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Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

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.

Afford Anything

#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 wondering if cash is enough or if he should try bonds or a CD ladder to keep up with inflation.

(22:22) A listener in Canada has a DIY portfolio but is tempted by Dimensional Funds, which requires a pricey advisor. At the same time, she’s thinking about leaving work and returning to school, but also wants to keep financially supporting her parents.

(41:27) Anonymous is navigating the tricky waters of buying a new home while still living in their current one. He is considering a bridge loan to avoid a contingent offer, but he’s worried about the strict timeline and potential financial pitfalls. Is a bridge loan a smart move, or does the risk of being stuck outweigh the convenience?

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Q&A: Should Your Emergency Fund Be Invested?

#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 showing 63,000 jobs added, leaving economists trying to square the circle. Many agree that we're in a "low hire, low fire" jobs environment.We walk through several major economic stories using a three-layer framework: the household economy, markets and policy, and long-term forces shaping the future.First, the household layer. Hiring has become uneven across sectors. Health care and education previously drove much of the job growth, but layoffs in those areas now appear in the data.Job openings have also fallen to 6.54 million, the lowest level since the pandemic began. Workers are switching jobs less often, and the pay bump for job-hopping has shrunk.Mortgage rates recently crossed 6 percent, influenced in part by rising Treasury yields and concerns about inflation. Gas prices climbed about 26 cents per gallon in a week, partly due to tensions affecting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil supply.The episode also looks at household finances. Six percent of workers in Vanguard plans took hardship withdrawals from their 401(k)s in 2025, up from five percent the year before. That increase suggests some households are leaning on retirement savings to manage financial stress.At the end of the episode, economist Dr. Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs, joins us to unpack the conflicting employment reports and explain why the labor market may look weaker than expected. He also discusses why health care hiring may be slowing and how economists interpret mixed signals across multiple labor data sources.

(0:00) February jobs shock(1:02) Three-layer economy framework(2:03) BLS job losses explained(3:12) ADP vs BLS data gap(4:30) Job openings decline(5:39) Layoffs and AI cuts(7:15) Mortgage rates near 6 percent(8:26) Gas price spike(10:02) Markets react to oil shock(16:00) Record 401k withdrawals(19:30) Asset owners vs nonowners gap(21:22) Supreme Court tariff ruling(23:31) AI costs collapse, usage surge(27:03) Fed reactions to jobs report(33:33) Economist Ben Zweig interview

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First Friday: Jobs Fell by 92,000. But the Economy Is Still Growing?

#694: 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 launch a side hustle, that number has consequences. 

If titles do not line up, you cannot easily compare pay, scope or seniority. You might be doing the same work as someone with a higher title and higher salary - and never see it.

That problem is the focus of Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Ben Zweig.

Zweig is the CEO of Revelio Labs, a workforce data firm that analyzes millions of job postings and online profiles. He also teaches The Future of Work at NYU Stern School of Business and holds a PhD in economics from the CUNY Graduate Center. His work focuses on how jobs are structured and how they evolve.

We talk about taxonomy - the systems used to categorize work. A title acts as shorthand for a bundle of tasks. Trouble starts when the shorthand breaks down. Two people with the same title may do very different work. Two people with different titles may perform nearly identical tasks.

Zweig explains how large language models can group job descriptions based on actual responsibilities rather than labels. That approach could make it easier for workers to search accurately and for companies to organize teams.

The conversation shifts to management. He argues that managers spend much of their time reconfiguring roles as business needs change. Technology accelerates that reconfiguration rather than replaces it.

We close with stories about bank tellers and typists. Their titles remained familiar. Their tasks transformed over time.

Resource:

⁠Job Architecture: Building a Language for Workforce Intelligence⁠ by Ben Zweig

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Job Titles Don’t Mean What They Used To (And That Affects Your Pay) — with Dr. Ben Zweig (Part 2 of 2)

#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 Revelio Labs, a workforce data company that uses AI to build large employment databases and study labor market shifts. He also teaches a class on The Future of Work at NYU Stern School of Business. He holds a PhD in economics from CUNY Graduate Center. 

Dr. Zweig starts with the legend of John Henry, the steel driver who raced a steam drill and lost his life trying to prove that a human could still beat a machine. The story mirrors the Luddites, who smashed looms when automation threatened their work. 

The fear of technology replacing workers is a theme throughout history. It keeps repeating. And yet, this time it feels different. 

You hear how today’s panic fits into a longer pattern. Sixty percent of current jobs did not exist a century ago. 

Even jobs that kept the same name changed completely. Dr. Zweig describes his father tabulating punch cards as a statistician, while he now builds neural networks. Same field. Different tasks.

We break down what a job actually means. A job is a bundle of tasks. You execute tasks, but you also orchestrate them – deciding order, workflow and coordination. AI tends to automate the most granular tasks first. Broader, abstract orchestration proves harder to replace. 

Dr. Zweig argues that “augmentation” often just means partial automation that frees you to focus on what remains.

The discussion turns to empathy-driven roles, such as rabbis, psychologists, and teachers. Dr. Zweig cites traits such as empathy, presence, opinion, creativity and hope as distinctly human. He notes AI still struggles with memory and long-term relational trust.

You also hear what this means if you are early in your career. Hiring has slowed. Entry-level roles appear more exposed to automation. Dr. Zweig says younger workers often lack orchestration experience and face a risk-averse market. 

He says that to be competitive in today’s job market, you should take ownership of complex projects from start to finish. Show people – through networking and demonstrated work – that you can manage more than just tasks .

Resource:

Job Architecture: Building a Language for Workforce Intelligence by Ben Zweig

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode693
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AI, Layoffs, and the Future of Your Career — with Dr. Ben Zweig (Part 1 of 2)

#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 Mexico with a bold plan: sell everything, move there, and buy an Airbnb to live in one unit and rent out the others. He wants to support him without watching him get in over his head. How can he navigate this tricky mix of family loyalty and financial risk?

Maryanne (33:41) is retired and living on Social Security. Her IRA has doubled in value in the past year and a half, leaving her unsure whether to sell and live off interest or reinvest in ETFs. How do you manage sudden growth in retirement savings responsibly without taking unnecessary risks?

Brandon (48:18) has rolled over two old 401(k)s into IRAs but just learned that 401(k)s are generally better protected from lawsuits than IRAs. Now he’s hesitant to roll over his latest 401(k) from his recent job. Is it ever worth keeping a 401(k) separate, or should all retirement accounts eventually be consolidated?

*Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising segments. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off due to changing ad lengths.

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My Brother-in-Law Wants to Buy a Rental in Mexico. Good Idea?

#691: Your IQ used to be your biggest career asset. 

Then AI scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT, the SAT, and the MCAT — and suddenly the cognitive skills that once set you apart became something anyone can access for free.

Executive coach Liz Tran joins us to talk about what actually drives career success and earning power now. 

Her answer: AQ, or agility quotient — your capacity to handle change, learn new skills fast, and keep moving when your industry shifts beneath you.

The personal finance implications are real. The average half-life of a technical skill is five years. In tech, it's closer to two. That means the expertise you spent years building — and the salary that came with it — can become obsolete faster than a mortgage term. 

Tran argues the people who protect their earning power long-term aren't necessarily the most credentialed. They're the ones who can unlearn old ways and adapt quickly.

We walk through her four AQ archetypes — the neurosurgeon, the astronaut, the firefighter, and the novelist — each with a different default approach to change. 

Knowing your type helps you understand where you might freeze up during a career pivot, a market downturn, or a high-stakes financial decision. 

Tran points out that analysis paralysis, something many real estate investors and career changers know well, often comes down to archetype — and there are practical fixes.

We also cover her ABCD framework — anchors, bets, classroom, and discomfort — which maps out how to stay functional and decisive during volatile periods. 

And we get into the six thinking hats theory, specifically how pairing black-hat (downside) thinking with green-hat (future-focused) thinking can sharpen any major financial or career decision.

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) Intro to AQ — agility quotient defined

(03:19) IQ vs. EQ vs. AQ — how the three differ

(04:09) Origins of IQ — born from industrialization

(04:41) Birth of EQ — rise of the knowledge worker

(05:01) Why AQ matters now — the tech revolution

(06:19) AI and IQ — cognitive skills are now commoditized

(07:51) Technical vs. durable skills — and why both matter

(10:48) Half-life of skills — technical skills expire fast

(13:41) Measuring durable skills — how to spot your gaps

(15:59) The four AQ archetypes — neurosurgeon, astronaut, firefighter, novelist

(25:08) Improving your weak spots — run toward discomfort

(30:59) The ABCD framework — four pillars of high AQ

(43:56) Anchors — people, places, routines that ground you

(54:25) Six thinking hats — six ways to approach any problem

(01:04:28) AQ is changeable — it's never too late to grow

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Your IQ Won't Save Your Career. Your AQ Might. – with Liz Tran

#690: Blanca (01:28): Blanca, an immigrant mother raising a 14-year-old, wants her son to think critically about college—not just as an experience, but as a financial decision. With the rising cost of higher education, she’s wondering how families can assess whether an undergraduate or graduate program is likely to pay off over time.

Brandon (30:05): Brandon in his forties, recently left full-time work to pursue per diem work and a side project. Planning to draw down his taxable brokerage account for supplemental income over the next 20 years, he’s wondering whether to continue reinvesting dividends or take them as cash for flexibility.

Anon (40:15): Anon has been following Paula’s advice on financial advisors. They’ve heard her recommend fiduciaries and caution against the assets-under-management (AUM) model. They’re eager to understand the reasoning and want guidance on finding trustworthy advisors.

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Q&A: Should My Teen Go to College?

#689: Most people think forgetting a name means their brain is failing. 

Dr. Majid Fotuhi, a neurologist who taught at Johns Hopkins and Harvard, sees thousands of patients convinced they have Alzheimer's – only to discover they're dealing with poor sleep or stress.

Dr. Fotuhi joins us to break down the difference between cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. He explains why chronic stress physically shrinks your hippocampus — the thumb-sized memory center in your brain — and how twelve weeks of lifestyle changes reversed cognitive decline in 84 percent of his patients.

We talk about the five hidden taxes draining your brain: sedentary lifestyle, poor sleep, junk food, chronic stress and mental laziness. Scrolling social media after work counts as mental laziness, even if your day job involves intense focus.

Dr. Fotuhi offers a different framework: five pillars that compound over time. Exercise ranks first because it multiplies mitochondria in your brain cells, reduces inflammation and generates new neurons in your hippocampus. Walking 10,000 steps daily cuts Alzheimer's risk by 50 percent.

Sleep comes second. Your brain rinses itself during deep sleep, flushing out amyloid — the core protein in Alzheimer's disease. One night of poor sleep increases amyloid in your brain.

We cover nutrition (skip the junk food debate), mindset (heart rate variability breathing reduces Alzheimer's footprints) and brain training. Dr. Fotuhi memorizes 70 names in a single lecture and explains his technique for remembering credit card numbers using mental imagery.

The conversation covers London taxi drivers who grew their hippocampus by memorizing 10,000 streets, why stress management beats supplements, and how Swedish students learning Arabic increased their brain volume in three months.

Timestamps:

Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising segments. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off due to changing ad lengths.

(00:00) Defining cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's disease

(05:19) Why cognitive issues don't always mean Alzheimer's

(07:24) Thinking of your brain as an asset to manage

(07:51) The five hidden taxes draining your brain

(10:45) How poor sleep prevents brain rinsing and causes inflammation

(14:20) Oral health and brain health connection

(16:40) Brain plasticity and the Broca lobe

(27:02) The five pillars of brain health

(35:23) Cardiovascular fitness versus strength training for brain health

(38:51) Sleep as the second pillar of brain health

(48:05) When exercise beats sleep

(51:33) Different types of intelligence beyond IQ tests

(1:03:53) Reversing brain damage from decades of bad habits

(1:10:25) Nutrition and avoiding junk food

(1:25:09) Mindset and stress management as pillar four

(1:33:35) Breathing exercises for stress reduction

(1:39:24) Brain training as the fifth pillar

(1:51:52) Memory techniques for names and numbers

(2:02:46) Nootropics and supplements for brain health

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Your Brain Is Your Most Important Asset, with Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD

#688: Anonymous: "Anonymous Sheryl" is 38, mortgage-free and exhausted after 15 years of teaching. She’s torn between pushing a few more years toward FIRE or switching to relief teaching now for better work-life balance. How do you trade speed to FIRE for sustainability without blowing up the plan?

Anonymous : "Anonymous Ray" hired a bank portfolio manager but isn’t sure how to judge the results after just a few years. With mixed performance, dividend-heavy funds and higher fees, when is it fair to evaluate a manager — and would a simple index ETF outperform?

Nathan: Nathan’s 14-year-old just earned his first W-2 income, and Nathan wants to jump-start his son’s investing journey with a Roth IRA. But with household income above the Roth limits, is there a legal way to make this work without sacrificing the child tax credit?

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Q&A: I'm Burned Out But Not Quite Ready to Retire

#687: Your tax refund might be $300 to $1,000 bigger this year, and that's just the beginning of what's changing with your money.

The Tax Foundation estimates most Americans will see significantly larger refunds thanks to seven major tax cuts. The child tax credit increased by $200. The standard deduction jumped by $750 for individuals or $1,500 for couples. The state and local tax deduction cap now sits at $40,000. Seniors get an extra $6,000 deduction, and deductions for auto loan interest, tips, and overtime work all increased.

Retirement accounts saw major changes too. Catch-up contributions for high earners now must go into Roth accounts, which pushed thousands of employers to add Roth options to their 401k plans between 2024 and 2026.

Kevin Warsh, the new Fed chair nominee, thinks the Federal Reserve has been doing it all wrong. The former Fed governor and Wall Street banker believes the Fed focuses too much on backward-looking data and reacts too slowly. He wants strategic, forward-thinking policy instead of chasing lagging indicators. President Trump clarified he never asked Warsh to lower interest rates and wanted to "keep it pure."

The labor market shows serious cracks. Job openings dropped by nearly one million year over year to 6.5 million. Unemployment claims jumped to 231,000 last week. January layoffs hit 108,435 people — up 118 percent from last year and the worst January since 2009 during the Great Recession.

Big Tech continues its massive AI spending spree. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Oracle will collectively spend over $500 billion on AI infrastructure this year. Google's spending alone doubled from 2025, reaching up to $185 billion focused on data centers and Gemini development.

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Q&A: Should Your Emergency Fund Be Invested?

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