461: A special LIVE recording in front of an audience at Podcast Movement, an industry conference in Denver.

Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle two questions in today’s episode. Our first question comes from a soon-to-be-single-mother on the precipice of divorce. How should she navigate this financially? Our second question comes from the spouse of a Purple Heart veteran of the war in Afghanistan. She and her husband would like to take a one-year sabbatical from work when they turn 40, which is in five years. They’d also like to pivot into lower-paying but more enjoyable careers. How should they map out their money for this transition? Joe and I dedicate this episode, recorded live on stage, to answering these two questions. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question? Leave it at https://affordanything.com/voicemail For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode461 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Afford Anything: Recent Episodes

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

461: A special LIVE recording in front of an audience at Podcast Movement, an industry conference in Denver.

459: Andrey is a savvy 10-year-old wondering what’s the best way to save up for his first car.

458: Today we chat with Scott Trench, the CEO and President of BiggerPockets, a real estate investing education company with more than 2 million members.

457: Angie sold all the stocks in her retirement account last year. And now the market’s climbing. What should she do with her $500,000 cash position?

456: Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki shares his research and findings around the science of empathy – and how we can apply this to improving our relationships with colleagues, clients, customers, co-founders, and business and investing cohorts.

455: Yvette recently retired with the goal of reaching a $10,000 monthly income from her real estate investments. Should she put her money toward debt payoff or portfolio expansion?

454: Amy says she hit “rock bottom” with her finances. She says she struggled to ask for help before her situation became an emergency. How can others ask for help sooner?

452: Peter Atwater, an economics professor at The College of William and Mary and author of “The Confidence Map,” joins us to discuss how confidence shapes our financial markets.

450: On the First Friday of each month, we roll out a bonus episode that’s totally different from what we usually produce.

449: Jackie is a 42-year-old paralegal with two rental properties. She wants to buy three more. She asks for Paula’s thoughts about today’s economy. Should she buy under these economic conditions?

447: We talk to Stanford economist Nick Bloom about his groundbreaking research on working from home.

413: If an idea dominates the headlines, we notice it.

412: Taylor recently graduated. She wants to reach financial independence as soon as possible. What should she do first: invest or repay low-interest debt?

411: In the final installment of this two-part mini-series, we walk you through becoming a subject matter expert in your investment city of choice.

410: You face plenty of problems.

408: When Kiersten and Julian Saunders began dating in 2012, they fell in love quickly, and their relationship felt strong – until they started talking about money.

407: Ionnie wants to vet her tax professional as diligently as she assesses her financial advisor – how should she go about doing that?

406: In this two-part episode, we first tackle the data points needed to assess various investment locations within your city of choice.

405: Daniel and his wife want to go on an extended vacation and leave their jobs next year…and still have money in case there’s a problem at their rental properties. Would a HELOC help them?

404: When Rand Fishkin was 25 years old, he carried $500,000 in credit card debt.

403: September Sabbatical continued! If you’ve been listening to the show for the past few years, then you know that we’ve entered our September Sabbatical, where the team takes a break from podcast production and airs a few of our favorites from the 400+ episodes we’ve aired to date.

401: It’s September! If you’ve been listening to the show for the past few years, then you know that I’m on what I’ve dubbed my September Sabbatical, in which I’m taking a break from podcast production.

399: Bella is SO CLOSE to reaching F.I.R.E and is worried about her withdrawal rate if the stock market drops. If the stock market does drop, can she withdraw as much as she had originally planned?

398: Chris Hutchins is an avid life hacker, a financial optimizer and the host of the top ranked podcast “All The Hacks”, where he shares his quest to upgrade his life without having to spend a fortune.

397: Nic’s parents are forced to confront earlier than anticipated retirement…and they aren’t financially prepared. Now, a bank is offering to buy a part of their mortgage or a part of their house. Is this a scam?!

394: Bill listened to our episode with Bill Bengen, father of the 4% rule, and he wants to know if there was a way for him to figure out how much money he should be keeping in cash.

393: Chuck Jaffee is a forty year veteran financial journalist who regularly writes for the Wall Street Journal and is also a nationally syndicated financial columnist. He discusses how money and investors' attitude towards investing has changed over the last few decades.

392: Colleen and her husband own SEVEN paid off rental homes. Now they’re heading into retirement and disagree on what to do with some of that equity.

390: We start this episode with two anonymous callers who have opposite problems: one says her bills are too high, while the other is worried that she’s saving too much.

389: Should you bother investing in real estate … especially from a distance?

387: 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?

385: 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?

382: Joe is buying his first house hack and would like to understand if the FHA loan or the doctor loan would be better for him.

381: Maybe you’re envious of your friend who bought Bitcoin in 2015 and held until it hit 7-figures.

378: Anonymous is 25. She has a job offer that comes with a substantial raise. Hooray!

377: Today’s episode is sheer retirement nerd bliss.

375: Here’s the deal:

374: Andy in Palm Springs wants to create an income stream through a taxable brokerage account. What strategy should he use to minimize the tax impact of withdrawing his gains?

373: How do people make money in real estate?

372: Eve has been investing in her brokerage account and the tax liabilities are starting to add up. She wants to retire in 12 years and is wondering if she should invest in after-tax contributions and plan on a Roth conversion.

371: Psychology professor Bill von Hippel explains the evolutionary science behind how we’re hardwired as humans.

370: Kristen is 32, and she and her husband want to retire in less than 20 years. They make too much to contribute to a Roth IRA. Should they use back door Roth conversions to speed along their path to early retirement?

369: To answer these questions, we need a deep, tree-trunk understanding – a core, fundamental understanding – of how the stock market operates.

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

367: Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, many commentators have remarked that we’re living in an “epidemic of anxiety.”

366: Micheal’s parents just sold their home to pay off debt and fund their retirement. How should he invest the profits?

365: Nearly every financial news story for the past several months has centered around inflation – but what, exactly, is inflation? What are its causes? What are its effects? How is it measured? What notable inflationary events have unfolded throughout history, and what can we learn from these?

364: Our first caller is curious about whether he should keep his 30 year term life insurance policy or let it lapse with 12 years left on the policy?

361: Wall Street Journal columnist Spencer Jakab marks the one-year anniversary of that weird time when the subReddit Wall St Bets pumped shares of meme stocks like GameStop and AMC Theaters, triggering a short squeeze that forced several hedge funds to lose billions.

359: Money, relationships, health and purpose: life is running smoothly when all four of these elements are working together in tandem, like wheels on a car. But how can we make spending and investing choices that facilitate stronger relationships, better health and a deeper sense of purpose?

358: Where is the balance between the risks and potential returns of actively and passively investing in index funds?Where do you place your savings after you max out your retirement and HSA accounts?

357:

356: How do you find balance between smart money management vs. missing out on opportunities? Should you pile money into investments or take that dream trip to Tanzania?

355: When Jordan Grumet realized he has achieved financial independence, he fell into a deep depression. He didn’t know who he was anymore, he says, and he didn’t know what should come next.

354: 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?

353: Daniel Pink joins us to discuss an unusual theory:

351: Geoff Woods, Vice President of The ONE Thing and host of The ONE Thing podcast, is an expert on ruthless prioritization, habit development, and goal setting.

349: A frank and candid conversation about life, dead-lifting, and enjoying the hell out of doing meaningful work.

348: 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?

347: Back in the 1960’s, Jack Bogle thought that actively-managed mutual funds performed better than a passive indexing strategy.

346: Pensions make Chad uncomfortable, to the point of quitting his job to roll his $175,000 over to an IRA. Is the 12 percent match his employer offers good enough to beat the two percent growth of his pension? Or should he leave and never look back?

345: Let’s talk about one of the biggest expenses you might ever encounter: health care costs.

344: Russell’s job offers the option to contribute to a 457 plan. Since he’s in the highest tax bracket, should he take advantage of the tax deferral offered through the 457 or invest within a taxable brokerage account?

343: The real estate market in 2021 has been bonkers.

342: Russell is a busy professional who’d like to invest passively in real estate. Is there data he can use to compare this approach to owning and managing their own properties?

341: Imagine a line.

340: Imagine this:

339: Have you ever thought, “I’d like to invest in rental real estate but there are no cheap properties in my area!”

338: This month, we’re running four episodes based around the four pillars of F.I.R.E. — financial psychology, investing, real estate and entrepreneurship.

337: Meet Kristen Berman, a top researcher in the field of behavioral economics. She’s the co-founder of Irrational Labs, which designs products that are evidence-based in the behavioral sciences.

336: Anonymous and his partner have a one-bedroom condo that they rent out in Pasadena, CA. The problem? They’re barely breaking even. Should they keep the condo, or sell it and make better use of the profits?

335: Have you ever spent years studying the wrong major, climbing the ladder at the wrong company, chasing the wrong career?

334: In today’s episode, we answer three questions from a college senior named Rafael.

333: In the 1890s and early 1900’s, we had recessions every two years.

331:

330: Linda is 58 and wondering how to account for her Social Security benefits when thinking through the 25x expenditure equation. Her expected expenses are $100,000 - $150,000. How can she figure out if she’s ready to retire?

329: Have you ever thought about how an economist views financial planning? Would you guess that it's vastly different from how some financial planners approach this work?

328: Sarah O Sahara’s parents sold their rentals and business of 24 years. They’d like to create a trust for their grandkids with boundaries in place to avoid entitlement. How should they structure this trust?