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PODCAST

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

Paula Pant, Personal Finance Expert | Cumulus Podcast Network

45 million downloads. One question: what does it actually take to build wealth? Each week, Paula Pant brings in economists, investors, business leaders, authors, and researchers to dig into the five pillars of financial freedom — financial psychology, increasing income, investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Deep insights rooted in economics and behavioral finance. First-principles thinking. No surface-level tips. Follow or Subscribe to hear new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Get

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All Episodes

52:19

How Losing $500K in ‘08 Led One Trader to a Different...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/10/06

#756: 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.Jared Dillian was a trader at Lehman Brothers from 2001 until its collapse, and ran its exchange-traded fund desk. He's the author of The Awesome Portfolio and taught finance at the university level for 13 years. In this episode, we discuss: Why

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69:34

AI, Debt, and a Social Security Shortfall. Should...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/10/02

#755: 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.Rob Berger is a former securities lawyer, founder of the personal finance site Dough Roller, and host of a nearly 300,000-subscriber YouTube channel on investing and retirement planning. He started writing about money in

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74:05

Q&A: We Have $80K in Cash and Want a 1–2 Year...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/29

#754: 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.A 42-year-old UK listener asks how to split money between an emergency fund, a career break, and retirement. Then we map out a 30-something couple's sabbatical and ask whether you can objectively grade a politician on the economy. In this episode, we discuss: How to tell a true

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85:39

Why 60,000 New York Apartments Sit Empty in a Housing...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/25

#753: 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. In this episode, we discuss: How New York's rent rules work, and why they've lasted since 1969 Why the typical

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60:05

Q&A: I’m Tired of Managing My Rental Property. Should...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/22

#752: 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. This week, Joe joins Paula to help a caller decide whether to sell a rental property from abroad, then dig into new data on why women's labor force participation dropped in July while their share of new jobs surged in August. In this episode, we discuss: How to

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67:15

Why Self-Worth Predicts Your Income More Than Your...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/18

#751: The belief that’s quietly sabotaging your progress might not even be true. Free worksheet to question it: https://affordanything.com/turn-it-aroundTwo people can grow up with the exact same test scores — and as adults, one of them ends up earning double the other. Psychologist Marisa Franco says the deciding factor isn't intelligence, and it isn't luck. It's whether you actually believe good things are allowed to happen to you. Dr. Marisa Franco is a psychologist and professor at the

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117:09

Your "Diversified" Portfolio Might Secretly Be One...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/15

#750: Free worksheet: question the belief that might be keeping you stuck — before reality forces the update for you: http://affordanything.com/turn-it-around Alec Litowitz spent three decades building one of the world's largest hedge funds, and he says the highest-IQ people in the room are often the last to notice the world has changed. His answer isn't more intelligence — it's the willingness to be wrong, quickly, and update before everyone else catches up. Alec co-founded Citadel alongside

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93:49

How a Blind Man and His Guide Dog Survived Sept. 11 —...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/11

#749: Michael Hingson was on the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit on Sept. 11.He felt the impact, but couldn’t see it. Michael has been blind since shortly after birth. Alongside his guide dog, Roselle, they descended 1,463 steps – escaping just before the South Tower, 100 yards away, collapsed. They then helped a woman who was temporarily blinded by the dust. Michael's story answers the question – What do you do when something terrifying is

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61:00

Q&A: My Dream Job Won't Wait If I Take a Family Gap...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/08

#748: The real question behind quitting a job you love or paying off debt anyway? Your money mindset. Take our free quiz to find yours: https://affordanything.com/fiire A listener with $686,000 saved and a job she loves wants to take her family on a year-long trip — but Paula says her real question isn't about money at all. Later: a dad chooses to stop maxing his IRA to pay off a mortgage, even though the math says otherwise. Joe joins from the road to help answer three listener questions: a

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45:22

First Friday: Hope in Nepal; Trouble in the Bond Market

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/05

#747: We have good news on multiple fronts to share about the job market, the stock market, the commodities market, and volatile news around the bond market.And we begin it with some great news coming out of Nepal. Welcome to the First Friday episode for September 2026. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS Note: Timestamps may vary slightly depending on dynamic ad placements. (00:00) Rescued workers in Nepal (04:53) Strong August jobs report (10:14) Conflicting employment data (12:27) Strong jobs, weaker

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62:43

Q&A: What Nepal Reveals About Wealth and Safety

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/09/01

#746: We begin today’s episode with a discussion of the disastrous flash flooding in Nepal, a personal topic for Paula given her family there. There’s both a human story, one of the resilience of the Nepalese people and the strong community bonds there, and an economic story, where poor infrastructure and a lack of economic development have hindered disaster response and exacerbated the tragedies of recent events.Listeners can donate to help the victims here: The Prime Minister Relief Fund:

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81:20

The Four Kinds of Rich Nobody Counts -- with Sahil...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/28

#745: A friend once asked Sahil Bloom how often he saw his parents. About once a year, Sahil said.How old are they? Mid-60s. His friend did the math out loud. If they live to 80, you'll see them 15 more times. Sahil was 30, living in California and making great money at a venture fund. Within 45 days of that conversation, he quit his job, sold his house and moved across the country to be near family. He's now managing partner of SRB Ventures, an early-stage fund backing more than 60

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102:58

This Historian Says We're Living in the Best Era...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/25

#744: With about $200 and a crypto exchange, historian Joseph Moore turned himself into a legitimate billionaire — a stunt that says more about how money actually works than most financial advice does. It's also a preview of the 300-year argument he makes in this episode: that almost everything we're told about money is newer, and far less permanent, than we think.Joseph Moore, PhD, is a historian and the national bestselling author of How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial

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67:27

Everyone Wants a Piece of You. Here's How to Stay...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/22

#743: Everyone talks about a loneliness epidemic — but Luke Burgis argues the opposite problem is just as real: we now have so much easy, frictionless community that we never have to develop a solid sense of who we actually are.Luke Burgis is a professor of business at The Catholic University of America and the founder of the Cluny Institute, and the bestselling author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life. He returns to the show to talk about his new book, The One and the

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69:02

Q&A: I Reached Financial Independence Three Years...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/18

#742: A listener hit her $1.4 million early-retirement goal three years ahead of schedule — and now she's stuck deciding whether paying off a low-interest mortgage is smart, or just fear in disguise. Later, a former financial planner explains why he still won't recommend one of the most talked-about "safer" investing strategies in the FIRE community.This week's Q&A tackles three listener questions: hiring your first accountant amid a complicated tax situation, whether to pay off a mortgage or

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80:36

Your 20s Are a Unique Window: Why You Should Optimize...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/14

#740: Jack Raines turned $6,000 into $400,000 trading blank-check stocks during the 2020–2021 bubble — and he says it was some of the least fun money he's ever made.Jack Raines is a writer and investor at Slow Ventures, and the author of the new book Young Money: A Field Guide to Wealth and Purpose in Your Twenties. In this episode, we discuss: Why "golden handcuffs" are almost always a choice, not a trap How to tell if you're staying in a job for the right reasons, or just fear Why the

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71:42

Q&A: Should We Retire in Our 40s With $4 Million and...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/11

#740: Paula and Joe rarely butt heads — but a caller's side hustle, which pulled in $5,500 in a single day, sparked their most heated disagreement in months.This week's mailbag: a couple weighing an early retirement built on $1.2 million, a wedding-dress side hustle deciding whether to go all in, and a listener whose small stock investment turned into a $25,000 tax puzzle. In this episode, we discuss: How to build a bucket strategy so you can retire early and still stay aggressive with

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56:59

First Friday: We Lost 23,000 Jobs, Yet Somehow...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/07

#739: The U.S. just lost 23,000 jobs — and unemployment fell anyway. The numbers were strange enough that Paula broke a years-long, all-stocks habit and bought her first bond, ever. In this month's First Friday economic roundup, Paula breaks down the jobs report, the bond market, mortgage rates, gold, and a new kind of account for kids. Topics include: How to make sense of a jobs report that seems to contradict itself What actually happens when you buy a 30-year Treasury bond Why bond

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107:12

Hackers Waited 3 Months for This Couple's $1.2...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/08/04

#738: 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

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74:10

She's Researched Money for 30 Years—and Never Seen It...

Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money ·

2026/07/31

#737: Beth Kobliner has covered personal finance for people in their 20s and 30s for over three decades — and she says this is the hardest she's ever seen it. One in four young people now believe that betting on gambling sites and prediction markets counts as investing.Beth Kobliner is a personal finance journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Get a Financial Life, who served on President Obama's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans. In this episode, we

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