#110: Happy New Years! We're kicking off this year on a bright and cheerful note -- with a conversation about the impending recession! Yay! The U.S. stock market is at a peak, continuing its 9-year bull run. The markets have been rising since March 2009 without any major corrections or pullbacks. We are living in one of the longest periods of economic expansion in our nation's market history. That's worrisome. Speculators with short memories are popping champagne corks thinking the good times will last forever, while those of us who are students of history know that what goes up must come down. Trying to guess WHEN the next recession will happen is a waste of time. A more efficient use of time is to prepare ourselves such that when it does happen -- whenever that may be -- we are ready. How can we prepare for a recession? That's one of the four topics I cover in today's episode. Specifically, here's what we chat about in this first episode of 2018: Thayne asks: 1) Broadly -- What are the best investments overall if you're going into a recession? 2) Specifically -- What's the most recession-proof type of real estate investment? Aaron from Portland, Oregon asks: In Episode 96, you discussed the benefits of real estate investing -- but you didn't mention the use of leverage, nor did you mention that real estate is an inefficient market. Why not? Anna from the San Francisco Bay Area asks: I've moved out of my condo, which I'm renting out. But the rent only covers the mortgage (PITI) and HOA. Should I sell the condo? If so, I could use $250,000 in equity for an alternate investment, such as buying rental properties out-of-state. Enjoy! _____ Resources Mentioned: How to Calculate Cap Rate and Cash-on-Cash Return -- http://affordanything.com/2012/01/25/income-property   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#109: Happy holidays! I thought it would be nice to wrap up this year with a lighthearted holiday episode about the importance of keeping a positive attitude. Will Bowen, my guest on the final episode of 2017 (wow!), started a campaign to motivate people to complain less. He noticed that many people in his community said they wanted more stuff -- more possessions -- but they complained about what they already had. So he wondered if perhaps people could find happiness not by purchasing more, but rather by complaining less. In this episode, he discusses how we can move towards a complaint-free lifestyle. I thought this would be a cheerful, light interview to round out this year. Enjoy, and happy holidays! - Paula   For more information, visit the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode109 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#108: Former financial advisor Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer audience questions about investing strategies, early retirement, and tax planning. Whitnee calls in with this: I'm 31, and my husband and I save half of our combined income. We've maxed out our H.S.A. accounts and we're getting an employer match in our 401k. We have $80,000 stashed as cash in a checking or low-yield savings account. We're paying nearly $2,000 per month for insurance policies, most of which is a whole life insurance policy. We have a rental property that cash flows $210 per month; we pocket $150 and use the other $60 as an extra principal payment. What should we do differently? How can we learn about investing? What funds should we focus on? Should we sell our rental property and invest the proceeds, or hold onto this? If we hold, should we focus on repaying the mortgage as quickly as possible? Kim asks about the 4 percent withdrawal rule in early retirement. When you're calculating your savings goal, do you need to account for the tax implications of this withdrawal? Any tips on how to optimize this? Susan says: I loved your explanation about how to use a Roth Conversion Ladder to avoid paying stiff early-withdrawal penalties in retirement. (Episode 94). Here's my follow-up question: How long should my money sit inside of a Traditional IRA before I convert it to a Roth IRA? We tackle these three questions on today's episode. Enjoy! _______________________________________ Resources Mentioned: Whitnee's question: Books: Investing Made Simple by Mike Piper Can I Retire? by Mike Piper The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John Bogle The Wealth Barber by David Chilton The Truth About Money by Ric Edelman Websites: Oblivious Investor by Mike Piper FINRA Broker Check Afford Anything article: I Don't Know How to Start Investing and I'm Afraid of Expensive Mistakes Kim's question: Two articles critiquing the 4 percent withdrawal rule: - https://www.americanfunds.com/ria/insights/can-i-retire-at-40.html?cid=sm_tw_50306 - https://www.cnbc.com/2014/11/03/the-4-retirement-rule-is-broken-and-heres-why.html Susan's question: Episode 94 - The Early Retirement Episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#107: Scott Harrison spent 10 years as a New York City nightclub promoter, partying until sunrise every morning and ingesting almost every substance imaginable. But when he was 28, he realized his life lacked meaning. "My tombstone might say, 'here's the guy who got thousands of people drunk,'" Harrison said. Feeling lost, he decided to volunteer for a medical charity in Liberia. Harrison spent the next year-and-a-half in West Africa, where he encountered people with diseases he'd never seen before -- such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and fatal cases of diarrhea and dehydration. He smelled the yellow-brown parasitic dirty water that millions of people were drinking. He discovered that unsafe, unclean drinking water is the world's leading cause of death. When he returned to New York City, he couldn't bring himself to sell expensive bottled water at nightclubs anymore. Instead, Harrison moved into a tiny closet and launched a nonprofit, Charity: Water. Today, Charity: Water has funded more than 24,000 water projects that have brought safe, clean drinking water to more than 7.3 million people. That's the good news. The bad news? There are still 663 million people without access to clean water. That's around double the population of the U.S. And water-borne diseases kill about 16,000 people each week, almost half of whom are children under age 5. There's still a long way to go. Today, Scott joins me on the podcast to talk about how he started and grew a major charitable organization. - How does a nightclub promoter with zero business experience launch a massive nonprofit organization? - What mistakes did he make? - How did he differentiate his organization from the thousands of other charities out there? - Who did he first hire? - What advice would he offer to anyone who's goal is to create a nonprofit? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this excellent episode with Scott Harrison, the founder of Charity: Water. _____ Resources Mentioned: Charity Water -- Short Film http://charitywater.org/thespringfilm Charity Water - Projects https://www.charitywater.org/projects World Health Organization - Drinking water fact sheet http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#106: How do you search for rental properties out-of-state? Should I offer a lease-option contract to my friends? How can I estimate repair and maintenance costs? And can you deep-dive into bookkeeping and taxes for rental real estate? I tackle these four questions in this episode of Ask Paula - real estate edition.   Saul from Salt Lake City asks: I'm converting the first floor of my home into a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment. My "hacked duplex" will soon be ready for my first tenant. Can you deep-dive into the taxes and accounting? How should I keep records of my expenses, and what should I file?   Terri asks: I'm analyzing real estate deals, but I'm getting stumped about how to estimate the repair, maintenance and capital expenditures. It seems like everyone has a different approach for calculating this. Should I estimate a percentage of the purchase price? A percentage of the rental income? A flat amount per unit? Or something else? How can I estimate costs accurately?   Kirsten from Madison, Wisconsin asks: My husband and I recently moved to Madison, but we've kept our old home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The home is worth $120,000, and we have a 15-year note. Our friends would like to purchase that home, but their credit is bad. They'll need two years to improve their credit situation.   We're considering renting to them through a lease-option contract. Our mortgage is $950 per month; we're thinking of charging them $1,100 - $1,200 per month on a rent-to-own lease. Do you think this is a good idea?   Chrissy from North Vancouver, Canada asks: I loved your description in Episode 92 about building a team in a different state. Could you please further flesh out the steps that you use when you're searching for a rental property in a different state? I tackle these four questions in today's episode. Enjoy!     For more, visit the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode106  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#105: A.J. Jacobs is the Editor-at-Large of Esquire Magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of multiple books. His three TED Talks have collectively garnered more than three million views. He describes himself as "a father of three, husband of one, and cousin to millions." And he's probably your cousin. Twice removed. AJ joins me on this episode to chat about motivation, habits, and living life as an experiment. Here are some of the stories we cover: - Why AJ divulged his entire sexual history to actress Scarlett Johansson. - How AJ successfully and frequently changes his behaviors and habits. - AJ's experimental approach to life. - Why the adage "fake it 'til you make it" -- or rather, "fake it 'til you become it" -- is essential for developing habits. - How gratitude at extreme levels can become a mindset game-changer. - How healthy living nearly killed him. - AJ's quest to demonstrate the idea that we're all related -- and throw the world's largest family reunion. Resources Mentioned: A.J.'s Books: It's All Relative My Life as an Experiment A Year of Living Biblically Drop Dead Healthy The Know-It-All A.J.'s TED Talks: My Year of Living Biblically https://www.ted.com/talks/a_j_jacobs_year_of_living_biblically How Healthy Living Nearly Killed Me https://www.ted.com/talks/aj_jacobs_how_healthy_living_nearly_killed_me The World's Largest Family Reunion https://www.ted.com/talks/aj_jacobs_the_world_s_largest_family_reunion_we_re_all_invited   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#104: This week, I answer 4 questions about quitting a depressing job, learning how to ask probing questions, saving for a downpayment, and more. Edward asks: How can I learn from other people around me? I'm 28, and my wife and I have some money that we'd like to invest. We know people who've had both successes and losses in the investing world, but when I ask them questions, they tend to become a little more private and shy away. How can I encourage them to open up, so that we can learn from them? Sara asks: For the last 2 years, my husband and I have lived on one income and used the other to pay off our student loans. We also saved $40,000 to make a downpayment on a house. We need to move to England for 2 years, and we'll buy a house when we return to the U.S. In the meantime, what should we do with the $40,000 downpayment that we've saved? We'd hate to see the money in a savings account, but it doesn’t seem wise to invest in index funds. What should we do? Britney asks: I’m at a job that I hate. I’d like to start a small business and find other part-time work so that I can quit my job. I’m planning to move in with my in-laws, so my cost-of-living will be low. Do you recommend that I start a blog as a side hustle, so that I can pay the bills after I quit my job? A listener in the Midwest asks: I’m a 37-year-old single woman living in the Midwest. I live in a one-bedroom with my 5-year-old son. I bring home $3,800 per month. My rent is $1,150 and my son's preschool is $700 per month. I have $40,000 in retirement savings and a $3,000 emergency fund. I don’t want to be making rent payments in retirement. Should I take $20,000 from my 401k to make a downpayment on a rental property? ____ I answer these questions in today's episode. Enjoy! For more, visit the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode104  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#103: On today’s show, I'm sharing this random smattering of lessons on money and life.⠀ ⠀ 1) Simplify everything.⠀ 2) Risk = Probability x Magnitude.⠀ 3) Curate.⠀ 4) Never delay gratification.⠀ 5) Know your net worth, relative to your lifetime earnings.⠀ 6) Don't half-ass anything. (Whole-ass a few things.)⠀ 7) When you're not at work, don't be at work.⠀ 8) Yes, and.⠀ 9) Money can't make you happy, but a lack of money can make you unhappy.⠀ 10) Every conversation about money is really a conversation about values.⠀ 11) The less you try, the better.⠀ 12) Work with your nature, not against it. ⠀ 13) The thing should be its own reward.⠀ 14) Practice radical self-reliance.⠀ 15) Achieve being through doing.⠀ 16) What is stated, happens.⠀  ⠀ I elaborate on each of these in today’s episode. In addition, I’m also sharing my mini-keynote from FinCon on the importance of authenticity and passion in online business.   Enjoy!   You can subscribe to show updates at podcast.affordanything.com -- just throw your email address into that big box above-the-fold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#102: This week, I'm back to answering questions posed by listeners of the podcast. An anonymous listener asks: Should we continue to rent out our home, or should we sell it? We bought a home in California but have since moved to New York and have been renting there. After all expenses on the rental are accounted for, we receive $150/mo in profit. We estimate that even with repairs factored in, we'll still be in the positive. However, my husband thinks it's better to sell the property and invest the profits. I think we're better off keeping the house and having someone else pay the mortgage. Who has the better idea? What would you do?   Jessica asks: My husband and I are about to relocate from the mid-west to Colorado Springs, and we anticipate making $80,000 from the sale of our house. Should we take the proceeds from the sale and put it toward our next home? Or should we put that money in index funds instead? For context, we plan on buying either a duplex or triplex, or doing a fix-and-flip like we did with our current home. Terri asks: How can I find a good real estate agent - especially one who is good with short sales and foreclosures? What are the signs of a good real estate agent? Laura asks: My husband and I currently own a three-family home (in which we live on the bottom floor), but in light of getting a new job that requires me to commute an hour each way, we are thinking about either converting the three-family home into three condo units and selling them, or buying another house and keeping the three-family home as a rental. There's another factor to consider, though: the property is located on a peninsula, and with sea levels rising, we don't think it has long-term potential (in terms of equity). What should we do?   For more, visit the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode102  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#101: Robin Dreeke is former head of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program. His primary role, at the time, was to thwart foreign spies and  recruit American spies. That's not an easy task. To accomplish this, Dreeke needed to gain people's trust -- even when they had no reason to trust him. He spent years developing and testing systems on how to develop trust with others in high-stakes situations. Today, he joins us on this podcast to describe The Code of Trust, a set of practices that he developed during his days as a high-ranking counterintelligence expert.   This system is based on 5 simple principles: Suspend Your Ego Be Nonjudgmental Honor Reason Validate Others Be Generous   Tune in to hear him elaborate on each principal, and discuss how this applies to anyone who wants stronger, more trustworthy relationships at work and home. For more information, including links to resources mentioned in this episode, visit http://affordanything.com/episode101  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices