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Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.

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Speaker 1: Today we're discussing the crucial credit card benefits you aren't using.

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Speaker 1: That's right, Gel, this episode is dedicated to credit cards.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna talk all about credit cards because we feel

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Speaker 1: that they can be an incredibly helpful tool when it

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Speaker 1: comes to getting ahead with your money. You've even written

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Speaker 1: a love poem about credit cards. I believe I wrote

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Speaker 1: a song at one point. But yeah, that's what we're

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Speaker 1: talking about this episode. But before we get to credit cards, man,

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Speaker 1: how picky are you when it comes to deciding that

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Speaker 1: food is bad purely based on the expiration date on

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Speaker 1: the label. That's a good question. Um, I would say,

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Speaker 1: I pay attention to the expiration date, but it does

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Speaker 1: not act as my master. Okay, so was gonna also

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Speaker 1: ask too, because on our beer cans, on the different

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Speaker 1: beers that we purchased, they also have a little stamp

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Speaker 1: on there typically as well, and on the different craft brewers. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's what I was gonna say. I pay more attention

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Speaker 1: to when this beer was canned, uh, and how it

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Speaker 1: pertains to its freshness that I do the date stamped

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Speaker 1: on the milk because you know what, it doesn't really

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Speaker 1: matter the date stamped on the milk, because guess what,

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Speaker 1: that's the cell by date. It's well, it's the cell

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Speaker 1: by date, and it's completely voluntary. And so I think

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Speaker 1: some folks know this, but the the U. S d

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Speaker 1: A makes it very clear that the expiration dates, the

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Speaker 1: cell by dates, the best iff used by dates that

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Speaker 1: are on different types of food, whether it's canned goods,

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Speaker 1: you know, perishables like you know, blocks of cheese, things

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Speaker 1: like that, they are all completely voluntary and they really

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Speaker 1: have no impact on whether or not the food that

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Speaker 1: you're eating is safe. It is not a safety concern.

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Speaker 1: It's completely up to the manufacturer to decide, Okay, well

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Speaker 1: this product would be better if you use it by

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Speaker 1: you know, this date, But that doesn't mean that it's

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Speaker 1: not something that you could consume. Yeah, So I'm always

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Speaker 1: looking at that date when I'm buying because I want

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Speaker 1: to get the freshest thing. I wanted to last as

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Speaker 1: long as possible, and so like if I'm picking out

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Speaker 1: the spring mix or whatever, uh, and there is one

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Speaker 1: that expires a week from today versus four days from

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Speaker 1: I mean, get the one that expires a week from

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Speaker 1: today unless it's got that manager special stickers stuff exactly,

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Speaker 1: and you're like, okay, we're gonna get that tonight. Yeah, yeah,

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Speaker 1: exactly what the savings quickly. But yeah, for the most part,

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Speaker 1: I once it's in my house, I'm willing to eat

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Speaker 1: it or use it past the expiration date as long

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Speaker 1: as still taste and smells. Okay. You know, milk can

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Speaker 1: get a little funky, like three days after the best

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Speaker 1: cell by date, and I'm like, you're pretty sure I'm

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Speaker 1: not gonna drink that anymore. But no, I totally agree.

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Speaker 1: And I think sometimes we're throwing away money literally by

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Speaker 1: throwing a white food when it's past the expiration date,

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Speaker 1: but it's still perfectly good to eat. Yeah. The U.

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Speaker 1: S d A estimates that thirty to the food that

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Speaker 1: we purchased goes to waste, and oftentimes it's because we're

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Speaker 1: tossing it out because we're afraid that, oh, I don't know,

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Speaker 1: I think this might be bad. Uh. Instead of just

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Speaker 1: looking at that expiration date, we would recommend for folks

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Speaker 1: to give it, like you said, you'll give it the

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Speaker 1: old sniff to best. You know, is it the right

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Speaker 1: color or is it the right texture? Rely on your

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Speaker 1: senses instead of just looking at that date that's stamped

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Speaker 1: on there, that's staring, you know, staring back at you. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: don't throw away your beer either if it's you know,

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Speaker 1: past that day. But when again, look for the freshest

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Speaker 1: beer possible, and especially if it's like an I P

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Speaker 1: A like we're drinking today, it's the kind of beer

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Speaker 1: that you're going to want to ensure that you drink

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Speaker 1: more quickly closer to the canned on date, because that's

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Speaker 1: what it's gonna be freshest and you're gonna get, you know,

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Speaker 1: the best flavor profile. The one that we're drinking today

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Speaker 1: is called Chief of Chiefs by Bearded Iris. Looking forward

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Speaker 1: to to having this one while we talking about credit cards, man,

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Speaker 1: that's right, all right, well, let's move on. Let's talk

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Speaker 1: about credit cards. The topic of today's episode is the

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Speaker 1: crucial credit card benefits you aren't using. And Matt just

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Speaker 1: kind of thinking about this episode, it made me think,

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Speaker 1: what if someone was using their smartphone purely for the

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Speaker 1: reason of making phone calls but nothing else, Like they

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Speaker 1: didn't pull out their their phone for anything else. And uh,

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Speaker 1: I think like Zack Morris style, right exactly, all I

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Speaker 1: can do the giant brick. You're gonna catch me talking

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Speaker 1: on my phone. Oh yeah, I still have the coolest

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Speaker 1: hair of anybody ever in the nineties, I think. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: younger folks actually tend to use their phones for everything,

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Speaker 1: but that traditional persons purpose. I personally, like, someone calls

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Speaker 1: me and I'm like, what do they need? Like what's

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Speaker 1: going on? Like why are they called? Is my dad

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Speaker 1: calling me right now? Why didn't he text me? I

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Speaker 1: think that's kind of normal for people in their twenties

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Speaker 1: and thirties. Must be an emergency, right exactly, or you're

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Speaker 1: trend to. So I was actually on the phone during

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Speaker 1: lunch today because I was trying to make a dentist appointment,

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Speaker 1: which proud of you for Yeah, thanks man, it's been

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Speaker 1: nine years, is what the lady told me. Do not

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Speaker 1: attempt us at home since the last time I had

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Speaker 1: been there, And I was like, yeah, it's been a minute,

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Speaker 1: but yeah, we'll keep listeners updated as that little adventure unfolds.

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Speaker 1: I think your your teeth need their own separate Instagram account,

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Speaker 1: like that would be a weird account, that would be.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, so let's let's get back to the matter

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Speaker 1: of hand uh As it would be crazy to use

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Speaker 1: your smartphone for nothing else than phone calls, right, because

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Speaker 1: it offers so much more. Like there's an excellent flashlight

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Speaker 1: that helps me get around the house at night. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: when the lights are off, there's an alarm clock on there.

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Speaker 1: There's a GPS who can listen to podcasts and audio

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Speaker 1: books for free, or read the books for free. You

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Speaker 1: know the library app libby. That's one of my favorite

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Speaker 1: apps to to read books on. So just started reading

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Speaker 1: The Martian. I watched the movie back in the day,

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Speaker 1: but I was like, all right, I want to read

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Speaker 1: this book. It is great. Yeah, I'm looking forward to

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Speaker 1: to getting further into it. But that's really that's only

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Speaker 1: the tip of the iceberg, right for the smartphone is

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Speaker 1: the fact that you can call people. At this point

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Speaker 1: in time, your phone goes way beyond just that. That's

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Speaker 1: simple purpose. And our our phones are basically like the

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Speaker 1: modern equivalent of a Swiss army knife. So but we

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Speaker 1: would say that credit cards are kind of like smartphones

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Speaker 1: or Swiss army knives. But a lot of folks are

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Speaker 1: using their credit cards for really just one thing only um,

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Speaker 1: and they're missing out on the variety of benefits that

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Speaker 1: credit cards have to offer. Using them to their fullest

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Speaker 1: extent is really important to extract the most value that

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Speaker 1: you can, and so it's important to know about all

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Speaker 1: of the benefits that credit cards have going for them.

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Speaker 1: That's why we wanted to, uh make this episode. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's sort of like if I had a Tesla and

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Speaker 1: I was using it just to like drive over to

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Speaker 1: your house, which is less than a mile away, it

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Speaker 1: would be a total waste of all the additional wonderful

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Speaker 1: features that a fancy card like that has. You want

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Speaker 1: to use that autonomous driving, and you want to you

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Speaker 1: want to get up to like eighty or nine on

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Speaker 1: a really quickly because that's one of the things that

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Speaker 1: it's good at. But while we're talking about credit cards,

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Speaker 1: you know, some folks might think that debit cards are

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Speaker 1: the same thing as credit cards because after all that,

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Speaker 1: you know, they sure do look very similar. M Yeah.

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Speaker 1: Or here's the thing, we can take it a step further.

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Speaker 1: There might be folks out there who think that debit

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Speaker 1: cards are actually even better than credit cards, and that's

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Speaker 1: just not true. Yeah, when you dig into all the

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Speaker 1: different benefits, this vast range of extra perks that is

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Speaker 1: what we're going to dig into today. And then you know,

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Speaker 1: there might be other listeners as well who are using

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Speaker 1: their credit cards, but they're not taking full advantage of

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Speaker 1: all the different benefits that they have access to. Joel,

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Speaker 1: Like you mentioned, um, credit cards, you know, they're not

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Speaker 1: inherently good or bad. Uh. There. We we feel that

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Speaker 1: they're a tool, and they can be incredibly handy, but

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Speaker 1: just like all tools, credit cards can be used improper.

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Speaker 1: So of course we're gonna discuss how you need to

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Speaker 1: be careful with credit cards as well, but with a

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Speaker 1: proper knowledge and the know how, after today's episode, you'll

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Speaker 1: be able to fully use credit cards to your advantage.

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Speaker 1: Yeh ma, And I think you know, I like what

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Speaker 1: you said that they're not inherently good or bad because

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Speaker 1: there are some people out there, I don't want to

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Speaker 1: name any names that would say that they are inherently

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Speaker 1: a flawed tool or that they're inherently a bad medium

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Speaker 1: of exchanged right to to buy things with the credit card.

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Speaker 1: You are wrong and you're bad, and so are credit cards. Um,

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Speaker 1: And we just don't feel that way at all. We

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Speaker 1: feel saying people should have to also say that, well,

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Speaker 1: you know what miter saws are also bad because a

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Speaker 1: lot of fingers have been lost due to the miter

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Speaker 1: saw or the chop saw. Right. So yeah, and and

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Speaker 1: even for people though that that say I use credit

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Speaker 1: cards the right way, that's great, we would say like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you're you're on our team, But stats show that not

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Speaker 1: everyone thinks the way that we do right. According to

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Speaker 1: research from the San Francisco Federal Reserve, even though credit

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Speaker 1: card use has increased over the years, Matt, more people

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Speaker 1: are still using debit cards for transactions compared to credit cards.

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Speaker 1: Like people say, yeah, I usually go to my debit card,

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Speaker 1: of people say no, I stick on my trustee credit card.

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Speaker 1: That's a problem. That's a huge percent of people that

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Speaker 1: are using what we would say is an inferior, vast

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Speaker 1: playing inferior form of payment. And according to a report

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Speaker 1: from the American Bankers Association, nearly of credit card users

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Speaker 1: carry a balance and they're paying interest on that revolving

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Speaker 1: line of credit. So yeah, for most folks who are

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Speaker 1: smart with their money, credit cards should be the first

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Speaker 1: option of payment. And of course carrying a balance is

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Speaker 1: a definite no go. So you want to be in that,

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Speaker 1: you know, in between people that are using their credit cards,

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Speaker 1: but they are paying it off in full at the

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Speaker 1: end of every month. Because if you're using debit cards

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Speaker 1: or you're using credit cards and you're not paying the

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Speaker 1: balance off and full, you're making a mistake. Yes, it

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Speaker 1: can take a little bit of finagling to make sure

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Speaker 1: that you're using a credit card properly. Right, it's like

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Speaker 1: an obstacle course. You kind of have to maybe do

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a jump to make sure you

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Speaker 1: clear one hurdle, but then you want a duck so

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Speaker 1: that you don't hit your head at the same time.

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Speaker 1: It's kind of floors lava like, which my kids are

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Speaker 1: obsessed with it right now, Like we've watched it like

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Speaker 1: a couple of times on Netflix, and then they have

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Speaker 1: turned the house into floors. The biggest problem in our

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Speaker 1: house is that they're throwing down like pillows and like

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Speaker 1: these little towels on the floor, and our floors were

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Speaker 1: redone a couple of years ago, so they're pretty slick,

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Speaker 1: and they're just busting like they're jumping onto like the

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Speaker 1: little islands and then their feet slide off from my

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Speaker 1: other room when they hit really hard on me. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: there's tears that's the big problem for us right now.

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Speaker 1: It's off on games until someone gets a concussion. That's right. Uh,

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Speaker 1: it's okay. So we're we're kind of touching on debit cards, right,

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Speaker 1: and so let's talk about the big difference between debit

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Speaker 1: and credits. There are a lot of important distinctions to make.

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Speaker 1: The lack of rewards from most debit cards is definitely

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Speaker 1: a downer, but we feel that the most important reason

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Speaker 1: to opt for a credit card over your debit card

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Speaker 1: is the protection that it provides. It's not the additional

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Speaker 1: benefit or the additional money that you're gonna receive from

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Speaker 1: using that credit card, but it's your ability to hang

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Speaker 1: on to your money. Right. Uh. It's like it's like

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Speaker 1: it's not even just that two percent cash back, which

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Speaker 1: is something we're gonna talk about this episode. Rewards are nice,

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Speaker 1: but like this is like one of the most points

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Speaker 1: that people don't talk about enough for you to be

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Speaker 1: able to legitimately hang on to your own money. Uh.

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Speaker 1: And so yeah, in particularly, what we're talking about here

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Speaker 1: is fraud protection, and so specifically here, if you don't

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Speaker 1: report a fraudulent purchase made with your debit card within

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Speaker 1: two days of that purchase occurring, you could be on

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Speaker 1: the hook for up to fifty dollars. That sounds bad, yeah,

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Speaker 1: but let's let's kind of kind of dial it up

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Speaker 1: a little bit here. If you don't notice it within

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Speaker 1: sixty days, you could be liable for up to five

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Speaker 1: hundred dollars in charges. That's a lot more. And if

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Speaker 1: you don't notice that fraud within sixty days, then you

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Speaker 1: could lose all of that money. There is no guarantee

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Speaker 1: that you would get any of that back. And so

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Speaker 1: the protections that credit cards offer are just so much better.

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Speaker 1: You're not gonna be on the hook for purchases that

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Speaker 1: you didn't make. And this is all thanks to the

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Speaker 1: Fair Credit Billing Act, which passed back in the seventies. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's It still strikes me as odd that debit cards

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Speaker 1: don't have the same protections as credit cards, but it

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Speaker 1: is definitely a huge pro a huge checkbox um in

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Speaker 1: favor of credit cards over debit cards, the fact that

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Speaker 1: they are treated better. Essentially, from this fraud perspective, um,

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Speaker 1: you have a lot less to fear if there are

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Speaker 1: some purchases made with your card that you didn't actually make.

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Speaker 1: You are less on the hook for them, which is

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Speaker 1: just really important to point out, and it's something like

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Speaker 1: we said, doesn't get enough press. Yeah, this is a

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Speaker 1: real problem for around half of Americans who don't monitor

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Speaker 1: their checking accounts weekly. But you could easily see yourself

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Speaker 1: exiting some of those windows of time where you would

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Speaker 1: have needed to respond quickly exactly. And on top of that, Matt,

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Speaker 1: people are are finding to get their own money back

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Speaker 1: if they're stradul and spending. With a debit card, that

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Speaker 1: money is out of your account and you're hoping to

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Speaker 1: get it put back in there. But with a credit card,

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Speaker 1: there's this delay between the purchase you're making and when

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Speaker 1: you pay for it, so you're working to get charges reversed.

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Speaker 1: You're not trying to call your own money back, and

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Speaker 1: that's a completely different situation, especially like if you need

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Speaker 1: to pay your mortgage, or pay the rent, or pay

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Speaker 1: a car payment or something like that. Hopefully hopefully not

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Speaker 1: a car payment, but avoid that last one. But nothing

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Speaker 1: has been taking out of your account when you're using

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Speaker 1: a credit card. And I think that is one of

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Speaker 1: the bigger perks in favor of credit cards to right

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Speaker 1: and especially as devices like credit card skimmers are being

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Speaker 1: used more frequently by criminals, especially at places like gas stations.

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Speaker 1: They're hard to see, UH, you can't tell, but when

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Speaker 1: you stick your credit card in UH, a criminal is

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Speaker 1: nearby and they're stealing your your credit cards information. And again,

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Speaker 1: if it's a credit card, that's not as big of

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Speaker 1: a deal as if it was a debit card. And

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Speaker 1: it's also easier to dispute charges. If you pay for

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Speaker 1: a good that's damaged, or you buy a service from

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Speaker 1: a company that doesn't follow through, there's a decent chance

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Speaker 1: that you're not going to be out any money at all.

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Speaker 1: It's just not the same with a debit card. So

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Speaker 1: that might be one of the perks of using a

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Speaker 1: credit card that you haven't thought about, especially if you

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Speaker 1: are an habitual debit card user UH and you think

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Speaker 1: you think that it's better for the way you handle money. Well,

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Speaker 1: when you take this fraud factor into account, you might

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Speaker 1: realize that actually debit cards is not treating you the

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Speaker 1: same way, and a credit card you might be better

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Speaker 1: off using that more frequently. Those protections are definitely one

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Speaker 1: of the things that make credit cards such an excellent

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Speaker 1: financial tool for you purchasing, for making your everyday purchases,

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Speaker 1: being able to hop on their dispute a charge when

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Speaker 1: maybe a company might double dip. That's happened to me before,

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Speaker 1: two identical charges, and that was incredibly easy to have

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Speaker 1: removed from my statement. And source literally a company who

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Speaker 1: says we're going to deliver this item and they don't deliver,

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Speaker 1: You like, call them and you don't get a response,

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Speaker 1: and you're like, what else am I supposed to do?

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Speaker 1: You call your credit card company and they'll take care

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Speaker 1: of it. Right. So, of course there are you know,

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Speaker 1: many other reasons why credit cards come out ahead over

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Speaker 1: debit cards and even cash, and so we'll get to

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Speaker 1: all of those different reasons right after this break. All right,

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Speaker 1: we're back. We're talking about the crucial credit card benefits

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Speaker 1: that you aren't using. A lot of cc they probably

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Speaker 1: weren't as familiar with, you know, the fraud protections that

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Speaker 1: credit cards offer. I know some of our listeners are

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Speaker 1: super savvy, they might have known that already, but a

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Speaker 1: lot of folks don't know that. So, yeah, we talked

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Speaker 1: about that. Now let's talk about some of the more

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Speaker 1: incredible credit card benefits that are out there. And just

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Speaker 1: so you know, so we're not sending like complete homers.

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Speaker 1: We will cover like some of the downsides of credit

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Speaker 1: cards in a bit, because there are some downsides to

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Speaker 1: using credit right, Like, we know that's not for everybody

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Speaker 1: exactly exactly, so we will kind of give the caveats

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Speaker 1: and the things that you need to be aware of

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Speaker 1: if you are going to start using credit cards more regularly.

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Speaker 1: But but let's start with the good stuff at least,

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Speaker 1: Matt and using credit cards is going to help build

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Speaker 1: people's credit. That is definitely one of the perks of

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Speaker 1: having a credit card. You know, we've talked about all

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Speaker 1: the reasons that your credit score is massively important on

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Speaker 1: other episodes. People can go back and check those out, because, yeah,

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Speaker 1: your credit score really is of mass importance in today's society,

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Speaker 1: and so it's important for us to pay attention to

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Speaker 1: that score and then work towards building it up and

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Speaker 1: smart intelligent credit card usage is going to be one

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Speaker 1: of the biggest factors in getting you there and getting

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Speaker 1: you a higher credit score, which is going to lead

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Speaker 1: to you know, lower rates on let's say a mortgage

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Speaker 1: that you're applying for. It could even affect you know,

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Speaker 1: whether or not you get the job that you're applying for. So,

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Speaker 1: aside from monthly payments towards any loans that you have,

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Speaker 1: paying your credit card on time or early is gonna

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Speaker 1: be one of the biggest contributors towards achieving that high

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Speaker 1: credit score. And the longer that you have that credit card, right, Like,

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Speaker 1: let's say you have it for you've only had your

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Speaker 1: credit card for a year, it's gonna help your credit

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Speaker 1: score a little bit. Let's say you've had your credit

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Speaker 1: card for twenty years, the same one, and you've been

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Speaker 1: handling it well, it's gonna reflect even better on your

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Speaker 1: credit score and even better on you as a borrower. So, yeah,

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Speaker 1: boosting your credit score with smart usage, that is one

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Speaker 1: of the biggest benefits that credit cards have to offer.

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Speaker 1: Write another additional benefits obviously this is one of my favorites,

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Speaker 1: are the welcome rewards or the sign up bonuses for

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Speaker 1: meeting different spending thresholds. You know, we mentioned the Chase

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Speaker 1: Sapphire Preferred card recently on the show, because right now

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Speaker 1: you can get a one thousand, two hundred and fifty

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Speaker 1: dollar reward for spending four thousand dollars over three months.

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Speaker 1: Not everyone spends that much money in a three month

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Speaker 1: period and so you know, don't go snagging a card

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Speaker 1: and you know, spending way more than you normally would

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Speaker 1: just to score a sign up bonus. Sweet, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: buy something extra jerseys from off favorite team, and like,

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Speaker 1: you know, don't do that. That's not that's not worth it. Then, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: like ten years worth of lending nted jersey, But do

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Speaker 1: take it into account. That's a lot of free money,

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Speaker 1: and the richest sign up bonuses can provide a real

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Speaker 1: benefit to you. Another example, if you live in a

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Speaker 1: city where Southwest flies, that Southwest visa credit card can

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Speaker 1: be a great one because that sign up bonus can

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Speaker 1: provide quite a few free flights. Even better, if you

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Speaker 1: can get a companion pass right, if you have enough

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Speaker 1: points to where your partner can fly along with you

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Speaker 1: for free or virtually free, you know, just paying the

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Speaker 1: taxes and fees. That is an incredible value that a

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Speaker 1: credit card would offer all for you just tracking or spending,

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Speaker 1: you know, within this platform of a credit card, rather

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Speaker 1: than it just being within your checking account. I've got

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Speaker 1: a lot of Southwest miles, Matt that I've got to use,

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Speaker 1: and they came from the sign up bonus. For that

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Speaker 1: credit card. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to some free

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Speaker 1: trips in the near future. But yeah, so the Welhelm

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Speaker 1: Awards are definitely another big perk in favor of Yeah,

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Speaker 1: using your credit card over any other form of purchase.

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Speaker 1: Another big perk is not just that one time sign

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Speaker 1: up bonus, but if the consistent cash back or travel

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Speaker 1: rewards that you earned just for spending on that credit card,

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Speaker 1: like for your everyday purchases, right where you'd normally be

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Speaker 1: using something like a debit card or cash. It's based

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Speaker 1: like a rebate for the spending that you do every

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Speaker 1: single month. You can travel for free if you use

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Speaker 1: the right cards and use those sign up bonuses and

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Speaker 1: the recurring rewards for for spending with those cards to

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Speaker 1: their fullest. The Yeah, the Chase Staffhire Preferred that you

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Speaker 1: mentioned Matt has great everyday rewards in addition to that

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Speaker 1: initial bonus. But let's be honest, that initial bonus is

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Speaker 1: crazy sweet. Yeah, that's the tops, but you know it

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Speaker 1: also allows you to to you know, food delivery, travel expenses.

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Speaker 1: It's good for those things too. The Costco Visa is

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Speaker 1: awesome for gas station purchases. The m X Blue Cash

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Speaker 1: Preferred is great for grocery store shopping, and then the

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Speaker 1: City double cash card is great for most of your

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Speaker 1: other spending. Each of these credit cards kind of prioritizes

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Speaker 1: a different way of rewarding you're spending. And so yeah,

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Speaker 1: if you use them in the proper way, you know,

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Speaker 1: at the proper store, you know, at the proper place,

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Speaker 1: that is how you're going to be able to make

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Speaker 1: some eyes. Those rewards, and those consistent cash backer travel

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Speaker 1: rewards are going to over time, you know, lead to

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Speaker 1: a lot of additional benefits just from yees, spending the

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Speaker 1: way you were normally spending, but putting it on a

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Speaker 1: credit card versus something else. Ye, that trickle of cash

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Speaker 1: back into your account really adds up. And let's talk

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Speaker 1: about two. One of the additional benefits are the secondary rewards.

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Speaker 1: You know, they don't get talked about all that much,

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Speaker 1: but some credit cards offer purchase production rental car insurance. Uh,

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Speaker 1: sometimes they extend the manufacturer's warranty. We talked about that,

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Speaker 1: how we purchased Kate's kitchen ame mixer with a card

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Speaker 1: that offers that. Some cards even offer a cell phone

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Speaker 1: insurance now as well, And so it's worth digging a

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Speaker 1: level deeper past those initial rewards and bonuses uh that

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Speaker 1: you get based on your spending, to see what additional

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Speaker 1: rewards the credit card uh you have or you're considering

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Speaker 1: that they offer. You know, those secondary rewards can quickly

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Speaker 1: add up to hundreds of dollars worth of value. I

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Speaker 1: feel like oftentimes they can seem like the cherry on top.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's just like, okay, well it's it's nice

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Speaker 1: that does that, but you know, I'm not gonna base

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Speaker 1: all of my decision upon that, but it's definitely something

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Speaker 1: to keep in mind, right because you might think that

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Speaker 1: it's just a secondary or just that kind of cherry

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Speaker 1: on top until you bust your phone and then you

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Speaker 1: find out that, oh wow, my card is going to

428
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,760
Speaker 1: be able to replace that one thousand dollar phone because

429
00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,679
Speaker 1: you went big and you've got a really fancy cell

430
00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,920
Speaker 1: phone right with like a fifty or seventy five dollar deductible,

431
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,080
Speaker 1: And you're like, dang, that was like the cheapest replaced,

432
00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,399
Speaker 1: seriously paid off. Yeah, that cherry on top becomes like

433
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,399
Speaker 1: another like Sunday on top. It's not just this additional benefit,

434
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:30,920
Speaker 1: It's got some serious weight behind it at that point. Yeah,

435
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:32,840
Speaker 1: by the way to take advantage of those rewards here

436
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,439
Speaker 1: to be using that credit card in the right way.

437
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,560
Speaker 1: So you have to be paying, let's say, for your

438
00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,719
Speaker 1: cell phone plan with that credit card that has that insurance.

439
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:41,159
Speaker 1: So if you're using the wrong credit card for the

440
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,320
Speaker 1: wrong things, you might not be able to take advantage

441
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,560
Speaker 1: of that secondary benefit. So that's important. And there are

442
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,280
Speaker 1: even some credit cards out there where the secondary benefits

443
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,680
Speaker 1: are they're calling card right, Like I'm thinking about the

444
00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,520
Speaker 1: AMEX Platinum card. That thing has a really expensive annual fee.

445
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:56,600
Speaker 1: But if you spend a lot of money on travel,

446
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,480
Speaker 1: and you're spending a ton on restaurants when you travel,

447
00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,240
Speaker 1: you're something like ten times your normal cash back. That's

448
00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,000
Speaker 1: a huge multiplier. But then on top of that, you

449
00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:10,120
Speaker 1: also get those sweet secondary benefits like two for Uber eats,

450
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,080
Speaker 1: a twenty dollar credit every month if you pay for

451
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,040
Speaker 1: Audible or the New York Times, access to really nice

452
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:17,560
Speaker 1: airport lounges around the world. Oh and it's also got

453
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:20,920
Speaker 1: that rental car insurance built in as well. That Plantum

454
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,119
Speaker 1: card has tons of additional benefits. It's crazy, But is

455
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,520
Speaker 1: it for everyone? Well, of course not. But if you

456
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,399
Speaker 1: are already spending that money. Then this is an example

457
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,679
Speaker 1: where it would be a total no brainer. Yeah, man,

458
00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:33,520
Speaker 1: that's true. Most people would see that annual fee and

459
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,400
Speaker 1: they would box. But when you look at those secondary benefits,

460
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,280
Speaker 1: it's that card is rich in those secondary benefits. It

461
00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:41,760
Speaker 1: all depends on how you spend your money. Yeah, exactly.

462
00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,000
Speaker 1: Another thing too, is is credit cards are accepted pretty

463
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,440
Speaker 1: much everywhere, just like cash. You don't have to worry

464
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,880
Speaker 1: about whether or not the retailer that you're visiting takes

465
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:53,520
Speaker 1: cards because basically everyone does. And but we're talking about

466
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,080
Speaker 1: this the other day. The stadium where we go, Mercedes

467
00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:59,439
Speaker 1: ben Stadium in Atlanta, where the Atlanta United play, our

468
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,320
Speaker 1: soccer team sometimes where the Falcons lose, where the Falcons

469
00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:07,240
Speaker 1: usually lose unless they're away from home, that's where they lose. Sorry,

470
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:09,919
Speaker 1: we don't want to be haters, but yeah, they recently

471
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,920
Speaker 1: they went cashless, and so actually I feel like credit

472
00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,399
Speaker 1: cards are more widely accepted now than cash. You know,

473
00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,479
Speaker 1: in in some instances, the fact that you go there

474
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,080
Speaker 1: and people are pulling out their wallet and trying to

475
00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,040
Speaker 1: hand over, you know, a ten dollar bill and they're

476
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,399
Speaker 1: like whoa, whoa, No, we don't take that stuff here. Uh,

477
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,239
Speaker 1: it's it's funny how the tables have turned. It used

478
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:30,200
Speaker 1: to be like cash was accepted everywhere, credit cards most places,

479
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,760
Speaker 1: but now it's like credit cards everywhere, cash most places.

480
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Speaker 1: Plus it just helps folks move along a little bit faster.

481
00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:36,560
Speaker 1: You know, you don't want to miss any of that action.

482
00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:38,000
Speaker 1: So if you jump up out of your seat because

483
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,560
Speaker 1: you want to grab a beer, you don't want to

484
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:41,239
Speaker 1: have to sit there and count out all your all

485
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 1: your bills and you know how the cashier count out

486
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,119
Speaker 1: the change back, and you definitely don't want to be

487
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:47,720
Speaker 1: behind the person at the grocery store who's writing a

488
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:49,960
Speaker 1: personal check. Yeah, it's been a minute since that I've

489
00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,359
Speaker 1: actually experienced that. Does that happen to Usually it's no,

490
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,119
Speaker 1: it's been a while, but every time it does happen,

491
00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 1: I'm annoyed. Annoy Yeah, And like one other little thing

492
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:00,920
Speaker 1: about credit cards, another perk is that it makes it

493
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,440
Speaker 1: easier to track your spending. You know, when the dollar

494
00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,800
Speaker 1: bills are flying at your wallet, it's a little harder

495
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,479
Speaker 1: to document where they're going. But the digital log that's

496
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,760
Speaker 1: essentially kept by the credit card company that you can

497
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:13,119
Speaker 1: infuse into a service like mint or why ap if

498
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,160
Speaker 1: you wanted. It just makes it easier to track where

499
00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:17,960
Speaker 1: your your money is going, easier to budget. I think, yeah,

500
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 1: you can can see all you're spending in one place

501
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,920
Speaker 1: just a little more easily, a little more digitally. So

502
00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:25,280
Speaker 1: that's that's like one of the smaller perks I would

503
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 1: say that credit cards offer. Yeah, and so those are

504
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,400
Speaker 1: some definite advantages or some benefits that credit cards offer.

505
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,280
Speaker 1: But like any powerful tool out there, it's important to

506
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,639
Speaker 1: handle credit cards with care. You know. It makes me

507
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,679
Speaker 1: think of like a chainsaw with a with a proper

508
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:42,040
Speaker 1: uh precautions, with a proper safeguards in place, and the

509
00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:44,560
Speaker 1: knowledge that you're using it properly and using it in

510
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,359
Speaker 1: the proper context as well. Like you know, Joel, you

511
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to use your chainsaw to like trim your tulips.

512
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,720
Speaker 1: I'm not that sound what it's for. No, Yeah, okay,

513
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:52,359
Speaker 1: that's good to you don't want to do if you

514
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:54,760
Speaker 1: keep that in mind. A chainsaw is a great tool,

515
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,320
Speaker 1: but if you use that chainsaw in the wrong way,

516
00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,560
Speaker 1: you could do some serious damage to yourself. I've I've

517
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 1: had friends I think who have done a little accidental

518
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,920
Speaker 1: leg damage with the chains also yeah, sorry to hear that,

519
00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,200
Speaker 1: not anytime recently right now. I think it's my friend's dad,

520
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: like a few years back. But he's okay, he's okay,

521
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,720
Speaker 1: it's just but it's very painful still. I'm sure it

522
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:18,160
Speaker 1: took like a somber serious turn here with a chainslaw example.

523
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,520
Speaker 1: But let's, you know, cover some potential negative outcomes if

524
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 1: you use credit cards improperly. It's not the chainsaws, not

525
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:26,840
Speaker 1: the chainsaws, because there's just there's a lot of terrible

526
00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,080
Speaker 1: stories we can tell, probably, but yeah, you might end

527
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 1: up paying more is one of the drawbacks of using

528
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,040
Speaker 1: credit cards, right, because some stores are starting to charge

529
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,080
Speaker 1: extra if you pay with a credit card instead of

530
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,880
Speaker 1: like a debit card or paying with cash, and um, yeah,

531
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,680
Speaker 1: this is basically because businesses are directly passing the expense

532
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,440
Speaker 1: of accepting credit cards directly onto you. Like some gas

533
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 1: stations have been doing this for years, Like you can

534
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,000
Speaker 1: see it on the sign. They have a cash price

535
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,399
Speaker 1: and a credit card price. Right, So if you can

536
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,800
Speaker 1: pay five percent less by not using a credit card,

537
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:58,920
Speaker 1: I'll take that savings and I'll pay with you know,

538
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:00,680
Speaker 1: a debit card, although I don't even think I have

539
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,320
Speaker 1: one in my wallet, Like, I literally only have cards

540
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:04,720
Speaker 1: in my license in there. I still keep it just

541
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,119
Speaker 1: in case I want to get my hands on some

542
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,400
Speaker 1: cash from the A t M. Now that I say

543
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 1: that out loud, I'm like, when is the last time

544
00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,440
Speaker 1: that actually withdrew money out of an A t M?

545
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:15,800
Speaker 1: And gosh, like, it's probably been like three, three to

546
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:18,280
Speaker 1: five years. And so I think you just helped me

547
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:21,600
Speaker 1: realize I don't need check card in my wallet anymore. Yeah.

548
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,440
Speaker 1: So yeah, basically, like one of the potential drawbacks is

549
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:27,720
Speaker 1: that you need to be aware that you might not

550
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: always be getting the lowest price if you use a

551
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: credit card. I don't think that's the case often enough. Um.

552
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,160
Speaker 1: In fact, I can't think of a time besides going

553
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:38,600
Speaker 1: to a gas station that that has ever been a problem.

554
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:40,760
Speaker 1: But I know credit card fees and the costs to

555
00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 1: businesses are going up, and so that is something that, yeah,

556
00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,640
Speaker 1: we might see more of in the future, that's true. Yeah,

557
00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 1: And one of the other drawbacks is that using credit

558
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,359
Speaker 1: cards could cause you to spend more than you otherwise.

559
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:52,960
Speaker 1: Would you know, it's really easy to swipe that plastic

560
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,359
Speaker 1: where you are. We don't swipe any more, Matt. We

561
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,119
Speaker 1: insert don't you remember that some or you just like

562
00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,600
Speaker 1: kind of tap it, tap it. The tap is super chill,

563
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:02,600
Speaker 1: that's true, But while you're doing that, you're essentially like

564
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 1: you're blissfully unaware of the fact that you're actually, you know,

565
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,119
Speaker 1: spending money, right Like, there have actually been a few

566
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,960
Speaker 1: different studies which show that people are more likely to

567
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,200
Speaker 1: spend more money when they're paying with a credit card,

568
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,080
Speaker 1: precisely because it doesn't feel like real money. Remember when

569
00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,080
Speaker 1: we mentioned those delayed payments as a positive. If there's

570
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 1: fraudulent spending on your card, you know that upside is

571
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,280
Speaker 1: what provides some of those consumer protections, but it can

572
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,480
Speaker 1: also slightly numb you to those expenses. When you don't

573
00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:32,600
Speaker 1: immediately see that money leaving your account, it doesn't actually

574
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,239
Speaker 1: feel like that you yourself are making that purchase. It's like, oh,

575
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,840
Speaker 1: that's that's that's tomorrow's Matt that has to deal with

576
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,359
Speaker 1: that problem, not today's Matt. Today's Matt. Once this product

577
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,600
Speaker 1: right now. Well, yeah, there's definitely something visceral about having

578
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 1: dollar bills in your possession, handing them over to someone

579
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,240
Speaker 1: else and you're like, what was mine no longer is money?

580
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:52,720
Speaker 1: And when you tap a credit card. You're like, boy,

581
00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:55,240
Speaker 1: that was chill, um, I got got my stuff, I'm

582
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:57,119
Speaker 1: moving on with my life. But it doesn't feel like

583
00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:58,760
Speaker 1: you've given anything up. And so I agree, I think

584
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,080
Speaker 1: that is probably if there's a biggest drawback to credit cards,

585
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:04,800
Speaker 1: that is it. It is the painless way in which

586
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,719
Speaker 1: we can spend and be less cognizant of our purchase,

587
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:11,639
Speaker 1: leading us to become undisciplined. So uh, and I think

588
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: to Matt, people could go from being a discipline credit

589
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,400
Speaker 1: card user to being a non disciplined credit card user.

590
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:20,280
Speaker 1: Like there's a continuum and we move up and down

591
00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:23,720
Speaker 1: the continuum. Someone that is handling a credit card, well,

592
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 1: it doesn't mean that they're always going to be handling

593
00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 1: a credit card. Well, so yeah, it's it's important to

594
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,760
Speaker 1: keep an eye on your finances and to make sure

595
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,560
Speaker 1: that you aren't changing your habits because having credit cards

596
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,159
Speaker 1: is making it easier to spend. We we would suggest

597
00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 1: finding a way to feel the pain when you spend

598
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,120
Speaker 1: with your credit card, whether it's like keeping this manualogue

599
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,000
Speaker 1: of purchases, having a little like notebook on hand where

600
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: you write it down and and that in and of

601
00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,959
Speaker 1: itself can help you feel the pain, and it can

602
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,160
Speaker 1: help you realize that you are actually parting with money

603
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,720
Speaker 1: when when you you know, tap or insert your credit

604
00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,719
Speaker 1: card or maybe paying off your credit card balance more frequently.

605
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,040
Speaker 1: That can be just another way you're like, I'm going

606
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,280
Speaker 1: in there like once a week, um, and that can

607
00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,919
Speaker 1: be just a behavioral element that helps you curb your

608
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 1: usage in a way that allows you to realize the

609
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 1: benefits of a credit card without becoming just a completely

610
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,320
Speaker 1: undisciplined credit card user. Yeah. And that can keep you

611
00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 1: more on budget as well, if you're checking in more frequently,

612
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,280
Speaker 1: if you're checking in weekly on what you're spending through

613
00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,639
Speaker 1: your credit card, that can help keep you from overspending

614
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:22,879
Speaker 1: by the time you get to the end of the

615
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:24,800
Speaker 1: month and you're just spending nearly willie just like you

616
00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:27,600
Speaker 1: normally would, but in reality you'r you know, hundred maybe

617
00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 1: two over uh say your entertainment or your grocery budget

618
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 1: for that month. This is a reason why to like,

619
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,680
Speaker 1: I continue to command see command V, you know, copy

620
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,240
Speaker 1: and paste all of those charges from my credit card statement,

621
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,800
Speaker 1: my recent transactions into my budget and excel in order

622
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:48,080
Speaker 1: to actually emotionally see and feel those purchases as you know,

623
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: compared to like you said, it just kind of disappearing

624
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,000
Speaker 1: from your account. You don't really emotionally account for that.

625
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 1: But by allowing myself to see the ugly truth of

626
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 1: what I actually have been spending, that also helps to

627
00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,920
Speaker 1: keep me on budget. And you know, taking it a step.

628
00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,720
Speaker 1: They're like, you might literally be spending money that you

629
00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,399
Speaker 1: don't have when you're using a credit card. Harder to

630
00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,600
Speaker 1: do with cash. Yeah, that is true. But by doing that,

631
00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 1: like that's gonna lead you into debt, right uh. And

632
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 1: you know it's nearly impossible though to do it, you know,

633
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:15,840
Speaker 1: were you to use cash or debit instead. But like

634
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:17,920
Speaker 1: I said, nearly because if you're using a debit card

635
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,720
Speaker 1: and you haven't opted out of overdraft protection, well you

636
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:24,280
Speaker 1: could amass a lot of fees through poor spending habits.

637
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:27,120
Speaker 1: Even still, but credit cards have been a major problem

638
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,040
Speaker 1: for Americans due to inability to handle them well. Uh.

639
00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,560
Speaker 1: And credit card debt remains still remains a big problem

640
00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,120
Speaker 1: in our country, even though the overall amount of credit

641
00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,480
Speaker 1: card debt has fallen over the last eighteen months or so.

642
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,040
Speaker 1: Being a discipline credit card user is crucial so that

643
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,480
Speaker 1: you avoid the biggest downside of all, uh, and that

644
00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,720
Speaker 1: is you know, keeping that recurring balance, carrying that balance

645
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,080
Speaker 1: month and month and paying that extra you know, eighteen

646
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,680
Speaker 1: on everything that you buy, where you're paying those additional

647
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,200
Speaker 1: interest payments to the credit card companies. That is the

648
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,479
Speaker 1: most expensive and probably the worst way to actually use

649
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 1: a credit card. Those all the purchases start to look

650
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,160
Speaker 1: like whole foods purchases. After that, you know, you're like, dang, saying,

651
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,720
Speaker 1: so that'd be the worst. It's true, though, like you

652
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:09,320
Speaker 1: know anything, You're like, I just got a great deal

653
00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:10,840
Speaker 1: on this, but it's not a great deal if you

654
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,320
Speaker 1: bought it, you know, with credit an interest, And yeah,

655
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,520
Speaker 1: if you're paying interest, you you're not paying you know

656
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 1: that that credit card bill off on time and in

657
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,000
Speaker 1: full every month. Everything calls more than you think in

658
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 1: that case, and yeah, it's a recipe for financial disaster.

659
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,040
Speaker 1: Let's talk about another potential downside of credit cards, Matt,

660
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 1: annual fees. I've I've heard from folks that are paying

661
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,040
Speaker 1: an annual fee on their credit card. They're just like, man,

662
00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:33,960
Speaker 1: I just don't get much value out of it, and

663
00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,520
Speaker 1: so they're annoyed or they're upset by the fact that

664
00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,120
Speaker 1: annual fees exist on credit cards, and I get that, right.

665
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,600
Speaker 1: I think like it makes me ask the question, like,

666
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,920
Speaker 1: should annual fees be a turn off to getting a

667
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,280
Speaker 1: credit card? I think in some cases it should be,

668
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 1: Like it doesn't make sense for some folks to get

669
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,239
Speaker 1: a credit card with an annual fee. But I would say,

670
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 1: if you choose to sign up for a credit card

671
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: with an annual fee, make sure that it provides value

672
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,000
Speaker 1: that exceeds that fee. Some people are just generally annoy

673
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,000
Speaker 1: would buy them, And I'm like, yeah, they don't want them,

674
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: just based on principle. And it's like, well, I don't

675
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:07,520
Speaker 1: hate the game, I understand that, just you know, based

676
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 1: on principle only that you don't want to do this,

677
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:11,840
Speaker 1: but like you gotta do the math. Right. We were

678
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:13,520
Speaker 1: talking about the Chase hap Fire Preferred, and it's like

679
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,880
Speaker 1: that one does come with an you'll fee, but you're

680
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: going to get one than two hundred fifty dollars value

681
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,880
Speaker 1: when you sign out, not to mention the recurring value

682
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,120
Speaker 1: that you're going to hopefully get every year from using

683
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,880
Speaker 1: that credit card. Well, and so for most people that

684
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,440
Speaker 1: sign up for that card, uh, they realize more than

685
00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 1: dollars worth of value every single year by using that

686
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:35,920
Speaker 1: credit card wisely. Um, so yeah, we would say how

687
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,000
Speaker 1: much are you actually getting in rewards from that card

688
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,080
Speaker 1: or from the secondary benefits like rental car coverage that

689
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:42,840
Speaker 1: you know? Are you using it as much as you

690
00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,160
Speaker 1: thought that you would use it. The calculations for each

691
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,440
Speaker 1: person are going to be different, of course, based on

692
00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 1: how you spend. Just because you read on some blog

693
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:51,640
Speaker 1: that this is the best credit card of all time

694
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:53,440
Speaker 1: doesn't mean that it's the best credit card of all

695
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:55,880
Speaker 1: time because you spend differently than the person who wrote

696
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,440
Speaker 1: that article. So yeah, you have to really take that

697
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,160
Speaker 1: into account for your own situation. Doesn't make sense for

698
00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,160
Speaker 1: me to have a card with an annual fee or

699
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: not run the numbers and see. But just because that

700
00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,080
Speaker 1: card comes with an annual fee doesn't mean that it's

701
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,560
Speaker 1: automatically not a good idea for you either. That's right, man,

702
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,320
Speaker 1: And you know the different rewards that the credit cards

703
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 1: offer are going to be so enticing, right, But here's

704
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,080
Speaker 1: the thing. You have to be disciplined enough in order

705
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,000
Speaker 1: to actually redeem those rewards. That sounds like the easy part, Matt,

706
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:23,840
Speaker 1: it does. You might be wondering like, who actually wouldn't

707
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,880
Speaker 1: you know get that cash back? Is it redeeming reards?

708
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 1: They're they're they're actually thirty one percent of folks, according

709
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,720
Speaker 1: to a bank rate study, are not redeeming points or

710
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,960
Speaker 1: rewards that are in their accounts. And so stay organized

711
00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:38,800
Speaker 1: with any cards that you do open so that you

712
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 1: can use them well and actually redeem and enjoy the

713
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,520
Speaker 1: benefits that you're earning. Don't let those points or the

714
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 1: cash back rewards expire. I know with my Capital one

715
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 1: card you can actually have automatic credits applied to your

716
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,560
Speaker 1: balance once it reaches a certain amount. And so that's

717
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:56,000
Speaker 1: one card that I know that I don't have to

718
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 1: worry about redeeming those points because they automatically. But for me,

719
00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:01,640
Speaker 1: I've got it set at twenty five, so every time

720
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,840
Speaker 1: it hits boom, just that bonus gets applied to my

721
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,360
Speaker 1: statement balance and for me, that's just a small little

722
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:09,560
Speaker 1: windfall that I don't have to worry about. It's like

723
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,960
Speaker 1: keeping it simple too when it comes to credit cards, right,

724
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,000
Speaker 1: I love that. Yeah, I like auomate it the automatic

725
00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:16,120
Speaker 1: statement credit to you for for some of those cards.

726
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,000
Speaker 1: But yeah, Matt, how how do our listeners find out

727
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:19,960
Speaker 1: which credit card is right for them and also to

728
00:32:20,080 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 1: there are actually some ethical concerns around credit cards that

729
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,480
Speaker 1: we want to cover because that is one of the

730
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 1: other downsize right there. There are some people who don't

731
00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 1: handle credit cards as well, and that impacts our ability

732
00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:33,400
Speaker 1: to earn some of these rewards. We'll talk about that

733
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:44,520
Speaker 1: and more right after this break. All right, we're back.

734
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 1: We're talking about the different crucial credit card benefits. Angel

735
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,440
Speaker 1: you kind of tease to the you know, the ethical question,

736
00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,560
Speaker 1: and let's kind of kind of dive into that right now.

737
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,960
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's important to note that the different

738
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,920
Speaker 1: benefits we receive from the credit card companies, right, sign

739
00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,880
Speaker 1: up bonuses, rewards, and points, they do meta cost, similar

740
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,320
Speaker 1: to the way that lottery proceeds in some states go

741
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,360
Speaker 1: to fund higher education for for lots of middle class kids.

742
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,920
Speaker 1: Rewards for people who handled their credit card responsibly are

743
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:15,520
Speaker 1: only possible because there are some Americans who don't use

744
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,120
Speaker 1: their credit card well, and effectively they're the ones paying

745
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,080
Speaker 1: for the rewards of discipline credit card users. To the

746
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,640
Speaker 1: tune of sky high interest rates, right, they're subsidizing you

747
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,720
Speaker 1: and me basically, yeah, yeah, there's no free lunch and

748
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 1: the rewards we benefit from are only possible because some

749
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:30,880
Speaker 1: people get a credit card and aren't able to use

750
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,480
Speaker 1: them unfortunately without them going overboard. Yes, so, not only

751
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:38,280
Speaker 1: do credit cards have a downside of behavioral downside for us,

752
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,360
Speaker 1: there are a lot of people who use credit cards

753
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,760
Speaker 1: and they experience that behavioral downside in reality, and they're

754
00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,160
Speaker 1: the ones who are constantly consistently racking up more and

755
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:49,520
Speaker 1: more debt, paying more and more in interest and fees

756
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,200
Speaker 1: to the credit card companies every single month. And that's

757
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:53,920
Speaker 1: the reason we're able to have, you know, some of

758
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 1: those rewards. If that wasn't the case, we wouldn't have

759
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,360
Speaker 1: access to some of those generous sign up bonuses, cash

760
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,600
Speaker 1: back and travel rewards that the credit card companies make available.

761
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 1: Uh And yeah, even folks who pay in cash or

762
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,359
Speaker 1: with their debit card, they're also picking up the tab

763
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:11,040
Speaker 1: for the rewards that we receive right that. That's because

764
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,839
Speaker 1: the credit card companies charge merchants a fee to take

765
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,600
Speaker 1: your credit card, often somewhere between the range of like

766
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 1: one and three percent of your overall purchase amount that

767
00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 1: gets funneled directly to Visa, m X and MasterCard. Uh

768
00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:26,760
Speaker 1: and the credit card companies that offer the best rewards,

769
00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,160
Speaker 1: well they charge the highest fees to those businesses. So yeah,

770
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:32,440
Speaker 1: that business is paying Visa and MasterCard a chunk of

771
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,760
Speaker 1: change each month, and really that results in higher prices

772
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:39,120
Speaker 1: for everyone. So yeah, this business is just saying, you

773
00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:42,600
Speaker 1: know what, I normally pay Visa and MasterCard twenty dollars

774
00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:44,920
Speaker 1: a month. Because I do that much business, I have

775
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,400
Speaker 1: to pass that increased cost on to all my customers.

776
00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:50,120
Speaker 1: And so yeah, the folks paying with debit or credit

777
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 1: who aren't getting rewards are actually penalized the harshest because

778
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:57,239
Speaker 1: of that, which, yeah, is another kind of ethical quandary, right, Yeah,

779
00:34:57,239 --> 00:34:58,520
Speaker 1: but I mean with that in mind, you know, we

780
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:00,480
Speaker 1: still don't think that these emergen fees, which you know,

781
00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,240
Speaker 1: basically get absorbed in the form of slightly higher prices

782
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:06,520
Speaker 1: for everyone, is something that should deter us from using

783
00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:09,000
Speaker 1: credit card rewards to our advantage. You know, like, we

784
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:10,880
Speaker 1: feel that this is an entrenched system, this is how

785
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,160
Speaker 1: things are right now, and this could change in the future.

786
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,080
Speaker 1: It will be interesting, you see, if defy, which is

787
00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:20,320
Speaker 1: decentralized finance and different cryptocurrencies, it will be interesting to

788
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,359
Speaker 1: see if those have an impact on how we pay

789
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:24,520
Speaker 1: in the coming years. But for right now, you know,

790
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:26,560
Speaker 1: credit cards are the most popular game in town, and

791
00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,080
Speaker 1: it's smart to play that game because it can provide

792
00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:32,399
Speaker 1: meaningful financial rewards. Joel, I feel like maybe another way

793
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:34,759
Speaker 1: to help us to think about this is like, let's

794
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:36,479
Speaker 1: let's talk about ice cream, right I was talking about

795
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,800
Speaker 1: like let's cherry on to talk about ice cream Sundays earlier.

796
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,480
Speaker 1: Like I enjoy ice cream. I think I probably enjoy

797
00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:45,239
Speaker 1: ice cream, maybe more than the average person. But here's

798
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,520
Speaker 1: the thing. I enjoy ice cream responsibly. I'm not throwing

799
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,359
Speaker 1: down like a pint or a gallon of it every

800
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,759
Speaker 1: single night, even though I might be tempted to. I

801
00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,320
Speaker 1: enjoy it responsibly, even though if it was in your freezee,

802
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,560
Speaker 1: you probably wouldn't. Well, I know that, and because of that,

803
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,319
Speaker 1: I don't purchase it oftentimes when I'm tasked with going

804
00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:03,200
Speaker 1: to all to pick up certain things, right, because you

805
00:36:03,239 --> 00:36:06,040
Speaker 1: know yourself exactly, I know myself. But I also know

806
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:08,839
Speaker 1: that when our family purchases that ice cream, there's money

807
00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:10,799
Speaker 1: that goes to that company that makes that ice cream,

808
00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,480
Speaker 1: And obviously some of it's used in order to make

809
00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:13,759
Speaker 1: more ice cream, but some of that is going to

810
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,120
Speaker 1: be used towards advertising, right, and that advertising might cause

811
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: somebody else to purchase ice cream, and what if that

812
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,680
Speaker 1: person doesn't maintain maybe a healthy level of self control.

813
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:25,319
Speaker 1: It doesn't necessarily mean that ice cream is a bad thing.

814
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,040
Speaker 1: It's just I think ultimately it comes down to our

815
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:31,360
Speaker 1: own personal responsibilities and to make sure that we're consuming

816
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 1: things in a healthy way. In the same way I

817
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:35,279
Speaker 1: think when it comes to credit cards, we need to

818
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,200
Speaker 1: make sure that we are personally being responsible with our

819
00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: own usage. And that is why that we often talk

820
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,959
Speaker 1: about consumption, is why we talk about using credit cards

821
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,120
Speaker 1: in a responsible way, making sure that you are not

822
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,640
Speaker 1: carrying a balanced month a month, because we don't want

823
00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:50,840
Speaker 1: you to be on the losing end of that credit

824
00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:53,920
Speaker 1: card bargain. Yeah. Man, I do think that credit cards

825
00:36:54,239 --> 00:36:56,799
Speaker 1: do do pose at least some sort of ethical question

826
00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,920
Speaker 1: that we have to wrestle with. But I agree with

827
00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:00,640
Speaker 1: kind of where you're coming down on this, and I

828
00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,640
Speaker 1: think using credit cards responsibly and wisely and using those

829
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:09,000
Speaker 1: rewards well is intelligence, even though not everyone does the same.

830
00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:11,080
Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's let's talk about how people can

831
00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,440
Speaker 1: find out which credit card is right for them. Because

832
00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,880
Speaker 1: like we said earlier, they aren't all created equal, and

833
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,200
Speaker 1: one credit card that right, might be right for you

834
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,799
Speaker 1: and how you spend, matt and you know, the vast

835
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:23,279
Speaker 1: amount of money you spend at all the you know,

836
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:26,279
Speaker 1: it might not be kind of like the same one

837
00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:27,719
Speaker 1: that I should be getting, right, we got a lot

838
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,919
Speaker 1: of mouth, that's right, But yeah there's two but yeah,

839
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:32,759
Speaker 1: that's true as mean as we do. Yeah, no, you've

840
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:35,640
Speaker 1: got more. But there's this like big difference between getting

841
00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,320
Speaker 1: a suit straight off the rack from a place like

842
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,600
Speaker 1: H and him, right, or or getting a bespoke suit

843
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:45,240
Speaker 1: that fits you perfectly, or having address it's specifically tailored

844
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:48,120
Speaker 1: to yeah, your body type. Right, And so to find

845
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:50,359
Speaker 1: the best credit card for you, it's important to look

846
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:53,840
Speaker 1: at how you spend again, you know, looking at what

847
00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:57,040
Speaker 1: the blogger recommends as the single best credit card out

848
00:37:57,080 --> 00:37:59,759
Speaker 1: there that is in all likelihood not going to be

849
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,680
Speaker 1: the best credit card for you, although it might have

850
00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:03,799
Speaker 1: been for them. Right. So we would suggest combed through

851
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 1: your spending like the last six months right in particular,

852
00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:09,800
Speaker 1: and performing assessments like what are the categories that you

853
00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:12,560
Speaker 1: tend to spend the most money in, and caveat if

854
00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:15,359
Speaker 1: you normally spend more money on travel and your plan

855
00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:17,680
Speaker 1: on ramping that up again, take that into account because

856
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,680
Speaker 1: a lot of h these credit cards of course specialized

857
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,640
Speaker 1: in travel rewards. But yeah, doing the math is going

858
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,399
Speaker 1: to be a major help as you attempt to find

859
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:27,560
Speaker 1: the credit card that makes the most sense for you.

860
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:30,080
Speaker 1: So yeah, if your family is more like Maths family

861
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:31,680
Speaker 1: and you're spending a lot of money at the grocery

862
00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:33,719
Speaker 1: store every single month, although even though you have a

863
00:38:33,719 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 1: lot of mouse, if you do a pretty good job

864
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:40,439
Speaker 1: keeping that bill relatively in check, the ax, yeah it is. Yeah,

865
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,080
Speaker 1: but like the best by far in a way, you know,

866
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:46,400
Speaker 1: credit card for grocery store purchases is the am X

867
00:38:46,400 --> 00:38:49,279
Speaker 1: Blue Cash Preferred because you six percent cash back six

868
00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:51,640
Speaker 1: percent on groceries, and so yeah, that makes that that

869
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:53,520
Speaker 1: even though that card comes with an annual fee to

870
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:55,600
Speaker 1: that card is like a slam dunk for people that

871
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:58,040
Speaker 1: still you know, six or seven thousand dollars a year

872
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,640
Speaker 1: a grocery store still worth it absolutely and sticking you know,

873
00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:04,479
Speaker 1: with a suit or the dress analogy, if you're often

874
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:07,799
Speaker 1: in situations that call for fancy clothes, then chances are

875
00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:10,560
Speaker 1: you're gonna have probably more than one fancy outfit right,

876
00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:14,040
Speaker 1: and says similarly, having a few credit cards likely makes

877
00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,239
Speaker 1: the most sense for folks out there. It provides a

878
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,919
Speaker 1: helpful amount of diversification when it comes to the cards

879
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:22,480
Speaker 1: that you can put your expenses on, not only in rewards,

880
00:39:22,680 --> 00:39:25,480
Speaker 1: although that is a great reason in and of itself, totally.

881
00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:29,600
Speaker 1: Many people have found out in one the banks can

882
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:32,400
Speaker 1: simply cut your limit at a moment's notice, you know,

883
00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,280
Speaker 1: And so I like having a slew of different benefits

884
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,439
Speaker 1: that I can take advantage of. So having a set

885
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:40,960
Speaker 1: of cards that each offer different perks I found to

886
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,720
Speaker 1: be the most helpful. Yeah, having a few different credit

887
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,399
Speaker 1: cards that help you maximize rewards, but then also mean

888
00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,440
Speaker 1: that if one of your cards does get axed, the

889
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:51,279
Speaker 1: limit gets acted and you're like, dang it, I can't

890
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:53,520
Speaker 1: you know, I can't charge very much on this card anymore,

891
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,280
Speaker 1: you have other options, That's right, And that's an important

892
00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:58,879
Speaker 1: part of it too. Having enough credit cards in your mix,

893
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:00,879
Speaker 1: and at the same time have more of those credit

894
00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:03,600
Speaker 1: cards active and available to you is going to be

895
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,440
Speaker 1: better for your credit score over the years too. Yeah,

896
00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:08,040
Speaker 1: it's gonna have some variety, but you don't want to

897
00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:11,600
Speaker 1: go over the top exactly. Yeah, So simplicity is really

898
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,800
Speaker 1: another thing that we recommend really in all facets of

899
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,520
Speaker 1: money life. But the same thing with credit cards, right,

900
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:19,920
Speaker 1: Can you maybe squeeze a little more in rewards out

901
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,120
Speaker 1: if you're spending by upping the number of credit cards

902
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,360
Speaker 1: that you have from four to ten, Yeah, yeah, you

903
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:28,200
Speaker 1: probably can, Like you're probably going to realize some some

904
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,759
Speaker 1: more rewards, but having those first three or four is

905
00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:33,120
Speaker 1: actually where you're going to see the most most of

906
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,640
Speaker 1: those benefits coming in. Each additional card can provide maybe

907
00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:39,960
Speaker 1: another small uptick in value, but you know you're going

908
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:43,040
Speaker 1: to experience diminishing returns with each additional credit card that

909
00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:46,200
Speaker 1: you open. And there is I would say value in

910
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:48,279
Speaker 1: not having too many credit cards that you have to

911
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,160
Speaker 1: keep up with unless you're, you know, honestly, Matt, as

912
00:40:51,239 --> 00:40:54,479
Speaker 1: organized as somebody like you, like you're like the spread

913
00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,120
Speaker 1: your details nerd. Yeah, I mean it does come down

914
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:58,440
Speaker 1: to the type of person you are, right, if you

915
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,360
Speaker 1: are more like I guess deets oriented, maybe if you

916
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:03,479
Speaker 1: like spending an extra amount of time on that, because

917
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:04,719
Speaker 1: it is going to take a little bit of time

918
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,680
Speaker 1: to stay organized. But it does kind of come down

919
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:10,040
Speaker 1: to your natural tendencies, your own personality. But you know, Joel,

920
00:41:10,360 --> 00:41:11,480
Speaker 1: I will say, I used to I feel like I

921
00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:13,680
Speaker 1: used to fall more on that side of the fence,

922
00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:15,840
Speaker 1: uh kind of back in the day, But more and

923
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,080
Speaker 1: more I find myself kind of drawn to the simplicity

924
00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,600
Speaker 1: camp unless there is just a really sweet card for instance,

925
00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:25,359
Speaker 1: again the chase that I preferred. But like, so you're

926
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:26,880
Speaker 1: you're going to really appreciate this, But it makes me

927
00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:29,440
Speaker 1: think of disc golf, and there are some disc oflfers

928
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:30,680
Speaker 1: out there. You'll go out there and you'll see them.

929
00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:33,160
Speaker 1: They've got these backpacks and they've got like twenty discs

930
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:35,680
Speaker 1: discs and there no joke, each one of them does

931
00:41:35,719 --> 00:41:39,839
Speaker 1: something special. They're they're highly like minor minor tweaks, right, yeah,

932
00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:44,279
Speaker 1: a specific shot. Each one has like its own personality,

933
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:47,360
Speaker 1: like like it does something special. But for me, like

934
00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:49,320
Speaker 1: I'm the kind of disc golfer that I don't really know,

935
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:50,960
Speaker 1: Like I just thw it hard as hard as I can,

936
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,280
Speaker 1: as straight as I can typically, and so like literally

937
00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:57,680
Speaker 1: I've got three disks and I've got a driver, and

938
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:00,080
Speaker 1: I typically use the driver in the putter and have

939
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:02,000
Speaker 1: that third disc honestly, just as a backup in case

940
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:05,200
Speaker 1: I'll lose one. And that's fine for me, and it

941
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:07,000
Speaker 1: allows me to go out and enjoy time that we

942
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:08,920
Speaker 1: go out to the disc golf course. We can throw

943
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:11,480
Speaker 1: and for me, there's no additional thought that goes into it.

944
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:13,600
Speaker 1: I am able to do what I want to do

945
00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:15,759
Speaker 1: with those two discs. Maybe that's why you lose all

946
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:19,680
Speaker 1: the time, though, Please I do remember I think stomping

947
00:42:19,719 --> 00:42:22,440
Speaker 1: you left n someone went out. But for me, that's

948
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:25,080
Speaker 1: where I am on my disc golf journey right At

949
00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:27,040
Speaker 1: some point, if we start doing this more, maybe I'll

950
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:28,560
Speaker 1: get a few more discs and I'll be like, oh,

951
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:30,640
Speaker 1: this one is great for you know, if I want

952
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:32,120
Speaker 1: to slice it, you know, kind of have a kind

953
00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:34,239
Speaker 1: of wrap back around the trees. But for right now,

954
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:36,680
Speaker 1: I'm not really that advanced yet. I'm just looking to

955
00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:38,880
Speaker 1: throw it hard and straight, or I'm just looking to

956
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:40,799
Speaker 1: set it right there in the basket with a lot

957
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:42,960
Speaker 1: of control. And so for me, it comes down to

958
00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,279
Speaker 1: what I'm looking for out of my disks. And in

959
00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:46,840
Speaker 1: the same way when it comes to credit cards, it

960
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,600
Speaker 1: comes down to your own you know, personality, like where

961
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,440
Speaker 1: you are and your personal fightings, journey and what you're

962
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: looking for your credit cards to do for you. Yeah,

963
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:56,360
Speaker 1: and you can complicate it as thoroughly as you want to.

964
00:42:56,719 --> 00:42:58,960
Speaker 1: That's just not really our style. Like, we we have

965
00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:02,920
Speaker 1: a tendency towards simplicity, and that's what we're gonna recommend

966
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,680
Speaker 1: for most of our listeners to not overdo it, because

967
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:08,760
Speaker 1: there are some downsize to overdoing it. Trying to distract

968
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:11,000
Speaker 1: as many possible rewards as you can out of these

969
00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:13,560
Speaker 1: credit cards and granted, like take advantage of the rewards,

970
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,959
Speaker 1: like that's one of the biggest perks of getting credit

971
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:19,600
Speaker 1: cards in general, but there is a potential downside to

972
00:43:19,719 --> 00:43:22,120
Speaker 1: complicating things too much. But again, keep in mind that

973
00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:24,919
Speaker 1: credit cards are awesome for discipline folks, not so much

974
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:27,360
Speaker 1: for people who can't pay the balance off on time

975
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,800
Speaker 1: and in full, or who can't control their spending. And

976
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:32,759
Speaker 1: so if you plan to use the credit card, you know,

977
00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:35,440
Speaker 1: like half of Americans do, and you carry a balance,

978
00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:38,920
Speaker 1: will stick with cash or a cash equivalent. You know,

979
00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 1: that type of usage leads to thousands of dollars in

980
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,440
Speaker 1: recurring debt that will stick with you continually, and that

981
00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:48,520
Speaker 1: is what makes credit card companies money that is what

982
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,400
Speaker 1: dramatically reduces your ability to make those positive money moves

983
00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:56,080
Speaker 1: that will help you to achieve financial independence. Yeah, totally,

984
00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,440
Speaker 1: And don't let the positive benefits of credit cards that

985
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:00,719
Speaker 1: we just mentioned cause you to sign up for one

986
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:03,200
Speaker 1: if you know that you're not gonna be able to

987
00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:04,759
Speaker 1: use it. Well, if you know that you're not there,

988
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:08,359
Speaker 1: know yourself. The right tool in the wrong hands ends

989
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,680
Speaker 1: very badly, right, as we've talked about earlier. But yeah,

990
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,040
Speaker 1: if you can stay disciplined, use the credit cards that

991
00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:16,000
Speaker 1: you have to your full advantage. And after you figured

992
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:18,080
Speaker 1: out which credit cards are best for how you spend,

993
00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:21,760
Speaker 1: consider bringing another one into your life to maximize your rewards.

994
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:25,399
Speaker 1: And so I've actually written an article about the best

995
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,680
Speaker 1: credit cards for how people spend, Like whether you're, you know,

996
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:31,800
Speaker 1: a grocery store maximizer or you spend a lot of

997
00:44:31,840 --> 00:44:34,560
Speaker 1: the gas station. Uh, who where do you spend the

998
00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 1: most money? And which credit card is going to make

999
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,920
Speaker 1: the most sense for you, uh in that situation. That

1000
00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:40,480
Speaker 1: article is up on how the Money dot Com and

1001
00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:42,360
Speaker 1: will be linked to in our show notes, along with

1002
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,840
Speaker 1: a link to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which we

1003
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:47,040
Speaker 1: mentioned a few times in this episode, just because the

1004
00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:50,080
Speaker 1: rewards on that card are particularly excellent. So yeah you can,

1005
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,120
Speaker 1: so you check that out as well, Like, dude, those

1006
00:44:52,239 --> 00:44:53,759
Speaker 1: I mean, that's a card I have right now, and

1007
00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,239
Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward to that twelve fifty welcome bonus

1008
00:44:56,280 --> 00:44:58,160
Speaker 1: that's gonna show up here in a couple of months.

1009
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:00,200
Speaker 1: But for now, man, let's go ahead and get back

1010
00:45:00,239 --> 00:45:03,000
Speaker 1: to the beer that you and I enjoyed on this episode.

1011
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:05,560
Speaker 1: During this episode, you and I enjoyed a Chief of Chiefs,

1012
00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:08,320
Speaker 1: which is a double dry hopped double I p a

1013
00:45:08,719 --> 00:45:11,879
Speaker 1: from Bearded Iris up there in Nashville, Tennessee. What your

1014
00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:14,439
Speaker 1: thoughts on this beer, buddy, Man? This beer tasted really

1015
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:16,960
Speaker 1: freshen and I think one of the things I appreciate

1016
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:19,000
Speaker 1: the most out of the exploration dates this one. Yeah,

1017
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:23,080
Speaker 1: I was like bottled yesterday can and recently. Yeah, I

1018
00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:26,760
Speaker 1: feel like when you crack a beer and you instantly

1019
00:45:26,880 --> 00:45:30,120
Speaker 1: get that bouquet of like hop hop flavors hop notes

1020
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:32,719
Speaker 1: coing straight into your nostrils, that's a good song. Uh.

1021
00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:34,640
Speaker 1: And this this beer definitely had that going on, where

1022
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:37,200
Speaker 1: the smell was intense in a really good way. Uh,

1023
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:39,319
Speaker 1: And it kind of overpowered by senses, and I was like, oh, yeah,

1024
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:40,560
Speaker 1: this is gonna this is gonna be a good one,

1025
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,280
Speaker 1: and it really was. Um, it really was the precursor.

1026
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:46,440
Speaker 1: The wonderful smell was a precursor to a delicious taste.

1027
00:45:46,520 --> 00:45:48,719
Speaker 1: So I really, I really like this I p A.

1028
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:51,640
Speaker 1: And I haven't really been disappointed with any Bearded Iris

1029
00:45:51,719 --> 00:45:54,160
Speaker 1: I p A s yet, and this one definitely didn't

1030
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,160
Speaker 1: disappoint either. Home style that's like they've got a homestyle

1031
00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:59,879
Speaker 1: double that was pretty good. This is way bettert better.

1032
00:46:00,080 --> 00:46:01,440
Speaker 1: I would say this is the best I p A

1033
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:04,000
Speaker 1: I've had from bearded Iris. Definitely helps that is dry

1034
00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:06,520
Speaker 1: hot because when it kind of has what we've described

1035
00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:09,640
Speaker 1: before almost as that blue cheese kind of funky nous

1036
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:12,440
Speaker 1: where it has that bitterness from the hops that translates

1037
00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:16,680
Speaker 1: into this deep, rich flavor sharpness. Oh my gosh, I

1038
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:19,000
Speaker 1: am for it every single time, and I'm glad that

1039
00:46:19,040 --> 00:46:20,440
Speaker 1: you and I got to enjoy this one today. But

1040
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:22,759
Speaker 1: that's gonna be it for this episode. Listeners can find

1041
00:46:22,800 --> 00:46:24,759
Speaker 1: our show notes and some links to some of the

1042
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:27,279
Speaker 1: different cards that we mentioned during this episode up there

1043
00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:29,200
Speaker 1: at how the Money dot Com. Yeah, but as they

1044
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:32,399
Speaker 1: always say at the end of like alcohol commercials, using

1045
00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:36,239
Speaker 1: use it, wisely, using moderation, right, so the same thing

1046
00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:38,600
Speaker 1: is true with credit cards. But um yeah, Matt, that's

1047
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,000
Speaker 1: gonna do it for this episode. So until next time,

1048
00:46:41,400 --> 00:46:43,040
Speaker 1: best Friends, best Friends Out,