Q&A: Should You Pause Retirement to Buy a Bigger Home?

Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Entrepreneurship, Investing, Business

4.7 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#698: We explore financial decision-making at different stages of life: A high-earning federal couple debates whether to pause retirement contributions to accelerate a $200,000 down payment.A part-time healthcare provider seeks clarity on balancing a 401k and a traditional IRA.And a longtime listener asks a more personal question: Is there anything we’re still figuring out ourselves? We examine strategy, trade-offs, tax efficiency, housing decisions, and the long-term thinking that shapes financial outcomes. (01:36) Hannah and her husband are in their mid-30s with two young children, and are hoping to upgrade to a larger “forever home” in several years while keeping their current home as a rental. They’re deciding whether to temporarily reduce retirement contributions to speed up down payment savings and how a possible cross-country relocation might affect those plans. (37:15) Amelia is a part-time healthcare provider in New York who earns hourly income and wants to contribute to both her employer’s 401(k) and a traditional IRA. She’s trying to determine how much to contribute to the 401(k) from each paycheck while still maxing out her traditional IRA—keeping the overall approach simple and tax-efficient. (56:12) Lesley praises Paula and Joe’s thoughtful responses to callers and wonders whether they ever seek advice from their audience. After recently undergoing brain surgery that prompted deeper reflection, the listener asks if there is anything in Paula and Joe’s financial, personal, or professional lives where they would value collective wisdom from their community. Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and your mailman: https://affordanything.com/episode698 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Live from the Holiday Inn in Omaha, Nebraska.
0:05.2	Joe, thank you for joining us.
0:07.4	Thank you.
0:08.0	Happy to be here.
0:09.0	The holiday inn is attached to a casino.
0:11.5	So, Paula, if you want to come visit, we could go play the slots.
0:15.5	Well, I think what we'll do is help people play the slot machine of life.
0:24.8	The roulette wheel of life, Joe. That's what we do here. May the odds be ever in your favor, afforders. Today we are answering a question from
0:32.5	Hannah. She and her spouse are in their mid-30s. They have two children under five. And they're
0:37.0	wondering if they should
0:37.7	reduce their retirement savings in order to save for a down payment. We're going to hear from
0:42.4	Amelia, a health care provider who works part-time and is wondering what to do about 401K
0:50.0	contributions and IRA contributions. And we're going to hear from Leslie, who has a wonderful
0:55.8	question. I won't spoil it, but it's the question that made me go, aw. Welcome to the
1:01.1	Afford Anything Podcast, the show that knows you can afford anything, not everything. The show
1:05.5	covers five pillars, financial psychology, increasing your income, investing, real estate,
1:10.0	and entrepreneurship. It's double-eye fire. I'm your host, Paula Pant. investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship. It's
1:11.0	double-eye fire. I'm your host, Paula Pant. I trained in economic reporting at Columbia. Every other episode-ish, I answer questions from you, and I do so with my buddy, the former financial planner, Joe Sal C-high. What's up, Joe? Paula, while I was waiting for us to start today, I was working on my budget. I brought along some of my bills
1:27.8	and I opened my water bill
1:29.3	and my electric bill at the same time
1:30.9	and man was that was waiting for us to start today. I was working on my budget. Oh. I brought along some of my bills,
1:28.0	and I opened my water bill at the same time. And man, was that shocking. Oh. And with that,
	...

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