Q&A: Can You Really Beat the Market by Copying Members of Congress?

Afford Anything

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Investing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.6 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#657: This week, Paula and Joe dig into a listener’s question about ETFs that track the stock trades of U.S. politicians — including the Democratic “NANC” fund and its Republican counterpart “KRUZ.” They explore whether this strategy is smart investing or just expensive entertainment. Then, they shift gears to home ownership headaches. Another listener asks how to control ballooning maintenance costs, and Paula shares her best advice for finding trustworthy contractors, budgeting for repairs, and knowing when DIY doesn’t actually save money. Finally, an anonymous caller wonders if starting a small business just for tax breaks makes sense. Paula and Joe explain the IRS rules — and why energy and purpose matter more than deductions. From “fun money” investing to financial planning that actually works, this episode is all about balancing curiosity, caution, and common sense. Key Takeaways Congressional-trade ETFs aren’t a shortcut to wealth. They’re speculative, lag behind real trades, and carry high costs Home maintenance is predictable — plan for it. Create a repair timeline and build relationships with investor-friendly contractors DIY isn’t always cheaper. Factor in time, tools, and opportunity cost Never open a business just for taxes. If it doesn’t make a profit or bring joy, it’s an energy drain, not a strategy Separate fun money from freedom money. Keep speculation playful, and build wealth with focus and purpose Chapters 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) Should You Follow Congress’s Trades? (06:00) The Lag Problem and Investor Bias (10:30) The “Fun Money” Rule (11:20) The Hidden Cost of Home Repairs (15:00) Finding Investor-Friendly Contractors (18:00) Planning Ahead for Repairs (22:00) DIY vs. Opportunity Cost (26:00) Starting a Small Business for Tax Breaks (29:00) The IRS “3-of-5 Rule” (32:00) Purpose Over Deductions (34:00) Final Thoughts https://affordanything.com/voicemail Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and all the Nancys in your life: https://affordanything.com/episode657 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Joe, have you heard about the fund that tracks politicians' trades?
0:04.4	I have. There's several of them now. Yeah. So we have a question today from someone who's
0:08.9	wondering if that's where she should put her money. She's actually one of the two Nancy's
0:14.1	who we're going to be hearing from today. It's Nancy Day on the show. Yeah, exactly.
0:19.1	So we also have a deep financial planning question.
0:22.5	We're really going to go into the expenses of the other Nancy. And we've got a question about
0:29.4	whether or not to start a small business for the tax advantages from somebody who is high
0:34.5	income, but most of their income comes from W2. Okay.
0:44.9	And we've got a question about the cost of home maintenance, which is, as any homeowner knows,
0:46.5	more than you expect.
0:47.2	Always.
0:49.3	All of that is coming up right now.
0:53.0	Welcome to the Afford Anything Podcast, the show that knows you can afford anything, not everything.
0:54.0	The show covers five pillars. Financial Psychology, increasing your income, investing, real estate and entrepreneurship. It's double-eye fire. I'm your host, Paula Pant. I trained in economic reporting at Columbia. Every other episode-ish, we answer questions that come from you. And I do so with my buddy, the former financial planner, Joe Salci High.
1:11.9	What's up, Joe?
1:12.7	I feel like today I need to change my name to Nancy Salsi High.
1:15.4	Nancy Salsi High. Just to get along with everybody.
1:17.1	Right? Yes. Today is Nancy Day. And we're going to start with this first question,
1:21.6	which comes from one of today's two Nancy's.
1:25.3	Hi, Paula and Joe. I recently learned about investment vehicles that track insider traders and congresspeople
1:32.7	who seem to typically outperform the market and also have a lot of reporting requirements
1:37.3	that allow these vehicles to copy some of their trades and follow along.
	...

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