Want to meet the awesome team that fuels Afford Anything? Here’s an introduction to the talented individuals behind-the-scenes!
Afford Anything: Podcast Team
Steve Stewart | Editor Extraordinaire
If you’re a long-time listener of the show, then you know that Steve is our amazing editor. He is a wizard at putting together our shows each week (sometimes multiple shows a week!), and the show wouldn’t happen without him.
Love the music on the show? Thank Steve. Enjoy the sound effects? Thank Steve. Grateful that the show sounds polished because the audio levels are nicely balanced and there aren’t many distracting noises? Also, thank Steve. 🙂
Want to learn more about Steve? Head to his website here.
Joe Saul-Sehy | Ask Paula Co-Host
As Paula’s once-a-month sidekick on Ask Paula episodes, Joe has become a staple addition to the show. We love that listeners call in and say, “Tell Joe I said hi!”
Joe is a podcast juggernaut in his own right, having hosted the award-winning Stacking Benjamins podcast from his mom’s basement since 2012. In fact, that’s how some of you came across Afford Anything. Thanks, Joe!
While he’s best known for his endless financial wisdom and humor, you can also count on Joe to make obscure pop culture references that Paula may or may not get. 😉
Afford Anything: Your First Rental Property Team
Our premium rental property investing course
Our Teacher’s Assistants
We are thrilled to have a team of amazing Teacher’s Assistants to support all of our students and alumni in the course. They hang out in the forums to respond quickly to questions posed by students, they contribute valuable insights to discussion, and they help manage our accountability groups. Our students are overjoyed to have such friendly faces in the forums, and their answers help guide them along the course and their real estate journey.
Karen | Head Teacher’s Assistant
Karen was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. In 2011, she moved to Las Vegas, NV and purchased her first rental property. A few years later, she and her husband bought a duplex while living just outside of Portland, OR.
It was around this time that Karen found Afford Anything. She was already interested in the FIRE movement and appreciated how Paula had used real estate as a tool to achieve her goals.
In 2020, they purchased two properties in Pittsburgh, PA, along with one in Alabama, and are now figuring out where to invest next.
Fun Fact: Karen loves taking her two children on adventures and introducing them to nature and art.
Samantha | Teacher’s Assistant
Samantha lives in the Catskills region of upstate New York, where she househacks a duplex. Both units have two bedrooms, so she also rents out the spare room in her unit to bring in more rental income. She looks forward to buying rentals in other states to test and streamline the systems and processes in her real estate business.
Samantha is a civil engineer by day and is curious about the world of housing and construction. Some of her best college memories involve volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. She hopes her knowledge in these areas will give her an edge as an investor.
Fun Fact: Samantha took five months off of work in 2018 to hike the Appalachian trail from Maine to Georgia.
Amanda | Teacher’s Assistant
Amanda was born in Seattle. She grew up in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, and went to high school and college in the Northeastern U.S. Today, she lives outside of Boston, MA with her husband, toddler daughter, and two rescue dogs. Amanda first began nerding out on spreadsheets in her MBA program, and continues to do so at her day job in sales strategy at a tech company.
She was introduced to Paula and Afford Anything by a friend in late 2018 when she needed to tighten up her budget to pay for daycare. She immediately binged the podcast, which reignited a long-held interest in rental property investing.
After graduating from the Fall 2020 cohort, Amanda closed on her first rental property: a 4-plex in Vermont. She’s excited to continue to learn alongside all of the students, TA’s, and alumni of YFRP!
Fun Fact: When she’s not crunching numbers, you can find Amanda hiking, traveling, doing ropes courses, and zip lining.
Cory | Teacher’s Assistant
Cory is an operations manager who lives outside of Tempe, Arizona. He is an alumnus of the fall 2023 cohort, during which he closed on his first property, an SFR in Nevada.
He stumbled upon Afford Anything and Paula’s podcasts after beginning the journey by listening to Bigger Pockets and reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller.
Fun fact: Cory’s favorite module in the course is the team module. He particularly enjoys the unpaid and paid team lessons, which reflect the importance of motivation and teamwork.
Rebecca | Spreadsheet Magician
Rebecca was born and raised in Maryland. She and her husband own two rental properties and are looking to expand their portfolio in the near future.
When she’s not researching real estate, Rebecca loves creating spreadsheets to help organize information. She uses spreadsheets in all aspects of her life – from managing finances to organizing her pantry to planning her Christmas lists!
As for how Rebecca found Afford Anything – although her day job paid the bills, she was looking for something more and started learning about the FIRE movement. After hearing Paula’s story on a popular podcast, Rebecca checked out Afford Anything and the rest is history!
Fun Fact: In her free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, running, cooking, traveling, and hanging out with her husband and two fur-babies, Roo and Nala.
Afford Anything: Team Literally Everything
Paula Pant | Founder
Paula created the Afford Anything movement back in 2012 and hasn’t looked back. She’s an enthusiastic investor with a soft spot for spreadsheets. She’s a globe-trotting entrepreneur who quit her job in 2008 (yes, during a recession), and proceeded to turn her writing skills into a lucrative freelance writing business.
In 2015, Paula made the decision to focus her full attention on Afford Anything, and the result is what you see today: an award-winning blog and podcast, and a premium rental property investing course that took three years of development.
For an official biography, click here.
Sandra Brooker | Fractional COO
Sandra is the one who keeps our big ideas from collapsing under their own weight. She’s brilliant at turning vision into step-by-step plans, streamlining our operations, and making sure projects actually cross the finish line. When something feels messy, overwhelming, or unclear, Sandra is the calm voice and sharp mind that gets us back on track.She’s worked behind the scenes with some of the best-known names in the online business world, and we’re lucky to have her bringing that same magic to our team.Fun fact: Sandra has been “a process girl” since she was seven years old, when she organized her dishwashing routine to maximize counter space and finish in time for her favorite TV show.
Afford Anything: Mascots
These are the furry and not-so-furry friends that support us along the way!
Pictured above: Tazzie, Azra, and Geoffrey the Turtle…named after the butler on Fresh Prince. He was born in April 2014 on Hilton Head, South Carolina. (Paula’s pets.)
Need to contact us? Click here.
