Afford Anything | Get Smarter With Money

#731: What if the best way to test a new hire wasn't a resume, but a two-hour breakfast? One CEO built his entire hiring process around it — and it worked.

Lorraine Marchand spent three decades in leadership roles at companies like IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and LabCorp, and interviewed more than 120 CEOs for her book on what actually makes teams innovate. Now she teaches at Wharton and Columbia Business School, and in this episode she joins Paula to share what really works.

In this episode, we discuss:

How one CEO used a casual team breakfast to test whether a new hire was the right fit before they came on board

A simple three-question test to figure out if a bad job culture is fixable, or if it's time to start looking elsewhere

Why a weekly 30-minute habit of talking about what's not working can make a team stronger

How to network your way into opportunities early in your career, even if you're worried AI will replace you first

What new research on memory loss and heavy AI use means for how you should be using these tools

How to protect your job in your 50s and 60s as companies push AI adoption on everyone

Where Marchand thinks the next wave of entrepreneurial opportunity is actually hiding (hint: it's not another app)

Whether you're building a team from scratch, trying to decide if a toxic job is worth fixing, or just trying to use AI without losing your edge, this episode gives you practical takeaways you can put to use right away.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

Note: Timestamps may vary slightly depending on dynamic ad placements.

(02:00) – The team breakfast test: how one CEO used a shared meal to hire the right people

(17:38) Should you try to fix a bad culture, or start looking for a new job?

(26:29) Why people follow good bosses, not companies

(28:26) Networking advice for people early in their career

(30:25) What heavy AI use might be doing to your memory and thinking

(31:06) AI job displacement and the skills worth building now

(50:56) Using AI as a thought partner to build emotional intelligence

(58:23) Advice for workers in their 50s and 60s worried about AI and ageism

(1:06:00) Building a team of humans and AI "agents" — including an AI board of directors

(1:14:43) Where Marchand sees the next wave of entrepreneurship and innovation heading

🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED

THE SIMPLE THREE-STEP PROCESS THAT CHANGES HOW YOU THINK ABOUT EVERYTHING 👉https://affordanything.com/turnitaround

Landit – The AI-powered interview and communication prep tool mentioned in the episode 👉 https://www.landitinterview.ai/

Lorraine Marchand's website 👉 https://www.lorrainemarchand.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#730: What does it actually mean to have "enough" — and how do you know when it's time to stop optimizing and start living?

AVOIDING THE REAL ESTATE MISTAKES IN THIS FREE GUIDE COULD SAVE YOU $10,000 OR MORE 👉https://affordanything.com/mistakes

In today's episode:

Jax, a longtime listener, has hit a mindset shift — prioritizing sabbaticals and shared experiences over pure accumulation. He wants to know if his financial strategy still matches his values, how to deploy his home sale proceeds, when to assemble a financial team, and whether he and his wife have truly reached Coast FI.

Megan and her wife are realtors in Baltimore who also flip houses. They're weighing whether to keep flipping, build a rental portfolio, or lean harder into retirement accounts and index funds — and want a framework for balancing it all as they plan for more travel and time with family.

And Reema lives with her husband in the home she grew up in — which her mother still owns. As they plan renovations and think ahead to her mother's eventual estate, she's looking for guidance on how to split the inheritance fairly with her siblings.

Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and your dog sitter4: https://affordanything.com/episode730
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#729: The U.S. added 57,000 jobs in June. Economists expected 115,000.

Meanwhile, inflation hit a three-year high. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index - the Fed's favorite inflation gauge - jumped 4.1 percent year-over-year.

That combination creates a problem. Weak jobs usually push the Fed to cut rates. Hot inflation pushes them to hike. In this First Friday episode, we break down which way the Fed might lean at its September meeting, and why traders see an 80 percent chance rates stay frozen for now.

We also dig into Kevin Warsh's debut as Fed Chairman. His first official statement ran only 132 words, one of the shortest in Fed history. He cut forward guidance – the practice of making guesses about what the Fed will do next. He removed the names of dissenting voters. His statement mentioned price stability but skipped maximum employment, and we explain why that omission matters.

Central banks around the world moved in the opposite direction. The European Central Bank raised rates for the first time since 2023, responding to a 10.9 percent surge in energy prices. The Bank of Japan hiked rates to their highest level in 31 years. Australia, Norway, Indonesia, the Philippines and Israel joined in. Brazil was the only country to cut rates – down to 14.25 percent.

We cover China's consumer spending decline, the first since the pandemic ended, driven by a 16.1 percent drop in auto sales and a real estate crash that drained middle-class wealth.

We end the episode with a deep dive into NYC's rent freeze – who gets the benefit, and who pays the price?

⏱️ Timestamps:

Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising segments.

(00:00) US Job Market Cooling Off

(04:52) Fed’s Stance on Interest Rates

(07:29) New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Priorities

(17:21) Global Interest Rate Hikes

(21:47) Impact of Stable US Rates & Global Trends

(26:24) Inflation Data and Predictions

(30:38) Consumer Sentiment: US vs. China

(40:00) NYC Rent Freeze: History, Policies, and Today

Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and your landlord: https://affordanything.com/episode729
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

#728: What do you do when you suddenly have $850,000 and no idea what to do with it?

GET TOTAL CLARITY ON WHERE EVERY DOLLAR BELONGS 👉 https://affordanything.com/cornerstone

On today’s Q&A, one caller recently inherited $850,000 from his mother. He's already wealthy, earns over $500K a year, and has a solid net worth — but he's anxious, lost, and doesn't want to make a decision he can't undo. Paula and Joe walk him through exactly what they'd do.

Then, a federal law enforcement officer responds to Jane from episode 722. He pushes back on our diagnosis of her stress — and makes a compelling case that it's not the mandatory retirement age that's the problem. It's the minimum. He shares how he's survived the final stretch of a career he no longer loves, and what he'd tell Jane about the years she still has ahead.

Finally, a caller who is pregnant, recently promoted, and about to have a very hard conversation with her employer. She wants to go part-time after maternity leave — but HR is bureaucratic and the stakes are high. When should she ask? How should she ask? And should she be saving differently right now just in case they say no?

Mentioned in today's episode:

Interview with Family Law Attorney Aaron Thomas https://affordanything.com/episode582

Full show notes at https://affordanything.com/episode728

Download the Four Cornerstones worksheet to see exactly where every dollar belongs https://affordanything.com/cornerstone

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

727: Not sure what your next money move should be? Start with the free FiiRE Playbook 👉 https://affordanything.com/fiire

Dr. Julia Garcia is a psychologist, behavioral researcher, and author of The Five Habits of Hope — and she's spent years studying why smart, hardworking people stay stuck.

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your financial goals isn't your income, your debt, or the housing market — but your own brain?

I sat down with Dr. Garcia to unpack the neuroscience of hope, why apathy is more dangerous than despair, and the five habits that can rewire your brain — and your relationship with money — for good.

(00:00) Hope is not a feeling — it's a cognitive process

(05:00) The real reason you can't save money (it's not imposter syndrome)

(08:11) Hopelessness vs. despair — and why the difference matters

(13:05) The biggest danger isn't despair — it's apathy

(21:10) How avoiding feelings leads to avoiding financial decisions

(23:45) The "maybe" technique that interrupts negative thought loops

(39:26) Habit 2: Risk — why comfort is killing your courage

(54:59) Habit 4: Receive — why you can't hold onto wealth you don't feel worthy of

(01:01:41) Habit 5: Repurpose — seeing worth where others see waste

__________

🎧 NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

Apple Podcasts: https://affordanything.com/applepodcasts

Spotify: https://affordanything.com/spotify

__________

🤗JOIN OUR PRIVATE COMMUNITY:

https://affordanything.com/community

🤗STAY IN THE LOOP:

https://affordanything.com/newsletter

__________

🛠 TOOLS AND RESOURCES:

Check out The 5 Habits of Hope, a book by Dr. Julia Garcia - https://amzn.to/4oUzoRj

Dr. Garcia’s Bio - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjuliagarcia

__________

👀 WATCH THIS VIDEO NEXT: https://youtu.be/TdiyOHkAGiY

__________

👋 SAY HI ON SOCIAL:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/affordanything

Instagram: https://instagram.com/paulapant

X: https://x.com/affordanything

#FinancialPsychology #BehavioralFinance #MoneyAndMindset #FinancialGoals

Watch the video of this episode https://youtu.be/hx1fJcok6Mk
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices