WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Return Rabbits, Double Majoring, and Nihilistic Renters #1086 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:03.320 Welcome to had the Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt. Today 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:26.640 we're talking return rabbits, double majoring, and nihilistic renters. Yeah. 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.680 It's great to be back here at the Friday Flight, 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:30.200 isn't it. 0:00:30.200 --> 0:00:33.639 It's good to have an opinion that not just your 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:35.239 partner and kids. 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:36.680 Want to hear. Joel. I'm sure that that's part of 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:38.320 it for you. What was it I never want to hear? 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:40.160 I texted you, Uh, there. 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:42.680 Was something that hit the news like in the middle 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:44.960 of Christmas week or something like that, and I can't 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.040 remember what it was, but I think it was gift 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.520 cards about gift cards, and I was just like, I'm 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:52.960 here for you, buddy, if you can't vent on the 0:00:53.000 --> 0:00:55.120 podcast or you just want to vent to me directly, 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.360 but no, this is the Friday Flight where we talk 0:00:57.400 --> 0:00:59.640 about the headlines from the past week, how they were 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:03.800 specif going to impact your personal finances, Joel. Everybody has 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.800 been like up in arms about the World Cup prices. 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:10.399 World Cup World Cup ticket prices that will be coming 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:12.800 here to North America this summer. 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.040 Reporting events are just cheap in general, Matt, is what 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.480 I found out. Yeah. Actually I went to a college 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:22.000 game basketball game with my kids this past weekend that 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:24.479 was affordable way and it was free, like they had 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:27.080 free tickets to go see the female basketball. I'm taking 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.120 them kids again this weekend because I guess what, I 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.560 got more free tickets. And this was not because I 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.399 got a hook up. This was they were widely available. 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.720 Anybody could get these free tickets. But World Cup prices 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:40.920 for not letting me know, I know, I been there 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.080 with you. I thought about it after the fact fact, 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:48.160 but the World Cup ticket prices nowhere near free. Yeah. Well, 0:01:48.280 --> 0:01:50.640 I think they released a small small amount of like 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:52.040 sixty dollar tickets or something. 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.720 Oh yeah, what's like how high of elevation? Like there's 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:58.960 literally an altimeter associated with the seats? Yeah, you get 0:01:58.960 --> 0:01:59.680 for sixty bucks. 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:02.000 I know you've been saving up though, you because we're 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.880 gonna have good memories here, are you? Are you gonna 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:06.360 go through with it? Are you gonna buy tickets? Okay? 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:08.320 So he it's funny that you bring that up, because 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.840 that's literally a conversation Kate and I had at the 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:12.919 end of last year beginning of this year, as we're 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:16.040 doing budget planning, we're looking at our savings buckets, how 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:18.480 much we either went over on some of those or 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:20.360 how much surplus we have in them. And this is 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.160 a category that I guess it was like four years ago. Yeah, 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.840 listeners maybe can go back, and they're not gonna go back, 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:29.760 but listeners might remember us talking about this and how 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.480 I thought, you know what, We're gonna have some kids, 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.040 and I think there's a good chance that they're going 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.160 to be into soccer by the time twenty twenty six 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:38.000 rolls around, and I want to be able to take 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.880 them one, if not multiple, or you know, the whole 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.800 family to see some World Cup matches. And specifically the 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.440 reason for that was at that point in time four 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.200 years ago, I was really into soccer and so I 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.280 was going to MLS matches all the time. It is 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.360 not something that I have kept up, and nor is 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:58.640 it a sport that the kids have really taken up. 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:00.680 I mean, there's all sorts of stuff were doing, but 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.760 soccer isn't one of them. And so I actually asked 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.280 Kate as we're looking at the twenty twenty six budget, 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:08.840 and I said, hey, what do you want to do 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.080 with this, because I doubt we're going to go, especially 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.320 based on how expensive the prices were, because I based 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.080 I based the ticket prices on the average ticket price 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:20.640 and was it in Qatar last time, And so they 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:24.799 published all the prices and it is significantly more than 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:28.239 what the standard ticket was back then, and she was 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.960 fine with us just rolling that into some other special 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:36.840 occasion entertainment expense. Essentially, essentially, you're like relabeling it not 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.839 World Cup, but let's just keep it earmarked for something else. 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.000 So all that being said, I'm not currently at least 0:03:43.160 --> 0:03:46.680 planning to go to a World Cup match. I signed up, 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:48.720 I created a like at the beginning because I wanted 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:50.120 to see how much were they actually going to be 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:52.520 for the different matches and logged in and you know, 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:54.960 like the FIFA portal or whatever where you could where 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.000 you could do that. But I was I was a 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:57.800 little disheartened. 0:03:57.920 --> 0:03:59.960 I think of the World Cup kind of like the Olympics, 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.640 and obviously like soccer specific Olympics essentially, right, because it's 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.480 nations around the world competing, and how often you get 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:08.320 it in your hometown and be really fun to go 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:10.120 see a game, even if it's just some sort of 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:12.400 like friendly or something ahead of time. I don't even 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:14.560 care if I get the opportunity to go for a 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.400 reasonable price. I will because I look back on the 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.600 one World Series game I've been to I remember, and 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.880 the one so pumped about that, and the one MLS 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.480 Cup final I went to, and you know, would I've 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:27.839 paid a thousand dollars for those tickets? No, but like 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:29.919 when they were sub two hundred bucks, all right, okay, 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.120 I'm happy to do that. So if I get access 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:34.280 to a reasonably price ticket, I'll go. But other than that, 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:36.040 I'm just not going to fork over a ton of 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:38.520 money for it. I don't care enough either, but to 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:41.000 be able to say you're there, like I know that 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.920 Pelchrium played Portugal or something like that, that'd be awesome. 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:45.840 Those tickets won't be going, No, those are going to 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:50.080 be really I don't know much about what's how those 0:04:50.080 --> 0:04:52.359 countries are doing, but you have to watch, like Trinidad 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.200 play I don't know, some some other no name country 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.240 like yeah, I forget I remember reading about it, like 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:01.080 derogatory towards Trinidad by the way, I'm sorry. No, I 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.400 mean there are some countries because they've expanded the pool. 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:05.880 I'm pretty sure, like there are some countries that have 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:07.640 never made it before, and this is the first time 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:10.599 they're making it. So I'm guessing those may not necessarily 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.920 be the absolute best matches, but yeah, as always, you 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.440 are a valuist in a similar way. If I come 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:17.680 across an opportunity and I'm. 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.200 Like, hey, for get some last minute tickets, make it, 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:21.799 you know, make it down there to see a match 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:23.080 that sounds like a lot of fun. 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:25.560 But and we'll just see one last thing here. A 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:28.080 lesson I think everybody can learn is plan ahead for 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.800 really expensive stuff, and hey, you might decide you're not 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:32.440 going to use the money for that purpose, and then 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:34.760 you can use it for something else. Yeah, newfound wealth 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:37.240 to use elsewhere. It's like finding a twenty in your 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:38.640 winter jacket, but. 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:40.760 It's way more than that, Like literally, I mean we've 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.120 set aside like thousands of dollars ye. 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:44.520 That we had earmark for that. 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.760 But something else that folks are doing these days, Joel 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:51.039 after the holidays is making all those returns, like all 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:55.080 that crap that you don't want or that maybe you 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.800 realize wasn't going to be a great gift. Most retailers 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.200 are going to allow you to make those retren through 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:03.440 the end of the month. I was recently at Whole 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.480 foods making like a bulk Amazon return drop off. 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:09.159 And they had it was like a holding pin. 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.239 Life that like with the with the ropes and stuff 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.680 like going down the aisle and luckily I was there 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:16.560 when it wasn't wasn't crowded at all. 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:18.960 Is able just to walk straight up, but I could don't. 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:21.200 I can imagine what that was like a few days. 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.280 Prior, Saturday, right after Christmas or something. Oh my gosh, Yeah, 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.440 that's not the day to return. I'm find another time. 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:30.800 But you might get charged for making some of those 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:32.960 returns though, so keep an eye out for that. Obviously, 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.640 returns are an expensive reality for a lot of retailers, 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.359 and so because of that, many folks are mini companies 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.960 are taking a lump out of their customers for bringing 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.880 these items back. Three quarters of retailers have made their 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.120 return policy less generous. So we're gonna call out a 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.440 few here. TG Max Marshalls are charging twelve bucks if 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:56.440 you make a return online instead of in store. Macy's, 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.200 which I am very surprised to see is still around. 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:01.680 I don't like, do they operate in the malls that 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:04.240 I'm also surprised to see are still open because Macy's 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:06.880 aren't standalone stores, so I guess these are in shopping malls. 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:09.880 I keep wondering about the mall nearest to us. I'm like, how, 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.680 what's going to happen? Yeah? Is that going to be 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:14.560 exist in the current form? 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:16.640 I don't know, man, But Macy's they're going to charge 0:07:16.640 --> 0:07:19.720 you ten bucks if you aren't a rewards member or 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.640 an outfitters. They're also going to charge you for online returns. 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:25.480 And I mentioned Amazon earlier, but they're kind of all 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.280 over the place depending on the item, like where it 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:30.800 is that you return it, whether you need to like 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:33.720 package the thing up before returning it or not. But 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:36.160 get those returns done and try not to get eaten 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:38.240 the live buy fees in the process. 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:40.720 Yeah. The other thing I think is we're seeing retailers 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:45.760 offer more final sale products, and that's essentially to say, hey, 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:48.080 we're going to give you a decent price on this 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.680 piece of clothing or whatever it is, but you have 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:53.800 no right to return it at all because we don't 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:57.080 we don't want it back. And I think you just 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.720 have to know your size, no the retailer, and have 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.920 an idea at least I guess of whether you're going 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:04.920 to be pretty happy with that item before you make 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:06.160 the purchase, if it's final sale. 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:07.760 Yeah, if you know your sizes and you know the 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:09.560 company man, that's a great way. It's sort of like 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.480 you with your shoes. That's a great way to take 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:13.720 advantage of an awesome deal. 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:14.000 Yeah. 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:15.520 I mean, I think they're going to have to cut 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.800 the prices, slashing them significantly when folks are all of 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:21.080 a sudden pushed up against the reality of I can't 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:23.040 make a return. Yeah, so I'm stuck with this thing, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.720 and that makes them think twice about it. That's right, 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:25.720 and Okay. 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:27.680 An even more extensive way to return stuff is to 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.320 hire other people to do it for you. But of course, 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.480 of course in modern day America, that's something you can do. 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:37.120 Instead of packages landing on your doorstep, there's there are 0:08:37.120 --> 0:08:40.480 new companies like Return Queen that will pick those packages 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:43.400 up from your house. You stick them back on the porch, 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:47.760 and then they whisk them off to ups or wherever 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:49.360 they need to make those returns. 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:51.440 I I was a little disappointed that you didn't say 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.040 return Queen like I was hoping you would say it. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:55.040 It's like Queen like that. 0:08:56.520 --> 0:09:00.000 Yeah, I'll include that but still you didn't really commit, 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:01.880 so that doesn't count. You might have to do it 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:03.480 one more time, and maybe we'll say that for that 0:09:03.559 --> 0:09:06.800 right next episode. Task grab it's another site where you 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.480 could like hire people to do stuff for you. Those 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.319 like return gigs apparently are up sixty percent on that site, 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:13.959 according to the Wall Street Journal, and specifically, the journal 0:09:14.000 --> 0:09:17.079 found that some folks are even reaching out to moving 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:19.760 companies for help returning heavy items. 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.960 That they purchase. Hey, maybe you bought that rowing machine 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:24.880 that Matt loves or something, and you're like, oh, I 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:26.360 got to return it, but I'm going to break my 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:27.600 back trying to get it in the car, and blah 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.360 blah blah. People are literally reaching out to moving companies 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:32.240 paying them to return stuff for them, which seems great. 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.280 I can't imagine that's widespread, but it's a thing. And 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:37.640 I was looking at the pricing Matt of return Queen. 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:40.800 It doesn't seem crazy, like ten bucks for a pickup 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:43.839 of up to like twelve packages or something like that. 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:46.840 But of course there's a subscription you can sign up 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:50.840 for and that's hundreds of dollars a year. But this 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.320 is still an expense added right to something that it's 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.880 taking another cut, just like retailers are doing. Now other 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.959 places who will do the return for you are also 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.880 so taking a cut. Bloomberg called it an adulting tax, 0:10:02.920 --> 0:10:05.400 which I don't know if that's accurate, because a tax 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:07.240 is something like you're kind of forced to pay. This 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:09.680 is something you're doing to yourself that you are choosing 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:11.800 this is optional because you could have made the returns 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.640 on your own, and you're just not getting every penny 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.400 back by as you would if you made those returns 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.160 on your own. But I guess the bright side of 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:22.000 this is that it means for a lot of people 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.680 they're actually going to make the returns instead of just 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:28.040 letting that stuff I don't know, linger somewhere in the 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:31.360 back of their closets standing in their house. This is 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.240 where I kind of it's weird because you're trying to 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.880 value your time, which is important, but there's this fine 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:39.000 line between like knowing your hourly rate and farming out 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.559 chores on repeat and then just kind of becoming beholden 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:46.120 and dependent on these new services that add up over time. 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:49.320 This convenience culture that is completely optional. And you're saying 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:51.400 too the fact that it's not all that expensive. But 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.560 you know how these new companies, these new startups work. 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:55.920 They get their hooks in you, you get used to 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:59.400 this new lifestyle, and then once they've got market share, 0:10:59.440 --> 0:11:01.720 they just slowly turned the screwze on you. That's how 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:04.080 they eventually, or at least what they promised to their 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:07.400 shareholders or new potential shareholders, how they're going to make 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.880 a profit. Yeah, but all the while costing you even 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.199 more money. So let's talk about student loans, because obviously, 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:16.360 graduating with a massive student loan debt it's never been 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:18.520 a good thing. But I feel like in this area 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:21.679 it's worse than usual. As millions of borrowers are finding 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:26.160 themselves behind on payments, they are falling into delinquency. And 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.000 this is after a pretty long pause that we've seen 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:32.439 basically starting with the COVID pandemic era. Those folks are 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:34.560 going to be in for a rude awakening though. In 0:11:34.559 --> 0:11:38.640 twenty twenty six. Wage garnishment is beginning. Those notices are 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.840 being sent out this week, and it's not just paychecks 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.160 that could see up to a fifteen percent reduction, it's 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:47.480 the tax refunds as well. Many borrowers are going to 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.000 have their entire refund taken by the government come April, 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:54.240 and that's also going to be a rude awakening because 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:55.280 I think a lot I mean a lot of folks 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.800 they talk about how dependent they are on that sort 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.800 of cash and fusion in the spring because for what. 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:03.360 The average tax refunds something like four thousand dollars. I 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:04.920 want to say, like, it's a lot of money. It's 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:05.439 a lot of money. 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.600 And so obviously being in default is going to mess 0:12:07.679 --> 0:12:09.640 up your credit score, but it's going to cause other 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:13.719 potential financial issues as well. And you know, we're not 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:15.920 going to weigh in on the issues of fairness, but 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.000 either way, the goal is to get out of student 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:21.480 loan payment default quickly. Switching repayment plans that might be 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.720 your best bet if you are having a difficult time 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.600 paying every month. We'll link to the Department of Education 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:31.920 Loan Simulator and it's got a few different options there 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.520 where you can sort of see what your options might be. 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:37.280 Yeah, and you can object, by the way, if you 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:40.680 think that the delinquency is an error. But what's I 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.600 think is it five million borrowers Matt who find themselves 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:46.920 like something like two hundred and seventy plus days behind again. 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:50.120 I get it, the whiplash and the well, your student 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:52.400 loans even a thing anymore? Like that's the way it 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:55.160 felt two years ago. Yes they're a thing, and yes 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:57.400 repayments have started. And if you find yourself by the 0:12:57.400 --> 0:12:59.680 way between a rock and a hard place with very 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:04.160 little help from a gutted education department, well then you're 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:08.000 gonna want to consider potentially more drastic measures. In particular, 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:12.239 we're actually seeing more student loans being discharged via bankruptcy. 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:16.320 A simpler process was essentially introduced under the Biden administration, 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.240 and it's starting to bear fruit for some borrowers who 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.280 go to court in an attempt to get their loans dismissed. Outright, 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.719 it's obviously a drastic measure, but at least for some 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.800 who meet what's known as the undue hardship framework, who 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:31.720 kind of check a few different boxes and can prove 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:36.080 basically that their student loan payment is completely unaffordable, they 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:41.400 can have the balance essentially eradicated. This might be at 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.080 least for some people who are significantly struggling, who really 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.840 cannot afford to pay that student loan balance, that might 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.560 be their most realistic shot at ditching it. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:54.800 Yeah, and it's interesting though the quote unquote undue hardship 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:58.560 framework is not clearly defined as to what that means. 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:00.960 And so if you are looking to have your student 0:14:01.000 --> 0:14:04.800 loans discharged like that and bankruptcy, well, just know that 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:06.719 it's still the wild wild West. And I wanted to 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:07.839 mention too, if here's some. 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:10.160 People who specialize in that, like student loan lawyers. I 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:12.839 literally subscribe to an email newsletter of a student loan 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:15.080 lawyer because he has such a great insight on this front. 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:17.520 And you might find that you need the help of 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:21.440 a professional. And even then, right, it's still not one 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.600 hundred percent surefire that you're going to win. And maybe 0:14:24.960 --> 0:14:27.360 you now owe lawyer's fees and you still are your 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.800 student loans, and so there's potential problem going that round 0:14:30.840 --> 0:14:31.200 as well. 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.360 It takes a certain amount of insight and wisdom to know. 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:35.040 It's not a black or white answer. Yeah, this is 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:36.480 one where you kind of have to feel it out, 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:38.680 and I wanted to mention, like, if you have no 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.680 idea where it is that you should start. We've talked 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:43.920 with folks from Student Loan Planner before, and we'll link 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:46.920 to a resource in our show notes there as well, 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:48.680 because they can help you to put together a plan 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.280 and to figure out the best path forward for you 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:53.720 as an individual to not only get out of default, 0:14:53.760 --> 0:14:55.360 but to really just be able. 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.440 To tackle your student loans. That's we're spending money to 0:14:57.520 --> 0:15:00.600 hire an expert. Can save you money. Attend helps actually 0:15:00.600 --> 0:15:02.760 a lot more. Yeah, yeah, help you know that you're 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:03.240 on the right path. 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:05.720 Okay, So while we are talking about higher ed friend 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.360 of the show, Ron Lieber, he continues to document how 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.920 expensive college can be and specifically how to reduce the price, 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:16.720 which we love hearing that, but he has detailed how 0:15:16.720 --> 0:15:19.160 hard it is to compare college. 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:19.760 Costs ahead of time. 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:23.120 It's you know, you're basically trying to compare apples oranges. 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:24.120 But there is this new. 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:27.440 Tool like opaque fruits too, Matt, like the you never 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:30.000 even heard of, Yeah, and what is this thing? And 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.600 that's because there's just so little transparency from many schools 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.600 about what they offer in terms of financial aid and 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:37.720 making that information public. 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:39.520 Yeah, you're trying to like you're trying to compare this 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.040 like ever crisp apple to this. Oh, this is a 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:43.960 mystery fruit. I've got no idea what this even is. 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:45.360 It's behind box number one. 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.920 But he recently wrote about this new tool from a 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:53.120 company called Niche that can help or niche depending on 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.920 how you like to pronounce it. But instead of going 0:15:54.920 --> 0:15:58.160 to each college's net price calculator and in putting the 0:15:58.280 --> 0:16:01.840 information directly, it can do it for you all in 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:05.120 one place, and then it can compare multiple schools at once, 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:08.840 which is fantastic because Man, keeping the price of a 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.720 four year degree down like it's more important than ever. 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.000 It's really crucial to making it a good investment. And 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:16.000 we'll make sure to link to. 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.920 That as well. Man And we also have prior podcast 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:23.360 conversations with people like Jocelyn Pearson who can help you 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.960 wade through the looking for scholarship stuff, Like there's a 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:30.600 lot that you can do as an individual to go 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.120 out there and hunt for money where you think about 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:36.960 the hourly rate. Matt of like my nephew who's working 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.040 at a fast food chain right now, as I did 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:41.560 like in high school, and you don't get paid a 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:45.440 whole lot his time. An hour is worth nothing, very little, 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:48.120 and it's probably worth actually a lot more. And I've 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:51.120 talked about this with my sister, like, hey, what if 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.360 he took a few worked a few less hours and 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:57.000 spent those hours trying to hunt for scholarships. I like 0:16:57.040 --> 0:16:58.640 the idea of doing both because I like the idea 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.520 of working in high school. But why Yeah, that's a 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.320 really smart thing to I think incentivize your kids to 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:07.359 do is to hunt for those scholarships, because if you 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.760 do it in the right way, you might find that 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:13.119 the return is significant. I love it. Also, more students 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.919 are opting to double major right now in an effort 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:20.600 to improve career opportunities. I've talked about how the job 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:24.880 market seems a little stagnant, and especially for recent college graduates, 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:29.280 it feels like there's or in reality, there's less hiring 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:31.680 going on. A lot of people who just got that degree. 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:33.960 They're like, where's my job? And they're having a lot 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:36.360 of time. There's a lot of uncertainty right now. Yeah. Well, 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.520 and the data seems to show that the double the 0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:43.000 amount of students are getting two majors these days instead 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.280 of just one compared to ten years ago. Other statistics 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.879 show that folks with double majors are less likely to 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.720 lose their job, They're less likely to have their pay cut. 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:55.240 So I think there's a bunch of wisdom in the 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.199 choice of getting two majors instead of a major and 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.880 a minor. Double majoring. It requires more effort, it requires 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:05.040 more hours in a particular field of study. But it's 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:07.760 possible to pull it off without spending more time at 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.320 school or even forking over more money when you think 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:13.159 about them out what a full time student is. I 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:14.640 was talking about this with my daughter the other day. 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.959 Was twelve plus hours. But in school, there's a lot 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:20.880 of people who I knew and myself included, who were 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:23.919