Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

Q&A: Should You Pause Retirement to Buy a Bigger Home?

17 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#698: We explore financial decision-making at different stages of life: A high-earning federal couple debates whether to pause retirement contributio...

Bill Gurley: The Biggest Career Regret Most People Have

13 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#697: Most people regret the things they never tried. Venture capitalist Bill Gurley says that pattern shows up again and again in research on end-of...

Q&A: Should Your Emergency Fund Be Invested?

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#696: (01:50) Jeremy has been a careful budgeter for years, but a surprise car repair has him tapping his emergency fund. With rates falling, he’s...

First Friday: Jobs Fell by 92,000. But the Economy Is Still Growing?

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#695: The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, pushing unemployment to 4.4 percent.That result contradicts a different report released two days earlier ...

Job Titles Don’t Mean What They Used To (And That Affects Your Pay) — with Dr. Ben Zweig (Part 2 of 2)

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There are about 90 million unique job titles in the U.S. labor market. Ninety million. If you are trying to negotiate a raise, switch companies or l...

AI, Layoffs, and the Future of Your Career — with Dr. Ben Zweig (Part 1 of 2)

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#693: AI learns your job in weeks … and you start wondering if you still have one. That question shapes our conversation with Dr. Ben Zweig, CEO of...

My Brother-in-Law Wants to Buy a Rental in Mexico. Good Idea?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#692: Anonymous (02:01) is excited about early retirement and family time but worried about his brother-in-law, who just returned from a vacation in M...

Your IQ Won't Save Your Career. Your AQ Might. – with Liz Tran

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#691: Your IQ used to be your biggest career asset. Then AI scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT, the SAT, and the MCAT — and suddenly the co...

Q&A: Should My Teen Go to College?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#690: Blanca (01:28): Blanca, an immigrant mother raising a 14-year-old, wants her son to think critically about college—not just as an experience, ...

Your Brain Is Your Most Important Asset, with Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#689: Most people think forgetting a name means their brain is failing.  Dr. Majid Fotuhi, a neurologist who taught at Johns Hopkins and Harvard, se...

Q&A: I'm Burned Out But Not Quite Ready to Retire

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#688: Anonymous: "Anonymous Sheryl" is 38, mortgage-free and exhausted after 15 years of teaching. She’s torn between pushing a few more years towar...

First Friday: The Retirement Rules That Changed While You Weren't Looking

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#687: Your tax refund might be $300 to $1,000 bigger this year, and that's just the beginning of what's changing with your money. The Tax Foundation ...

Q&A: Are AI Stocks About to Crater?

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#686: Rachel: Rachel is new to investing and has noticed the stock market being dominated by AI companies. She wants to make sure her portfolio is bal...

10 Rules for Building a Portfolio That Actually Works for Your Life, with Cullen Roche

31 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#685: You're not an investor. You're a saver. That's the first of 10 principles Cullen Roche shares in this conversation about building what he calls...

Why You Should “T-Bill and Chill” Instead of Using a Savings Account, with Cullen Roche

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#684: Most people search for the perfect portfolio — the one allocation that works in every market, at every age, for every goal. This interview sta...

How to Teach Kids About Money, with Dr. Stephen Day

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#683: Candy now — or a toy later? You slide play money across the table and let your kid choose. That moment kicks off this episode, where Dr. Step...

52 Tiny Improvements in 2026 [GREATEST HITS]

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#682: Grab the FREE handbook: affordanything.com/financialgoals For 76 years, the British cycling team lost — every season, without exception. Th...

How NOT to Invest, with Barry Ritholtz

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#681: Barry Ritholtz's mom sold real estate. Those dinner table conversations about mortgages helped him spot the 2008 crash before most of Wall Stree...

Q&A: I Want to Retire Early Without Selling My Stocks in a Crash

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#680: Mia: Mia and her husband are planning early retirement and want to draw down their taxable brokerage accounts for the next decade. She’s consi...

Why AI Taking Your Job Isn't the Real Problem, with Fmr. OpenAI Exec Zack Kass

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#679: Will you still have a job in five years? Zack Kass, former OpenAI executive and 16-year AI veteran, joins us to tackle the question that keeps k...

We Want to Save Senior Dogs … But Should We Sell Our Rental to Do It?

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#678: Anonymous (02:36) -  "Victoria" (Anonymous) is 51, single, and still enjoying their W2 job while building a side business from a passion hobby...

First Friday: What 2026 Means for Your Money

03 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

#677: Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2026 with a reality check on where your money stands right now. The Good News: Gas prices dropped below $3/ga...

Q&A: Should You Keep Part of Your Money Outside the U.S.?

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#676: Ally:How can I optimize my asset allocation and Roth contributions now that I’m over $1 million in assets? I’m 45, single, never married, w...

[E] The Myths We Believed About Startups [GREATEST HITS]

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#675: Welcome to Greatest Hits Week – five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E. Today’s letter E stands for Entrepreneursh...

[R] Remember When Inflation Was High and Rates Were Rising? [GREATEST HITS]

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#674: Welcome to Greatest Hits Week – five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E. Today's letter R stands for Real Estate. Thi...

[I] Why Young Investors Focus on the Wrong Things [GREATEST HITS]

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#673: Welcome to Greatest Hits Week – five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E. Today's second letter I stands for Investing...

[I] The Hidden Information That's Costing You Money [GREATEST HITS]

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#672: Welcome to Greatest Hits Week — five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E. Today's letter I stands for Increasing Your ...

[F] Why Your Brain Sabotages Your Money [GREATEST HITS]

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#671: Welcome to Greatest Hits Week — five days, five episodes from our vault, spelling out F-I-I-R-E. Today's letter F stands for Financial Psycho...

Are Credit Card Rewards Really Worth It in 2026?

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#670: As we close out 2025, premium credit cards are more expensive and more complicated than ever. It’s fair to ask whether the points game is stil...

44 Years Old, $2 Million Saved – Why They're Still Hesitant to Downshift

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#669: Slade (01:43) - Slade, 44, and his wife plan to downshift careers in the next five to seven years while raising their 11-year-old daughter. They...

Why Taking a Year Off Might Be Your Smartest Money Move, with David Bach

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#668: We’re joined in-studio by David Bach, bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire and The Latte Factor. He’s updated his most popular bo...

Should You Ever Get a 50 Year Mortgage? — with Dr. Karsten Jeske

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#667: Home prices have outpaced wages for more than a decade, and first-time buyers are stretching further every year. Now a new idea is entering the ...

First Friday: The Strange Economics of Feeling Poor While Spending More Description:

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#666: In this First Friday economic update, we explore the paradox defining our current economy: record-breaking retail numbers alongside plummeting c...

Q&A: How Much Insurance Is Enough When You’re Protecting Your Wealth

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#665: If you’ve ever stared at an insurance quote and wondered, “Is this really worth it?”, you’re not alone. Liability and umbrella policies ...

The Psychology of Sales, Discounts and Deals [GREATEST HITS VAULT]

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#664: Have any of these thoughts ever crossed your mind? If I had more willpower, I’d achieve my financial goals. I’m doomed to fail with money....

Why AI Misleads Investors and How to Fix It

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#663: We’re living through the first era in which an investor can ask a machine to read a decade of SEC filings in seconds. That sounds powerful, bu...

What If Everything We Know About Hiring Is Wrong?, with William Vanderbloemen

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#662: Most teams hire for skills. The best teams hire for wiring. What if the reason someone accelerates your organization, or quietly derails it,...

Q&A: She's Broke. He's Rich. And You're Asking About AI Stocks.

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#661: When your income drops, debt spikes, and a rental property starts bleeding cash, it can feel like your entire financial foundation is cracking b...

The Brutal Math of Caring for Aging Parents, with MarketWatch Columnist Beth Pinsker

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#660: Caring for an aging parent can morph into a second full-time job, and even the most financially savvy adults get blindsided. Bank accounts freez...

James Patterson Shows Why Comfort Can Be a Trap

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#659: Imagine that you’re at the absolute peak of your career. You’re the CEO of a prominent advertising company at the age of 36, but you feel li...

First Friday: When the Gov’t is Closed, Where Do We Find the Numbers?

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#658: An unusual First Friday episode because we don't have a jobs report. However, we do know that in October, U.S. companies announced more job cu...

Q&A: Can You Really Beat the Market by Copying Members of Congress?

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#657: This week, Paula and Joe dig into a listener’s question about ETFs that track the stock trades of U.S. politicians — including the Democrati...

Would You Shock a Stranger? What a 1960s Experiment Reveals About Your Money Decisions

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#656: What would you do if someone in authority told you to do something that felt wrong? Most of us like to think we'd speak up, push back, stand our...

Q&A: How to Choose Between Financial Freedom and a First Home

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#655: What would you do if, at the age of 23, you found yourself with $70,000 a year leftover after expenses? Would you pour everything into retiremen...

How to Stop Fighting About Money

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#654: Fights about money are common, but they're rarely about math. They're about power, shame, vulnerability, and trust. And no amount of data or fan...

Radical Transparency in Real Estate Predictions

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#653: What happens when we actually check our predictions? In this episode we play clips from our 2023 conversation with Scott Trench from BiggerPocke...

Why High Earners Stay Broke, with Rose Han

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#652: What if you did everything “right”, earned the degree, landed the six-figure job, and still felt broke? That’s exactly where Rose Han fou...

Everyone Says Don’t Hold Bonds in Taxable Accounts. They’re Wrong

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#651: Many who reach CoastFI find themselves in a strange in-between: financially independent enough to stop saving, but not ready to fully retire. Wh...

How Money Moves Through Markets

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#650: Sarah Williamson is the kind of person who shapes the decisions that move trillions of dollars. She earned her MBA with distinction from Harvard...

Q&A: Should You Buy a House Now or Invest Your Down Payment Instead?

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#649: Many first-time buyers feel like they’re watching the train pull out of the station. If you’ve saved for years but can’t afford a home nea...

First Friday: The Government Shuts Down -- But Bitcoin is at an All-Time High?!?

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#648: The U.S. government is shutting down. Bitcoin just hit a record high. Inflation whispers are back. And Wall Street is buzzing with speculation. ...

Q&A: How Do You Maximize a Mini-Retirement?

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#647: What if you and your partner want to take a few months – or even a year – off work?  How do you handle health insurance once you leave you...

The Third Option Between Working and Retiring

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#646: What if you didn’t have to choose between grinding full-time until retirement or quitting work altogether? By 40, Andy Hill and his wife had ...

Q&A: My Friend Won’t Invest - How Can I Help?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#645: Mike (02:50): After 15 years of intentional living, Mike is 80 percent of the way to financial independence. Now he’s trying to help friends...

The Hidden Psychology Behind Every Financial Decision You Make with Dr. Daniel Crosby

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#644: Why do we both crave money and resent it? Why do some people sabotage their financial futures in the name of short-term comfort? And why is your...

LIVESTREAM: A Former Fed Economist Reveals What's Really Happening, with Karsten Jeske (“Big ERN”)

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#643: Picture this: you're at the Federal Reserve years ago. The chairman literally hangs up a conference call, waits 30 minutes, then calls back — ...

BONUS: Stagflation, Stocks & Social Security - What’s Next for Your Money? with Rob Berger

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

EXCLUSIVE: Is your money safe in today’s economy? In this bonus interview, Paula Pant sits down with financial expert Rob Berger to unpack the lates...

The Case for Investing in Individual Stocks, with Co-Founder of the Motley Fool, David Gardner

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#642: Curious about how individual stock picking could sharpen your investing skills—even if you’re an avid index fund investor? Paula sits down...

Q&A: ChatGPT Built Her $1.2M Portfolio … But Should You Trust It?

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#641: Cristina has a $1.2 million portfolio and hopes to make work optional within the next decade. Is she invested in the right way? Or should she c...

First Friday: Jerome Powell's Remarks at Jackson Hole

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#640: The jobs report came out this morning and it was a painful one. The US added only 22,000 new jobs in August, according to the latest BLS report...

Q&A: How to Invest in Your Community (by Finding the Third Option)

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#639: Aisha is excited to share how some life-changing advice has played out for her career. She wonders now: what limiting beliefs has Paula and Joe ...

[GREATEST HITS] James Clear: How Small Daily Actions Compound Into Life-Changing Wealth [RERUN]

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#638: Fifty dollars. That's how much this couple transferred to their "Trip to Europe" savings account each time they cooked dinner instead of going t...

Q&A: Can You Open an IRA for Someone Else's Kid? (And Should You?)

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#637: Nick wants to set up an investment account for his nephew to contribute annually, creating a nest egg for college since the parents are already ...

How to Talk to Your Parents About Money, with Behavioral Economist Etinosa Agbonlahor

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#636: Behavioral economist Etinosa Agbonlahor joins us to discuss "money scripts" — the unconscious beliefs we inherit or develop about finances.  ...

Q&A: Gold vs. Stocks – and Why Inflation Panic Makes You Poor

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#635: Arielle’s head is spinning from the seemingly contradictory advice she hears about the best investments to hedge against inflation and a possi...

Wharton Professor: The 7 Hidden Types of Entrepreneurs | with Lori Rosenkopf

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#634: Picture this: you're 26 years old, fresh out of Wharton, and you decide to start a business with two friends. You spend years building a digital...

Q&A: How to Spot Investment Scams Before You Lose Everything

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#633: Paul is worried the private equity investment he’s about to make could be a scam. How can he do his due diligence and stay protected when ther...

How to Get Everything You Want at Work

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your Next Raise is open for enrollment! ⁠https://affordanything.com/how-to-negotiate-your-next-raise #632: There are 10 conversations that a per...

Q&A: Is ChatGPT's Portfolio Better Than VTSAX?

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Your Next Raise now open for enrollment! https://affordanything.com/how-to-negotiate-your-next-raise #631: Jason's analysis of his retirement plan...

BONUS First Monday: How Did the BLS Get the Jobs Report So Wrong?

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Special bonus episode. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issues massive job revisions on Friday morning. The revisions wipe out nearly 90% of previously ...

First Friday: We Were Wrong About 258,000 Jobs (This Changes Everything)

01 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#630: Interesting observations about the current housing market, meme stocks (again), GDP, Fed Meeting, Stock Market, and the latest Jobs Report updat...

Nick Maggiulli: The Wealth Ladder Has Six Rungs (and Most People Never Climb Past Four)

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#629: Here's the thing about personal finance advice: what works when you have $10,000 won't work when you have $1 million.  Yet most financial guid...

Why Nice People Struggle with Money, with Dr. Sandra Matz, Professor at Columbia Business School

25 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#628: You follow all the right personal finance advice. You know you should save more, invest regularly, and build an emergency fund. So why does it...

Q&A: When Being Good With Money … Isn't Good Enough

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#627: Jlyn and her husband are 20 years from retirement, but they’ve got their eye on a second home they’ll live in when the time comes. Should th...

The Hidden Psychology Behind Failed Dreams, with Yale’s Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle

18 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#626: A software programmer and an accountant walk into retirement planning. Are they being creative? Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior research sc...

JL Collins Part 2: What Happens When You Don't Need to Work Anymore?

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#625: What do you do when you've reached financial independence? JL Collins says it depends entirely on your spending rate, not just your net worth. ...

JL Collins Part 1: The Simple Path vs. The "Optimal" Path

11 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#624: JL Collins, author of "The Simple Path to Wealth" — the guy synonymous with VTSAX and chill — joins us for Part 1 of a two-part series where...

Q&A: “Help! My Mom’s Financial Crisis Is Becoming Mine!”

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#623: An anonymous caller feels trapped in a no-win situation with her financially reckless mother. She has the means to bail her out, but it doesn’...

First Friday: Why Americans Are More Pessimistic Than Ever

04 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#622: #622: The headlines said America added 147,000 jobs in June. The reality? Private companies actually cut 33,000 positions. Grad students just...

Q&A: Which Investments Should Go Into Which Accounts?

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DOWNLOAD the FREE Cheat Sheet: ASSET LOCATION MADE SIMPLE at affordanything.com/assetlocation #621: Jared is attracted to the favorable terms of the ...

The Hidden Cost of Replacing You at Work, with “Money with Katie” host Katie Gatti Tassin

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#620: You probably think your value to your employer equals your paycheck. Katie Gatti Tassin has news for you — you're worth way more than that. T...

Q&A: My Company Is Going Public and I Have No Idea What to Do – Plus, Should I Fire My Advisor?

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#619: Dave is no longer happy with his financial advisor, but he’s nervous about switching over to self-management after being completely hands-off ...

How to Retire at 50 While Supporting Aging Parents, with Frank Vasquez

20 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

DOWNLOAD the RISK PARITY PORTFOLIO CHEAT SHEET at affordanything.com/riskparity ______________ #618: Frank Vasquez watched his parents, ages 91 and ...

Q&A: We Just Had a Baby and Lost Half Our Income

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#617: Austin and his wife are worried about moving to a single-income household while supporting two kids. Should they free up cash flow by paying off...

How Hackers Are Stealing Your Retirement $50 at a Time, with former CIA hacker Dr. Eric Cole

13 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#616: Two school teachers in Ohio saved their entire lives for one dream — buying a farm.  When they inherited $1.3 million and found the perfect ...

Q&A: We Saved $1.2 Million But We’re Still Renting. Should We Buy?

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#615: Emily is nervous that buying their first home will derail her family’s journey to financial independence. What’s the smartest way to deploy ...

First Friday: The Dollar Is Weak, Bonds Are Expensive, and We Owe WWII-Level Debt

06 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#614: The US just added 139,000 new jobs in May. That beat expectations. But the real story isn't in the job numbers — it’s in the bond market. ...

Rachel Rodgers: This Multimillionaire Started With $330,000 in Debt and a $41,000 Salary

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#613: Rachel Rodgers graduated from law school with $330,000 in student loans. Her starting salary? Just $41,000. Most people would have accepted thi...

How to Know If You're Cut Out for Entrepreneurship Before You Risk Everything, with Grant Sabatier

30 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Grant Sabatier never worked in retail, never worked in a bookstore, and had no idea what he was doing when he opened Clintonville Books in Columbus, O...

Q&A: Is It REALLY Different This Time?

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#611: With the state of the world changing so rapidly, Lesley is struggling to accept that “this time isn’t different.” Does the past still reli...

Your Goals Might Be Killing You (Literally), with Sebastien Page

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005, Sebastien Page nearly died from a mysterious bacterial infection that doctors couldn't diagnose for a week. A single observant physician no...

Q&A: How Not To Screw Up Retirement Spending

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eva is approaching financial independence, but she’s worried about messing up the transition. How does she set her portfolio up for success during t...

The Stoic Path to Wealth, with Billionaire Investor and Philanthropist Robert Rosenkrantz

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#608: At age seven, Robert Rosenkrantz made a decision that would shape his entire life: he would take full responsibility for his future.As a child, ...

Q&A: Remember When Money Advice Came From Just One Book at the Library?

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#607: George is a worried baby boomer, wondering if today’s generation is drowning in the noise of today’s financial landscape. How does one find ...

Can You Really Afford to Die? - with Hospice and Oncology Nurse Suzanne O’Brien

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#606: Hospice nurse and end-of-life educator Suzanne O’Brien joins us to discuss the financial realities of dying in America — and they might surp...

Q&A: My Boss Said Return to Office. So I’m Quitting.

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#605: In light of recent federal mandates to return to the office, Pedro is having a hard time giving up on his fully remote lifestyle. Is there a cre...

First Friday: How April’s Tariffs Changed the Economy

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#604: The biggest trade shake-up in 135 years is happening right now. April brought tariff levels that economists say haven't been seen since the ...

Q&A: Who Actually Makes Money From Gold and Silver These Days?

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#603: Bethany’s partner wants to invest most of their money in gold and silver, but no one seems to talk about this kind of investing. Is this a red...

The Surprising Science of Six-Figure Thinking

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#602: Ever looked back at an old Facebook post and cringed? According to Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic, that discomfort is evidence of som...

Q&A: The Stock Market Sucks. Is Private Equity Any Better?

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

#601: Nick and his wife have $100,000 to invest, but they’re worried about the volatility of the current stock market. Should they look into alterna...