1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,519 Speaker 1: Welcome to Out of Money. I'm Joel, and yes again, 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 1: Matt is not here, promised he'll be back soon. Today 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: we're talking about dumpster diving, insurance dodging, and pudgy penguins. Yeah, 4 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:32,480 Speaker 1: that's right. Matt has spent multiple weeks behind bars and 5 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: I can't tell you the full story. And I'm just kidding. 6 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:37,960 Speaker 1: He's Matt spends some time with his family. He'll be 7 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,720 Speaker 1: back soon. This is kind of a summer summer thing 8 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: where I'm hosting this Friday flight by myself. But I 9 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: hope this is the last Friday flight I host solo 10 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: because it's not really as fun doing it boy myself, 11 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: even though I still love getting to talk about personal finances. 12 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: And I'm glad you're along for today's Friday flight. Before 13 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: I get to all the stories we've interesting, including pudgy penguins, 14 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: it's a really interesting one. NFTs are back with a vengeance. 15 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,240 Speaker 1: I wanted to quickly highlight an email that listener Donnie sent. 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: He lives in Maryland, and there are all sorts of 17 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: things in the personal finance world that even as someone 18 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: who hosts a personal finance podcast, I'm unaware of, and 19 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: a lot of that is because there are state specific 20 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: programs or just small fin nuances that I have not 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: begun to appreciate or research in depth yet. And so 22 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: Donnie sent this email and at least for listeners in 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: Maryland and then maybe check and see if this is 24 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: something like this is available in your state as well. 25 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: There are cool perks for people who stick money aside 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: in five twenty nine plans for their kids. And so 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: Donnie basically wrote and told me and gave a lot 28 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: of detail on this. So look it up for yourself 29 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: on the Maryland five twenty nine dot com web page 30 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: for details. But if you meet certain income requirements basically 31 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: if you don't make a ton of money and actually 32 00:01:58,280 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: a ton of money, well that's in the eye of 33 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 1: the older. But you can get a state match to 34 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: your five to twenty nine plan for in order to 35 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: save for your kids college. So not only have five 36 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: twenty nine plans gotten more flexible lately, And I looked 37 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: up the Maryland five to twenty nine plan to see, 38 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: you know what the cost and expenses look like, and 39 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:19,959 Speaker 1: on some of those investments they're quite low. So the 40 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: Maryland five to twenty nine plan is I would say 41 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: at least a really good solid one. Well, if you 42 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: meet certain income requirements and you're prone to interested in 43 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: saving for your kid's future, you might be able to 44 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 1: get matching funds from the state for making those contributions. 45 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: Interesting thing, you have to you can't claim a state 46 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: tax deduction and get this state contribution. So it's important, 47 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: Donnie said, to do the math to see which one 48 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: is going to work out better for you. But you 49 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: may might be able to get five hundred bucks and 50 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: maybe you would have only saved one hundred bucks in 51 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 1: taxes or something like that for making this contribution, and 52 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: in that case, you'd want to take the state five 53 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,519 Speaker 1: hundred dollars contribution and you're getting out it's like a 54 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: net four hundred dollars win. So again, all of those 55 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: details are available on Maryland five twenty nine dot com. 56 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: But it just reminded me like, oh man, there's so 57 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: much to learn about personal finance. It never gets boring 58 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: to me. And there are so many ways that the 59 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: system is set up for people who are at least 60 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: curious and paying attention to benefit. And if you live 61 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: in Maryland, and again if someone else, by the way, 62 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: if you live in another state, and you're like, my 63 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: state does something similar. Shoot me an email, like, we 64 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,799 Speaker 1: want to highlight these things on the show. We want 65 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,359 Speaker 1: to make people aware of incredible benefits or free money. Right, 66 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: this is almost like four to one k match at 67 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: work on steroids. Though for your five twenty nine plans, 68 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: it's really cool. All right, congrats to all the graduates. 69 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: I'm seeing more and more pictures posted, and then there's 70 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: all these those yard signs, the signs in front of 71 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: neighborhoods at least where I live, saying congrats to these 72 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: grads and hate where are they going to college? Well, 73 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: and for college graduates in particular, you've been putting in 74 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: tons of work for a lot of years. It's paid 75 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: off with the degree. And we talked about the job 76 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: market last week and how it's not as good as 77 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:10,119 Speaker 1: it has been for new college grads. But here's one 78 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: thing that I wasn't on my radar until I saw 79 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: an article in Indie Week, and it was that college 80 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: graduates tend to leave a lot of their possessions behind 81 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: when they fly the coop, When they leave the dorm 82 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,280 Speaker 1: or whatever campus housing or off campus housing they live in, 83 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: they tend to leave a lot of their stuff they 84 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: just maybe it's they don't have a U haul or 85 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: a trailer to stick all their stuff in, and so 86 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: a lot of it ends up at the dumpster. Could 87 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: be some really nice stuff, right, It could be some 88 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: trash that nobody really wants, but it could be a 89 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: nice couch, or it could be In the case of 90 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 1: this article who wrote for Indie Week, she talked about 91 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: salvaging some really nice stuff that graduates were leaving behind 92 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: at the school closest to her. High end tables, luxury sneakers, 93 00:04:56,320 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: Lululemon workout stuff like shoved in a bag, fancy appliance 94 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: like nice toasters and microwaves and stuff like that. And 95 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,520 Speaker 1: one person's trash is another person's treasure. And so the 96 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: author she basically highlighted how she was able to salvage 97 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: almost seven thousand dollars worth of stuff to prevent it 98 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: from being thrown in the trash and to put it 99 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: to use herself. And she created a spreadsheet and she said, hey, 100 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: this is something I'm going to keep, this is something 101 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 1: i'm going to sell, this is something I'm going to 102 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: give away. And I thought that was so cool. I mean, 103 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: it really is. The one person's trash is another person's treasure. 104 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,559 Speaker 1: It's the most apt phrase here because as the college person, 105 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: you're saying, this is a burden to me. I don't 106 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: have anywhere to put it. Maybe I'm moving back home 107 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: with mom and dad for a few months. They don't 108 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: have room for this stuff. Or I don't know where 109 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,479 Speaker 1: I'm going to end up. Maybe I'm sleeping on a 110 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 1: friend's couch for a couple weeks and then I'll figure 111 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: it out. And so in the interim, you just don't 112 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: have anywhere to put it, so it ends up on 113 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: the curb, or it ends up in the trash. Can 114 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: I think this happens. I've heard from people in New 115 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: York City right around the first of the month, because 116 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: there are fewer places to store stuff. You just find 117 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: stuff on the curb that you otherwise are like, why 118 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: are they getting rid of this? And it's because they 119 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: just can't take it with them, and it's more of 120 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: a pain, more of a hassle to take it. And 121 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: if you can deal with the hassle of moving it, 122 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: you just are the proud owner of something fairly nice 123 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: that someone else tossed out. And I think it also 124 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,240 Speaker 1: says something about our culture that we live in an 125 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: era of disposable stuff, right, And it makes me think 126 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: that even if an item is initially more expensive, it 127 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,719 Speaker 1: can cost you less over time to buy the nicer 128 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: thing upfront and to hold on to it. But then, 129 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: also because of extreme wealth in this country, when you 130 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: think about the fact that we have so on average 131 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: as a country, we're the wealthiest country in the history 132 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: of the world, there's room here for entrepreneurs to make 133 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: money based on the fact that based on some arbitrage, right, 134 00:06:54,760 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: the fact that somebody has said, oh I used this, 135 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: I no longer need it, I'm tossing it as and 136 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,919 Speaker 1: you can step in and be the middleman or woman 137 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: to enjoy the profit of that. Basically, I have friends 138 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: who have done this before, whether it's with used clothing. 139 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: They've started businesses where they go to thrift stores and 140 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: buy stuff and list it on eBay. And I'm not 141 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: saying that it's not a job. It is. It takes time, 142 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: but if you have an eye for that stuff, you 143 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: can make a living literally just reselling things. Another friend 144 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,400 Speaker 1: who said, who did that with mid century furniture and 145 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 1: he just knows where to go, what to look for 146 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: and once you get an eye for that, he's like, 147 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: you're able to find some things for one hundred bucks 148 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: that sell for thousands of dollars. And this reminded me 149 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: of that where people tossing stuff out you can benefit 150 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: from at least just the way people don't take care 151 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 1: of their stuff or get rid of it prematurely. At 152 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: the very least by the way, I wish folks would 153 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: donate that stuff so people can benefit instead of it 154 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: next to the dumpster, tossing it in the trash and 155 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: then you know, I don't know, maybe you don't have 156 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: time for a side house, so you're not interested. But 157 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: I think it's an underrated way to get cool stuff 158 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:12,560 Speaker 1: or to make a buck, and you have to roll 159 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: up your sleeves and get a little bit dirty. I 160 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:15,320 Speaker 1: think that's one of the things too, is this is 161 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: going to take maybe a little time, little effort, but 162 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: even I think that can be It's kind of like 163 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: my dishwasher story recently, buying extra dishwashers and flipping them, 164 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 1: and it's a way to turn something that would have 165 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: been a cost center into a profit center and still 166 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: get something new at the same time. I just love 167 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: that that's possible if you're paying attention. That makes you think. 168 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: One last story here on the dumpster diving front. I 169 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: had a buddy who there was back in the day 170 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: there was an airline called air Tran. Southwest bought air 171 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: Tran back in the day and that's how they actually 172 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: moved into flying out of Atlanta. But AirTran ran a 173 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: promotion on Wendy's Cups, and I think it was if you 174 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: collected like sixty four Wendy's cups, you were able to 175 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: take a free one way or around trip flight. And 176 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:00,319 Speaker 1: I don't think there were any like limits to the 177 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: amount of cups you could collect in the number of 178 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: flights that you were able to rack up. And so 179 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,480 Speaker 1: my buddy would literally jump into dumpsters to get these 180 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: Windy's cups because it meant free travel. And so, yeah, 181 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: these are the kind of things where if you see 182 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: something like that and you're like that. At one time 183 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 1: there was a lift promotion for new drivers and new 184 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: drivers all you had to do was jump through the 185 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: hoops to sign up for a lift, give one ride, 186 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: and you were able to get a thousand dollars bonus. 187 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: And I was like, that's worth my time. That's worth 188 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: my time. So these things don't come along frequently, I 189 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:37,200 Speaker 1: wouldn't say, but they come along often enough that if 190 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: you're paying attention, you might be able to score something. 191 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: Is your smartphone making your car insurance more expensive? The 192 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: finance journal Kiplinger they dove into that topic the other 193 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: day and they found that third party apps are feeding 194 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:58,120 Speaker 1: information to insurance company insurance companies that could be used 195 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: against you in setting rates. So the I'm not talking 196 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: about the apps from your insurance company, right, which we've 197 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,440 Speaker 1: talked about on the show before and I have used 198 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: before in order to save money on my insurance. Basically, 199 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,520 Speaker 1: if you drive like a grainy for a month or 200 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,240 Speaker 1: three months, or what however long they tell you to 201 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: you plug something into your car. They might say, hey, 202 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: you're actually pretty safe driver. We're going to knock twenty 203 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: eight percent off your insurance rate, which is pretty cool. 204 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: I know some people are aware of those, but I 205 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: think that, at least from what I've seen and experienced, 206 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: they can be a good way to save money on insurance. 207 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: But what I'm talking about is actually a bunch of 208 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: different apps to collect other information on you. There was 209 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: another article just this week about how the Chinese apps 210 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,959 Speaker 1: Timu and She and they might be spying on you 211 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: when you do your shopping and selling that information well, 212 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: could end up at insurance companies maybe maybe. And so 213 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: apps you would not think of as spying on you 214 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: or collecting information that could be used to create a 215 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 1: dossier and sell that information are doing so. So it's 216 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: weather apps, shopping apps, navigation apps are all those apps 217 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 1: are all collecting some data if you allow them, and 218 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 1: then they're selling that data to data brokers who sell 219 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: it to insurance companies. And one of the main apps 220 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: that was highlighted this and I swear we've talked about 221 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: this on the show before, but I guess it just 222 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: refreshed in my mind. It's called Life three sixty. And 223 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: this seems this app seems like a benign app. It 224 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,680 Speaker 1: actually seems like it's an app that's poised to help 225 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:33,160 Speaker 1: families share location and keep track of each other and 226 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,440 Speaker 1: stay in touch with each other. Well, this app in 227 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: particular seems to be collecting information that is being sold 228 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: and it's leading to unexpected premium hikes for insurance Auto 229 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: insurance in particular because of the data it's able at 230 00:11:49,480 --> 00:11:51,840 Speaker 1: the robust data it's able to collect about where you 231 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: are and what you're doing, and the insurance companies like, yeah, 232 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: we'd like that because the more information we have, the 233 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: more we can dial in rates for specific people if 234 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: they're engaged in behaviors that we deem unsavory or unhealthy. 235 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,960 Speaker 1: And it is part of the brave new world that 236 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: we live in. But it scares me and it makes 237 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: me think that you should be really careful what apps 238 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: you download, and also you should be careful what you 239 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: let those apps share their permissions right that you give apps, 240 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: And the tough thing about something like Life thirty sixty 241 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: is the permissions that you need to grant it are 242 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: pretty crucial to the functioning of the app. So that's 243 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: one of those apps, Well, hey, you might want to 244 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 1: find a different way to stay in touch with your family, 245 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: because if they're collecting that data and using it in 246 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: a way that's not just to allow you to use 247 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,440 Speaker 1: the app for pro family purposes, they're using it to 248 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: actually spy on you and sell your data, then to 249 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: meet that app would not be worth downloading. Opt out 250 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 1: of sharing your data with apps whenever possible, And because 251 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: of the quickly rising insurance rates we've seen around the 252 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: nation the number of uninsured is rising, especially on the 253 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: homeowners insurance front, and having insurance is crucial for most folks. 254 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: And by the way, if more motorists are going around uninsured, 255 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 1: it means you having insurance is even more necessary. Think 256 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: about that uninsured motorists protection that protects you in case 257 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: you get into an accident with somebody who doesn't have insurance. 258 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: That could be you're saving grace in case of an accident, 259 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: a car accident. But on the homeowners insurance front, statistics 260 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 1: recently revealed that seven percent of all homeowners report not 261 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: having any insurance coverage on their house. And this might 262 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,880 Speaker 1: not be horrific given that, and this is a surprising 263 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,839 Speaker 1: this statistic has always surprised me. Something like forty percent 264 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: of all homeowners own their homes mortgage free. And it's 265 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:45,959 Speaker 1: funny because I know very few of those people. Actually, 266 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: this local woman who babysits our kids, wonderful. She we 267 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: were just talking this morning and she doesn't have a 268 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 1: mortgage on her home. I was like, that's incredible. How 269 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: incredible is that. I look forward to joining you in 270 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: the ranks of that someday. But there are many people 271 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:01,959 Speaker 1: out there that I know of who own their home's 272 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: mortgage free. But apparently the statistics show that four out 273 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: of ten people do own their home and they don't 274 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: have a mortgage attached to it. And in that case, 275 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: you can opt to go without insurance. But do you 276 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,200 Speaker 1: want to, well, if you own your home outright, could 277 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: you still afford to rebuild that home in the event 278 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: of an emergency. That's a really important question. Those are 279 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: the only folks who should be willing to take that gamble. 280 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: And if you have a mortgage right, your mortgage holder 281 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: will find out if you act your insurance. So you cannot, 282 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: as someone with a mortgage on your home, say I'm 283 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: gonna keep paying this mortgage, but I'm not gonna have insurance. 284 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: I'm going to take that risk because that puts the 285 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: risk also on the bank or the credit union where 286 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: you got your loan, and they're going to make sure 287 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: you have insurance. They're going to get it for you, 288 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: but it's going to cost a heck of a lot 289 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: more if they buy it. So you want to be 290 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: the one shopping around for insurance in order to find 291 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 1: the best value for yourself, because yeah, and if you're 292 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: looking to save money. If you're looking to save money 293 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: on insurance, raising your deductible, if you have the savings 294 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: on hand, can be a way to kind of split 295 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: that baby right where you're saying, the insurance is getting 296 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: really expensive, and that is certainly true. We've documented the 297 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: rise in homeowner's insurance costs over the past few years. 298 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,880 Speaker 1: They've been significant, as costs of rerisen, the home prices 299 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:23,680 Speaker 1: of risen, insurance cost ofverism too, and so raising the 300 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: deductible is a way to save on premiums and you 301 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 1: have more skin in the game if you were to 302 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: file a claim, but you got to have the cash 303 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: on hand right in order to you got to have 304 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 1: the money to back up that increased deductible that you're 305 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: taking on. And it makes One of my neighbors has 306 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: a second property and he did not have insurance on 307 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: this property and a hurricane came through and wiped it out, 308 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: and it was one of those things where obviously just 309 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: super sad and definitely felt awful for him. He knew 310 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: what he was getting into though, and he knew, Hey, 311 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: insurance costs down here are so expensive, I just have 312 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,840 Speaker 1: to chance it. And the homeowners in certain parts of Florida, 313 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: certain wildfire prone parts of California, who are who have 314 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: enough money to back up the you know, to not 315 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: go bust in case of their home burning down or 316 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 1: you know, succumbing to a hurricane. They can, I think, 317 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: go without insurance. But again, you have to do it 318 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: in a really calculated way. And the vast majority of 319 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: people could not stomach that loss. And so you have 320 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:36,239 Speaker 1: to stomach higher insurance costs to avoid the potential disastrous 321 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: cost of full replacement of that home that most people 322 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 1: cannot actually afford. R One tweet, one tweet can cause 323 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: a firestorm, and it can drive a new cycle, right 324 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,240 Speaker 1: or one truth social post and I don't even know 325 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 1: if they're called tweets anymore, and I don't know if 326 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: truth social is actually social media network as much as 327 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: the personal, you know, microphone of the president. But what 328 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: in similar way, company can drive a narrative And we 329 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: saw that this past week actually as Campbell's Soup announced 330 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,719 Speaker 1: that consumers are cooking at home again and in much 331 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: higher numbers. Basically they're saying we're cooking at home, kind 332 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: of like we were early in the pandemic days. Campbell's, yes, 333 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: they sell soup. But they sell other items too, so 334 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: they're not just saying, oh, we sold more Kansas soup. 335 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: So this is how we know this. They sell stuff 336 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,880 Speaker 1: like pasta and crackers, and so they're saying, we sell 337 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: enough stuff in the grocery store aisle, and we saw 338 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:27,680 Speaker 1: an uptick in sales. This makes us think that people 339 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: are cooking at home more, and I think there's probably 340 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: some truth to that, right, But I don't even know 341 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,199 Speaker 1: if we can call this a meaningful trend, but I 342 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: will say this that it's a good reminder that cooking 343 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: at home saves you a ton of money. And the 344 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,119 Speaker 1: Americans have historically spent more on food at home than 345 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,639 Speaker 1: eating out, but that has shifted dramatically over the past decade. 346 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: We've all gotten so used to restaurant culture, to eating 347 00:17:54,240 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: out culture, that we're spending less time around our kitchen 348 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 1: and our stoves and around our tables at home, and 349 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:06,040 Speaker 1: we're spending a good bit more now of our money 350 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 1: eating out than we are on groceries. And we've talked 351 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: about grocery inflation, but guess what, grocery The increased prices 352 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:16,360 Speaker 1: of food has actually hit restaurants harder than it's hit 353 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: grocery stores. So every time you eat out, you're shelling 354 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,359 Speaker 1: out a heck of a lot more money than you 355 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: are when you're eating at home. And everyone kind of 356 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: knows this, but when you put numbers to it, I 357 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: think it helps. A meal at home costs the average, 358 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 1: it's like four dollars a person on average, and a 359 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: meal out at a restaurant is like seventeen dollars a 360 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: person on average. Obviously, it varies wildly. You're going to 361 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: McDonald's versus a Michelin star restaurant, that depends right, but 362 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: somewhere in the middle, seventeen dollars on average per person. 363 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,360 Speaker 1: That's just simply that means that the more you eat 364 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: at home, the more you're gonna save. And it makes 365 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,680 Speaker 1: me think that I think the biggest cause of eating 366 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: out versus eating at home is that people haven't planned ahead. 367 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,440 Speaker 1: And if you were to plan ahead a little bit 368 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: more like meal planning, batch cooking, thinking ahead on the weekends, 369 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: what are we going to cook and having everything on hand, 370 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,439 Speaker 1: that can help you avoid those in a pinch a 371 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:11,480 Speaker 1: let's just go get a pizza, let's just go get 372 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: fast food. And the other thing is is frozen foods. 373 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: So I think for us, like Costco, frozen foods can 374 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: be helpful in a pinch where we're like, what we 375 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: would have done because we didn't plan very well was 376 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,200 Speaker 1: go out, But now we can throw in something that's frozen, 377 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,760 Speaker 1: whether it's even like salmon and rice, right that, We'll 378 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: get the frozen salmon at Costco, and that's like a 379 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 1: decently healthy meal that we didn't necessarily have to plan 380 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: incredibly well for because life happens, right, So having those 381 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: frozen foods on hand, it has at least been helpful 382 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: to us. Trader Joe's is obviously another place where you 383 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: can get great frozen meals, So think about think about that, 384 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: because I love what Campbell's is saying, Hey, more people 385 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: are starting to eat at home again, but the trend 386 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: has gone so far in the other direction that even 387 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: this small correction it's just not enough. And if you 388 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 1: you know, with groceries being one of those top line 389 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: items in our budget, you could easily save. I think 390 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:10,639 Speaker 1: something like if you were just to cut your eating 391 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: out in half from what it is currently the average person, 392 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: you would save something like seven thousand dollars a year, 393 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: and that is not chump change. That is that is 394 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:21,040 Speaker 1: insane that you could save that much by that one 395 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: simple thing. Say I'm still gonna eat out, I'm just 396 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:24,199 Speaker 1: gonna make it more rare. I'm just gonna do it 397 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 1: half as much as I'm doing now, and then that 398 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: would make that big of a dent. I just mentioned Costco. 399 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: If it weren't enough of a reason to be a 400 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,199 Speaker 1: Costco member, there's so many reasons I not to. You know, 401 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: Costco doesn't pay to advertise on this podcast, but I 402 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:40,720 Speaker 1: will advertise for them just because I think they're such 403 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: a good company and they can save you so much money. Matt, 404 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: he's a big Aldi fan, but he's not here to 405 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: defend Aldie today, so I can just talk great about 406 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,320 Speaker 1: Costco right without hearing him chime in and be like, oh, 407 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: he's voter. But the Costco actually just announced that they're 408 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: going to be offering extra perks for executive members. And 409 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,760 Speaker 1: the executive membership is one hundred and thirty dollars, And 410 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: some people say, well, that's why don't I just get 411 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: the regular Cosco membership it's half the price. Well, if 412 00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:07,439 Speaker 1: you're an executive member. Now there are additional reasons to 413 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,439 Speaker 1: consider it or to enjoy it, and then if you 414 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,720 Speaker 1: haven't become an executive member, there are additional reasons to 415 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,719 Speaker 1: consider it. They're going to open up the warehouse an 416 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 1: hour early for executive members, starting at nine am, starting 417 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: June thirtieth. They're also going to stay open an extra 418 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 1: hour on Saturdays until seven pm, but only for executive members. 419 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: So if you get the basic membership, sorry, you don't 420 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,159 Speaker 1: get in during those hours. I believe that's kind of 421 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:33,399 Speaker 1: a riff on Sam's Club. I believe they do something 422 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: very similar. Another thing, if you like Costco Same Day, 423 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: and I've talked about this, when you can get the 424 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 1: discounted Instacart gift cards, which they're not selling at Costco 425 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: anymore right now, sadly, but I found some on Amazon 426 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: just just earlier this week, ten dollars off per one 427 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,920 Speaker 1: hundred dollars gift card, so I stocked up with as 428 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: many as I could. But if you like Costco Same Day, 429 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: which is fulfilled through Instacart, you'll get a monthly ten 430 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,280 Speaker 1: dollars for free on orders of one hundred and fifty 431 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 1: dollars or more, which is just another perk when you 432 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:03,920 Speaker 1: think about that, that's one hundred and twenty dollars over 433 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 1: the course of the year. And again if you have 434 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: the discount gift cards, then it can make financial sense. 435 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: But the executive membership is essentially paying for itself. And 436 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,400 Speaker 1: the other thing. The other thing about the executive membership, 437 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: I tell people who always go with the executive membership 438 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,359 Speaker 1: and not with the basic because you can get a 439 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: refund of the difference in price if you end up 440 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:28,080 Speaker 1: not getting enough benefit from that executive membership over the year. 441 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,639 Speaker 1: So if you're like, Okay, I'll try it, but I 442 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,280 Speaker 1: don't know if I spend enough money there, well you 443 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: can go up to the front desk at Costco and say, hey, 444 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 1: I got the executive membership. My savings were like twenty bucks. 445 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 1: It wasn't good enough, and they'll say, oh cool, we'll 446 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,200 Speaker 1: just give you the difference, the forty five dollars difference 447 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: or whatever it was between the basic membership and the 448 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: executive membership. Here you go. And so that is the 449 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 1: guarantee that Costco has, which just means like, especially now, 450 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: everybody should be an executive member. All right, We've got 451 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: more to get to on this episode, including what if 452 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:02,680 Speaker 1: was an investor, how would that work out. We'll talk 453 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 1: about that, and I might throw some shade at the 454 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: cyber truck for a second too. We'll get to all 455 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:17,160 Speaker 1: that and more. Right after this, I went back from 456 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 1: the break of course, got to get to the ludicrous 457 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 1: headline of the week. This one comes from a website 458 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:28,040 Speaker 1: called Alpha Architect, and the headline reads, even God would 459 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: get fired as an active investor. And this is one 460 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,640 Speaker 1: of the best headlines I've seen in a while. And 461 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: it's just kind of ludicrous to think that the creator 462 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: of the universe would not be able to make it 463 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 1: as an active investor. In this article did a really 464 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,439 Speaker 1: good job setting up why and then talking about just 465 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: how even if you had perfect foreknowledge you as an investor, 466 00:23:50,119 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: you wouldn't ultimately be able to make it. The people 467 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: who you're investing on behalf of would be so mad 468 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 1: at the drawdowns that they experienced during the multuous months 469 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: that they would fire you. And so the gist was 470 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: that even with like practic perfect foresight, that active investors 471 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,919 Speaker 1: are going to get fired before their strategy is allowed 472 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: to play out. There saying no, no, no stick with me 473 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 1: this company. It's I know that the draw down is 474 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 1: significant right now, but if you just hang on for 475 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: the ride, I promise like we're going to have a 476 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: comeback and we're all going to make money. Well, the 477 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: truth is, when you own the best performing stocks over time, 478 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,760 Speaker 1: still individual stocks, those draw downs can be so gut 479 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: wrenching over months or even years that even if you 480 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,680 Speaker 1: had the conviction to stay the course, your clients as 481 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,000 Speaker 1: an investor would be like, sorry, dude, I'm not hanging 482 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,600 Speaker 1: with you. My portfolio is down to seventy five percent 483 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,239 Speaker 1: in the last twelve months and that so even if 484 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,800 Speaker 1: you knew ahead of time, you would have to be 485 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,679 Speaker 1: incredibly convincing to get people to stick with you during 486 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: those times of greater volatile And I think as individuals, right, 487 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,919 Speaker 1: if we had perfect foresight, we would say, I'm okay 488 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 1: with greater levels of volatility if I know that at 489 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: some point it's going to pay off in the long run. 490 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: But as people who are investing our money with somebody 491 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,639 Speaker 1: who's making the calls on our behalf, we wouldn't be 492 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 1: right because we don't have that perfect foreknowledge. They're trying 493 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:25,400 Speaker 1: to tell us that they do. And this is honestly 494 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:30,359 Speaker 1: kind of how some parts of the investing world function 495 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: you're believing somebody else's conviction, but those people don't have 496 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 1: perfect foreknowledge, and which means that their outcomes are even worse. 497 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 1: But it was just fascinating to see that even if 498 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,359 Speaker 1: you did, even if you knew which stocks were going 499 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 1: to be big, those drawdowns would be so significant that 500 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: people wouldn't be able to stomach them. And very few 501 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: people have the conviction to hold on during the toughest 502 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: of times. I think about just a stock recently where 503 00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 1: there's this company called Carvana and they're trying to which 504 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,400 Speaker 1: we've talked about on the show, for selling your car 505 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: to them or buying a used car, and their stock 506 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: price just got torched last year, and it looked like 507 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: Carvana might go away altogether. And even though they'd created 508 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: this inventive new business model, Carvana stock got obliterated so 509 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 1: hard and a lot of people thought it wasn't going 510 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,600 Speaker 1: to be around, and if it hadn't stuck around, investors 511 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: would have been wiped out. And then you think about 512 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 1: what's actually happened with the turnaround of Carvana and their 513 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: stock price zooming. But did people have the conviction to 514 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 1: be able to hold on during those most tumultuous times. 515 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,159 Speaker 1: Some investors did and they raped their rewards, but a 516 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: lot of other people got out because the drawdoun in 517 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,560 Speaker 1: the stock price is really tough to stomach. And this 518 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: is just another pro I think in the index investing camp, 519 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 1: the drawdowns are less severe. And you might say, well, 520 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: I think I can pick the winners. But the truth 521 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,439 Speaker 1: is one, can you? And then two? Even if you 522 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:03,040 Speaker 1: pick a winner, can you stick with that winner even 523 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: when the going is tough? A La Carvana or a 524 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: Lah Think about Apple. There have been times where Apple 525 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:14,160 Speaker 1: is a company was it looked like they were almost dead. 526 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 1: They recovered from the verge of bankruptcy back in those 527 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,640 Speaker 1: early Steve Job day Steve Jobs days. And so are 528 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: you the kind of person that has the conviction that 529 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,919 Speaker 1: that stock is worth holding on to for the long term. 530 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I don't know that 531 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: I have the time the intelligence to study companies enough 532 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: to have that sort of conviction that I'm willing to 533 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: hold on through thick and thin in order to attempt 534 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: to experience those greater levels of returns. Fifty four percent 535 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: of stocks, by the way, never recover after experiencing a 536 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 1: ninety percent draw down. So and by the way, you 537 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: could get even more risky by investing in leveraged funds, 538 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,800 Speaker 1: which are becoming more widely available inside of retirement accounts 539 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: or are set to become available inside of retirement accounts soon. 540 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,040 Speaker 1: The thought I think behind these leveraged funds is that 541 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: you can Hey, you can finance a vehicle, you can 542 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: finance your education, you can find it's a home. Why 543 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,679 Speaker 1: not use debt to increase what you're able to buy 544 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,119 Speaker 1: investment wise too, And this has always been if you're 545 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: a real estate investor, if you've heard us talk about 546 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: real estate investing, it's always been a big part of 547 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,719 Speaker 1: what makes real estate investing in particular attractive because if 548 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 1: it weren't for leverage, almost nobody would want to participate 549 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: in real estate investing. The returns just wouldn't be as robust. 550 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: There's something about putting ten percent down or twenty percent 551 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,480 Speaker 1: down on a property and saying I don't have to 552 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,080 Speaker 1: actually have the cash to buy the whole thing up front. 553 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: That juice is your returns, right, especially if you have 554 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,800 Speaker 1: a locked in low interest rate, It can make the 555 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: investment look a whole lot more attractive, and the problem 556 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: here though, is greater potential reward equals greater risks. Leverage 557 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 1: is something that can either make you look smarter, it 558 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:06,640 Speaker 1: can make you look really stupid. And if the market 559 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: goes through an extended tough time, investors who are putting 560 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:11,880 Speaker 1: money into these leverage funds they could be wiped out. 561 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: I'm not against all forms of debt. We talk about 562 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: smart forms of debt on the show, that there are 563 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:24,960 Speaker 1: some kinds of debt that, in proportion used wisely, in intelligence, intelligently, 564 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: and not overdone, can actually help your ultimate wealth building goals. 565 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: Smart use of leverage can benefit what I would call 566 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: shrewd investors, because we see what happened in two thousand 567 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 1: and eight, right, Unwise investors who took on too much debt, 568 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 1: who bit off more than they could chew, found themselves 569 00:29:43,440 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: between a rock and a hard place. But investing in 570 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 1: these sorts of leverage funds it's a little too risky 571 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: for my blood as well. I'd avoid them again, stick 572 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: to regular old index funds because the only certain thing 573 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 1: about these leveraged funds is the extra fees they assess 574 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: because of the ad complexity that they are putting into 575 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: your portfolio. So if you see these leverage funds, Yeah, 576 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:08,280 Speaker 1: they're a way that you could potentially increase your earnings, 577 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,320 Speaker 1: but you're taking on more risk and I just don't 578 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,360 Speaker 1: think it makes sense. But even worse than leverage funds 579 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: would be investing in memes, and that is of course becoming. 580 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,960 Speaker 1: It has became more common during the crypto heyday and 581 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: the n f T the NFT invasion that we experienced. 582 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,520 Speaker 1: But you can now or very soon buy n f 583 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,280 Speaker 1: ts in e F T ETF format in an exchange 584 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: traded fund. So there was there is a new ETF 585 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 1: that is set to launch that you know, and it 586 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 1: is passing the regulatory hurdles as we speak. And you 587 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: might have thought NFTs were dead, that pictures of board 588 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,479 Speaker 1: apes and stuff they were talking about them on all 589 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,200 Speaker 1: the nighttime comedy shows, that those were gone for good, 590 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:55,800 Speaker 1: but they're not. And now there is a something you 591 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,880 Speaker 1: can invest in, the n f T s, the an 592 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: n f T ETF that that invests essentially in this 593 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:08,760 Speaker 1: Pudgy Penguin project Pudgy Penguins, which sounds I don't know, 594 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: exciting and cutting edge, right, I'm kidding, I'm joking, of 595 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,040 Speaker 1: course not it's it's I think, a great way to 596 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,560 Speaker 1: lose your money quickly if you're if you're interested in that. 597 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: I went to the website because I was just so curious. Okay, 598 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 1: what is the Pudgy Penguins NFT project all about? And 599 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 1: they use some of the new techno jargon, of course. 600 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,400 Speaker 1: On their website they say that they're here to well 601 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 1: and they also use some goofy language to proliferate the 602 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:39,040 Speaker 1: penguin memetic culture not like like meme culture and good vibes. 603 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:43,240 Speaker 1: And they're also fostering creativity, community and freedom. I don't 604 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,840 Speaker 1: know how Pudgy Penguins is fostering community and freedom creativity. 605 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:51,400 Speaker 1: Maybe it's the kind of cute penguins. But yeah. You 606 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: can also go to their website and you can buy 607 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: ridiculously expensive merch Maybe that's how they're hoping to make 608 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: money here. And maybe I'm not online enough, but this 609 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: this is just another investment I'm completely avoiding. I think 610 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,360 Speaker 1: we did greatly disparaged NFTs back in the day, and 611 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,040 Speaker 1: I still feel the exact same way. Let's learn from 612 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:12,880 Speaker 1: the fact that bored apes are worth a fraction of 613 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,720 Speaker 1: what they used to be, the fact that NFTs are 614 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,040 Speaker 1: on the comeback, and potentially you can invest in them 615 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 1: in an even simpler form, publicly traded ETFs. I don't 616 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,960 Speaker 1: think of that as a good thing, and yeah, I 617 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 1: would just do it at your own peril. NFTs still 618 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: make so little sense to me. I would rather own 619 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: real art that I can hang on my walls than 620 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:40,040 Speaker 1: a jpeg that is mine but that can be copy 621 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:43,080 Speaker 1: and pasted. It still just baffles me that this is 622 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: a segment of the market. But I think for most 623 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: people who enter into it, you're going to lose money, 624 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,000 Speaker 1: and it's just the rare person who times it properly 625 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 1: who makes money. All right, Depreciating assets are once again 626 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 1: flipping the script. They're going up in value. Supply chain 627 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,800 Speaker 1: issues during COVID led to a situation where people were 628 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: seeing their used car increase in value. It was a 629 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: rare phenomenon. It was interesting to document on the show 630 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 1: because it's something we don't see, Like we always talked 631 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,360 Speaker 1: about cars as depreciating assets. Hey, that thing is going 632 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:14,960 Speaker 1: to go down in value, And just for a hot 633 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: minute there it was like, wait a second, your used 634 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:22,400 Speaker 1: car is actually it's worth more today than it was yesterday. 635 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: And an even more rare feet. There were people who 636 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: leased cars and then if they bought it out after 637 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: the lease was up, they were able to make money 638 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,880 Speaker 1: too because there was a spread on what they had 639 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,320 Speaker 1: to pay for And typically this is almost never the case, 640 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,160 Speaker 1: right when those contracts are written that you can buy 641 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 1: the car and then it's actually worth more than what 642 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 1: you have to pay to the dealership to buy the 643 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,280 Speaker 1: car then, and so people would instead of just turning 644 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: the car over, if they would say, wait a second, 645 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,280 Speaker 1: I can pay fifteen thousand dollars for this car, but 646 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:58,360 Speaker 1: it's actually worth nineteen or twenty thousand, So yeah, I'll 647 00:33:58,360 --> 00:33:59,800 Speaker 1: take it, even if I don't plan on keeping it. 648 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: I'll and I'll make the difference. So that was really interesting. 649 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:08,360 Speaker 1: But we're seeing maybe signs that this is coming about again, 650 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: that the used car market it's getting tighter because of tariffs, 651 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: and demand for used cars seems to be going up, 652 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,440 Speaker 1: Supply seems to be dwindling, and then prices seem to 653 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 1: be rising again. How long this is going to last 654 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:24,640 Speaker 1: depends on a number of factors, including tariff policy, which 655 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:27,640 Speaker 1: as we all know, has been very very whiplashy, very 656 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 1: back and forth. You know where tariffs land or if 657 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:35,719 Speaker 1: they land is anybody's guess. And I don't even know 658 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,719 Speaker 1: if the person in charge of tariff policy really knows 659 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,399 Speaker 1: where things are going to land right now. And so 660 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:45,480 Speaker 1: I think this is just another another reason to hold 661 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,240 Speaker 1: onto your used car longer and to feel comfortable putting 662 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,040 Speaker 1: money into it within reason. There're obviously like rules of 663 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,000 Speaker 1: thumb of when hey, my car needs seven thousand dollars 664 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:56,319 Speaker 1: worth of work and it's worth five thousand dollars. Yeah, 665 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: I'm not putting that money into it, but it makes 666 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:01,719 Speaker 1: I've been thinking about my five VAC. It's summer right 667 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:03,600 Speaker 1: now and the AC doesn't work, and I've just been 668 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,719 Speaker 1: sweating it out like an idiot, and I've finally come 669 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 1: to the conclusion, you know what, this is a good car. 670 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:10,680 Speaker 1: I'm gonna put some money into it. I've kind of 671 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: been holding out and not putting money into it in 672 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:15,680 Speaker 1: hopes that I would at some point just ditch it. 673 00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:17,480 Speaker 1: And I'm like, you know what, Now I think I'm 674 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,239 Speaker 1: going to hold onto this thing longer. I'm going to 675 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:21,839 Speaker 1: put in the money that it needs to keep this 676 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:25,480 Speaker 1: thing around. And I do think for you know, it's 677 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:27,000 Speaker 1: a twenty year old car. I do think for a 678 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,200 Speaker 1: lot of people that is a wise move. Part of 679 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:31,719 Speaker 1: the reason I love used car so much and I 680 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:33,920 Speaker 1: love holding onto car so long, is because it's such 681 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,839 Speaker 1: a significant part of most people's budgets, and I love 682 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,680 Speaker 1: making it a really insignificant part of my budget so 683 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: I can spend more on stuff I care about more. 684 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:44,120 Speaker 1: And one of the other main reasons that I just 685 00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:46,240 Speaker 1: hate new cars it's really hard for me to stomach 686 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:50,560 Speaker 1: buying a new car is because they tend to depreciate 687 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:54,600 Speaker 1: in value, so dann quickly. And this is a great 688 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,320 Speaker 1: time for me to talk trash about the cyber truck. 689 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:01,440 Speaker 1: And not because I have a debta against Elon or 690 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:04,880 Speaker 1: anything like that. It's not just a political thing. But 691 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,000 Speaker 1: and obviously, you know, Elon has found himself in some 692 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,480 Speaker 1: the political fray, largely of his own making. He seems 693 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:14,640 Speaker 1: to have annoyed everyone from every side at this point. 694 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:18,600 Speaker 1: But the value of the cyber truck has plummeted far 695 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,480 Speaker 1: more than the average new car that gets sold. Apparently, 696 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,400 Speaker 1: cyber truck prices are down something like forty percent just 697 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:28,920 Speaker 1: a year after being in customer hands. And this was 698 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: this is like a far cry from even just the 699 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: normal depreciation that a new car typically experiences of twenty percent, 700 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,040 Speaker 1: that's still a lot right to buy let's say a 701 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:40,040 Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars car and for it to be worth 702 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,040 Speaker 1: forty thousand dollars a year later. That's a lot of 703 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: money to lose in just a short period of time. 704 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:47,800 Speaker 1: But if you bought the one hundred thousand dollars cyber 705 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,440 Speaker 1: truck and it's now worth sixty two thousand dollars just 706 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,120 Speaker 1: a year later, you just burned a whole pile of cash. 707 00:36:55,520 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 1: And so that has been fascinating to watch. And I 708 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 1: think this is oh. I think it's particularly true of 709 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,279 Speaker 1: the cyber truck, but I think it's also true of 710 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 1: brand new models that it's hard to know what the 711 00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:10,400 Speaker 1: customer demand is going to be and whether or not 712 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,160 Speaker 1: they're going to retain their value. In the same way, 713 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 1: depreciation is something that we all face as car owners. 714 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:20,080 Speaker 1: The car, at least in normal times, the car is 715 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,279 Speaker 1: not going up in value, but the ownership timeline and 716 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: holding on to it longer it can help kind of 717 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:28,360 Speaker 1: cover up for some of those depreciation flaws. And the 718 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: other thing that helps is to just buy older cars 719 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:34,880 Speaker 1: that are in good condition and hold on to them longer, 720 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,120 Speaker 1: because if you buy a car that's at least five 721 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:39,160 Speaker 1: years old and you hold on to it for five 722 00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:41,799 Speaker 1: or ten years, the longer you hold onto that car, 723 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,399 Speaker 1: you're paying. You're buying someone else's depreciating asset, and it's 724 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,920 Speaker 1: going to appreciate a heck of a lot less during 725 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,279 Speaker 1: the time that you own it. And the thing is, 726 00:37:51,480 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: if you're smart about getting your car checked out, and 727 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:56,719 Speaker 1: you're smart about looking at places like Consumer Reports for 728 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:00,359 Speaker 1: aliability ratings, you can hone in on cars that are 729 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:03,440 Speaker 1: going to be more reliable over time, that are going 730 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,879 Speaker 1: to be a better bet. Buying a five year old 731 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 1: car doesn't mean buying even a ten or fifteen year 732 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:11,360 Speaker 1: old car doesn't mean you're doomed to be in the 733 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:15,319 Speaker 1: repair shop all the time if you buy smartly, and 734 00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:16,840 Speaker 1: if you need one more reason not to buy a 735 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:18,080 Speaker 1: new car, I was just talking to a friend the 736 00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:21,960 Speaker 1: other day. Financing terms are getting worse, and my friend 737 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:23,960 Speaker 1: was saying he was being pushed into an eight year 738 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:25,200 Speaker 1: car loan and he was like, but I wanted to 739 00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:27,200 Speaker 1: do a six year car loan. But if I do eight, 740 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:29,160 Speaker 1: can I pay it off more? Quickly, and I was 741 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,560 Speaker 1: telling him about my four year rule that you don't 742 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:33,960 Speaker 1: ever want to finance a car more than four years. 743 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,799 Speaker 1: I don't know if he listened or not. And that's 744 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 1: really up to you as an individual. But if you 745 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:42,719 Speaker 1: want to, my advice is to not buy a car 746 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: that you can't afford to buy in cash, and if 747 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,600 Speaker 1: you absolutely do have to finance it thirty six to 748 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,520 Speaker 1: forty eight months at absolute most, and get that loan 749 00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 1: from a credit union. And I know cars can be 750 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,920 Speaker 1: like a status symbol in this country, but that's not 751 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,040 Speaker 1: something I buy into and I think of it. It 752 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,560 Speaker 1: does a point A to point B transportation, and if 753 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:04,120 Speaker 1: you want to think of it as a status symbol, 754 00:39:04,480 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: that's fine, but only by it if you can actually 755 00:39:07,440 --> 00:39:09,279 Speaker 1: afford it, and if you have to finance it over 756 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,960 Speaker 1: a long period of time, you can't afford it all right. Last, 757 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,440 Speaker 1: but not least, the SmartLess Guys, the guys from the 758 00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: SmartLess podcast, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, they're 759 00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:21,719 Speaker 1: launching their own cell phone service. I haven't seen all 760 00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,799 Speaker 1: the details, but it's just funny because I think celebrities 761 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:27,120 Speaker 1: the two things they love to launch now it seems 762 00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 1: like our smartphone plans and tequila lines. But this is 763 00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:34,360 Speaker 1: a straight up Ryan Reynolds invitation. The dude who invested 764 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 1: massive amount in Mint Mobile and then finally sold Mint 765 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,279 Speaker 1: Mobile to T Mobile after gaining a lot of subscribers 766 00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:44,239 Speaker 1: and increasing the value. This seems like it might be 767 00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:47,360 Speaker 1: another good option. I'm all for competition in this space, 768 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 1: but Mint and US Mobile are still two of my 769 00:39:49,719 --> 00:39:53,400 Speaker 1: absolute favorites. For saving money, you could save a ridiculous 770 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:56,080 Speaker 1: amount of money by going with the MV and O 771 00:39:56,200 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: Carrios carriers mobile virtual network operators. And yeah, if you're 772 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,759 Speaker 1: with one of the big companies, you're probably paying too much. 773 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,719 Speaker 1: So just a reminder, and maybe the SmartLess plan is 774 00:40:07,719 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 1: going to be awesome and take the cake. I'll wait 775 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: till they have a website up and more details on 776 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,160 Speaker 1: how much these plans cost. But always going to have 777 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:19,080 Speaker 1: more competition in a space that's already seen prices drop dramatically. 778 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,160 Speaker 1: All right, that's going to do it for this episode. 779 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,239 Speaker 1: I can't wait to have my best friend back in 780 00:40:25,280 --> 00:40:27,319 Speaker 1: the near future. But I hope you have a great 781 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:29,400 Speaker 1: weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday for 782 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:32,479 Speaker 1: a brand new episode Audio's best friend out