuses and rationalizations for why we can’t pursue a goal or dream. We tell ourselves that some outside factor is to blame.
Fear takes the form of throwing ourselves pity parties and locking ourselves into a negative self-talk spiral. We get easily discouraged.
Fear takes the form of thinking others can’t be trusted, and pushing people away.
Fear has many faces.
By Paula Pant
In May 1915, a renowned 58-year-old sea captain, Captain William Thomas Turner, made a series of questionable decisions.
He was the captain of the Lusitania, a ship with 1,959 passangers, sailing from Manhattan to London. The first World War was taking place around them, and Captain Turner knew he needed to move swiftly to evade German submarines.
His ship approached England; land was in sight. They had almost made it. Yet for reasons that will always remain a mystery, around 1 pm on May 7th, Captain Turner slowed the speed of the vessel to around 18 knots, slower than the 21 knots that they needed to outpace the threat of submarines. Around 45 minutes later, he executed what’s called a “four-point bearing,” which forced him to pilot the ship in a straight line rather than a zigzag course, which would be better for outmaneuvering torpedos.
By Paula Pant
Imagine that you’re going to take a 6-month to 9-month mini-retirement. How should you plan? What should you do? Sure, you’ll need to have enough savings to cover your expenses. You might want to find some part-time work. You may need to sell off a few investment. And of course, you’ll need to think about health insurance.
But what else should you consider? And how will your first taste of voluntary unemployment impact your mental and emotional health?
Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I discuss this in today’s podcast episode.
We also answer a question from a New York-based father of two who’s trying to choose a health insurance plan.
We talk to a woman who wants to roll her six-figure SEP-IRA balance into a Roth IRA account.
We answer a question from a listener who’s moving back to Amsterdam with his wife and two children, and is wondering what to do with his 401k in the U.S.
And we answer a question from a man who’s wondering if he should invest in a taxable brokerage account, rather than focusing on so many tax-advantaged retirement accounts, so that he can more easily access this money before he turns 59 and a half.
By Paula Pant
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.
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.
By Paula Pant
How can a schoolteacher dad and stay-at-home mom send their four kids to college? Where should a 23-year-old keep the savings that she’s accumulating to buy a home by the time she’s 27 or 28?
What should a listener know about retirement planning if he has a pension? And should a listener rollover his 401k […]
By Paula Pant
Chad Carson’s friends called him a “nerdjock.”
When former college football linebacker Chad Carson graduated from Clemson University, he decided to start a business. But he didn’t have any money.
He was a 235-pound athlete who attended college on a football scholarship. He graduated debt-free with $1,000 in savings from various odd jobs. He wanted […]
By Paula Pant
Today I’m answering your real estate questions!
First up, Rich asks:
What are your thoughts on real estate crowdfunding versus investing in a traditional REIT and non-retirement account?
He doesn’t want to give up the time it takes to manage a rental property. He wants to spend more time with family and friends, and […]
