Afford Anything | Make Smart Choices About Your Money, Time And Productivity

#60: Andrew Hallam grew a million-dollar investment portfolio on a schoolteacher's salary by his mid-30's. In his bestselling book, Millionaire Teacher, he describes these nine lessons in detail. He shares these nine rules on this podcast, and his ideas are so substantive that -- for the first time -- I decided to release his interview as a two-part series. In last week's episode, Andrew shared the first three rules of building wealth. This week, Andrew dives into the final six rules that can turn middle-class people into millionaires. Here's a sneak peek:     •    #1: Learn how to think and spend like a millionaire.     •    #2: Start investing early. Time is your greatest investment ally.     •    #3: Choose low-cost index funds. Small fees pack big punches.     •    #4: Understand your inner psychology. Conquer the enemy in the mirror.     •    #5: Learn how to build a balanced, responsible portfolio.     •    #6: Create an indexed account, no matter where you live.     •    #7: Don't resign your

#59: By his mid-30's, Andrew Hallam became a millionaire on a teacher's salary. He began by investing $100 a month upon advice given by a mechanic. Then he began saving nearly half his $28,000 teacher’s salary. Andrew rode a bicycle 35 miles to work, found ways to avoid paying rent, and regularly ate pasta and potatoes as well as clams he picked himself for added protein. In today's interview, Andrew shares that story. Find more comprehensive details at http://affordanything.com/episode59 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#58: Ashley is a single mom saving diligently for her 2-year-old son. What alternatives are there to 529s and brokerage accounts? Julie and her husband invest quarterly. Should she try buying European equities when they are much cheaper due to Brexit? Nicholas and his wife make too much money for a Roth IRA. Should hey do a backdoor Roth? Melissa has money to save, invest, or pay down rentals. What’s her best option?   Find more in the show notes at http://affordanything.com/episode58 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#57: Philip Taylor, aka PT, is one of the most well-connected guys in the personal finance world. He’s spent the past half-dozen years building tight relationships with some of the most influential authors and speakers in this space. Today he shares his top five money lessons learned over the past decade. PT shared several tactical tips, including:     •    Buy term life insurance, rather than whole life.     •    Focus on low-cost investing, such as passively-managed index funds.     •    Automate your savings.     •    Focus on income growth.     •    View frugality as a discipline. It’s not a means to an end; it’s a lifestyle and a core value. For a full explanation of PT’s 5 takeaways, visit http://affordanything.com/episode57 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#56: Former professional Poker player Billy Murphy has an intriguing story. He achieved financial independence at age 29, and he did this by applying a concept known as "expected value" to his online businesses. In this episode, I chat with Billy about how expected value is more than just a formula; it’s a framework for how to evaluate your options; how to assess risk, reward, probability, and variance. Let's back up a little. What is expected value? It’s the sum of all possible values for a variable, with each value multiplied by its probability of occurrence. “Whaaaa? What does that mean?” Here’s a simple example:   Imagine that you have a full-time job. You’ve also built a side business that’s earning $20,000 per year. You’re trying to decide whether to stay in your full-time job vs. quit your job and focus on growing your side hustle into a full-time business. You ask your two best friends for their opinion. One says, “that’s risky! What if you fail?” The other says, “you could become a millionaire

#55: Scott Alan Turner used to be a money moron. (In his words.) He traded a Jeep for a Porsche in his 20s, purchased a 3,000 sq. ft. house with two mortgages, and bought luxury furniture on credit. The Porsche cost him $800 per month. The house cost $200,000. The furniture? Who knows.
 Scott didn't have a budget and never tracked his spending. He only knew that he could afford the monthly payments on these luxuries ... until one day he realized his mortgage was due in a few weeks. And his bank account was rather empty. And he didn't have an emergency fund. Oops. Scott realized he was drowning in debt. So he decided to make a change. He sold the Porsche and paid $6,500 cash for a truck. He paid off his credit card. He aggressively attacked the mortgage on his house. Step-by-step, he made strides toward improving his financial future. After listening to Clark Howard on the radio, he realized it was important to free his money from the grip of debt and put it toward savings and retirement. Once he got

#54: It's the first Monday of the month, which means I'm fielding questions from the audience. We start with a question from Nicole. She's a new listener, and she's stuck in a confusing situation. You see, Nicole is self-employed. She'd like to save a percentage of her income -- but she doesn't get regular paychecks. How can she automate her savings, when she doesn't know how much she'll make each month? She asks a second question, as well. Nicole has $15,000 in savings and wants to buy her first rental property. However, she's intimidated by the unknown market. What should her first steps be? Next, we move to a question from podcast listener David. Should he invest his emergency fund? David is contemplating putting his emergency savings in the Vanguard Immediate-Term Investment Grade Fund (VFICX). Is this a good idea? Saul, another podcast listener interested in real estate investing, recently sold his home and has a decent chunk of change. Should he buy a 3 bed / 2 bath townhome with a small commerc

#53: This episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, this podcast episode is a recording of a recent talk I gave in Equador. The audience wanted to know more about the context surrounding the decisions I've made regarding business, investing, and money. In other words, why I've only spent three years of my life in a 9-5 job, and why I've dedicated so much of my time to travel. There is a lot of real estate talk as I take Q&A from the audience, but the idea behind releasing this talk is for you to see how any investment can help you design your life around your values. Money and investments are just tools that you can use to craft a certain lifestyle. Here are some of the highlights from the talk: •    How I was introduced to the concept of freelancing, and how it helped me quit my job and buy real estate •    My real estate investing strategy in a nutshell - buy what no one else wants to buy •    The risk of being too excessive with renovations as an investor, and how I've managed r

#52: Imagine transitioning from making $8.50 per hour and sharing a crammed apartment with 5 people, to becoming a six-figure business owner doing what you love.   That's the journey that Julia Kelly, caricature artist and founder of JK Expressions, took.   Sounds great, right?   Well, as they say, more money = more problems.   When Julia earned $25,000 - $30,000 per year, she had fantastic money management skills. She had no debt and plenty of savings.   But when her business started making six figures, she began ignoring her finances, stopped saving money .... and racked up thousands in personal credit card debt.   Why?   Some of us write this off as life getting more expensive as we get older, but it's actually a classic case of lifestyle inflation -- when you make more, you spend more.   After Julia began earning six figures, she decided she was no longer happy with $12 haircuts from Supercuts. She happily splurged for $75 salon style cuts instead.   She started paying for convenience. One-click Amazon or

#51: Today's guest is Mary Beth Storjohann, CFP®, Founder of Workable Wealth, and author of the book Work Your Wealth. As I was reading through her book, one thing stuck out to me: the financial frenemies we all have, and how to deal with them in a constructive way.
 What's a financial frenemy? They're the people in your life that are sabotaging your efforts to improve your net worth. Sometimes they're friends, sometimes they're family, and other times, they might just be people that have no business asking about your financial situation in the first place. 
 Whoever they are, we've all known one at some point or another.
 In fact, I bet one of these sounds familiar:
 1. The Entitled Frenemy: "Can you spot me? I'll get you next time!" 2. The Budget-Buster: "You deserve it, you should buy it!" 3. The One-Upper: "You got a $1,000 bonus? Nice. I got a $10,000 bonus." 4. The Priers: "How much do you make?" "How much did you spend on that?" 5. The Green-Eyed Monster: "Must be nice that you can afford such

#50: Mark, a 55-year-old listener, has no savings. He's been listening to personal finance podcasts. He recently read Tony Robbins' Money: Master the Game. He called this podcast to tell us that he's feeling overwhelmed by the scope of what's ahead of him. Mark doesn't know how to apply this information -- and he's afraid of needing to work in fast food when he's 80 years old. What can he do? We tackle his question first on today's Ask Paula episode. Next, we take a call from Adalia. Adalia, another podcast listener, wants to earn extra money on the side. She's intrigued by the idea of becoming a virtual assistant -- a side hustle that allows her to work from home, setting her own hours. How should she start? Where can she find clients? Tyler, a podcast listener and fellow FinConner, is carrying $20,000 in credit card debt, with interest rates ranging from 11% - 23%. He also runs a side business on Amazon, making  43-50% returns for every dollar he puts in. Should he focus on reinvesting money back into h

#49: If you're a longtime listener, you might remember J.D. Roth, founder of Get Rich Slowly and owner of Money Boss, from Episode 20. In this previous interview, J.D. shared how he went from being in debt to financially independent. Today, he's back for a special edition of the podcast. J.D. and I didn't actually record an interview for this episode. Instead, we hit "record" on one of our private mini-mastermind conversations, where we talk candidly about our businesses. By listening to this episode, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at what's going on in the Afford Anything and Money Boss world - without any filters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#48: Imagine that your goal is to build a flat stomach and stronger biceps. But deep down, subconsciously, you’re afraid you might fail. So you procrastinate. “I’ll work out tomorrow,” you tell yourself. “Or next week. Or next year.” As a result, you don’t make progress. But let’s flip the script. Instead of focusing on the result — your appearance — you focus on the smallest possible action. You create a new goal: Everyday, you’ll do a single push-up. You’ve designed a goal that cannot fail. The moment you commit to this goal, you drop to the ground and do a push-up. Congratulations. You’ve succeeded today. You repeat this everyday for a week. You build a new habit and new sense of self-identity. You’re the type of person who does daily push-ups. One day, while executing your single push-up, you figure, “Ah, what the heck,” and pump out a few more. One push-up grows into five, ten, fifteen, twenty. You focus on tiny actions, rather than their potential long-term payoff. Eventually, you get results. In t

#47: New York Times bestseller, radio and television personality, Clark Howard is known as a personal finance expert, that title doesn't tell the whole story. He started reading stock tables when he was in fifth grade. He began investing in real estate at the age of 22. He created his own travel agency business at the age of 25. And he became financially independent and retired at age 31. However, after four years of living on the beach, he was ready to get back to work. He wanted to help people take control of their money and, consequently, their lives. Clark believes that money is the result of the discipline you bring into your life. Unfortunately, most people want to take the path of least resistance when it comes to achieving their goals. That's why so many people fail. Clark says that the most common mistake he sees his listeners make is getting in their own way. People give up before they've started and play the victim. That's not the path to success - financial or otherwise. So, how can yo

#46: This episode is a little unusual because I interviewed fellow podcast listeners live at FinCon (a conference for financial bloggers). Why? To get to know you and understand you better. I want to know what makes you tick, and where your interest in money comes from. Ultimately, why you're here, listening to this podcast, when most people couldn't care less about these topics. Why are you different? To discover that answer, here are some of the questions I asked our panelists: • Why did you decide to make learning about personal finance your hobby? Why do you spend hours reading blogs and listening to podcasts about money? • What made you approach personal finance head-on, rather than burying your head in the sand, like most people do? • Do people in your "regular" life know that you want to retire early and reach financial independence? Or do you avoid talking about this because people give you funny looks when you mention it? • Have you all had the same experience that community - finding like-mind

#45: Podcast listener Eva is interested in opening a Vanguard account. She noticed that people need $50,000 to access their personal advisor services. It’ll take her several years before she can access this. What should she do in the meantime? Amy, another podcast listener, wants to invest $5,500 into her Roth IRA in 2017. Should she invest the full amount on January 1, or should she spread this throughout the year? ...and more can be found at https://affordanything.com/45-ask-paula-invest-5500-one-huge-chunk-investing-questions/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#44: When Leslie Samuel immigrated to the U.S. at age 17, he hoped for the American Dream: an education, a secure job, and a traditional career path. But during his college years, Leslie realized he had an entrepreneurial streak. He made a few attempts at working for himself. He failed. He lost money that he'd set aside for his wedding. He tried investing in the stock market. He lost more money, savings that he'd set aside to pay his tuition. But he didn't quit. Leslie graduated, married, and accepted a job as a high school science teacher. He felt happy and secure. Yet his entrepreneurial itch persisted. He started building an online business in his spare time.  Leslie began earning an extra $14,000 per year on the side, a nice supplement to his income. A few years later, Leslie landed his dream job as a university professor. He loved his work. He earned a solid income. His wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Everything seemed perfect. But his entrepreneurial calling persisted. Ultimately, Leslie

#43: Jean Chatzky, financial editor for the TODAY Show, host of the HerMoney podcast and a frequent guest on TV shows like Oprah, Regis & Kelly, and The View is the bestselling author of many books, including Money Rules, which we discuss in today's episode. Here are a few of the Money Rules we cover: #1: The more time you spend looking, the less happy you’ll be with what you find. #2: Your retirement trumps their tuition. #3: Losing money hurts more than it should. #4: Big numbers make smart people do stupid things. #5: Don’t lend money to friends & relatives, and don’t co-sign for loans. #6: If its 50% off, it's still 50% on. __ It’s not about having it all. It’s about having what you value most. How can you match your money with your values? Jean and I tackle this question in the second half of the podcast. This leads us into discussing tactics that can prevent wasteful spending, such as: • The 10/10/10 Rule – How will you feel about this purchase in 10 minutes? 10 months? 10 years? • The 24 Hour Rule

#42: Your most valuable asset isn’t your house, car or retirement portfolio. It’s your attention. Most knowledge workers spend their day frantically hopping between meetings, emails, phone calls and social media. But that’s not the best way to stand out in the modern economy. Emails are necessary, says author and professor Cal Newport. They’ll keep you from getting fired. But they won’t get you promoted. In fact, his Deep Work Hypothesis states that the ability to do deep work is becoming more rare, yet at the same time, more valuable. That means if you can train your mind to resist the common distractions we all face, you’ll become more valuable in the workplace, whether you’re self-employed or traditionally employed. The problem, however, is that most of us are intimidated by deep work. We welcome distractions from difficult tasks that take a toll on our brain power. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/cal-newport/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcast

#41: Mollie, a listener, is making smart money moves. She's getting the maximum match on 403b contributions. She's saving for a downpayment on a home. Her husband opened a Roth IRA. What's next? After listening to the Jim Collins episode, Mollie wants to open a Vanguard account. How can she balance this with the rest of her saving and investing goals? Is she spreading herself too thin? Meanwhile, podcast listener Elizabeth is trying a little-known tactic to rebalance her portfolio. Traditional advice tells people to rebalance by selling their gains. But Elizabeth wants to let those gains ride. She'd prefer to rebalance by buying undervalued assets. Are their hidden dangers to her strategy? Finally, podcast listener Chris wants to remodel his basement. He's an aspiring Airbnb host who'd like to make extra cash by renting out part of his home. How much money should he spend on his basement remodel? Are there any good rules-of-thumb? I tackle these three questions in today's Ask Paula episode. Learn more