Q&A: We Saved $1.2 Million But We’re Still Renting. Should We Buy?

Afford Anything

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Entrepreneurship, Business, Investing

4.6 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#615: Emily is nervous that buying their first home will derail her family’s journey to financial independence. What’s the smartest way to deploy their savings and stay on track? Based on cap rate calculations, Paul’s real estate investments have appreciated beyond their sensible holding point. Should he sell his assets, or is there more to consider here? Mike is recently retired while his wife still works. With a paid-off home and healthcare already taken care of, what are best practices for drawing down an investment portfolio? Former financial planner Joe Saul-Sehy and I tackle these three questions in today’s episode. Enjoy! P.S. Got a question? Leave it here. For more information, visit the show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode615https://affordanything.com/episode615 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Joe, you're doing a big renovation on your house, right? Yeah, like the back of my house has been torn off.
0:05.0	And I'm guessing that has thrown a wrench, no pun intended, in your financial plans.
0:10.5	Yeah, we've put long-term stuff on hold because of that. Yeah. Well, you know what? We're going to field a question today from someone who long-term wants to build financial independence, short term wants to buy a home.
0:22.4	And the thing is, sometimes those goals feel a little incompatible because, man, the money that
0:27.5	you spend on the down payment, the repairs, all of the costs of buying a home can really take
0:33.7	a chunk out of that portfolio balance that you're trying to grow. Don't I know.
0:38.2	Yeah.
0:40.5	Welcome to the Afford Anything podcast, the show that knows you can afford anything, but not everything.
0:45.8	This show covers five pillars.
0:47.8	Financial Psychology, increasing your income, investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship.
0:52.3	It's double-eye fire.
0:53.8	I'm your host, Paula Pant.
0:54.9	I trained in economic reporting at Columbia. Every other episode, ish. I answer questions from you,
1:00.1	and I do so with my buddy, the former financial planner, Joe Sal C-high. What's up, Joe?
1:04.3	Oh, I am so excited for these questions. We got some great financial planning questions today.
1:09.8	Incredible questions. The first one comes from Emily.
1:13.7	Hi, Paula. I was so happy to hear your rent in defense of renting on episode 599. My wife and I have
1:20.6	really taken this perspective to heart and have been renting in a high-cost East Coast metro area
1:26.7	with great tenant protections for 15 years. However, we are
1:31.2	ready to make a big move and buy a house. How should we approach this decision at this stage of our
1:36.6	lives? We are married in our early 40s with two kids, a three-year-old and an almost one-year-old.
1:43.7	We really want to move to the Midwest to be near family and put down roots in a three-year-old and an almost one-year-old. We really want to move to the Midwest to be
	...

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