#54: It's the first Monday of the month, which means I'm fielding questions from the audience. We start with a question from Nicole. She's a new listener, and she's stuck in a confusing situation. You see, Nicole is self-employed. She'd like to save a percentage of her income -- but she doesn't get regular paychecks. How can she automate her savings, when she doesn't know how much she'll make each month? She asks a second question, as well. Nicole has $15,000 in savings and wants to buy her first rental property. However, she's intimidated by the unknown market. What should her first steps be? Next, we move to a question from podcast listener David. Should he invest his emergency fund? David is contemplating putting his emergency savings in the Vanguard Immediate-Term Investment Grade Fund (VFICX). Is this a good idea? Saul, another podcast listener interested in real estate investing, recently sold his home and has a decent chunk of change. Should he buy a 3 bed / 2 bath townhome with a small commercial space on the first floor? Or should he buy a duplex? Podcast listener Albert is wondering: should he buy a home for himself, and rent it out a few years later? He'd like to travel and work remotely. What are the downsides to this idea? It can't be that easy ... right? Finally, Abbey started a personal finance blog, and wants to know:     When should she start promoting her blog?     How much content should she write?     Does she have to share her blog with her friends and family, or can she stay anonymous?     Should she write about other things besides money and travel? I tackle these questions in this month's edition of Ask Paula. Enjoy! -- Paula P.S.  Trying to make a decision? Ask your question at http://affordanything.com/voicemail Resources Mentioned:     Renting is Throwing Money Away...Right?     Everything I Know About Blogging Condensed Into One Post     Should You Invest in This Rental Property? _______________________ To view this information online, visit http://affordanything.com/episode54 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#52: Imagine transitioning from making $8.50 per hour and sharing a crammed apartment with 5 people, to becoming a six-figure business owner doing what you love.   That's the journey that Julia Kelly, caricature artist and founder of JK Expressions, took.   Sounds great, right?   Well, as they say, more money = more problems.   When Julia earned $25,000 - $30,000 per year, she had fantastic money management skills. She had no debt and plenty of savings.   But when her business started making six figures, she began ignoring her finances, stopped saving money .... and racked up thousands in personal credit card debt.   Why?   Some of us write this off as life getting more expensive as we get older, but it's actually a classic case of lifestyle inflation -- when you make more, you spend more.   After Julia began earning six figures, she decided she was no longer happy with $12 haircuts from Supercuts. She happily splurged for $75 salon style cuts instead.   She started paying for convenience. One-click Amazon order? Check. Ordering an Uber or Lyft so she didn't have to deal with parking at the airport? Check. Eating out? Check.   She became lazy about saving money, assuming that she could always earn more. Money was coming into her bank accounts at an unprecedented pace – so her finances would take care of themselves, right?   Wrong.   As Julia discovered, when you "upgrade" certain aspects of your life, you may find it difficult to downgrade. You keep spending more and more, trapped on a consumer treadmill. You’re forced to work to fuel your spending addiction.   Left unchecked, this saps every ounce of freedom from your life.    Ouch.   In this episode, you'll learn: · Why you shouldn't take lifestyle inflation lightly · How to stop lifestyle inflation before it happens · What Julia regrets buying … and what she doesn’t · The easiest, most effective antidote to lifestyle inflation · How Julia differentiates between saving time vs. wasteful convenience spending · What Julia's advice is to those who are increasing their income, but don't want to succumb to lifestyle inflation -- Paula   Resources Mentioned:     •    Gretchen Rubin's episode, The Power of Habit Formation     •    Julia's story on the Afford Anything blog
     •    Cal Newport's episode, The Incredible Value of Deep Work, Instead of Distraction     •    Julia's site, JKExpressions.com __________________________ I also want to take a moment to thank the sponsors for this episode. First, huge thanks to Nerdwallet. Their new app lets you have one-on-one conversations with financial advisors. You can chat about anything related to money, such as retirement, investing, insurance, or paying off debt. You'll get personalized, one-on-one advice -- available at no cost to you. Check it out at no cost to you by visiting nerd.me/paula. _________________________ If you've been listening for a while, you've heard me interview many best-selling authors. Before I interview these guests, I need to read or refresh my memory of their books. Sitting down to physically read the books can take a long time. That's why I listen to their audiobooks, thanks to my subscription to an audiobook service called Audible. If you want to give them a try for free, head to audible.com/trynow for a free 30-day trial. _________________________ For a full list of show notes, visit http://podcast.affordanything.com/52-how-to-combat-lifestyle-inflation-with-julia-kelly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices