1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt. Today 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: we're discussing winter budgetbusters, housing market, chill pills, and dying 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:28,760 Speaker 1: Ain't Cheap. I'm a little sad that we ended on 4 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: such a morose note there at the end of the 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: title this episode, Joel, but we are we are going 6 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 1: to talk about death during this episode. Not trying to 7 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: be downers, but it's the ultimate reality. And let's do 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: Let's talk about insurance. Actually, so we're life insurance rights. 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: That has to do with death and with one of 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:46,639 Speaker 1: those very everything to do with it's one of those 11 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: very adults adulting topics. It's one of those things that 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: is not very interesting. But and here's the thing. You've 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: had life insurance. I have also had life insurance. I 14 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: mean ever since we had our first daughter a number 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: of years ago. I've had that five hundred thousand dollar 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: life insurance policy in place. Make sure you know, Kate 17 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: and the little kids we're gonna be taken care of. 18 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: That's an important thing to do. Basically, if you have 19 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: any anybody who depends on your income, you need to 20 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: have life insurance. And but since then, lots changed in 21 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,960 Speaker 1: your life. Yeah, dude, well, and I've known over the 22 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: years that I need needed to have up the amount 23 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: of coverage that I have. We've got four kids. Now, 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: that's that's a lot more mouse to be it. It is, 25 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: and it's right that we have more life insurance set 26 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: aside as well. And so this is something I finally 27 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: got around to, and not only me, but you got 28 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: around to this as well. This is something we both 29 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: kind of bit the bullet on. Yeah, this is I'm 30 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,560 Speaker 1: not gonna say that we're the best at adult thing 31 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: out there, because we're certainly not. And this is probably 32 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: something we should have done a little while ago, a 33 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: year or two ago. Well we had we had policies 34 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: in places. Yeah, but we had a policy in place. 35 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: But it's like, okay, now is the time. And here's 36 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: the interesting thing is that we've we've talked about this, 37 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: I think on a Friday fight, I don't know, maybe 38 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: like four or five months back, that like prices for 39 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: term life policies have actually gone down recently that you 40 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 1: would think maybe with the pandemic that would have had 41 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: the opposite effects, but no, not true. And there's just 42 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: so much competition in the space. And so yeah, like 43 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: you said, we felt the need to have a larger 44 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: payout amounts, especially because of the way that our circumstances 45 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: have changed in life if we were to die. But 46 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: the great thing is term life insurance is still ridiculously cheap. 47 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: When you look at the numbers, the average cost of 48 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: a five dollar policy for twenty years for a forty 49 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: year old, it's twenty seven dollars a month. It was 50 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: very affordable. That's cheap protection for the people that you love. 51 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,799 Speaker 1: And so yeah, for us going back and reshopping, Uh, 52 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: those rates, I was like, it kind of surprised me 53 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: that one, I've gotten older, so I was assuming that 54 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: my rate would go up and too, I'm I'm getting 55 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: a bigger policy amount, and so I'm like, okay, I'm 56 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: expecting to to see maybe double my premium amount, and no, 57 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: that wasn't the case. Like, and so if you have 58 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: an older policy, it might be worth shopping again and 59 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: ditching the old one, even if you have like us, 60 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: as you have gotten older, and it might be just 61 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: and of course it's worth it. I'd say, if you 62 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: have dependence and you don't have a life insurance policy yet, 63 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,639 Speaker 1: shopping and seeing what sort of policy works for you 64 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: or works for your life is like crucial totally. Man. 65 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: I'm glad that this is something that you and I 66 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: both finally got around too. And again, we've had policies 67 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: in place, but we needed to get some more robust 68 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: policies in place to make sure our families were taken 69 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: care of. One other note, by the way, the Internet 70 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: obviously has made a lot of things more terrible, but 71 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: a lot of things much easier. And one of the 72 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: things that it's made easier is shopping for life insurance totally. 73 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: We've got an article up on the website. We'll we'll 74 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: link to it in the show notes, but it's like, 75 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: actually the process that you and I went through to 76 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: determine how much you know, we needed in life insurance 77 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: coverage and then to actually do the shopping. So we'll 78 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:49,880 Speaker 1: we'll put that in the show notes for you. Don't 79 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: be afraid. I promise it's not as bad as like 80 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: a colonoscopy or something like that. I think that's what 81 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: some people assume. It's really not that bad now, it 82 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: really is pretty easy. Uh. And so this is our 83 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: Friday Flight episode. Nevery week, we tackle a bunch of 84 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: different headlines and we are going to specifically discuss how 85 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: they are going to affect your money, and so Joel, 86 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 1: how about you kick it off. Let's do it Matt. 87 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 1: All right, So first we've got a story about shipping 88 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: times and shipping rates, and we're not talking necessarily about 89 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: the big container ships off the coast of California. They're 90 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: trying to work on fixing that problem right now. But 91 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: if you haven't already noticed, just your your regular mail 92 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: is traveling slower these days. It's it's basically like snail 93 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: mail on tranquilizers. We're used to doing everything even slower 94 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: than you thought. Exactly exactly could could he get slower 95 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: than snail mail? Well, yes it can, and it's now 96 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: becoming more expensive to send like commercial and retail packages 97 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: these days via the United States Postal Service. The mailing 98 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: slowdown it's a small part of a tenure plan to 99 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: turn things around so that the USPS isn't losing billions 100 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: of dollars every year, which is what it's currently doing 101 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: billions with a B. Yes, you heard correctly, losing lots 102 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: of money. The Washington Post actually has a helpful tool 103 00:04:58,240 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: though that will link to in the in the show. 104 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: Now out uh that about how the slowdown is going 105 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,919 Speaker 1: to affect you personally. And while this is annoying, what 106 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: sucks even more is that it's going to literally cost 107 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: more to send packages as well. There's a temporary price 108 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: hike that started last week. It runs through December twenty six, 109 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:20,000 Speaker 1: of course, targeting the all important holiday shipping season. But 110 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: there is a solution for how money listeners. There's there's 111 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: a website called easy Ship, There's a website called parcel Monkey, 112 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 1: and those are sites stick and help you find the 113 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: lowest shipping costs by they look at like ups, FedEx, 114 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: USPS and other. Yeah, all the different companies see them 115 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 1: from time to time, but they're not like one of 116 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: the big three. They're like kind of the I'm kind 117 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: of written for them because they're kind of like the underdog. 118 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: Let's go DHL. We need we need more competition in 119 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: that space, right. So another thing I just want to 120 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: mention too, when you're talking about shipping and shipping things 121 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: for less, specifically if you're shipping media items, people often 122 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: forget that media mail is really really cheap through USPS, 123 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 1: and like a book, it takes longer like to ship 124 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: a book from or a VHS state which I'm doing 125 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: all the time. But yeah, if you shipped like a 126 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: book from Georgia to California, it probably takes like seven 127 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: or eight days. Like media mail is truly snail mail, 128 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: it takes quite fast, but you are going to be 129 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: able to save the most money for sure. And this 130 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: also makes me think of eBay because I've talked with 131 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: you recently about how I've been selling some items on 132 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: the eBay recently, quick little update, I sold that ten 133 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: year old MacBook Air. Do you remember that? Telling how 134 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: much you get? That's not bad at all. That's great 135 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: for a really old laptop that's no longer accepting software updates. 136 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:31,680 Speaker 1: And I mean I listed out all the specs, and 137 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: you know, this person knew exactly what they're getting, but 138 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: they just needed to get their hands on an old 139 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: MacBook Air. I was really surprised to see that those 140 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: bids continue to climb. But one of the things that 141 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: eBay does well is that when you when it does 142 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: compend to ship, uh, you know, they also list out 143 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: all the different options, whether it be you know, FedEx 144 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,040 Speaker 1: or or ups even well, I don't know if d 145 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: h L is on there actually, but like you said, 146 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: there are these other sites, and you don't have to 147 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: sell something on eBay in order to be able to 148 00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: easily compare some of the different options for you when 149 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,479 Speaker 1: it comes to shipping something out of town. Yeah, and 150 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: one other thing you can do, Matt, I think, like, 151 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,280 Speaker 1: let's say you want to buy something for your grand kids, 152 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: or you want to buy something, let's say for your 153 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: your siblings kids, like your your nephews and nieces. You 154 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: can send the money to your to your sister, to 155 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: your brother and then like specify the items you want 156 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: them to buy, just because the shipping costs really are 157 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: going to completely mess up the economics of of shipping 158 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: gifts potentially, And yeah, they might like put an extra 159 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: burden on them to have to go out and actually 160 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: get them and wrap them. Or you can, you know, 161 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: if you buy them online, have them shipped directly to 162 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: that address obviously, instead of trying to shipp to your 163 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: address and then shipping them another time. But let's keep moving. 164 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: Let's talk about insurance. Uh, the g gange in insurance 165 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: company all State, they want to start charging you based 166 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: on how you drive, not based on the slew of 167 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: other factors that are currently being used. You know, We've 168 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: talked about this before, but your credit score, your age, 169 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: where you live, all of these things have an impact 170 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: on your premium, along with other more of it factors 171 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,559 Speaker 1: like how many miles you drive and your actual driving history, 172 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: whether or not you have tickets. But now I'll say 173 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: they wanna use telematic technology to monitor your specific driving 174 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: bas and they're gonna read my mind, Matt. Nobody wants 175 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: to go there, Joel. Lets lets be honest, but they 176 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: want to monitor how it is we actually drive in 177 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: in real life in order to create this, uh, you know, 178 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: very specific premium based on you know, the specific risk 179 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: profile of your driving behavior. Uh. And so depending on 180 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 1: how you drive, Like, this is either going to be 181 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: great news because you're thinking, yes, finally I get to 182 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,080 Speaker 1: be rewarded for driving like a you know, like a granny. 183 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: You're over there doing that fist pump. Or maybe on 184 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: the other hand, you're completely horrified because you know how 185 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: you drive. Oh, you know who you are, and you're 186 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 1: cringing right now as you're listening to this. This is 187 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: this is a tough one, Matt. Like, there are obviously 188 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: certain privacy concerns with with this sort of technology where 189 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: your insurance company knows every single move that you make 190 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: in your automobile. Would it makes me think of we 191 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,839 Speaker 1: talked about life insurance at the beginning, like what if 192 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:01,959 Speaker 1: my life insurance company had a tracker on my person? 193 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:04,200 Speaker 1: And it's like, we know you win skydiving last mon 194 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:06,640 Speaker 1: like we're raising your right and it's like, well, that's 195 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 1: creepy too. Looks like you went hiking in an area 196 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: where you were at least thirty minutes from a hospital. 197 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,040 Speaker 1: You're gonna get ding for that exactly. Yeah, And so 198 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: I actually kind of like the current set up that 199 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: a lot of insurance companies offer. You can opt to 200 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: have your driving tracked if you so choose, but if 201 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: you do, it's usually for just a limited time, and 202 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: after a few months you get rid of the tracker 203 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: that helped set your rate. After they acquire the driving 204 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: data that they need and they see like how hard 205 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: do you break? Do you stop at red lights? Uh? 206 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: And like how quickly do you accelerate? They get all 207 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: that stuff within sixty to ninety days, and then you're done. 208 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: You send the tracker back. But being tracked in perpetuity, 209 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,680 Speaker 1: that doesn't sound really awesome to me, even though it 210 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: is happening in so many other areas of our lives already. 211 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: I think what all states are trying to do here 212 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: is is maybe just uh binding off a little too 213 00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,280 Speaker 1: more than they can chew, and more really than a 214 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: lot of consumers ready for. Yeah. Well, on a similar notes, 215 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: something else we've been seeing more of is what experts 216 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: are calling tattlewaar uh. And this is software on your 217 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: work computer, like your laptop at home that monitors everything 218 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: from you know, the different sites that you visit all 219 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: the way to different programs and get this, because this 220 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: is crazy. This is software that takes a live photo 221 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: of you every minute or so. As employers are you know, 222 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: attempting to keep tabs on their workers. If you went 223 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: to go get a sip of coffee from the kitchen, 224 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: your yeah, your employer is gonna know about it. It 225 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: looks like you're a wall Like what like what would 226 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: happen for two and a half minutes there? And well, 227 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: fact is like this is becoming more widespread and you know, 228 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: for a lot of folks this is maybe just an 229 00:10:35,800 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: acceptable trade off to working from home. But to others, 230 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: I think to a lot of people, this is gonna 231 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: be a serious invasion of privacy. As I know that 232 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: this is happening as your you know, employer, they might 233 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,720 Speaker 1: be looking to implement something similar. But I think especially 234 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: keep this in mind if your job hunting, you know, 235 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 1: keep an eye out for this, as it might be 236 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: maybe the deciding factor for you if you're choosing between 237 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,960 Speaker 1: two otherwise comparable offers. You you've got one company who 238 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: basically they're gonna trust you, and you've got another company 239 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,840 Speaker 1: who's gonna take a picture of you every night, every 240 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:07,839 Speaker 1: sixty seconds, right, And I think that's a keyword, Matt. Trust. 241 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,560 Speaker 1: And I think when an employer hire someone, what they're 242 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,839 Speaker 1: saying is what they should be saying, is I trust 243 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: you to do the job that I hired you to do. 244 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: And if you have to have this sort of tattleware 245 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: running in the background, to me, that reeks of poor 246 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,360 Speaker 1: management and overreach. It's a place that I wouldn't want 247 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: to work. And so I would take my shirt off 248 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,640 Speaker 1: and like, there's no policy in the company handbook that 249 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: says I can't work with my shirt off, And maybe 250 00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: it'll stop that policy because nobody wants to feel like, 251 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,200 Speaker 1: oh oh, HR has reached out to us. They said 252 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:43,439 Speaker 1: that never mind. Yeah, so, I I mean, really listeners 253 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 1: can do what with that? What they will? I do 254 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: think that this stuff is gonna be rolled out in 255 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,839 Speaker 1: more and more companies and something you to look out 256 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 1: for and watch out for yourself, because it's creepy and 257 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: it's probably something that my guess is a lot of 258 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 1: workers are not going to be comfortable with. Yeah, and 259 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: I feel like it's probably closer right hand we realized 260 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: as well. Yeah, yeah, most definitely. All right, let's talk 261 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: about the housing market for a second, Matt, And the 262 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,720 Speaker 1: question on a lot of people's minds right now is 263 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: is the housing market actually calming down? Because it's been nuts. 264 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: So it's been nuts out there, and there are actually 265 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: a few signs that point to the answer of yes, 266 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: that's what. That's what Joel's magic eight housing market ball 267 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: take that and you shake it up. All signs point 268 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: to yes, and so yeah, for like folks who have 269 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: become obsessed with tracking the meteoric rise of their homes 270 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: value on Zillo, this is probably a little bit of 271 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:36,959 Speaker 1: a bummer. They're like, it was worth three fifty like 272 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: two years ago and now it's worth four s whooo. 273 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: But for everyone else this is welcomed if you care 274 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:45,679 Speaker 1: less about that and you're more like I'm trying to 275 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: buy a house, like you are excited to see the 276 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,400 Speaker 1: softening of home prices. And yeah, a few signs that 277 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: we're talking about, Well, there are far fewer bidding wars 278 00:12:55,040 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 1: happening right now compared to what was happening in like 279 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 1: spring and early summer. Also, a lot more uppraisals are 280 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: coming in low, and that's leading to certain deals blowing up. 281 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: And that's because lenders almost always refuse to lend money 282 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: beyond the appraisal price. It's true that appraisals have like 283 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: a subjective nature to them, which still irks me, But 284 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: I don't know that there's any real real way around 285 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 1: that map. We've talked about some of those companies that 286 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: use like learning algorithms to actually try to create a 287 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: better value around homes. I still like that technology, and 288 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: I think it's going to be implemented more and more. 289 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 1: But yeah, appraisers, human appraisers are often relying on subjective 290 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: data that's like a month or two old when it 291 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 1: comes to home sales, and in the market where prices 292 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,560 Speaker 1: have escalated quickly, it can be really hard to come 293 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,920 Speaker 1: up with a firm value. That's especially true in older 294 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: neighborhoods where like where you and I live, it's almost 295 00:13:48,679 --> 00:13:51,719 Speaker 1: impossible to get an accurate value for a home when 296 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 1: there are even more variables and when it comes to 297 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:56,719 Speaker 1: age modifications that have been made. And it's just kind 298 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: of another sign maybe that not that the housing markets crashing, 299 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: not saying that I don't believe I don't believe that, 300 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: but that it is softening a little bit and it's 301 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 1: cooling a little bit. Yeah, it's gonna be easier if 302 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: you are trying to buy at home to actually get one. 303 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 1: Then it's been at least over the last six, eight, ten, 304 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 1: twelve months. Yeah, and we're starting to see interest rates 305 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: start to tick up a little bit too. And you know, 306 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: historically low rates have obviously been one of the one 307 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: of the major factors leading to the rapid rising prices 308 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: that we've seen over the last twelve eighteen months. And 309 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: another one of these factors as well as that demand 310 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: is slowing as mini buyers are choosing to wait out 311 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 1: this insanity altogether. So again, does this mean we're likely 312 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: going to see prices decline back to levels from two 313 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,360 Speaker 1: years ago? We don't think so. There are a lot 314 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,200 Speaker 1: of factors at play here, and so we'll be sure 315 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: to keep our eyes peeled. We'll keep talking about this 316 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: because I know there are so many of our listeners 317 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: who are glad to see the housing prices, you know, 318 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: not continue this meteoric rise, especially as they're looking to 319 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: purchase their very first home. No doubt, I think for 320 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: a lot of reasons, it's good to see home prices 321 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: soften and not escal nearly as quickly. For it's just 322 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: not good for our economy to have real estate out 323 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: price the wage gains to that extent. But yeah, we've 324 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: gotten more that we want to get to on this 325 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:14,160 Speaker 1: Friday flight, including how dying has gotten more expensive. We'll 326 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: get to that right after this. All right, this is 327 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,440 Speaker 1: our Friday flights, uh, and it is now time to 328 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: talk about dying, and specifically we're gonna get to this 329 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: story within our ludicrous headline of the week. So this 330 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: one comes from Wired and the headline goes, how big 331 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: funeral made the afterlife so expensive? I love these headlines. 332 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: Is there is there an entrance fee into heaven? Now? 333 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: Is that? That's basically so recently, the average cost of 334 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 1: a funeral was just shived in thousand dollars and the 335 00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: average cost of the cremation was over that one in 336 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: particular shocked me because I mean, first of all, both 337 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: both of these number shocked me because that's just a 338 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: lot of money to spend, you know, on like a 339 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: or someone and actually passes like we're not even talking 340 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: about the other expenses leading up to you know, maybe 341 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 1: what got them to that point, but cremation in particular, 342 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: that was supposed to be the affordable way to not 343 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: have to go through all the you know, pomp and 344 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: circumstance of the of having an actual ceremony and funeral, 345 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. I would have thought if you'd 346 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,440 Speaker 1: ask me that cremation would cost maybe of the amount, 347 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: not come on like I would expect it to be 348 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: much more affordable. But consolidation in the industry this is 349 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: leading to less competition in higher prices. So we're talking 350 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,080 Speaker 1: about caskets and earn markups that can get as high 351 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 1: as five and so one important note that's worth mentioning 352 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: is that you can be yoc which is bring your 353 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,880 Speaker 1: own casket until you're gonna love this because you're gonna 354 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,080 Speaker 1: be like the most excited person to hear this costco. 355 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: They sell really nice caskets. They place they catch from 356 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: from cradle to grain. Dude, Uh, the diapers for the babies, 357 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: get the casket for you know. It's it's a beautiful place, 358 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: so you don't have to take those those high funeral 359 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 1: costs laying down. I see what you did there too soon. 360 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,919 Speaker 1: That's fine, Okay, bad joke. Yeah, no, I appreciate that, 361 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: and I think, yeah, it's it was interesting to read 362 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: this article and see that. Yeah, just kind of like 363 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:12,639 Speaker 1: what's happening. And when it comes to some of the 364 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: medical facilities in larger cities around the country, there's more 365 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:19,399 Speaker 1: and more consolidation happening and prices are shooting up at 366 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 1: higher rates because of it. I don't like seeing it. 367 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: And yeah, many of us, I will say, have become 368 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,439 Speaker 1: more acquainted with death maybe than we wanted to become 369 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:30,120 Speaker 1: over the past eighteen months. And um, I gotta say, 370 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 1: like Matt, I appreciate your jokes, but we really do 371 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 1: hope that everyone and their families are okay. Like total 372 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 1: COVID has impacted a whole lot of families and friendships 373 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,399 Speaker 1: around the country. Yeah, I mean, yeah, we wish you 374 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 1: well and we hope that you're in good health. But 375 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,840 Speaker 1: fact is death is a part of our life, Yes 376 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,199 Speaker 1: for sure. And so on that note, Matt, I like, 377 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: I think it's good for us to think about our immortality. 378 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: And some of my favorite books actually are ones about death. 379 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,679 Speaker 1: I just recommend a couple of Real Quick Being Mortal 380 00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: and When Breath becomes Air, or a couple that have 381 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,159 Speaker 1: just I go back to as just fantastic books that 382 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,160 Speaker 1: I think help you think about death in a good way. 383 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: Will link to them in the show notes if if 384 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 1: you're interested, they're really really good. You can get them 385 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: from on your libby app to the library too. But yeah, 386 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: sitting on myself, actually is it? Yes, when Breath becomes there, 387 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 1: that one in particular. You mentioned that to me like 388 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: a few weeks ago, and I was like, oh, that 389 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,200 Speaker 1: sounds really good. It's so good, you're gonna love it. 390 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: Gonna go with the audio version audio book with that one. 391 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 1: That's that's what I did. I like audio books. But yeah, well, 392 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:28,399 Speaker 1: it is actually healthy to contemplate the brevity of life, 393 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: and I think that's healthy for us when it comes 394 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: to our money, when it comes to like being more 395 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: intentional over paying for your eventual death is not healthy 396 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:41,399 Speaker 1: for your wallet, for your family's finances. The best way 397 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: around this, we would say, is to join your state's 398 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: funeral and memorial society. Will put a link to the 399 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:50,080 Speaker 1: website funerals dot org in the show notes where you 400 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,119 Speaker 1: can find your local chapter. The cool thing is there's 401 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: a really minimal fee to join, like ten to twenty 402 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 1: five bucks usually, and then that qualifies you for rates 403 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: that are a quarter of the national average or less 404 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: through contracted providers with published upfront rates, so you know 405 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:08,399 Speaker 1: what you're getting ahead of time and you're not nickel 406 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: and dimed on the back end. Uh. There's also a 407 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: website called Funeralocity, kind of like Travelocity for funerals and uh, 408 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: so that we're gonna get you there faster. They do 409 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,040 Speaker 1: a good job cheaper of literally taking the published rates 410 00:19:21,119 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: like from around the web, from all of these uh 411 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: smaller funeral homes near where you live, and and putting 412 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: them in in fine print and organizing it for you 413 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:31,480 Speaker 1: so you can see, like, okay, cool, if I go 414 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: to this one down the street, I'm gonna pay three 415 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: times as much and so yeah, we'll link to that 416 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,160 Speaker 1: one in the show notes too sorry to talk about 417 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,439 Speaker 1: death so much. We don't want to be a bummer, 418 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 1: but I think it's it. It makes me so mad 419 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: to think that people are are getting ripped off in 420 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: the middle of the time when shopping around is it's 421 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,280 Speaker 1: harder to do because of like the emotional difficulties you're 422 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 1: going through. Sure, And and here's the thing you said, 423 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: like that we're sorry for talking about death, and like like, 424 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: don't apologize, Like this is something that we do need 425 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: to talk about more. And so, just like with money, 426 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,720 Speaker 1: the more conversation that we have around this, especially if 427 00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: you have maybe some you know, like older parents or 428 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: somebody who has a health condition, it is worth talking about. 429 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: We don't want the fear of of a topic to 430 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,879 Speaker 1: lead to poor outcomes exactly down the road, which I 431 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:13,400 Speaker 1: think is exactly what happens, is like we don't want 432 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:14,720 Speaker 1: to talk about this, and we put it off to 433 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: the last minute, and then we get hoodwinked in the 434 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: middle of the extenuating circumstance. And hopefully just you know, 435 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 1: knowing this small bit of information can help you make 436 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: a better decision, to save you lightly thousands and thousands 437 00:20:26,359 --> 00:20:28,199 Speaker 1: of dollars because yeah, when you look at that that 438 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: average price for cremation you mentioned, Matt, that's too much 439 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,439 Speaker 1: through a lot of these feweral memorial societies. We're you're 440 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: talking about literally writing the nine thousand dollar range for cremation. 441 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: So yeah, we're literally talking about huge savings. I think 442 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:43,800 Speaker 1: I wanna, Yeah, I would like to get cremated and 443 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: then like maybe spread out either on like a river 444 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 1: or like in the mountains, like that kind of thing. 445 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:49,080 Speaker 1: Like seriously, all right, I don't think i'd want to 446 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,159 Speaker 1: be there can style or well, I don't know, you 447 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: can get something nicer. That's still one of my favorite 448 00:20:53,040 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: teams in any movie, The Big Lebowski. It's so good. 449 00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,359 Speaker 1: Maybe we'll post a gift of that or something. All Right. 450 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: We talk about the rising costs of gas a little 451 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 1: bit last week's Friday flight, but energy costs in general 452 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,719 Speaker 1: are heading higher overall, and that doesn't bode well for 453 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: your winter heating bill. National gas prices in particular, they 454 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: have doubled in the last six months. Coal prices they've 455 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: also hit a record as well. And the sucky thing is, 456 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,119 Speaker 1: just like we discussed with gas prices, demand is mostly 457 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: going to be in elastic when it comes to your 458 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: heating bill. You know, you can't just like stop heating 459 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,400 Speaker 1: your house in January because it's costing you too much. 460 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: I mean, you could, I guess, But for a lot 461 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 1: of folks there's only a certain amount that they're willing 462 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: to sacrifice. They have a level of comfort that they 463 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: want to stick to. Yeah, they might be willing to 464 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 1: lose a couple of degrees to save some money, but 465 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: they're not turning it off all together. Most folks aren't 466 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:42,120 Speaker 1: willing to wear a jacket inside their homes frost biting 467 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 1: like I often do, or used to do, I should say. 468 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,120 Speaker 1: And so instead, you're probably gonna have to pull back 469 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: on spending in other places if you're looking to to 470 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: stick to your budget. We mentioned this because we want 471 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: you to be cognizant of the reality that those bills 472 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: are likely to be quite a bit higher than they 473 00:21:57,119 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: were last winter, and so start thinking now of different 474 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: ways you could eventually cut back and spending in other 475 00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: areas of your budget. Yep, you just want to assume 476 00:22:05,080 --> 00:22:08,960 Speaker 1: that increase is coming, because it probably is. And on 477 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: the flip side, Matt, renewable sources of energy are actually 478 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 1: getting much cheaper a new report from the Institute of 479 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: New Economic Thinking, which is our light bathroom reading around here. Yeah, 480 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: it showed that estimates about the declining costs of renewable 481 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:28,120 Speaker 1: sources like solar and wind have actually been way off. 482 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: We've actually underestimated how quickly prices would decline in the past, 483 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: and so yet nobody would have nobody was really predicting 484 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:40,960 Speaker 1: how cheap solar energy would be at this point in time, 485 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,440 Speaker 1: back in let's say the year. And we actually talked 486 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,320 Speaker 1: with our friend Carl Jensen on Monday's episode, and this dude, 487 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 1: he is self installing whole house solar for only eleven 488 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: thousand dollars, which is pretty impressive. But even that is 489 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: a big outlay up front, Like a lot of people 490 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: can't afford to do that, and they've got to save 491 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 1: up for it. But it might be worth looking into 492 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: installing solar at your house. It could curb your overall 493 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 1: energy costs over time. Like that eleven thousand dollars. I'm 494 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,560 Speaker 1: curious to see how much it saves Carl over the 495 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 1: next ten years. My guess he is he makes that 496 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: payback off in I don't know, five to six years. 497 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: I'll have to ask him. But it's important to note 498 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: too that there's still a great federal tax credit to 499 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: the tune of twenty six percent through the end of 500 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:28,199 Speaker 1: next year. So if solar is on your radar and 501 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: as energy prices are taking up, you might want to 502 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: consider doing it sooner than you thought before. And yeah, 503 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: if you want to like research more, there's this website 504 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,360 Speaker 1: energy stage dot com, which I think is a great 505 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: place to get started, kind of get some facts and 506 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: figures and there's calculators there to help you kind of decide, 507 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:44,720 Speaker 1: you know, whether it's right for you and then and 508 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: then to even find like a qualified local installer if 509 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:49,120 Speaker 1: that's the route you want to go in, if you're 510 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 1: not going to d il y it yourself. And I 511 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: think actually, in stuctually that's redundant, is isn't it yourself? 512 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: It's like saying an a t M machine. It's like 513 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: when one of those words isn't necessary. Yeah, And I 514 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,560 Speaker 1: think actually it's some locales you have to check. They 515 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: won't let you self installed, and so you might have 516 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 1: to hire a professional. I know where Carl lives in Colorado. 517 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: At least it might be a sit down to a 518 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: city thing. I'm not sure, but where where he is at, 519 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: he's allowed to go the D I Y route. But 520 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,120 Speaker 1: even still, I'm sure not many people do it us, right, Uh, 521 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: you know, and some of these decreased prices are due 522 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,920 Speaker 1: to the incentives provided by the different tax credits out there, 523 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: but you know, it also has to do with the 524 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,200 Speaker 1: fact that companies are responding to the fact that we've 525 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 1: gotten past the point of like a minimum viable audience 526 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: or a minimum viable customer. Right, there are enough people 527 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,080 Speaker 1: who are now interested in something like solar, like folks 528 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,360 Speaker 1: like Carl that like, there's just more attention and there's 529 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,359 Speaker 1: more innovation that's being directed towards these technologies. Seth Godin 530 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: wrote about this recently and he calls it contagious commerce. 531 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,960 Speaker 1: And it's this idea that there's a multiplier effect when 532 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: we decide to make changes in how or what it 533 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,959 Speaker 1: is that we consume. And so, uh, Seth, he said that, 534 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,359 Speaker 1: and this is a quote like very few people have 535 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: the leverage to change the world, but all of us 536 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,399 Speaker 1: have the chance to change the people around us, and 537 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: those actions change what gets built, gets funded and launched. 538 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: And so, I don't know, I just found that really 539 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,920 Speaker 1: encouraging from the standpoint of oftentimes in the world it 540 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: feels like we're just a very small cog, Like we're 541 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,760 Speaker 1: just very small and it's like almost impristable. Yeah, what 542 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:19,679 Speaker 1: kind of change am I going to have on this 543 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,679 Speaker 1: larger system? But what we do actually doesn't matter, and 544 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: we have an impact on those around us, and then 545 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: all of us collectively have a larger impact, and then 546 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:29,639 Speaker 1: that continues to cascade. And so I think that's just 547 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: important to keep in mind as we're thinking through any 548 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: change that we're looking to implement in our lives and 549 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: in our world. Yeah, I think it's a good point. 550 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 1: I think with the rise of influencers and social media, 551 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 1: we kind of want our impact to be to be bigger. 552 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 1: But the biggest impact we can have is usually in 553 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: direct relationship to a smaller number of people close to 554 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,120 Speaker 1: where we live and who we get to actually spend 555 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: time with consistently. So, yeah, that's good stuff. And Matt, 556 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,600 Speaker 1: let's let's talk quickly about five nine plans for a 557 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 1: second public school kids in New York City. Actually, it 558 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: turns out they're getting free money towards their higher education 559 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,399 Speaker 1: inside of accounts. This is actually a public and nonprofit 560 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: partnership which is attempting to address the widening wealth gap 561 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:15,440 Speaker 1: by giving these kids, these public school kids, some money 562 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: to start growing in order to help pay for their 563 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,560 Speaker 1: future college costs. A little bit of seed money exactly. 564 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: And the thing literally, it's tiny. It's just it's seed money. 565 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: It is, Yeah, because it's a hundred dollars. In addition 566 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,200 Speaker 1: to that, kids can earn up up to an additional 567 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: two potentially, so yeah, like three plus the growth on 568 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,920 Speaker 1: that money. It's like, like you said, it's it's small. 569 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: It's not gonna pay for you to get into your 570 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,919 Speaker 1: whole Harvard education if you did, if you did end 571 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,119 Speaker 1: up getting accepted, Nope, not gonna cover it, right, But 572 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: that money does start compounding early for these kids, and 573 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:52,439 Speaker 1: that will be real tangible money in let's say. But 574 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,679 Speaker 1: here's the thing. The best way to teach kids and 575 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,200 Speaker 1: their parents in reality about money is hands on stuff 576 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 1: like this. Putting a hundred dollars in a vehicle like 577 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: account not only helps to fund a small portion of 578 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,919 Speaker 1: that future college career for that one kiddo, but it 579 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: also creates excitement about investing for the future. Kids with 580 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:15,800 Speaker 1: even just a small amount of money saved are actually 581 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: three times more likely to attend college. I figure where 582 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:20,840 Speaker 1: that stack came from, but I found it fascinating that 583 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,080 Speaker 1: just having a small amount of money means they're way, way, 584 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: way more likely to actually follow through. It's like someone 585 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: believed in me enough to put two d in this 586 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: account and now it's grown to two thousand dollars over 587 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,280 Speaker 1: the course of eighteen years, and so now you know what, 588 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: I got to use that money. I gotta go get 589 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 1: an education. So I think, yeah, the money is important, 590 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,480 Speaker 1: but the motivation that that money is creating for some 591 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 1: of these kids that might be even more important. I 592 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: kind of love seeing this happen. Yeah, and it continues 593 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: to provide that those incentives to encourage parents to continue 594 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: to save towards a child's education as well. Right, that 595 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,640 Speaker 1: removes those barriers to entry, and it basically nudges those 596 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: parents in that direction. And I think that psychological benefit 597 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:01,000 Speaker 1: that it provides is much bigger than the act dollar amounts, 598 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: because it's like, all right, you know, a total of 599 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: three bucks, that's great, But the ability to you know, 600 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,919 Speaker 1: for a parent to see themselves as somebody, oh I 601 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 1: am somebody who puts money towards my kids college now. Uh, 602 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: and it just makes it easier for them. I mean 603 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:15,680 Speaker 1: in the same way that we see like workplace uh, 604 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,119 Speaker 1: you know, retirement plans. Those are nudges that to encourage 605 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: those folks to say for their retirement to auto opt 606 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 1: in makes a huge difference, exactly. And I think that like, 607 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: that's one downside I could see to this program specifically, 608 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: is there are a lot of folks who have workplace 609 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 1: sponsored retirement accounts, but if they don't and instead they're 610 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: being nudged to do something like save towards their kids education, 611 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:37,199 Speaker 1: which is a good thing, but if they're not saving 612 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: towards their own retirement, that is something that is a 613 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: priority in our mind that comes first, uh, and then 614 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: the kids education. So this is one downside is that 615 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: it could potentially foster and lead to behavior that, you know, 616 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: where the cart gets a little bit ahead of the horse. Yeah, 617 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: where they keep contributing to the five twenty nine as 618 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: opposed to saying, wait, I'm investing for their future, now 619 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: I gotta start investing myself totally exactly. Uh. And since 620 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: we're talking about college, where do those five nine funds go? 621 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,479 Speaker 1: The furthest well at your local community college. And there 622 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,120 Speaker 1: is this recent study that found that community colleges actually work, 623 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: which you know, he might find hard to believe, but 624 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,959 Speaker 1: we often mentioned them as sort of this great alternative 625 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: to more expensive routes that you could take to get 626 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: a degree. But a lot of folks scoff when they 627 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: hear us mentioned that, assuming that a community college degree 628 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 1: isn't as worthwhile as one from a traditional four year school. 629 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: But we would encourage you to think again, because we 630 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: saw that more than of surveyed community colleges are actually 631 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: changing the programs that they offer based on feedback from 632 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: local employers. And so that means that folks who are 633 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,400 Speaker 1: getting a degree from a community college there in town 634 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: are going to be job ready in most cases. And 635 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: so that's encouraging because sometimes attending the right local school 636 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: it's not only gonna save you tuition money, but it's 637 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:51,680 Speaker 1: also going to prepare you better for the jobs that 638 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: are actually available. It feels much more practical than going 639 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: off to like a four year liberal arts school where 640 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 1: you're going to get a degree, but maybe you're like philosophy, 641 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: not really sure what direction I'm gonna go after that. 642 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:05,880 Speaker 1: I think for a lot of folks having something practical 643 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: that's grounded towards a specific industry and even a specific 644 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: employer could be a better route to take. Yeah, and 645 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 1: they're cheap or free in some states, and so Matt, 646 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: I think, uh, I don't know. I don't know if 647 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,880 Speaker 1: we're on actual like Blues Brother style mission to do this, 648 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: but let's make community college is cool again because they 649 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,840 Speaker 1: deserve it, and I feel like they're underrated really and 650 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,239 Speaker 1: a lot more people should consider them. I think there 651 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: are a lot of just misconceptions out there when it 652 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 1: comes to community colleges to all around. But that's gonna 653 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: do it for this episode. For folks who want the 654 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: show notes and links to all the sites we mentioned, 655 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: those are gonna be on our website at how to 656 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:40,520 Speaker 1: money dot com. That's right, and we've got a great 657 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: ask how to Money episode lined up for you this 658 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:44,960 Speaker 1: coming Monday. And by the way, we want to hear 659 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: your questions. There is no question out there that's too weird, 660 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: that is too unique. You might feel that this is 661 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: gonna be you've got something in mind that's not going 662 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: to be applicable to other people. But to be honest, 663 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,719 Speaker 1: the more unique, the better. It makes the show a 664 00:30:57,720 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: lot more fun for us, and also it's gonna be 665 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: applicable to more people than you think. Yeah, no doubt. 666 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,760 Speaker 1: Keep the weirder the better. But that's gonna do it 667 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: for this episode. Until next time, best Friends Out, Best 668 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 1: Friends Out,