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.
751 episodes transcribed#711: A computer science degree used to feel like a sure thing. Job placement rates topped 90 percent. Starting salaries cleared $80,000. You could do...
#710: What does it really look like to balance financial optimization with real-life tradeoffs—whether that’s choosing meaningful work, spending down...
#709: Keith Wargo has spent decades navigating one of the most daunting financial planning challenges a family can face: raising a child with a develo...
#708: What’s the smartest way to handle big financial transitions—when the stakes are high and the “right” answer isn’t always obvious? Anonymous “Cy...
#707: Joe and I traveled to the campus of Texas A&M University-Texarkana for a very special live recording. We were joined by Jay Davis, the Executive...
#706: When the numbers look straightforward—but the rules, timing, and future are uncertain—how do you decide what to do next? KJ has $90,000 in...
#705: Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla and COO of Lyft, starts with a simple problem: his teenage son is about to start driving, and he’s worrie...
#704: How do you make smart financial decisions when you’re balancing debt, investing, and big life changes … all at the same time? Today, Brigham...
#703: April’s jobs report comes in much stronger than expected, with 178,000 jobs added and unemployment ticking down to 4.3 percent. That headline de...
#702: Olivia is saving for a specific three-year goal and wants to know whether a money market fund is the right place to store that cash, or if a tra...
#701: Forget the idea that you need a magic number to retire. Jamie Hopkins is a certified financial planner, professor of taxation at the American...
#700: Today we’re tackling three different financial questions from our listeners. First, we’ll hear from Melanie, who is deciding whether to pursue...
#699: You've probably heard that mindset matters. But what does that actually mean, and is there science behind it? Nir Eyal, author of Beyond Bel...
#698: We explore financial decision-making at different stages of life: A high-earning federal couple debates whether to pause retirement contributio...
#697: Most people regret the things they never tried. Venture capitalist Bill Gurley says that pattern shows up again and again in research on end-of...
#696: (01:50) Jeremy has been a careful budgeter for years, but a surprise car repair has him tapping his emergency fund. With rates falling, he’s w...
#695: The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February, pushing unemployment to 4.4 percent.That result contradicts a different report released two days earlier...
There are about 90 million unique job titles in the U.S. labor market. Ninety million. If you are trying to negotiate a raise, switch companies or l...
#693: AI learns your job in weeks … and you start wondering if you still have one. That question shapes our conversation with Dr. Ben Zweig, CEO of R...
#692: Anonymous (02:01) is excited about early retirement and family time but worried about his brother-in-law, who just returned from a vacation in M...
