#497: Princeton Professor Daniel Kahneman never took an economics class. But he won the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics, thanks to his advancements in understanding the psychology of money. In todays episode, we pay homage to the late Dr. Kahneman, who passed away on March 27 at age 90. We also discuss the jobs report, inflation data, the booming stock market, the next Bitcoin halving, Capital Ones acquisition of Discover, and the National Association of Realtors settlement. Enjoy! For more inform...
Apr 06, 2024•37 min•Ep 497•Transcript available on Metacast #496: How much of a pay cut would you take for a lighter workload? Today we hear from Paul, 35, whos grappling with that question. Pauls boss offered him the chance to cut his hours and salary by 25 percent. Hed love to work fewer hours. He has a decent net worth, plenty of savings, and no debt. Should he grab the opportunity? Or stick with his long-term financial independence and early retirement plans? An anonymous caller and her husband want to retire at 55. They also want a bigger home, a be...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep 500•Transcript available on Metacast #495: Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911. She's famous for her work in radioactivity. Lin-Manual Miranda is a songwriter, producer and director who won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2016, as well as several Tony awards. What do they have in common? They lived a century apart. They innovated in disparate fields. But they shared a similar productivity practice. Both achieved greatness by embracing the practice of slow productivity, says Geo...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep 495•Transcript available on Metacast #494: Tatyana is about to pay off her house at age 39! Whats next? Her husband, who earns twice as much (and whom she met after she bought the home), has no savings. They want a boat. Should she focus there? Matthew recently ended a relationship that resulted in a real estate buyout with an 8.1 percent interest rate. With rates expected to decline, how long should he wait to refinance the loan? Rachels friends know her as the finance gal, but shes stumped about closed-end funds. What should she ...
Mar 20, 2024•50 min•Ep 494•Transcript available on Metacast #493: Do you ever wonder what happens behind closed doors on Wall Street? Vivian Tu, also known as Your Rich BFF, is here to spill the tea. Vivian grew up in a modest immigrant family. After college, she found herself working insane hours on Wall Street after college. While working on Wall Street, Vivian saw some weird things. Once, a coworker stumbled hungover into the office after a trip to Atlantic City, carrying a duffel bag with thousands of dollars in cash inside. Vivian realized that ther...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr•Ep 493•Transcript available on Metacast #492: Christines business is struggling. She needs more income. If she adds a full-time remote job to her plate, how will her retirement and finances change? Rob enjoyed a banner year in 2023. He made over $1 million. But the sting of income tax has him making moves that violate his investment strategy. Is his tax tail wagging the dog? Gena is excited to make the most of business deductions. Can she contribute 100 percent of her wages to a 401k and have the company match that? Christina is tired...
Mar 07, 2024•56 min•Ep 492•Transcript available on Metacast #491: Welcome, Emma Chamberlains fans!! Thanks for joining the Afford Anything community. You can find out how to escape the 9-to-5 grind at affordanything.com/escape Once a month, on the First Friday of the month, we explore the hot economic and money stories that are dominating the headlines. These days, Bitcoin is back in the news. As of Friday morning, March 1st, its price ranged around $62,000, which is pretty darn close to its previous all-time high of $68,700. But why? Crypto was hot in 2...
Mar 01, 2024•23 min•Ep 491•Transcript available on Metacast #490: Great communication will get you a raise. It'll get you promoted. You'll land the corner office. You'll make friends and be the life of the party. You'll land business deals and form lucrative partnerships. Supercommunication is a superpower. But how do we build it? Sometimes, you might walk away froma conversation with the joy of having made a cool new friend. Or you snagged a critical piece of information that you realllllly needed. Or you successfully negotiated an extra $5,000 off your...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep 490•Transcript available on Metacast #489: Cara made $100,000 in commissions this year, her biggest bonus ever. What should she do with the money if she wants to retire early? An anonymous caller is upset that the 401k plan he sold his boss on is charging him an Assets Under Management (AUM) fee. Should he keep the 401k at all? Remy and her husband need to come up with $30,000 for IVF treatments. How do they build their family without breaking the family finances in the process? Another anonymous caller and his partner have lived i...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep 489•Transcript available on Metacast #488: Ever made a flippant, seemingly minor decision that radically changed the course of your life? Morgan Housel has experienced this. At age 17, he made a quick decision that ended up saving his life. Sadly, two of his friends were less fortunate. He shares that story in today's podcast episode, and sheds light on the lessons he's learned from it. Housel says that his lifesaving choice -- and many of our other important decisions -- are snap verdicts, ones that we dont spend much time thinkin...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 488•Transcript available on Metacast #487: Luiss wife is killing it at her side hustle. The unexpected income has led Luis to YouTube for hacks to capitalize on their surplus. Can a 529 plan double as long-term care savings? Elizabeth is frustrated with the housing market. Shes been saving for years but isnt anywhere near her goal. Should she give up and spend it on a dream pottery course instead? Steve has a dilemma. He doesnt borrow money on principle. And his wife doesnt want to sell their current house until theyve closed on th...
Feb 07, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep 487•Transcript available on Metacast #486: By every definition of the word, were in a bull market. The S&P 500 hit record highs for five consecutive days last week, and remained strong throughout this week. The Dow is above 38,000 for the first time in history. Unemployment has stayed below 4 percent for 24 months, marking the strongest employment in half a century. And consumer sentiment, which reflects more pessimism than the data warrants, is showing signs of improvement. The Fed met this week and decided to hold rates steady, a...
Feb 02, 2024•54 min•Ep 486•Transcript available on Metacast #485: If youve ever thought: "Id love a business BUT I dont have TIME I dont have MONEY I dont have IDEAS I have TOO MANY ideas and I don't know where to start I'm not technical I'm not creative or artistic I'm not good at sales You're not alone. Countless people don't start businesses or side hustles for these reasons. And they're losing thousands -- perhaps millions -- in opportunity cost. How much could you make if you started a side hustle that eventually scaled into a business? Possibly mil...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep 485•Transcript available on Metacast #484: Kristens financial advisor charges a 1.3 percent fee on her investments. They also sold her term life, whole life, and long-term disability insurance. Do they have her best interests at heart? Casey has $290,000 in student loan debt. He committed 10 years to one employer for a chance at public service loan forgiveness. But five years in, Casey questions what hes missing out on. Sara feels like its time to move to a more conservative asset allocation but shes torn between buying bonds from ...
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep 484•Transcript available on Metacast #483: Competitive. Results oriented. Driven to be the very best. These are a few ways to describe achievement culture. Achievement culture can also be described as stressful, high pressure and unhealthy. Yet, there is consistently the pressure internally and externally to make more money, be a better parent, spouse, friend, or employee. These burdens comes at a heavy cost to our well-being. Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of the New York Times Best Seller Never Enough: When Achievement Culture ...
Jan 18, 2024•49 min•Ep 483•Transcript available on Metacast #482: A caller named M wonders if liquidating stocks for a larger down payment makes sense in a high-interest rate environment. An anonymous caller wants to take a pay cut to pursue his passions. But 75 percent of his net worth is in real estate. Is this too risky? Tiffanie hasnt saved enough for early retirement, but she has a plan to use home equity to accelerate her goals. Is this going to work? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in todays episode. Enjoy...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep 482•Transcript available on Metacast #481: Predicting the stock market is a terrible idea. But we can look at economic indicators and upcoming events to get a big-picture, 30,000-foot view of where our economy might be heading in 2024. In todays episode, we explore whats in store for 2024. We talk about the recent surge in Bitcoin prices, and the expected SEC approval of a Bitcoin ETF. We discuss when the Fed will lower interest rates, and the impact this might have on home buying. We talk about Robert Kiyosakis recent admission th...
Jan 05, 2024•34 min•Ep 481•Transcript available on Metacast #480: The death of a sibling. Being declared dead after a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Suffering financially during the Great Recession. CANCER. Todays guest, Hal Elrod, has battled all of these tough challenges. His little sister passed away in his mother's arms. Years later, Hal was hit by a drunk driver, broke 11 bones, declared dead, and once revived, learned that he might have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (He eventually regained his ability to walk.) And after th...
Jan 04, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep 480•Transcript available on Metacast #479: Nicoles 78-year-old mom is paying huge fees for low returns. How can Nicole help her mom make better investments? Paul is a single dad, worried about paying his daughters college costs. Hes trying to figure out how to report lower income on the FAFSA, so that his daughter can get better financial aid. Nick is in his 40s. His long-term care insurance rate is nearly doubling. Should he stop spending on this type of insurance? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three qu...
Dec 27, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 479•Transcript available on Metacast #478: Ever skipped that extra drink, pricey cheese, or a night out for the sake of your wallet? If this feels familiar, then youll appreciate todays episode with Jamila Souffrant. Jamila is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, podcast host, and author, guiding us on making savvy choices to save while still having fun. Jamila explores the power of understanding our ""why not,"" staying motivated on our financial paths, shaping a success-bound mindset, and posing THREE crucial self-assessme...
Dec 20, 2023•58 min•Ep 478•Transcript available on Metacast #477: Kayla is torn between paying off a loan early or catching up on missed retirement contributions. Josh wants to retire early and meets the threshold for zero capital gains taxes. Should he put all his retirement savings into a brokerage account? An anonymous caller wants to know how to merge financial lives with her husband from another country. Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in todays episode. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question? Leave it at https://afford...
Dec 13, 2023•1 hr•Ep 477•Transcript available on Metacast #476: Mike Massimino stared in disbelief at his TV. The date was July 16, 1969, and he marveled as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. At that moment, he knew he wanted to become an astronaut. He was six years old. But as Mike grew older, he developed more realistic dreams. After all, every kid wants to become an astronaut. The chances of making it are incredibly slim. He went to a local college, studied engineering, and took a job at IBM. But he couldnt shake the tiny voice insid...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep 476•Transcript available on Metacast #475: Born in 1924, Charlie Munger was raised during the Great Depression. At the time of his death on Tuesday, his net worth was estimated at $2.6 billion. But Mungers greatest achievement wasnt merely the scorecard of his net worth. His wit and wisdom, which Munger shared with the world through his book, Poor Charlies Almanack, which made him one of the most respected investors of the last century. Munger is the man who taught Warren Buffet how to invest. Hes lauded as the moral compass of Ber...
Dec 01, 2023•24 min•Ep 475•Transcript available on Metacast #474: When Tiffany Aliche was in her 20s, she fell victim to a credit card scam. A crafty swindler convinced her to take out a cash advance against her credit card for $35,000. He said that hed invest the money and produce Bernie Madoff-style returns. She was an inexperienced investor. She believed him. She never saw that money again. Aliche worked at a preschool. She didnt make much money to begin with. But matters worsened when the school shut down, and she lost her job. She fell behind on mor...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 474•Transcript available on Metacast #473: Sarah has cash to pay a $8,000 medical bill but shes reluctant to drain her savings. Should she sign up for the hospitals interest-free payment plan? Jennie is an independent consultant but gets paid as a W-2 employee. Without access to a SEP IRA or a 401k plan, is there another option to save for retirement? An anonymous caller is wondering how to run a cost-benefit analysis on pursuing a graduate degree. Brian is getting inundated with spam calls as a real estate investor. Is there a way...
Nov 24, 2023•56 min•Ep 473•Transcript available on Metacast #472: Imagine this: Youre a teenage musical prodigy, a world-class classical French horn player. You drop out of college at age 19 and spend your twenties touring the globe as a musician (including, once, tripping and falling off the stage at Carnegie Hall). At age 31, you retire from your musical career, get a Ph.D., and become a professor first at Syracuse and then at Harvard, where you teach both at Harvard Business School and at the Harvard Kennedy School. You publish 13 books and write a co...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep 472•Transcript available on Metacast #471: Bob split a $350,000 windfall between savings and paying down his mortgage. But now hes wondering if he made a good choice. Can Paula and Joe do the math to justify his gut-driven decisions? Julia wants to tap the equity from a second home to buy a third home in Texarkana, Texas. Is this a good plan? Joey Jr. wants to retire early, put two kids through college and buy a vacation home within the next five years. How can he afford to do it all? An anonymous caller wonders if $1 million is a ...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 471•Transcript available on Metacast #470: The economy is booming. GDP grew 4.9 percent last quarter, the fastest rate of growth since 2021. Consumer spending jumped 4 percent. Unemployment is holding steady at 3.8 percent, historically low. The U.S. added net new jobs for the 34th consecutive month. And yet people are worried. Online discussion around layoffs at its highest point since July 2020. High-profile headlines about major staffing cuts most recently from Schwab, which is dismissing 2,000 employees fuel these fears. Why is...
Nov 03, 2023•36 min•Ep 470•Transcript available on Metacast #469: Lindy feels like her $300,000 of accumulated equity could be put to better use. But she doesnt want to buy more real estate right now. Whatre her options? Katie wants to become a landlord in her home state but shes concerned about the effects of redlining. Should she look into Section 8? Claudia lives in Germany and wants to buy an apartment in Manhattan. But she knows nothing about US real estate. Where does she start? I tackle these questions in todays episode. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question...
Nov 01, 2023•50 min•Ep 469•Transcript available on Metacast Money management is all about setting priorities. Maybe you have the twin goals of sending your kids to college while also saving enough for retirement. And maybe youre struggling to figure out how to balance the two. Today, Bryan Kuderna, a certified financial planner, shares a framework for helping us set priorities. We talk about the importance of economic literacy, in addition to financial literacy. We discuss how retirement has changed throughout history. And we apply those broader lessons ...
Oct 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 468•Transcript available on Metacast 
