Afford Anything

#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. This episode originally aired in May 2022, but the insights on long-distance investing remain just as relevant for anyone feeling priced out of their local market. We tackle the five biggest challenges of investing far from home – from fear of the unknown to managing contractors remotely – and reveal four compelling benefits that make it worth the effort, especially when you're competing in markets where million-dollar properties are the norm. ________ Remember when inflation was high and rates were rising? What were people saying about real estate back then? And with the benefit of hindsight, how much of what we thought at the time proved to be correct? If you feel unsettled, join the club. At this present moment – December 2025 – interest rates are falling, but not enough. Inflation is mostly under control, but not enough. The noise makes everything feel new. When you only see the present moment, everything looks obvious. When you remember the past, patterns start to show. That's why we’re rewinding the clock back to May 2022 – when interest rates were rising and inflation was near its peak. So what was on our mind three years ago? We start with the basics. Why the Federal Reserve raises rates. What higher borrowing costs do to spending. Why falling stock prices often reflect fear – not proof that housing prices must fall next. We explain the difference between recession and deflation, and why the two are often confused. We walk through what made the housing market in 2022 different from 2008. Inventory was tight. Builders had not overbuilt. Many homeowners held fixed-rate mortgages and record levels of equity. Those conditions mattered then. They still matter now. That equity becomes the next focus. We talk about cash-out refinances, HELOCs, and reverse mortgages – and what happens when homeowners borrow against rising values. You hear how higher rates can slow borrowing, why that matters for inflation, and what risks appear if some borrowers struggle to repay. From there, we outline four ways investors might encounter properties if foreclosures rise: bank-owned homes, short sales, “subject to” deals, and wraparound mortgages. The episode then shifts to long-distance real estate investing. You hear the real challenges. Fear of the unknown. Managing people you cannot see. Contractors who disappear. Agents who stop returning calls. You also hear what makes distance workable: education, relationships, local investor networks. We walk through how investors think when conditions feel unstable — and why looking backward sharpens how you see what comes next. 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. (0:00) Trade-offs and priorities (07:41) Fed hikes rates (09:16) Inflation drivers explained (11:26) Recession vs housing (13:21) Home equity surge (15:21) Borrowing against equity (17:11) Foreclosures and options (18:26) Subject-to and wraps (21:11) Shift to distance investing (25:31) Education and networks (31:36) Choosing markets (36:11) Accountability challenges Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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. This episode originally aired in April 2022, but the framework remains one of the most practical guides we've shared for building wealth at any age. Nick Maggiulli joins us to reveal why most young investors obsess over the wrong metrics — and shares his Save-Invest Continuum that shows exactly when your savings beat your investment returns, and when that changes.  _____ When Nick Maggiulli was in his twenties, he spent countless hours obsessing over his investment portfolio – tweaking his asset allocation, running net worth projections, and building complex spreadsheets.  Meanwhile, he was blowing $100 every weekend partying in San Francisco. It took him years to realize the absurdity. His annual investment returns on his tiny $1,000 portfolio might earn him $100 – the same amount he'd spend in a single night out. Maggiulli joins us to explain why young investors focus on the wrong things and shares his framework for knowing when to prioritize saving versus investing.  He introduces the Save-Invest Continuum, which compares your expected annual savings against your expected investment returns.  When you're starting out, your ability to save dwarfs any investment gains. A $6,000 annual savings capacity beats a $100 investment return every time. We discuss the math behind saving 50 percent of future raises, not for guilt or deprivation, but to maintain lifestyle balance while building wealth.  This rule applies only to real raises above inflation. If you get a 3 percent raise during 3 percent inflation, you haven't actually gotten ahead. The conversation turns to unconventional income-producing assets. Beyond stocks and bonds, Maggiulli explores farmland investing, which offers returns uncorrelated with traditional markets.  He shares the story of someone who bought the royalty rights to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" for $190,000. The song earned $32,733 in royalties the previous year — an 11 percent return if that income stays constant. We examine why 85 to 90 percent of your portfolio should generate income through dividends, rent, interest, or business profits.  Maggiulli keeps his speculative investments — cryptocurrency, art, and individual stocks — under 10 percent of his net worth. He admits his two individual stock picks are down 60 to 70 percent, proving his own point about avoiding stock picking. The episode reveals that time remains your most important asset. Warren Buffett would likely trade his entire fortune — and go into debt — to be 35 again.  This perspective shapes every financial decision, from choosing income strategies to deciding between assets that merely appreciate versus those that pay you while you sleep. 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) Nick's mistake of obsessing over investments while partying away returns (05:31) The Save-Invest Continuum explained (08:11) When savings matter more than investment returns (12:31) Focusing on both saving and investing in midlife (13:11) Crossover point: when investment returns exceed spending (14:11) The 2X Rule for guilt-free spending (15:31) Save 50 percent of future raises (20:41) Five ways to increase income (26:31) Selling time versus selling skills (28:11) Teaching and creating products for income (30:11) Climbing the corporate ladder (31:11) Converting human capital to financial capital (32:31) Income-producing versus speculative assets (36:11) Individual stocks and cryptocurrency allocation (43:51) Farmland investing basics (45:31) Royalty investing example (49:31) Art and non-income producing assets (51:11) Inflation and debt strategies Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 Income. This episode originally aired in August 2024, but the strategies are more essential than ever. Jeff Wetzler, Ed.D., reveals why the people around us withhold crucial information — and how asking better questions can transform your negotiations and net worth. __________ You've mastered the art of asking for what you want — or have you? Jeff Wetzler, Ed.D., a former education executive, joins us to reveal why most of us fail to extract crucial information from the people around us. Think about it: when was the last time someone told you what they really thought about your work? Or shared that game-changing idea they'd been sitting on? Wetzler discovered four categories of information people routinely withhold — and the cost runs deeper than you might expect. We explore why people stay silent about their struggles, unpopular opinions, observations about us, and innovative ideas. The reasons range from fear to simple exhaustion, but one stands out: they don't think we want to know. Here's a startling example from Harvard Business School research: investigators planted smudges on their faces and surveyed people. Less than three percent told them about the mark that they could wipe off in one second. But when asked later, 100 percent had noticed it. If people won't share something that simple, what else are they keeping from us? Wetzler shares his Ask Approach — five steps that unlock hidden information in any negotiation or relationship. We walk through real scenarios, from salary negotiations to buying cars, showing how curiosity beats strategy every time. One mechanic story drives this home. Facing a $2,000 air conditioning repair, Wetzler asked one question: "Do you have any other creative ideas?" The mechanic paused, then offered a $75 solution that worked perfectly. That five-second question saved $1,925. We discuss practical listening techniques, including the "doorknob moment" — why therapists know the most important information comes at minute 49 of a 50-minute session. Wetzler explains why our minds process 900 words per minute while our mouths manage only 125, creating a massive information gap. The conversation includes AI's surprising role in sharpening these skills, helping us frame conversations into content, emotion, and action. Wetzler demonstrates how technology can enhance rather than replace our uniquely human ability to connect and learn from each other. 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) What's at stake in asking better questions (02:33) Four categories of information people withhold (06:33) The smudge experiment reveals our silence (09:13) Why people don't tell us what they think (12:53) The Ask Approach begins with curiosity (14:48) Making it safe for truth-telling (18:53) CEOs share how to get honest feedback (22:13) Posing quality questions vs crummy questions (30:58) Listening across three channels (34:28) The doorknob moment phenomenon (37:43) How to listen better in negotiations (42:13) Reflect and reconnect strategies (44:53) Applying the Ask Approach to car buying (51:33) Working through a complete negotiation (01:02:13) Using AI to sharpen your asking skills (01:06:13) Why this approach is learnable Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 Psychology. And we're diving deep with a conversation that changed how thousands of our listeners think about money. This episode originally aired in November 2022, but the insights feel more relevant than ever. Dr. Daniel Crosby reveals why your brain is your portfolio's worst enemy — and what you can do about it. ______ Money is the number one stressor in American lives. Every single year. Without exception. That's what Dr. Daniel Crosby discovered when he looked at decades of research from the American Psychological Association. In this rerun episode from our Greatest Hits Vault, Crosby joins us to reveal why your brain sabotages your investment decisions. He's both a clinical psychologist and behavioral finance expert. His findings will change how you think about money. Your body hijacks your financial judgment in strange ways. For example: People who need to pee become more risk-averse investors. It's called inhibitory spillover. When you're controlling your bladder, you also restrict your financial decisions. Here's another one: judges give harsher sentences when they're hungry. Thousands of court decisions prove it. The best predictor of whether you get jail time? When the judge last ate. We explore four behavioral risks that destroy wealth: ego, conservatism, attention, and emotion. Crosby shares data that stock pickers rarely hear: 74 percent of individual stocks have a lifetime expected return of zero. Three out of four companies eventually go bankrupt. Yet people keep betting on single stocks, dreaming they'll find the next Apple. Value investors suffer from depression and social isolation. Why? Because contrarian investing fights our deepest evolutionary wiring. Humans survived through cooperation. It's literally our only advantage over other animals. Bears have claws. Turtles have shells. We have teamwork. Crosby shares the Ash experiment, which shows how peer pressure warps reality. When nine people give the wrong answer about line lengths, three-quarters of participants follow along. New brain scans reveal something darker: social pressure physically changes how people see the lines. Their perception actually shifts. We discuss solutions through Crosby's "three E's": education, environment, and encouragement. Reading about biases won't fix them. You need systems and people. One powerful study: people who saw their children's photo for five seconds before banking saved twice as much money. The conversation reveals that money problems don't disappear with wealth. They just change form. 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) Finance as America's top stressor (02:33) Psychology moving from brokenness to wellness (04:33) Money touches every part of life (07:33) Income plateaus and happiness (10:13) How hunger affects financial decisions (13:38) We're wired wrong for investing (17:28) Laziness and cognitive shortcuts (23:43) Cooperation as human survival trait (26:43) Four behavioral risks (32:13) Ego and overconfidence (37:48) Conservatism and familiarity bias (46:38) Three E's of behavior change (50:23) Attention risk and probability (54:48) Emotion derails decisions (58:28) When fear helps versus hurts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#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 still worth the effort. We sit down with Chris Hutchins, host of All the Hacks, to talk about what’s changed in credit card rewards, and how to decide whether to stick with travel points, switch to cash back, or run a hybrid strategy that keeps your life simple. We dig into the “value” problem behind all those new credits and perks. Instead of letting a card dictate our spending, we walk through how to price credits based on what we would genuinely pay for them, and when it’s smarter to downgrade, negotiate a retention offer, or product change and keep your credit history intact. We also get tactical about booking travel in 2026: newer award search tools, how much flexibility matters, and a sneaky alternative most people forget, sometimes you can buy points directly and still get a strong deal without years of “earning.” If you want to earn more points (or waste less time chasing them), this conversation will help you reset your credit card strategy for 2026 with a clearer definition of what “worth it” even means. Key Takeaways “Credits” are not value unless we were already going to buy the thing, and we’d happily pay close to face value for that discount The points game is still powerful, but mostly through welcome offers, not micro-optimizing bonus categories Flexibility is the hidden lever in award travel, the best deals often show up when we loosen the date, airport, or destination constraints Cash back is having a moment, especially if we want simplicity and fewer mental tabs open. Before canceling a fee card, we can often negotiate, downgrade, or product change and keep the credit history we’ve built Sometimes the best move is to stop “maximizing,” take the trip, and protect our time for higher-impact work (or actual rest) Resources and Links Chris Hutchins, All the Hacks (https://www.chrishutchins.com) Our deep dive on credit reports and scores, Episode 221 YouTube video mentioned on why airline loyalty programs can be worth more than the airlines themselves FlyFlat.com Seats.Aero Point.me Rome Travel AwardTool.com PointsYeah.com Daydream Explorer Chapters Note: Timestamps are approximate and may vary greatly across listening platforms due to dynamically inserted ads. (01:22) The 2025 reset for premium credit cards (06:18) How the points game actually works in 2025 (10:29) Rethinking economy flights versus business class (16:37) Managing credit cards during major life transitions (23:57) Simplicity versus optimization in the points ecosystem (36:45) Luxury perks, rising fees, and who premium cards serve (43:34) Buying points directly instead of playing the game (58:44) Using AI and systems to build better money habits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices