1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Matt's and today we're discussing cutting expenses in times of 3 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: financial distress. Yes, you know, millions have filed for unappointment 4 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: for these past few weeks, blowing away the unappointment records 5 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,199 Speaker 1: that have held since Joel and that insane over the 6 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: past thirty seven three eight years. Yeah, we're in a 7 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: completely different time right now, and so if you're not 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: making as much money, you're probably having a hard time 9 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: paying your bills. And so that's why I'm excited for 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: us to talk about some of these ways, some of 11 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: these quick ways that we can make some changes to 12 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: our expenses that are going to allow us to be 13 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 1: in a in a better place financially. Yeah, there are 14 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: specific moves that, whether your job is stable or unstable, 15 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: that you should be taking right now. And so we're 16 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: gonna go through specific line items that you should consider 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 1: that you should look to to be able to save 18 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: more right now. Because, Yeah, in a down economy, in 19 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: a time where there is more job instability, it's really 20 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: incumbent on us to make moves in our own budget 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: that we might not otherwise make. In a time where 22 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: our job isn't at risk. And normally it comes down to, like, 23 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: there's two things you can do right You can either 24 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: make more money, or you can spend less money, or 25 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: you can wave a magic wand and make some appear 26 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: right in front of you if only doesn't typically have 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: any But I mean that's the thing though, It's it's 28 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:31,559 Speaker 1: way more difficult right now for us to make more money. 29 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: We don't have a whole lot of control given the 30 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: current economy. What we do have control over and like 31 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: you said, well, what's incumbent upon us to make changes 32 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: in our own lives is what we're spending money on. 33 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: And so yeah, because of that, I think that's really 34 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: important for us to tackle us today. Yeah, man, one 35 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: of the things that I think we are you and 36 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: I are at least spending a little bit more money 37 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,000 Speaker 1: on right now is going out and supporting our local 38 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: small businesses because they are being hit the hardest right now. 39 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: And so yeah, we've gotten take out from small businesses 40 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: more frequently than we normally would because we do have 41 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: some extra wiggle room and we feel like that's money 42 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: well spent. And oftentimes we talk about being frugal versus 43 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,239 Speaker 1: being cheap right, And you know, this is an episode 44 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: where we're gonna talk about cutting expenses. And when it 45 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: comes to the money that we spend on ourselves, like 46 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: our own personal consumption, I think we do certainly need 47 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: to be frugal and maybe even like borderline cheap, right, 48 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: Like we're we're looking for ways to cut back and 49 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: and make sure that we're getting by without going into debt. 50 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: But when it comes to, you know, being frugal with others, 51 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,799 Speaker 1: in particular those that are in the service sector right now, 52 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: I think obviously it depends on your personal circumstances, but 53 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: I think we consider that cheap. Right If if we're 54 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: being frugal with those who are working extra hard right now, 55 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: you know, working to pay the bills and are just 56 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: getting by, I think that would be cheap. An example, 57 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: I'm thinking of, uh, instat cart right, A lot of 58 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:50,839 Speaker 1: folks are using instat cart. We we talked a couple 59 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: of weeks ago about how they're hiring three hundred thousand 60 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: new positions, new full time shoppers. And here's the thing is, 61 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,519 Speaker 1: they're putting themselves at risk essentially to do their job. 62 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:02,959 Speaker 1: Like grant that they're doing their job to earn a salary, 63 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: but they're also at risk. Right, Grocery stores are still 64 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: kind of a frontline area for for people, and there's 65 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: more chance of of getting sick if you're working in one. Yeah, absolutely, 66 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: that's a risk. They are sort of realizing and undertaking themselves. 67 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,520 Speaker 1: It's a service that a lot of us are using, 68 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: but we're we're kind of doing that from a like 69 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: a point of luxury almost you know. It's like, Okay, 70 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,920 Speaker 1: I don't want to necessarily expose myself to the you know, 71 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: the chance of getting infected. And so it's happening though, 72 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: is we're transferring that risk to them. Uh. And so 73 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: with that in mind, I think we need to pay 74 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: attention to how much we're tipping folks like that. That's 75 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: an easy example because there is an option to tip 76 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: your your instant cart person. But it also makes me 77 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: think of other areas too, like like the ups driver 78 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: and like even the grocery store worker. You can't really 79 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: tip them. That's not something that you would do normally. 80 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: I wish there was, because when they signed up for 81 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: that job, this risk of getting sick that wasn't really 82 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: part of the job. But it's something that they've sort 83 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: of inherited, and so I think with that in mind, 84 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 1: that we should certainly look to you know, where possible 85 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: and make sure that we're tipping very generously when it 86 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 1: comes to those who are are serving us and in 87 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: the service sector. Yeah, I completely agree it's cheap right 88 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: now to not tip generously for the people that are 89 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: on the front lines. And you know, my dad's in 90 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: grocery stores five or six days a week because of 91 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: his job, and I'm nervous for him because he's in 92 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 1: his his late sixties, and so, you know, we've talked 93 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: about it. I've relaid my concerns. You know, he's taking 94 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: as all the precautions that he can, but yeah, I'm 95 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,239 Speaker 1: nervous for the people working for insta cart, people working 96 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,080 Speaker 1: at the grocery store, people working in hospitals. Right there 97 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: are so many frontline areas right now, and grocery stores 98 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: are definitely one of them. So I agree, don't be cheap, 99 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: be as generous as you can during this time with 100 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: your small businesses, and of course, especially if you are 101 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: in a situation where you have expendable income and you 102 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: have job security and Matt, I think people whether they 103 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 1: feel completely comfortable with where their job is right now 104 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 1: in this period and people that have maybe even just 105 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 1: recently been laid off, like these tips are gonna be 106 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: helpful for people across the board. Before we get to that, 107 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:00,679 Speaker 1: let's mention the beer that we're having on the show today. 108 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: We're drinking Mr Blue nineteen edition by to Old Brewing, 109 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: which is out of Denmark, right. I think they're a 110 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:08,840 Speaker 1: Danish brewery for sure, and a good job of the 111 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: pronunciation there. We talked about this before, but a lot 112 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 1: of people say tool because it's just t O O L. 113 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: But the second oh, you know, it's got the line 114 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: through it, and so I yeah, after doing a little 115 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: bit of research, it seems like the proper way to 116 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: say it is like to it's crazy s Candaavians. Yeah 117 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,559 Speaker 1: is that yeah, Denmark's Scandona. Yeah. Yeah, it's all together. 118 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: But evidently it means two beers. Like the two guys 119 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: that founded this brewery basically they would go into someplace 120 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,880 Speaker 1: back in the day when their first gypsy brewing and 121 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: they would say too, that means two beers please. Yeah, 122 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 1: this is a fun one. This was sent to the 123 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: show by Jeremy in North Carolina and I'm looking forward 124 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: to enjoining this one with you, buddy, and we can 125 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: talk about what we think of it at the end 126 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: of the episode. Yeah, black current stout, So we'll talk 127 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: about that in just a little bit, indeed, But Matt, 128 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: let's get into it. Let's get to the subject hand. 129 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: Sixty seven million people are anticipating having trouble paying their 130 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: bills due to the fallout from coronavirus. This is something 131 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: that a recent study from wallet showed. A lot of 132 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: us have seen our income drastically cut, or maybe you 133 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: don't have any income at the moment, and the stimulus 134 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:08,240 Speaker 1: bill I think is going to help a lot of 135 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: people in that area. But it's still scary, and it's 136 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: important for us to prioritize our money now and to 137 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: conserve cash because in a tough economic cycle we might 138 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: have more need for it. So the time has come 139 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 1: for many of us to tighten our belts a notch, 140 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: maybe even too, and to cut some more expenses so 141 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: that our finances can survive the economic hardship that many 142 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,520 Speaker 1: of us are facing right now. Yeah, there's just so much, man, 143 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: that's just still unknown, right, Like, we don't know the 144 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: full impact and how this is all going to affect 145 00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:37,440 Speaker 1: our personal finances in the economy over time. But when 146 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: it does come to our money, right, our regular expenses 147 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,040 Speaker 1: might currently be a reflection of our old income, the 148 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: life that we used to have, right, And if we 149 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: don't make any changes, we're gonna end up in debt. 150 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: And so there are changes that do need to happen. 151 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: But what expenses do we need to look to in 152 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: order to make a dents in our monthly or in 153 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: our annual expenses. Due to the weird times that we 154 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,560 Speaker 1: find ourselves in, it may not make a lot of 155 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: sense to some extreme cuts and changes. Right, A lot 156 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 1: of individuals are finding themselves fur load or just temporarily 157 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: out of work. As more small businesses received loans from 158 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: the government's you know, due to the stimulus package, peril 159 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: checks will hopefully show up in the mail and life 160 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: might be able to resume to some sort of normalcy. 161 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: But we just don't know. Yeah, And so we're gonna 162 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: talk about big stuff, we're gonna talk about small stuff. 163 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: And when we're talking about big stuff, that the things 164 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: that fall at the top of the list are housing 165 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: and transportation. Always there. They're the two biggest line items 166 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: in almost all of our budgets, and if you can 167 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: cut those down now, that's great, But given our current circumstances, 168 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: there aren't a lot of changes we can typically make 169 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: in a short time with those bigger items. It's tough 170 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: to downsize right now if you're in the middle of 171 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: the lease, or if you have a mortgage on a property, 172 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: or if you can't even get out of your apartment 173 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: to go look at another party because you live in 174 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: New York, right and that's why home sales are drastically decreasing. 175 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: It's tough to even get a tenant. I had a 176 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: tenant recently move out of a home and it's been 177 00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,119 Speaker 1: tough to find people to actually come look at the property. 178 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: It's almost impossible right now. And it's also like probably 179 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: a tough time to try and sell your car and 180 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 1: get an old beater, just because of kind of the 181 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: trepidation that we all have in doing commerce with each other. 182 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: So you're probably looking for quicker ways to save money 183 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: a SAP, So a lot of what we're gonna talk 184 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: about in this episode will focus on the multitude of 185 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: smaller expenses that we have every month that keep us 186 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:19,560 Speaker 1: from saving more. It's almost like this death by a 187 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: thousand cuts, and so it's our goal to highlight some 188 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: of those main ways that you can cut quickly in 189 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: order to create more breathing room right now. Yeah, our 190 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: focus is on these smaller, more nimble changes that we 191 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: can make to our budgets and our spending in order 192 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: to be responsive now versus those big items, which you 193 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: know certainly do make a bigger difference. But it's it's 194 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: hard to move some of those you know, large ships. 195 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: I think of it like a locomotive. It's like, once 196 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: it's going and going in the right direction, your set. 197 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: But it's also really hard to stop those things on 198 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: a dime. And one of those larger expenses is food. Right. 199 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: We recently talked about groceries with Beth from budget bites. 200 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: Don't forget that line at them, right food? Uh, and 201 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,959 Speaker 1: our entertainment funds they're likely slashed just out of the 202 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 1: sheer inability to go out and spend a lot of 203 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: the money, much to the difficulty of local business owners 204 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,599 Speaker 1: of course. And so yeah, what are these other expenses 205 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,319 Speaker 1: that we can cut. You might know about some of 206 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: the ones that we're going to mention. Some of the 207 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: ones we're gonna talk about today, But there are others 208 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 1: that you might not have thought of. We're gonna get 209 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: to discussing those right after the break. All right, Matt, 210 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: we're back to the break. We are going to quickly 211 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: touch on some of those bigger expenses, but like we said, 212 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: we're going to focus on the smaller expenses. And for 213 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: everyone out there, the economy is obviously in turmoil, and 214 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: whether you've been put in a more difficult position or not, 215 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: most of us probably still have an unsettled feeling. We're 216 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: just not sure. And as the economy contracts, you might 217 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: be impacted later even though you're not feeling an impact 218 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: right now. All indicators point to the fact that the economy, 219 00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:55,679 Speaker 1: not just our countries, but the global economy is going 220 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: to be feeling some of the effects from this downturn 221 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: for a while. Something like this does it happen and 222 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:02,960 Speaker 1: then it just goes away overnight. So what better way 223 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,440 Speaker 1: to prepare for these lean times than to get ahead 224 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: of it now while you have the choice, Man, I 225 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:10,319 Speaker 1: think making some of these cuts now ahead of time, 226 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:12,560 Speaker 1: you know, it gives us the ability to build up 227 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: that emergency fund, gives us the ability to start living 228 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: life a little differently now before we're forced to do 229 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: so later, which makes a lot of sense in my mind. Yeah, man, absolutely, 230 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: That's that's why this is so important for us to 231 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,199 Speaker 1: talk about. Is this isn't just for those who are 232 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: currently hurting. It's also going to be for those who 233 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: might be hurting. And we don't know which of us 234 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: are going to be hurting in the future. Sure, so yeah, 235 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: let's go ahead and take those steps now. And first 236 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: let's go ahead and look at some of those major 237 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: uh expenses that we have. Sometimes these can be annual 238 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: expenses as well. It may not make a ton of 239 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 1: sense and it might not even be possible to make 240 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:44,719 Speaker 1: changes here. Right, We just talked about how it might 241 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: be tough to to sell that nicer car you have, 242 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: or get out of that apartment to find a more 243 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: affordable place. But of course those big line items will 244 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: move the needle more quickly, and so you know, it's 245 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: worth mentioning these things because we need to at least 246 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: take a look before. You know, we looked at some 247 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: of those smaller items to make a larger impact initially. Yeah, 248 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: but depending on your situation, whether you own a home 249 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: or not, it might make sense to downside your living 250 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: quarters to save money, and it might even make sense 251 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: to do something more drastic, like move in with a 252 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 1: loved one or a relative. That's not always ideal, but 253 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,599 Speaker 1: if you're in a difficult position and you want to 254 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: be able to weather this storm, well, sometimes hard decisions 255 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: like that are necessary. There's no shame in that game, 256 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: and pretty much everything should be on the table in 257 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 1: order to prevent you from going into debt. I think, Matt, 258 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: sometimes people in a time of uncertainty and hardship, there's 259 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: still a lot of pride and it's like I would 260 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 1: do anything to save money, but I won't do that right, 261 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:39,559 Speaker 1: kind of like the Meatloaf song and just like me, 262 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: just like meat Loaf, and so exactly that's the question. 263 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: I think there's probably too many things on our list 264 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: of like things that we won't cut or things that 265 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: we won't do, and I think more things need to 266 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: be on the table, even those things that might be 267 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: a little bit harder and feel a little bit worse 268 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: and maybe take a hit to our pride at the 269 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:59,319 Speaker 1: same time. Yeah, and even though it might be difficult 270 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,199 Speaker 1: for some folks to accept that, it might be possible 271 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: for them for other folks, it may not be possible 272 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: for them to move currently, and so just look to 273 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: some of the other larger expenses associated with your house 274 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,160 Speaker 1: and costs. Right, I'm thinking of energy costs. Like a 275 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: lot of people just accept that whatever the water bill, 276 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,839 Speaker 1: power bill, gas bill, whatever oil. I guess if you 277 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: live up north, a lot of people just accept that 278 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:19,839 Speaker 1: whatever the bill says, that that's what it's going to be. 279 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:21,920 Speaker 1: And while that's true, because yes, you have to pay 280 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:24,560 Speaker 1: your bills, you have control over what that bill ends 281 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,559 Speaker 1: up being. You have like take control over what the 282 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 1: temperature is going to be in your house, right, Like 283 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,439 Speaker 1: when it's when it's winner, make sure that you're layering 284 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: up and you know, turning down your heat in the summertime. 285 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: You don't need to crank down that a c like 286 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: wear shorts and a tank top, turn on the fan. Like. 287 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:39,959 Speaker 1: There's lots of ways that we can make changes to 288 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:42,319 Speaker 1: you know, what we think is our baseline cost of 289 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:44,439 Speaker 1: living that we don't think too because we're just used 290 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: to the way that we've been living inside of our homes. Yeah, 291 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: and on the note of making bigger changes, well, if 292 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 1: you're in a car lease, hopefully that car lease is 293 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: up soon and you can find a cheaper way to 294 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,559 Speaker 1: get around. You could also sell a newer car and 295 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:58,839 Speaker 1: hop into something much older. We just discussed how that 296 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,079 Speaker 1: might be more difficult though. And also if you're in 297 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 1: a lease, you could potentially get rid of that lease 298 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,440 Speaker 1: on a site like Swapple Lease or lease trader dot com. 299 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: Those could be places for somebody who who wants to 300 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: lease a car, and it can help you kind of 301 00:13:10,559 --> 00:13:12,320 Speaker 1: get out from under it. And on the note of cars, 302 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: it's important to call your insurance agent and to also 303 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: shop with other insurance companies to see what you can 304 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: do to lower your insurance bill. Shopping your insurance could 305 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: save you more than a thousand bucks a year, and 306 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: that's big money. And that's something that you could do 307 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: in just a couple of hours. And so you could 308 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: shop on a site like policy genius dot com or 309 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: with a local private insurance agent, Matt. One thing that 310 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: I've noticed too is a lot of people just aren't 311 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: commuting because their workers shut down. They're working from home. 312 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: One of the biggest discounts that is often offered from 313 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 1: insurance companies is a mileage discount. If you drive under 314 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,079 Speaker 1: a certain amount of miles per year. A lot of 315 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,400 Speaker 1: us are going to meet that threshold this year because 316 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: of the coronavirus, and so at a minimum, you should 317 00:13:50,679 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: reach out to your insurance company and say, hey, I'm 318 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: gonna be under this mark. Can I get a break 319 00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:58,079 Speaker 1: on my insurance? How much money can I save because 320 00:13:58,120 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be driving less this year? You might be 321 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,199 Speaker 1: able to save three or four hundred bucks just with 322 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 1: that one call, and that's huge. Our our buddy five 323 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: Am Joel, he actually did this recently mentioned how he, 324 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: you know, is saving close to five bucks just by 325 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: making that single phone call. He was a guest on 326 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: the show earlier this year, and you know, one of 327 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:15,559 Speaker 1: the things we talked about was the challenge of actually 328 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: getting up early. How's that been going for you? By 329 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: the way, pretty good. You've been doing it still? Yeah, 330 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: I bumped it back to like six fifteen. I was 331 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: six am Joel there for a minute, but yeah, six fifteen, 332 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,640 Speaker 1: and it's been It's been great, although I will say 333 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: when I wake up even earlier, it's better and I 334 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: just need to get back into the habit of six 335 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: am on the dot. Were good for you because I 336 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: have not at all with the girls being home from school, 337 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: We're completely taking an advantage of sleeping in a little 338 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 1: bit later, and it's it's kind of hurting my my 339 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: routine though in the morning. So I feel like I'm 340 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: kind of feeling that a little bit. I'm doing more 341 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: of this like on the back end, like later in 342 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 1: the evening, I'm kind of defaulting to to like Bachelor Matt, 343 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: you know, Mary before Kids Matt, where I would worked 344 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: late into the night. But I feel like I can 345 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 1: see the difference in the quality of my work, you know, 346 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: like when you're able to do that work early in 347 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,200 Speaker 1: the morning, like while your brain is fresh. As I 348 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: get older a little bit, I think I can really 349 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: tell the difference in the quality of my work, and 350 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: so I might have to try to make some changes 351 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 1: get back to it. But then again, man Weston, our 352 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: baby boy, he's teething, and so he's been waking up 353 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: in the middle of the night crying. I gotta get 354 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: up give him some of the ibrprofen. That also makes 355 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: it tough to wake up early. It's a dynamic changer 356 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 1: for sure, dude. Yeah, And another sort of larger expense 357 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: in a lot of people's budgets. Every month are debt obligations, 358 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: and so we would encourage folks to just pay the 359 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: minimums on those debt obligations, right stop putting extra towards 360 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: your mortgage, towards your credit cards or student loans if 361 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: you're looking to cut expenses by a significant amounts, you know, 362 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:40,080 Speaker 1: and this is really hard for US money experts to 363 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: say this, but for most people, this makes a lot 364 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: of sense right now, in order to keep more cash 365 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: on hand. Yeah, Matt, We recently had a question from 366 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: someone about they were paying a lot more towards our 367 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: student loans, but there was job in security there and 368 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: so should she keep doing that? And our answer was no. 369 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: And so for everybody out there who is trying to 370 00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: pay off credit card debt as quickly as possible, that 371 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: in particular, it's a really hard one for me to 372 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,160 Speaker 1: tell someone, no, don't pay more on that, because that's 373 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: high interest rate debt. And what we would say is 374 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: take advantage of a balanced transfer offer if you can. 375 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 1: And also we would say, only pay off that debt 376 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: if you know that you'll be able to continue to 377 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,360 Speaker 1: to live and pay your monthly bills. If that money 378 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: is out of your checking account and it's gone to 379 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: the credit card companies, because especially right now, there are 380 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,760 Speaker 1: other breaks for you calling their credit card company asking 381 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: for an interest holiday. That can be a huge help 382 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: and allow you just to pay the minimums for a while. 383 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: But yeah, I think paying the minimums is a great 384 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: way to be able to to boost your savings so 385 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: that you have more cash on hand in case you 386 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: need it. And men in addition to that, let's talk 387 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: about student loans as well. The stimulus bill it had 388 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: provisions in it that allowed for those who have federal 389 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: student loans to essentially hit the pause button on all 390 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: payments until October. During that period, no interest is going 391 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: to accrue and so essentially gives you a break. So 392 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:53,960 Speaker 1: if you're in a tough position, that will allow you 393 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: to to save up some of that cash to give 394 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: you some more cushion during these tough times. Yeah, for sure. 395 00:16:58,360 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: All right, Matt, let's get to the some of the 396 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: moaller line items. That's where I think most people are 397 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: going to be able to take action on many of 398 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 1: these items. Right, So, hopefully you have a budget or 399 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: at least you've been tracking your expenses, and this is 400 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 1: a great place to start. When we're talking about which 401 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: of these smaller line items you need to go after first. 402 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: So go down the list of your monthly expenses and 403 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: start making cuts. If you haven't been budgeting or tracking, 404 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: downloading your last month's credit card statements, or you know, 405 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,440 Speaker 1: signing up for a site like mint or wine app 406 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: to be able to kind of see everything in one 407 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 1: place can be really really helpful. And Man, I think 408 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,320 Speaker 1: it's important to mention that that some expenses are going 409 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,680 Speaker 1: to be easier to cut than others. We're not doing 410 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:36,880 Speaker 1: date nights right now, so are eating out budget would 411 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,360 Speaker 1: typically have slimmed Like for most people, that's an easy 412 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: thing to cut because there's no place to go out 413 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,200 Speaker 1: to eat. We're trying to kind of redirect that money 414 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: towards small businesses and getting take out because it's something 415 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,959 Speaker 1: that we feel like we can easily keep in our 416 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 1: budget because we've prioritized build up savings for a long 417 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: period of time. But if you have lost your job 418 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: and you're in a tenuous work situation, for taking bars 419 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:58,920 Speaker 1: and restaurants is so much easier right now because none 420 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: of them are open and it's far more necessary for 421 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: your budget. It's going to make a big difference in 422 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:05,959 Speaker 1: the amount that you're able to toss into your savings 423 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: to kind of pad that for a rainy day or 424 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 1: whatever comes along. That that might be difficult in the 425 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: coming weeks and months. I think for a lot of 426 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: people to figure out which of these expenses are going 427 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: to be easier than others to cut it just takes 428 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,440 Speaker 1: some reflection, you know, like you mentioned looking over your statements, 429 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: seeing where you spent your money. It's not gonna be difficult. 430 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: I think for a lot of people if they do 431 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: actually take the time and look at what they spent 432 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: their money on at the end of the month, to 433 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: look back and say like, okay, cool, what these could 434 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: I do without? You know, there's almost always some fat 435 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 1: to trim, yeah, exactly, And you know you're like, yeah, 436 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: we did that, but like I didn't really need to 437 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: do that, right. You might think, oh, yeah, I spent 438 00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:42,200 Speaker 1: some money on some winter closes because they're on sale. 439 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:44,479 Speaker 1: I'm getting a good deal because this is these are 440 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: gonna be my winter clothes for next year. But it's 441 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,080 Speaker 1: like what about your other three jackets? You know, like, 442 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: like is that something that you could have done without? Um, 443 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,239 Speaker 1: we all have different areas in our lives where if 444 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,360 Speaker 1: we just give it a little bit of time and reflection. 445 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:57,400 Speaker 1: I think typically that's the biggest problem is we don't 446 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: give ourselves enough time. We don't give our money enough time. 447 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 1: And when we do reflect on it and look at 448 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: what we're spending our money on, it's it's not too 449 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 1: difficult to see where we can trim well. I'll not no, man, 450 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: you know another area I think that we can trim 451 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:10,520 Speaker 1: back some more when we're looking over our statements, are 452 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: some of these recurring expenses that happened every single month. 453 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: I'm talking about the different memberships and subscriptions we have 454 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: right there might be some of those that you've even 455 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: forgotten about. I'm talking about gym memberships. Maybe you signed 456 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: up for some of those monthly subscription boxes and they're 457 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,400 Speaker 1: kind of piling up in the corner of the closet, 458 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 1: even Amazon Prime or Spotify, Like, are you actually taking 459 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: advantage of these services? Are you using them? One that 460 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 1: slipped under our radar Jewel Amazon Kindle Unlimited is something 461 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: that we had signed up for. We wanted to check 462 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 1: out a few books that were available through the Kindle 463 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,240 Speaker 1: Unlimited program. You know, signed up took advantage of that 464 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: free month offer, totally forgot to set up a reminder 465 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,160 Speaker 1: to cancel that junk. And so when it officially kicked 466 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: in after that free month and we got that bill, 467 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 1: I looked over to K and I was like, oh, 468 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,000 Speaker 1: they got us. There's nothing worse than that, getting the 469 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: free trial and then forgetting to discontinue. Oh man, yeah, 470 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: I hate it. I I'm normally so good about it, 471 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: like we we put a counter reminder and I'll even 472 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: set the alert and everything. But for whatever reason, totally 473 00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: forgot to do that. When it came to Kindle unlimited. 474 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:06,199 Speaker 1: And I love my Kindle, by the way, but there 475 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: are lots of free options from our libraries. I don't 476 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: I don't really have a need for it just wasn't 477 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: worth it in our opinion. Another thing, too, is let's 478 00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:14,400 Speaker 1: talk about cutting the chord. Most of you out there 479 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,480 Speaker 1: have done this. You have cut the chord because you 480 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: listen to the podcast, right. Uh, we appreciate that, But 481 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: maybe you've gotten a little too subscription heavy with the 482 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: different entertainment streaming services. You know, they add up over time. 483 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: You've got more time to watch TV now, but soaking 484 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: up free content maybe via the Roku channel or Pluto 485 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: even maybe Sonny Crackle. That all makes more sense than 486 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: another monthly expense or you know, we just I just 487 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,239 Speaker 1: mentioned the library. Forget watching TV, Like, think about all 488 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 1: the amazing books that you could read, and how you 489 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,399 Speaker 1: could be growing yourself, planting these seeds for new ideas, 490 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:48,520 Speaker 1: and how you can you know, start a new side hustle, 491 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: start a new business once we all emerge from this 492 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,439 Speaker 1: crazy health crisis we're in. Yeah, and Matt, there's Canopy too, 493 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: which is uh, the streaming service from the library, like 494 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,720 Speaker 1: some libraries have it. We don't hear bummer, but I've 495 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 1: heard it's great, and that's free for people with the 496 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,680 Speaker 1: library card, especially for those who are part of larger 497 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:08,879 Speaker 1: library systems. Like somebody mentioned how they could sign up 498 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: for the Boston Library System even though they live on 499 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: the outskirts of Boston, like they're not technically within the 500 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,199 Speaker 1: city limits, but because they live in the state, they 501 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 1: can still sign up online and be a member of 502 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: the Boston Library System and they get access that way. 503 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: Nice little hack that's clutch. And when your favorite show 504 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 1: new season comes out, you know, sign up for Netflix. 505 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,680 Speaker 1: When Stranger Things season four comes out, and then ditch 506 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 1: it once you've mentioned it, right, because if that's really 507 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,119 Speaker 1: the only reason you've signed up for that service, then 508 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,040 Speaker 1: take advantage of it for a little while and then 509 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: say goodbye during maybe some of the other months of 510 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: the year. I think that can also be a way 511 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,439 Speaker 1: to lower the overall amount that you're putting towards streaming services. 512 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,439 Speaker 1: And have you heard of this, uh like this German 513 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,880 Speaker 1: equivalent to Stranger Things. I think it's called dark Matter 514 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: or something like that. Have you heard of that. It's 515 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: supposed to be good. Yeah, I think so, it's but 516 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 1: it's it's supposed to be really similar to two Stranger Things. 517 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: And so you know, if there's any fellow fans of 518 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,680 Speaker 1: Stranger Things out there, I want to check that out, 519 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:02,119 Speaker 1: all right, All right, good, So now I'll check that 520 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: one out. Yeah. I'll put a quick little link in 521 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 1: our show notes for folks interested. Cool. Cool, Yeah. And 522 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: I think another thing that people should really consider is 523 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,160 Speaker 1: is shopping services that they've never ever shopped before. It's 524 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 1: not on people's normal to do list to shop their 525 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,920 Speaker 1: cell phone bill. Most people just you don't think about it. 526 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: You've kind of been with the same provider for probably 527 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: years and years and years, and you you haven't really 528 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,400 Speaker 1: thought twice about jumping over to somebody else. So Matt, 529 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:30,119 Speaker 1: we of course we like Mint Invisible. Those are two 530 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: of our favorite low cost providers. There are, of course 531 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,199 Speaker 1: other great ones to t Mobile is also offering kind 532 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,639 Speaker 1: of a Mint esque fifteen dollar a month plan. Right now, 533 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,399 Speaker 1: you can save over a thousand bucks a year literally 534 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: just by changing yourself provider. So yeah, we would encourage 535 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: you to make that one of the main priorties as well. 536 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: Like anytime you can save thirty forty fifty bucks a 537 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,200 Speaker 1: month in one fell swoop by making one change, that 538 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 1: that's like pure budget savings gold right there. Yeah, what's 539 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 1: so amazing about these recurring expenses man? And that this 540 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 1: is why reducing expenses is so powerful because it's almost 541 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: like a pay raise if you think about it, because 542 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: if you can stick with it, this is something that 543 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 1: you get to realize every single month for the rest 544 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: of your life. You know, like you really can't think 545 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: of it like a pay bump, except you don't have 546 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: to pay taxes on it, you know, like when you 547 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:16,639 Speaker 1: get a pay raise, some of that gets taken away 548 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,159 Speaker 1: via taxes. When you cut your expenses, you get to 549 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 1: keep every single dollar that and I think that's one 550 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: of the things that makes cutting back on expenses so powerful. True. Yeah, 551 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: And Matt, I think you know, another kind of line 552 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: out of in the budget is family fun, Like where 553 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,439 Speaker 1: can we cut back in that way but not lose 554 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: the elements that actually matter of having fun with your family. So, 555 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,680 Speaker 1: like my neighbors recently, we're playing charades across the street 556 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: from each other because you can't really get close to 557 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:45,680 Speaker 1: one another right now. So they're awesome. Yeah, they're literally 558 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 1: on other they're literally on opposite sides of the street 559 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,479 Speaker 1: that I live on, going back and forth doing their 560 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,120 Speaker 1: goofy gestures and a seeing if they can and seeing 561 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: if the other family can guess, you know what what 562 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: they're being. It looked like they were having just a 563 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: total blast. And there's some any ways that we can 564 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: think of to reduce the entertainment costs for our family, 565 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,840 Speaker 1: especially in this time. You know, bike rides are a 566 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:08,400 Speaker 1: plenty in our household right now. I'm having so much 567 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,240 Speaker 1: fun with my six year old Selma riding all the time. 568 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: That's all she wants to do right now, and it's 569 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: just a blast. Yeah, several weeks ago that we mentioned 570 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: getting that bike for Clover and you guys got one 571 00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: as well, And I'm dude, it's so fun seeing our 572 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: all of our kids basically now all these bikes zipping around. Uh, 573 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: but I totally agree. We love biking. It's one of 574 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,400 Speaker 1: those affordable fun ways to get exercise, get outside. See 575 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: your neighbors. Man. We went on a little social distancing 576 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 1: bike ride the other the other day, separated by maybe 577 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:36,520 Speaker 1: six ft or more with some friends of ours. We 578 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 1: rode down to your house, but but you weren't there. 579 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I don't know where I was because there's 580 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,560 Speaker 1: nowhere to go right now. It's true, but yeah, we're 581 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 1: huge fans of biking, of course. Yeah, and board games 582 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: another great way to kind of keep your family occupied 583 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,119 Speaker 1: for basically no money. And we love board games, so 584 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,760 Speaker 1: we try to play. Sorry, Uh, you know, we're I'm 585 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,680 Speaker 1: hoping that that someone was about to get a ticket 586 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: to ride with me really soon. So many good, so 587 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: many good or games out there too. So yeah, anyway 588 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,680 Speaker 1: that you can lower those costs make it happen right now. Yeah, 589 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: certainly there's a lot of downsides to quarantine and that 590 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,800 Speaker 1: the situation where we're currently in Man, but you know, 591 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 1: being louder and yelling back and forth from our portraits 592 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:14,919 Speaker 1: to our neighbors. Like that's kind of like one bright upside. 593 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: It's kind of funny that that's just how life is 594 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,880 Speaker 1: right now, right, It's an odd part of our circumstances. Um. 595 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: One other thing too that we want to recommend for 596 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:25,719 Speaker 1: folks is just to resist the urge to shop online. Right, 597 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: with more free time that we have and basically unfettered 598 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: internet access with a lot of us working from home, 599 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: it's easier to peruse your favorite shopping sites, but don't 600 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,720 Speaker 1: do it. We would encourage folks to go to unrolled 601 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,119 Speaker 1: dot me, you know, find ways to remove these these temptations, 602 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,160 Speaker 1: in these distractions from even showing up in your inbox 603 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: to begin with. Yeah, maybe unfollow some of your favorite 604 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,280 Speaker 1: shopping sites on Instagram too, because you know, seeing that 605 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: pop up in your feed is definitely a temptation. Well, Joel, 606 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,240 Speaker 1: we've got a little challenge away that you can approach, 607 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:57,719 Speaker 1: you know, resisting that urge to shop. We're gonna get 608 00:25:57,720 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: to that, as well as some other practices on how 609 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 1: we can curb our spending. We'll get to those right 610 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:12,760 Speaker 1: after the break. All right, Matt, we're back from the break. 611 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: We're talking about cutting expenses in times of financial distress, 612 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: and a lot of people are finding themselves in at 613 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:22,480 Speaker 1: least a little bit of a degree of greater financial 614 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,119 Speaker 1: uncertainty at minimum, And so let's talk about some of 615 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: the practices that can make it easier for us to 616 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: cut our expenses. But the first thing I want to 617 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,920 Speaker 1: mention is to stash any cash that comes in. Yeah, 618 00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:37,720 Speaker 1: should be like a slogan. Remember the rhyme stash the cash. 619 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: You can even use a hashtag. But tax refunds or 620 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 1: stimulus money, whatever it may be, the average tax refund 621 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:46,080 Speaker 1: is more than three thousand bucks. So if you fall 622 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: into that category and you received a big tax refund 623 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:51,600 Speaker 1: this year, put it in your savings account now and 624 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: don't touch it. We would suggest that anything unexpected or 625 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,480 Speaker 1: large stimulus money included, put it in your high yield 626 00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: savings account. And if you don't have a high yield 627 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: saving these account yet, bad move. And you can go 628 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: to how to money dot com slash c I T 629 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 1: in order to sign up for one of our favorites 630 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:08,520 Speaker 1: that pays one of the highest rates in the market, 631 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: and honestly, even just a small amount of cash can 632 00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:12,520 Speaker 1: be huge at a time like this to help you 633 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,439 Speaker 1: whether an unexpected bill or give you some sure footing 634 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,720 Speaker 1: and maybe the event that your hours are cut back 635 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,199 Speaker 1: or your job is lost at least temporarily. I mean, 636 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: even with the increased unemployment benefits, you're probably not going 637 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,080 Speaker 1: to be making as much as you were at your 638 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,719 Speaker 1: job when you lost it, and so yeah, preparing now 639 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: for that unexpected and stashing the cash is crucial. Yeah, 640 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 1: wise words, buddy. When it comes to our expenses, you know, 641 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,200 Speaker 1: like we're talking about making these smaller cuts, and sometimes 642 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,440 Speaker 1: it can be hard, I think, to whittle back some 643 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: of these expenses one by one. Butts with each expense 644 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: that you pair back, you're making a meaningful difference in 645 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,160 Speaker 1: your future financial stability. You got to keep that in mind. 646 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: And the trade off for many of these cuts is 647 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,160 Speaker 1: is pretty small. Right. If you're in a really tough 648 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,479 Speaker 1: place financially, if you're currently unemployed and you don't think 649 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,080 Speaker 1: you'll be gainfully employed for a while, it might be 650 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 1: worth considering starting from the ground up and essentially rebuilding 651 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: your budget from scratch. Maybe it's become overrun with some 652 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: of these unnecessary expenses. And so if that's the case, 653 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: call everything into question and maybe create a budget that 654 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: makes more sense given your current financial situation and what 655 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,159 Speaker 1: you actually value. Start from scratch and then consider what 656 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 1: expenses do you add back? Isn't that sort of like 657 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,840 Speaker 1: the Marie Condo approach, Like when she's talking about like 658 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,359 Speaker 1: minimizing stuff in folks homes, She encourages folks to kind 659 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:30,959 Speaker 1: of get rid of everything, and then you slowly, one 660 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: by one add things back. Yeah, that right. I think 661 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: I've never watched any of her episodes. Don't know that 662 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,000 Speaker 1: sounds right, but I don't know it feels right. It 663 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: does if it sparks joy in my heart Right now, 664 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: I feel like that's such a good approach, though, because 665 00:28:42,960 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: if we start from zero and we build our budget 666 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: from there, it's so much easier to only include the 667 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 1: things that matter, Whereas it feels like a completely different 668 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: exercise if we're only trying to cut the things that 669 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: currently exist in our budget. So if we can kind 670 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: of reframe the whole idea of what sticks around and 671 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: what goes by building from the round up as opposed 672 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,720 Speaker 1: to tearing down, would already exists. I think it's gonna 673 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,720 Speaker 1: feel better for us, and it's gonna give us a 674 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,000 Speaker 1: greater ability to stick to that new budget. It's like 675 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: a positive approach instead of a negative one. Yeah, exactly, Matt. 676 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,760 Speaker 1: And another positive approach we've talked about the gamification of 677 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 1: money before, is making this process of cutting expenses kind 678 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,680 Speaker 1: of like a game. Maybe try and challenge yourself to 679 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,280 Speaker 1: a no spend month. Maybe you've been thinking about doing 680 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: that anyways, and now is the perfect opportunity to jump 681 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: started and have a whole month where you don't spend 682 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,320 Speaker 1: anything except for on the bare minimum essentials. Maybe start 683 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: mid month. Yeah, don't, don't do the whole month, you 684 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: can just do thirty days. Yeah exactly. Yeah, it doesn't 685 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: have to start on the first, right, But commit to 686 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: thirty days of eating through the food that you already have, 687 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,760 Speaker 1: and commit to only spending on housing, food, and gas 688 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: for transportation. Right, and you're you're not gonna make any 689 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: other consumer purchases anyway that you can gamify this decision 690 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: to cut your expenses is going to to make it 691 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: feel less painful, make it feel a little more fun. 692 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: And I think also we can actually help you do 693 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:00,800 Speaker 1: a better job, maybe increase the you're able to save 694 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: when you make a game out of it, as opposed 695 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: to making it kind of drudgery to to get through 696 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,080 Speaker 1: and cut things in your budget. I really do feel 697 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: this is something that a lot of us could apply 698 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 1: specifically to food and too groceries, right, Like, so many 699 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,200 Speaker 1: of us have paintrees and freezers and fridges that are 700 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: just full of food that we're like, I don't really 701 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,280 Speaker 1: want to eat that, but I guess I should. I 702 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,640 Speaker 1: guess I could. You know, and we want you to 703 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,560 Speaker 1: be healthy about what you're eating, make sure you have 704 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: a healthy diet. I guess I got to eat those 705 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: three bags of Cheetos now exactly. But that's the thing. 706 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: The cheetos are going to be the first thing to go, Like, 707 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: in all likelihood, there aren't Cheetos in your cabinet. There's 708 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 1: gonna be like beans and rice and like big beans, 709 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: like just all the sort of things that you're not 710 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: excited to eat, all the varieties of beans, but they're 711 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,680 Speaker 1: good for you. And you definitely can can maintain a 712 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: healthy diet by being creative but then just actually committing 713 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: to eating those different items that you already have. So 714 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: let's talk about debt as well. We don't want folks 715 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,880 Speaker 1: to emerge on the other side of this health crisis 716 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: with tons of consumer debt. Right We're just gonna asked 717 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: why credit cards are the best way, the best method 718 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: to spend your money, But in the same breath we 719 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 1: also mentioned how they aren't going to be the best 720 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: method for some individuals. If you'll be digging yourself into 721 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,680 Speaker 1: a bigger debt hole right now avoiding the cards in 722 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,479 Speaker 1: your wallet or your purse, that's gonna make a lot 723 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:16,840 Speaker 1: of sense for you. So try sticking to cash only 724 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: purchases or using a debit card. Even though we hate 725 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: even saying this at all, but it's gonna but it's true, 726 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: and it's to limit yourself to the money you actually 727 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,240 Speaker 1: have in your accounts. Yeah, the biggest downside to a 728 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 1: credit card is spending more than you have. There's almost 729 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,160 Speaker 1: no other downside to using a credit card. They're the 730 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 1: best way typically to pay. But if that's going to 731 00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 1: be the case, and if you're going to spend more 732 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 1: than you should, more than you reasonably can afford, then 733 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: you shouldn't be using your credit card right now. Matt, 734 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: I completely agree, and I think really, Matt, we would 735 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: say things are, of course ultimately going to get back 736 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 1: to normal. They still don't feel normal right now. Things 737 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: still feel a little surreal. But anything that we can 738 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,720 Speaker 1: do now to prevent ourselves from going into debt will 739 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:00,400 Speaker 1: pay off richly in the future. Right it's on easy. 740 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen is a worldwide issue that's affecting the health 741 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,320 Speaker 1: of our friends and loved ones. And it's hard to watch. 742 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: It's hard to see the death toll rising. It's hard 743 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 1: to see the number of people that have caught the 744 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,480 Speaker 1: virus rising. And so it's really our job to to 745 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 1: help you and empower you know how to handle your 746 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,200 Speaker 1: money well. So we'll keep doing our best three times 747 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 1: a week with our show, and it's our goal to 748 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: bring helpful information to help you avoid a debt hangover. 749 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: After all of this is said and done, so we 750 00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: can get out of this physically and fiscally healthy. Then 751 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: you know what, Matt, I think you and I will 752 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: be too happy money nerds. What do you think, totally man, Yeah, 753 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 1: we want our listeners to not only survive, but thrive, 754 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: and I think they are, like we've said before, in 755 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,200 Speaker 1: the best position to do so. Even though we're in 756 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: trying economic times right now. Yeah, so keep these tips 757 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: in mind whether you are in a tough financial situation 758 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: currently or you know you might be in that position 759 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 1: down the road. These are all changes that we can 760 00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:53,440 Speaker 1: make starting now. Yeah for sure. All right, let's get 761 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: back to the beer that we had on the show today. 762 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: The beer was called Mr Blue two thousand nineteen Edition 763 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: by Tool Brewing. Uh. This was sent to us by 764 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: listener Jeremy from North Carolina. So, Matt, what was your 765 00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: take on this? Speer Man? Is this Imperial black current stout? Yeah? Well, 766 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: first I want to talk. I want to start with 767 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: the label because, uh, it's called Mr Blue Edition, but 768 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,200 Speaker 1: on the can it says C M y K. But 769 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,840 Speaker 1: it's like C colon ninety M, colon sixty Y colon 770 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,880 Speaker 1: zero K, colon four. Do you know what that is? 771 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,320 Speaker 1: I'm sure you looked it up. Well, I actually didn't 772 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: need to look it up because I used to be 773 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,840 Speaker 1: a graphic designer. Does she give you a little hints 774 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: to seem why? K is the like the term when 775 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: it comes to the ink that printers use, so scion, magenta, 776 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: yellow and black back. I think I've seen that before 777 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: when I'm digging around my printer settings, there you go exactly. Yeah, 778 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,720 Speaker 1: computer screens use r GB color um tip to create colors, 779 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: but when it comes to printing, they use these four 780 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,640 Speaker 1: different colors to print basically every single color that exists. 781 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: So somebody really nerdy made the beer. Yeah, basically, um, 782 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,719 Speaker 1: and I assume that this makes a really cool blue. Essentially, 783 00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: it's like a recipe, so like the C nine M sixty, 784 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:01,520 Speaker 1: like this is a rest to be to a specific color, 785 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: and so this beer color that's around the top of 786 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,280 Speaker 1: the camp and guessing, So it's something like that. Because 787 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: the beer is called Mr Blue Addition, So I assume 788 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,800 Speaker 1: it makes a really cool, unique blue. But it's technically 789 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: not the name of the beer, but it's on the 790 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: label written like gigantic. It looks like that's the name 791 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:16,720 Speaker 1: of the bee. Yeah, so I figured it was worth mentioning. 792 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:18,359 Speaker 1: So yeah, when I saw that label, I totally nerded 793 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,239 Speaker 1: out when I saw that thing back ten years back 794 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: to my graphic design days. But when we pour this beer, 795 00:34:23,400 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 1: it poured as one of the most unique colors that 796 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:28,560 Speaker 1: I feel like I've ever seen in a glass. It 797 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:31,200 Speaker 1: was almost black, but it had these undertones of like 798 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: red and purple that you almost couldn't see unless you 799 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:36,040 Speaker 1: like swirled the glass a little bit, you know. Uh, 800 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: super dark and rich. Kind of reminded me of like 801 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: this dark it's kind of jewel almost, but as far 802 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,279 Speaker 1: as the flavor goes, dude, it completely punches you in 803 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 1: the taste buds with this strong black current flavor. That 804 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,399 Speaker 1: flavor was really pronounced, but it also had these dark, 805 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: earthy notes, almost like bitter coffee, like like black coffee almost. 806 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:57,279 Speaker 1: Because the flavor was so intense, it almost reminded me 807 00:34:57,320 --> 00:35:00,120 Speaker 1: of like espresso, but without the super coffee flavor or 808 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: it just kind of had that character, you know. So 809 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: I had that touch of that bitterness, and it almost 810 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:05,200 Speaker 1: had a little bit of earthiness going on to like 811 00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,480 Speaker 1: a Russian imperial stout. I'm completely on board with the 812 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,000 Speaker 1: fact that they're calling this an imperial because it totally 813 00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 1: reminds me of a Russian imperial where it does have 814 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:17,120 Speaker 1: like that earthy body to it. Yeah. Man, this was delicious. 815 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,040 Speaker 1: It was a stout that had some tartness going on, 816 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 1: which is a rare combo. But I feel like this 817 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:25,320 Speaker 1: was expertly pulled off because that isn't something that you 818 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 1: normally get to experience a stout that has kind of 819 00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:30,120 Speaker 1: these tart, fruity flavors going on. And it had this 820 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,200 Speaker 1: like slight purple hue when you poured it out of 821 00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: the can that I think black Current is just such 822 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,120 Speaker 1: this interesting flavor. It's kind of unique, and I don't 823 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,200 Speaker 1: think I've ever had a black Current on its own. 824 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:41,200 Speaker 1: I'd be interested to try that, but it feels like 825 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 1: it's this uniquely powerful flavor, and it really did overwhelm 826 00:35:45,040 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: the beer, but in a good way. So yeah, I 827 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,000 Speaker 1: thought I thought it went really well inside of the stout. 828 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,360 Speaker 1: And you could tell that the brewer not only do 829 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:53,959 Speaker 1: they have an understanding of the perfect shade of blue, 830 00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 1: but they also realized what a good stout with black 831 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 1: Current was gonna taste like, because they crushed it on 832 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: this one. I couldn't agree more. And yeah, so thanks 833 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:03,160 Speaker 1: again to Jeremy for sending this one our away. And Joel, 834 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,360 Speaker 1: you know why, one of these days you and I 835 00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 1: maybe our families too. We'll see, but we're gonna get 836 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:09,200 Speaker 1: up to some of those Scandinavian countries because they've got 837 00:36:09,239 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 1: some good beer going on there as well. Buddy. Yeah, man, 838 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:13,880 Speaker 1: we Emily and I've gotten to experience some in Norway, 839 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:15,719 Speaker 1: which is, you know, my home country. But I want 840 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:18,040 Speaker 1: to hit up all the Scandinamian countries their motherland. Cool 841 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,359 Speaker 1: stuff going on there, and especially in Denmark. Man, all 842 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 1: the biking. We'd love that they're specifically in Copenhagen's which 843 00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:25,759 Speaker 1: is like the biking capital of the world. Slam dunk 844 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:27,840 Speaker 1: for sure. Yeah, alright, man, Well, that's gonna be it 845 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,080 Speaker 1: for this episode. If listeners are looking for some of 846 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:31,920 Speaker 1: the links some of the other helpful things that we 847 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,760 Speaker 1: mentioned in this episode, you can go to our website 848 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 1: at how to money dot com, where you can find 849 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 1: our show notes. Yeah, and don't forget to tell a 850 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,800 Speaker 1: friend about the show, because that's the quickest way to 851 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,080 Speaker 1: spread the word about how to handle your money. Well, 852 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: all right, Matt, that's going to be it for this episode. 853 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:46,680 Speaker 1: Until next time. Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out.