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  • #743: Everyone Wants a Piece of You. Here’s How to Stay Whole — with Luke Burgis

     

    Luke Burgis built his first company by stocking vending machines.

    He was 23. He and his business partner put pita chips and granola bars in machines that had only ever held Snickers, and called it “food distribution” because it sounded better than what it was.

    Years later, after selling that company and a few others, he had an existential crisis at 29, quit everything, and entered a seminary to figure out if he was meant to become a priest.

    On his first week there, a slip of paper showed up in his mailbox. His assigned “house job” — unpaid work every seminarian does — was restocking the campus vending machines. Nobody there knew his history. Nobody was in on the joke.

    Luke came back on the show to talk about what that moment taught him about belonging: how communities — families, workplaces, group chats, entire cities — quietly train you to want certain things and be a certain way, and what it actually takes to stay yourself inside of them without either disappearing into the group or cutting yourself off from it entirely.

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    Key Takeaways
    • Belonging and Individuality Are Both Non-Negotiable, Not a Trade-Off: Every community — family, work, friend groups, online spaces — pulls you toward fitting in. Luke argues the goal isn’t choosing between belonging and staying yourself; it’s building a self solid enough to do both at once.
    • Passive Aggression Is a Symptom of Conflict Avoidance, Not a Personality Trait: At Luke’s own company, there’s zero tolerance for passive-aggressive communication — anyone can ask “hey, what’s up with that?” without fear. He says most people never learned this is even allowed.
    • The Courage to Disappoint People Is a Skill, Not a Personality Type: Luke traces a lot of his own people-pleasing back to never separating his own beliefs from his family’s emotional reactions to them. Learning to disappoint someone you love, on purpose, for a reason you believe in, is something you build — not something you’re born with or without.
    • “Dunbar’s Number” Isn’t 150 — It’s 5 to 9: Everyone quotes 150 as the max number of relationships a person can maintain. What Robin Dunbar actually said is that the number of people in your innermost, intentionally-built circle is closer to 5 to 9 — and almost nobody picks that circle on purpose.
    • The City You Live In Is Training You to Want Something: Luke points to Paul Graham’s essay “Cities and Ambition” — Cambridge quietly tells you to be smarter, New York tells you to be richer, Vegas told Luke to want status and dopamine. Knowing what your city (or your industry, or your feed) is selling you is the first step to deciding if you actually want it.
      • Resources

      Take the free 10-day FiiRE guide to find out how financially flexible you actually are: https://affordanything.com/fiire

      Luke’s website (books, newsletter, and more)
      Luke’s new book, The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion

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      Chapters

      Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

      (6:40) Two competing drives wired into every human being

      (9:09) Why group pressure breaks some people and not others
      (16:37) Why cutting people off replaced working through conflict
      (18:37) The real number of close friends you actually need
      (25:49) Where your beliefs actually came from
      (30:58) You’re not responsible for how someone else feels
      (35:07) The zero-tolerance workplace rule against passive-aggressiveness
      (40:20) How to actually tell who you can trust
      (52:31) The existential crisis that sent an entrepreneur toward the seminary
      (54:37) The humbling lesson hidden in a vending machine

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      1 hr 11 min
    • #742: Q&A: I Reached Financial Independence Three Years Early … Now What?

      “Joe, if you had to choose between retiring as soon as possible or paying off a mortgage, what would you go for?”

      I ask Joe that right at the top of this episode, and his answer ends up being more prophetic than either of us realized.

      Joe and I help Carol figure out whether paying off a low-rate mortgage early actually makes sense once she’s already hit her retirement number — three years ahead of schedule.

      We also walk a listener through how to hire her first accountant now that her tax situation has suddenly gotten complicated, and Joe finally explains, at length, why he’s not a fan of risk parity investing, even though he agrees with its biggest advocate on almost everything else.

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      Listener Questions

      Susanna asks: I’ve been a DIY tax filer for years, but my situation just got a lot more complicated. My husband quit his W-2 job to start his own business, we moved to a new state with income tax, and we became landlords on a rental property that isn’t quite cash-flowing yet. I don’t know if I need a CPA, an EA, or something else, or how to even find and interview one. Where do I start?

      Carol asks: Since I called in a few years ago with $750,000 saved, I’ve grown that to $1.4 million and I’m now on track to hit my retirement goal three years early, at age 57. Most of my retirement money is in pre-tax accounts, and my plan has been to bridge the gap to age 59 and a half using my brokerage account, plus a rental condo I still owe about $124,000 on at a 4.125% rate. Now I’m wondering if I should redirect my extra savings toward paying off that mortgage instead of building a bigger cash bridge. Does that make sense, or should I just focus on retiring as soon as possible?

      Mark asks: You’ve talked before about building a portfolio along the efficient frontier, and I know Joe isn’t a fan of risk parity investing. But if you take the efficient frontier concept to its logical extreme, doesn’t it lead you toward a risk parity portfolio anyway? I’ve learned a lot from Frank Vasquez’s Risk Parity Radio podcast, especially about how these portfolios can perform well in different economic environments. So why is Joe against risk parity, even though he’s for the efficient frontier?

      Key Takeaways
      • Specialize Around Complexity, Not Account Count: One rental property doesn’t require a specialist CPA. Running your own business does. Match the level of expertise you look for to the most complex part of your financial life, not the part that feels the scariest.
      • Once You’ve Hit Your Number, the Math Becomes Secondary: If your retirement date and finances already work, a decision like paying off a low-interest mortgage early comes down to how you want to manage cash flow and taxes, not whether it mathematically “beats” a savings account.
      • “One More Year” Isn’t Automatically a Red Flag: Staying in a job past the point where you could retire isn’t a problem if you genuinely like the work. Pay attention to how you feel about the job, not just how long you’ve been putting off leaving it.
      • Liking Your Job Changes Every Other Financial Decision: Whether to retire early, pay off debt, or take on more investment risk all hinge on the same question: does work feel like a choice, or an obligation?
      • Agreeing on the Math Doesn’t Mean Agreeing on the Portfolio: Two people can agree on the theory behind a strategy and still land on completely different real-world portfolios, depending on how each of them defines “optimal.”

        • Resources

        Not sure which investments belong in your Roth vs. your taxable account? Grab our free one-page guide to where each type of investment should sit: https://affordanything.com/assetlocation

        Karsten Jeske (“Big ERN”):

        “How to Lie with Personal Finance – Part 4: Risk Parity”: https://earlyretirementnow.com/2026/07/29/risk-parity-lies/
        “Can We Increase the Safe Withdrawal Rate with Risk Parity? – SWR Series Part 64”: https://earlyretirementnow.com/2026/07/27/risk-parity-swr-series-part-64/
        #548: Is Your Retirement Safe in Today’s Economy?: https://affordanything.com/548-is-your-retirement-safe-in-todays-economy-with-dr-karsten-jeske-big-ern/
        #643: LIVESTREAM: A Former Fed Economist Reveals What’s Really Happening: https://affordanything.com/643-livestream-a-former-fed-economist-reveals-whats-really-happening-with-karsten-jeske-big-ern/

        Nick Maggiulli:

        #375: The 2X Rule (and Other Wealth-Accelerating Advice): https://affordanything.com/375-the-2x-rule-and-other-wealth-accelerating-advice-with-nick-maggiulli/
        #629: The Wealth Ladder Has Six Rungs (and Most People Never Climb Past Four): https://affordanything.com/629-nick-maggiulli-the-wealth-ladder-has-six-rungs-and-most-people-never-climb-past-four/

        Frank Vasquez:

        #618: How to Retire at 50 While Supporting Aging Parents: https://affordanything.com/618-how-to-retire-at-50-while-supporting-aging-parents-with-frank-vasquez/
        His podcast, Risk Parity Radio: https://www.riskparityradio.com

        JL Collins:

        #624: JL Collins Part 1 – The Simple Path vs. The “Optimal” Path: https://affordanything.com/624-jl-collins-part-1-the-simple-path-vs-the-optimal-path/
        #625: JL Collins Part 2 – What Happens When You Don’t Need to Work Anymore?: https://affordanything.com/625-jl-collins-part-2-what-happens-when-you-dont-need-to-work-anymore/

        Paul Merriman:

        #550: Paul Merriman – The 4-Fund Strategy That Beats the S&P 500: https://affordanything.com/550-paul-merriman-the-4-fund-strategy-that-beats-the-sp-500/
        #590: Small Cap Showdown! Paul Merriman vs. Dr. Karsten Jeske: https://affordanything.com/affordanything-com-small-cap-value-debate/
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        Chapters

        Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

        (4:02) Why software can’t handle a messy tax situation

        (8:02) The three types of tax pros — and who you actually need
        (12:46) How to interview and choose the right accountant
        (24:42) She hit her $1.4M goal three years early
        (32:22) The hidden fear behind “one more year” at work
        (38:29) Why loving your job changes the retirement math
        (49:39) Why a former advisor won’t touch risk parity
        (53:46) Four investing legends who all disagree with each other
        (59:35) The historian’s warning: history doesn’t repeat itself
        (1:07:57) The cooking analogy that explains your portfolio

        Thanks to our sponsors!

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        Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

        Quince

        Try NetSuite Next for free — built for every industry, ready for every boardroom. If your revenue is seven figures or more, go to NetSuite.ai/PAULA

        EarnHaus

        Ready for a flexible side hustle? Create a free account at EarnHaus.com/PAULA and see which paid surveys are available to you.

        Monarch

        Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

        1 hr 15 min
      • #741: You Can’t Buy Back Your 20’s — with Jack Raines

        Jack Raines liked his boss on Hinge.

        It wasn’t reciprocal. A few months later, three beers deep at a bar, he told her he was quitting — then found a $250 plane ticket to Barcelona and left the country for a year.

        I sat down with Jack to talk about his philosophy for how to actually spend your 20s.

        We also get into why he turned $6,000 into $400,000 trading SPACs, then lost $200,000 chasing the same high.

        And why “golden handcuffs” show up in a lot more places than just your job.

        Listen Here

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        Key Takeaways
        • Your 20s Are for Experimenting, Not Committing: It’s fine not to know what you want at 22 or 23. Try different things rather than locking into a path out of fear or scarcity.
        • There’s Rarely Been a Better Time to Be a Curious Generalist: AI has lowered the barrier to building and doing interesting things quickly — optimism, not doom, is the more useful lens in your 20s.
        • Every Age Has Its Own Closing Windows: The cheap, thrill-seeking travel of your early 20s won’t come back the same way once it’s gone — but every decade after has its own window worth noticing before it closes.
        • A Trading Windfall Is Rarely Repeatable: Jack turned $6,000 into $400,000 trading SPACs, then lost roughly $200,000 chasing the same high with a riskier bet. An edge in one niche doesn’t transfer to speculating in general.
        • Golden Handcuffs Aren’t Just About Jobs: The same trapped feeling that keeps people in a job they hate can show up in a cheap 2020 mortgage or a relationship kept together to avoid splitting assets. The fix is being honest about what you actually want now.
          • Resources

          Take the free 10-day FiiRE money-mindset workbook: if “I make too much to quit” sounds familiar, this helps you find out if that’s actually true. → https://affordanything.com/fiire

          Jack’s new book, Young Money: A Field Guide to Wealth and Purpose in Your Twenties → https://amzn.to/3UAQ2Kk
          Nick Maggiulli’s The Wealth Ladder, the six-level wealth framework Paula references → https://amzn.to/4xJZk5g
          Freedom, the app Jack and Paula both use to block social media and protect focus time → https://freedom.to
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          Chapters

          Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

          (02:00) He liked his boss on a dating app

          (06:57) Two very different ways to spend your twenties
          (17:56) Why grad school became his built-in sabbatical
          (19:16) Why 30 gets judged harder than 24
          (34:12) The real cause of career apathy
          (39:20) His best fix for feeling stuck
          (46:27) Same decision, right at 24, wrong at 34
          (01:01:43) What’s really keeping you in a job you hate
          (01:14:12) Why more money doesn’t fix stress
          (01:17:56) Turning $6,000 into $400,000 in a stock bubble

          Thanks to our sponsors!

          Cozy Earth

          Get 20% off at cozyearth.com with code AFFORDANYTHING

          MasterClass

          MasterClass keeps adding new classes. Get at least 15% off any annual membership at masterclass.com/AFFORD.

          Mintmobile

          If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

          Policy Genius

          Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

          Netsuite

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          Monarch

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          1 hr 26 min
        • #739: First Friday: We Lost 23,000 Jobs, Yet Somehow Unemployment is Down?!?!

          Why did I just buy my first bond ever, after years of being 100% invested in stocks?

          It comes down to a single number: 5.2%. That’s the highest 30-year Treasury yield we’ve seen since 2007, and it’s reshaping the calculus for every other investment out there.

          In this month’s First Friday economic update, I break down a jobs report that lost jobs while unemployment somehow dropped, why bond yields spiking to a two-decade high matters more than people realize, and a wild regional divergence in home prices that I haven’t seen in a decade of watching this market.

          Listen Here

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          Key Takeaways
          • A Contradictory Jobs Report: The U.S. lost 23,000 jobs in July, badly missing expectations of a 95,000 job gain, yet unemployment ticked down to 4.1% and unemployment claims hit their lowest level since 1969. We’re in a “low-hire, low-fire” economy: good news if you already have a job, tough news if you’re looking for one, especially in your 20s.
          • Why a 5.2% Bond Yield Is a Big Deal: Thirty-year Treasury yields just hit their highest point since 2007. That forces every other investment, stocks and real estate included, to justify a real risk premium over a much safer alternative — which could either trigger a shift out of equities or get steamrolled by AI-driven bullishness.
          • Real Estate Is Diverging Wildly by Region: National list prices are down 2.4% year over year, but New York State prices are up 8% while Austin is down 8.5% — a 16.5 percentage point gap between two markets, driven by opposite inventory stories.
          • Gold and Bonds Are Betting on Different Things: Gold fell nearly 30% earlier this year before rebounding to a two-month high. Unlike a bond, gold pays no interest, which makes it a purely speculative bet that inflation fears or a cooling economy will keep driving demand.
          • 530A Accounts Are Officially Live: As of July 4th, babies born between 2025 and 2028 get $1,000 in government seed money in a new tax-advantaged account. Any minor with a Social Security number can have one opened on their behalf, even without earned income, unlike a Roth IRA.
            • Resources

            Wondering which account should actually hold that bond (or gold, or index fund) you just bought? Grab our free cheat sheet showing exactly where each investment belongs: https://affordanything.com/assetlocation

            Chat about this episode with the community: https://affordanything.com/community
            TreasuryDirect, where Paula opened her account to buy the bond: https://treasurydirect.gov
            CME FedWatch Tool, for tracking the market’s odds of a September rate hike: https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/interest-rates/cme-fedwatch-tool.html
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            Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
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            Chapters

            Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

            (00:00) Why the jobs report shocked economists this month

            (03:24) How jobs can drop while unemployment drops too
            (08:03) Why Paula just bought her first bond ever
            (09:35) A crash course on why bond yields are spiking
            (25:34) Why unemployment claims just hit a 55-year low
            (27:57) Why young job seekers have it harder than everyone else
            (35:23) Why mortgage rates just hit a one-year high
            (51:28) Why gold is rebounding, and who’s buying it
            (57:47) What the new 530A investment accounts mean for your kids

            Thanks to our sponsors!

            Policy Genius

            Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

            Monarch

            Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

            Mintmobile

            If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

            Cozy Earth

            Head to cozyearth.com and use my code AFFORDANYTHING for an exclusive 20% off

            MasterClass

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            Wayfair

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            1 hr 4 min
          • #738: Hackers Waited 3 Months for This Couple’s $1.2 Million Deal, with Dr. Eric Cole [GREATEST HITS]

            Hackers broke into a real estate closing company’s servers and waited three months for the right deal — then intercepted a wire and stole $1.2 million from a couple who did everything right, right down to the closing table.

            Dr. Eric Cole was a former CIA hacker, Cybersecurity Commissioner under President Obama, and longtime security advisor to Bill Gates. We’re resharing this conversation, originally released in June 2025, in honor of his sudden passing this year and the practical security knowledge he left behind.

            Listen Here

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            Key Takeaways
            • You Are the Target, Not Just Big Companies: Attackers deliberately go after individuals and small businesses with weak security, precisely because large companies have dedicated security teams. Small, repeated thefts — sometimes as little as $50 a month — often go unnoticed for years.
            • Banks Protect Themselves, Not You: FDIC insurance covers you if the bank itself fails. It does not cover you if your password gets stolen and someone drains your account through an electronic transfer — in most cases, that loss is legally yours to absorb, not the bank’s.
            • Never Trust a Wire Instruction From Email Alone: A hacked closing company can sit inside a compromised server for months, waiting for a large cash real estate deal before sending fraudulent wire instructions. Always call the company directly, using a phone number you look up yourself, to verify any wire transfer before sending money.
            • Turn On the Security Features You Already Have: Two-factor authentication, account alerts, and a unique password for every site close the vast majority of the vulnerabilities scammers exploit. Nearly all the account takeovers Eric saw traced back to a reused or weak password alone.
            • Separate Your Devices by Risk: Reserve one device for high-value activity like banking and financial logins, and use a separate, simpler device for everyday browsing and email — so a phishing click on the browsing device can’t cascade into access to your money.
              • Resources

              See your full financial picture — income, debt, safeguards, and goals — in one place with our free one-page worksheet: https://affordanything.com/cornerstone

              Dr. Eric Cole’s firm, Secure Anchor Consulting: secure-anchor.com
              Signal, the encrypted messaging app Dr. Cole recommends for sensitive conversations: https://signal.org
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              Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

              Chapters

              Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

              (03:41) Why you’re an easier target than a big bank

              (06:46) Why cryptocurrency theft is nearly impossible to reverse
              (10:59) How one password can move half your savings
              (17:35) The fake unpaid-toll text that’s made scammers millions
              (21:55) Why paying the ransom is sometimes the smart move
              (29:05) How AI clones your kid’s voice for scams
              (37:58) The one thing to never hand a child
              (54:57) Why you should mask your location online
              (01:16:18) The setting that blocks almost every account hack
              (01:18:45) The bank alert that can undo fraud fast

              Thanks to our sponsors!

              Policy Genius

              Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

              Monarch

              Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

              Mintmobile

              If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

              Cozy Earth

              Head to cozyearth.com and use my code AFFORDANYTHING for an exclusive 20% off

              MasterClass

              MasterClass keeps adding new classes. Get at least 15% off any annual membership at masterclass.com/AFFORD.

              Wayfair

              Join Wayfair Rewards to get 5% back on every purchase. Shop all things home at Wayfair.com.

              1 hr 54 min
            • #737: She’s Researched Money for 30 Years—and Never Seen It This Bad for Young People, with Beth Kobliner

              The stock market is near record highs. Unemployment is low. So why does it feel like young people have never been more pessimistic about money?

              Beth Kobliner has been writing about personal finance for over 30 years, and she says today’s 20- and 30-somethings have it harder than any generation she’s covered.

              She has the data to prove it.

              I sat down with Beth to dig into why the numbers and the mood don’t match, why the gambling boom isn’t really about gambling at all, and why tapping your phone to pay might be quietly costing you more than you think.

              Listen Here

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              Key Takeaways
              • The Pessimism Is Mathematically Supported, Not Just a Mood: The median age of first-time homebuyers has jumped from 28 to nearly 40. Even after adjusting for inflation, entry-level home prices have skyrocketed, and recent college graduates now have a higher unemployment rate than the general population — a complete reversal from past decades. When young people say things are harder, the numbers back them up.
              • The Gambling Boom Is Really About Giving Up: Getting a first job and buying a first home are both harder than they used to be, and for many people, that despair flips the logic on risk. Economists call this the “giving up” effect — deciding you’ll never get ahead the traditional way, so you take a long-shot bet instead, even though it’s statistically a bad decision.
              • The Easier It Gets to Pay, the More You Overspend: Research on “frictionless finance” shows that the further you get from physically handing over cash, the more you spend — credit cards already increase spending versus cash, and tapping your phone increases it even further. The behavioral fix: add friction back in, like pulling out a physical card instead of tapping your phone.
                • Resources

                A free 10-day workbook to work through your money mindset and your next move: https://affordanything.com/fiire

                Get Beth Kobliner’s book Get a Financial Life: https://amzn.to/4pXgPfK
                A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel, the index-fund classic Beth and Paula both referenced: https://amzn.to/4bq9IGC
                ————————
                Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
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                Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

                Chapters

                Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

                (00:39) Why today’s 20- and 30-somethings have it harder than any generation Beth’s covered

                (03:04) The consumer sentiment reading that’s worse than the pandemic and the Great Recession
                (05:14) Why record-low unemployment doesn’t mean what you think for new grads
                (10:23) Why the median first-time homebuyer is now pushing 40
                (13:36) The real reason behind the boom in crypto, sports betting, and meme stocks
                (15:52) The “giving up” factor economists say is driving risky bets
                (17:15) Why a tiny sliver of prediction-market bettors take home most of the winnings
                (23:26) Is the “avocado toast” spending story about young people even true?
                (43:44) How tapping your phone quietly makes you spend more than a credit card
                (01:04:13) Why financial optimism is rising in countries poorer than the U.S.

                Thanks to our sponsors!

                Policy Genius

                Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

                Monarch

                Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

                Mintmobile

                If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

                 

                1 hr 21 min
              • #736: Q&A: Would You Spend $60,000 on a Wedding Knowing It Could Be $800,000 Someday?

                “Joe, how much did you spend on your wedding?”

                That’s how this episode kicks off, and it sets up the theme running through everything else.

                Joe and I help a couple figure out if their plan to retire together in 12 years actually holds up, and weigh in on whether a $60,000 wedding is a financially smart move.

                We also help someone in Luxembourg decide whether to ditch a 10-year pension contract for DIY index investing.

                Listen Here

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                Listener Questions

                Mike asks: My spouse and I want to retire together in 12 years, at 63 and 55. We have $300K in Roth accounts, $300K pre-tax, $70K in a taxable brokerage, and $40K in savings, plus a military pension estimated at $80,000 a year. Am I approaching this correctly by treating all of our accounts as one combined portfolio, and what’s the Achilles heel in this plan?

                Abby asks: My husband and I are planning a $60,000 wedding in New Zealand, which we can cash flow. We have $800,000 in investments and a combined income of $400,000. It feels against the FI mindset to spend this much, especially knowing what that money could grow into in 40 years. Is there a rule of thumb for how much to spend on a wedding?

                Leah asks: My partner and I are immigrants living in Luxembourg, contributing to a private pension plan that gives us a nice tax deduction but charges about 1.2% in annual fees and locks us in for 10 years. We’re confident we could invest directly in ETFs ourselves and skip the fees, but I’m worried we’d end up tempted to gamble on individual stocks instead. Does it make sense to keep the pension plan, or go it alone?

                Key Takeaways
                • Watch for Colliding Timelines: If a big expense like college lands the same year you plan to retire, sequence-of-returns risk hits hardest right then. Plan that window separately instead of co-mingling college funding with retirement drawdowns.
                • Treat a Couple’s Accounts as One Portfolio: When both spouses plan to retire together, it can make more sense to overweight whichever fund performs better in each tax bucket rather than mirroring the same allocation across both people’s accounts individually.
                • Money Is a Tool, Not a Trophy: The point of money is to build the life you actually want, not to maximize some hypothetical future balance. If a big expense reflects your real priorities and there’s nothing more meaningful to spend it on, guilt over what it “could have been worth” isn’t a good reason to hold back.
                • Spending More Doesn’t Guarantee a Better Experience: The most expensive weddings aren’t always the best ones. Clarity on what you actually want the day to feel like matters more than the size of the budget.
                • Know Yourself Before You Optimize for Fees: A higher-fee plan you’ll actually stick with can beat a cheaper, more “optimal” plan you end up sabotaging through your own behavior. Automation and structural friction often matter more than shaving off a fraction of a percent in fees.
                  • Resources

                  Figure out your own money mindset — free FiiRE Playbook: https://affordanything.com/fiire

                  Steve Stewart and Sean Mullaney’s free webinar on ACA subsidies and the Subsidy Cliff August 4th – no RSVP needed: https://SteveStewart.me/webinar
                  Hear Paula, OG, and Jesse Cramer react to the Diary of a CEO episode on AI’s future, on the Stacking Benjamins podcast: https://youtu.be/wppwRxGtFD4
                  ————————
                  Submit your own question for a future episode: https://affordanything.com/voicemail
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                  Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
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                  Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

                  Chapters

                  Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

                  (05:26) Can this couple retire together in 12 years?

                  (08:22) Why his college savings look thinner than expected
                  (30:37) The two retirement levers you can actually pull
                  (30:54) A little-known tax-free account for kids
                  (34:41) Is a $60,000 wedding a smart money move?
                  (38:31) The math behind what that wedding money could grow into
                  (44:57) The $25,000 zipline entrance he saw at a wedding
                  (52:14) What every big purchase question really comes down to
                  (55:11) Pay the fee, or invest it yourself?
                  (1:08:28) Why a small fee might be worth paying

                  Thanks to our sponsors!

                  Policy Genius

                  Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

                  Monarch

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                  Mintmobile

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                  1 hr 17 min
                • #735: He Tried 30+ Side Hustles Before 3 Actually Paid Off, with Cody Berman

                  Cody Berman was 19 when he learned about financial independence, and 25 when he reached it.

                  There’s no trust fund here, no lucky exit. Just a brutal train commute, over 30 side hustles, and a gap between what he earned and what he spent that he refused to let shrink.

                  I sat down with Cody to unpack the two very different paths to FI, why most people quit scalable side hustles right before they start paying off, and how house hacking became the single biggest lever in his entire journey.

                  Listen Here

                  Apple Podcasts

                  Spotify

                  Key Takeaways
                  • Two Paths to FI: Nest Egg vs. Cash Flow: The classic route is Nest Egg FI — save 25 times your expenses and live off a 4% withdrawal rate. The other is Cash Flow FI — build enough monthly income from real estate, a business, or digital products that you never touch the principal at all. Even people who’ve sold companies for eight or nine figures often find it psychologically harder to draw down a lump sum than to live off steady cash flow.
                  • The Gap Is the Whole Game: Cody’s income went from $96,000 to $198,000 to $403,000 over three years, while he held his expenses flat at $24,000 a year the entire time. Especially early on, the size of that gap between earning and spending matters far more than whether your investments return 8% or 9% — and a few intensely focused years can do most of the heavy lifting toward FI.
                  • Scalable Side Hustles Pay for Years — But Only If You Don’t Quit Too Early: Cody’s flagship example is a set of Valentine’s Day printables he built on Etsy back in 2018 that still sell today. Most people quit just a few weeks into a scalable side hustle because the payoff is delayed — but the model only works if you trust the process long enough to let it compound.
                    • Resources

                    Grab the free 10-day guide to figuring out which side hustle is worth building next: https://affordanything.com/fiire

                    Retire by 30 by Cody Berman: https://amzn.to/4gwGSYm
                    The Financial Independence Show (Cody’s podcast): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-financial-independence-show/id1434155196
                    The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss: https://amzn.to/4vXfsj6
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                    Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
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                    Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

                    Chapters

                    Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

                    (00:00) Meet Cody Berman

                    (03:27) Two paths to FI
                    (05:51) Big piles feel scary
                    (07:09) Cody’s FI numbers
                    (08:12) Hustling on the train
                    (11:58) The side hustle graveyard
                    (14:56) Four side hustle types
                    (19:47) The rich own assets
                    (37:17) Biking Uber Eats in Australia
                    (44:20) Skills are future currency
                    (45:33) AI makes doers stronger
                    (52:36) The gap is everything
                    (58:54) Valentine’s printables pay off
                    (1:07:54) House hacking slashes costs
                    (1:12:45) Life after FI

                    Thanks to our sponsors!

                    Policy Genius

                    Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

                    Monarch

                    Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

                    Mintmobile

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                    Prolon

                    Ready for your own reset? Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift on Prolon’s 5-Day Program at ProlonLife.com/PAULA.

                    Quince

                    Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to Quince.com/paula for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada too!

                    1 hr 17 min
                  • #734: Q&A: Her Brother Owns 3 Houses — Is That Why We Have a ‘Housing Shortage’?

                    Is there really a housing shortage — or do we just have a lot of wealthy people buying up all the good stuff?

                    That’s the question kicking off this episode.

                    Joe and I also help a woman simplify a $1.5 million portfolio she’s managing on her own for the first time.

                    And we help a 26-year-old figure out whether paying off his mortgage or investing the difference gets him to financial independence faster.

                    Listen Here

                    Apple Podcasts

                    Spotify

                    Listener Questions

                    Karen asks: My brother is a wealthy patent attorney who owns three vacation homes and might buy a fourth. Is the U.S. actually short on housing, or do we just have income inequality pushing wealthier people to buy up more of the available supply?

                    Sarah asks: After a mini retirement, I let go of my financial planner and I’m now managing $1.5 million myself, split across a rollover IRA, Roth IRA, and taxable account — all invested in the same 13 funds. How do I simplify this down to three or four funds and make my asset allocation more efficient?

                    Michael asks: I’m 26, single, and about to buy a $350,000 house. When I run the numbers, paying off the mortgage versus investing the difference gets me to financial independence in about the same amount of time, but paying it off gives me a lower withdrawal rate. Am I thinking about this the right way?

                    Key Takeaways
                    • Housing Shortage Estimates Vary Wildly by Methodology: Estimates range from 1.2 million to 10 million units depending on the data source and whether uncounted “household formation” is included, but every major estimate agrees a real shortage exists — with a rough consensus around four to five million units nationwide.
                    • National Housing Stats Hide Local Reality: The shortage is concentrated in entry-level homes in coastal metros like New York and LA, not the luxury vacation markets wealthy buyers shop in — while some Midwest and Sun Belt metros are close to balanced supply.
                    • Asset Location Beats Fund Count: Cutting down the number of funds you own doesn’t automatically make a portfolio better. What matters more is asset location — putting your fastest-growing assets in tax-exempt accounts and matching each account’s tax treatment to the right holdings, instead of copying the same allocation into every account.
                    • Know Why You Own What You Own: Understanding the actual reason behind each position — not just chasing an efficient frontier or a model portfolio — makes it far less likely you’ll panic and blow up your strategy when market conditions change.
                    • A 30-Year Mortgage Can Buy You Optionality: Taking the lower monthly payment of a 30-year mortgage, even at a slightly higher rate, preserves flexibility during major life changes — which can matter more than a small “expected return” edge on paper, especially in your 20s and 30s or when transitioning to less predictable income.
                      • Resources

                      Free cheat sheet: which investments belong in which account: https://affordanything.com/assetlocation

                      7 Expensive Rental Property Mistakes to Avoid (free guide): https://affordanything.com/rent
                      Practical Investing and the Efficient Frontier, with Joe Saul-Sehy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz59b5H5puw
                      ————————
                      Submit your own question for a future episode: https://affordanything.com/voicemail
                      ————————
                      Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
                      ————————-
                      Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

                      Chapters

                      Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

                      (01:41) Is America’s housing shortage actually real?

                      (06:29) The real numbers behind the housing shortage
                      (14:29) A stunning stat on building permits vs. new jobs
                      (24:32) A simple way to add housing and earn more
                      (28:23) A caller’s plan to retire in 15 years
                      (33:01) Which accounts should hold which investments
                      (40:22) Why more funds can beat fewer funds
                      (52:19) A costly bias that skews money decisions
                      (58:46) Should a 26-year-old rush to pay off his mortgage?
                      (1:09:04) A gut-check for choosing between two paths

                      Thanks to our sponsors!

                      Policy Genius

                      Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

                      Monarch

                      Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

                      Mintmobile

                      If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

                      Prolon

                      Ready for your own reset? Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift on Prolon’s 5-Day Program at ProlonLife.com/PAULA.

                      Quince

                      Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to Quince.com/paula for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada too!

                      1 hr 29 min
                    • #733: The Hidden Math Behind Every Venture Capital Fund, with former Wharton Prof. David Bell

                      Would you trust someone with your money if the “interview” for the job was a fifty-page pitch deck and a decade-long commitment?

                      That’s essentially what happens every time someone becomes a limited partner in a venture capital fund.

                      I sat down again with former Wharton professor and venture capitalist David Bell for part two of our conversation. This time, we go inside the mechanics of venture capital itself.

                      We cover how GPs and LPs actually split money and risk. How to evaluate a fund manager the way you’d evaluate a job candidate. And why taking on outside investors can quietly change what’s actually best for your business.

                      Listen Here

                      Apple Podcasts

                      Spotify

                      Key Takeaways
                      • Evaluating a GP Is a Hiring Decision: Credentials matter less than you’d think. The strongest signal is asking founders a fund manager has already invested in whether that person actually helped — brought capital, made introductions, or added real value.
                      • The “Two and Twenty” Structure: Most VC funds charge LPs a 2% annual management fee and keep 20% of the profits. A fund needs to be large enough that the 2% fee can actually cover salaries, legal costs, and office space — a small fund can end up undercapitalized.
                      • SPVs Let You Make a Concentrated Bet: When one company in a fund’s portfolio is taking off, a manager can raise a Special Purpose Vehicle so LPs can put new money directly into that single deal — a higher-risk, higher-conviction move than investing in the whole fund.
                      • Outside Money Changes a Founder’s Incentives: Investors often want a company’s valuation “marked up” as fast as possible, since it helps them raise their next fund — regardless of whether that pace of growth is actually healthy for the business.
                      • Signaling Theory Explains a Lot of Business: From “why grinding through a prestigious degree signals competence” to “why a 10-year car warranty signals reliability,” costly, hard-to-fake signals build trust in situations where you can’t directly verify quality — including when you’re choosing who to trust with your money.
                        • Resources

                        Get your free FiiRE workbook – https://affordanything.com/fiire

                        David Bell’s book, Location Is (Still) Everything – https://amzn.to/4aUO3Gh
                        More on David Bell and Idea Farm Ventures – https://www.davidbell.co/
                        Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547217/lost-and-founder-by-rand-fishkin
                        Burn Rate by Andy Dunn: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653309/burn-rate-by-andy-dunn
                        ————————
                        Stay in the loop – https://affordanything.com/newsletter
                        ————————-
                        Join our community – https://affordanything.com/community

                        Chapters

                        Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads.

                        (03:41) How venture capital actually works, in three tiers

                        (06:09) The fee formula nearly every venture fund runs on
                        (10:30) Why fund managers get paid before they invest anything
                        (14:19) The surprisingly low bar to invest in risky deals
                        (26:52) What to ask before trusting any fund manager
                        (29:27) How investors make an all-or-nothing bet on one company
                        (34:33) The red flag hiding in an eager fund manager
                        (42:16) What separates a great fund manager from a mediocre one
                        (48:10) How outside money quietly changes what a founder optimizes for
                        (55:47) Why kids today may never remember life before AI

                        Thanks to our sponsors!

                        Policy Genius

                        Secure your family’s future with Policygenius. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save.

                        Monarch

                        Use code AFFORD at Monarch.com to get your first year of Monarch Core half off at just $50.

                        Mintmobile

                        If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at Mintmobile.com/paula

                        NetSuite

                        Built for every industry. Ready for every boardroom. NetSuite.AI/PAULA

                        Quince

                        Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to Quince.com/paula for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada too!

                        1 hr 6 min

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