Afford Anything | Make smart choices about your money, time and productivity

Like many people, Nick Loper used to work a full-time job that didn't excite him.

Unlike most people, Loper decided to escape his uninspiring work life.

First, he launched a shoe-comparison website that began collecting side income. Over time, this side project grew increasingly profitable, until -- finally -- he thought he could run this website full-time.

Loper quit his job.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Within days, Loper's website lost 80 percent of its search traffic and advertising revenue. Loper found himself both unemployed and without a viable business.

He spent several months correcting course, making his business solvent again. More importantly, he learned the importance of creating *multiple streams of income.*

Loper launched multiple small side businesses in order to diversify his income. Some succeeded; others quietly fizzled out. He made enough 'small bets' that he wound up with a handful of winners.

Today, his income comes from a cacophony of different sources. He's diversified.

Loper joins us on this week's episode to explain how to develop a "side hustle," a small micro-business that provides a supplemental source of income.  
 
Here are some of his suggestions:

#1: Tap the Sharing Economy

We've heard about Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Instacart and TaskRabbit -- popular 'sharing economy' platforms that allow people to turn their car, home and/or time into extra cash.

But beyond those obvious examples, there are plenty of sharing-economy websites that niche down into higher-paying specializations, such as:

http://Turo.com -- A website in which you can rent your car; no driving required. You make money from the asset, not from your time.

http://EatWith.com -- A dinner-party-hosting website ideal for people who are skilled cooks, chefs, or party hosts, but don't necessarily have the capital to start their own restaurant.

"Each of these is a little mini-search-engine," Loper says.

2. Freelancing / Expertise-Based Businesses

The stronger your expertise, the more money you can potentially earn. After all, you're not just selling your time; you're selling your *knowledge.*

Websites that help people profit from their expertise include:

http://TheExpertInstitute.com -- A website where attorneys look for expert witnesses.

http://Thumbtack.com -- A website for service professionals, from CAD designers to nutritionists to CPR training.

http://Wyzant.com -- A website for expert tutors in every subject from calculus to piano.

http://Clarity.fm -- A website for on-demand coaching or consulting from experts.

3. E-Commerce

Loper outlines two models for selling physical products online:
    
- **The Retail Arbitrage Model:** Under this model, you find and flip items online.

- **The Private Label Model:** Under this model, you design, manufacture, package and import your own product.


Loper dives into details about all of these side hustle opportunities -- and also describes the biggest mistakes that he sees entrepreneurs and wantrapraneurs make -- in today's episode.

Enjoy!

________________


Resources Mentioned:

Side Hustle Nation http://www.sidehustlenation.com

200 Sharing Economy Platforms http://www.sidehustlenation.com/sharing-economy-make-extra-money

Steve Chou episode of the Afford Anything Podcast http://podcast.affordanything.com/make-100000-year-online-steve-chou-wife-quit-job

This week, I tackle your questions with my good friend, recovering financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy. Here's what we answer:

1. I'm asking for a friend -- no, really, I'm asking for a friend!

My friends are married and buried. They're a married couple, buried in $500,000 of debt.

Some is federal student loans, some is private student loans, and some is credit card debt. They're paying the minimum on their student loans, with the hope that these loans will be forgiven after 25 years. They're also saving money in their retirement accounts.

Is this a terrible plan? Should they stop saving for retirement while they wipe out their student loans? If so, how can I convince them?

2. My husband and I are both 30 and live in Ft. Collins, Colorado. We don't plan on having children.

We know that long-term care insurance gets more expensive as you age. Should we buy this insurance now? Or can we self-insure for this through adequate retirement/investment funds?

3. I own my home free-and-clear, and I'm buying a second home. Should I take a cash-out refinance on my primary home? Get a conventional loan from the bank? Or something else?

4. My wife, 4 children and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have $5,000 in credit card debt, which we've paid down from $30,000 in the last two years. We owe $20,000 on a minivan and $18,000 on student loans, both of which have 2-3 percent interest rates. We have two IRA's, one Traditional and one Roth. I also have about $20,000 in my company's non-matching 401(k).

Should I focus my future investments on Traditional or Roth accounts? What accounts should I use when saving for my children's college funds?

5.  I'm curious about your own investments, Paula. What's under the hood?

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Thank you to everyone who left a comment after last week's show. I'll talk more about these amazing responses at the end of Episode 85 (next week's episode.)

For now -- enjoy today's show!

Thanks!

Show notes can be found at http://affordanything.com/episode84

Hey. It’s time we talked.

I’ve made many tough decisions in my business.

I’ve said “no” to thousands of pitches, turned away countless advertising requests, and made difficult choices about content and tone.

And sometimes I don’t know whether or not I’ve made the right choice.

Today’s podcast episode is a painfully personal one. I open up my mind, explaining exactly how I make decisions about how to lead this online community. I’m frank about the doubts I hold and the choices I’ve questioned in hindsight. I’m blunt about the things I still do not know; the ethical quandaries that plague me.

Today’s episode, perhaps more than any episode I’ve ever done, comes from my heart. I hope you enjoy it.

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Have thoughts/concerns/suggestions regarding what I discussed in this episode? Feel free to reach out on the site (http://affordanything.com/episode83), Twitter (@affordanything), Instagram (@paulapant), or YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/affordanything). 

Also, note to new listeners: I HIGHLY suggest you don't start with this episode! There's way more valuable content in the interviews and Ask Paula episodes that I've previously published. You can check those past episodes out on iTunes, or on the site: http://podcast.affordanything.com/listen

Thanks!

Welcome to another Ask Paula episode!

This week, I answer three real estate questions:

#1: What criteria do you use when you’re shopping for an investment property? What qualities make you say, “heck yeah I’m buying this!!” — and what qualities make you say, “No way!”

#2: I enjoy renting my personal home, but I still dream of investing in rental properties. Does it make sense to buy a rental property, even while I’m still a renter myself?

#3: I’m a 45-year-old actress, and my income probably won’t qualify me for conventional bank financing for an investment property. But I already own a property with a lot of equity. Should I tap that in order to buy another rental? Or look for a private loan?

Enjoy!

For more Ask Paula episodes, visit http://podcast.affordanything.com/tag/ask-paula

Want your question answered? Leave a message here: http://www.affordanything.com/voicemail 

Jenny Blake used to have an enviable job.

As a Career Development manager at Google, she enjoyed the perks of a Silicon Valley life, plus the satisfaction of helping people everyday. She co-founded Google's Career Guru Program, and helped countless Google employees find their right career "fit."

But, ironically, Blake sensed that her own career wasn't on the right track.

So she took a brave plunge that few would dare: Blake quit Google, packed her bags, and moved from California to New York in search of a new life. She launched her own business. She began publishing books.

Today, she joins us on this podcast to share the knowledge she's accumulated over many years about how *anyone* can pivot into a new career or direction.

If you're feeling stuck in your job, and you're thinking about making a major life change -- regardless of whether you'd like to try a new industry, retire early, or start your own business -- you might want to hear some of Blake's advice.

Enjoy!

http://podcast.affordanything.com/episode81

Chris, age 30, makes $200,000 per year and saves 50 percent of his income. What accounts should he use in order to maximize his tax benefits?

Dee, age 39, is getting tired of apartment living. She found a great neighborhood in which she'd like to own a home, and she's saving for a 20 percent downpayment. But she's nervous about the high cost of home maintenance. How can she deal with this?

Chelsea just moved into a new house with her husband. He purchased the house outright, in cash, and she wants to pay him so that she can share in the home's ownership and equity. But she also has student loan and credit card debt. Should she make progress towards all three of these goals (build equity, pay off  student loans, pay off credit cards) at the same time? Or should she prioritize one -- and if so, which one?

Charlene is curious: what's so great about Vanguard? Why do Joe and I like the Vanguard Target Date funds so much, as compared to funds from another brokerage? (Note: neither of us have any financial relationship with Vanguard, other than being an ordinary, run-of-the-mill customer.)

Alma is looking for a term life insurance policy that'll protect her if she passes away outside of the United States. Where and how can she find this?

My friend Joe Saul-Sehy, a former financial planner and host of the award-winning Stacking Benjamins podcast, joins me today while we tackle these 5 questions ... and somehow, also we go on a tangent about Burger King. It's a whopper of an episode. :-)

Enjoy!

More Ask Paula episodes can be found at http://podcast.affordanything.com/tag/ask-paula

When Laura Roeder was 22, she quit her job to become a full-time freelancer.

She earned $30,000 in her first year as a freelancer; $60,000 in her second year.

Ten years later -- (Laura is now 32) -- her company earns $4 million in annual revenue.

(Can I repeat that? Did I bury the lede? *Laura went from making $30,000 per year to owning 100% of a company that earns $4 million per year.* And she did this within a decade. Oh, and she also had a baby.)

(Like, whoa.)

Laura is the founder and CEO of a software company called Edgar, which provides social media automation for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

In this interview, I ask Laura (sophisticated) questions such as "How the f**k did you make the leap from freelancer to multi-million-dollar company owner?"

Here are some of the insights that she shares:

#1: You have nothing to lose.

When Laura quit her job, she conquered her fears by reminding herself: "Hey, worst-case-scenario, I work an hourly retail job for awhile if I can't find any clients."

Sure, that might suck. But is the worst-case-scenario *so bad* that it's a deal-breaker?

When Laura realized that the worst-case-scenario was something that she could live with, she proceeded full-speed ahead.

#2: Cut the cord.

When Laura transitioned from freelancing to consulting (her intermediate step before starting Edgar), she knew that if she maintained her client base, she wouldn't be motivated to grow her consulting business.

So she cut the cord. She dropped all of her clients, including one extremely lucrative contract, in order to motivate herself.

#3: Look for what's next.

Laura's transition follows a sensible narrative arc: employee, freelancer, consultant, software company founder.

Each step led to the next opportunity. Freelancing turned into consulting, which turned into a kernel of an idea for a software  company.

She couldn't have predicted, at age 22, where she'd be in 10 years. She simply proceeded one step at a time.

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Listen to Laura describe her story -- and share advice for people who want to start companies and/or work remotely -- in today's episode.

Imagine that you're looking for a rental property. It's a warm Saturday afternoon, and you decide to cruise through a few open houses in the area.

Your autonomously-driving electric vehicle pulls into the driveway. Your wifi-enabled contact lenses automatically register the property's details: square footage, year of construction, sales history, tax assessment, price-to-rent ratio, average neighborhood occupancy rates, and multiple cap rate estimates. As you walk through the property, your contact lenses display the digital history of every item -- the furnace, dishwasher, windows -- keeping you up-to-date with the full installation and service history of every home component.

Welcome to the future of real estate investing.

What's looming on the horizon? How will technology -- including augmented reality and 3D printing -- affect the way we analyze and purchase rental properties?

I chat about this topic, and more, in today's podcast episode.

This week, I feature another Ask Paula episode, answering questions that this community has submitted. This week's theme is real estate, and I've invited Will to join me as we tackle your questions about rental investing.

Enjoy!

For more resources, visit the website at http://affordanything.com/episode78

For show notes, visit http://affordanything.com/episode77

This week, my buddy Joe Saul-Sehy joins me to answer another round of listener-submitted questions.

A listener from California asks:
My husband and I will be inheriting money, which we plan to invest in index funds. We believe that our inheritance will eventually make us financially independent. However, I feel guilt about the fact that this money is unearned. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Eric wants to know: Should he stick with a high-deductible health insurance plan if he's starting a family?
 
Hailey says:
I just graduated from college; I'm making $30,000 per year, but I only work 30 hours per week, so I have time to work on side projects. I'm working on two small businesses, and also interested in buying a rental property. Where should I focus my time and dollars?


Enjoy!



For links and information to the resources mentioned, like Glassdoor.com, Salary.com, and Paula's article: Should You Pay Cash for a Car? -- visit http://affordanything.com/episode76