1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,880
Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.

2
00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:25,079
Speaker 1: Today we are answering your listener questions. That's right, Joel.

3
00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,440
Speaker 1: It's Monday, and you know that means that there is

4
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,080
Speaker 1: a chance that we're either going to answer listener questions

5
00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,680
Speaker 1: or we might have an amazing guest on and today

6
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,120
Speaker 1: the guests we're having on our our listeners, who have

7
00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,960
Speaker 1: who have questions? You just confused everybody out there or

8
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,760
Speaker 1: answering listener questions? Confused myself? What are we doing today? So,

9
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:44,600
Speaker 1: for instance, we're gonna cover whether or not we feel

10
00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:46,559
Speaker 1: that I d theft insurance if it's worth it. We're

11
00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,159
Speaker 1: gonna talk about what to do about your car insurance

12
00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,879
Speaker 1: if you have a kid who rarely drives, right if

13
00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,880
Speaker 1: they're off at college. And we're gonna talk about checkbooks,

14
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:59,160
Speaker 1: what our thoughts are on if you still use a checkbook. Yeah,

15
00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,960
Speaker 1: that's a good question to cover today, Matt. But before

16
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,759
Speaker 1: we get to our listener questions, let's talk about gift

17
00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,520
Speaker 1: cards because a lot of people, right it's early February,

18
00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,399
Speaker 1: a lot of people though have gift cards that they

19
00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:11,920
Speaker 1: got for Christmas that they haven't used yet, and maybe

20
00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,040
Speaker 1: they're already laying around in a drysale. Where is that

21
00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,720
Speaker 1: outback steakhouse gift card? Exactly where did they even put

22
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,080
Speaker 1: that thing? And onion? Right, I should probably be using

23
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,440
Speaker 1: it for the Bluemen onion or whatever, you know. But

24
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,679
Speaker 1: but gift cards go unused so much of the time.

25
00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:27,520
Speaker 1: So I think it's just a good reminder that we

26
00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:30,240
Speaker 1: want to put out there for folks to find them.

27
00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:32,760
Speaker 1: Put them all in one place, rifle through them, and

28
00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:34,720
Speaker 1: start taking advantage of the gift cards that they have.

29
00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:36,959
Speaker 1: And they're not gonna expire in all likelihood they use

30
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,480
Speaker 1: of them, won't. Yeah that they used some of them

31
00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:40,200
Speaker 1: might some of them will. I think there was a

32
00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:43,520
Speaker 1: federal regulation that was put into the required retailers to

33
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,839
Speaker 1: have an expiration date that was at least five years

34
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,040
Speaker 1: from the point where it was sold. Yeah, so that's good,

35
00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:52,120
Speaker 1: that's helpful. But even then, man, we just lose them,

36
00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,080
Speaker 1: We misplace them. The gift cards are one of those

37
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,480
Speaker 1: things that we just have a hard time holding onto. Yeah. Personally,

38
00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:58,600
Speaker 1: I think, well, before I tell you what I think,

39
00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 1: what do you think about gift cards? Well, I think

40
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,720
Speaker 1: I understand why people give them. It feels like it's

41
00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,920
Speaker 1: a thoughtful gift, but for the most part, it's a

42
00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:10,360
Speaker 1: very thinly veiled cash gift. Yeah exactly, exactly, and like

43
00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:12,680
Speaker 1: and cash is just such a better thing to get, right,

44
00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,640
Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. Man, I think gift cards are dumb, like,

45
00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:17,760
Speaker 1: like honestly, and I think there are a lot of

46
00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,320
Speaker 1: folks who agree with me. Because there is an entire

47
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,840
Speaker 1: ecosystem of websites where you can go and unload your

48
00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,560
Speaker 1: gift card. A lot of people are looking to convert

49
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,960
Speaker 1: their gift cards into cash because cash is universal, and

50
00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,799
Speaker 1: so I am one who believes that I would much

51
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,359
Speaker 1: rather have cash than a gift card. To gift cards,

52
00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,959
Speaker 1: there's just so much hassle involved. I will say, if

53
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:39,560
Speaker 1: someone gives me a gift card or maybe a gift

54
00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,040
Speaker 1: certificate to someplace that I frequent, that is a thoughtful gift,

55
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,120
Speaker 1: right if they know that this is someplace you enjoy,

56
00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:46,920
Speaker 1: you know, we know that you're like going to the

57
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,640
Speaker 1: store something like that. Even then, man, sometimes I forget

58
00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:51,440
Speaker 1: to bring it along, like you though. Okay, Emily and

59
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:52,880
Speaker 1: I went to a restaurant the other night, and then

60
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:54,760
Speaker 1: we just came back and we looked at our gift cards,

61
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:56,920
Speaker 1: which is what made me think of this, like, we

62
00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,519
Speaker 1: have a gift card at that place and we forgot

63
00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,840
Speaker 1: to bring it. And so basically all of our date

64
00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:03,120
Speaker 1: nights for the next three months are going to revolve

65
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,000
Speaker 1: around where we have gift cards. You're gonna burn through

66
00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,680
Speaker 1: that bag you card, We're gonna try to burn through

67
00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,080
Speaker 1: all of it, man, because it starts to get out

68
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,560
Speaker 1: of hand, it gets ridiculous. It's a little zip block there. Yeah. Yeah,

69
00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:14,400
Speaker 1: But if you do want to sell a gift card,

70
00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,600
Speaker 1: card Pool is a good website. Gift card Granny is

71
00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:18,760
Speaker 1: another website. Will link to those in the sher notes.

72
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,399
Speaker 1: But those are good places to sell your unwanted gift

73
00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,840
Speaker 1: cards and get some cash. And also too, if there

74
00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,040
Speaker 1: is a place that you frequent matt and you basically

75
00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,320
Speaker 1: want to get an automatic discount on everything you buy there,

76
00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 1: you can buy gift cards from those sites. Yes, so

77
00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:32,160
Speaker 1: if you can get your gift cards at a discount,

78
00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:34,680
Speaker 1: I think that's another good reason that makes gift cards

79
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:37,880
Speaker 1: a worthwhile. By like one of our favorite restaurants, Yeah,

80
00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:39,720
Speaker 1: I thought you were going to talk about that. Every

81
00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:41,800
Speaker 1: December you can get three hundred bucks worth of gift

82
00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,119
Speaker 1: cards for two hundred dollars. That is a good deal. Yeah,

83
00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,760
Speaker 1: and so we use it throughout the year, and that's

84
00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,200
Speaker 1: just a place that we know we're gonna go often,

85
00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,160
Speaker 1: and we always use a gift card when we go

86
00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,960
Speaker 1: because we get the sweet deal off, like off the bat. Yeah. Well,

87
00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:56,480
Speaker 1: there's an article that you and I were both reading

88
00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:58,840
Speaker 1: that was talking about gift cards and just basically the

89
00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,160
Speaker 1: business and the economics by hind gift cards and how

90
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,120
Speaker 1: retailers benefit. And dude, one of the most interesting little

91
00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,120
Speaker 1: facts in there was the that stood out to me

92
00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,400
Speaker 1: at least, was that consumers are two and a half

93
00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,720
Speaker 1: more times likely to pay full price when they're using

94
00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,880
Speaker 1: a gift card for something versus if they're using their

95
00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,200
Speaker 1: own hard earned cash. And so what that tells me

96
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,120
Speaker 1: is that folks are just less price conscious when they're

97
00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,120
Speaker 1: using a gift card versus using their cash. And what

98
00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,720
Speaker 1: that also tells me is that people value convenience because

99
00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:26,799
Speaker 1: what they're doing then is they're not looking for the deals.

100
00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:28,520
Speaker 1: They just see something, they buy it, or they go

101
00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,760
Speaker 1: to the store, they're gonna pay full price. They value

102
00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,920
Speaker 1: the convenience to not have to look for a deal.

103
00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:35,360
Speaker 1: And so on that note, what is the most convenient

104
00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,599
Speaker 1: currency that you can always have cash, not a gift card. Cash,

105
00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,640
Speaker 1: My friend. It is amazing that we've been convinced to

106
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,480
Speaker 1: turn something that, let's say is worth fifty or a

107
00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,640
Speaker 1: hundred dollars that you can spend anywhere in the entire

108
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,479
Speaker 1: world basically that you want to and say, you know what,

109
00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,480
Speaker 1: I'm gonna trade this in for the ability to spend

110
00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:55,520
Speaker 1: only at one place, like literally one store, one company,

111
00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,640
Speaker 1: and I'm only going to do the business with them

112
00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,360
Speaker 1: with this money. I mean it, really, it is kind

113
00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,520
Speaker 1: of silly when you think about it. Yeah, So I

114
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,719
Speaker 1: bet there's creative ways to give cash. Maybe in the

115
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:05,760
Speaker 1: future we should think about creative ways to give cash

116
00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,719
Speaker 1: instead of gifting gift cards. And we should think about

117
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,400
Speaker 1: using the gift cards we've been given because we don't

118
00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,839
Speaker 1: want those just sitting around in our drawers and we

119
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,800
Speaker 1: want to get our money's worth out of them. Yeah. Man,

120
00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,000
Speaker 1: just like you and Emily getting organized and scheduling your

121
00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,280
Speaker 1: your date nights around all these gift cards. I think

122
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,240
Speaker 1: that's really smart. Our date nights are basically gonna be

123
00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:24,000
Speaker 1: free for the next three months. Man, that's pretty sweet.

124
00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,400
Speaker 1: It canna be great all right, this episode, we are

125
00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:29,160
Speaker 1: having a beer. Did you know that we typically do

126
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:31,480
Speaker 1: and it's one of my favorite parts of the show. Yeah.

127
00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,240
Speaker 1: This beer is called aggress Stick, which is an American

128
00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,559
Speaker 1: wild red ale and this is from Firestone Walker Brewing

129
00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,480
Speaker 1: Company out in California. This is another beer that was

130
00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,840
Speaker 1: donated to the show by our friend Josh Man. We're

131
00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,320
Speaker 1: having two weeks of beers on him. Well, you can

132
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,360
Speaker 1: tell the level of friendship that we have with him

133
00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:49,920
Speaker 1: based on the number of beers were featuring. Yeah, he's

134
00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 1: I've been friends with Josh for a long long time.

135
00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,960
Speaker 1: So big thanks to my good friend for sending us

136
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,400
Speaker 1: some of his favorite California beers and my new friend Josh. Yeah,

137
00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,400
Speaker 1: you guys have been it for a few years. Yeah. Absolutely.

138
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,400
Speaker 1: But that being said, we have lots of great friends

139
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:05,840
Speaker 1: who don't give us beer, yes, and that's totally cool.

140
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,400
Speaker 1: Friendship is not contingent on donation of beer. Love craft beer. Yeah, no,

141
00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,360
Speaker 1: all right, ma, let's get onto the listener questions. We

142
00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:13,400
Speaker 1: got some good ones that we want to get to today,

143
00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,479
Speaker 1: and for everybody out there listening, if they want to

144
00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,960
Speaker 1: submit a question to be featured on a future Ask

145
00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,720
Speaker 1: htm episode, well, we'd love to have it. Just go

146
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,479
Speaker 1: to how to money dot com slash ask. The directions

147
00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,719
Speaker 1: for submitting your voice question are incredibly simple and it'll

148
00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:28,520
Speaker 1: take you just a few minutes, and then Matt and

149
00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:30,719
Speaker 1: I will hopefully answer it in the near future. But

150
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:33,440
Speaker 1: let's get to the first question of this episode, and

151
00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,960
Speaker 1: it's about still using a checkbook. Hey, guys, this is

152
00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,400
Speaker 1: Matt from Tampa. I still balance a checkbook every month

153
00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:43,440
Speaker 1: when my bank statement is emailed to me. Last week,

154
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:46,200
Speaker 1: I was depositing a reimbursement check from work through my

155
00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,680
Speaker 1: banks app on my phone. Once it cleared, I wrote

156
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,120
Speaker 1: the deposit in my check book. When it dawned on

157
00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:55,120
Speaker 1: me as I looked at the balance of my checking

158
00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,159
Speaker 1: account and all the transactions on my phone. Do I

159
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:01,520
Speaker 1: need to keep a checkbook? I rarely write checks anymore,

160
00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,360
Speaker 1: and like I said, all the information from my account

161
00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,039
Speaker 1: is accessible on my phone, protected with facial recognition. Of course,

162
00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:10,640
Speaker 1: at this point, I think it's just have it because

163
00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:12,880
Speaker 1: my mom told me it was something I'm supposed to do.

164
00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,760
Speaker 1: What do you guys think Is balancing a check book

165
00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,040
Speaker 1: still necessary today? Or is my sister right again for

166
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,119
Speaker 1: calling me the youngest old man on the planet. Thanks

167
00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,280
Speaker 1: for all your advice on the podcast this year. It's

168
00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:26,040
Speaker 1: really given me the push I needed to get my

169
00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,840
Speaker 1: finances in order for now and in the future. All Right, Matt,

170
00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:31,880
Speaker 1: thanks so much for the question. And well, guess what,

171
00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,840
Speaker 1: your sister is right, you are the youngest old man.

172
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,760
Speaker 1: But your mom's also right when she said that this

173
00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,320
Speaker 1: is something that you need to be doing. She's right though,

174
00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: twenty years ago. And we're going to dive into the history, right, Like,

175
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,520
Speaker 1: what was the original purpose of having that check book?

176
00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:49,800
Speaker 1: You know, that sheet where you could write out your transaction.

177
00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,640
Speaker 1: But Matt, back in the day before folks had instant

178
00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,400
Speaker 1: access to the transactions in their checking accounts the apps

179
00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,880
Speaker 1: and online banking, they had to wait until their monthly

180
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,120
Speaker 1: statements that were out to them to see how much

181
00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,400
Speaker 1: money that they had left in the bank. Right, And

182
00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,360
Speaker 1: so if you wanted to write a check and make

183
00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,640
Speaker 1: sure that it didn't bounce, you needed to have a

184
00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,960
Speaker 1: running record of all of your deposits and all of

185
00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,320
Speaker 1: your withdrawals or your checks. So keeping up with your

186
00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,520
Speaker 1: checkbook ledger that was really important in order to have

187
00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,040
Speaker 1: that latest up to date information. Yeah, but you can

188
00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,680
Speaker 1: get that up to date latest information at the touch

189
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,840
Speaker 1: of your fingertip right now. I mean Matt mentioned that

190
00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,600
Speaker 1: through apps on your phone, So these days, keeping that

191
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,320
Speaker 1: Ledger updated is really a redundancy since you can just

192
00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,000
Speaker 1: use your phone and immediately see how much money is

193
00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,360
Speaker 1: in your account. And hopefully most of us are using

194
00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,000
Speaker 1: credit cards instead of checks, and we're using them responsibly

195
00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,160
Speaker 1: because they offer additional benefits and protections. Matt, we talked

196
00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:42,240
Speaker 1: about that recently on the show. Yeah, and we've actually

197
00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,880
Speaker 1: got some great articles on the site regarding credit cards

198
00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:46,720
Speaker 1: and how we would recommend for folks to use them.

199
00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:49,000
Speaker 1: Be sure to check those out in the show notes. Yeah,

200
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000
Speaker 1: but basically it's best to go with another method of

201
00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,360
Speaker 1: tracking your expenses and not your checkbook. Ledger and Mint

202
00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,439
Speaker 1: or wine ab or using just even an Excel spreadsheet

203
00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:01,599
Speaker 1: are our favorite ways to go about aggregating that information

204
00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:05,600
Speaker 1: your incoming, your outgoing from bank accounts and credit cards. Yeah,

205
00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,360
Speaker 1: those are great apps, And Joel, I appreciate the nod

206
00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,839
Speaker 1: to Excel because you know, that's how I roll. I'm

207
00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:12,640
Speaker 1: old school like Matt as well, and I like to

208
00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:14,760
Speaker 1: rock the Excel, so I gotta keep the nerds in mind.

209
00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,480
Speaker 1: Like my best buddy, I appreciate that. And so whether

210
00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,360
Speaker 1: you're using a more automated app like mints or like

211
00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,559
Speaker 1: y an app, or if you're manually reconciling your statements

212
00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:26,120
Speaker 1: and Excel or even Google sheets, you still want to

213
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,400
Speaker 1: check your statements against your receipts, against your actual deposits,

214
00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,760
Speaker 1: your withdrawals, and your payments. And the reason for this

215
00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:34,760
Speaker 1: is because you want to keep an eye out for errors,

216
00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:37,600
Speaker 1: their errors sometimes that the banks make. Sometimes there are

217
00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,280
Speaker 1: errors that merchants will make. Sometimes they you know, they'll

218
00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:41,960
Speaker 1: double dip your credit card and so you'll get that

219
00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,280
Speaker 1: identical charge and it won't always be noticed by your

220
00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,800
Speaker 1: credit card company. But more often than not, it's errors

221
00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:49,040
Speaker 1: that we make, and so being able to to check

222
00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,079
Speaker 1: that and to keep an eye on our spending, well,

223
00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,920
Speaker 1: that's a great reason to look at the statements. And

224
00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,640
Speaker 1: also when you're looking at how you've recently spent your money,

225
00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:59,440
Speaker 1: it's easier to to course correct if you are spending

226
00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:01,120
Speaker 1: too much. You can look at what you're spending your

227
00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,800
Speaker 1: money on and ask yourself, does this get me closer

228
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,320
Speaker 1: to the financial goals that I've set for myself? Juel

229
00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,000
Speaker 1: recently on automating your finances. That's one of the downsides

230
00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:11,840
Speaker 1: that we had listed out for automating your money. If

231
00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:14,360
Speaker 1: you are not looking at what you're spending your money on,

232
00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:17,240
Speaker 1: what's hard to recognize poor spending behavior and some of

233
00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,600
Speaker 1: the bad habits that we can subtly develop over time. Yeah,

234
00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,600
Speaker 1: for sure. And I think another big thing that Matt

235
00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:26,680
Speaker 1: needs to consider when he's deciding whether or not to

236
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,000
Speaker 1: ditch the check book and stop carrying it around with

237
00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,319
Speaker 1: him is the security factor. That's like a really important thing.

238
00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,400
Speaker 1: Matt mentioned that the info on his phone is actually

239
00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:39,080
Speaker 1: safer than the check book, and he's right because facial recognition, right,

240
00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,000
Speaker 1: facial recognition, fingerprints, you know, special zigzag codes that you

241
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:44,439
Speaker 1: can create, Like, there are all these ways that you

242
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,480
Speaker 1: can lock down your phone and prevent people from opening

243
00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,600
Speaker 1: it and logging into your accounts. But if you drop

244
00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,920
Speaker 1: your check book, or somebody you know reaches into a

245
00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,680
Speaker 1: purse or handbag or backpack and they grab your check book,

246
00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,400
Speaker 1: well they've got access to your routing number and your

247
00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,920
Speaker 1: account number, and they could also go around writing checks

248
00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,200
Speaker 1: if they were you. I'm pretty nervous to carry her

249
00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:03,920
Speaker 1: on a checkbook. I have one, but I keep it

250
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,800
Speaker 1: at home because I honestly never really need to write checks.

251
00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,840
Speaker 1: But I understand that Matt's doing it for the ledger purpose.

252
00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,160
Speaker 1: But instead, I think one other thing to do is

253
00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:14,520
Speaker 1: to hold onto the receipts from purchases that you've made.

254
00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,240
Speaker 1: And two, when you get home, have some sort of

255
00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:19,720
Speaker 1: a ledger that you keep and right in that if

256
00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:21,600
Speaker 1: it's important for you to write those things down, and

257
00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,040
Speaker 1: I know that it can be for some people. Mindy,

258
00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:25,640
Speaker 1: one of our friends that we had recently on the

259
00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,040
Speaker 1: podcast Matt, she didn't mention it in that episode, we

260
00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,160
Speaker 1: didn't talk about it, but she has a ledger that

261
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,880
Speaker 1: she keeps on her kitchen counter, and so what she

262
00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,040
Speaker 1: does she hangs onto her receipts from the purchases that

263
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,960
Speaker 1: she's made that day, whether if she went out to

264
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,520
Speaker 1: eat or something like that, or bought something for herself.

265
00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,360
Speaker 1: I mean, she writes those by hand into a ledger,

266
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,560
Speaker 1: and for her that's what feels best. So I think

267
00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,480
Speaker 1: if that is important to keep something physical in handwritten,

268
00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:50,960
Speaker 1: you can do that. But carrying your checkbook around with

269
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,320
Speaker 1: you just poses too much of a security threat. I'd

270
00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,280
Speaker 1: be very nervous to do that. Yeah, and I'll say

271
00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,640
Speaker 1: something else too is Another argument for having an emergency

272
00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:02,640
Speaker 1: fund is not having to constantly check your balances, whether

273
00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:04,360
Speaker 1: it be in your checking account or even on your

274
00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:06,199
Speaker 1: credit card. Right, Like, if you are spending so much

275
00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,080
Speaker 1: that you're right up to that limit, that's not the

276
00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:09,240
Speaker 1: kind of place you want to be in when it

277
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,840
Speaker 1: comes to your checking account. If you are riding the

278
00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,000
Speaker 1: line so close that you may not have enough money

279
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,240
Speaker 1: to to swipe your check card, well, that's not the

280
00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,280
Speaker 1: position you want to be in. And so having an

281
00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:21,480
Speaker 1: emergency fund, having some margin built into your checking account

282
00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,400
Speaker 1: can alleviate a lot of that stress of having your

283
00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,120
Speaker 1: card declined. Yeah, that means you can reconcile your accounts

284
00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:28,680
Speaker 1: once a month. You don't need to do it every

285
00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,280
Speaker 1: single day, right exactly, something that can just be out

286
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,120
Speaker 1: of your normal flow of how you handle your finances.

287
00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,160
Speaker 1: You really only have to think about it once a month.

288
00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:37,920
Speaker 1: And one of the recommendation we would have for you

289
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,040
Speaker 1: to check out the app dollar Bird if you love

290
00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,320
Speaker 1: that feeling of manually updating what you're spending and seeing

291
00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,360
Speaker 1: it in real time. I mean, I think dollar bird

292
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,520
Speaker 1: can provide some of those benefits it's a really cool

293
00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:50,440
Speaker 1: app that allows you to input those expenses as you

294
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:52,640
Speaker 1: make them, and it's also just a good bit safer

295
00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:54,280
Speaker 1: than carrying that check book around with you all the time.

296
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,600
Speaker 1: It's a good way to update that practice, that habit

297
00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,079
Speaker 1: into an app that's really easy to use. So we've

298
00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:00,599
Speaker 1: got a couple more questions that we're gonna get to

299
00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:02,520
Speaker 1: you after the break. We're gonna talk about car insurance,

300
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:04,280
Speaker 1: and we're also going to take a question from someone

301
00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:07,560
Speaker 1: who's considering buying a primary home or maybe buying an

302
00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:19,599
Speaker 1: investment property instead. All right, Matt, we're back to the

303
00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,280
Speaker 1: break and let's get to our next question. It involves

304
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,000
Speaker 1: paying a lot of money for something you're not receiving

305
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,280
Speaker 1: a lot of benefit from. I, Madam j All, my

306
00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,679
Speaker 1: name is Kim and I'm from Minnesota. I have a

307
00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:34,760
Speaker 1: car insurance question. I have two college aged daughters who

308
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,800
Speaker 1: live about thirty minutes from home. They both share a

309
00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:41,679
Speaker 1: vehicle which stays at home and they do not have

310
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,520
Speaker 1: at school. One daughter comes home about one to two

311
00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:50,680
Speaker 1: days every month or two, so very limited when she

312
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,600
Speaker 1: is home she will drive. The other daughter almost never

313
00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,880
Speaker 1: comes home. I wanted to find out from my insurance

314
00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,000
Speaker 1: if there was a discount due to their very limited

315
00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,640
Speaker 1: amount of driving. Now, there was nothing they could offer

316
00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,400
Speaker 1: me because they went to school too close to our home.

317
00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,680
Speaker 1: My question is, are there any other options for me

318
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,440
Speaker 1: other than totally canceling their coverage and maybe only getting

319
00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,480
Speaker 1: it during the summer time. That would maybe work. I

320
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,920
Speaker 1: could probably make my car available in most instances for

321
00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,520
Speaker 1: my daughter when she came home to visit. I pay

322
00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,240
Speaker 1: about a thousand dollars a year to cover their car,

323
00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,120
Speaker 1: and that's just a lot of money if they very

324
00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,600
Speaker 1: seldomly use it. I would appreciate any thoughts you have

325
00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:45,760
Speaker 1: on this. Thank you, Kim, Thanks so much for the question.

326
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,320
Speaker 1: I was about to say, I feel your pain, but

327
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:51,760
Speaker 1: I don't feel your pain, but I might feel your

328
00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,040
Speaker 1: pain someday. I just realized that I'm going to have

329
00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,640
Speaker 1: four kids that are teenagers at some point where I

330
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,120
Speaker 1: will likely be paying for or contributing towards their car insurance. Jol.

331
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,040
Speaker 1: That makes me a little scared. Start saving now, buddy,

332
00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:06,160
Speaker 1: That is a lot of money, right, But Kim has

333
00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:08,200
Speaker 1: a good question, and it is a tough one. Actually,

334
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,080
Speaker 1: I was surprised when she said only a thousand bucks

335
00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,440
Speaker 1: which two not too bad from everything I've read and

336
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,720
Speaker 1: all the stats I've seen, that seems kind of low,

337
00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:17,000
Speaker 1: although it is still a lot of money, a thousand bucks.

338
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,760
Speaker 1: And so any way that we can help Kim figure

339
00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:20,560
Speaker 1: out how to save that thousand bucks, we want to

340
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:22,880
Speaker 1: do it, right, Yeah, that's right, And so Kim, the

341
00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,040
Speaker 1: first sort of option that we want to sort of

342
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,560
Speaker 1: cover here is how you can maybe keep your daughters

343
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,560
Speaker 1: on your insurance. But let's see how many possible discounts

344
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,080
Speaker 1: that we can get for you. Right, So you said

345
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,600
Speaker 1: that your current provider that they do not offer any

346
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,920
Speaker 1: sort of discount with your daughters being off at school.

347
00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:40,480
Speaker 1: That's a bummer. It's true that a lot of insurers

348
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,040
Speaker 1: require the kids to live at least a hundred miles

349
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,320
Speaker 1: away in order for them to qualify for the away

350
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,440
Speaker 1: at school discount. And so for you, it's definitely worth

351
00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,880
Speaker 1: it to shop your coverage around and see if there

352
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,040
Speaker 1: might be a provider who does offer a discount given

353
00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,720
Speaker 1: their limited usage, even though they only live about thirty

354
00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:59,920
Speaker 1: minutes away. And also make sure that you are asked

355
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,960
Speaker 1: for a discount for good grades. Typically your kids only

356
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,320
Speaker 1: need to have a be average or better and they

357
00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,400
Speaker 1: don't even need to have a be averager better continuously.

358
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:11,760
Speaker 1: It can even only be for a single semester in

359
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,440
Speaker 1: order for that to register and for you to lock

360
00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,800
Speaker 1: in those low rates. Yeah, and ditching your current ensure

361
00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,560
Speaker 1: altogether in favor of another one that is willing to

362
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,440
Speaker 1: provide you more discounts and a better overall rate, that's

363
00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,800
Speaker 1: definitely worth considering. But if you really want to keep

364
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,800
Speaker 1: your current insurance and that might be the best way

365
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:27,720
Speaker 1: to go, we'll see. I mean, if in my mind

366
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,440
Speaker 1: I would look at the bottom line. But if you're

367
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:31,920
Speaker 1: wanting to stay with your current insurance provider and that

368
00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:33,880
Speaker 1: might be the best way to go, ultimately, we'll see.

369
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,160
Speaker 1: But be sure to ask your agent or that company

370
00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,680
Speaker 1: about all of the available discounts that they offer. For example,

371
00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:43,400
Speaker 1: if your kids were willing to take a safe driving course,

372
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,400
Speaker 1: that would potentially drastically lower the rate that you pay. Yeah,

373
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,000
Speaker 1: you know this from personal experience, joll Yeah. Man, So

374
00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,400
Speaker 1: I actually went to a a r p S website

375
00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,320
Speaker 1: even though I'm not a senior citizen. A ARP offers

376
00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,200
Speaker 1: a defensive driving course and it's totally online, which is

377
00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,880
Speaker 1: nice because oftentimes you have to go into a place

378
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:03,440
Speaker 1: to actually take the course, and it's like a Saturday

379
00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,360
Speaker 1: morning kind of thing. I didn't really want to do that,

380
00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,040
Speaker 1: but if I could do it online and it was easy,

381
00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:09,280
Speaker 1: I'm totally in. Did you also have to lie about

382
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,680
Speaker 1: your age? I didn't. I didn't. It's available to anybody,

383
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,600
Speaker 1: and so my insurer has taken and make sure we're

384
00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,400
Speaker 1: covering rubbuts yeah, I've saved a lot of money over

385
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,760
Speaker 1: the years, but just having essentially taken a couple of

386
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,160
Speaker 1: hours to do that course. So I would recommend that. Also,

387
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,000
Speaker 1: make sure you're asking your agent or insurance company about

388
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,920
Speaker 1: other more traditional methods that could help you save even

389
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:32,280
Speaker 1: more on your insurance, Like, for instance, are your kids

390
00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,919
Speaker 1: striving an inexpensive car. If it's a more expensive, newer vehicle,

391
00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:39,200
Speaker 1: then you're gonna pay more. Consider raising your deductibles. And

392
00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:41,360
Speaker 1: if it's a really really old car, which we would

393
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,919
Speaker 1: suggest for newer younger drivers, well consider cutting collision and

394
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,280
Speaker 1: comprehensive altogether, because that's going to save you more money

395
00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 1: on your insurance. And then can the other option you're

396
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,959
Speaker 1: considering there is to potentially totally cancel your coverage and

397
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,080
Speaker 1: only have it during the summer when they might be

398
00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:58,520
Speaker 1: at home, right, And so this is assuming that you'd

399
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,320
Speaker 1: sell that extra car. Since you mentioned making your car

400
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,000
Speaker 1: available to your daughters. If your girls were driving just

401
00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,440
Speaker 1: your car and not one that was specifically there's then

402
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:10,160
Speaker 1: you might be able to take them off your insurance altogether.

403
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,280
Speaker 1: You would just remove them and in this case, you

404
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,360
Speaker 1: wouldn't need to fire up that coverage that insurance during

405
00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:18,680
Speaker 1: the summers at all. And this is because insurance typically

406
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,760
Speaker 1: follows the car, not the driver. So for example, if

407
00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:23,879
Speaker 1: you have a friend come over and they drive your

408
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:25,600
Speaker 1: car and you guys go to the store or something

409
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,960
Speaker 1: like that, well that friend is covered under the insurance

410
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,320
Speaker 1: that you have on your vehicle, and so the same

411
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,560
Speaker 1: thing might be true of your daughters. I think it's

412
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,199
Speaker 1: also important to consider, with how little your daughters are driving,

413
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,640
Speaker 1: that there are some alternatives that they could potentially take

414
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,720
Speaker 1: part of that would mean they don't have to drive

415
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,920
Speaker 1: a car when their home visiting. There are potentially other

416
00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:46,880
Speaker 1: options for them to get around, and I'm thinking first

417
00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:48,960
Speaker 1: and foremost of bride sharing. If they get lift or

418
00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,359
Speaker 1: uber and maybe you know, when their home they're taking

419
00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,800
Speaker 1: a fifteen or twenty dollar ride here or there. Then

420
00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:55,640
Speaker 1: I think I could save you money. When you're talking

421
00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,800
Speaker 1: about a thousand dollars a year for how much you're

422
00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:00,960
Speaker 1: paying for insurance. That can get into right right sharing.

423
00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,560
Speaker 1: But would it be more than the crazy monthly cost

424
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,840
Speaker 1: of the car insurance for your college age kids. Probably not. Uh,

425
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:08,840
Speaker 1: And they could also use your car, like Matt kind

426
00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:11,000
Speaker 1: of just mentioned, friends could pick them up, they could

427
00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 1: ride a bike a little bit more. I mean, there's

428
00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,119
Speaker 1: all sorts of ways, depending on the distance they're traveling.

429
00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,200
Speaker 1: A bike might be in order for where they're going,

430
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,480
Speaker 1: or using public transit if you're in one of the

431
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,560
Speaker 1: few U. S. Cities that has a decent system. There

432
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,800
Speaker 1: are all sorts of other ways that you could kind

433
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,320
Speaker 1: of tackle this problem as opposed to just going the

434
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,680
Speaker 1: traditional route of having them on your insurance when they

435
00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,200
Speaker 1: so rarely use your car. Yes, so in this case,

436
00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,280
Speaker 1: you're saving money because you're not paying for insurance costs,

437
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:37,240
Speaker 1: but you're also saving money because you no longer have

438
00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,560
Speaker 1: a depreciating asset. I'm thinking about that extra car that

439
00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,440
Speaker 1: hardly ever gets used. Rachel. However, one other thing to

440
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,840
Speaker 1: keep in mind, if you did remove your daughters from

441
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:48,760
Speaker 1: your insurance is that if and when the time comes

442
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,040
Speaker 1: for them to be insured again, their rates might be

443
00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:56,040
Speaker 1: more expensive, and some providers won't even reinstate the policy

444
00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:58,600
Speaker 1: if there's a lapse in coverage. But here's the thing

445
00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,040
Speaker 1: is that on average, it's not not a crazy expensive increase.

446
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,960
Speaker 1: We're really talking about an additional two annually, which isn't

447
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,680
Speaker 1: a ton of money, considering that you would be able

448
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,000
Speaker 1: to save at least a thousand dollars every single year.

449
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,919
Speaker 1: And so again this is something that might be specific

450
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,680
Speaker 1: to your individual carrier. To make sure you're asking the

451
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:17,760
Speaker 1: right questions. Make sure that you're asking these questions as

452
00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,359
Speaker 1: well when you're shopping your coverage around. Yeah, Matt, I

453
00:20:20,359 --> 00:20:22,679
Speaker 1: mean every insurer is a little bit different and how

454
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,240
Speaker 1: they handle these sorts of things, and every insurer has

455
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,639
Speaker 1: a different algorithm. For instance, like I might get the

456
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,800
Speaker 1: best rate with Liberty Mutual, you might get the best

457
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:33,080
Speaker 1: rate with State Farm or USA A like. Who knows. Really,

458
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,359
Speaker 1: our individual circumstances play a big part in what we're

459
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,400
Speaker 1: quoted for car insurance and home insurance, and so shopping

460
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:42,840
Speaker 1: around with different providers is just a smart way to go.

461
00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:44,800
Speaker 1: So I think that's a really big recommendation for kim

462
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,960
Speaker 1: shop with three, four or five providers. Use a service

463
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,040
Speaker 1: like policy Genius to help you shop that rate. Ultimately,

464
00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:53,199
Speaker 1: changing insures might be the best route. It might not,

465
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:55,320
Speaker 1: but you don't know until you shop. Yeah, shop until

466
00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:57,560
Speaker 1: you drop. But this is the good kind of shopping,

467
00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:00,840
Speaker 1: all right, Joe, We've got another question, and this one

468
00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:03,520
Speaker 1: is from a listener that is considering buying some real estate.

469
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,960
Speaker 1: My name is Seth called from a d C. Area. Hello, gentlemen.

470
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,639
Speaker 1: First of all, I really appreciate the podcast, been listening

471
00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,360
Speaker 1: since the beginning. Also, I happened to be a certified smilier,

472
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,800
Speaker 1: so when I hear you guys reviewing your beers and everything,

473
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,800
Speaker 1: it definitely brings me back to my wine days, which

474
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,080
Speaker 1: I really appreciate as well. The reason I'm sending in

475
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,560
Speaker 1: this question is because my wife and I have saved

476
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,919
Speaker 1: up enough money to buy a house, but we are

477
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,760
Speaker 1: contemplating the possibility of maybe getting an investment property or

478
00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,639
Speaker 1: two instead of buying the house. We live in the

479
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 1: DC area, and to get a decent house in this area,

480
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,240
Speaker 1: we're talking at least four hunder thousand dollars um. But alternatively,

481
00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:41,119
Speaker 1: we could get a couple of town houses for that

482
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,439
Speaker 1: much and rent them out and stuff like that. We

483
00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:48,720
Speaker 1: would probably use a rental or property management company, pay

484
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 1: them their ten percent. They manage all that. I work

485
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:52,920
Speaker 1: a lot. My wife is a stay at home mom,

486
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,040
Speaker 1: so we wouldn't have a whole lot of time to

487
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,280
Speaker 1: handle a lot of the ins and outs. But I

488
00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:01,000
Speaker 1: also work for a home improvement company, so windows and

489
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,040
Speaker 1: doors and gutters and roofs and stuff like that. Siding

490
00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,520
Speaker 1: actually get it a pretty awesome discount. So um, any

491
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,520
Speaker 1: type of rehab that would need to be done, I

492
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,000
Speaker 1: would definitely be able to get a little bit less expensively.

493
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: I just want to get your guys thoughts on whether

494
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,000
Speaker 1: or not it would be more beneficial for us to

495
00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:20,399
Speaker 1: just buy a house, living it, pay for it, enjoy

496
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,840
Speaker 1: having some extra space, to be honest with you, But

497
00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,480
Speaker 1: at the same time, maybe be better just to stay

498
00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,800
Speaker 1: in our comfortable building where we have utilities paid for

499
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,720
Speaker 1: in a parking garage and contiers in a pool and

500
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,840
Speaker 1: a gym and all that stuff, and then get some

501
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,440
Speaker 1: cash flow. If we were to go to the route

502
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,960
Speaker 1: of getting a couple of investment properties as opposed to

503
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,160
Speaker 1: getting a house for ourselves. That's pretty much what's up.

504
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,600
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Seth. That's a great question. I

505
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,120
Speaker 1: love that our show brings you back to your Psalm days. Uh. That's,

506
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,240
Speaker 1: by the way, that's one of my favorite documentaries on Netflix,

507
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:52,439
Speaker 1: and that's a real documentary. We actually recently thought was

508
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,240
Speaker 1: the last episode we talked about the mockumentary of the

509
00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:58,760
Speaker 1: different documentaries out there, we're on a documentary, kid, because

510
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 1: we talked about King of Kong, which is a real documentary,

511
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 1: and now we're talking about some which, by the way,

512
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 1: it it impressed me when I watched that how much

513
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,360
Speaker 1: these guys can know. Yeah, we like beer, but we're

514
00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 1: complete newbs when we compare ourselves to those guys. Yeah,

515
00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,800
Speaker 1: when Seth here's us talking about beer, he's probably like,

516
00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:18,160
Speaker 1: those guys are idiots. Their their taste buds are completely busted.

517
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,280
Speaker 1: They don't know what they're saying. They might be, they

518
00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 1: might be all right, but hopefully our advice for Seth

519
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,199
Speaker 1: isn't busted. I think we've had some helpful thoughts for

520
00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:27,600
Speaker 1: you here, Seth. I mean, first, congrats on saving up

521
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,760
Speaker 1: so much money and d C. Man, it's kind of

522
00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:31,879
Speaker 1: an expensive market to be buying real estate in so

523
00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 1: if you can afford to buy there, it sounds like

524
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,879
Speaker 1: you've done a really good job saving for the future

525
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,239
Speaker 1: and for a potential big purchase like this. Yeah, nice work, seth. So,

526
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,440
Speaker 1: first off, let's talk about the money. Right. If we're

527
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:46,240
Speaker 1: only talking about dollars and cents, this can essentially be

528
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,359
Speaker 1: a simple question of math. Right. On one hand, you

529
00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,000
Speaker 1: will continue to pay rents, but you'll have the cash

530
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000
Speaker 1: flow from rental properties, which can be a helpful additional

531
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,800
Speaker 1: source of income and they can allow for some increased

532
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 1: flexibility in the future. On the other hand, you're trading

533
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,280
Speaker 1: in your rent for a mortgage, but you've also got

534
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,160
Speaker 1: no cash flow. In both cases, you'll have a paid

535
00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,639
Speaker 1: off property eventually, and so you just need to ask yourself, like,

536
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,520
Speaker 1: what do those numbers look like? Hopefully with that information

537
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 1: you can make an informed decision. But the problem is

538
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,000
Speaker 1: you're not going to know what house could potentially be

539
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:20,720
Speaker 1: worth down the road. You're not gonna know what some

540
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:23,120
Speaker 1: townhouses could potentially be worth down the road as well.

541
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,720
Speaker 1: It's not as cut and dry as I'm making it sound.

542
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,360
Speaker 1: And so really a question like this encompasses so much

543
00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:31,280
Speaker 1: more than just the money. Yeah, it really met so much.

544
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,840
Speaker 1: If it comes down to a lifestyle factor, Seth mentioned

545
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:36,679
Speaker 1: enjoying the extra space. That's a huge factor to consider

546
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,199
Speaker 1: in this whole thing. And like, for example, Matt, we

547
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,080
Speaker 1: for the longest time in our house, which is kind

548
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,000
Speaker 1: of set up like a duplex, but it also converts

549
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,359
Speaker 1: incredibly easily into a single family home. We rented out

550
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,360
Speaker 1: the back of our house for four and a half

551
00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:50,520
Speaker 1: years and it was great, and we knew when we

552
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,320
Speaker 1: bought it that that's what we wanted to do with

553
00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:55,880
Speaker 1: the property. But once we had baby number three, we decided,

554
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:57,720
Speaker 1: you know what, it's time for us to take over

555
00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 1: the whole house. And so there was a lot of

556
00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:03,120
Speaker 1: flexibility there. But that wasn't a money decision because we're

557
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 1: losing money when we took over the whole house. We're

558
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,840
Speaker 1: losing the income from our tenant. That was a lifestyle

559
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:09,880
Speaker 1: decision that we had to make. And so I think

560
00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:11,960
Speaker 1: for Seth here, he really he and his wife need

561
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:13,679
Speaker 1: to sit down and they need to think about what

562
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:15,640
Speaker 1: they want their lifestyle to look like. Do they want

563
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,120
Speaker 1: increased cash flow now and to stay in that suite

564
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,080
Speaker 1: apartment with the gym or the gym and the pool

565
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:23,119
Speaker 1: and the concierge like nice to listen out a lot

566
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: of benefits that made me wonder, like, why don't I

567
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 1: live in an apartment? Right right? Yeah? That's sper sweet.

568
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,240
Speaker 1: And if you're not itching to leave, if it's a

569
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,760
Speaker 1: good fit for you guys for the foreseeable future, then

570
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,240
Speaker 1: maybe it makes sense lifestyle wise to buy some rental properties.

571
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:38,320
Speaker 1: But if you guys are looking to settle down and

572
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,399
Speaker 1: have a place of your own, I mean that question

573
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,879
Speaker 1: goes beyond just money. That really comes down to what

574
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,880
Speaker 1: you want your life to look like. And the great

575
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,080
Speaker 1: thing is is that you've set yourself up for the

576
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 1: ability to go either route based on the kind of

577
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: dedication that you've put into saving money. Yeah, and so

578
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,800
Speaker 1: seth for you and your wife. What we would recommend

579
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:56,840
Speaker 1: is to go ahead and just honestly make a list

580
00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,399
Speaker 1: of pros and cons and see which one's stand out

581
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,440
Speaker 1: to you. Which are these benefits mean the most to you,

582
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:04,560
Speaker 1: and hopefully you can make your decision based on that.

583
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: But the other thing to consider too is is sort

584
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,400
Speaker 1: of what Joel was saying, if you want the best

585
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,159
Speaker 1: of both worlds, maybe look to house hacking instead of

586
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 1: buying a single family home. Instead, look to multi family

587
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,320
Speaker 1: either look at a duplex or a triplex or even

588
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,560
Speaker 1: a quadplex. That might be a way for you to

589
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,320
Speaker 1: get the additional space. But at the same time you

590
00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 1: have built in rentals, you have built in investment properties

591
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 1: as well. For a lot of people, this is a

592
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,840
Speaker 1: fantastic way to build an incredible amount of wealth over

593
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,160
Speaker 1: a short period of time. But again, it's not all

594
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:34,640
Speaker 1: about the money, right, Like we're talking about lifestyle, think back,

595
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:36,080
Speaker 1: because one of the things you mentioned is that you

596
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: don't want to be a landlord. It doesn't sound like

597
00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,119
Speaker 1: you want to be actively managing these properties. And if

598
00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,440
Speaker 1: you're looking at a multi family, well, guess what, it

599
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:45,679
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense to manage those properties yourself

600
00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,040
Speaker 1: because you live on the main floor and they live

601
00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 1: on the lower floors, or you know, or you live

602
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,720
Speaker 1: next door, that sort of thing. And so keep that

603
00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:53,600
Speaker 1: in mind. If that's not something you want to do, well,

604
00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:55,879
Speaker 1: it's not something you should consider. It's definitely a question

605
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 1: that goes beyond just the money. Those are some of

606
00:26:58,080 --> 00:26:59,959
Speaker 1: my favorite questions to think about, though, Matt. I love

607
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:01,879
Speaker 1: because money the ones where you have to really wrestle

608
00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:03,960
Speaker 1: with it. Yeah, yeah, and like it's not one size

609
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 1: fits all, Like we've all got different goals, We've all

610
00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 1: got different hopes and dreams. And some of us want

611
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:10,680
Speaker 1: to become landlords and some of us don't find that

612
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 1: to be a big deal. And I'm sure lots of

613
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 1: folks listening are like, never, not going to do that,

614
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:16,159
Speaker 1: And so yeah, it's kind of a choose your own

615
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,320
Speaker 1: adventure thing. And I think Seth he's on the right path.

616
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,320
Speaker 1: And uh yeah, best of lux Seth and making a

617
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 1: great decision that works for you and your family. All right, Matt,

618
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,880
Speaker 1: Let's get to a couple more questions, including one about

619
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,240
Speaker 1: I D theft insurance. Will get to that right after

620
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:39,280
Speaker 1: the break. All right, Joel, we're back from the break.

621
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,119
Speaker 1: We've got a couple more questions, and let's hear from

622
00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:44,520
Speaker 1: a listener who might be concerned about identity theft. Hi,

623
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,720
Speaker 1: Matt and Joel, this is Cat from Milwaukee. My question

624
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: is about identity theft insurance, if you think it's necessary,

625
00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,480
Speaker 1: if you recommend any particular companies, and anything else worth considering.

626
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,639
Speaker 1: Thanks for everything you do to make finance an approachable

627
00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,320
Speaker 1: topic and empowering your listeners. Cat, Great question. Thanks so

628
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,560
Speaker 1: much for listening, and I d theft protection. It's definitely

629
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,200
Speaker 1: something that's been marketed heavily over the last decade because

630
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 1: data breaches have become more and more common, right, I mean,

631
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 1: obviously the Equifax one is kind of the biggest one

632
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:17,320
Speaker 1: that we all can pinpoint, I'm sure, but many of

633
00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,119
Speaker 1: us are encountering breach fatigue because we hear about a

634
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,080
Speaker 1: new one every week. There' say yeah, who won I

635
00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:25,120
Speaker 1: mean there are breaches all over the place. There's small

636
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,280
Speaker 1: hospital systems. I mean, it's just our information. It feels

637
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:29,879
Speaker 1: like it's out there and it's hard to know what

638
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:32,160
Speaker 1: to do about it. I've pretty much resigned myself knowing

639
00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,320
Speaker 1: that my socials out there. I feel like I can

640
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 1: just go ahead and say it on the show, right

641
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,520
Speaker 1: right to eight nine seven three. I'm not going to

642
00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:41,800
Speaker 1: see the resident. Those aren't even my digits. Oh I

643
00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:43,800
Speaker 1: wish I knew your social because I would just say,

644
00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 1: you would say, mind, that is something you would do.

645
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,600
Speaker 1: You totally put my number out there just to mess

646
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 1: with me. And that's exactly what actually the CEO of

647
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:54,240
Speaker 1: LifeLock did, Right, do you remember those? Yeah? So LifeLock

648
00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:56,160
Speaker 1: is the place that most people turn. It's the most

649
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,120
Speaker 1: recognizable name and the biz, but they want to charge

650
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 1: you for credit Mondit drink and we're not fans of

651
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 1: that because there are great free options out there. So

652
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:06,360
Speaker 1: don't go with the big guy. Don't go with the

653
00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 1: expensive credit monitoring option, go with a great free version instead. Cat,

654
00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 1: That's what we would say, Yes, yeah, Cat. There are

655
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:15,360
Speaker 1: a couple of free things that you can do that

656
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 1: you can do yourself. First of all, you can monitor

657
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,520
Speaker 1: your own credit. We are fans of credit karmas free

658
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 1: service for this. You can create an account there easily

659
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:26,240
Speaker 1: and they will monitor your credit. They will let you

660
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 1: know if they see anything Weird's super easy to do. Second,

661
00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:33,520
Speaker 1: you can freeze your credit. This is now free, thankfully

662
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,360
Speaker 1: with each of the three major credit bureaus. I think

663
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,360
Speaker 1: it used to cost like like fifteen bucks or tin

664
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 1: bucks every time you wanted to freeze or unfreeze your credit.

665
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 1: It was state It was state specific for the longest time,

666
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:44,960
Speaker 1: so some states have made laws that made it free.

667
00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,160
Speaker 1: In other states it was ten bucks exactly per bureau

668
00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 1: every time times three. Well, here's the thing, though, it

669
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,120
Speaker 1: doesn't matter anymore because it's completely free and It's super

670
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:56,040
Speaker 1: easy as well, Joel, to unfreeze your credit. Actually, I

671
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 1: did a little exercise before we sat down to record

672
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:00,360
Speaker 1: this episode. But I sat down, I get to stop

673
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,320
Speaker 1: watch on my phone and I logged into all three

674
00:30:02,360 --> 00:30:04,600
Speaker 1: bureaus to see how long it would take me to

675
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:07,680
Speaker 1: unfreeze my credit. We really should have gotten that on video. Well,

676
00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:09,480
Speaker 1: it just would have been me sitting at the computer.

677
00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:12,640
Speaker 1: I would have watched it intently, no joke. It took

678
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,480
Speaker 1: me less than three minutes to unfreeze my credit on

679
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 1: all three bureaus. Nice three bureaus. Three minutes to me,

680
00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,840
Speaker 1: that is a very small price to pay to know

681
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:25,280
Speaker 1: that your credit is completely lockdown. Yeah, and it's free,

682
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:27,760
Speaker 1: And that's ultimately what we want. We want the thing

683
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,040
Speaker 1: that's going to offer us the most protection for the

684
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,600
Speaker 1: lowest price, and credit freeze is exactly that option. It

685
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,800
Speaker 1: locks down your credit so that no one can open

686
00:30:36,840 --> 00:30:39,400
Speaker 1: credit as if they were you, and it costs zero dollars.

687
00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 1: So that's a slam dunk. We would say, freezer credit

688
00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:44,160
Speaker 1: with all three bureaus, hold onto those passwords, and then

689
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 1: fire your credit anytime you need access to it. Should

690
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,320
Speaker 1: we come up with with a saying like free three three,

691
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 1: so it's free three minutes three bureaus, Oh, I like

692
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,120
Speaker 1: it free for three or something like that. Something like that.

693
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,080
Speaker 1: Maybe next time we talk about this, we can have

694
00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:00,320
Speaker 1: a catch your slogan Catch your slogans needed because wasn't

695
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,479
Speaker 1: great I try. And that one other thing I think

696
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: we should mention because when Cat was mentioning it may

697
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:08,360
Speaker 1: kind of think of what small businesses have to endure

698
00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,960
Speaker 1: when it comes to potential identity theft or cyber hacking,

699
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:15,520
Speaker 1: malware ransomers. That's something that's becoming more and more common too,

700
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: And for folks that do own a small business, looking

701
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:22,040
Speaker 1: into cyber liability coverage might make some sense. There's kind

702
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 1: of been a proliferation in small businesses being attacked and

703
00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,840
Speaker 1: then having to pay money to get their systems restored.

704
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 1: That can be a huge pain and it can cost

705
00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:32,920
Speaker 1: a small business tens or potentially even hundreds of thousands

706
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,600
Speaker 1: of dollars. So cyber liability coverage is something that they

707
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: should seriously consider as well. Yeah, something like that could

708
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:42,000
Speaker 1: cover claims for lost income while you're under attack, or

709
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,800
Speaker 1: the cost to replace valuable data if you're if your

710
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:48,440
Speaker 1: site was wiped out or you know, your databases, all

711
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,080
Speaker 1: that nerdy website stuff. So yeah, definitely something to consider

712
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:53,880
Speaker 1: if you're a small business and you are handling a

713
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,680
Speaker 1: sensitive customer information over the web and if your online

714
00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,880
Speaker 1: presence is an important part of generating revenue. Yeah, no doubt.

715
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,320
Speaker 1: All right, Cat, We'll hope that helps pre resources for you.

716
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 1: Get going on that and lock down your identity. Alright, Matt,

717
00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:07,120
Speaker 1: let's get to the next one. It's time to talk

718
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 1: more small business and how a small business can help

719
00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 1: their employees safe for retirement. Hey, Joel and Matt, this

720
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,840
Speaker 1: is Josh from Thousand Oaks, California. I'm a small to

721
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,320
Speaker 1: medium sized business owner and have about seventy employees. I

722
00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,760
Speaker 1: want to offer a retirement option for those that would

723
00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:24,440
Speaker 1: like to contribute. Because of the amount of employees I have,

724
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,400
Speaker 1: it looks like I have to go with a simple

725
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 1: IRA or a four oh one K. There's a chance

726
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: I could grow to over one d employees in the

727
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,520
Speaker 1: next few years, which would then leave me with only

728
00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:35,600
Speaker 1: the four oh one K option. From what I have read,

729
00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:38,760
Speaker 1: Should I pursue a simple IRA for now until I

730
00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:41,080
Speaker 1: have too many employees for that, or go ahead and

731
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,360
Speaker 1: do the four oh one K. Secondly, I've been researching

732
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 1: the retirement options with Vanguard and have had my personal

733
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:49,760
Speaker 1: IRA account with them for years. But I also have

734
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:51,960
Speaker 1: a personal c p A who is a registered agent

735
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,160
Speaker 1: with American Funds. There is a feel load on his plan,

736
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,120
Speaker 1: but he also will do all of the work for

737
00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 1: me for the account. He will set it up, make

738
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,960
Speaker 1: the monthly deposits, meet with my employees about investing, and

739
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,680
Speaker 1: provide compliance notices. How much work am I saving by

740
00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:10,360
Speaker 1: paying the percentage fees? Is the process really very simple

741
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:12,959
Speaker 1: and not worth paying someone to do it? Is there

742
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 1: an easy way to estimate the total cost over the

743
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,000
Speaker 1: life of the plan to determine how much my employees

744
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,640
Speaker 1: and I would really be paying. I look forward to

745
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,320
Speaker 1: hearing your thoughts. Oh that's a great question, Josh. And

746
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 1: by the way, that voice sounds familiar. Yeah, it's worth mentioning.

747
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 1: This is the same Josh who donated the beer to

748
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,400
Speaker 1: this episode, as well as last week's episodes as well.

749
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,440
Speaker 1: So Josh, thank you so much. And yet normally Matt

750
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,360
Speaker 1: with good friends, I'm happy to help him out and

751
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,760
Speaker 1: answer their question in any way form or fashion, just

752
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 1: on the phone whatever, via text, like we we talk

753
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 1: about money with our friends all the time. But Josh

754
00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:46,080
Speaker 1: wanted to submit this for the show, and I think

755
00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 1: in a large part because his question and this answer

756
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:50,400
Speaker 1: can help other people. There are a lot of small

757
00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:53,360
Speaker 1: businesses trying to figure out how they tackle retirement accounts

758
00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,760
Speaker 1: for their employees, and so, yeah, let's get into it. Josh.

759
00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:59,880
Speaker 1: We totally understand why you're interested in a simple I R.

760
00:34:00,360 --> 00:34:03,640
Speaker 1: They're not complicated at all, and they are more affordable

761
00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,000
Speaker 1: than going with a traditional four oh one K provider.

762
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,200
Speaker 1: And we think if you were to start a simple

763
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,360
Speaker 1: I or a plan with a company like Fidelity, that

764
00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:12,759
Speaker 1: would be a great option. But because you're getting close

765
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,320
Speaker 1: to that hundred employee threshold and you might have to

766
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:16,920
Speaker 1: go with a four oh one K in the future,

767
00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 1: we think it makes sense to start going in that

768
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:22,239
Speaker 1: direction now because that game is completely changed and there

769
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,600
Speaker 1: are some awesome companies out there providing small business four

770
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 1: oh one K plans that are really simple and incredibly affordable. Yeah,

771
00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,120
Speaker 1: and Joel will get to those companies here in a bit,

772
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,400
Speaker 1: but Josh, we would recommend for you to definitely consider

773
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,880
Speaker 1: the four ohn K for your employees, especially since it

774
00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,239
Speaker 1: is likely going to be your only option in the

775
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,640
Speaker 1: near future, assuming that you're going to continue to grow.

776
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 1: You don't want to be locked into something that is

777
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,600
Speaker 1: going to limit your ability to take care of your employees.

778
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,080
Speaker 1: And you mentioned Vanguard. Well, Vanguard is great, but they're

779
00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,239
Speaker 1: not necessarily the best for small businesses. They just aren't

780
00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:56,719
Speaker 1: built to cater to small businesses. So the fees that

781
00:34:56,760 --> 00:34:58,880
Speaker 1: you're going to pay as a small business will likely

782
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,879
Speaker 1: take them out of the running. This is the one

783
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,400
Speaker 1: place where Vanguard is going to be too expensive. I know, man,

784
00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,440
Speaker 1: They're so good in so many areas everywhere else, but

785
00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:10,320
Speaker 1: not here. Just not great at small business retirement accounts.

786
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,440
Speaker 1: All right, and let's talk about fees as well. On

787
00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:17,320
Speaker 1: another level, Josh, you specifically asked about your c p

788
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,239
Speaker 1: A and whether he should be handling this for you.

789
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,520
Speaker 1: Matt and I truly think you should avoid the fees

790
00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:24,279
Speaker 1: and you should d I y it. I mean, you're

791
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:26,600
Speaker 1: listening to a personal finance podcast and you're asking the

792
00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:29,520
Speaker 1: right questions, So this is something we believe you can

793
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,400
Speaker 1: handle yourself. Like you mentioned, fees can have a massive

794
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:36,239
Speaker 1: impact on the retirement your employees will experience, so keeping

795
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:39,560
Speaker 1: fees low is huge in helping them a chief financial

796
00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:42,719
Speaker 1: independence sooner. And we're talking about fees on both sides

797
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,400
Speaker 1: of the ledger because you're going to be paying bigger

798
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,920
Speaker 1: fees in order to get this plan set up. Your

799
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,880
Speaker 1: employees are gonna have far more expensive fund options and

800
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,720
Speaker 1: so that's going to inhibit the ability of their retirement

801
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,080
Speaker 1: accounts to grow like they should be growing. So, yeah,

802
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,120
Speaker 1: we would say this is something you can d I

803
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:00,279
Speaker 1: Y and there are companies out there now that can

804
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,879
Speaker 1: help you do just that. Yeah, exactly, Joel. Up until now,

805
00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,480
Speaker 1: typically Josh, you've only had expensive options available to you,

806
00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:10,319
Speaker 1: but that has changed in the last few years. There

807
00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:13,719
Speaker 1: are companies out there like Betterments and Guideline. Both of

808
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,279
Speaker 1: them can help you to provide a low cost four

809
00:36:16,360 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: one K option to your employees. Look into both of

810
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:22,800
Speaker 1: them so then you can compare apples to apples on

811
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,880
Speaker 1: what cost that you will incur. Typically there is a

812
00:36:26,239 --> 00:36:29,440
Speaker 1: flat onboarding rate, there's a flat monthly rate, and then

813
00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,799
Speaker 1: there's a dollar amount that's gonna cost you monthly per employee.

814
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,680
Speaker 1: All those costs added up might seem a little bit daunting,

815
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:38,960
Speaker 1: like something that you may not really want to consider.

816
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,240
Speaker 1: But starting at four one k and hopefully your ability

817
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,480
Speaker 1: to provide a match that is going to help your

818
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,239
Speaker 1: ability to hire great employees. It's also going to incentivize

819
00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:51,960
Speaker 1: those awesome folks who are there with you to stay. Yeah, man,

820
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,760
Speaker 1: I think Betterment and Guideline are both great ones to consider.

821
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,440
Speaker 1: I'm particularly interested in Guideline these days. I feel like

822
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 1: you were talking about them a lot. Their pricing is

823
00:36:59,200 --> 00:37:01,319
Speaker 1: so good and also too, you can schedule a free

824
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,640
Speaker 1: thirty minute intro call with them, So I think if

825
00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:05,719
Speaker 1: you're nervous, if you have questions, if you want to

826
00:37:05,719 --> 00:37:08,520
Speaker 1: get the rundown of how it all works, an intro

827
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:10,120
Speaker 1: call with the folks over there can help you know

828
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:11,960
Speaker 1: what you're getting into before you sign on the dotted

829
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:14,040
Speaker 1: line and kind of get the ball rolling. But I

830
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:15,959
Speaker 1: love what they've been able to do in helping small

831
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,840
Speaker 1: business owners set up a retirement plan for their employees.

832
00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:23,000
Speaker 1: And Guidelines awesome because they offer Vanguard funds. Almost all

833
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,239
Speaker 1: the funds they offer are Vanguard funds, and they also

834
00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:29,560
Speaker 1: have Josh these six specific portfolios that range from aggressive

835
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,120
Speaker 1: to not aggressive. So if your employees aren't really sure

836
00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:35,840
Speaker 1: what they should be investing in, those pre made investing

837
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:38,560
Speaker 1: options can kind of make it easier for the folks

838
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,520
Speaker 1: that are working for you if they don't have a

839
00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,520
Speaker 1: whole lot of investing knowledge. Can it can help them

840
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:44,719
Speaker 1: make the right decision so that they don't have to

841
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,080
Speaker 1: become investing wizards, so they don't have to know a

842
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,279
Speaker 1: whole lot. They have a couple of things laid out

843
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:51,440
Speaker 1: in front of them that are super low cost that

844
00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:54,600
Speaker 1: can cater to them wherever they're at in their life. So, yeah,

845
00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:57,120
Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of Guideline. I love what they're doing. Yeah,

846
00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,960
Speaker 1: thirty five different funds that you can choose from overwhelming Yeah,

847
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,640
Speaker 1: six that are very clearly explained and labeled. Man, that's

848
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,960
Speaker 1: that's totally comforting and low cost to boot. Yeah. So

849
00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,680
Speaker 1: you know again, Josh, this is for you specifically, but

850
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:11,160
Speaker 1: everyone else out there who has fewer than a hundred

851
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,240
Speaker 1: employees and who are not looking to hire more folks,

852
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:16,719
Speaker 1: a simple I ra A is a great option for

853
00:38:16,800 --> 00:38:18,759
Speaker 1: those folks. But if it's a small business owner who

854
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 1: is looking to have at least a hunt employees, if

855
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,400
Speaker 1: not more, then certainly look into some of these new

856
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,799
Speaker 1: companies like Betterment and especially Guideline. Yeah, Matt, I think

857
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,239
Speaker 1: one more important thing to mention is there's a new

858
00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:31,560
Speaker 1: law that took effect at the end of last year

859
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,440
Speaker 1: that can actually really help Josh get kickstarted in this endeavor.

860
00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:36,759
Speaker 1: And it's called the Secure Act, and it did a

861
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,560
Speaker 1: lot of things. It was this overhaul of our retirement

862
00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,520
Speaker 1: system to a certain extent. It changed a few rules

863
00:38:41,560 --> 00:38:44,680
Speaker 1: around when people tap their retirement accounts, how five accounts

864
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:46,279
Speaker 1: are handled. But one of the biggest things was that

865
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,200
Speaker 1: helps small business owners be able to start a retirement

866
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,560
Speaker 1: account for their employees. And the coolest part of this

867
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:53,399
Speaker 1: that Josh really needs to know is there's a tax

868
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 1: credit to help with startup costs of this retirement account.

869
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,239
Speaker 1: So if he's worried about the cost of he's going

870
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,680
Speaker 1: to incur as he sets this up, well, there's a

871
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:05,759
Speaker 1: tax credit available to him because of this Secure Act

872
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,720
Speaker 1: up to five thousand bucks. So yeah, that's just another

873
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,400
Speaker 1: great reason to get started. There are low cost companies

874
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,120
Speaker 1: out there, and you know what, in all likelihood that

875
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,520
Speaker 1: tax credit is going to absorb pretty much all the

876
00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:20,040
Speaker 1: startup costs you're gonna incur. Tax credits my favorite, I

877
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:21,600
Speaker 1: think one of the few things I like more than

878
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,319
Speaker 1: tax credits. Joel are craft beer, and so I think

879
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,560
Speaker 1: it's only appropriate and fitting that we were able to

880
00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:29,120
Speaker 1: enjoy one of Josh's beers that he donated to the

881
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,919
Speaker 1: show while at the same time answering his question. Yeah,

882
00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,960
Speaker 1: I agree, so Joel. This episode we had aggresstick what

883
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 1: we were thoughts on this beer. Man. Yeah, this was

884
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:39,960
Speaker 1: a great wild ale from Firestone Walker out in California

885
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,200
Speaker 1: where Josh lives. And this was really really good, dude.

886
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:45,040
Speaker 1: This had a lot of nice oak notes. And also

887
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:47,400
Speaker 1: I think the predominant flavor I got was like Meyer

888
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,839
Speaker 1: lemon had a lot of like lemons as coming through,

889
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,279
Speaker 1: but it was really bright. Was particularly it was those

890
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,680
Speaker 1: Meyer lemons, Man, I just had those recently for the

891
00:39:54,719 --> 00:39:58,040
Speaker 1: first time. They're these beautiful lemons that just tastes completely

892
00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:01,000
Speaker 1: different than a regular lemons. Get the grocery store. Kate's obsessed,

893
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,200
Speaker 1: Like anytime it's myra lemon season, everything has Myra lemons.

894
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,719
Speaker 1: We put some on like some salmon that we cooked

895
00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,040
Speaker 1: the other night. It was delicious. It was like ten

896
00:40:09,080 --> 00:40:11,279
Speaker 1: times better than a regular lemon. And so yeah, this

897
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:13,759
Speaker 1: beer kind of had that shining through. It was really

898
00:40:13,800 --> 00:40:17,080
Speaker 1: really tasty. I love kind of that lemon sour combined

899
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,120
Speaker 1: with kind of those rich oak notes. It was a

900
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:20,960
Speaker 1: great beer. Yeah, I mean, I'm with you, I think.

901
00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:22,880
Speaker 1: For for me, that's one of the things I love

902
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,879
Speaker 1: most about American wild ales is the acidity. They're so bright,

903
00:40:26,960 --> 00:40:29,759
Speaker 1: they're so acidic, and this one in particular had a

904
00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:32,160
Speaker 1: lot of funky notes as well. You could definitely taste

905
00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 1: the different barrels that this beer was aged in on

906
00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:36,200
Speaker 1: the On the label it said it's aged newer between

907
00:40:36,239 --> 00:40:39,680
Speaker 1: twelve and fifteen months in different barrels. Man, you could

908
00:40:39,719 --> 00:40:42,279
Speaker 1: one hundred percents hell. It kind of had that funkiness,

909
00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:44,560
Speaker 1: but without going over the top and becoming like a

910
00:40:44,640 --> 00:40:47,320
Speaker 1: farmhouse ale, you know, it still was able to maintain

911
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:51,840
Speaker 1: its rich American wild ale heritage. But I really enjoyed

912
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:53,640
Speaker 1: this one. It's it's a red ale, so it's kind

913
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 1: of reminiscent of a Flameders red as well. I'm not

914
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:57,680
Speaker 1: sure if that's just in the name. I see the

915
00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,759
Speaker 1: red there and then it's acidic, and so I immediately

916
00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 1: think of like Rodenbach or some of those other Flanders

917
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:04,520
Speaker 1: reds that are out there. But knowing that I really

918
00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:07,359
Speaker 1: do enjoy those styles as well, I really enjoyed this one. Yeah.

919
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:10,279
Speaker 1: Those beers come from a region in Belgium that is

920
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:14,520
Speaker 1: known for making these incredibly beautiful beers, very complex but

921
00:41:14,640 --> 00:41:16,920
Speaker 1: also highly acidic, just like this one. So yeah, really

922
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:19,320
Speaker 1: really good beer. Thanks again to our my good buddy

923
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,880
Speaker 1: Josh for sending in his question and for donating the

924
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,239
Speaker 1: beer as well. And let's not forget our book I

925
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:27,120
Speaker 1: away from last week our guest Mindy Jensen. She was

926
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 1: kind of enough to give away ten copies of her

927
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,840
Speaker 1: book How to Sell Your Home The Essential Guy to

928
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,719
Speaker 1: a fast, stress free and profitable sale. Our winners are

929
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 1: GiMA seventy, Double O Ryan or Double zero Ryan. I

930
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:45,480
Speaker 1: should say Benny the Mailman, Curls, any one dripping with kids,

931
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,880
Speaker 1: Mia Oh through through three, Will Master, Frugal Crafter, Dancing

932
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,319
Speaker 1: Queen Aba and t Bird. If I said your screen name,

933
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:57,640
Speaker 1: will be reaching out to you shortly to find out

934
00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,319
Speaker 1: where to send your copy of the book. Matt, that's

935
00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:01,759
Speaker 1: gonna do it. For this episode, we'll have shout out

936
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:04,319
Speaker 1: up on our website at how to money dot com. Yeah.

937
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 1: In those show notes will also include some links to

938
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,920
Speaker 1: the different credit bureaus where you can go directly to

939
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:11,400
Speaker 1: freeze your credit and Also, if you're a listener of

940
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: the show and you haven't given us a review yet,

941
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 1: we would be incredibly thankful if you were to do

942
00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:17,600
Speaker 1: that helps us to get the word out, helps new

943
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,520
Speaker 1: folks to find the show. Just head to Apple Podcasts

944
00:42:20,680 --> 00:42:22,760
Speaker 1: or or wherever it is that you listen to your podcasts,

945
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:25,360
Speaker 1: and while you're there, make sure that you hit subscribe

946
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:28,160
Speaker 1: as well. So Joel, that's gonna be it man. Until

947
00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 1: next time, Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out.