Afford Anything Podcast

Acorns CEO: I Was Too Scared to Invest, and It Cost Me Ten Years | Noah Kerner

1.2K views · 1d ago · 57:07

Guests: Noah Kerner, Acorns CEO

Noah’s advice is to start small. Open an Acorns account, invest at least $5, and get a $5 bonus investment Over half of young Americans avoid looking at their money to cope with stress, and the CEO of Acorns says he was one of them. In his twenties, even a guaranteed 2.5% return felt too scary to touch, and it cost him a decade of growth.

Topics: How fear cost him a decade of investing · Why money feels more taboo than sex · Why saving 13 cents beats saving nothing · Why people feel broke during a long bull market · Same $10,000, different app, different behavior · Why the best investing is boring

Q&A: Dad Left $500K in Index Funds. Should It Go to Cash During Probate?

3.4K views · 4d ago · 1:09:42

OUTGROWING YOUR TARGET-DATE FUND? HERE’S WHICH ACCOUNT EACH NEW FUND BELONGS IN A bond fund that lost 38% feels like proof you should have bought individual bonds instead. But individual bonds would have lost value too; you just wouldn’t get a statement telling you so.

Topics: Why disability insurance costs so much · An executor’s $500K dilemma: stay invested or cash out? · Why Joe would move the estate to cash · The 50/50 split both hosts can live with · Her bond fund lost 38%. Now what? · Why individual bonds wouldn’t have dodged the loss

3 Million Americans Got Rich From Boring Businesses. Here's How | Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick

4.3K views · 1w ago · 1:30:34

Buy a retiring owner's business or build your own? Find the ownership path that fits your money and risk Roughly 3 million Americans who own private businesses — car dealerships, beer distributors, dental practices — are collectively worth more than ten times the entire Forbes 400. Most of them didn't start rich, and you've probably never heard of a single one.

Topics: Why 3 million business owners outweigh the Forbes 400 · The overlooked businesses behind America's quiet fortunes · Why retiring owners could be your buying opportunity · Own all of something small, not 2% of a unicorn · Buy a business or start one? · How to fail small without getting wiped out

Q&A: Coast FIRE at 40 — We Saved $1 Million. Can We Stop Saving and Work Part-Time?

4.8K views · 1w ago · 59:59

RETIREMENT ALREADY COVERED? MAP WHERE YOUR NEXT DOLLAR SHOULD GO — ON ONE FREE PAGE A couple in their late 30s and early 40s with $1 million invested may never need to save another dollar for retirement, because left alone, that money could grow to about $4 million. The harder question isn't the money. It's which of them keeps working to carry the family's health insurance.

Topics: $1 million by 40 and burned out: can they downshift? · Why one spouse should keep the health insurance · Where to find part-time work that still pays well · Why work-life balance comes in seasons, not days · What it really means to stop saving for retirement · How $1 million could grow to $4 million untouched

Jaspreet Singh | We’re Taught to Be Workers. Here’s How to Become an Owner

11K views · 2w ago · 1:41:10

Guest: Jaspreet Singh

JASPREET LEARNED RENTALS, BUSINESS, AND INVESTING THE EXPENSIVE WAY. MAP YOUR OWN PATH FOR FREE At 19, Jaspreet Singh bought a rental for $8,000. What followed was a nightmare tenant, a lawsuit, and a later house stripped of its copper, and it taught him what the real estate books leave out.

Topics: Buying a rental for $8,000 at age 19 · Skipping a $200 inspection on his worst deal · Thieves stripped the copper, furnace, and AC · The $500,000 blog that earned a few thousand · Telling his team AI could bankrupt them by 2030 · Why a coasting employee hurts more than a weak one

Q&A: Joe Says She’s Unemployable. Paula Says She’s the Perfect Hire.

3K views · 2w ago · 1:16:00

Building your own mix instead of a target date fund? See which account each fund belongs in She’s 26, her net worth is already 10 times her annual spending, and money no longer motivates her. Joe thinks admitting that would scare off employers, but Paula thinks it’s exactly what she looks for in a hire.

Topics: She’s 26 and no longer motivated by money · What Paula looks for instead of money motivation · The hidden risk of working at a tiny company · The 8-hour layover test for coworkers · Why Paula put her parents in target date funds · Joe’s 30-minute alternative to target date funds

Steve Jobs Hated the Name “Genius Bar.” Here’s How I Changed His Mind — with Ron Johnson

2.2K views · 3w ago · 1:51:17

Guest: Ron Johnson

Would you turn down $120K for work you love? Find out what’s really driving your money choices GOT A QUESTION? WE’D LOVE TO HEAR IT NEVER MISS AN EPISODE STAY IN THE LOOP TOOLS AND RESOURCES WATCH THIS VIDEO NEXT: How to Get Ahead at Work | HARVARD PROF EXPLAINS

Topics: Why a few columns made Steve Jobs furious · How he talked Steve Jobs into shopping malls · Why he turned down $120K to unload trucks · Why big goals beat small improvements · How to sell a risky idea to cautious coworkers · The $30 tea kettle that caught Steve Jobs’ eye

He Lost $500K When Lehman Brothers Collapsed. Here's How He Invests Now | Jared Dillian

4.9K views · 3w ago · 49:23

Guest: Jared Dillian

BEFORE YOU ADD BONDS OR REAL ESTATE FUNDS, KNOW WHICH ACCOUNT THEY BELONG IN In September 2008, Jared Dillian watched about half a million dollars of Lehman Brothers stock go to zero in a single week. He wasn't allowed to sell any of it. What he built afterward is a portfolio designed so he never goes through that again.

Topics: Walking into Lehman Brothers the day it collapsed · The $500,000 in company stock that went to zero · How cheap living let him start a business instead · Why buy-and-hold hasn't faced a real crash since 2008 · The Las Vegas test for your risk tolerance · A five-way portfolio that fell just 9.8% in 2008

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Rob Berger | AI, Debt & Social Security - Should You Change Your Plan?

21K views · 4w ago · 49:19

Guest: Rob Berger

FEELING OVERWHELMED BY RETIREMENT WORRIES? SEE YOUR WHOLE FINANCIAL PICTURE ON ONE PAGE Many retirees fear running out of money more than they fear dying. AI is reshaping the economy, the U.S. now spends over $1 trillion on interest, and Social Security faces a shortfall. Rob Berger says if you're worried about all that, it's a sign you're thinking clearly.

Topics: What AI changes about investing, and what it doesn't · Why Rob isn't touching his portfolio despite high valuations · Why a strong economy still feels so bad · What happens if Social Security benefits drop 30% · Why we can't simply grow our way out of debt · How to retire in the next 5 years without panicking

Q&A: I Have 4 Months of Savings In The Bank. When Will I Be Ready To Pursue Other Financial Goals?

2.2K views · 1mo ago · 1:19:39

Emergency fund, sabbatical, retirement? See which box each dollar belongs in with this free one-page worksheet Four months of savings in the bank, a goal of eight, and a career break she's excited to fund. Does everything else really have to wait? Paula and Joe's answer: don't turn your emergency fund into an emergency.

Topics: The real difference between emergencies and expenses · Why a former planner never said "emergency fund" · The monthly math that breaks most wish lists · One question that reveals what you really want · Why four months of savings is enough for now · Fund the sabbatical before earmarking a down payment

📚 Book mentioned: Buy the book

Why 60,000 New York Apartments Sit Empty in a Housing Crisis, with Kenny Burgos

3.8K views · 1mo ago · 1:14:17

Guest: Kenny Burgos

New York City is short roughly half a million homes, yet at least 60,000 rent-regulated apartments sit empty. Under current rules, many owners lose less money by leaving them vacant than by fixing them up. Kenny Burgos is CEO of the New York Apartment Association, which represents owners of rent-stabilized buildings, and a former New York State Assemblymember from the Bronx.

Topics: Why New York's 1969 emergency rent rules never ended · The surprisingly low rent most New Yorkers actually pay · Why buildings now sell for $50,000 an apartment · Costs rose 4.5%. Rents were frozen at 0%. · The rent-freeze program that actually works · Who really pays when rents are frozen

Q&A: I’m Not Enjoying Managing My Rental Property. Should I Just Sell It?

2.8K views · 1mo ago · 1:02:26

Torn on selling a rental? Get our free 10-day guide, which includes a deal-analysis exercise to help you decide with the numbers, not just your gut A caller's rental is performing fine, but a late-paying tenant and a roof replacement have her ready to sell it before she moves to Madrid for her MBA. Paula argues the real fix isn't selling — it's a hire she hasn't made yet.

Topics: Deciding whether to sell a rental from abroad · Why doing the right thing for the wrong reason backfires · Turning a new roof into a forced investment · The case for hiring a property manager before you sell · The simple math behind a rental's real return · A financial planner's own rental horror story