WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Student Loan Shakeup, Doom Spending, and the Mounting Mini-Stagcession #954 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.000 Welcome to Head of Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:07.280 today we're talking about student loan shakeups, doom spending, and 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.280 the mounting mini stack session. 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:30.800 That's right. This is our Friday flight where we take 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:32.960 a look at the headlines from the past week and 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:35.360 specifically look at how they are going to impact your 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.280 personal finances. And so when you say a mini stack session, 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.239 you need to say mini stack session because that's uh 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:43.559 when we get on my helium balloon first. That's how 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.120 the the economists that coined that is attempting to predict 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:49.040 the future. We're not going to make the predictions, but 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:51.920 there are different folks who are looking off into the future. 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.840 They're trying to sometimes based on present stuff, right, which 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.480 it's helpful to like he's trying to read the tea 0:00:57.560 --> 0:00:59.480 leaves though, and say this is what's coming down the pike. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:01.600 And I think it's helpful for us to at least 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.200 understand kind of what they're pointing to those elements, but 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:07.119 also not hold up with the grainess. 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:09.280 I think, more than anything, just to alleviate fears, right, 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.920 not to say to be convinced of that this is 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:13.959 why the thing is happening, but just as folks are 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:16.160 freaking out to understand I guess some of the different 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:18.440 positions that folks are approaching the argument with. 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:20.880 When that is helpful when you see more headlines they 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.520 use a scary word like, we want to talk about 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:26.440 it and shed some light. And because there's a lot 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:28.280 of deep in glue out there, can we start off 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:31.399 by talking about something that I've been prioritizing in my 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.480 budget over the past I don't know, a year and 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:36.039 a half, I'll say, and. 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:40.360 That is to enjoy more more cultural events. And I 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:41.199 have literally called. 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:43.160 Them cultural events. This is the thing that I've been 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:47.120 shooting for. Is that the line item on your non budget? Yeah, yes, 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:49.600 that you don't have. He just any time Emily questions 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:51.520 you about something, You're like, baby, that's that's part of 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:53.040 my cultural events spending. 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.040 Is exactly right, That's exactly right. That's botta. That was 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.800 my cultural event. Sounds like the expenses they are spending 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.240 coming out of like a Parks and reg department. Yeah, so, okay, 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:02.040 you joke. 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.000 But I have been attempting to pull off and I 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:09.160 made it initially a once a quarter goal and then 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:10.920 I said, you know what, No, I want to I 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.200 want to try to do this once a month, the 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:14.919 cultural event, and so that could you start that this year? 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:18.000 I started that last year. Okay, so you put what 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.640 it could be a concert. All the concert ticket prices 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:23.160 have gone up substantially. It could be going into the 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:27.000 debt for that. Yeah, that Actually, it could be going 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:30.200 to see a play. It could be like I took 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:33.280 my daughter to see a Shakespeare play at the Shakespeare 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.040 Tavern recently and it was awesome, to being the best time. 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.760 And they're just I think cultural events are are underrated 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.120 and and there was actually, as I told my wife 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.560 about kind of why we're I want to prioritize this 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.960 more and more, she said, actually, I just read something 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.359 the other day. You should check this out, and there 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:53.359 was here's the headline. Psychiatrist discovered doing this just once 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.840 a month cut your risk of depression in half? Was it? 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:59.520 Cultural events? Cultural events? Taking a cultural event? So not 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.160 enough to defend your own case. She's done it for you. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:04.880 That's right, So thank you Emily for contributing to the 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.360 show here. But what they said was if you do 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.880 one outing, one cultural events outing every few months, like 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:14.160 I was doing once a quarter initially, it reduces your 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:17.519 risk of depression by thirty two percent. If you instead 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.320 prioritize a cultural event on a monthly basis. That could 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:22.639 be by the way, a museum, ounting, going to the 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:25.000 botanical gardens. There are so many ways that you can 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:27.440 use that culture plan. It doesn't even have to be expensive. 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.440 It will, though, cause your risk of depression to fall 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.280 by nearly half, by forty eight percent. So do they 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:37.080 also call them cultural events? They literally call them cultural events. 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:39.080 Body in there because that's what I'd been labeling them. 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.480 I didn't know what else to call them. That's pretty hilarious, 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:46.200 and so I think maybe this can hopefully incentivize people 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:47.960 to think about I think it could also think about 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:49.280 the wanderlust that people feel Matt. 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:50.600 They they're like, I got to go to Europe. I 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:51.400 got to get out of here. 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:56.120 There's something about instituting more regular cultural events into your 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:58.600 life and into your budget that maybe feels like you 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:00.560 don't have to take the big swing on the expensive A. 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:04.440 Can splurges more often. I totally love that, and I 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.000 love that you specifically have identified this for you. But 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:09.600 I will say I think it was like, it is 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:12.360 important to be a stay depressed well No, I'm just saying, like, 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:14.640 the argument I'm going to make is that it's not 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.359 like I do think folks would probably push themselves to 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:20.159 do something like that. But you know, for you, it 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:22.479 moves the needle significantly. Yeah, I think for some folks 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:25.520 they're gonna be like meh, I don't I don't really 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:27.720 want to. For some folks, it's like, well, I'd rather 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.039 go on a cruise. I just like sitting there, going 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.440 to island, hoppin that kind of thing. I think there 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:34.000 might be some folks who are just like, well, when 0:04:34.040 --> 0:04:35.400 I have some time and money, I just like to 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.279 go shopping, like that's how I unwind. And I don't 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:42.000 think we would consider either of those cultural cultural events. No, 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.800 I wouldn't, And so they're in a different category for sure. Yeah, 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:47.719 it's just to identify that for some folks spending I think, 0:04:47.720 --> 0:04:49.400 can look a little bit different and it may not 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.800 move the needle as much for them. But whatever that is, 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:53.719 for you figure out what that thing is. 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:55.400 But I thought it was interesting to see this data 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.000 because I do think the average person it is going 0:04:58.040 --> 0:04:59.840 to move the needle, and maybe you don't think about 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:03.160 it like that. I think too, about the before, like 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.760 looking up forward to the cultural event that's upcoming, I 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:10.000 get to think about it for months, typically because I bought. 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:11.760 A ticket or have something to do looking forward to. 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:14.080 Yeah, it'saw on the calendar, and then I get to 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:16.719 look back at that event and say, oh, man, think. 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:18.080 About how great that. Do you remember when we did that? 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:20.120 It was so good? Kind of like a vacation. I mean, 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.040 that's one of the things that our friends Scott Kayes 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:24.560 talks about with vacations is like half the fun is 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.360 planning and getting ready for it, not just the taking 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:27.839 of the vacation. 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:31.719 I do wonder if they accounted for the social sort 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.400 of spillover or crossover, like in the ven diagram between 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.840 cultural events and the relationships and community, how much overlap 0:05:38.960 --> 0:05:41.440 is there, because, like I said, so, I do think 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:43.280 for some people they're kind of like, eh, I don't know, 0:05:43.440 --> 0:05:45.320 like that it sounds like it would be fun, but 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.760 maybe for me less. So I do think, And there 0:05:47.760 --> 0:05:49.960 has been tons and there continues to be research that 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:52.760 points to the fact that that we have fewer relationships 0:05:52.800 --> 0:05:55.360 than ever yeah, and that when we do prioritize those 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.640 that we tend to live happier, longer. Lives that increases 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.440 life satisfaction. And that's regardless if you are an introvert 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.960 or an extrovert. I think that there is a degree 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.680 of us needing to push ourselves a little bit more 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:08.400 than what we think we need when it comes to 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:11.920 social interactions, but that's not the path that we find 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:13.880 ourselves on. Right. I can think about the what is 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:17.719 the Harvard Longitudal Happiness Study, and the number one thing 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:21.200 that leads to the highest amounts of happiness and self 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:25.120 satisfaction and fulfilling life are those relationships and and often 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:27.800 a lot of cases, I think what you're finding in 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.600 these different cultural events they include other people. So is 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.839 it the ticket? Is it ensure there's a certain amount 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.720 of enjoyment. I think it's a personal development that you're 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:38.280 getting out of that. But there's a whole lot of 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.960 friendship and community and being around other people that in 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:46.080 my mind, directly overlays the this. You know, those two circles, yeah, 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.960 might be highly overlapping worth something worth considering as well. 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:51.400 We've got a little So what I'm saying is that 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:53.479 a cultural outing or of it could be even be 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.160 buying some cured meats at Aldi and having a picnic 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.040 in the park with some friends, right. 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:00.560 Like, but I love to overthink it and don't think 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:02.680 that you got to go see Beyonce when she comes 0:07:02.720 --> 0:07:04.880 to town and spend nine hundred dollars on that ticket. 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:05.560 That's insane. 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:07.640 To enjoy a cultural event with your friends like you 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:09.520 don't have to. There's affordable ways of doing it, and 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:12.720 sometimes it might be a semi expensive concert ticket, but 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:15.120 other times it can be a whole lot cheaper totally 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:16.640 or potentially free. 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:18.600 Especially I was just thinking about this too, and especially 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.280 if you're not dropping big maney of those expensivefications. 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:23.920 I was thinking in the library has offers the ability 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.880 to go to get some of those cultural events for free, potentially, 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:28.520 like going to the zoo or the aquarium, more the 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:30.520 botanical gardens. You might be able to pull off that 0:07:30.560 --> 0:07:33.880 cultural event for zero dallas and enjoy even going to 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.600 the library like kids after school. 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:38.920 Sometimes they're just like meeting up there hanging out and 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:40.920 again there's that social element. 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:43.320 Yeah, I love it all right, cultural events for the win. 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.200 Let's talk about student loans. Matt that the trend of 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.040 student loan forgiveness and of income based or payment programs 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:51.840 has been to make them more and more generous. Right 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:55.000 as student loan debt it's become a more significant issue 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.160 for mars. We've just seen that up into the right 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.280 trend for student loan debt and one point seven trillion 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:03.679 dollars overall, I think in student loan debt these days. 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:07.120 And so these ballooning debt burdens, they've basically been the 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.560 norm as college prices increased so much faster than the 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:13.080 rate of inflation in recent decades. Oh yeah, and while 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.400 student loan borrowers they still made more money than their 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.080 peers who didn't get a degree. We've talked about that 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.720 too before, what a million dollars in lifetime earnings on 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:25.160 average for the versus the typical high school graduate. Well, 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.680 various government administrations have opted to make those loans less 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:32.520 onerous through different repayment programs like pay and Repay and 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:36.080 then most recently the safe Plan that was attempted a 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.160 couple of years ago. But the current administration is taking 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.360 a different route. They seem to be of the opinion 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.160 that student loan benevolence has kind of gone too far. 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:47.520 And then so after a January court ruling again save 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:51.440 and then another recent one in March. The Education Department, 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:55.400 they actually just recently took applications for student loan forgiveness 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:58.400 and for repayment plans off the website as these court 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:02.080 rulings have essentially put those biden to minus illustration plans 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:04.720 that were more generous on hold, which puts a lot 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:08.000 of borrowers in limbo. Matt, there's essentially now zero ability 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.000 to switch or to sign up for a new or 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.160 different repayment plan, or to even verify your income if 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:15.600 your date is approaching because of this freeze, and it's 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.240 just kind of leaving student loan borrowers in alert right now. 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:20.280 Yeah yeah, So how long will that freeze last? We 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:20.880 don't know. 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.679 But the sad thing is that student loan borrowers continue 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:28.040 to be kept on pins and needles. So first, initially 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:30.800 it was waiting and hoping for student loan forgiveness, and 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:32.320 now I was just waiting to see what sort of 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:34.760 payment plan that you're going to be able to get 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:38.720 on how long your path too potential forgiveness might take. 0:09:39.240 --> 0:09:41.920 The lack of clarity, which I totally get, is so 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.880 frustrating and so at least one piece of advice that 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:46.840 we can offer in these uncertain times is to keep 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:49.800 making payments no matter what plan that you're on. The 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:53.920 Journal actually profiled steep credit drops for borrowers who didn't 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.000 resume making payments back in October, and so what they 0:09:57.040 --> 0:10:00.920 found was that ninety days after that resumed, scores began 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:04.680 to plummet. Yeah, so clearly there is just a large 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.079 amount of confusion. This is a quote from the Journal. 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.120 Forty three percent of borrowers who owe payments on federal 0:10:10.160 --> 0:10:14.079 student loans haven't resumed making them. That's witch chazy, it's crazy, 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:15.920 and it's like, I wonder if too. I think it's 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:19.040 less confusion and maybe just that they are ill informed 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.679 because when that was something that you've been promised over 0:10:21.679 --> 0:10:23.960 the past four years. I get the confusion, I get 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.559 the misunderstanding, but I get there's. 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:29.240 Also even out of sight, out of mind, right, Yeah, exactly, Hey, 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:30.880 don't pay your student loans. Don't pay your student loans. 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:32.600 Don't pay your student loans. Wait a second, pay your 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:34.360 student loans. And you're like, I I didn't get the 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:34.840 last moment. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.280 Yeah, So, like we're talking about one hundred plus point 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:41.360 drop for some borrowers, which impacts every area of your 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.640 financial life, so we're highlighting this. We do know the 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.080 student loans space is a complete mess. If you're not 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.000 sure where you stand, make log in, check your plan, 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:54.000 check your payment status over on studentaid dot gov. Either 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.960 take screenshots of your payment history or download some of 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.480 those transactions to be able to keep up with the 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.440 payments you've already made the plan that you're currently on 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:04.839 to be able to document this. It's it shouldn't be 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:06.000 this way, but it feels like it's sort of the 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.600 wild West. We're not totally sure where this. It's like 0:11:08.640 --> 0:11:10.959 a Safari expedition where there's like no road and it's 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:12.240 just like, well, are we going to go over there 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:14.600 like where it looks super sketchy and rough, or we 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:16.959 maybe we'll go like this direction. We're not totally sure 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:19.000 which direction the government is going to choose to go. Yeah. 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:20.719 Well, and I think if you are in the Save 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:23.800 plan and you're banking on those payments, being like right 0:11:23.800 --> 0:11:25.480 now you're in for parents if you're on the Safe plan, 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:29.920 but if you're banking on the having those Save Plan 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.559 payments once the hoping that it comes back online, I 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:35.760 would not plan on that, and I would plan on 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:39.040 making a payment that's probably double whatever the safe plan 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:42.080 payment was likely to be, which obviously is like a 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.800 crazy thing to hear, but I think it's the only 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:47.040 rational way to approach this and then plan for the 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:48.959 worst but hope for the best, and for parents of 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:52.040 upcoming students who are going to college soon, keeping student 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:53.920 loan debt to a minimum. I think it's just more 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:55.800 important than ever, Matt. I mean, it's always been something 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:58.240 that we have stressed, but given the uncertainty in the 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:01.000 student loan space and the fact that we're probably gonna 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:04.640 have less generous repayment plans on offer, like I would 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.480 just want to take on less debt in general because 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:07.800 of that. 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:11.000 That's right, Okay. Consumer Reports they just put out their 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:14.040 list of the best new cars for twenty twenty five. 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:18.760 Toyota and Subaru we're both well represented. This continues my 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.400 streak of wanting to own a Toyota, specifically, Angel I've 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:23.200 been on this Toyota kick for a while. They're pretty great. 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.080 They're so evidently they're like super you know, it's supposed 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.439 to be super reliable. I might until the U want 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.000 to I want to see in a hybrid is what 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:31.880 I I want a minivan that's a hybrid where I'm 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.520 getting better gas milge than what I'm getting right now 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.960 because for those solid or drive solid state evs that 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:37.679 Toyota's gonna put out. So when is that gonna be 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:39.800 like twenty twenty eight, I think it's going to continue 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.960 to get kicked down the redue things. Well, I mean, 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:43.160 look at the current administration. 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:44.960 You know they're cutting some of that, But that doesn't 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:46.679 mean that Toyota technology is going to be. 0:12:46.679 --> 0:12:48.520 Yeah, there's there's fewer incentives. 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.679 Toyta basically said we're gonna bet on hybrids now, yeah, 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.360 and we're going to push towards better EV technology. And 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:55.880 when that comes down the pike, it's gonna be a 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:57.120 game changer for eb's. 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.679 I do whenever it does actually get implemented and start 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.280 where they start selling it to the masses. Yes, I 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.719 totally agree. Back to Consumer Reports though, the cheapest new 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.120 car that they highlighted is the Nissan CenTra, which it 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.320 can be had for not much more than twenty thousand dollars, 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.520 which is car. When I first met her, it was 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:17.439 the centrals look better than they used to back in 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:18.840 the day, Like I see centrals now, I'm just like, 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:22.880 that's a sharp looking car. Man, reliability, fuel economy. They 0:13:22.880 --> 0:13:26.080 were two of the top metrics that Consumer Reports was 0:13:26.160 --> 0:13:28.800 keeping in mind. But still we would prefer to hear 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.480 folks in the direction of buying used cars, not in 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:35.040 these new Select twenty twenty five cars. I'll say, I 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.560 think the exception is if you're worried about perhaps maybe 0:13:37.559 --> 0:13:40.040 buying a lemon, and you're willing to keep that new 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:44.040 car for at least ten years if you can. I 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:46.480 don't know, Man, even part of that makes me a 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:47.240 a little hesitant. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.760 It's not gonna be the best financial move, but it's 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.439 such a reasonable one, and there's just. 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.600 Such a financial hit that you're taking with that those 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.320 first three years, especially of depreciation, that really like you 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.480 need to be in such a solid position financially in 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.080 order before you're buying a new car, even a new 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:05.080 Nissan CenTra. But if you are keen on buying something 0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.000 brand new, opting for one of Consumer reports favorites, I 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:10.719 think that would be totally wise. Yeah, while we're talking 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:14.720 about cars, icy cars, which is like a data aggregate. 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:16.600 I know, they really surveys and lots of data that 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.920 we like to look at icy cars also released a 0:14:18.960 --> 0:14:22.800 new study of the most reliable used cars, and at 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.200 the top of the list Honda Fit Baby. It's got 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:27.920 the best five and ten year track record. 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:30.120 I think the ten year old car was like, what 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.240 eleven thousand dollars for a ten year old home to fit? 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:36.240 What's super affordable? And we published we released this this 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.040 past week in our newsletter. But the average used vehicle 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.040 now is fourteen years old. That's that's on the road. 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:44.800 And when I came across that, dude completely blew my mind, 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:48.400 specifically because I always saw myself as like someone who's 0:14:48.720 --> 0:14:52.480 an average car, yes in this case older than average. 0:14:52.560 --> 0:14:55.160 And I'm like, wait a minute, I got a twenty twelve. 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:57.880 That means my van is only thirteen years old. There's 0:14:57.920 --> 0:14:59.320 a bunch of folks out there who were beating me. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:01.680 It makes me want to keep that car on the 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:03.400 road even longer because I'm just like, wait a minute, 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:05.120 I'm barely average. You got to do better by it. 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:05.560 I know. 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:07.960 This is make you want to sell that and you 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:09.320 go get like a two thousand and six or something, 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:10.880 not at all, but it does make me want to 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:11.920 take care of that thing. 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.840 Wait, I never posted pictures, remember I talked about making 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.240 the side mirrors like I was seeing them down especially. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:21.440 I totally did that, and like these small little things 0:15:21.440 --> 0:15:23.440 to maintain your vehicle, it makes you feel better about it, 0:15:23.480 --> 0:15:25.240 sort of like when you're talking about cleaning up, cleaning 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.400 up your blackstone, getting all the grease off. You're like, 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.280 wait a minute, this is a solid grill. That's how 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.640 I feel about our ride now, So I'm going to 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:33.400 keep it on the road. Maintenance goes a long way 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.840 for much much longer, many more years of life on nothing. 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:38.880 Sticking with the car stuff. If you get in a wreck, 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.040 which I hope nobody out there listening does, especially if 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.680 you're driving right now, pay attention right Uh, there's a 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:45.920 higher likelihood actually that your car is going to be 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.400 totaled these days. If you do end up in an accident, 0:15:49.000 --> 0:15:51.720 instead of getting that car repaired, it's likely to be scrapped. 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.080 And that's at least partially because cars come with more 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:58.200 expensive parts these days and smarter computer elements. I think 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:01.560 it's also just matt the rising car of labor in 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:02.120 that sector. 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:02.840 Oh yeah. 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:06.840 Electric vehicles are also part of the reason why why 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:09.240 this is the case as well, because battery damage can 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:13.280 cause repair prices to soar significantly that EV gets in 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:16.760 an accident and the battery elements get damaged and boomshock 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.240 a lock. You're talking about replacing the whole arm battery 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:19.840 that ain't cheap? 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.000 Is the when the solid state rolls around? Is that 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:25.880 gonna Is that gonna impact the ability to replace certain elements? 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:26.640 That's a good question. 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:28.880 If you could just replace certain like the damaged portion 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:30.840 of the ye some of the cells that are damaged, 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:32.960 instead of replacing the whole pack that in mind, that 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:33.880 would I'd be smart. 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:35.080 That'd be a games if you could just like pop 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:36.560 out a few bricks like a bunch of legos. 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.600 Yep, that sounds cool. That'd be brilliant. But this also means, 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:42.240 you know, repair times are increasing. I think the average 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.280 repair weight is like close to a month now, which 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:44.880 is crazy. 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:46.960 What does this all mean? Man? I believe that one 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:49.120 of my neighbors he's been driving a rental vehicle. I 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.160 don't think his car gott in a wreck, but maybe 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:52.720 it had a recall so it's back of the I'm 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:54.400 assuming it's back out of the dealership because it's like 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.080 a new pickup truck and he's been driving this other 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.840 pickup truck. And it's been a few weeks now, So 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:01.240 I did not even think. 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:03.040 About what I think about your turn law when he 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.399 had an issue with his car, and man, it was 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.640 in there for months, yeah, like multiple. 0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.640 Months, and they had an actual limon. Yeah, they ended 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:13.480 up having to actually make a claim with the dealership 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:15.000 and have that thing they bought it back. 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.600 Basically, don't sleep on lemon laws in your state if 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.919 you need it. But this is I think, just another 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.840 data point that points that we're going to see higher 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:26.879 car insurance prices that will likely outpace general inflation moving forward. 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.399