This morning, almost every major brokerage halted trading on the most volatile stocks, including GameStop, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, Nokia, and AMC Theaters. We're in a situation where major trading platforms are blocking retail investors - us - from placing trades, while allowing hedge funds and institutional investors to drive prices. That is not a free market. When you don't let people buy, and you don't let people sell, you're locking people out of the game entirely. Yesterday, I was worried that grandma and grandpa would make the wrong investment choices and irrationally bet their life savings away. Now, they're prohibited from making any choice. 🤯 We deserve the right to make our own trading decisions. For the latest updates, follow me on Instagram (https://instagram.com/paulapant) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#297: George is torn between paying down his student loan debt (which he deferred) or buying a househack. Which is better for his long-term goal of reaching financial independence? Mario is curious to know: is his two-fund portfolio at a 90/10 split is a good asset allocation for his Roth IRA? Hanan wants to figure out if a backdoor Roth IRA conversion will work for her. She also wants to investigate whether a Vanguard Institutional 500 Index Trust and a Vanguard Institutional Total Bond Market Index Trust are ideal. Are trusts different from index funds or mutual funds and if so, how? Vivian is worried about bridging the gap between when she retires and when she claims Social Security. Will her plan of doing a Roth conversion ladder work out the way she hopes? Lastly, June and her husband netted $400,000 from the sale of some golden parachute ISOs. They want to help their children pay for college and are trying to figure out how to strategically use this money. Should they pay off their home, buy rentals, fund 529s, or Roth their 401ks? My friend and former financial planner, Joe Saul-Sehy, joins me to answer these five questions. Enjoy! For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode297 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices