Afford Anything

Afford Anything

You can afford anything, but not everything. We make daily decisions about how to spend money, time, energy, focus and attention – and ultimately, our life. How do we make smarter decisions? How do we think from first principles? On the surface, Afford Anything seems like a podcast about money and investing. But under the hood, this is a show about how to think critically, recognize our behavioral blind spots, and make smarter choices. We’re into the psychology of money, and we love metacognition: thinking about how to think. In some episodes, we interview world-class experts: professors, researchers, scientists, authors. In other episodes, we answer your questions, talking through decision-making frameworks and mental models. Want to learn more? Download our free book, Escape, at http://affordanything.com/escape. Hosted by Paula Pant.

Episodes

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

September 12, 2025 • 89 mins
#642: Curious about how individual stock picking could sharpen your investing skills—even if you’re an avid index fund investor? In this episode, Paula Pant sits down with David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool and author of Rule Breaker Investing, to delve into the world of contrarian stock strategies and the mindset behind picking standout companies. You'll explore how evaluating individual stocks can uncover insights that...
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Q&A: ChatGPT Built Her $1.2M Portfolio … But Should You Trust It?

September 9, 2025 • 57 mins
#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 change up her asset allocation? Anonymous and her husband plan to retire in 5 years. They have 10 rental properties and a $2.75 million portfolio. They dream of slow travel, generosity, and family time. How should they structure their assets to support the lifestyle they want? Paula (...
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First Friday: Jerome Powell's Remarks at Jackson Hole

September 5, 2025 • 17 mins
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. And unemployment ticked up to 4.3%. What does this mean? Find out in today's First Friday episode! Timestamps: Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising run times. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off d...
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Q&A: How to Invest in Your Community (by Finding the Third Option)

September 2, 2025 • 48 mins
#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 had to overcome in their businesses? Lesley is attracted to community bonds as a way to build collective wealth for the underserved. But do the same risks exist as they do in the traditional bond market? An anonymous caller is intrigued by the promise of Employee Stock Ownership...
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[GREATEST HITS] James Clear: How Small Daily Actions Compound Into Life-Changing Wealth [RERUN]

August 29, 2025 • 78 mins
#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 to a restaurant. By year's end, they had funded their dream vacation — not through budgeting or willpower, but by hacking their habit loop. This story illustrates how James Clear approaches habit change. Clear joins us to explain the four-stage cycle that drives every behavior: cu...
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Q&A: Can You Open an IRA for Someone Else's Kid? (And Should You?)

August 26, 2025 • 55 mins
#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 opening a 529. He's unsure whether a standard brokerage account, IRA or other options work best when you're not the parent. Diana asks whether she needs TIPS in her portfolio to protect against inflation. Or can she just rely on other investments that outpace inflation? She's also w...
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How to Talk to Your Parents About Money, with Behavioral Economist Etinosa Agbonlahor

August 22, 2025 • 60 mins
#636: Behavioral economist Etinosa Agbonlahor joins us to discuss "money scripts" — the unconscious beliefs we inherit or develop about finances.  Agbonlahor, CEO of Decision Alpha and former Director of Behavioral Science Research at Fidelity Investments, is the author of "How to Talk to Your Parents About Money."  She studied financial management at Cornell University and explains how these hidden biases create problems when we...
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Q&A: Gold vs. Stocks – and Why Inflation Panic Makes You Poor

August 19, 2025 • 94 mins
#635: Arielle’s head is spinning from the seemingly contradictory advice she hears about the best investments to hedge against inflation and a possible recession. What’s she missing? Dave is curious about private investments after listening to a recent First Friday episode. What are they, and should he consider them for his portfolio? Abbey is stoked about the raise she negotiated for her first job out of school. But she’s worrie...
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Wharton Professor: The 7 Hidden Types of Entrepreneurs | with Lori Rosenkopf

August 15, 2025 • 80 mins
#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 marketing firm that eventually works with Dollar Shave Club and Madison Reed. You bootstrap the entire thing without taking a dime of venture capital funding. That's exactly what one Wharton graduate did — and his story represents the reality of entrepreneurship that most people nev...
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Q&A: How to Spot Investment Scams Before You Lose Everything

August 12, 2025 • 75 mins
#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 there’s a shortage of reliable information? Rob is questioning the purpose of a bond allocation in his eight-figure investment portfolio. Is he on to something, or is there a legitimate case to add them? Dan can retire in a few years, but he’s itching to do it now. Would buying a business...
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How to Get Everything You Want at Work

August 8, 2025 • 104 mins
Your Next Raise is open for enrollment! ⁠https://affordanything.com/how-to-negotiate-your-next-raise #632: There are 10 conversations that a person should have at work in order to do a better job, have better relationships at work, and make more money. Melody Wilding, Professor of Human Behavior at Hunter College, joins us to talk about how you can get the most out of your boss. Resources: Managing Up by Melody Wilding: ...
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Q&A: Is ChatGPT's Portfolio Better Than VTSAX?

August 5, 2025 • 102 mins
Your Next Raise now open for enrollment! https://affordanything.com/how-to-negotiate-your-next-raise #631: Jason's analysis of his retirement plan shows that the simple path beats the efficient frontier. Is he right or is he missing something? Minerva is worried about the impacts of tax inefficiency to her wealth. Are her investments properly located? Scott feels frozen because he doesn’t understand the nuances of the efficie...
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BONUS First Monday: How Did the BLS Get the Jobs Report So Wrong?

August 4, 2025 • 17 mins
Special bonus episode. The Bureau of Labor Statistics issues massive job revisions on Friday morning. The revisions wipe out nearly 90% of previously reported gains for May and June. This raises fundamental questions about how our most trusted economic data gets calculated. In this episode, we break down how the system works. We examine why the revisions are so large. We explore what this means for understanding the real econom...
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First Friday: We Were Wrong About 258,000 Jobs (This Changes Everything)

August 1, 2025 • 51 mins
#630: Interesting observations about the current housing market, meme stocks (again), GDP, Fed Meeting, Stock Market, and the latest Jobs Report updates. Timestamps: Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising run times. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off due to changing ad lengths. 00:00 Introduction to Economic Turmoil 01:21 Jobs Report Accordi...
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Nick Maggiulli: The Wealth Ladder Has Six Rungs (and Most People Never Climb Past Four)

July 29, 2025 • 71 mins
#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 guidance treats everyone the same, whether you're scraping together a $1,000 emergency fund or deciding whether to upgrade to business class. Nick Maggiulli, author of "The Wealth Ladder," joins us to break down how money strategies must evolve as your net worth grows. He's mapped out 6 d...
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Why Nice People Struggle with Money, with Dr. Sandra Matz, Professor at Columbia Business School

July 25, 2025 • 70 mins
#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 feel so much harder for some people than others? The answer lies in your personality. Dr. Sandra Matz, a professor at Columbia Business School, studies the intersection of psychology and money management. She joins us to explain why one-size-fits-all financial advice often fails. ...
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Q&A: When Being Good With Money … Isn't Good Enough

July 22, 2025 • 56 mins
#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 they make the purchase now, or keep saving? Reese was recently laid off, and she’s struggling to choose between two financially responsible paths. Should she continue her long-term disability insurance? Or is it wiser to save money? Kip’s youngest has finally graduated from college, and...
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The Hidden Psychology Behind Failed Dreams, with Yale’s Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle

July 18, 2025 • 66 mins
#626: A software programmer and an accountant walk into retirement planning. Are they being creative? Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior research scientist at Yale University's Center for Emotional Intelligence, says absolutely. Pringle defines creativity as something that's both original and effective, whether you're solving an accounting problem or planning an unconventional retirement. We explore the gap between having ideas...
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JL Collins Part 2: What Happens When You Don't Need to Work Anymore?

July 15, 2025 • 59 mins
#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. Collins joins us for part two of our conversation about what happens after you reach financial independence. He tackles the question of whether you should invest differently once you've "won the game." Someone with $5 million spending $100,000 per year sits in a completely different ...
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JL Collins Part 1: The Simple Path vs. The "Optimal" Path

July 11, 2025 • 55 mins
#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 we skip the basics and dive straight into the complex stuff. We ask him whether his simple approach actually beats more sophisticated strategies, and his answer might surprise you. He says that Paul Merriman's four-fund portfolio probably outperforms his one-fund approach mathematical...
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