#467: Should Knoxville use a higher-interest Home Equity Loan (HELOC) to pay off a lower-interest 401k loan? Joelles tenant is interested in a rent-to-own agreement. Is this a good idea from a landlords perspective? A recent wildfire shifted Sharons house into a flood zone. Should she sell before FEMA redraws the map and it becomes official? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in todays episode. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question? Leave it here. For more information...
Oct 18, 2023•41 min•Ep 467•Transcript available on Metacast #466: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported in 2022 that medical debt is the most common reason to get a debt collector call. A Census Bureau study in 2021 found nearly 1 in 5 households (19%) couldnt pay for medical care when it was needed. These statistics underscore the fact that the potential for unforeseen medical expenses to negatively impact our lives is ENORMOUS. Dr. Virgie Bright Ellington, a medical billing expert and author of What Your Doctor Wants You to Know to Crush Me...
Oct 12, 2023•58 min•Ep 466•Transcript available on Metacast #465: The Fed is holding interest rates steady for now. The jobs report is better than expected. Stocks and bonds are both going down. What's going on right now in both the economy and in the markets and where should you put your money and your time and attention? Thats what were going to cover in this episode. Links mentioned: https://affordanything.com/inflation https://affordanything.com/365 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 06, 2023•34 min•Ep 465•Transcript available on Metacast #464: More than ever, most people's lives are packed to the brim with activity. We are trying to fit in demanding jobs and families, commuting and a neverending list of chores. Social lives often suffer. Its no wonder that in 2021, 12% of U.S. adults said they did not have any close friends, up from 3% in 1990. This has enormous consequences on our health, productivity, and our ability to grow our net worth, make money, and enjoy life. Dr. Mariso Franco, a renowned psychologist and best selling ...
Oct 04, 2023•48 min•Ep 464•Transcript available on Metacast #463: Mary is struggling to compare two job offers: one from a large corporation and another from a tiny business. How should she decide? An anonymous caller wants to buy a different home, and convert his current home into a rental. How should he finance this move? Christina recently slayed her debt and put herself on track for financial success. But now shes bored. How can auto-investing be more exciting? Speaking of debt, Christina shares a creative HACK to SAVE $60,000 in student loan interes...
Sep 27, 2023•1 hr•Ep 463•Transcript available on Metacast #462: As a society, were fascinated by stories of the rich. We hear news, see social media posts, and read books about how others become wealthy, how to maintain that status, and what their lifestyles look like. But what if the media were consuming is misleading us? Dr. Seth Stephens-Davidowitzs research shows that the stories about the rich that dominate the popular press are misleading. Stephens-Davidowitz holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University. Hes a data scientist and a New York Ti...
Sep 21, 2023•48 min•Ep 462•Transcript available on Metacast #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 todays 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 t...
Sep 13, 2023•52 min•Ep 461•Transcript available on Metacast #460: Mental toughness is the bedrock of starting a business, growing a multimillion-dollar portfolio, investing in real estate, crushing your debt, retiring early. Todays guest, Dr. Nate Zinsser, mentors elite athletes, soldiers and executives in confidence and mental toughness. He is the sports psychology mentor for two-time Superbowl MVP Eli Manning and the Director of the Performance Psychology Program at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Hes mentored the NHLs Philadelphia Flyers and ...
Sep 06, 2023•1 hr•Ep 460•Transcript available on Metacast #459: Andrey is a savvy 10-year-old wondering whats the best way to save up for his first car. Ingrid wants to know if her parents preference for Retiring on Dividends is a better approach compared to the 4 Percent Rule. Ericas part-time work schedule will place her in an unusually low tax bracket this year. Should she take this rare chance to execute a Roth conversion? Or is it better to prioritize debt payoff? Chloe is worried about the end of student loan forbearance. Should she pull back fro...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 459•Transcript available on Metacast #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. He joins us to share cutting-edge insights on todays real estate market. We discuss economic trends, demographic shifts, and talk about how interest rates impact home buyers. Whether you're a potential homebuyer, an investor, or simply curious about the housing market, this conversation will shield light on whats REALLY happening in todays con...
Aug 25, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep 458•Transcript available on Metacast #457: Angie sold all the stocks in her retirement account last year. And now the markets climbing. What should she do with her $500,000 cash position? Christina will be graduating with six figures of student debt. Should she refinance out of a federally protected loan to lower her interest rate? An anonymous caller wonders how Paula and Joe handled their primary residences when they moved out of state. Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in todays episode. En...
Aug 16, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 457•Transcript available on Metacast #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. Zaki is the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, and the author of The War For Kindness. We'll break down the science. We talk about why empathy matters in business, investments, and in career growth, and well discuss its digital age ...
Aug 09, 2023•56 min•Ep 456•Transcript available on Metacast #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? Carly wants to buy a second home and convert her current home to a rental. What are the pros and cons of tapping into existing equity versus saving cash for a down payment? An anonymous caller plans to move back to her touristy hometown in six to seven years. Is it smart to buy something now and take advantage of a ...
Aug 05, 2023•53 min•Ep 455•Transcript available on Metacast #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? Rebecca is a mother of four, which means shes juggling four distinct college timelines and 529 plans. How does she make a withdrawal plan when there are so many unknowns? Anne Marie switched jobs. What should she do with her old retirement accounts? And Dylan wonders if the IRS Rule of 55 applies to Roth 401k accounts. Former f...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep 454•Transcript available on Metacast #453: Today I chat with Simone Stolzoff, a consultant for organizations ranging from Google to the Surgeon Generals Office, and the author of "The Good Enough Job." Hes a graduate of Stanford and U. Penn. Simone has spent a lot of time thinking about the role of work in our lives, and he's got some really interesting ideas about how we can see work as just one part of a happy and fulfilling life. We'll be talking about what happens when work becomes more than just a job, how to challenge the ide...
Jul 27, 2023•43 min•Ep 453•Transcript available on Metacast #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. He explains how The Hunger Games relates to the Lehman Brothers collapse. He describes why you should Buy Adele and Sell Pharrell. From the Panic of 1857 to the patterns behind modern media consumption, Peter talks us through the intricate web of behavioral oddities that extend beyond finance. He talks about the K-shaped...
Jul 20, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 452•Transcript available on Metacast #451: Rachels car is nearing its end of life and shes short on cash. Should she sell before shes hit with a major repair? Cam wants to arbitrage a hefty low-interest loan with a three-year payback period. Is this the opportunity of a lifetime or a disaster waiting to happen? Kris has tried all the budgeting apps but theyre cumbersome and time-consuming. Is there a better way to track his monthly expenses? An anonymous caller feels stretched thin with a high mortgage on a single income. Should sh...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep 451•Transcript available on Metacast #450: On the First Friday of each month, we roll out a bonus episode thats totally different from what we usually produce. These bonus episodes are special, unique, and we hope round out a fuller, more multifaceted picture of what we think about. Today, Im introducing you to a business and economics correspondent from Moscow who Im honored to call a close friend. Her name is Andrea Palasciano. Shes covered business stories from Paris, Marseilles, Rome and Moscow. Shes fluent in Italian, German, ...
Jul 07, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 450•Transcript available on Metacast #449: Jackie is a 42-year-old paralegal with two rental properties. She wants to buy three more. She asks for Paulas thoughts about todays economy. Should she buy under these economic conditions? Jens husband will retire with a pension that pays twice their living expenses. Does she still need her own retirement account? Rachael just bought a duplex, which she wants to househack. But shes having second thoughts. Did she bite off more than she can chew? Minouche is a return caller with new inform...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep 449•Transcript available on Metacast #448: An anonymous caller is dealing with guilt over spending a large cash gift. Whats the best use if she doesnt have an obvious financial goal to throw at it? Eric reached financial independence a few years ago but he hesitates to quit his job. What the heck is a Roth conversion ladder and how can he overcome his psychological barriers? Another anonymous caller and his wife earn $300,000. He feels like they should be financially independent but theyre far from it. Whats going on? Former financ...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep 448•Transcript available on Metacast #447: We talk to Stanford economist Nick Bloom about his groundbreaking research on working from home. Nick has been studying remote work for more than 20 years since the 1990s, when people were telecommuting. His research, in real-time, looked at how events such as 9/11 shaped attitudes about remote work. The pandemic created a surge of interest in his research. It brought many newcomers to the field. But Nick has the benefit of historical knowledge. Hes spent his career deep-diving into this t...
Jun 21, 2023•51 min•Ep 447•Transcript available on Metacast #446: Paul suffered a stroke at 48. Hes on disability and feeling lost. How does he figure out whats next? Should Ashleys aging parents spend a third of their retirement savings on a house? Margaret is wondering if she could use her 401k for a down payment and save on her taxes. An anonymous caller is concerned she wont have enough access to cash if she retires at 50. Is an Indexed Universal Life policy the right solution? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions ...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep 446•Transcript available on Metacast #445: We sit down with Steve Chou, an accomplished entrepreneur who, alongside his wife, built two businesses that each bring in seven figures and gives them the freedom to spend more time with their kids. We delve into the challenges he faced in the early stages of his business and how he overcame these obstacles. Additionally, Steve opens up about the personal and emotional aspects of running a business. He candidly discusses the fears, doubts, and sacrifices he and others have encountered dur...
Jun 07, 2023•49 min•Ep 445•Transcript available on Metacast #444: The student loan pause is coming to an end. A moratorium on student loan repayments has been in place since the start of the pandemic, but starting Sept. 1st, millions of borrowers will be required to start making payments on their loans again. What does this mean for borrowers? In this episode, we'll discuss what borrowers can do to prepare, including an in-depth look at the variety of repayment plan options. Well also talk (in general terms) about how to handle ANY surprise new monthly b...
Jun 02, 2023•29 min•Ep 444•Transcript available on Metacast #443: As a former corporate powerhouse turned successful entrepreneur, Amy knows firsthand the challenges and triumphs of building a business from scratch. Amy is the host of the top-ranked podcast "Online Marketing Made Easy," and the owner of a multi-million dollar digital course business. She is also the author of Two Weeks Notice, a guide to quitting your job and building your own business. Get ready to be inspired as we uncover Amy's secrets to building a thriving business and learn how you...
May 31, 2023•56 min•Ep 443•Transcript available on Metacast #442: An anonymous caller is struggling with a tempting offer from her family to buy her first house. Chris recently tripled his income. How should he manage this unexpected surplus? Tyson is wondering if it's a good time to convert his bonds into treasuries. Jaula wants to know if she should count her side hustle income as part of her retirement money. Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in todays episode. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question? Leave it here. Learn mor...
May 24, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 442•Transcript available on Metacast #441: Its GRADUATION WEEK! For those of you whove been following along this past year, you know that Ive been completing the Knight - Bagehot Fellowship at Columbia University. This week, my family and I are celebrating the countless hours of studying, all-nighters and eye opening experiences, so here at Afford Anything, were airing an important episode from our archives. This episode addresses important questions weve been getting from the Afford Anything community, including: Where do I invest...
May 18, 2023•54 min•Ep 441•Transcript available on Metacast #440: An anonymous caller wants to retire and travel in 20 to 30 years. How does she know if shes saving enough? Trace plans to take a mini-retirement next year. Where should she keep her savings until then? Samantha and her partner have lived out of their truck for 20 years. They sorta-kinda feel ready to buy a house and settle down. But theyre hesitating. What if they hate it? Barbara, an anonymous caller from Episode 422, is struggling with a scarcity mindset. How does she stop worrying about...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 440•Transcript available on Metacast #439: There are massive rapid changes unfurling in the financial world. This weeks biggest news: First Republic Bank collapsed; JP Morgan Chase acquired it. (As it happens, I was one of 12 people who was lucky enough to have dinner with Chase CEO Jamie Dimon exactly one week ago just days before the acquisition. I tell that story around the 8-minute mark of todays episode.) The Fed issued a 10th consecutive rate hike, raising interest rates another quarter of a percentage point. Inflation is sti...
May 04, 2023•2 hr 34 min•Ep 439•Transcript available on Metacast #438: Do you want to save money? Or do you want to enjoy your life? Thats a common question, but its strange. It assumes these ideas are opposites: frugality is synonymous with deprivation; spending is a proxy for enjoyment. That premise is wrong. Lets stop conflating spending with happiness. Lets stop using savings or free as a euphemism for second-tier or sucky. Most online articles that discuss free or frugal enjoyment are poorly-thought-through listicles that offer half-baked ideas, like go ...
Apr 27, 2023•48 min•Ep 438•Transcript available on Metacast 
