WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Brainless Borrowing, DOGE Dividends, & Abroad on a Budget #951 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.920 Welcome to Hat of Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt. 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:07.520 Today we're talking about brainless borrowing, Doge dividends and abroad 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:08.720 on a budget. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:30.800 Doge dividends. Jiel, that's a headline that's like specifically written 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.760 for the Friday flight. Yes, because of the alliterations. Of course, 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:35.880 your favorite thing, that's what I do? Best man? What's 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:40.360 this thing about? Newly So? And you U l y right? 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:44.959 So I thought this and this is a particular website company, 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.080 but there are other ones that do similar things apparently 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.000 like rent the runway or whatever. But you and I 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.600 a closed website. We haven't yeah, we haven't talked about 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.200 this actually on the show. But we got nominated for 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:58.920 an iHeart Podcast Award, the best in the Best Business 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:03.920 category best Business and Finance Podcasts, and we're probably gonna lose. Like, 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:06.000 let's be honest, there's. 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:08.280 A chance we win. I mean, well, we're a one 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:10.360 out of five nominated, but there's I think a less 0:01:10.360 --> 0:01:12.399 than twenty percent chance that we win, twenty chance of 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:14.560 us making it. I don't know, maybe. 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:18.240 We're probably not, but so Emily, my wife and I 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.399 were like, let's go down for it. The awards are here, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.959 in a little over a week. You sadly can't make it. 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:27.640 So if we do win, I'll be hoisting the trophy 0:01:28.160 --> 0:01:30.640 alone without you, which will be sad. But again, we're 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:33.560 not winning, okay. So Emily's like, I need a fancy 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.400 dress for this occasion. We're going to like a podcast 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:38.880 award show, right, like, don't don't you walk down the 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:40.560 red carpet and you wear something nice? 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:41.720 What am I gonna wear? 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.120 And those kinds of dresses are I guess are typically 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.400 pretty expensive, and she's like, what why not just rent something? 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:50.240 And so we've never tried one of these websites before. 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:52.720 I don't know if guys do it or not. Like 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:55.760 I think my buddy Josh has done something called stitch 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:58.520 fix before, so I think some guys do rent close. 0:01:58.640 --> 0:02:00.720 Stitch Fix was like they send you a of clothes. 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:03.040 Maybe that's it. Maybe you keep it stitch fixed. I 0:02:03.040 --> 0:02:04.160 don't know. I don't know how that works. 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.680 But we looked into this into Newly and so she's 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.760 gonna get like like a six hundred dollars dress for 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.880 this occasion. You get like six pieces for like one 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:16.040 hundred bucks, and then you can. 0:02:15.919 --> 0:02:16.680 Cancel at any time. 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:18.280 So it's one of those things where you're not obligated 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:20.720 to rent clothes from them for six months or a 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:23.160 year or anything like that. So especially for like a 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.280 special occasion, if you don't want to go fork over 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.959 big bucks for the nice dress for that when you 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.720 are you know, how often are these events actually occur? 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:32.919 Right? It's kind of rare. So I mean you said 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.040 one hundred bucks and that still sounds pretty dang expensive. 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.320 It's just like, is it worth it though to spend 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:40.080 you know, I guess six times that in order to 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.359 get the six hundred dollars dress, and I think it might. 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:44.600 This is probably why it makes more sense for ladies 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.120 than it does for men, because with men's clothing and 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.079 fashion generally speaking, there's not a whole lot that changes, right, 0:02:50.120 --> 0:02:52.519 Like you get yourself a good fitting tucks or suit 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.840 and you're gonna wear that thing for like twenty years. 0:02:54.919 --> 0:02:57.000 Where it's just it is a little bit different when 0:02:57.040 --> 0:02:58.400 it comes to the ladies. Well, I think is that 0:02:58.400 --> 0:03:00.680 a part of the pink tax that I think get. 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:04.359 I think there's just different standards as to what's expected 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.960 of the ladies up and which is a bummer, Like 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:09.360 you might love the dress and hey, it's fun for this, 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:12.119 but do you want to wear it again? Right? Yeah? 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:12.520 I know. 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:15.239 There's like a different thing about wearing the same dress 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:15.920 to fancy. 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:18.960 If I was a if I was a lady, I 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.640 would get an awesome dress and I would wear it 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:26.400 to everything, Like to all these events. It's just like, oh, 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:27.399 there's Matt. 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:31.360 Well, well you are who literally wears the same shirt 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:33.160 or the same outfit like six or seven days in 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:34.639 a row, that's. 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:36.640 In the winter. I can because I maybe like you 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.680 wear the undershirt and like I'm like my outer button 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.640 up shirt. It doesn't get dirty. And so I literally 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.520 have the ability. I will literally wear a new fresh 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:47.920 shirt on Sunday, wear it all throughout the week, and 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:49.600 then by the time Friday rolls around and I'm like, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:51.320 all right, it's trust. I have noticed it's starting to 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:53.600 get a little bit stale. It doesn't get stinky because again, 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:57.040 the shirts that touched the skin, you gotta those are 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.560 going straight to the hamp after one used socks, underwear, 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.800 T shirt. It's one use. This is what we're teaching 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.080 our kids. But everything I was like pants, you know, 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.120 pay she can get several days out of it. Shorts, 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:08.760 I know, it depends on the shorts, but maybe you 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:10.280 can get a couple of days out of that jacket. 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.200 In jackets, jeans like these are things that you rarely 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:16.760 need to wash, which is of course going to lengthen 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:19.680 the life of your clothing as well. But I think 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.839 that's fun though. That Emily is, she's getting all dolled up, 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:24.800 getting dressed up. And I didn't think. I didn't realize 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:26.560 it's gonna be like the Oscars, But I don't know 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.280 it is. We'll see. I have no idea what to expect, 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.720 but I think, you know, y'll show up and everyone 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.360 else is wearing like jeans and T shirts. That might 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.680 be the case. Hey, no young being overdressed. You know, 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:41.480 it's just like, sorry, we've got a gala after this. 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:43.480 We didn't dress up for this, We dress up for 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:46.160 the other thing. Okay, Yeah, I love it. I'll let 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.840 you know if we if we win, But if we win, 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:51.280 you need to FaceTime me live and I'll be like, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.719 you know, like the little microphone. Well yeah, all right, buddy, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.080 that'll be me, yeah, yelling through the phone. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:58.880 I look forward to it. All right, all right, let's 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.960 move on, mat, Let's get to Friday. Flight as sampling 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:04.040 stories we found interesting this week. Let's kick it off. 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.640 Let's talk about travel. If you want to fly for 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.000 less money, it's not all about finding the right discount 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:13.039 airline or snagging a sweet sale price. Like wait, I 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:16.679 think Southwest had a thirty percent off sale on certain 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:18.760 flights this week. I saw that, which is awesome. Yeah, 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.880 you might be able to fly for less right if 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:24.240 you find one of those sales. But it would also 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:27.360 be smart to fly or to attempt to fly from 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:31.120 the airports that offer the least expensive fares most regularly. 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:35.680 So to help us out here, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:39.520 they listed the lowest cost airports to embark from, and Matt, 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:41.560 I think we should name them right, because if you know, 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:45.240 let's do the airports that traditionally offer the lowest prices. Hey, 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.400 you might want to like start looking to see whether 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.600 you can find a flight from there, as opposed to 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:53.360 maybe the airport that's closest to your house. So Fort Lauderdale, Orlando. 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.359 So we got two Florida airports first off, but then Vegas, 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.520 Chicago and LaGuardia. Those are going to nab you the 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:03.960 lowest domestic fares on average dolls. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:05.000 In Washington, d C. 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:07.640 That's the most expensive airport to fly from, and the 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:11.240 average price difference MATT between flights from Fort Lauderdale and 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.159 from the Washington Dollas Airport it's more than two hundred 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:14.960 dollars a ticket. 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:15.719 That's pretty steep. 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:17.400 So if you live in Washington, DC, it's not like 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:20.640 you're driving down to Fort Lauderdale right to save money 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.520 on your ticket. But I think this just goes to 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:27.920 show that if you only shop at the airport that's 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:30.640 nearest to you, you might be leaving out other potential 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.760 options to reduce the cost of your travel. So shop around, 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:37.320 set fair alerts, but also look to cheaper airports that 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.440 you might be able to reasonably fly from. 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.240 Yeah, I noticed you said LaGuardia. Does everyone say La 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:46.000 Guardia or LaGuardia Guardia? Is it? Why is it Guardia 0:06:46.040 --> 0:06:49.040 because it's spelled just the last name? Oh is that? Yeah? 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:50.960 I don't know who that is? Based after a former 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:54.719 New York City mayor, Charles Well because like the like 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:56.960 the way you spell guard like, you don't pronounce it 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.840 like Gouard to the base you say guard Okay, multation over. 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:08.039 So regarding the different regarding the different airports. What's so 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.560 fascinating too, is the fact that one of the biggest differences, 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:14.000 or one of the biggest reasons for the price discrepancy, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:17.560 is because of competition. Yeah, and so specifically Dalls, Like 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:19.640 I was really fascinating. I'm like, why is it so 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:21.600 much more expensive? Is it because that's where all the 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:25.760 politicians fly into and they are priced in sensitive? Perhaps, 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:27.120 but it also has a lot to do with the 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:29.680 different airlines that service that airport, and there's a lot 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:33.520 of competition there. But specifically United Airlines has over seventy 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.920 percent market share. They basically have a stranglehold, which means 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.480 they can set the prices high and you don't have 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:42.280 many other options to get around that as opposed. 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.600 To do you think Atlanta wasn't on that list? Yeah, 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.720 there's we got tons of different options. So no, no, no, no, 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.280 it wasn't on the list. Because Delta probably runs sixty 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.160 plus percent of the flights out of. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.040 UMAN compared to the most expensive list, we do have 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:55.600 a lot of options. But I was going to say, 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.560 guess the market share of United at Fort Lauderdale. So 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.280 at Dallas it's seven twenty percent. At Fort Lauderdale. Any guesses, 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:06.480 I'm I guess fifteen eight okay, eight percent, so and 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:09.080 that's much lower compared to I think the top three 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:14.200 where Spirit Jet Blue in Southwest, which sense like the 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:17.880 low cost affordable airlines provides that competition, and that's a 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.160 huge driving factor behind why there's such a price discrepancy 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:21.560 as well. 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:23.920 And so when there is a major airline based out 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:27.320 of that city who runs, they kind of run the show. 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.200 They're going to have a lot more pricing power and 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:31.880 they can kind of keep some people out. I mean, 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:35.280 Southwest came to Atlanta a few years back, but they're 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:37.600 even talking about reducing flights. So I'm guessing the situation, 0:08:37.720 --> 0:08:41.319 the pricing situation in coming to and from the Atlanta airport, 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:42.680 it's only going to get worse, like get a little 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.840 stiffer in the coming years. Okay, let's keep talking about travel, Matt. 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.640 As more airline frequent flyer programs have put the emphasis 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.199 on how much you spend versus how often you travel. 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.800 It's all about, you know, spending more money on tickets 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:58.320 instead of just flying regularly. Folks are opting to play 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:00.880 the field in attempts to save money, saying, ah, I 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.480 don't think I'm gonna book with the airline, and normally 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.840 I go with a particular airline because I'm used to 0:09:05.880 --> 0:09:08.040 flying them. But people are saying I'm gonna be a 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.560 little less loyal moving forward. And we've always said that 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:13.880 being loyal to one brand or one airline it's a 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:17.680 bad idea because it's gonna cost you money. Right, But 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:20.240 even for normal people who only travel a few times 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.640 a year, some of those loyalty perks, like when combined 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.920 with let's say a proprietary credit card, they could result 0:09:26.960 --> 0:09:30.240 in some pretty sweet benefits for travelers, potentially enough to 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:33.560 justify a higher ticket price. But I think those days 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.200 are coming to an end, and we are all for 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.800 loyalty in some areas of life, right, like friendship and love. 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:40.680 Like Matt, you and I were loyal to each other. 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:42.720 We're gonna be best friends, yeah, boy forever. 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.600 But move over, Zach Braff and Donald Fason. We're better 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:50.719 than that. We're real friends. We're real, real friends. They're 0:09:50.760 --> 0:09:52.959 real friends too, right, Evidently. Yeah, we haven't gotten that 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.600 T mobile commercial yet though, you know, Kate, I I've 0:09:56.600 --> 0:09:59.360 debated watching Scrubs with the kids because it was one 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:02.520 of our favorite shows back in college. And every time 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.640 those T mobile commercials come on, they just totally crack up. 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:07.720 They think that they are so funny, and they are. 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:09.280 And Kate and I looked at each other, We're just like, 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:12.280 oh my gosh, they would so enjoy scrubs. I'm not 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.200 totally sure how appropriate that would be for a six 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.120 year old. That's a seven year old. That's a good question. Okay. 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.800 So loyalty it's great in some areas, not great in others, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.360 specifically when we're talking about airlines for most people. Right, So, yeah, 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:25.920 if you're in the position if you find that your 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:30.440 perks have diminished from the airline that you typically fly with, 0:10:30.679 --> 0:10:33.680 but the price of your ticket hasn't and airfares are 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.960 going up, folks, look elsewhere. Google Flights is like the 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:41.120 proper place to start searching. Oh yeah, be more interested 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.480 in paying the least amount of money for the fair 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:45.079 as opposed to going with. 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.400 The airline you're used to flying. Yeah, shopping around is 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:49.040 going to pay off, man. But on top of that, 0:10:49.120 --> 0:10:52.240 every trip is on sale because of the current strength 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.120 of the dollar. Friend of the show Elaying Glusac, she 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.679 wrote about this over in The Times and she found 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.000 that a hotel room in Europe that costs two hundred 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:03.120 twenty four dollars last summer cost only two hundred and 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:07.200 eight dollars today. So it's not just that the dollar 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:10.440 is more competitive against the euro, but the Japanese yend 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:14.000 the Canadian dollar, they have also become weaker compared to 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:18.240 the to the US dollar. Basically because of favorable exchange rates. 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:22.319 Your money goes further in many overseas countries and destinations 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:25.040 right now, and so don't only think about the cost 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:28.080 of the flight in and of itself, granted that is 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:30.679 a huge part of the cost of afacation, but also 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.880 think about how much everything else is gonna cost during 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:35.680 your stay as well. Gives you the chance to go 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:39.160 abroad and maybe live a little bit beyond your not 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.000 beyond your means, but maybe just a slightly fancier trip 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.600 than maybe what you're used to. It feels like you're 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:46.679 living above your means because when you go over there, 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.000 you're like, wait a second, my money goes further. And 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.480 so it feels like with every purchase you make, or 0:11:51.720 --> 0:11:53.560 or going out to eat or something like that, or 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:56.800 the hotel that you're paying for, it shall cost a 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.000 little bit less because it's a dollar strong. Yeah, it 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:02.040 feels like this is everything ten percent of what's feel 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:05.200 like exactly exactly exactly, which is pretty sweet feeling. Matt. 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.439 Let's talk about credit cards. I see that article discussed 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:11.400 the secondary benefits of credit cards, and that's something that 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:13.800 we sing the praises of that. It's not just the 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.120 two percent cash back or the travel rewards, although those 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:20.080 are great. There are other benefits of credit cards as well, 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:23.679 you know, and some of them don't get touted all 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:26.079 that much, really, but they can be incredibly rewarding. And 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:28.120 so this author has seen that they got a new 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:33.040 battery for their iPhone without having and paying for Apple Care, 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:36.160 and that was thanks to the Chase Freedom Flex card 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:38.400 saved them ninety bucks because that's what it would have 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:40.680 cost otherwise. I think this is I just wanted to 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.120 use this as a reminder to tell people not to 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.760 sleep on the secondary benefits of that credit cards have 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.880 to offer. Like you can snag cell phone insurance or 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.679 no foreign transaction fees, or trip cancelation coverage or baggage 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.960 delay insurance or purchase production or a longer extended warranty. 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:00.240 There are just so many things that are under the 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:02.920 surface oftentimes that most people don't realize. You're like, oh, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:04.600 I get the two percent cash back, or I'm getting 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:06.720 the five percent back when I when I pay for 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.000 gas and those things. That's awesome, Like I'm all for 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:11.360 those rewards. But then there are these other ones that 0:13:11.400 --> 0:13:14.400 most people I think they just forget or they neglect 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.000 to think about, and they can be pretty rewarding too. 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:20.199 I'll forget about the CDW man, the colision damage waiver. 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.880 Get that primary benefit that's stuff when you travel, and 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.920 that's so that's a massive if you travel at least 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:27.599 a week a year, you want that benefit that you 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:29.880 would use regularly as well as opposed to just when 0:13:29.880 --> 0:13:33.439 things go poorly. Yeah, but I guess if you get 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:36.280 in direct things have gone poorly, but it's it's paying 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.280 for the insurance to make sure that you are covered 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.400 in case something like that were to happen. One of 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:42.800 the other benefits, too, is that those credit card credit 0:13:42.840 --> 0:13:45.560 card rewards, they don't get taxed, which of course we're 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:47.880 thankful for. It's one of the only ways that we 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.880 can avoid the tax man. The thrift y traveler, they 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.480 had an article about this particular subject. And it's worth 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.959 mentioning that some kinds of credit card rewards actually will 0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:01.280 result in taxation. You don't have to worry about your 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.679 sign up bonus that doesn't get taxed. It's treated as 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:07.320 a like a rebate essentially for your spending your two 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:09.880 percent cash back, your travel points. They're not gonna get 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.880 taxed either. But and this is news to me man 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:16.400 referral bonuses, they do get taxed. I didn't know this. 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.520 And so if you send your friend a link to 0:14:18.600 --> 0:14:20.880 sign up for one of your favorite cards, if you 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.400 are one of those credit card optimizers out there and 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.240 you're trying to get everyone on board, just credit card 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.520 pusher slashy, you're also trying to like earner your own rewards, 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:30.880 you're gonna get it ten ninety nine for the bonus 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:34.160 that you receive if they sign up. And even if 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.760 the bonus came in the form of miles, you are 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.560 supposed to pay tax. So you know, I'm not totally 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:42.160 sure what the follow through rate is when it comes 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:43.920 to some of the different banks, but don't be surprised 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.440 if you receive a ten ninety nine in the mail 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:47.360 for that. 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.800 Yeah, heads up, all right, Matt, let's talk about getting 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:53.760 paid from your employer and I getting paid. Yeah, sometimes 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.760 pay comes in the form of non monetary compensation, right. 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.920 We always talk about looking at your your total compensation 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.960 package when you're looking for a job, or you're trying 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:06.280 to assess the benefits of a job offer you have, 0:15:06.600 --> 0:15:09.880 or even just like kind of thinking, well, how competitive 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.480 is the pay that I'm earning currently where I'm at 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.240 versus what maybe a friend or what other people in 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.960 the industry are earning somewhere else, somewhere down the street. Well, 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:20.840 the Wall Street Journal just wrote about why one perk 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:25.760 that looks great it really isn't, And that's unlimited vacation time. 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:28.800 This is something like that I feel like I've seen 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:32.920 popping up more and more as companies offering Hey, no, no, no, 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:35.720 it's not just two weeks of PTO. You can take 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:38.840 as much time off as you want. And that's kind 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:42.480 of the pitch. That's the cell from the company that 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:48.040 you can travel as frequently as you desire. But everyone 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:49.600 I've talked to, I don't know about you, Matt, who 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.480 has this benefit, they don't feel okay using it. So 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:54.960 this sounds like a great perk but in reality maybe 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.560 doesn't play out so well. That kind of the unspoken 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:01.840 rules dictate that you're not supposed to abuse your newfound freedom, 0:16:01.920 --> 0:16:03.680 like the ability to travel as much as you want, 0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.360 which I think actually causes people from what I can 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:08.680 from what I can tell, to take even less time 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.840 off than they're allowed. It's a sad reality. But I 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.520 would say, make sure to look this gift horse in 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.320 the mouth and ask about how this benefit functions in reality. 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:20.520 If you're applying for a job and the employer says, hey, 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:22.520 this is one of the perks we offer, I would 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.960 want to know more about how that actually works and 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.680 whether people actually take a significant amount of time off, 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.560 because we're always talking about how Americans don't taken off 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:34.320 their vacation time. If they have like a specific amount allotted, 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.760 they never take the full amount. We should all be 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:39.600 taken our vacation man, Like it's one of those perks 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:42.560 that we've earned that we deserve and all work and 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:43.880 no play makes us pretty dull too. 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.200 Yeah, I totally agree. It feels like one of those 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.040 things where it's a benefit that like I don't even 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:50.800 know if this exists, but like it makes me think 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.880 if you go to like an arcade and it's just 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.800 like if you get this wrisk band, it's unlimited coke refills, 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:57.280 or like if you buy the special cup at a 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.760 gas station, it's like anytime you come in with your cup, 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:03.400 you just drink whatever you want. But the reality is 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.000 is how much are you actually how much soda are 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:06.359 you actually going to drink? And do you want to 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:10.000 drink an unlimited amount of coke? Like every time I'm 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:12.480 gonna drink till kidney failures. Kenny feels like something where 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:14.760 it's just like on paper, it seems appealing until you 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:16.320 actually start thinking through it and it's just like, well, 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.240 what's the actual reality of me taking full advantage of this? 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.080 And when it comes to time off, it's like, Okay, 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:24.000 are we talking about how great it would be to 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:26.119 take unlimited time off or maybe we just need to 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.760 actually take the time off based on a normal amount 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.840 of vacation days. And certainly it probably should be higher 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.560 in the US because we're such a work performance, productivity 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.320 driven culture. But I think that's something else to keep 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:41.280 in mind as well. Another typical perk that we not 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.040 we joel, but that most folks often get from their employer. 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:47.800 Our employers stage is health insurance. But as we're seeing 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:51.080 a rise in small business formation entrepreneurs, they got to 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.640 figure out how to get coverage without bankrupting themselves, which 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:56.800 is like the whole point of starting a business is 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:00.879 maybe for this to succeed. Vox they detailed the rise 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:05.240 of health sharing companies, not health care companies, but they 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.920 are growing quickly. These health sharing companies. Almost two million 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:11.800 Americans find themselves on one of these plans that look 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:16.800 like health insurance, but they have meaningful differences, and it's 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:18.840 basically the number of folks that are on these plants 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.720 have doubled in the past several in the past few years. 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:26.760 So look into them because they like there's significant savings 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.240 to be had, but do be careful, know the fine print, 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.600 know the exclusions. Juel and I we are both on 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:35.600 metas Share specifically they've worked well for us, but we 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.520 also haven't tested the limits, although some friends of ours have. 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:40.880 I think about some some good friends, and I think 0:18:40.920 --> 0:18:44.040 it was literally the year after they joined on, she 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.360 ruptured or tore her achilles, and they were also like, well, 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.800 we were thinking about getting tonsils removed and adenoids as 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:52.480 well from like one of their whatever that is. I 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:53.920 don't know. I think it's in your mouth. 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:54.480