Afford Anything

#402: Do you wrestle with the idea of leaving your savings in an account earning next to nothing versus investing it in the stock market?Do you use investment strategies that allow you to work with your nature, rather than against it?Are you careful to seek investment advice from those who share your investment goals, or do you get caught up in the trends of day traders?Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, joins us to discuss why investing is not the study of finance, but the study of how people behave with money. Morgan is an award-winning financial journalist, former columnist for the Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool, and one of the foremost thinkers in the world of investing.As a long-term investor who shares our buy-and-hold philosophy, Morgan has behavioral finance insights that can help us invest for financial independence with more clarity and a better understanding of ourselves.We discuss how to develop self-awareness around biases, the importance of flexibility for long-term strategies, saving like a pessimist and investing like an optimist, becoming durable in the face of market adversity, the key difference between patience and stubbornness (and how it affects your mindset), expectation management, the importance of bonds and emergency funds, and a difficult lesson about tail risks that Morgan learned at age 17.You’ll enjoy this episode if… You’re super Type A with your investment portfolio and have a hard time letting go of plans that didn’t work out You want to learn a framework that can help you roll with the inevitable punches of the stock market You feel behind and have no idea how to develop a sense of what ‘enough’ is You’re tired of trying to overcome your inherent biases and reactions to the market and want to try something different For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode402 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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.F.I.R.E. holds four pillars: Financial psychology, Investing, Real estate, and Entrepreneurship.This September, we’re running four weeks of episodes focusing on each of these four pillars. Today, we kick off with an episode focused on financial psychology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we’re sharing three talks given at the EconoMe conference, with each of these talks relating to F.I.R.E.The three discussions are: FI-Landia is a lie - What I Learned On My Journey To F.I.R.E., with Carl Jensen What If You Achieve All Your Goals But You’re Still Not Happy, with Rich Jones How To Never Again Say, “I Can’t Afford It”, with Paula Pant Details below:Carl Jensen:05:27: Session begins08:02: Sharing the message of financial independence and being hit with the “What If’s”12:24: The concern about running out of money20:16: The real value of fireRich Jones:32:50: Session begins35:55: The importance of knowing who you are, what you want, and why39:36: Day jobs: love vs. purpose43:26: Why you should track your work46:18: How to think like a recruiter51:44: Why giving yourself permission could be your game changerPaula Pant:59:34: Session begins1:02:21: The importance of reframing the word “can’t”1:10:29: Traditional budgets, zero based budgets and anti budgets1:19:49: The benefit of high friction activities * Timestamps accurate as of September 2022. Starting 60 days after episode release, timestamps may shift slightly as we make updates and changes**The next EconoMe will be held March 17th-19th 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information or 10% off tickets, please go to: EconoMe Conference and use discount code: AFFORDANYTHING. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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?Sam has been investing for several decades and thinks that he should stay invested in his portfolio, despite the recent drop in value…but he is still wondering if there’s a chance that he should sell.Meisha is making more money at her new job but can’t contribute to her 401(k) for the first six months - what should she do with her extra money in this interim??Kyria is a young investor with multiple goals: she’s wondering how to best save for a downpayment without it being eroded by inflation and also whether her investment choices should take on more risk, since time is on her side.Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.Enjoy!P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode399 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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.These passions have led him to being featured in a documentary on financial Independence called “Playing with FIRE” and collecting millions of points and miles.If you want to learn more about optimizing your spend so that you can travel with less of an impact to your bank account, you’ll want to hear what Chris has to say.Timing of discussion points as per August 2022:04:13: Is travel hacking a good use of time?08:15: What is the simple path to optimizing spend?09:108: Why focus on one rewards program?10:46: Why are there recommendations for transferable point programs and what are the benefits of co branded cards?18:08: How can the value of points or miles be estimated?22:08: Is the best redemption value in booking business class international flights?32:34: How do you know the best flight to book for optimal redemption?37:00: What is the difference between airline miles and credit card points?38:25: What is a “positioning” flight and how do I utilize this strategy?47:42: What is the process for choosing flights based on reward redemptions?57:15: What are the best ways to boost an existing points balance?1:02:12: Discussion on credit cards with crypto rewards…1:04:17: Tips for those who want deals but don’t want to work with miles or points…For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode398 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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?!Jon from Colorado is curious about after tax contributions to a Roth 401k, and would like us to talk about why we wouldn’t recommend it.Anna is househacking, and she locked down an awesome interest rate. But, she’s still carrying PMI and is wondering if there’s a way to remove the PMI without refinancing.Courtney from Denver is a real estate investor who wants to invest in new locations, and wants tips on building out her network.Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these four questions in today’s episode.Enjoy!P.S. Got a question? Leave it here.For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode397 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#396: International best selling author and leadership speaker, Julie Winkle Giulioni, talks through a multidimensional career framework that features eight dimensions of career development.She spells out how to apply the dimensions of contribution, competence, connection, confidence, challenge, contentment, choice and climb to different parts of your professional life, whether that’s assessing your current job, navigating a conversation with your superior or setting yourself up for the next progression.In this episode, we cover:01:15: Introducing the topic of optimizing engagement at work05:02: The “Why” behind the Great Resignation07:28: How to feel like you’re making a true contribution14:01:The need to increase competence for growth16:03: Solving for boredom with your superior23:16: Forging connections in the era of remote work32:18: Enhancing confidence and imposter syndrome38:36: Appreciating the role of contentment in the workplace39:18: The dimensions of choice and climbEnjoy!For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode396 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#395: Welcome to Invest Anywhere, our monthly series on long-distance real estate investing.Invest Anywhere airs on the First Friday of each month and is co-hosted by Paula Pant and Suni Rao.In this episode, we tackle the challenging decision of how to evaluate a city for rental property investment.We will cover three specific sets of analysis, talking through a macro business cycle view, a more specific economic analysis, and then encourage you to review your own personal network.Enjoy!01:30: Topic introduction2:30: Evaluation to be discussed: Business cycle, economics, and hierarchy of boots on the ground5:48: High level look at the business cycle08:40: The four phases of the business cycle11:12: The peak phase of the business cycle25:40: The recession phase of the business cycle37:15: The recovery phase of the business cycle39:40:: The expansion phase of the business cycle47:10: Factors to consider when choosing a specific economy57:48: Hierarchy of boots on the groundFor more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode395 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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.Sheryl gets stock from her company, and she would usually sell it…but the stock value has decreased. And now, she isn’t sure what she should do.Heather inherited an IRA but MUST empty it within ten years - but she doesn’t need it right now. What should she do??Julie and her husband have access to an HSA for ONE MONTH. Can they max it out before they lose access to it?In today's episode, former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these tough questions.Enjoy!Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode394 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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.00:44: Introducing Chuck Jaffe03:05: How people interacted with the market in the 1980’s06:50: Dealer and liquidity risk when investing in the market09:23: How the environment 40 years ago impacted investor psychology 12:53: Long term impact of Black Friday, the worst market crash experienced by any living investor16:10: Discussion of fund options that are more illiquid and can sell at discounts 18:04: The combined influence of access real time data and the ability act in real time 28:31: Moving away from employee supported retirement plans29:00: The difference between financial education and financial literacy31:26: Chuck’s take on the 4% rule50:16: Portfolio and personal optimizationFor more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode393 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices