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Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and

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Speaker 1: today we're answering your listener questions. Gus, right, Joel, this

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Speaker 1: is a Listener Questions Monday. We've got five excellent questions

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Speaker 1: from listeners, including a question about cryptocurrency tax moves that

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Speaker 1: you can make. That's right, we're talking about the wash

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Speaker 1: sale rule. We've got a question from a listener who's

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Speaker 1: asking what to do with his savings that he has

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Speaker 1: within his robin Hood account. And then we've also got

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Speaker 1: a full family feud going on that it's a frugal

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Speaker 1: or cheap uh and we're gonna settle it once and

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Speaker 1: for all. You're gonna be Steve Harvey in this family.

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Speaker 1: It's gonna be me, are you man. We're gonna let

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Speaker 1: them know what we think when it comes to their

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Speaker 1: frugal or cheap conundrum. But but first minute, a quick

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Speaker 1: question for your So, the kids lately have been asking

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Speaker 1: me to turn on the Christmas tree. Normally that's not

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Speaker 1: a problem because it's at nights. I'm all about having

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Speaker 1: the Christmas tree on at night. In fact, I have

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Speaker 1: it set on a timer and it kicks on it

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Speaker 1: around maybe five o'clock, you know, once it starts getting dark,

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Speaker 1: goes until after we go to bed, like around eleven.

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Speaker 1: What's better than the Christmas tree? Vibes this time of

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Speaker 1: year by so good? What is it? The hugo? You know,

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Speaker 1: like like it. It totally helps with that vibe. My

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Speaker 1: wife like refuses for weeks after Christmas to take down

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Speaker 1: the Christmas tree. She's like, we must keep it up.

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Speaker 1: And then finally I'm like, maybe I'm sorry, we got

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Speaker 1: too it's time. Instead you can buy like fifteen sixteen

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Speaker 1: candles set those around the rooms. It also gives off

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Speaker 1: the vibes as well. But my problem here, like I

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Speaker 1: guess I've got my own furguler sheep because the girls

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Speaker 1: in the morning, they've been wanting to turn the tree on,

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Speaker 1: and I have felt this resistance so wanting to do

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Speaker 1: that because the frugal bones run deep. It's in my

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Speaker 1: d n A and I think, oh, like I'm not sure,

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Speaker 1: like do we really need to have the tree on

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Speaker 1: in the morning, But I gotta say it does look

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Speaker 1: good because of course when we wake up in the morning,

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Speaker 1: it's really dark outside, and a certainly adds a lot

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Speaker 1: to the vibe of the house. But basically, what do

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Speaker 1: you think am I being frugal or cheap? Man? You're

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Speaker 1: being the grinch? Uh being cheap? I I know that

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Speaker 1: I'm being cheap because well, well, first we have to

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Speaker 1: give this question out of the way, and I'm sure

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Speaker 1: I know the answer. You're using LED bulbs, right, yes, okay,

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Speaker 1: so when you're using that pretty much answers the question

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Speaker 1: for me, right. ELI D bulbs are basically almost free,

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Speaker 1: like how much they cause you an electricity every month?

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Speaker 1: If someone is still using the old school incandescent bulbs,

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Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. They look good, especially on the

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Speaker 1: exterior of the home, I think, like lining your roof

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Speaker 1: or something like that. They look amazing, like the old

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Speaker 1: school vibe of those. But the cost is what nine.

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Speaker 1: In general, the incandescence are more expensive to run than

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Speaker 1: LED bulbs, which is why we encourage people to update

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Speaker 1: their light bulbs in their house to l D bulbs,

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Speaker 1: because they've gotten really good and they've gotten really cheap.

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Speaker 1: But I do think that they're getting better because the

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Speaker 1: because bulbs of a decade ago, gosh, they're terrible. It's

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Speaker 1: it's what It's something about how they pulse and like

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Speaker 1: when you're looking at them and you kind of scan

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Speaker 1: across them with your eye. You can see them pulse

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Speaker 1: when it's I don't know what you call it, but

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Speaker 1: that pulsing has gotten better or like it's more constant

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Speaker 1: to where it looks like it's continually running as opposed

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Speaker 1: to it flashing on and off like five times a

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Speaker 1: seconds or whatever it does. But it does it at

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Speaker 1: such a rapid rate that you could literally feel it

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Speaker 1: what I would call vibrates, Like you would look at

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Speaker 1: these lights and you're like, like, what is going on?

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Speaker 1: It feels like it's vibrating in my brain. Well, well,

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Speaker 1: let's let's put it into perspective. How much this is

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Speaker 1: actually costing you? Because I think of three hundred strand

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Speaker 1: uh of of lights on your Christmas tree, if you

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Speaker 1: run it for six hours a day over thirty days,

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Speaker 1: how much do you think that costs you? No clue

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Speaker 1: from what I read, and I and maybe this was

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Speaker 1: an accurate but fifty two cents over over a month

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Speaker 1: a day is no big deal. My gosh, that's true.

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Speaker 1: Then you said strand Yeah, okay, well, I've got no idea.

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Speaker 1: I think we have like a three thousand strand okay,

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Speaker 1: so and for the pleasure in the joy that provides

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Speaker 1: you why you've got that Christmas tree up, which is

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Speaker 1: for just like obviously extremely limited amount of time. It's like,

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Speaker 1: keep those lights on whenever you can, especially when whenever

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Speaker 1: you're home, even as the daytime. I think, uh, I

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Speaker 1: think keeping those lights on is half the fun. And

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Speaker 1: so yeah, I agree, well, and especially since like I've

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Speaker 1: got these little Bluetooth plugs that we've got the tree

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Speaker 1: plugged into. My dad actually gave them to me for

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Speaker 1: Christmas like two or three years ago. But they they're

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Speaker 1: smart plugs, and they connect via Bluetooth to an app

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Speaker 1: on your phone, and so not only can you turn

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Speaker 1: them on and off with your phone, but you can

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Speaker 1: set them on a timer. You can put them on

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Speaker 1: a schedule on your phone as well, so I can

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Speaker 1: easily throw them on from just the time, yeah, six

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Speaker 1: thirty to thirty in the mornings or something like. Now

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Speaker 1: I get to be the good guy and tell your daughters,

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Speaker 1: then I save Christmas. It's like Daddy's gonna leave your

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Speaker 1: Daddy's gonna leave the lights on twenty four hours a day,

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Speaker 1: so there will never be an instance where you don't

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Speaker 1: have that nice vibe. Uncle Joel came through in the clutch. Well,

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Speaker 1: I will say that when you crunch the numbers like that,

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Speaker 1: it does help you, right, It helps you to see

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Speaker 1: how little money that we're actually talking about here. And

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Speaker 1: so that's this. This is why I like the budget, right,

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Speaker 1: because when you actually look at the data and you

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Speaker 1: crunch the numbers, that can help you to decide, Oh,

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Speaker 1: this is not a discussion worth having. Uh. It's only

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Speaker 1: worth having here on the show to help other people

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Speaker 1: out there. Uh. And you know, to help me as

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Speaker 1: a little bit as well, to not truly be cheap

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Speaker 1: down in my heart as it shrinks. I wanted to

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Speaker 1: to grow. How many times do is the Grench's heart

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Speaker 1: grow five? Four, four or five times? I don't know,

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Speaker 1: It's gonna grow tremendously. That's going for all right. Well,

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Speaker 1: I'm proud of you for pushing through and keep those

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Speaker 1: lights on, especially in the morning for your daughters. But

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Speaker 1: let's move on, Matt. Let's mention the beer we're having

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Speaker 1: on this episode. This one is my Academia Brewing Brewing

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Speaker 1: company out of Athens, Georgia. Right around the corner. Listener

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Speaker 1: Nathan sent this one our way so we'll give our

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Speaker 1: thoughts on this one at the end of the episode. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: maybe I'll share a story too about how I used

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Speaker 1: to actually work with Nathan. We'll tell the full story

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Speaker 1: maybe at the end of the episode. Okay, so look

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Speaker 1: forward to all right, but let's get onto it. Let's

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Speaker 1: answer some listener questions. And for those of you out

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Speaker 1: there who are like, I've got a money question, I

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Speaker 1: need some help, Well, we love to take your question

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Speaker 1: on an upcoming episode. Just go to how to Money

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Speaker 1: dot com slash ask I gotta do is record a

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Speaker 1: voice memo, say your name, where you're from, and what

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Speaker 1: your question is, and hopefully will take it on an

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Speaker 1: upcoming episode. This first one, Matt, has to do with

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Speaker 1: the holidays and keeping that spirit alive. Hi, Joel and Matt,

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Speaker 1: this is Eric Mauer from West Hartford, Connecticut. We're big

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Speaker 1: fans of your show and excited to send in our

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Speaker 1: first how to Money question. We're struggling with balancing the

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Speaker 1: religious importance of the Jewish holiday Konica with the gift

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Speaker 1: giving culture that has become attached to it. Tonight, our

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Speaker 1: four year old told us that his favorite part of

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Speaker 1: the upcoming holiday is the presence gift giving place such

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Speaker 1: a small part of what the holiday is about, and

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Speaker 1: we're struggling to ensure that as our kids get older,

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Speaker 1: they celebrate the true meaning of the holiday. This is

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Speaker 1: all exacerbated by the Eight Nights of Presents that some

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Speaker 1: of our relatives share with the kids. Has become so

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Speaker 1: over the top with gift giving, despite the efforts we

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Speaker 1: have made to communicate our wants with them. It is

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Speaker 1: even further exemplified by our immediate family not having great means.

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Speaker 1: We follow the how to money philosophy and have a

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Speaker 1: minimalist life. We have real needs and it hurts that

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Speaker 1: our family support comes in the form of a glutiny

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Speaker 1: of chot keys that our kids don't need. So I'm

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Speaker 1: reaching out to see if you have any tips or

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Speaker 1: strategies to highlight the real importance of the holiday and

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Speaker 1: to compare outside values of family members. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: all right, Eric thinks for that question, And Joel, you know,

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Speaker 1: Hanakah actually just ended last week, but we feel that

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Speaker 1: this is a question that is important to address, and

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Speaker 1: so we're gonna get to it here while we're still

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Speaker 1: in the midst of the holiday season. In general, even

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Speaker 1: though Hanakah specifically is over. This makes me think we

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Speaker 1: should maybe not take listener questions every two weeks, because

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Speaker 1: if we took him every week, we could have taken

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Speaker 1: it last week while while it was still going on. Yeah. Possibly,

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Speaker 1: But Eric, we wanted to first address the fact that

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Speaker 1: you're not alone when it comes to the emphasis that

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Speaker 1: your kids are putting on presents. We don't want you

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Speaker 1: to beat yourself up, you know, like when your young

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Speaker 1: kids say that presents are their best part. I believe

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Speaker 1: it's just a natural instinct for little kids to be

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Speaker 1: mesmerized not only by the lights but also the gifts

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Speaker 1: as well. And that doesn't necessarily mean that we should

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Speaker 1: you know that we want to encourage that behavior, but

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Speaker 1: I just can't imagine there are many four year olds

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Speaker 1: who wouldn't respond in that way. Right. It's a lot

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Speaker 1: more difficult to get excited about the recovery of Jerusalem

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Speaker 1: or the birth of Jesus or whatever it is that

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Speaker 1: you're you know, truly celebrating when there's a shiny new

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Speaker 1: toy to get playing with. So, yeah, kicking yourself or

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Speaker 1: being too hard on your kids, we feel is not

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Speaker 1: the best route. Yeah, every four year old their natural

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Speaker 1: instinct is going to be to get that toy catalog

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Speaker 1: and start circling everything you know on the leader to

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Speaker 1: the holidays. I know that's what my kids did, and

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Speaker 1: so but there there are still a lot of conversations

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Speaker 1: to be had while that's happening, right, And although we

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Speaker 1: celebrate Christmas in our house, Eric, we have a similar

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Speaker 1: desire to connect our kids with the deeper meaning of

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Speaker 1: the holiday and not just the commercialization of it. And

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Speaker 1: I feel like that is just getting more and more

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Speaker 1: difficult these days when everything else is kind of pushing

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Speaker 1: us towards celebrating uh presents and lights and festivity, where

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Speaker 1: we would like to preserve some of the deep rooted

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Speaker 1: faith building stories that we try to keep at the

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Speaker 1: front literally every day of our kids minds during this season.

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Speaker 1: And so yeah, we're specific about what we read, the

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Speaker 1: discussions that we're having at the dinner table, at the

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Speaker 1: breakfast table, even And then we're also intentional about our

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Speaker 1: giving this time of year, and we include our kids

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Speaker 1: in those giving traditions. One of those things includes buying

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Speaker 1: gifts for other kids who are in need, and we

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Speaker 1: want to make sure that they partake in that. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: do we still talk about presents. Do we still listen

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Speaker 1: to the classic Christmas tunes? Yeah? We we watched the

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Speaker 1: Charlie Brown Christmas Special and my kids watched Home Alone

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Speaker 1: for the first time this year. It was super fun.

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Speaker 1: How do they like it? They loved it? Did They

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Speaker 1: just like slapstick people getting beat up. It's awesome. It

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Speaker 1: wasn't too scary for them that there's a home invasion.

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Speaker 1: That's true. They handled it well. Uh but yeah, basically

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Speaker 1: they called it home alone and so like home invasion one,

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Speaker 1: it's like, what's wrong with these people kids getting scared? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: But basically, Eric, you know, we we placed a strong

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Speaker 1: focus on our own tradition and how those connect to

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Speaker 1: our family beliefs. And it's hard when all these outfought

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Speaker 1: side influences, even people in your own family are kind

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Speaker 1: of opting to take a different route. But you still

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Speaker 1: have the majority influence over your four year old by far.

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Speaker 1: And so yeah, there's a there's a whole lot that

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Speaker 1: you can do to influence how your four year old

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Speaker 1: grows up and perceives that holiday moving forward totally. And

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Speaker 1: I mean I think it's important too. I Mean, one

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Speaker 1: of the things I'll say that we do when it

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Speaker 1: comes to observing Advent is we are doing the best

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Speaker 1: we can to make it fun because yeah, like it's

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Speaker 1: not something that kids are going to naturally, I think

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Speaker 1: be drawn to. It just takes time where you're kind

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Speaker 1: of teaching them the different lessons. But for us, we've

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Speaker 1: you know, I think similar to Hugel, like we keep

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Speaker 1: up with this Advent book essentially that we're reading every

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Speaker 1: single day, and in years past we've created some different

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Speaker 1: ornaments that we've painted images on that reflects kind of

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Speaker 1: the lesson from that day. Uh. And they're in these

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Speaker 1: little bags that we kind of hang up on the shelf.

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Speaker 1: And so every day there's like the you know, it's

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Speaker 1: sort of like an Advent calendar, there's an unveiling of

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Speaker 1: that day. Uh. And so it's just a way to

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Speaker 1: engage the kids. It makes it's something that they're looking

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Speaker 1: forward to. Uh. And it's like the present is the

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Speaker 1: lesson because that's that that's what's kind of you know,

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Speaker 1: painted on the little ornament there. And so it's fun

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Speaker 1: because it is about the actual lesson, it's about faith,

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Speaker 1: but it's also kind of like a present because it

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Speaker 1: is something that gets a kind of unwrapped. And I

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Speaker 1: will say this is something that we do as well,

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Speaker 1: which is that we use our actually we use our

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Speaker 1: Halloween candy from a couple of months ago. Uh, and

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Speaker 1: we put some very small amounts of candy in those

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Speaker 1: little bags as well. Uh. It's still a form of consumption,

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Speaker 1: but we're trying to center it around them being excited

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Speaker 1: about this lesson. And so, Eric, whatever way is that

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Speaker 1: you can figure out to try to make it a

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Speaker 1: little bit more fun, that is something that we recommend

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Speaker 1: that you keep in mind. Yeah, And and I guess

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Speaker 1: then eric question comes down to how does he help

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Speaker 1: his family members do the same. That's tougher because he

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Speaker 1: can do these things, but what about the Yeah, the

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Speaker 1: forces outside of his control. It's easier to control what

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Speaker 1: goes on within the walls of your home than it

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Speaker 1: is to control other people who don't live there. And

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Speaker 1: so we would say, first recognize that your loved ones

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Speaker 1: are not trying to attack you, and they don't want

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Speaker 1: to secretly up end your honk like they don't want

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Speaker 1: to ruin it and turn it into some commercialized version

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Speaker 1: when that's not what you want. And just that perspective shift,

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Speaker 1: I think can help you reframe how you view those

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Speaker 1: gifts giving attempts. So instead of taking it as an attack,

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Speaker 1: it's like, no, they're they're doing kind of what they

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Speaker 1: perceived to be best, even though that's not what we're

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Speaker 1: trying to accomplish. And then second, I would say be proactive.

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Speaker 1: It sounds like you've already done that, but instead of

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Speaker 1: like just getting angry after getting that gift, be helpful

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Speaker 1: on the front end with suggestions like experiences or memberships.

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Speaker 1: Maybe those are better gifts, right, they are in all

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Speaker 1: likelihood better gifts for those of us who will throw

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Speaker 1: away piece of plastics. Yeah, and those of us who

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Speaker 1: want to live a little more minimalist. I do not

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Speaker 1: call myself a minimalist, Matt. You are more minimalist than I.

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Speaker 1: But we still want spectrum, you know, Like right, we

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Speaker 1: are on the spectrum, but I still want to prevent

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Speaker 1: just like a ton of needless toys in our house.

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Speaker 1: Same here, and I mean, and this gets even more nerdy,

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Speaker 1: but like even asking if they could maybe contribute to

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Speaker 1: a five plan would be I mean, Eric, you mentioned

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Speaker 1: how like there are needs that you'll have, and that

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Speaker 1: could be something that you could presents in a you know,

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Speaker 1: very diplomatic way, maybe in the middle of next year,

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Speaker 1: as opposed to right before they're about to unload all

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Speaker 1: these gifts or I guess in your case, they've already

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Speaker 1: done it. So yeah, and well, and I think one

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Speaker 1: other matt really good way to approach it is you

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Speaker 1: can talk about how overwhelming it is for your four

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Speaker 1: year old to receive so many gifts alongside that limited

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Speaker 1: storage space. So uh, there are even statistics that you

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Speaker 1: could bring bring to this discussion, like stats show that

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Speaker 1: kids play less the more gifts they receive. Will toss

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Speaker 1: that study in our show notes that you can use

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Speaker 1: that as an aid. It's been proven that fewer toys

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Speaker 1: lead to more imagination. That that the the kids who

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Speaker 1: have tons of toys, they end up not using their

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Speaker 1: imagination as much. And so take that positive approach instead

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Speaker 1: of scolding, say thank you and you know, because I

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Speaker 1: think your family is just trying to communicate love, even

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Speaker 1: if it's not the way that you necessarily want to

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Speaker 1: receive it. And then in the future you some of

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Speaker 1: those things to kind of help hint at the fact

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Speaker 1: that like, hey, guess what this is. This is better

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Speaker 1: for our child and but for our family can you

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Speaker 1: kind of help us out in that way. Yeah, it's

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Speaker 1: a little bit tougher to temper what it is that

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Speaker 1: your extended family is choosing to do. But Eric, you know,

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Speaker 1: you can make sure though, like one thing that you

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Speaker 1: can do within the walls of your own home, though,

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Speaker 1: you can make sure that you're not unintentionally allowing that

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Speaker 1: consumption mindset to take root with your kids, and that

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Speaker 1: often starts with the media that your kids are exposed to.

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Speaker 1: Like I know, for you know, TV commercials were huge

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Speaker 1: for toys back when I was a kid, and luckily

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Speaker 1: that's not something we have to worry about as much

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Speaker 1: with streaming shows because like think back to all the

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Speaker 1: different commercials we saw it, Like that's how you learned

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Speaker 1: about new toys because you see the kids on TV

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Speaker 1: playing with them. And that's when I learned that I

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Speaker 1: needed to have hungry, hungry hippop. I want to say,

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Speaker 1: the average kid in our day saw probably a hundred

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Speaker 1: ads every day. It was an insane number advertisements. Luckily

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Speaker 1: like that, Like I said, though, that's not something that

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Speaker 1: we deal with today, just with how we st TV

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Speaker 1: shows for kids and things like that. But we do

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Speaker 1: need to be careful with YouTube. There is an entire

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Speaker 1: unboxing genre of YouTube videos where kids are on there,

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Speaker 1: they're opening new toys, are playing with them, and essentially

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Speaker 1: they're like brainwashing your kids at the same time. Uh.

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Speaker 1: Some of those videos have hundreds of millions of views

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Speaker 1: and they start kids just playing with brightly colored toys. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And so we need to make sure that we're taking

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Speaker 1: steps to remove or or you know, like at the

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Speaker 1: at the very least monitor the temptations that are presented

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Speaker 1: to our kids. On one hand, we say that we

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Speaker 1: believe X, but we need to make sure that we're

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Speaker 1: taking the proper steps that we're performing our due diligence

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Speaker 1: to limit the number of outside influences on our kids

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Speaker 1: in this way. Yeah, it's it's not easy. I think

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Speaker 1: it's harder than ever with how many outside influences are

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Speaker 1: pestering our kids and our families with that message of consumerism.

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Speaker 1: And so you're going to face it, right and your

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Speaker 1: kid is going to instinctually say presents are the best part.

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Speaker 1: But there's a lot you can do to connect what's

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Speaker 1: happening during this time to a deeper meaning. When it

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Speaker 1: comes to the deeper meaning of your faith, and over

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Speaker 1: the years that matters. Like those intentional steps matter a

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Speaker 1: whole lot, and so even though it's difficult, it's worth doing.

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Speaker 1: And Eric, it sounds like you are thinking about it properly.

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Speaker 1: So best of luck to you as you continue to

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Speaker 1: approach holidays and and hanak in, particularly for your family

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Speaker 1: in the future. All Right, man, we got a couple

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Speaker 1: more questions to get to, including one about snagging free

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Speaker 1: coffee is at frugal or cheap. We'll get to that

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Speaker 1: and more right after this break. Okay, we are back

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Speaker 1: from the break Angel. Let's get to this question now

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Speaker 1: from a listener who wants some clarity on what to

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Speaker 1: do with some money in his robin Hood account. Hey,

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Speaker 1: Matt and Joel. My name is Levi. I'm in Denver, Colorado,

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Speaker 1: and I have a question for you. I opened up

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Speaker 1: a robin Hood account before I really understood personal finance,

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Speaker 1: and now I have the majority of my savings invested there.

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Speaker 1: I don't have an emergency fund built, and I'm just

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Speaker 1: starting to save towards my four oh one K. My

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Speaker 1: question is what should I do with that money? Pull

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Speaker 1: it out and make an emergency fund, max out of

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Speaker 1: roth Ira or leave it in there and start the

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Speaker 1: money gears from scratch. I don't have any outstanding debts

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Speaker 1: or loans to worry about, and the advice is appreciated.

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Speaker 1: Thanks Levi. First off, I got to say we are

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Speaker 1: so glad that you got the ball rolling when it

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Speaker 1: comes to saving and investing, that there there are a

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Speaker 1: lot of things that we need to cover in response

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Speaker 1: to your question, because while putting some money away in

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Speaker 1: a robin Hood account to start investing is fine, it's

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Speaker 1: not a big deal. It is a big deal in

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Speaker 1: our opinion if you're skipping other important steps along the way.

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Speaker 1: And that's where you are right now. So the good

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Speaker 1: news though, is it doesn't sound like it'll be too

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Speaker 1: difficult for you to put together a starter emergency fund.

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Speaker 1: And yet some other great news is that you don't

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Speaker 1: have any outstanding debt, So that means that you haven't

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Speaker 1: gotten the money gears out of order too badly. You're

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Speaker 1: massively headed in the right direction. But there are some

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Speaker 1: important tweaks we think that yeah, you need to make totally. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: this is not a knot that you cannot untie that

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Speaker 1: enough knots for you. It's a tongue twister that's right, So, Leavi,

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Speaker 1: you know, one of the most important things to consider though,

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Speaker 1: like you know, before you make a move to sell anything,

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Speaker 1: is your timeline. Because you mentioned not having any emergency

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Speaker 1: fund savings, which is not good because we think that

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Speaker 1: everyone should have some liquid cash in a savings account.

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Speaker 1: And how much just depends on a number of factors.

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Speaker 1: But the question is how quickly could you build that

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Speaker 1: emergency fund up? Because if it would only take you

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Speaker 1: a few months to get a real best emergency fund

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Speaker 1: built up, then you might be able to avoid selling

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Speaker 1: your robin Hood investments. But if it's going to take you, say,

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Speaker 1: a couple of years, well that is gonna be too

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Speaker 1: long and you're putting yourself and your finances in harm's

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Speaker 1: way were you to hold out. Yeah, how big is

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Speaker 1: your monthly margin, I guess is an important question here

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Speaker 1: because if it's if it's large, if you've got a

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Speaker 1: big spread between what you're bringing in and what goes out,

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Speaker 1: then you can kind of stop contributing to that robin

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Speaker 1: Hood account and fund that savings account really quickly. But

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Speaker 1: and there's just a few other specifics that you didn't mention,

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Speaker 1: so we'll kind of do our best here. But you

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Speaker 1: that all your savings is in a robin Hood account,

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Speaker 1: so we're not sure if it's just sitting there or

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Speaker 1: if it's invested. It sounds like it's invested from what

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Speaker 1: we can tell. And if it is invested, is it

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Speaker 1: in an index fund or did you buy some individual

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Speaker 1: stocks and some cryptocurrencies. That is an important answer we

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Speaker 1: would want to know too. The answers to those questions

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Speaker 1: are crucial because the riskier your investments are, the more

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Speaker 1: likely we are to tell you to sell and to realocate. Again,

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Speaker 1: it's okay to dabble a little bit if you're interested

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Speaker 1: in those higher risk investments. Like if you've been investing

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Speaker 1: for ten years and you've saved up a decent you've

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Speaker 1: got a decent net worth going on. It's okay to

430
00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,240
Speaker 1: put a small portion of what you have in cryptocurrency,

431
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,439
Speaker 1: but you need to make sure that you get the

432
00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,280
Speaker 1: basics met first and some of that those initial money

433
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:46,640
Speaker 1: gears really take care of that. It's it's just it's

434
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,720
Speaker 1: not wise. It's not smart too. Before you have the fund,

435
00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:53,160
Speaker 1: before you have started putting anything away in tax advantage

436
00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:55,920
Speaker 1: retirement accounts and index funds. It's just it's not a

437
00:19:55,960 --> 00:19:59,040
Speaker 1: good idea to be investing in some of those riskier ways,

438
00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:00,880
Speaker 1: That's right, yeah, which is why we want to see

439
00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,399
Speaker 1: you contributing to your four owin K, and specifically, if

440
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,640
Speaker 1: your employer offers a match, then you need to contribute

441
00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:10,040
Speaker 1: enough to get that free money. But then beyond that,

442
00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,440
Speaker 1: we would love to see you working towards maxing up

443
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,200
Speaker 1: both your four ow K and your RATH I A.

444
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,400
Speaker 1: Those are both going to be tax sheltered investment vehicles

445
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,479
Speaker 1: and are going to be a much better place for

446
00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,840
Speaker 1: your investments over the years as they continue to grow.

447
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:24,959
Speaker 1: And here's the thing. I know that that's gonna be

448
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:26,960
Speaker 1: a ton of money that we're talking about here. That's

449
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 1: that's a total of over twenty grand. That is a lot.

450
00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,800
Speaker 1: But if you can't max out those tax sheltered accounts,

451
00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,199
Speaker 1: then selling your robin Hood holdings is gonna likely be

452
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 1: the right move for you. Yeah. Basically, if if like

453
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:40,800
Speaker 1: like I'm going back to that margin, if your margin

454
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:42,240
Speaker 1: is huge, and it's like I can save up that

455
00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,520
Speaker 1: emergency fund in no time, and I can max out

456
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,760
Speaker 1: my WRATH too and contribute a healthy amount to my

457
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:48,680
Speaker 1: four O one K, then you can probably just keep

458
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,440
Speaker 1: that robin Hood account intact. But again, if that timeline

459
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,760
Speaker 1: is really long, it's it's like it's gonna take me

460
00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:55,800
Speaker 1: years to get to that point, then you're going to

461
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,040
Speaker 1: want to pull that money out of the robin Hood account,

462
00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,679
Speaker 1: even though that's gonna mean a tax bill. Yeah, well

463
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,920
Speaker 1: one specifically, you know, with us talking about your full

464
00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,199
Speaker 1: and K, what's important to point out here is that

465
00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:07,480
Speaker 1: that is a window of time that is quickly closing,

466
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,280
Speaker 1: and so you have until December thirty one to contribute

467
00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,840
Speaker 1: to max out that ARS towards your four oh one K,

468
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,240
Speaker 1: and that is money that you will no longer ever

469
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,399
Speaker 1: be able to contribute towards your four oh one K

470
00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,040
Speaker 1: as opposed to money that you have invested within a

471
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,480
Speaker 1: brokerage account. That is money that you can at some

472
00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:26,959
Speaker 1: point in the future contribute more to take money out of.

473
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,440
Speaker 1: But with that four one K, once that you know, again,

474
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:32,440
Speaker 1: what's that window of time, what's that period closes, You're

475
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:33,840
Speaker 1: never going to be able to go back in time

476
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,280
Speaker 1: and make that contribution. Same with the rath Irana. Granted

477
00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:39,120
Speaker 1: you have a longer timeline, right, you can another another

478
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,920
Speaker 1: few months, yes exactly, But the thing is once that

479
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,439
Speaker 1: timeline has passed. You can't put six grand into your

480
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,400
Speaker 1: wrath for that year anymore. And so uh, let's say

481
00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:51,040
Speaker 1: the next year you're like, I've got ten grand I

482
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:52,920
Speaker 1: want to put in a wrath. Sorry, you can only

483
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,480
Speaker 1: put into that. Yeah. So that is one of the

484
00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:57,879
Speaker 1: things about the timeliness of these accounts and getting that

485
00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:00,480
Speaker 1: money tax sheltered when you can. And we'll admit too,

486
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:02,920
Speaker 1: I mentioned taxes that it can be emotionally tough to

487
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,080
Speaker 1: sell those holdings, mainly because of the taxes that you

488
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,600
Speaker 1: might know, because if you've made money by investing in

489
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,520
Speaker 1: robin Hood over the last year or more, great paying taxes.

490
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:14,560
Speaker 1: It's not my idea of a good time, Matt. I'm

491
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,359
Speaker 1: not like, hey, what don't want to do on the weekend?

492
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,720
Speaker 1: Hang on my family and pay some taxes. But it's

493
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,440
Speaker 1: worth it to pay tax on those gains in order

494
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,160
Speaker 1: to begin funneling your money in the right direction. It's

495
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,399
Speaker 1: not worth skipping out on the larger tax advantages of

496
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:29,920
Speaker 1: those tax sheltered accounts that we mentioned, like your four

497
00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:32,199
Speaker 1: one K, like a ROTHI ray, just in order to

498
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,960
Speaker 1: avoid that small tax bill today. Make sure, of course,

499
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:38,440
Speaker 1: you're setting enough aside to pay that tax bill. But Leivi,

500
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:42,199
Speaker 1: we're glad you've started investing. Now it's time to do

501
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,639
Speaker 1: it in the most tax efficient way. Putting money in

502
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,800
Speaker 1: those tax advantaged accounts where they belong their first in line,

503
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,320
Speaker 1: the robin Hood account is a great place for money

504
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 1: once you've allocated most of your investment dollars towards towards

505
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:55,720
Speaker 1: those accounts that we're talking about. Yeah, that's right, So

506
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:57,440
Speaker 1: Levi again, you know, in the end, this isn't a

507
00:22:57,480 --> 00:22:59,600
Speaker 1: ton of money. But if you want to do things

508
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:02,760
Speaker 1: technically correct, which is what we would do, this is

509
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 1: what we would recommend. All right, Joel, it is now

510
00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,920
Speaker 1: time to hear that family wide debate as to whether

511
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,320
Speaker 1: or not a family member is being frugal or cheap.

512
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,640
Speaker 1: Let's hear it. Hi, Matt and Joel. I'm Danny from

513
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,800
Speaker 1: San Antonio, and I'm the mom. My name is Steve,

514
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,159
Speaker 1: I'm the dad, and I'm Lily, I'm the daughter. So

515
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,760
Speaker 1: I live in an apartment right now, and my building

516
00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:27,760
Speaker 1: is right next to the leasing office, and my leasing

517
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:31,120
Speaker 1: office has a coffee bar and they offer a free

518
00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:34,720
Speaker 1: coffee to all residents. So every morning I've been walking

519
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:36,800
Speaker 1: down to the coffee bar to get my cup of

520
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,040
Speaker 1: coffee instead of buying a coffee maker. And I just

521
00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,639
Speaker 1: use my own creamer at home since they can't have dairy,

522
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,280
Speaker 1: so I have my own dairy free creamer in my fridge.

523
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,960
Speaker 1: I think I'm being frugal because I'm getting free coffee

524
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:50,639
Speaker 1: every day and I don't have to go buy a

525
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:55,120
Speaker 1: coffee maker. I also think she's being frugal because she's

526
00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 1: a college student and she's got to pay someone for

527
00:23:57,800 --> 00:23:59,920
Speaker 1: her tuition out of pocket, so anywhere she can save

528
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:03,119
Speaker 1: money is a good thing. I think she's being cheap,

529
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 1: so she does buy coffee Starbucks and other local places

530
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,400
Speaker 1: around town. I think she's being cheap because she could

531
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,160
Speaker 1: make coffee on the coffee pot. Coffee pots aren't that expensive.

532
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,320
Speaker 1: So anyway, Matt and Joel, that's our question. Is my

533
00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 1: daughter being frugal or cheap? And we wanted to present

534
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:25,320
Speaker 1: it to you for the final determination. Thank you, and

535
00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:28,840
Speaker 1: we love your show, Matt A family Frugal or Cheap?

536
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,840
Speaker 1: I love it. It's great all three of them on

537
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:33,840
Speaker 1: the phone for this question. But yeah, literally, the fact

538
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 1: that they had Lily on the phone on speaker while

539
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,600
Speaker 1: they're you know, mom, and Dad are sitting there on

540
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: the recording. This is so good. All right, Now it's

541
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,960
Speaker 1: time to go home for the holidays. Really, but let's

542
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: settle this family dispute. Matt and I would say you

543
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,760
Speaker 1: should kick this off, because really everyone has said this overtime.

544
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,600
Speaker 1: You're the Judge Judy of personal finance podcasters. So I

545
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:54,240
Speaker 1: literally have never watched a single episode of Judge Judy.

546
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:55,920
Speaker 1: What have you? What have you been doing with your life?

547
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:57,960
Speaker 1: What I have, what I've been doing with my all

548
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,840
Speaker 1: my daytime hours on TV hours? Uh, not watching Judge Judy.

549
00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:04,919
Speaker 1: You're missing out because she is a fine specimen of

550
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,800
Speaker 1: a person. She like. It's a classic show. I'll say that.

551
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,480
Speaker 1: And it's not that I've spent a ton of time

552
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,399
Speaker 1: I got. I'm more Prices Right than Judge Judy. But

553
00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,840
Speaker 1: everyone watches pretty dang good daytime TV. But you gotta, like,

554
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,280
Speaker 1: you have to have seen one episode. You feel like

555
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 1: Judge Juty is more of like my spirit spirit show,

556
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,960
Speaker 1: whereas like Prices Right, it's more like yours. Probably, I think.

557
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:23,919
Speaker 1: So I feel like maybe you would have been kind

558
00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:26,960
Speaker 1: of like a Jerry Springer type of guy. I don't

559
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,840
Speaker 1: think that low, all right, well, all right, Lily, the

560
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,240
Speaker 1: way I see it, you're taking advantage of a free

561
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 1: perk that's your apartment complex is offering. Like I believe,

562
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,399
Speaker 1: it's almost like baked into the price of the you

563
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 1: know that you pay for rent. Whereas like say you

564
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 1: lived around the corner, maybe in a different apartment complex,

565
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 1: yet you continued to come back for free coffee top

566
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 1: of the fence. Yeah, even though you no longer lived

567
00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,879
Speaker 1: in that apartment, that would be a different story. But

568
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:53,879
Speaker 1: even then, you know, like it just depends on so

569
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,400
Speaker 1: many factors, right, Like, so, for instance, if the manager

570
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:58,840
Speaker 1: in the leasing office was really cool, they might be

571
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,320
Speaker 1: more than fine if a came in for coffee from

572
00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 1: other apartments, because like you know what, eventually their leases

573
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,000
Speaker 1: are going to come up for renewal, and maybe they're

574
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 1: tired of commuting over to Lily's apartment for free coffee,

575
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,720
Speaker 1: and uh, they might think to themselves, why don't I

576
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: just live here myself? This place is awesome. Everyone's hanging

577
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:19,200
Speaker 1: out in the apartment of lobby, everyone's getting coffee, socializing.

578
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:20,680
Speaker 1: That just sounds like the kind of place I want

579
00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 1: to live. And so, you know, I feel like this

580
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,159
Speaker 1: could become like this amazing marketing tactic because everybody actually

581
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 1: wants to live there. Uh, but that's kind of beside

582
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:32,199
Speaker 1: the point. Uh. In the end, Lily, I believe that

583
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,320
Speaker 1: you are being frugal. I will say, I think if

584
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 1: she invited her friends over for free coffee who didn't

585
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,920
Speaker 1: live in that apartment complex, that might be cheap. No way,

586
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,160
Speaker 1: it's it's I think it's totally cheap unless, like you said,

587
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,560
Speaker 1: like if if if the apartment manager was cool with it.

588
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,439
Speaker 1: But I think, yeah, like if they're only particularly for

589
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,119
Speaker 1: the residents and that and that's yeah, that's she actually

590
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,359
Speaker 1: said that that this is a free thing that's offered

591
00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,520
Speaker 1: to the residents. And specifically, if you invited some friends

592
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:58,320
Speaker 1: over and they're kind of like looking at them weird

593
00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,520
Speaker 1: and said, hey, what what you it? Do you all

594
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,320
Speaker 1: live in and they said, oh, we don't, we don't

595
00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:06,080
Speaker 1: live here. If they were politely asked to never come

596
00:27:06,119 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 1: back again, that's a different story because then it's like,

597
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,080
Speaker 1: all right, well, if that's the case, you're just being cheap.

598
00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 1: I probably wouldn't try in the first place. But well,

599
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,600
Speaker 1: if they were like, you know what we're you know, Lily,

600
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,840
Speaker 1: she lives here and we're just kind of we're visiting,

601
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 1: kind of get ready to do some studying, that kind

602
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,240
Speaker 1: of thing. If I was on staff or if I

603
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 1: was the manager there, I'd be like, all right, that's cool,

604
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 1: because what does coffee cost? You know? It kind of

605
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,000
Speaker 1: goes back to the frugal or cheap with like the

606
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,560
Speaker 1: Christmas lights, it probably cost them nothing to serve up

607
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 1: a couple extra cups of coffee with cheap marketing as

608
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:34,120
Speaker 1: opposed to fostering goodwill UH and eliminating vacancies. I mean

609
00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,199
Speaker 1: the ability to have uh an apartment complex packed out

610
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,879
Speaker 1: with people who are excited to live there as a landlord,

611
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,159
Speaker 1: as a business owner. That gets me really excited. That's

612
00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,879
Speaker 1: that's the kind of environment that I would want to foster. Yeah. No,

613
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:46,399
Speaker 1: And I'm with you. And if they're down with it,

614
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,879
Speaker 1: then that's cool. But I probably would maybe want to

615
00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 1: ask first. But I will say, when it comes to

616
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:52,879
Speaker 1: what Lily is doing, I agree with you. I think

617
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,240
Speaker 1: it's frugal because I think taking advantage of a free

618
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 1: perk that is offered to you is what I consider frugal.

619
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,439
Speaker 1: And I think it would be completely different if they

620
00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:03,760
Speaker 1: asked even her to stop coming for coffee. If they're like,

621
00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,320
Speaker 1: this is for like new residents down here every day

622
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:08,959
Speaker 1: of the week, or this is for folks who are

623
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,399
Speaker 1: looking at apartments exactly, that would be different compared to

624
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,399
Speaker 1: this daily perk that they're offering. Exactly. Yeah, And I

625
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 1: think for for Lily it sounds like, no, this is

626
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,200
Speaker 1: just something that's offered to all residents of this complex,

627
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,560
Speaker 1: and so take the free coffee, take advantage of it.

628
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:22,679
Speaker 1: And I think it's important to mention too that that

629
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 1: one person's frugal can be another person's cheap. Like, we

630
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,280
Speaker 1: don't all come down on the same side of this, Matt.

631
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 1: You and I don't even agree on every scenario frugal

632
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 1: or cheap. There are there are things that you and

633
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,520
Speaker 1: I disagree on from time to time. And there are

634
00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 1: things that I did to save money back in the

635
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,879
Speaker 1: day that I don't do any longer. That like even

636
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,600
Speaker 1: for like past Joel, it was frugal and for current Joel,

637
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 1: it's cheap. For life stages man, exactly. So I still

638
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,600
Speaker 1: pick up stuff on the side of the road that's free,

639
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:48,960
Speaker 1: and I still get looks from some of my friends

640
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,480
Speaker 1: who are like, what are you doing, Like the shoes

641
00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,360
Speaker 1: that the shoes I'm wearing right now I picked up

642
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 1: off of the side of the roads being fairly uh

643
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,440
Speaker 1: you know, unused pair of nikes that were in really

644
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 1: good shape. There you go, but going to be my side.

645
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:01,240
Speaker 1: But then I'm sort there are some things that you

646
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:02,600
Speaker 1: wouldn't pick up off the side of the road, and

647
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,520
Speaker 1: there are certain things you don't do anymore. I don't

648
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:06,840
Speaker 1: couch surf anymore. It was fun while it lasted, right,

649
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 1: not something you want to do with with your family,

650
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,240
Speaker 1: but now or I don't donate plasma anymore. But it

651
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,120
Speaker 1: was cool while it lasted, and I get you know,

652
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:15,880
Speaker 1: we learned this early on in the podcast. There are

653
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 1: some listeners at different stages and they're like super Jazz

654
00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:22,560
Speaker 1: to donate their plasma because it one listener pace for

655
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,040
Speaker 1: their vacations that way and exactly. And so I'm not

656
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:29,440
Speaker 1: gonna hate on somebody's uh frugal move. Although there are

657
00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: some I think hard lines it would make something cheap,

658
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:33,760
Speaker 1: this is not one of them. So yuck on someone

659
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,720
Speaker 1: else's yum. Yeah, So I think I think I'm gonna

660
00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:39,800
Speaker 1: sign the Frugal Camp two on this one. Nice Well,

661
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:41,680
Speaker 1: you know, by the way, one of the key determiners

662
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,600
Speaker 1: between frugal and cheap is whether you're taking advantage or

663
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 1: if you're hurting someone else, because you know, like if

664
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 1: you're being stingy with a tip, like we feel that

665
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 1: that's being cheap, and in that case, eating at home

666
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 1: is going to be a better option if you're taking

667
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,280
Speaker 1: that route. But snagging that free coffee is hurting no one.

668
00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:58,920
Speaker 1: And again especially the way that Lily described it. You know,

669
00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,960
Speaker 1: she said that they offer free coffee to all residents. Essentially,

670
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,000
Speaker 1: this is like I see this almost as like free

671
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 1: continental breakfast at a hotel, like you kind of wake up,

672
00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,480
Speaker 1: you come down in the morning and get your coffee,

673
00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:11,640
Speaker 1: talk to some friends. Although here's an another instant conundrum.

674
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 1: I was at a hotel recently with a free continental breakfast,

675
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,560
Speaker 1: and I did see one lady shoved like two apples

676
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,560
Speaker 1: and three bananas in her purse, and I'm like, that's

677
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,280
Speaker 1: probably cheap there. That feels a little cheap because if

678
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:23,520
Speaker 1: you want to take like one, I wanted another banana

679
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,240
Speaker 1: and I didn't have one. That really, yeah, where is it?

680
00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,320
Speaker 1: Because you're gonna stuff too in your bag. I was

681
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 1: gonna eat it. Sure, Uh, if she had a family

682
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,440
Speaker 1: of six up in the hotel room that she was

683
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,320
Speaker 1: bringing stuff up to. I don't want to judge. That's

684
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:37,840
Speaker 1: a different story because you don't you don't know what

685
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,200
Speaker 1: she's doing. So sorry, Steve. We feel that Lily is

686
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,920
Speaker 1: not being cheap here, even though you know a coffee maker. Coffee,

687
00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 1: they're relatively affordable items. If you get the stuff for

688
00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,600
Speaker 1: free at your apartment complex and it doesn't, you know,

689
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:52,720
Speaker 1: taste like complete garbage, then taking the free route is

690
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: the way to go. Um. I think that is something

691
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:56,160
Speaker 1: else to keep in mind too, because if it does

692
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,800
Speaker 1: taste like garbage, if this is terrible coffee, and Lily,

693
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:00,840
Speaker 1: if you're complaining about on it, then you being a

694
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,840
Speaker 1: cheap because it's like, well, if you want better coffee,

695
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:04,959
Speaker 1: then just get you a little Arrow Press makes those

696
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 1: little single serve cups. You make really good coffee in

697
00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,280
Speaker 1: your apartment with a purchase like that. But that's definitely

698
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: something else to keep in mind. And you know, as

699
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:16,480
Speaker 1: I picture this awesome group of frugal minded folks hanging

700
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,360
Speaker 1: out in this at the leasing office of this apartment complex,

701
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:21,320
Speaker 1: it makes me think of just the other benefits to

702
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:26,680
Speaker 1: that Lily might experience. Which is finding other like minded

703
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,200
Speaker 1: frugal friends. I mean, you've got these different folks who

704
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,560
Speaker 1: are kind of congregating drinking the free stuff. I see

705
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,000
Speaker 1: that as like this social benefit that comes along with

706
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,640
Speaker 1: not only saving money, but but also finding like minded

707
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,160
Speaker 1: folks who you might become lifelong friends with you. It's like, oh,

708
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,560
Speaker 1: you too, like the pre coffee. We can bond over this.

709
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 1: Then you come down in high five, get your free coffee,

710
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:46,320
Speaker 1: talk about your plans for the rest of the day.

711
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:47,960
Speaker 1: You and I know when we go to these, you know,

712
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 1: financial media conferences, it's so easy to bond with people

713
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:53,000
Speaker 1: because we have that in common. And I think that's true.

714
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,959
Speaker 1: Like if you have this deep running vein of frugality

715
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,040
Speaker 1: city inside of you, it's like, great, we can. We

716
00:31:58,040 --> 00:31:59,680
Speaker 1: can talk about a lot of stuff. But I'm glad

717
00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:02,120
Speaker 1: we're all tackle that one. Hopefully Dad doesn't feel too bad.

718
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 1: Thanks for sending that question into That was super fun.

719
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,240
Speaker 1: Even though she was on speaker phone. I felt like

720
00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,480
Speaker 1: she was right here with us. Alright, let's get to

721
00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,200
Speaker 1: a couple more question, including that one about cryptocurrency and taxes.

722
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 1: We'll get to that and more right after this break. Alright,

723
00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:25,280
Speaker 1: we're back from the break. Let's hear that question about

724
00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:29,680
Speaker 1: cryptocurrency wash sales. Hello, gentlemen, this is Riker from Wyoming.

725
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,520
Speaker 1: I have a question regarding Texas Harvers scene, more specifically

726
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:36,880
Speaker 1: Texas Harvers Scene in regards to cryptocurrency. I have an

727
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 1: unreasonable amount of money in cryptocurrency at this time, and

728
00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:43,320
Speaker 1: I heard that they were going to start a penalty

729
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,920
Speaker 1: for wash sale in two like they do for other stocks.

730
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,720
Speaker 1: But currently they do not have the penalty for a

731
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,800
Speaker 1: wash sale. So I was hoping to initiate a strategy.

732
00:32:56,080 --> 00:33:00,560
Speaker 1: Let's say, if any specific cryptocurrency drops by let's say

733
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,000
Speaker 1: fift in the course of a day, which as you know,

734
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 1: it is not completely unreasonable to sell and then immediately

735
00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:12,920
Speaker 1: rebuy and capture that loss. Does that appear to be

736
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,280
Speaker 1: a reasonable strategy? And if I do this, how long

737
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,120
Speaker 1: am I allowed to carry those losses forward in time?

738
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,000
Speaker 1: I understand that none of this is financial advice, and

739
00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 1: you would recommend that I would not be doing any

740
00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,960
Speaker 1: of this from the get go. Thank you all right, Rycher,

741
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,840
Speaker 1: thanks for your question. And he's right about the crypto

742
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,640
Speaker 1: wash sale rules map. They appear likely to change in

743
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,080
Speaker 1: two but for the next two and a half weeks,

744
00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,480
Speaker 1: you might have an opportunity to avoid some future taxes

745
00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:45,440
Speaker 1: if you take advantage of the rules as they currently stand.

746
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:48,240
Speaker 1: That is also assuming though, that there is a substantial

747
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:52,080
Speaker 1: drop in value in your cryptocurrency assets. But the way

748
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:55,360
Speaker 1: it works is that wash sales. They basically prevent investors

749
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:58,160
Speaker 1: from claiming a deduction when they sell an asset at

750
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:01,440
Speaker 1: a loss if they buy it's known as a substantially

751
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 1: identical asset within thirty days before or after that sale.

752
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: And so basically what this rule is set up to

753
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,640
Speaker 1: two is it prevents people from taking what's known as

754
00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:14,839
Speaker 1: paper losses resulting in this healthful tax break, and then

755
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,560
Speaker 1: rebuying the same stock or asset immediately. So it's it's

756
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,439
Speaker 1: like saying you bought something and immediately that stock took

757
00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 1: a dip, you sell, and it looks great for your

758
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,800
Speaker 1: taxes because you took a loss, But then you rebuy

759
00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:29,320
Speaker 1: that same stock, Well, then you can't actually take that

760
00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:32,040
Speaker 1: tax benefit. That's what the wash sale rule is trying

761
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,080
Speaker 1: to prohibit you from doing. That's right, yeah, but this

762
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,239
Speaker 1: isn't a rule that has been in place for cryptocurrency assets. Uh,

763
00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:40,920
Speaker 1: And so that's about the change in all likelihood, although

764
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:43,520
Speaker 1: it is not a done deal yet and so for

765
00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:45,680
Speaker 1: at least the rest of this year, maybe even longer,

766
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,160
Speaker 1: depending on the speed of Congress. You can sell a

767
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,840
Speaker 1: cryptocurrency that tanks and then immediately rebuy it for the

768
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:55,040
Speaker 1: tax benefit, and so essentially your portfolio stays exactly the same,

769
00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,440
Speaker 1: but you've captured that tax loss. And so a wriker

770
00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:00,680
Speaker 1: for you or anyone el stow there who might own

771
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,560
Speaker 1: some crypto if there is a crash, we would recommend

772
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,120
Speaker 1: that you take advantage of it. So those crypto assets

773
00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:08,640
Speaker 1: at a loss, immediately buy them back in order to

774
00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 1: capture that loss. Yeah, and let's just one thing that

775
00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,400
Speaker 1: Ryker said. He was like, guys, I know you're not

776
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,240
Speaker 1: a fan of this when you when you submitted the question.

777
00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,360
Speaker 1: I want to say, and I think we've mentioned this

778
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,400
Speaker 1: just a little bit ago too in the in the episode.

779
00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:23,440
Speaker 1: We're not against some crypto in your investment portfolio. You

780
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,840
Speaker 1: and I we own cryptocurrency exactly, but it sounds like

781
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:27,840
Speaker 1: you might be a little too all in when it

782
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:29,480
Speaker 1: comes to the amount of exposure that you've got in

783
00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:31,520
Speaker 1: the space, and you didn't share too many of your

784
00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,719
Speaker 1: details so we don't know for sure, but if you've

785
00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,719
Speaker 1: seen the percentage of crypto in your portfolio swell over

786
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:39,280
Speaker 1: the past year, which yeah, if you've been a crypto

787
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:43,160
Speaker 1: investor for over a year, you've definitely some increase in value,

788
00:35:43,239 --> 00:35:45,200
Speaker 1: or even just one year, like since the beginning of

789
00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:48,680
Speaker 1: this year, you have seen your portfolio ago increase in

790
00:35:48,719 --> 00:35:51,359
Speaker 1: science exactly that, And so it's time to do some

791
00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:53,759
Speaker 1: year and rebalancing of that portfolio so you can sleep

792
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:57,359
Speaker 1: better at night so that you're not completely overexposed in

793
00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,279
Speaker 1: that space. Yeah, you might want to consider diversifying just

794
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,040
Speaker 1: a bit more specifically into the overall stock market, into

795
00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:06,640
Speaker 1: like a total stock market index fund. But yeah, Matt

796
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:08,600
Speaker 1: and I we try to keep our dabbling to around

797
00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:11,479
Speaker 1: five percent or less of our portfolio. When it comes

798
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 1: to things like cryptocurrency, all of that stuff, we try

799
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 1: to fit it into five percent of our portfolio. We

800
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 1: keep it super boring, super basic in those index funds

801
00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,520
Speaker 1: and then re recor. You also mentioned too, how long

802
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 1: that you can carry those losses forward. Uh. The i

803
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,200
Speaker 1: R s allows you to take up to three thousand

804
00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:30,480
Speaker 1: dollars and losses every year. Uh, and if you have

805
00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:32,760
Speaker 1: more than that, if you had a pretty big loss,

806
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,120
Speaker 1: you can then carry those losses even further into the future.

807
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,319
Speaker 1: There is no limits to the number of years that

808
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,680
Speaker 1: you can deduct those crypto losses. So let's say, for example,

809
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:44,200
Speaker 1: that you experience seven thousand dollars and losses this year.

810
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,040
Speaker 1: You know that means that you can deduct three thousand

811
00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:48,560
Speaker 1: dollars from income this year, three thousand dollars next year,

812
00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:50,920
Speaker 1: and that final one thousand dollars you can deduct that

813
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,200
Speaker 1: last year, So you're able to put all seven thousand

814
00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,880
Speaker 1: dollars of that loss to use. And you know, it's

815
00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,000
Speaker 1: worth pointing out this, This isn't a game that anyone

816
00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,279
Speaker 1: wants to be winning. If you're wanting a tax lost game,

817
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,319
Speaker 1: you're losing the investing Like, hey, congrats, you are the

818
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,440
Speaker 1: top tax lost harvester. That is not the leaderboard that

819
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:09,759
Speaker 1: you want to be on. I know when people get

820
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,120
Speaker 1: so upset about paying capital gains taxes. I I find

821
00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:15,000
Speaker 1: it so odd because I'm like, you've just you've just

822
00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:17,320
Speaker 1: crushed it when it comes to your investments. If you're paying,

823
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,440
Speaker 1: it means that you are winning a substantial amount of

824
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:21,239
Speaker 1: tax Like think about it like that. But if you

825
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,360
Speaker 1: do have some losses. At least there is some upside

826
00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:28,279
Speaker 1: to you having some of your cryptocurrencies depreciate instead of appreciate,

827
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,560
Speaker 1: which I'm guessing the majority of your portfolio has done. Yeah,

828
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:33,680
Speaker 1: I know that you're on likely a limited timeline here

829
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,360
Speaker 1: to be able to capitalize on any sort of crypto

830
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,200
Speaker 1: crash that might happen at the end of the year.

831
00:37:38,239 --> 00:37:41,360
Speaker 1: But Riker, best of luck saven on taxes in that regard.

832
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:43,560
Speaker 1: All right, Matt, Let's get to one last question. This

833
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,799
Speaker 1: one comes from a listener in Virginia who has overcome

834
00:37:47,239 --> 00:37:50,040
Speaker 1: some extreme personal battles in order to do really well

835
00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:52,680
Speaker 1: with his money. Hey, guys, first of all, I wanted

836
00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:54,839
Speaker 1: to thank you for all that you do. You deal

837
00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:58,040
Speaker 1: with thought and a lot of passions, So thanks for that.

838
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go by Gee from Virginia, UM forty one.

839
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 1: Had a twenty year opiate addiction, with the last four

840
00:38:05,239 --> 00:38:08,040
Speaker 1: years having about a four hundred all day habit, so

841
00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,759
Speaker 1: retirement wasn't really on my mind. Got clean two years ago.

842
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:15,680
Speaker 1: Though I'm an outside sales hunter commission I made about

843
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:18,040
Speaker 1: two hundred forty thousand dollars this past year. I have

844
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:20,360
Speaker 1: no credit card, debt about three thousand dollars left on

845
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:22,680
Speaker 1: a car. I have a hundred fifty thousand dollars in

846
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,360
Speaker 1: my four one K fifteen thousand dollars and some stocks

847
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:28,319
Speaker 1: on a Merrittrade, five thousand dollars in bitcoin, and I

848
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:31,640
Speaker 1: just started with the traditional IRA that I will have

849
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:34,080
Speaker 1: maxed out this year. I have an emergency fund with

850
00:38:34,120 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 1: another hundred thousand dollars your marked for either side business

851
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,560
Speaker 1: or real estate. I haven't really decided. I have about

852
00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:43,719
Speaker 1: not a twelve thousand dollars expendable income monthly, so my

853
00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 1: question is knowing them behind on retirement. My goal is

854
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:49,160
Speaker 1: to put away thirty six thousand dollars a year to

855
00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:53,000
Speaker 1: reach those goals. My idea is to max out my

856
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,279
Speaker 1: four one K pre tax up to the match, which

857
00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,799
Speaker 1: would be six pc, max out my traditional IRA, and

858
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:01,080
Speaker 1: this takes me to about twenty for twenty six thousan

859
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,400
Speaker 1: dollars per year depending on different variables. So I have

860
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:07,240
Speaker 1: two questions, would you do anything different from what I've said?

861
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:09,680
Speaker 1: And what do I do with the other twelve thousand

862
00:39:09,719 --> 00:39:13,520
Speaker 1: dollars um trying to save I bonds put more into

863
00:39:13,600 --> 00:39:16,280
Speaker 1: my four O one K, maybe put into an index

864
00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:19,040
Speaker 1: vaun on merrit trade. I'm leaning towards I bonds, but

865
00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:24,280
Speaker 1: needed aside so I can go ahead and max that out. Again.

866
00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:25,880
Speaker 1: Thanks for all that you do, and I look forward

867
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,319
Speaker 1: to hearing from you. Hey there, G. We appreciate you

868
00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,640
Speaker 1: sharing some of your story. I can't imagine, honestly how

869
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 1: difficult it is to get clean from such a treacherous

870
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:38,600
Speaker 1: addiction like opioids. But congrats to you for staying clean

871
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:41,320
Speaker 1: and for how quickly that you've been able to make progress.

872
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:43,680
Speaker 1: You asked two questions here. One was if we would

873
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,319
Speaker 1: do anything differently? Secondly, what we would do with that

874
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,040
Speaker 1: remaining twelves. And I'll go ahead answer the first part

875
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 1: of your question, which is no, the moves that you

876
00:39:51,160 --> 00:39:53,520
Speaker 1: are making right now with your money are great, and

877
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:55,640
Speaker 1: so we want to start off on a positive note.

878
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,279
Speaker 1: You are crushing it. Yes, yes, he is right to

879
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:01,719
Speaker 1: be able to invest much and max out those accounts.

880
00:40:02,120 --> 00:40:04,920
Speaker 1: Is is spectacular, Like that's something that that most people

881
00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:07,640
Speaker 1: want to do, but they find it impossible to do.

882
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,719
Speaker 1: They can't quite squirrel away that much money. But where

883
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:12,640
Speaker 1: does G go from here? Well, we would say, since

884
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:16,920
Speaker 1: you've got thirty six thousand dollars to invest every year. Well, definitely,

885
00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:18,880
Speaker 1: we suggest maxing out both the four one K in

886
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:22,799
Speaker 1: the i R This year that's gonna take up of

887
00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,120
Speaker 1: that money, and then next year it's gonna because of

888
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,400
Speaker 1: that four O one K limit increase that was announced

889
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:30,800
Speaker 1: not too long ago by the i R S. Then

890
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:32,600
Speaker 1: the easy button is to stick the rest of that

891
00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:36,440
Speaker 1: money in a taxable brokerage account with Fidelity Vanguard or

892
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:38,959
Speaker 1: in one and put it in a total stock market

893
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,080
Speaker 1: for index fund. And if you want to keep it simple,

894
00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:43,880
Speaker 1: we would say go in that direction. There are other options.

895
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,160
Speaker 1: That's like the easy button though, that's right, but it

896
00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:49,480
Speaker 1: is worth mentioning that g even though you feel like

897
00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:51,399
Speaker 1: that you're behind. You mentioned this a couple of times

898
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:53,720
Speaker 1: in your question, that you feel like that you're behind

899
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:55,359
Speaker 1: or that you know that you're behind when it comes

900
00:40:55,400 --> 00:40:58,319
Speaker 1: to your retirement savings UH, and you're investing. But like

901
00:40:58,360 --> 00:40:59,800
Speaker 1: you said that, you've got a solid a hundred and

902
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:02,720
Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars in your four one K. That is great.

903
00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,680
Speaker 1: According to Fidelity, the average forty something year old UH,

904
00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:09,560
Speaker 1: the average balance of a four one K is just

905
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,319
Speaker 1: ninety three thousand dollars. Now, your goal is likely to

906
00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:14,480
Speaker 1: be better than the average investor, which we totally get,

907
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:16,960
Speaker 1: but it is worth highlighting how well that you are

908
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,120
Speaker 1: doing compared to the average investor. And something else you

909
00:41:20,120 --> 00:41:22,239
Speaker 1: mentioned to I bonds at the rate that those are

910
00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:24,600
Speaker 1: currently paying, that's not a bad idea for ten thousand

911
00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,040
Speaker 1: dollars of your money. But the thing is is that

912
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:30,319
Speaker 1: those rates aren't guaranteed to stay put. That depends on

913
00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:32,640
Speaker 1: where inflation is going to go from here. It depends

914
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:36,120
Speaker 1: on a number of things that that happened in our economy.

915
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,720
Speaker 1: And so I had prioritize investing your remaining twelve thousand

916
00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:42,960
Speaker 1: dollars over I bonds. In your case, Uh, if this

917
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,000
Speaker 1: is money that you're planning to not touch for a

918
00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,080
Speaker 1: number of years, if this is money that's definitely gonna

919
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,719
Speaker 1: be going towards your retirement, Uh, this is money that

920
00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,320
Speaker 1: we would recommend that you invest as opposed to putting

921
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:55,479
Speaker 1: it in I bonds. I agree, But I gotta say

922
00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:58,360
Speaker 1: that I also love the g mentioned the savings that

923
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:00,840
Speaker 1: he's got on hand to pursue our goals that he

924
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,759
Speaker 1: wants to achieve besides retirement, like real estate investing or

925
00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:05,400
Speaker 1: to start a business. He said, he's got like a

926
00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:08,640
Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars earmark basically for like a side project,

927
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:10,480
Speaker 1: which is impressive and so is awesome. I would say,

928
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:12,960
Speaker 1: depending on his timeline, he might be well served to

929
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,640
Speaker 1: put some of that money in I bonds, not the

930
00:42:15,719 --> 00:42:19,160
Speaker 1: extra twelve grand. Maybe that should go towards investments. But

931
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:21,760
Speaker 1: remember that the money you put in itso I bonds

932
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,600
Speaker 1: g is locked up for a year and you surrender

933
00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:26,440
Speaker 1: three months worth of interest if you cash out those

934
00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:29,440
Speaker 1: I bonds before five years are up. And so that

935
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,520
Speaker 1: part it's not a big deal because there's such a

936
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,760
Speaker 1: massive disparity between what they're paying and what you're earning

937
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:37,560
Speaker 1: and savings. Right now, like I bonds are earning over

938
00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:40,120
Speaker 1: seven percent and savings accounts are earning half a percent

939
00:42:40,160 --> 00:42:42,319
Speaker 1: at most, And so we would say it's a good

940
00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:44,839
Speaker 1: place if you can keep that money there for a year.

941
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,319
Speaker 1: So yeah, if you feel like it's gonna be more

942
00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:47,759
Speaker 1: than a year, I bonds are a great place to

943
00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:50,680
Speaker 1: put some of that money that you currently have in savings.

944
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:53,279
Speaker 1: You can put ten thousand dollars in before the end

945
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,759
Speaker 1: of this year, and then another ten thousand dollars in

946
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:58,680
Speaker 1: at the beginning of two, and that's a good place

947
00:42:58,719 --> 00:43:00,800
Speaker 1: to stash at least a little bit of that money

948
00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:03,480
Speaker 1: that you're getting ready to deploy for a potential real

949
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:06,440
Speaker 1: estate purchase or to kind of fund the beginning of

950
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,200
Speaker 1: that business. That's right, but do keep in mind that

951
00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:10,640
Speaker 1: that is money that is locked up. You do not

952
00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:13,120
Speaker 1: have an option of getting that money back if you're

953
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,480
Speaker 1: looking at twelve months or less. And again, Gee, I

954
00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:18,239
Speaker 1: want to end on a really encouraging note though, because

955
00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:21,400
Speaker 1: again you you've got a great income. You're investing so

956
00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:22,799
Speaker 1: much of your money, and that means that you're going

957
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,440
Speaker 1: to make up ground really quickly. You may have had

958
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:27,880
Speaker 1: some setbacks, but it is evident that you are clearly

959
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:30,719
Speaker 1: back on track. Great job, and we wish you the

960
00:43:30,760 --> 00:43:33,919
Speaker 1: absolute best, and we wish you a merry Christmas. Matt

961
00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:36,000
Speaker 1: take us away in song please, I'm not gonna do it.

962
00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:38,520
Speaker 1: Plus we're two weeks out now, still almost Yeah, I

963
00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,040
Speaker 1: don't know. You can still get festive in saying what

964
00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,840
Speaker 1: day is it? All right? Yeah? Well, Gee is crushing

965
00:43:43,880 --> 00:43:46,120
Speaker 1: it seriously. Best of luck to you. Keep doing what

966
00:43:46,160 --> 00:43:48,120
Speaker 1: you're doing. And Matt, let's get back to the beer

967
00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,640
Speaker 1: that we had on this episode. This one was called

968
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,239
Speaker 1: i Q and it's by Academia brewing out of your

969
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:58,600
Speaker 1: college town of Athens, Georgia, sent to us my listener Nathan,

970
00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:00,120
Speaker 1: also your friend who you worked with. I gotta or

971
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:02,160
Speaker 1: that story. Okay, So the story goes is that he

972
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 1: started listening to our show and I don't know how

973
00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,359
Speaker 1: many episodes it was before he said he realized that

974
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,240
Speaker 1: the Matt was me he knew not only from college,

975
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:13,000
Speaker 1: but yeah, we worked together as like, oh it was

976
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:15,960
Speaker 1: that scrub that worked with back in the day. Honestly,

977
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:18,640
Speaker 1: I don't know what actually clued him into the fact

978
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,279
Speaker 1: that it's like, oh, this is a dude I know,

979
00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:23,600
Speaker 1: but we we we'd actually worked at a boy's outdoor

980
00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:26,919
Speaker 1: camp up in North Carolina, and we had both worked

981
00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:29,840
Speaker 1: in the Mountain Biking department. Uh, and so I wanted

982
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:32,399
Speaker 1: to mention that because we love biking here on the show.

983
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:34,719
Speaker 1: He recently shared that that is something that he still does.

984
00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:38,080
Speaker 1: But I love how we're able to reconnect over all

985
00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:42,239
Speaker 1: these years over similar interests, personal finance now being one

986
00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 1: of those. But but yeah, Nathan, we really appreciate you

987
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:47,360
Speaker 1: sending this beer our way. Academia and of course his

988
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,440
Speaker 1: name that academia. I guess because it's there at Georgia

989
00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:52,600
Speaker 1: at u g A supposed to be a college town,

990
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:56,319
Speaker 1: a bunch of smarty pants. There's that smart I went

991
00:44:56,400 --> 00:44:59,560
Speaker 1: to school there. It also has a major reputation for

992
00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:01,799
Speaker 1: being a part school, but like a you know, like

993
00:45:01,800 --> 00:45:04,600
Speaker 1: a good time party school, like like a ruined your

994
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:08,160
Speaker 1: life party. But yeah, this is called i Q. This

995
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,279
Speaker 1: was an I p A. What were your thoughts on

996
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,640
Speaker 1: this classic India pale ale there we go. Yeah, I

997
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:16,440
Speaker 1: was gonna say, actually, from the classic city that's what

998
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:19,400
Speaker 1: they call Athens, it is a classic I p A.

999
00:45:19,560 --> 00:45:23,200
Speaker 1: It's not insanely bitter like a West Coast I PA.

1000
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:25,879
Speaker 1: It's not massively juicy like in New England I PA.

1001
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,719
Speaker 1: It really kind of runs that center gannet of being

1002
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:31,640
Speaker 1: just like a solid I p A that is a

1003
00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:33,960
Speaker 1: little bit of sweet but combined with some of those

1004
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,160
Speaker 1: bitter notes from hops that I still enjoy the classic

1005
00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,959
Speaker 1: It's got that whole baphone, while at the same time

1006
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:41,920
Speaker 1: it's got that hot presence. Yeah, so I would say

1007
00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:45,440
Speaker 1: this this is a solid localish beer. Then local ish

1008
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 1: because it's an hour and a half away, but but

1009
00:45:47,719 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 1: still it's it's good to get this one and yeah

1010
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:51,680
Speaker 1: pick thanks to Nathan for sending it over. Yeah if

1011
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:53,920
Speaker 1: if this isn't a West Coast I PA, nor is

1012
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:56,600
Speaker 1: it a New England East Coast style hazy I p A,

1013
00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:58,959
Speaker 1: you might call this like a Heartland I PA. Maybe

1014
00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:03,040
Speaker 1: they should change the branding to like Mississippi I p A, Iowa, Kansas,

1015
00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:06,480
Speaker 1: I don't know Nebraska. But yeah, no, Nathan, we really

1016
00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:09,200
Speaker 1: appreciate you sending this beer our away. This is a classic.

1017
00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:11,080
Speaker 1: It's like you said, jol a classic I p A

1018
00:46:11,320 --> 00:46:14,239
Speaker 1: really enjoyable. We appreciate you sharing this one with us.

1019
00:46:14,239 --> 00:46:16,080
Speaker 1: And if you ever an Athens, we would recommend not

1020
00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:18,520
Speaker 1: only that you look up Creature Comforts, that amazing brewery,

1021
00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:21,440
Speaker 1: but check out Academia as well. But that's gonna be

1022
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:23,479
Speaker 1: it for this episode. We will make sure to link

1023
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:25,840
Speaker 1: to any of the resources we mentioned during this episode

1024
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:27,680
Speaker 1: up on our show notes on our website at how

1025
00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:30,040
Speaker 1: Some Money dot com. That's right, And if you have

1026
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,759
Speaker 1: a money question that is plaguing you, no matter how

1027
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:35,759
Speaker 1: big or how small, please trop us a line, shoot

1028
00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:37,719
Speaker 1: us a voice memo to how the Money Pot at

1029
00:46:37,760 --> 00:46:39,799
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. We would love to take it on

1030
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:43,320
Speaker 1: an upcoming episode totally. Speaking of upcoming episodes, Wednesdays is

1031
00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:45,960
Speaker 1: about inflation and isn't making us right crazy. We're gonna

1032
00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:48,919
Speaker 1: taddle that one then and looking forward to it, but Matt,

1033
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:51,960
Speaker 1: until next time, best Friends Out, Best Friends Out,