Afford Anything

#352: Anna and her husband have volatile income, but Anna thinks that having 18 months of living expenses is unnecessary. She’s torn between paying off her student loans ($30,000) or investing the money. Mentally, she always figured she would pay off her debt first, but wouldn’t investing pay off in the long run?Charlotte and her husband are taking a phased approach to financial independence, where they need to bridge two gaps before they each turn 59 ½. How can they calculate how much they need at each phase?Elle has a retirement plan in place, but her company is adding a Roth 403(b) option soon. Should she stay the course or adjust her strategy in these last five years before retiring?Sara wants to purchase land and build her dream house by refinancing her rental property and turning her current home into a second rental. How can she improve this plan?Joe Saul-Sehy, my friend and former financial planner, joins me to tackle these questions on today’s episode.Do you have a question on business, money, trade-offs, financial independence strategies, travel, or investing? Leave it at here and we’ll answer them in a future episode.Get the show notes delivered to your inbox by visiting https://affordanything.com/shownotes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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.The simple framework he presents allows you to focus deeply and commit to the actions you need to take if you want to take your productivity to the next level this year.Get the show notes delivered to your inbox by visiting https://affordanything.com/shownotes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#350: Anonymous and her husband have set themselves on the path of saving for retirement. But an old mistake haunts them: a financial planner convinced them to buy a mix of whole and term life insurance, which costs them $700 per month. Do they need whole life insurance, and where else can they save their money?Mike has $60,000 in cash earning one percent interest. He has plans to buy a home and get married in three to five years. Where else can he put his cash to earn a little more? Is the stock market too risky for such a short time horizon?Anonymous and her future husband are wondering: what’s a realistic amount to spend on a wedding?My friend and former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer these questions on today’s episode. 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.To subscribe to the show notes, go to https://affordanything.com/shownotes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#349: A frank and candid conversation about life, dead-lifting, and enjoying the hell out of doing meaningful work.For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode349 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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?Anonymous from MA is flummoxed by HSA-compatible health plans. His copay and deductible are awful, and even bronze plans seem better. Are HSA plans overrated, or does the math work out?Julia and her husband, both 27, want to retire by their early to mid-40s. Is there a point at which they should stop contributing to tax advantaged accounts and only contribute to taxable accounts?Ileana and her family like their home, but it needs to be bigger. A cash-out refi didn’t give them enough funds for their dream renovation. Should they put their money into the market in the hopes that it will grow large enough to fund a future renovation? Or should they move into a bigger house, rent out their house, and fix it up years down the road?Nick has a seasonal business. Can a sweep account help stabilize him?My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these questions on today’s show. 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/episode348 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#347: Back in the 1960’s, Jack Bogle thought that actively-managed mutual funds performed better than a passive indexing strategy.He pseudonymously published a paper saying so.But academic data from the University of Chicago challenged his preconceived notions. He attended seminars that showed how the drag on returns that come from management fees and trading costs, coupled with the reality that the bulk of gains come from a hard-to-predict handful of equities (a concept known as “skew”), lead to index funds holding long-term outperformance.At the time, index funds were only available to major institutional investors. Regular folks couldn’t access these winners.And that might have continued for a long time …… except history turned on a dime.In the early 1970’s, Jack Bogle got fired. Rather than accept defeat, he turned into a renegade. He launched Vanguard and began offering index funds to ordinary individual investors.And the rest, as they say, is history.In today’s episode, we learn about the revolutionary ideas that paved the path to passive investing.We learn about the radical invention of the index fund.We discover the drama, the tenacity, the betrayal and redemption behind it.And we discover the lessons that the history of the index fund holds.Enjoy!For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode347 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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?Anonymous and his wife have $275,000 saved and a child on the way. They’re 27 and want to reach financial independence by 35. They want to buy a house, but with this crazy market, what’s the smartest way for them to use their savings?Anonymous and his wife are 30 and hope to reach financial independence in five years. They want to know: is a taxable brokerage account the best place for their leftover $1,000 after they max out their pre-tax 401k contributions?Norm wants to buy a house in cash and doesn’t want his name on public record. Is it possible for him to stay anonymous?Sharon called in on episode 336 and called back to clarify her question. Her husband purchased a below-market property which has a cap that limits how much they can sell it for. Should they keep the home, or sell it, even if they can’t get the full price for it?Joe Saul-Sehy, my friend and former financial planner, joins me to tackle these questions on today’s episode.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/episode346 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#345: Let’s talk about one of the biggest expenses you might ever encounter: health care costs.When you get a hospital bill, do you understand it? After all, it looks like it’s written in code (and sometimes it literally is).How do you know if the bill is accurate? Has everything been coded properly? Are you being charged for the services that you actually received?If you need to dispute an item, what’s the process?Pulitzer Prize finalist Marshall Allen joins us to shed light on the complex world of medical billing. He breaks down the “explanation of benefits,” describes a step-by-step process for obtaining your medical records, and explains an actionable plan for how to contest a bill.If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the complexity of your health care bills, you’ll learn a lot from this concise, informative episode.Enjoy!For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode345 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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?Anonymous is on track to be financially independent in 14 years, but isn’t living up to her potential working a boring job. How can she live up to her potential and do more without sacrificing her quality of life?C wants to know what tax implications she should consider before working remotely from abroad?Daan is wondering if he should stake or lend his current cryptocurrency portfolio to make additional gains on assets he plans to hold long-term?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/episode344 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#343: The real estate market in 2021 has been bonkers.That’s the technical term.From 2012 to 2020, home prices nationwide rose at an annualized average of 5.8 percent per year.From April 2020 to April 2021, home prices climbed 17.2 percent.This sudden surge in prices has many homeowners and would-be investors fearful of a crash. The memories of the stark price run-up prior to The Great Recession are all too salient.What goes up must come down, right?Not exactly. In this episode, we walk through market fundamentals — discussing housing supply, lumber prices, and the distinction between cheap credit vs easy credit — to illustrate how today’s market is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.More importantly, we offer tips for everyone —whether you’re a renter looking to get into your starter home, an empty-nester looking to downsize, an owner-occupant who wants to lock in your gains, or a curious aspiring investor who wonders if it’s too late.Enjoy!For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode343 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices