Afford Anything

#98: How much money should you invest in a side hustle or side business? How do you know if your side hustle idea is viable? What if you want to start 5 or 6 side businesses? Should you lump these together under a common business umbrella? Or should you separate them out? These are the questions about side hustles -- asked by listeners Adalia and Brionna -- that I answer in today's episode. My friend Joe Saul-Sehy from the Stacking Benjamins podcast joins me to chime in with his views on building side businesses, as well. Joe and I also answer two non-side-business-related questions, as well. Skye asks: -- You talk about saving 50 percent of your income. What exactly does this mean? Steph asks: -- I have $10,000 in credit card debt and $48,000 in student loans at a 5 percent interest rate. I have a $1,000 emergency fund and $32,000 in retirement funds. My dad is willing to give me money to repay my student loans; should I accept this? And if so, should I put this money towards student loans or retirement? We tackle these questions on today's episode. Enjoy! Links and more resources can be found in the show notes at http://podcast.affordanything.com/episode98 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are more heroes than villains in this world. We have seen a tremendous outpouring of love and support today. Please support the cause that's calling you, whether it's supporting the victims of the Las Vegas shootings, or disaster relief in Puerto Rico, or ongoing humanitarian crises that don't make headlines. Please support the victims of the Las Vegas massacre at https://www.gofundme.com/dr2ks2-las-vegas-victims-fund Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#97: How can you be awesome at your job? That's the question that today's guest, Pete Mockaitis, and I tackle on the latest Afford Anything podcast episode. Pete hosts one of iTunes' top 10 career podcasts, called -- appropriately -- How to Be Awesome at Your Job. In typical nerd fashion, I launch our interview by asking him: "What is the metric by which 'awesome' is determined?" Here are a few other questions that I hurl his way: How to Get a Raise: Imagine that you enjoy your job; you don't want to quit. But they're not paying you what you're worth. You've asked for a raise, several times, and they've said no. What do you do? Angle for a Promotion? Or Focus on a Side Hustle? Let's assume that you're employed full-time, and your goal is to make more money. What's more effective: [Option 1] Focus on your full-time profession, putting in the extra hours to angle for a promotion? -- OR - [Option 2] Be an average employee and focus your excess time and energy on building a side hustle? Tough it Out, Then Retire Early? Or Not?: You feel ambivalent about your job, but it pays well. Should you pivot to an alternate career path, even if this causes an income drop? Or should you milk the big paycheck for 10 years, save and invest like crazy during that time, and escape into an early retirement?   What nuggets of wisdom does Pete share in today's episode? Here are six takeaways: #1: If you want to be awesome at your job, focus on these six areas: 1. Be present. 2. Be deliberate about how you direct your time, energy and attention. 3. Be thoughtful. 4. Communicate well. 5. Build strong relationships. 6. Manage your career. (We dive deeper into these points -- especially number two! -- in this episode.) #2: Apply the 80/20 rule to your decisions. Ask yourself: - What are the 80 percent of great results coming from 20 percent of my efforts? - What are the 80 percent of negative things that I don't like? What focused 20 percent of efforts can get rid of 80 percent of the negative? #3: "Wastefulness comes from inefficient methods in pursuing things." #4: Invent what people want. Not what you think they should want. #5: Learn the 2 questions that improve every decision: What must be true for this to be a good decision? How can I test that? #6: How can you find happiness at work? You'll need to be satisfied with RED: rewards, experience and demands. Rewards - Your compensation, security, advancement potential, and your pride in the organization and its activities. Experience - Your day-to-day experience at work, appreciation from others, enriching and psychologically safe environment, compelling tasks, sense of purpose, learning and growth, and autonomy. Demands - What are total hours needed and the flexibility of those hours? Find more at http://affordanything.com/episode97 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#96: Today I tackle 4 real estate questions that come from the listeners. Chris, age 25, says: Over the next 30 years, I'd like to acquire 15 rental properties. Then, at age 55, my wife and I can retire and travel. To begin, I'd like to buy a duplex, live in one unit and rent the other on Airbnb. Once I gain some equity and save enough for another downpayment, I'd like to purchase another duplex, move in, and repeat this process. However, I'm reluctant to get started for one reason. There's a decent chance that I'll need to move out-of-state within about a year or two. I don't want to be an out-of-town Airbnb host. Should I follow this plan, even though there's a good chance I might move away soon? __ The next caller, who remains anonymous, says: I love your rental property income reports; they give me a great understanding of your numbers. But you have economies of scale on your side. Your payments to your accountant, attorney, bookkeeping software, etc., are spread out across 7 rental units. When I start investing, I'll only have one unit. How well would your worst-performing property fare if it was your *only* property, and you had no other economies of scale? __ The third caller, "Anonymous from Orlando," says: I own my house free-and-clear, and I'd like to buy another one. Should I take out a conventional mortgage on my second home? Should I cash-out refinance the equity in my first home? Or should I open a HELOC? __ Finally, our last caller asks: I'm interested in rental property investing, but I don't want to deal with any hassles. Should I use a turnkey company? Tune in to find out the answers! - Paula Find resources to things mentioned in this episode at http://affordanything.com/episode96 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#95: J. David Stein used to manage billions of dollars. He retired at age 46. Now that he's retired, he faces a different challenge: How should he invest his own money? What investing philosophy should he follow in his own life? And what can we learn from that? Stein, who now hosts a podcast called Money for the Rest of Us, joins me on today's show to talk about his big-picture investing ideas. For a list of my takeaways, go to http://affordanything.com/episode95 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#94: Early retirement? Yes please. This week, I answer questions from the audience community around early retirement planning, health savings and debt pay-off. I'm interested in early retirement. How can I avoid early withdrawal penalties? How does early retirement impact the 4 Percent Rule? Should I use an HRA or an HSA? How do I open a Roth IRA? If you’re into early retirement, don’t miss today’s episode. For complete resources and show notes, go to http://affordanything.com/episode94 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jenn Granneman, expert on introversion and author of The Secret Lives of Introverts, discusses various aspects of introversion. Topics include introverts in different job environments, strategies for introverts and extroverts to stay productive, differences in dopamine reward systems, and challenges introverts face while traveling.

#92: If you're interested in real estate investing, and if you've wondered how to assemble an all-star team, today's episode is for you. I'm hosting another edition of Ask Paula, in which I tackle three audience-submitted questions about building a team as a real estate investor. Salome from Cincinnati asks: Who are the people I'll need on my real estate team? How much will I spend in paying them? And how can I find them? Doug from Louisiana asks: I've saved $20,000 as the downpayment on a rental property. Should I use this money? Or should I look for a loan that can cover a larger chunk of the financing? Also, how should I look for a tenant? Should I handle this myself, or hire a property manager? Patricia from California asks: I live in Bay Area. I cannot buy a house here. I want to buy a rental property in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I've identified the specific property/neighborhood in which I want to invest. How can I start assembling a team from out-of-state? For a full list of resources from this episode, visit http://affordanything.com/episode92 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#91: Grow the gap between your income and your expenses: How to tackle the 4 biggest expenses in the average American household budget. Also, I share non-obvious tips on how to trim back on these costs. Enjoy! Paula For more details on this presentation, go to http://affordanything.com/episode91 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#90: Curious about real estate investing? I'm rocking the microphone solo on today's episode, tackling the rental property questions that you -- the listeners -- have asked. Rachel from the Ozarks asks: I'm inspired to start investing in real estate. I live in the Ozarks region, and the cap rates around here are fantastic. However, the online reviews for local property management companies are consistently terrible. What should I do if I can't find a good property manager? Daan from Malaysia asks: I'm a Dutch national who plans to be a global nomad for the next 10-15 years. I live in Malaysia at the moment, and I plan to continually travel internationally for my work. Many people in Asia are investing in real estate; do you have any recommendations for choosing investments abroad? A caller who wants to stay anonymous asks: I live in Denver and I'm tired of paying rent. I'd like to buy a house and eventually collect rental income from it, as well. But I'm having trouble saving enough money for a downpayment. Should I just give up? What should I do? Tom asks: I own land free-and-clear. Should I build on that land? Or should I buy a property that already exists? Finally, I tell the story of my most recent bout of lifestyle inflation. It involves sleeping in the back of my car. :-) Enjoy! - Paula For more information, visit the website at http://affordanything.com/episode90 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices