WEBVTT - Ask HTM - Maximizing Tuition Reimbursement, Bank Account Bonus Requirements, Using a HELOC to Pay Off a Mortgage, & More... #424 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.400 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:25.800 and today we are answering your listener questions. That's right, Joel. 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:27.920 This is our ask how them on the episode where 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:31.680 every other Monday we answer five listener questions, and this 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.800 week we've got five great ones, including a question about 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.880 tuition reimbursement, the best way to go about that, a 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.800 question about some different new bank account bonuses, and also 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:46.880 when paying off your mortgage early does not make sense. Yeah, 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.320 we've got those three plus a couple others here on 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.479 this episode. Yeah, so looking forward to it. I think 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.760 we've got some good ones and just one that are 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.040 ones that are highly applicable to most of us. So 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:58.880 a lot of good questions that we're gonna get to 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:01.200 on this episode, plus a couple others that may not 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.000 be as applicable but are still very good. Yeah, still 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:07.000 interesting for sure. I think sometimes I'm fascinated by the 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.080 variety of questions that come in because even if the 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.240 spice of life, even if it's not something that I 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.479 have dealt with personally, like I know that someone someone 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.120 who has, and I can, like I don't know, just 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:19.240 kind of think of it as building a robust amount 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:21.520 of financial knowledge. And I'm just curious, and I think 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:23.440 a lot of our listeners are too. They're just curious 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:25.959 about money in general. And hopefully the stuff we covered 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:29.440 here just leads to you being like smarter when it 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:31.360 comes to money in general. But Matt, before we get 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.600 to that, you you don't like to go to the doctor. 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.160 You don't like to go to the dentist. That is true, 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:38.560 although I'm trying to fix all of these things. I know, yeah, 0:01:38.600 --> 0:01:40.319 you actually have gone recently, and you actually went to 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.360 the eye doctor recently, which I was surprised to hear 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:45.120 that you decided to make that move. Yeah, I'm gonna 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.200 share this story with folks. And so I've been sent 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:49.120 to not go to the eye doctor and you know this, 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.280 but I know I've needed to go because my girls 0:01:52.400 --> 0:01:54.800 will point out that I can't read the clock that's 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.720 on the stove. And here's the thing. It's in blue lettering. 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.120 It's not very bright. It is hard to see. But 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:01.320 they still make fun of me and they're like, you 0:02:01.320 --> 0:02:04.320 can't read that when we're sitting at the table here. 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:06.040 It has made me realize, though that I think my 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.519 eyes have gotten worse over the years. It has been 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.320 twelve solid years since I had gone and got my 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:15.080 eyes checked. But I was tempted to instead of actually 0:02:15.080 --> 0:02:17.960 go to the eye doctor, to just hop on zinny 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:21.000 and slightly tweak my prescription and making it a little 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:23.679 bit uh stronger, because basically they're like a frugal or 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.040 cheap kin undrum. You're like, yeah, yeah, do I pay 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:27.880 the money to go to an eye doctor or do 0:02:27.960 --> 0:02:30.760 I just assume that my vision has deteriorated a little bit, 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.120 just like pad the numbers right exactly. And so I 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:34.600 was like, Okay, I'm just gonna make a little bit stronger. 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:36.520 I'm gonna order those I can avoid the you know, 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:38.800 going to the eye doctor altogether. But in the end 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:41.440 I decided, okay, I think that would be cheap, Like 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:45.440 that would be an instance of me, uh maybe doing 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:47.480 what I should be doing, which is actually going in 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:49.160 and seeing the eye doctor, because they, you know, they 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:51.320 check for other things in your eye while you're in 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:52.960 there as well, making sure. I don't know what they 0:02:52.960 --> 0:02:54.720 look for, but they you gotta fly in there, man, 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:56.560 like you gotta pick that out. Does make sure that 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:59.240 there's not other weird stuff going on. So that was 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.520 the decision that I make. And here's the thing. I 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:04.120 am so glad that I did because I went in 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.280 and I don't have like eye cancer or anything like that, 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:09.639 like not nothing terrible, which I was actually a little 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:10.840 bit worried as I was sitting down, I was like, 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:13.079 oh man, it's been over a decade, like I might 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:15.560 have some screw top eyes, but it's are another healthy 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.440 but they have gotten worse. But specifically, we discovered that 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.320 I have an a stigmatism and both of my eyes. 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:24.400 And what that means is that there is something different 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:26.680 that you have to do to your eyeglass prescription. You 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.360 can't just make it stronger. You have to do something 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:31.600 you know there, it's like another set of numbers that 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:33.679 you have to make an adjustment for. Uh. And I'm 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.640 so glad that I actually went in because had I 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:39.400 not gone in and had I just made my prescription stronger, 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:42.680 I would have a not improved my vision because it 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.800 wouldn't have been the right correction. B There's a good 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:48.120 chance my eyes would hurt because I would be constantly 0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:50.440 straining because I hadn't corrected my eyes. You know, I 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.360 hadn't corrected my prescription in the correct way. And I 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.000 would have been out the money, like the thirty bucks 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.520 or whatever that I would have spent on Zinny, because 0:03:57.520 --> 0:03:59.720 that's where I'm gonna Actually I ordered some earlier this 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:01.640 morning before we started working. All there. You got me 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.080 a new set of eyeglasses on the way from Zenny 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:07.080 optical right ones that are gonna yeah, and they help 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:09.840 your eyes, and so I'm so looking forward to not 0:04:09.920 --> 0:04:12.280 only being able to see properly. But I'm just glad 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:13.960 I made the right decision in this case, because, like 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:18.279 you said, I can be a cheap buddy and avoid 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:19.839 doing the thing I think I need to do in 0:04:19.920 --> 0:04:22.200 order to save a couple of bucks, and in this case, 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:25.000 I'm glad I mean the right decision. So the lesson here, 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.239 don't self diagnose any ailments you might have, instead actually 0:04:29.279 --> 0:04:31.279 going and spend the In my case, I spent like 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.400 eighty bucks getting my eyes checked and she gave me 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:36.040 the prescription and Nana, I'm set for another twelve years. Yeah. 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:38.680 That's the thing. It's not terribly expensive. Hopeully not twelve. 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:42.720 But that's the thing is is it's not terribly expensive 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:44.960 to go to see an eye doctor. Usually you can 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.400 get that appointment for seventy eight bucks. Not not not much. 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:49.520 It's really not too bad. And then yeah, save on 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:52.080 the back end when it comes to the glasses that 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.680 you're getting, because that is where most people fork over 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:58.720 the most money. They'll drop three fo on you know, 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.760 prescription lenses as opposed to going to a place like 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.160 Zenny where you went, which is dirt cheap, but you 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.599 still just as good a quality. And they've got some 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.359 cool sis. So I love their glasses. I'm actually really excited. 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:12.839 I've got these kind of gray, clear ish colored ones. 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.479 So the frames are kind of a little more transparent. Uh, 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.560 And yeah, I'm looking forward to train out some new frames. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.400 I thought about getting someone like the hip wire frame. 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:23.560 I don't think I can pull this off. My dad 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:25.360 he went and got his at Warby Parker. That's another 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.800 good choices are a little more expensive, but they're still 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:30.440 cheaper than going to a lot of the traditional eyeglass shops. 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.240 And so once you get that prescription once and once 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:35.480 you've had that eye exam, once you've not cheaped out 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.279 on that, and then you can like kind of sort 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.240 of cheap out on the glasses. Like that's get the 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:44.160 right prescriptions, right, But don't just necessarily like overdo it 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.400 and spend buckoos a bucks for the frames. Yeah, so, 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:49.520 especially with younger kids too, were wrestling around. I don't 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:50.960 know how many times I've gotten smacked in the side 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.000 of the face or had had them kind of wrenched off. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.000 That's me though, when we're wrestling that that is true. 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.080 I mean, you know, before we podcast every time, I 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:01.560 gotta get that heart it up to that target heart rate, 0:06:01.720 --> 0:06:05.880 make sure that we are podcasting at the optimal levels. Uh, Joe, 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:07.880 Let's go ahead to introduce our beer this episode. This 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.480 is one by Burial, uh and it is called Beneath 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.719 the Tides of Relative and Permanence. I don't really have 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:17.880 anything else to say. We'll talk about this beer and 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:19.440 our thoughts on it at the end of the episode. 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:21.960 Maybe we should let the folks at Burial name our 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.840 podcast episode like that'll be kind of fun to see 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:26.240 what they come up with. We don't want folks to 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.720 get depressed though, just by reading the name of our 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:30.919 episodes right to actually click it and listen to. They 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.520 have the most interesting beer names and sometimes depressing, but 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:35.760 they go deep. Let's move on. Let's get to some 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:38.800 listener questions. And if you have a question you want 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:40.280 to submit for Matt and I to take on an 0:06:40.320 --> 0:06:43.400 upcoming ask TM episode, we would love to hear it. 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:46.200 Just go to how to money dot com slash ask 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:49.200 simple instructions. There is basically recording a voice membo on 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:51.080 your phone and then emailing it over to us and 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:53.960 hopefully we'll get it on the next one. So Matt, 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.760 let's get to our first question of this episode. This 0:06:56.800 --> 0:07:01.480 one is about banking bonuses, how to score money by 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:04.960 moving your dollars around. Hi, man Joel. I'm a longtime 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.000 listener and I really enjoyed your podcast on my runs 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.360 during the pandemic. I'm retiring next week at fifty two, 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:13.400 and I plan to spend a certain amount of time 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.440 shuffling our cash reserve around to various high yield savings 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:18.760 accounts just to try to squeeze out a bit of 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:23.000 extra interest without taking on additional risk. I found though, 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:27.520 that many online banks have a direct deposit requirement. Since 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.960 I'll be retired and it don't have an employer giving 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.360 me a wage anymore, I don't have any way to 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.160 meet this. What do you suggest? Is there some way 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:41.960 for me to get around this direct deposit requirement, maybe 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:46.360 by setting up some kind of deposit from my brokerage 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:49.400 account or something like that. I would love to hear 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.760 any solutions you might have for this issue. Thanks again. 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.160 All right man, I like Jeff's question. I personally am 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.000 not much of a runner, but yeah, when I am 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.760 going on a bike ride, I sometimes listen to podcasts, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.800 sometimes listen to music, depending on kind of what I'm 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.000 going for. I'm a little more leisurely, it's usually a podcast. 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.080 But what about you? Do you run to podcast you 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:11.840 run to music? Do we actually pump people up enough 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.440 for their workout? I hope we do actually, so yeah, 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:19.360 big thanks to all of our runners and workouters us 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.080 the right tory probably not out there here, I'll say this. 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:25.800 I actually I've had some issues listening to audiobooks and 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.400 listening to podcasts while I run, because for my entire 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.360 life I've always used that as a time to kind 0:08:30.360 --> 0:08:33.400 of decompress, unplug, But lately I'm if I'm wanting to 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.120 catch up on something, I'll you know, popping in the 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:38.079 earbud one year take off running. But here's the problem 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.240 with that is I get so engrossed into the story 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:44.120 or the podcast that the narrative essentially that I won't 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:46.800 always pay attention. I pay attention to traffic, there's no 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.480 danger there. But I have an issue with not listening 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.000 to my body as much, and so I'll start running 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.640 and I realized, like halfway through the rung, I'm like, crap, 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.040 my my knee has been really hurting, and I don't 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.240 really pay attention to it because I'm not because I'm 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.240 completely too into what I'm listening to. I'm not really 0:09:02.280 --> 0:09:04.400 listening to my body as much. But the Jeff and 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.160 all the other folks out there who can do two 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:09.600 things at once, good as to you, and we appreciate 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.120 you all listening. But Jeff, let's ahead and answer your question. 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:14.920 You're talking about basically trying to get around some of 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:18.200 these direct deposit requirements, and we we feel that this 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:20.160 is a great approach. Uh. You know, if you can 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:23.199 snag those bonuses in order to get a higher rate 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:25.600 of return, we feel that that's probably the best method 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.520 we know of to increase returns on your money that 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:30.760 you aren't willing to risk in the market for money 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:32.000 that you want to keep on hand, that you want 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:34.400 to keep liquid. Uh. And the thing is is Not 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:38.079 all banks require you to have a number of direct 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.480 deposits in order to snag the bonus, but some of 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:43.040 them definitely do. Uh. It's kind of annoying, but we 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:45.280 understand why they do it. You know, they know it's 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.240 sort of like this, it's a bit of a hassle. Uh. 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.240 And so once you do get that direct deposit up 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:52.320 and running, you've got that money going into that account, 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.880 you're far more likely to stick around as a customer, sticky. 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:57.959 It's like a web they've fun for you. Yeah, and 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:00.000 of course, you know, if if you bank with them, 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:01.880 you know for the long term, there's a higher likelihood 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:04.400 that you're gonna maybe use their other products like a helock, 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:06.080 or maybe you'll go to them for a car loan, 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:07.760 that sort of thing. So we understand why they do it, 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:11.040 but it makes it annoying for us as consumers when 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:14.360 we're trying to maximize our return. Yeah. But let's let's 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.679 talk about yes specific situation, and he wants to get 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.240 around these direct deposit requirements when he doesn't have a paycheck, 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.280 and that's it's tricky, right. So it's even tricky for 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:28.240 freelancers Matt right, who don't have a steady paycheck coming 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:30.839 in and they just get paid willy nilly here and 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.400 there by different clients at different times. But for everyone 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.800 who out there who it does have W two employment, 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.439 all you gotta do is set up your direct deposit 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:40.400 to go to this new bank and boom you've done. 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.679 It was super easy. But yeah, Jeff, you said you're 0:10:42.679 --> 0:10:44.640 retiring next week at the age of fifty two, which, 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:47.960 by the way, congrats, cheers very early retirement. We're very 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:51.040 happy for you. But this this doesn't apply to you 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.440 since you're too young. But for our more mature listeners 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:57.600 who are receiving show social Security benefits, that check actually 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:01.079 from Social Security, it usually counts for or requirements or 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:04.640 promotions like this, that counts as a direct deposit. So yeah, 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:06.600 if you're in that boat, then you simply switch the 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.360 account that your monthly check goes into, if that's the case. 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:12.440 But again, Jeff's kind of in no man's land. He's 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:16.760 stuck in this direct deposit purgatory essentially, So Matt, you 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.120 have kind of one way though that he can get 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.600 around these direct deposit requirements. Sign up for a new 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:23.760 account and still get the bonus, right Yeah, So yeah, Jeff, 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:26.360 kind of in limbo. But for Jeff and other listeners 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.560 out there who you know, don't want to change what 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.640 account their paycheck is getting deposited in, the next best 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:34.840 method is to try using a c H transfers and 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:38.280 so a c H transfers that stands for Automated clearinghouse UH. 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:41.079 And these are just the standard push or pull transfers 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.240 that you should be able to initiate with any bank account. 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:46.200 And here's the thing too, This is going to be 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.679 completely dependent on what bank you're attempting to open an 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:53.720 account with and what their specific requirements are. But a 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.480 lot of banks say that a c H transfers from 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:58.920 a bank UH, and just from regular banks like ally 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:02.840 Capital One discover that they're completely legit and that they'll 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:06.000 count as those direct deposits. UH. There are some banks 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:09.280 out there that will even count transfers from PayPal and Venmo, 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:12.800 so it doesn't necessarily have to be this super official 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:16.600 direct deposit from an employer like you're used to. That 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:18.680 being said, it is worth reaching out to someone at 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.240 the bank to see if that counts as a direct 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:22.840 deposit ahead of time. You want to make sure that 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:26.240 you're not wasting your time but quite a few banks 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.920 will count these A c H transfers similarly to a 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.880 direct deposit, allowing you to still get that sign up 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.920 bonus or that higher interest rate from that account. Yeah, 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:38.920 and it's so easy to initiate an A c H 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:41.600 transfer from one bank to another. You just have to 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:43.760 make sure you link those accounts and once you do, 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.240 like I'm always transferring money back and forth from one 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.439 account to another, and so it's as simple as that. Really, 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:54.280 for most banks, they accept that as a direct deposit, 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.319 and then you know, Jeff will be qualified, he'll be 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.920 able to get that bonus, which in effect equates to 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:03.559 a massive return on his money, especially in the environment 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.800 we're in with just incredibly low rates of savings. It's 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.520 like those bank account bonuses are gold. It's a it's 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.000 a big deal. And and speaking of that, Doctor of 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.440 Credit is our favorite site for bank sign up bonuses. Uh, 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:17.720 they aren't usually as rich as sign up bonuses for 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.120 credit cards, but they can still be meaningful, you know, 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:24.080 to three potentially for opening a new bank account and 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.760 keeping it around for sixty to ninety days. The great 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:30.440 thing is that opening a bank account it's not as 0:13:30.440 --> 0:13:32.800 painful as it used to be. I specifically remember Matt 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.000 actually doing one of these with one of the big 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.520 banks back in the day, and uh, that was a 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.760 mistake for so many reasons. One, just going into the 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.360 branch was a big pain. Trying to close that account 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.920 at the end was frustrating, and to make it super hard. 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:48.640 And of course it's they don't want you to leave 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:50.640 one of the big banks exactly. They're trying to make 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:53.960 your life miserable as usual. But yeah, but yeah, that's 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.960 not the case. You're opening up an account online these days, 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.280 and so uh, for for Jeff, it should be pretty 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.400 simple to kind of bounce around to some of these 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:06.000 different accounts, open up, open one up, get the bonus, 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:07.880 and kind of see whether he likes the product or not, 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.199 whether he wants to stick around. But I think this is, yeah, 0:14:10.320 --> 0:14:12.960 is a great strategy, very reasonable to increase your earnings 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.480 on savings without taking on any additional risk. It just 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:19.480 takes really a little bit of record keeping, right, make 0:14:19.520 --> 0:14:21.320 sure you're keeping track of where your money is going. 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.720 But other than that, it's, uh, it's usually just ten 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.280 fifteen minutes to open that new account, making a couple 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.520 of those transfers and Jeff's gonna be golden. That's rights. 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:33.840 We've got several other questions that we're gonna get to 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.600 during this episode, like the ones we mentioned about tuition 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.760 reimbursements when paying off for mortgage when that doesn't make sense, 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:41.760 plus a couple others. We'll get to all of that 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:53.200 right after this break. Alright, we're back from break. We're 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.240 still taking listener questions. This next one comes from a 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.960 listener who's trying to find the right credit card for 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:02.320 his daughter. Hey, Matt and Joel, my name is Jason. 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:05.960 I am forty five. My life is forty four. We 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.600 have good income paying jobs, and we have three kiddos. 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:14.240 Our otis kiddo just started college, and we're thinking about 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.680 getting her a credit card just so she can start 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:22.320 building some credit score as well, just so that she 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.920 is has something to put her gas money on and 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:30.360 expenses other than her debit card right now, and so 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.120 that she's a little bit more protected. Of course, mom 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:36.400 and dad would be watching it, but she is very 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:40.160 responsible for an eighteen year old. But we also don't 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:44.080 want to allow the leash out too much on just 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.680 opening the window for spending everything on a credit card. 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.040 So I'm curious, do you have a credit card you 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:56.360 would recommend for a young new credit card holder. Thanks, 0:15:56.600 --> 0:15:59.080 and have a great day. Look forward to hearing from you, 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:01.960 all right, and thanks so much for that question. And 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:03.760 we are so glad to hear that this is something 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:07.040 that is on your mind. We feel that now is 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:10.160 absolutely the time to be doing this. We want you 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:12.360 to get your daughter used to credit cards while she's 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:15.320 you know, relatively young, because here's the thing, She's likely 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.080 going to make some mistakes. But since it sounds like 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.520 that you're still maybe financially responsible for her, maybe she's 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:23.480 still under your roof. You'll be able to help her 0:16:23.760 --> 0:16:26.880 learn those lessons on a on a much smaller scale, 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:30.040 instead of her learning them the hard way later in 0:16:30.120 --> 0:16:32.520 life when maybe she's less likely to have someone looking 0:16:32.520 --> 0:16:35.120 out for her. Basically, you want are learning those lessons 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.040 with like tens and hundreds rather than with like thousands 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:41.360 and ten thousands of dollars. Essentially, this is why Joel, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.280 not like you and I, we both use go Henry, 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.600 which is an app for kids. Uh, we use them 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.240 right now with our oldest daughters because like our kids, 0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:52.440 they're gonna use plastic to make purchases eventually in their life. 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.080 And so our philosophy is, you know, why not get 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.280 them used to to using it while they're young and 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.640 while we have the ability to to guide them. But 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.000 of course, go Henry, it's a debit card system, but 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.639 we feel that the same principles apply when it comes 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.959 to them swiping that card and understanding that money is 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.600 leaving their possession, right, Yeah, for sure. And I do 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:12.720 think Matt, like what you said that there's no better 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:16.520 time than the present, because, yeah, as your kids get older, 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:19.720 you have less and less influence. And Jason still has 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:21.960 a lot of influence over his daughter right now, Like 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.280 he can help help her figure out which credit card 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:26.119 is best, and he can then you know, they can 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.440 look at her spending together and they can figure out 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.600 where she's making mistakes, kind of help her own how 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:34.200 she uses it. So yeah, I love the idea of 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:38.760 not waiting and hoping that eventually, when she's got her 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.000 own place and her own job, that she's going to 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:43.000 figure it out and use it. Well, Like, let's make 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.560 sure we impart those values and the knowledge. Now, I 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.119 think you know, one reason to to move forward with 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:51.960 this is because credit cards are great tools, Like we 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:53.879 talked about that all the time, but like all tools 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:56.320 out there, you run the risk of using them poorly 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:58.879 and hurting yourself. Like you can misuse a tool, right, 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:00.560 You can use a hammer to us through a painting 0:18:00.560 --> 0:18:02.760 glass and it's like, dang it, I didn't did the 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.320 wrong thing with that, and you cause a lot of trouble. 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:10.320 But it's effective in the wrong way, and in this case, right, 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.560 your credit score and your personal finances could be hurt 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.720 in a big way if you don't use credit cards. Well, 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.760 like you mentioned your daughter, she sounds like a responsible 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:20.879 young woman, but you want to make sure that she 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.440 understands that the credit card it's not offering free money. 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.120 I think oftentimes for college students that's how they've gotten 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.359 in trouble is they were like, wait, how much is 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.520 my limit? Cool, guess that's how much I can spend 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:34.480 two thousand free dollars just sitting there, right, And it's like, 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:36.679 that's not how that works. But really, it is so 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:40.520 important for her to understand that she's spending her own money, uh, 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:43.520 not free money that someone's given her. And it's a 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:47.200 shift in mindset that's important to foster, especially for young 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.160 folks who are getting to that age where they're gonna 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.960 fly the coupe, those are like really important developmental years 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.760 and we still need the input of our parents in 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:56.439 those years to kind of help us with some of 0:18:56.440 --> 0:18:59.639