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

#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

#40: Most of us want to develop better habits. We want to exercise more, eat healthier, get more sleep, watch TV less, pay off debt, or save money. The problem? We make excuses. We tell ourselves we'll splurge "just this one time." We convince ourselves that we're too busy to start a side business. We reward ourselves with a hall pass from our intended new habit. Today's guest, Gretchen Rubin, talks about how we can create habits that stick. Gretchen Rubin is the New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project, which sold more than a million copies. Her latest book, Better Than Before, explores how to create habits that lead to a healthier, happier, richer life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#39: It's tempting to think of "financial independence" as a finish line. You've either crossed the finish line, or you're still running the race. But financial independence is more nuanced, says today's guest, Joshua Sheats. We experience seven stages of financial independence, Joshua says, and we should break down our Major Goal -- financial independence -- into a series of smaller steps. Joshua, a financial planner and host of the hit podcast Radical Personal Finance, describes these seven stages in today's show, offering tips about how to reach each one. Want a sneak peek at the seven stages? Check out https://affordanything.com/episode39 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#38: There are 168 hours in a week.   If you work 40 hours per week and sleep 8 hours per night, you’ve accounted for 96 hours. You have an additional 72 waking hours per week.   What are you doing with this time?   That’s the question today’s guest, Laura Vanderkam, tried to answer by analyzing more than 1,000 time logs kept by full-time professional workers. Our collective narrative says that Americans are overworked, sleep-deprived and don’t have enough time for family or personal lives. That’s our emotional truth. But statistics paint a different picture. When more than 1,000 professionals track their time in 15-minute increments over the course of a 168-hour week, the data doesn’t point to time deprivation.    In today’s episode, Laura describes this surprising fact: we have more time than we think.   She also shares tactics on how to reduce chores and errands, stay focused and productive at work, and recognize the difference between efficacy and diminishing returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis

#37: Chris writes about life, work and travel. He has visited every country in the world and written a number of New York Times best selling books. He joins us to talk about challenging ourselves, experimentation,and deliberately changing our direction. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/chris-guillebeau/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#36: It's the first Monday of the month, and you know what that means ... Time for another Ask Paula episode! On today's show, I answer a handful of phone calls from listeners who posed questions about real estate investing. One caller from Atlanta said that he's thinking about buying a rental property from a turnkey investing company. (These are companies that buy, renovate and rent out properties, and then sell those properties to investors.) On the surface, this sounds appealing: all benefit and no work. But what are the drawbacks? Are those risks worth it? Should this listener buy a turnkey property? Or should he stay wary of red flags? Another caller, who says he loves real estate investing, mentioned that he's curious about the lack of compound interest in the real estate game. If you're investing in an index fund, he noted, your dividends and gains are automatically reinvested. That's not the case with a rental property. Sure, you can reinvest the cash flow from that property into buying more proper

#35: Carrie Smith enjoyed her full-time accounting job, but she wanted to make extra money on the side. Who doesn't, right? She landed a second job in a tax office, working 9-to-5 for one employer and 5-to-9 for the other. She earned decent money, but her schedule had no flexibility ... and she felt unhappy.  This needs to change, she realized. I need to make good money while also enjoying my lifestyle. Even though she had zero experience as a writer, she wondered if she could leverage her skills as an accountant into a new, creative field. She volunteered to write one or two tax planning articles for a client, just to test the waters. She enjoyed the work. She wanted more.  She started reaching out to websites and companies that might need tax-related article writing. She landed her first major client, Yahoo Finance. Then another. Then another.  After a few years, her freelance business grew large enough that she quit her comfortable accounting job. She's her own boss now.  In this episode, Car

#34: Steve Chou's wife used to work grueling hours at a job she dreaded and despised. When she became pregnant with their first child, she decided to quit.  The problem? She earned six figures, and their family needed that income.  She opened an online store, buying handkerchiefs wholesale from China and retailing these online at a significant markup. She and Steve worked together to build a retail website and find customers. They bought Google Ads; they wrote blog posts; they created seller accounts on various shopping portals.   They earned more than $100,000 in their first year of business. In this episode, Steve explains how he and his wife earn six figures as online retailers while enjoying a much more relaxed, liberated lifestyle. He offers pointers for anyone who's interested in making money selling goods online -- either as a side business or as a method for quitting your day job.   For more, visit http://podcast.affordanything.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices

#33: After serving in the Navy for 20 years, Doug Nordman, then-age 41, retired from his military career. Most of his peers started second careers in the civilian world.    But Doug didn't. He had an ace up his sleeve: he had spent his military career saving 40 percent of his income. By the time he turned 41, he held an investment portfolio worth $1 million. Those investments, coupled with a Naval pension for $30,000 per year, propelled him into financial independence.   He's remained retired since leaving the Navy. He's now 55. He surfs three times a week. He travels to Europe on a whim. His retirement portfolio survived two recessions and is now worth $1.7 million.     In this interview, Doug shares the story of how he became a millionaire on a military salary. He also talks about the fulfillment he's found through financial independence.   Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#32: Should you sell your stocks, given that we might be heading for a possible downturn? Also, what are the downsides of index funds? Should you invest in out-of-state rental properties, and if so, how can you figure out where to look? These are just a few of the many questions Paula answers in this week's Q&A episode. Enjoy. For more information, visit http://podcast.affordanything.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices