Afford Anything

#79: When Laura Roeder was 22, she quit her job to become a full-time freelancer. She earned $30,000 in her first year as a freelancer; $60,000 in her second year. Ten years later -- (Laura is now 32) -- her company earns $4 million in annual revenue. (Can I repeat that? Did I bury the lede? *Laura went from making $30,000 per year to owning 100% of a company that earns $4 million per year.* And she did this within a decade. Oh, and she also had a baby.) (Like, whoa.) Laura is the founder and CEO of a software company called Edgar, which provides social media automation for entrepreneurs and small businesses. In this interview, I ask Laura (sophisticated) questions such as "How the f**k did you make the leap from freelancer to multi-million-dollar company owner?" Here are some of the insights that she shares: #1: You have nothing to lose. When Laura quit her job, she conquered her fears by reminding herself: "Hey, worst-case-scenario, I work an hourly retail job for awhile if I can't find any clients." Sure, that might suck. But is the worst-case-scenario *so bad* that it's a deal-breaker? When Laura realized that the worst-case-scenario was something that she could live with, she proceeded full-speed ahead. #2: Cut the cord. When Laura transitioned from freelancing to consulting (her intermediate step before starting Edgar), she knew that if she maintained her client base, she wouldn't be motivated to grow her consulting business. So she cut the cord. She dropped all of her clients, including one extremely lucrative contract, in order to motivate herself. #3: Look for what's next. Laura's transition follows a sensible narrative arc: employee, freelancer, consultant, software company founder. Each step led to the next opportunity. Freelancing turned into consulting, which turned into a kernel of an idea for a software  company. She couldn't have predicted, at age 22, where she'd be in 10 years. She simply proceeded one step at a time. ____ Listen to Laura describe her story -- and share advice for people who want to start companies and/or work remotely -- in today's episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#78: Imagine that you're looking for a rental property. It's a warm Saturday afternoon, and you decide to cruise through a few open houses in the area. Your autonomously-driving electric vehicle pulls into the driveway. Your wifi-enabled contact lenses automatically register the property's details: square footage, year of construction, sales history, tax assessment, price-to-rent ratio, average neighborhood occupancy rates, and multiple cap rate estimates. As you walk through the property, your contact lenses display the digital history of every item -- the furnace, dishwasher, windows -- keeping you up-to-date with the full installation and service history of every home component. Welcome to the future of real estate investing. What's looming on the horizon? How will technology -- including augmented reality and 3D printing -- affect the way we analyze and purchase rental properties? I chat about this topic, and more, in today's podcast episode. This week, I feature another Ask Paula episode, answering questions that this community has submitted. This week's theme is real estate, and I've invited Will to join me as we tackle your questions about rental investing. Enjoy! For more resources, visit the website at http://affordanything.com/episode78 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#77: “Have you ever tried to stop-peeing midstream? It’s like trying to put spray cheese back in the can. The damage has been done, and the only thing left to do is try to enjoy yourself.” That’s a quote from a deleted chapter in a book written by (in my opinion) one of the funniest bloggers on the internet, Geraldine DeRuiter. Geraldine is an ‘accidental’ travel writer. Nine years ago, she found herself laid-off from a copywriting job and decided, “screw it, I’m gonna travel.” She’s since visited around 30 countries, and her resulting travel blog, The Everywhereist, describes itself as “an award-winning cry for help.” For more, go to http://affordanything.com/episode77 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#76: This week, my buddy Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of listener-submitted questions. A listener from California asks: My husband and I will be inheriting money, which we plan to invest in index funds. We believe that our inheritance will eventually make us financially independent. However, I feel guilt about the fact that this money is unearned. Do you have any thoughts on this? Eric wants to know: Should he stick with a high-deductible health insurance plan if he's starting a family?   Hailey says: I just graduated from college; I'm making $30,000 per year, but I only work 30 hours per week, so I have time to work on side projects. I'm working on two small businesses, and also interested in buying a rental property. Where should I focus my time and dollars? Enjoy! For links and information to the resources mentioned, like Glassdoor.com, Salary.com, and Paula's article: Should You Pay Cash for a Car? -- visit http://affordanything.com/episode76 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#75: In her early 40's, Jen lived in a converted garage, buried in credit card debt and scrounging for spare change. She was the type of person who'd join her friends at a restaurant for dinner , order nothing except tap water, and fill up on the complimentary bread basket. She used duct-tape to repair her shoes. Her "splurges" consisted of buying new windshield wipers.   Despite her struggles, Jen believed that pursuing wealth was icky. She'd internalized negative social attitudes towards money, such as: Money isn't important. People are. Rich people are lucky / gross / shallow. You can't make money doing [insert your-dream-here]. You have to attend a good college to make money. Money is out of my reach. It's lonely at the top. Who has that kind of money? He/she is only about the money. Those negative attitudes, Jen says, were holding her back. So she created a more positive script -- such as "I'm good at making money," and "Money is a tool that helps me live my best life." This attitude shift made all the difference. In today's interview, Jen describes her journey from broke to badass, and she explains how everyone can become more of a maverick at making money. Enjoy! Resources mentioned in this episode can be found at http://affordanything.com/episode75   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#74: Former financial planner and friend of the show, Joe Saul-Sehy from Stacking Benjamins, joins me to answer the following listener questions: Kicking off today's episode, Nicky asks: I'm young and healthy. My car is old and not-worth-much. And my personal property isn't exactly fancy-pants. Do I *really* need health, auto and property insurance? Or can I drop these insurances and save the money? _______ Next, Shelbi says: I'm 26, recently earned a graduate school diploma, and I'm taking the first steps into my career. I take home $2,600 in monthly income, and my cost-of-living is $1,900 per month. I maintain a $5,500 emergency fund and invest 20% of my income into a Vanguard Target Date Retirement account, with a Roth tax setup. I'll get an employer match after I've spent another year on the job. My employer also contributes $100 per month into my H.S.A. account, which is the only money that I'm putting into that fund. I hold $49,000 in student loans (yikes!!) at 6.8% interest. I pay $400/mo towards this debt, which is included in my $1,900 cost-of-living and is more than the minimum required. My goal is financial independence and early retirement. She asks these three questions: -- Should she lower the 20% she's putting into her 403b in order to max out her Roth IRA and HSA, instead? -- Should she prioritize repaying her student loan debt over retirement savings? -- Should she schedule a private coaching call with me? (Surprisingly, I said no. Tune into the episode to find out why.) _______ Next, Nicole asks: What types of investments can you hold inside a self-directed IRA? If I open one of these accounts, what custodian should I use? _______ Finally, our friend anonymous asks: What's the deal with bond investing? What's a coupon payment? A maturity date? WTF? Can you help me make sense of the world of bonds and bond funds? _______ Joe and I tackle these four questions ... plus reveal a top-secret recipe for the Best. Oreo. Cookie. Dessert. EVER. Like, *ever.* Enjoy! -- Paula _______ For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode74 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#73: Last January, I went to a party at a trailer park that featured a huge bonfire, a few llamas, and a member of Public Enemy. (I realize that sounds like the setup to a joke. Welcome to my life.) While I was there, I met a former competitive chess player named Steve Gossett. Steve is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who creates Princess Rap Battle videos for a YouTube channel with more than 1 million subscribers. But that's not why I invited Steve onto the show. I asked him to join me on the podcast to discuss the lessons that chess taught him about money, work and life. On this fascinating episode, Steve and I discuss:  - Opening Theory: At the start of the game, you have a limited selection of moves. Yet you can quickly lose the game if you choose the wrong moves. Don't lose at the outset. - Muddled Midgame: While the first few moves are (relatively) simple, even the experts don't quite understand the complexities of the mid-game. - Gambit: Sometimes, you need to be willing to give up a piece on the board for the sake of getting another strategic win. - Eliminate options: You'll fatigue yourself if you try to consider every move. Learn how to quickly eliminate options so that you can focus on choosing between a small handful of optimal moves. - Think ahead: Don't just think about the consequences of the next move. Think many, many moves ahead on the board. Also, realize that every move carries an opportunity cost: once you move a piece on the board, it's not in that same position anymore -- for better or for worse. - Study/practice/knowledge can reduce time pressure: Chess is a timed game with a ticking clock. You can make smarter, faster decisions through study and practice. Knowledge is your competitive advantage. I hope you find this conversation as fascinating as I did. Enjoy!  - Paula Links to the Princess Rap Battle and Whitney Avalon's YouTube channel can be found in the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode73   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#72: Spaghetti is a major part of my life. I eat it, of course, as many people do. I also spill it all over my pants, despite the fact that I’m 33 and should’ve learned the rules of gravity by now. But most importantly, I use spaghetti as a metaphor for my business. If I’m not sure if something will work or not, but I want to experiment with an idea, I tell myself that I’m just “throwing spaghetti at the wall.” Maybe it’ll stick; maybe it won’t. Either way, I have permission to try, permission to fail, and permission to get pasta stains all over my drywall. This week, I’m starting a new spaghetti-throwing-experiment on the podcast: I’m going to broadcast “Ask Paula” episodes every-other-week, followed by interviews with guests every-other-week. This allows me to handle the awesome volume of questions that are flowing in (which I LOVE), while still enjoying intriguing conversations with fascinating people. This every-other-week thing is just an experiment; I’d love to hear what you think. Do you want more “Ask Paula” episodes? Or should I return that segment back to its original once-a-month placement? Or am I overthinking this and I should really just get on with the show notes for this week’s episode? Assuming you’re like, “Option C, Paula — get on with the show notes!,” here they are. ___________   Our first question comes from David, who asks: Could you ever find yourself in a situation in which you could justify helping a friend by paying off their credit card, and in exchange, they pay you a modest but respectable interest rate? Here’s his situation: His friend holds $6,000 in credit card debt, with carries an interest rate ranging between 11 to 17 percent. This friend also holds $30,000 in student loans. Yikes! David, however, is debt-free, maxes out his retirement accounts, and holds cash savings of $56,000. He’s thinking of loaning his friend around $3,000 of this money, which she could use to pay off the 17 percent loan. In exchange, David would get a decent-but-not-outrageous return, perhaps in the neighborhood of 7 percent-ish. Should he do this? If so, how? Should he sit down with a lawyer? Next, Amy asks: We’re carrying debt, although fortunately it's low-interest. We're paying it off, and we're doing the best we can; this debt will be gone in a few years. How do you stay patient and calm, when progress is happening at a snail's pace? Later, Alexa says: I’ve realized that I haven’t followed my true passions, which are travel and dance. I’d like to save money for a few years, and then pursue these twin goals. What should I do with the money that I’m saving for travel? Should I keep it liquid or in stocks? Should I put it in a taxable account or a retirement account? Lyra asks: I have 5 goals: repay debt, save an emergency fund, help my son pay for college, save for retirement, and buy a rental property. How do I split my money between these five goals? Next, Kim asks: What are the pro's and con's of portfolio lending for an investment property? I keep getting hung up on the "balloon payment," in which you need to repay the full loan after a particular period of time. How would you qualify for a refinance, given that you need a portfolio loan in the first place? Finally, Daan wants to know: I’m a Dutch citizen who moves to a different country every 2-3 years. Is real estate a viable option for me?   For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode72 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#71: Roger Whitney is known as the "retirement answer man." "All I think about, all day long, is how to make that [retirement] transition successfully," he says. But he holds a dirty little secret. "I don't believe in retirement. And the most successful clients that I work with ... technically they're retired, but they're still working." Huh? What does that mean? In today's episode, Whitney and I discuss the nuances of 21st-century modern retirement -- and how this ain't nothin' like the traditional retirement that you've been taught to expect. Enjoy! ______ For the "WTF?" -- Vocabulary guide from this episode - visit http://affordanything.com/episode71   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#70: Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial, talks about the early childhood scripts that we learn about money. Why is this topic important? Well, if you're a parent, you want to set a good financial example for your child to follow. Giving them the right tools and information about money at an early age, as Erin's parents did, can easily set them on the right path in life. And as 'grown-ups,' many of us have negative scripts around money that we want to unearth and unlearn. Regardless of your specific situation, one thing is true: we often inherit our money mindset from our parents. For better or worse, we unconsciously internalize their actions and thoughts around money, and it shapes how we view and interact with money today. Erin shares the lessons her parents taught her about money in this episode, and discusses the impact it's had on her spending and saving. (Hint: She's always been debt-free and has set the awesome goal of being a millionaire by age 35.) For example, Erin is a natural saver and became frugal at a very young age thanks to her parents being savers. While that sounds great, she often prioritized earning money to the detriment of her social life. She shares a specific instance where she passed up what turned out to be a night to remember among friends for a babysitting gig that paid $100. These days, she allows for more balance in her budget. We also discuss: Specific financial lessons Erin's parents taught her and her sister at an early age Erin's first memories surrounding money, and how those shaped the person she is today Erin's thoughts on financial independence and retiring early How our views on real estate investing differ because of the lens with which we view it Erin's decision to become a freelancer just six months ago A personal example of when being frugal crosses the line and more! Enjoy! Find more resources at http://affordanything.com/episode70
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