#179: Should a couple in New Orleans sell their single-family home and use the sale proceeds to househack into a duplex? What do you think about turnkey investments? What tax consequences will someone face if they transfer their property to their parents? How do you handle tough situations related to the way some home renovation contractors treat women? What’s the latest update on your real estate course? I answer these five questions on today’s podcast. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode179  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#178: Tanja Hester retired at age 38. She had a negative net worth until her late 20's, thanks to a combination of student loans, buying expensive cocktails and clothes, living far beyond her means, and not paying attention to her money. If you were to have met the 27-year-old version of Tanja, you wouldn't guess that she'd be a likely candidate for retiring early. Yet a decade later, she's saved 40x of her annual cost of living. How? Tanja worked as a political consultant in Los Angeles, and during her career, ascended to important high-ranking roles. Every promotion came with more grueling hours, accompanied by a raise. Tanja maintained her same standard of living, banking every raise. This simple strategy allowed her to rapidly grow her net worth. She didn't obsess about penny-pinching. She didn't clip 50 cent coupons for shampoo and soap. Instead, she focused her efforts on getting that next promotion, that next raise, and when it arrived, she saved and invested every additional cent. Today, at age 39, Tanja has published her first book, Work Optional, about saving enough to retire and live a lifestyle in which paid work is an option rather than a necessity. She joins us on this week's podcast to talk about the lessons she outlines in Work Optional. Here are 5 takeaways from this conversation. #1: We're taught that "you are what you contribute to the economy." Most of us learn, either explicitly or implicitly, that our self-worth is directly correlated with our economic efforts. This is an idea that we need to unpack and process as we face retirement, a mini-retirement, or any career transition. #2: Research shows that we perceive all change as loss, even if the change is positive. Retirement is a loss of identity. It's one of the most stressful and anxiety-producing life events. #3: Retirement and wealth will not create happiness. Money won't magically fix your life, health, relationships, outlook, or anything else. It's a tool that can help, but it's not a silver bullet. #4: A morning routine is grounding. It's an effective way to start your day feeling centered and calm. I'd recommend this for everyone, regardless of whether you're retired or not. #5: The easiest way to save is to keep living at the same level you're currently at, while earning more. Enjoy the podcast episode! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode178  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#177: Imagine that your job is extremely well-paying, but you don’t enjoy it. You’d like to switch employers, even though this will probably require a paycut. But before you make the switch, you want to accomplish two goals: buy a home and catch up on retirement savings. Should you pursue both goals? Or should you defer the home purchase, given the potential future paycut? If you decide to pursue both goals, which one should come first? This is one of the five questions that former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer in this week’s podcast episode. We also answer a question from a listener who’s self-employed and wants to contribute more to his retirement accounts. We talk to another listener who’s living on $600 monthly paychecks while maxing out his Mega Backdoor Roth contributions. We talk to a 22-year-old with an $80,000 salary who’s debating between paying off her student loans vs. investing. And we answer a question from a listener who’s wondering what she should do with 401k accounts from previous employers. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode177  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#176: Cal Newport created a philosophy called digital minimalism, which is idea of reducing your digital life down to only the most important core essentials. Remove the apps from your phone, then slowly re-introduce only the ones that are the most useful and beneficial. Take control of your smartphone, rather than letting it control you.   Digital minimalism is a philosophy of technology use. This philosophy pulls from the concepts of minimalism, essentialism, the slow movement, and the 80/20 principle, applying these ideas towards your digital life. Cal discusses the digital minimalist philosophy on today’s episode. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode176  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#175: Larry Swedroe is one of the most respected investment thinkers and writers of our time. He's published 8 books on investing, including one of the first books to explain the science of investing to a layperson audience. He recently wrote an ultra-comprehensive guide to retirement planning. He joins us on the show today to discuss the nuances of investing and retirement planning. We talk about the stock market (is it going to fall soon? Are we heading for a recession?), we talk about risk (including three dimensions of risk that all investors should consider), and we talk about what traditional retirees vs. early retirees should know. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode175  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#174: Should a 48-year-old New Yorker who’s retiring next year buy more rental properties? Should a Michigan-based first-time homebuyer use an FHA loan to buy a duplex for $135,000 that rents for $1,800 per month? Should a 40-year-old music professor who owns a duplex transfer his property into an LLC? Should a New Jersey condo owner sell her unit as For Sale by Owner? And should a woman who’s anxious about owning her own rental properties dive into real estate crowdfunding deals instead? I answer these five rental property questions in today’s podcast episode. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode174 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#173: Paulette Perhach is a journalist who has been published in The New York Times, Slate, ELLE, Marie Claire, and Cosmo. But we’re not going to talk about that today. We’re going to talk about the fact that she’s made every decision by putting her life first, and then forcing her career to follow. She’s hiked through jungles and watched eclipses and volunteered with the Peace Corps. She’s been on crazy adventures in far-flung places. She endured unimaginable pain and it’s because of those challenges -- not despite them, but because of them -- that she knows her one precious, wild life is too short to spend in a cubicle. Many people who pursue financial independence are looking for a fully-funded lifestyle change. But Paulette made an unfunded change. She lives her life, and then figures out how the money follows. What can we learn from her resourcefulness? Find out in this episode. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode173  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#172: Should a 25-year-old homeowner with healthy savings and no debt (other than his mortgage) upgrade his car? Should he make this choice if his current car is fine, and upgrading puts him into new debt? Should a couple without access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan put their savings into a taxable account, or should they save for a downpayment on a rental property? The market is fluctuating like mad; if someone has a lump-sum of cash, should they invest it now or should they slowly meter it in? Should someone without an emergency fund enroll in an HSA-qualified health insurance plan? Or should they stick with a plan that has a smaller deductible? How should a husband-and-wife team that’s self-employed and running a company together handle their health insurance? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I answer these five questions on today’s podcast. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode172  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#171: Chris Hogan surveyed 10,000 millionaires in the United States. Here's what he discovered: - 89 percent of millionaires have a net worth between $1 million to $5 million dollars - 62 percent graduated from public state schools - 9 percent didn't graduate from college - Close to 50 percent had a B average or less in school - 55 percent give to charities and churches on a regular, monthly basis - 73 percent never had a penny of credit card debt - 18 percent are self-employed - 62 percent earned a household income of less than $100,000 annually - 80 percent exercise at least three times a week. On average, their homes are 2,600 square feet, and they've lived there for an average of 17 years. Two-thirds have a paid-off mortgage. They paid off their home on average in 11 years. Their net worth breaks down as one-third their home, and two-thirds their investments. They became millionaires at the average age of 49. They spend, on average, $35 on a pair of jeans.   What can we learn from these everyday millionaires? Find out in today's episode! For more, visit https://affordanything.com/episode171  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#170: When should you NOT use the one percent rule for rental property investing? In today’s episode, I encourage two callers to violate the One Percent Rule for real estate that they already own. WHAAATTTT? Why would I say that? Especially given that I’ve gained a bit of a reputation as The World’s Most Staunch Advocate of the One Percent Rule? (Long title, I know, but someone’s gotta wear it.) And if you’re not going to use the One Percent Rule, how should you make decisions about your real estate investments instead? Find out in this podcast episode. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode170  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices