WEBVTT - Friday Flight - UNstable coins, Ludicrous Layoffs, & Sweating to Save #513 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.200 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:08.320 and today we're discussing unstable coins, ludicrous layoffs, and sweating 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:30.360 to save. That's right, man, this is our Friday flight 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:33.480 where every week we tackle some of the best headlines 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:35.879 out there that have to do with your money. We're 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:37.960 gonna talk about how these different stories are going to 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:41.000 impact your personal finances. Real quick, Joel, have you been 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.960 continuing Have you kept up the sell your Stuff challenge? Still? 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.120 I'm still a little bit behind. I need to catch up. 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.040 I've sold a couple of things recently, but I'm still 0:00:50.080 --> 0:00:52.839 I think I've sold maybe like eight things. I'm supposed 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:56.000 to be at what at this point, like twenty right 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:58.520 in the late teens. I've been keeping it up, but 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.080 I have not updated my worksheets. But if you have 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.320 kept up with your sell your Stuff challenge, we would 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:05.280 love to hear from you. In particularly, I want to 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:07.679 know the kinds of things folks are selling in the 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:11.040 amounts as well. Because the reason I ask Joel, because 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:14.000 we just I just listed a mid century bedroom set 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:17.039 that we have had for a number of years now. 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:18.560 We just paid a few hundred bucks for it back 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:22.039 in the day. So you're asking top dollar, Well, I 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:23.920 looked it up because it still has the name of 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:25.880 the company on there, and so I just did a 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.480 quick search and I saw that similar sets we're going 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:32.000 for over two thousand dollars. It's it's amazing how some 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.600 antique sets, things that are fifty sixty years old, they 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:39.199 just hold their value because they've gone from the junk 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:42.080 after being owned for fifteen or twenty years, and now 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:44.720 it's chic again to own some of that stuff that's, 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:46.720 you know, fifty sixty years old. And some of that 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:49.600 stuff isn't getting any younger, that's right, Like they're not 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:51.960 making anymore exactly, and some of the stuff is just 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.960 made hearty, heartier than what's made today exactly. So I'm 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.120 not asking over two thousand dollars for it, but I 0:01:57.160 --> 0:01:59.600 asked for close to that, and I'm just gonna knock 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:01.960 downer us off it every single day until it sells. 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:03.920 Let's see what you can get. I will let you know, 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.000 I hope you do get top dollar, because yeah, some 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.840 of those mid century sets in particular, I've just noticed 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:11.640 how much more expensive some of that stuff has gotten. 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.280 And one of my friends, Josh down in Florida. He 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:18.240 he actually buys themselves mid century furniture. That's that's his job, right, 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.600 is literally to rehab refinished some of these pieces and 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:23.239 he marks them up and he sends them all over 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:28.320 the country and so it's it's but it's cool. He's 0:02:28.320 --> 0:02:30.600 not just ripping people off the he also finding these 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:34.000 pieces that are prized and treasure. I mean, if he 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:35.440 lives in Florida, where there are more of them than 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:37.960 pretty much anywhere else, so he's got kind of access. 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:41.840 He's at the he's at the source for that stuff. 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:43.919 And so I asked him recently to help me find 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:47.919 actually a mid century piano because they're really cool looking. 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.079 They're really hard to find, and I've noticed real out 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.920 of the ground and roll wide like mid century furniture 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.440 is well kind of they've got those like the stick 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.320 legs coming out the front there. It's it's really I'll 0:02:58.320 --> 0:02:59.920 have to post a picture of the one that I 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.639 actually ended up purchasing with this help. Yeah, fancy, So 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:06.440 you don't even want to know what he sells midcentery 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.040 pianos for. When he gets one, they're they're definitely five 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:12.200 figures um and yeah, and so he helped me find 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:16.440 one actually locally that was a lot less than that. Um. 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:18.520 But I just want to say, sometimes buying a piece 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:21.400 that costs more money if it's an antique, or if 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.080 it has just inherent value based on its age and 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:25.440 the way it was made and the fact that they're 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:28.240 not making more, sometimes it's more of a long term play. 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.720 Even even though it might cost you maybe more than 0:03:30.880 --> 0:03:33.799 a brand new piano one, it might last longer to 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:37.120 it might have a higher resale value throughout the years. 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:38.840 So those are the kind of things that are worth 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.520 factoring in. I mean, like your bedroom set. I guarantee 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:43.600 you you spent less on that bedroom set than what 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.240 you're selling it for now. Yeah, what it's listened for. 0:03:46.360 --> 0:03:49.640 We'll see what you're hoping. Yeah, we'll see how it 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.640 pans out. But with the most bedroom sets, that's not 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.960 the case. If Walmart ikea target wherever you get your 0:03:55.960 --> 0:03:58.880 bedroom set, guarantee you it's words less tomorrow than it is. Uh, 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:01.080 you know, the day you buy, you are immediately losing money. 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:03.760 Whereas this is something hopefully that not only will we 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:05.480 be able to break even, but I think we yeah, 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.560 we will be able to maybe double what we paid 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:10.360 for it. At least. Just one more reason to buy 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:14.040 vintage or used furniture as opposed to new furniture is 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:16.400 the fact that it's worth different amounts of different people. 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:19.880 So you might find a great vintage set of furniture 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.279 for pennies on the dollar, whereas somebody like my friend, 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.560 my friend Josh is charging top dollar right for the 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.279 pieces he's selling. But there's this whole those rare pieces 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:30.080 he does, he does, but he's also taking care of 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:31.760 them and the and they're nice. But you can find 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.599 I found some great pieces for that were really inexpensive 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:36.880 throughout the years. I've held onto him for a lot 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:38.760 of years now, and I guarantee you they're worth more 0:04:38.800 --> 0:04:40.440 now than when I bought them. Makes me think of 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:42.800 a listener recently reached out to us on Instagram, and 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:45.560 she was highlighting the fact that just how affordable it 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:47.880 is to furnish your home by hitting up the yard sales. 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:49.920 She she loves the thrill of the chase, the thrill 0:04:49.960 --> 0:04:52.960 of the hunt, but the ability to furnish her new 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.000 place with virtually opinions on the dollar compared to what 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:57.960 all that stuff would I think. I think yard sales 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:01.279 are even better than Facebook Marketplace because you might have 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:02.919 to pound the pavement a little bit more. But the 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.599 prices you're gonna get or even lower because the amount 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:08.680 of eyeballs is detracting are are usually fewer. Nobody wants 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.040 to get out there on a night Saturday morning when 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:13.240 the sun starts beating down on you. Everybody wants to 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:15.080 sit there from the comfort of their home. But that's 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:17.880 not how you find the deals. Yeah, so alright, alright, 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:20.920 just enough furniture talking, let's move on to the Friday flight. 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:23.520 Let's derailed its like, give you that sampling of stories 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.800 we found interesting this week. Let's talk about energy costs first, 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.360 Matt and and do what. We got a bunch of 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:30.719 stories to get to today that are they're highly interesting, 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.640 I think. But when it comes to energy costs, that's 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.640 another we You know, we got new inflation numbers this week, 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:42.760 but we're we're seeing higher energy prices alongside higher everything prices, 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.920 it feels like, and so h yeah, prices are still 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.800 inflated across the board. We're obviously paying more for what 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.560 seems like everything. Gas prices are still through the roof. 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.320 But but I'm talking about energy prices in terms of 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:57.960 heating and cooling our homes, and electricity prices are actually 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.440 up eleven percent year over year. That's thanks in large 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:04.920 part to a rapid increase in the price of natural gas, 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:09.560 which is the largest source of electricity generation in the country. 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:13.320 In a councilor about of the our electricity prices is 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:15.159 a lot. Yeah, and so the New York Times I 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:19.239 actually interviewed a few different electricity grid experts. They stated 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:22.440 that these price increases they're likely to continue for years 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:27.520 to come, largely because of necessary costly upgrades to the grid. 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.440 And so, yeah, these are gonna be taking place all 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:32.719 across the country to make our grids safer and smarter. 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.720 In addition to maybe the higher costs are gonna be 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:39.039 paying for some of these natural resources. And so it 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:40.920 sucks to know that it's going to cost more to 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.479 heat and cool your home. But I mean, at least 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.680 there are some actions that we can take to combat 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.320 these price increases ourselves, right, Yeah, totally. We talked about 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.480 installation a couple of weeks ago. That's always a good idea, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:55.640 but setting your temperature higher during this summer is a 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:57.240 big help as well. And I feel like this is 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.440 a good reminder to get out there in front of 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.280 you before you start taking down the thermostat. Uh. This 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:05.039 this might sound crazy, but the Department of Energy, they 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.760 actually recommend setting your thermostat to seventy eight degrees when 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:12.040 you're home during the day, eighty two degrees when you're sleeping, 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:14.120 and then eighty five degrees when you're out of the house. 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:18.080 I don't really care about I'm fine with two eighty 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.920 two when you're sleeping. I think is pretty warm for 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:22.960 for a lot of folks. And so if you actually 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:25.360 do this, mad props to you. I hope your family 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.760 still loves you after making the all summer, after you 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:31.880 have gone through sweating in order to save We're actually 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.080 kind of on board with this idea for us at night, 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:35.800 it's okay for it to take up a little bit 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.520 warmer you get to you let it give that point. No, 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:41.680 we we need we got significantly higher than what we're 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:43.480 willing to deal with during the day because during the day, 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.280 I want the temperature to be cooler because we're moving around, 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.880 the kids are moving und you're you're doing stuff, and 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.080 it's easy for us to start feeling miserable. If if 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.280 you start sweating and just trying to live your life. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:54.720 But at night you can just throw back the covers, 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:57.200 turn that fan on. In particular, is how I think 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.840 we're able to stay cool. Like fans make a big difference. 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:02.680 And I will say, my my thermostat Matt vacillates somewhere 0:08:02.680 --> 0:08:06.200 between seventy six and eighty, depending on whether or home 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.240 what I'm doing, But that's usually the range of its 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.320 depending on how you feel. You go over there and 0:08:11.360 --> 0:08:13.920 tweak it. But no, you said, it doesn't go below that. 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.080 It does not go into like seventy five, seventy four, 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.960 seventy three territory. Not nice. Unless my mom comes over 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:20.720 and then she touches it. She she cranks it down. 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.720 Sometimes I'll crank it down in order to control humidity, 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.520 because that's something that I feel like significantly impacts how 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:28.840 it feels inside the house. If it's getting to just 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.680 just wet too muggy, the i'l tn it down a 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.959 little bit just to dry out the air. But fans, 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.280 ceiling fans make a huge difference, like you said, and 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.400 it can make it feel like ten degrees cooler in 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:41.480 your house if you keep the fans on. So don't 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:44.720 forget about those. But making these adjustments to your thermostatic, 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:47.240 cranking that temperature up a little bit, even if you 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:50.760 don't go with the Department of Energies recommendations, will be 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:52.719 able to save you some tremendous amount of money. Yeah, 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.319 that's worth noting, especially as we get into these warmer 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:58.360 summer months where those electricity bills they're about the start 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:00.840 getting real, right, and if it there's nobody out there 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.640 who does like to crank it up to eighty two, 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:05.680 I would like to hear from you, And I mean literally, 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.679 I I would like to know some of the steps 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.960 that you take, Like literally, are you wearing nothing in 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.240 your house and all the fans are on full blast? 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.000 If so, and if that works for you, then more 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:17.000 power to you. Yeah. Please, we you can write a 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:18.840 blog post for how the Money dot com. We'd love 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:20.720 to hear all about it. Well, Matt, that that just 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:22.880 makes me think. I was actually emailing with a listener 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:25.959 this week named Glenn and he he's actually written about 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:28.880 putting solar on his house and we kind of went 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.120 back and forth about that for for a minute. He 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:33.160 wrote about it on his blog. I'll put a link 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.599 in the show notes to that article. But you know, 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.319 it's obviously it's not cheap to install solar, right that 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.079 changing your thermostat and putting in some instulation, those are 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.120 pretty cheap to two free moves that you can make 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:45.920 in order to save a little bit of energy. Well, 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:48.000 installing solar is like a bigger project that you're gonna 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:50.360 have to take on that requires some more dollars. But 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.760 I did want to mention it can still make sense 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.000 if it's done properly and in the right location. And 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.559 it's important to not forget that there's still a substantial 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:03.080 federal subsidy for rooftop solar installs. You can say, if 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:07.840 what this year, yeah, if in two, if you install 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:10.920 solar next year, it's gonna be I think it's going 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:13.040 down just a little bit. But that's pretty amazing, man, 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.240 that that that the federal government is going to foot 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.920 the bill for more than a quarter of your solar installation. 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.559 And so they obviously missed out on a marketing opportunity 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:27.480 three three, they didn't hire us. It could have been 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:30.640 like the flannel push, so everybody would have remembered that's right, well, 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:34.760 especially as solar the costs of solar installs have gone down, 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.319 the cost of solar panels has gone down. Now is 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.800 like kind of the sweet spot for installing solar if 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:42.600 you're so inclined. And it's yeah, it is a big step. 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:47.920 Not everyone's necessarily into, but it bears mentioning, and so yeah, 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.839 it's it matters not only how much electricity you should 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.320 you're gonna be able to replace, though, but also how 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:57.960 your state or municipality treats the excess electricity that you generate. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.440 And in some states they pay pay you a or rate. 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.439 Others don't. Others kind of say we'll pay you a 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.640 pittance for the extra solar you generate that you don't use. Literally, 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.160 like in Mississippi, it's a discounted rate, and so they 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:13.040 pay you very little when you actually send electricity back 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:16.200 to the grid. It's worth looking into before you opt 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:18.160 to kind of go all in and drop fifteen or 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:21.079 twenty grand on a solar install at your house. But again, 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:25.720 with that federal tax credit, it could make sense for 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:28.160 a decent chunk of folks, that's right. Yeah, So while 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.079 we're talking about utilities, actually let's talk about a related subject, 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.079 which is scammers who are out there and you might 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:38.320 be wondering how that's related. Well, we've talked about this before, 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:41.400 but a Detroit Free Press article brought utility scams back 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:44.840 to the forefront of our minds. Crafty scam artists out 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.160 there are using color I D to impersonate your utility 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:51.560 company telling you to send the money immediately or they'll 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:53.760 be forced to turn off the power to your house 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.120 or to your business. And almost all of the folks 0:11:57.120 --> 0:12:00.400 who are scammed sent money via ZEL, which means that 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:02.880 that is money that they likely won't be able to 0:12:02.920 --> 0:12:05.440 claw back after they've realized that they've been scammed. Yeah, 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:07.840 and ZEL is usually it's within your banking app right, 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.640 whatever major bank you do business with. Sale has partnered 0:12:10.640 --> 0:12:12.840 with most of those big banks. It's it's kind of 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:16.040 like a Venmo alternative. And so people are always trying 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:18.280 to get you to pay money that way because you 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:20.600 can't call it back, that's right, And so we want 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.000 you to avoid becoming a victim of some of these scams. 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:26.200 So a few tips. A utility company, Uh, they're going 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.400 to reach out to you multiple times before threatening to 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.560 cut your power or to shut off your water. And 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.680 so if this is the first that you've heard of 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.520 this reach out and contact your utility company directly yourself, 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:37.920 like they're they're not going to just show up out 0:12:37.920 --> 0:12:40.839 of the blue demanding to be paid right away only 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:45.280 via zell or Venmo. We want you to challenge whoever 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:47.600 it is that's that's calling you or even showing up. 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.160 There have been some instances of folks showing up, uh 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:53.160 knocking on folks doors up there in Michigan. But we 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.560 want you to ask for more information and if it 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.600 seems fishy, then we would recommend for you to report 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:00.000 it to the Better Business Bureau scam Tracker and we'll 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:01.720 have a link to that up on our website. Yeah, 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.520 that that is one of the worst scams because especially 0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:06.800 if you're a business and you've got customers coming in 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:08.400 and out and someone calls you and they're like, we're 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:10.920 going to turn your power off. Now, Yeah, that's a 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:13.360 threat because you are gonna you're gonna lose business, customers 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:15.240 are gonna walk out, and you have that that that 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:17.360 response that's based on fear. That's right, that's what they're 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.320 that's what they're praying exactly, and they want you to 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.800 send the money immediately and then guess what you have 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:24.680 been taking advantage of you can't get that money back. 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.480 So it's definitely something to be on the lookout for. 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.600 But Matt, we've got more stories to get to, including 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:33.679 we're gonna talk about a company who just raised one 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.120 of their fees by a big margin and it actually 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:38.200 makes it more difficult to get your money back, and 0:13:38.240 --> 0:13:40.400 we'll talk about that and more right after this break. 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.000 All right, we are back from the break, and before 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.880 we get to the ludicrous layoffs storage, well, we've got 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:58.000 the ludicrous headline of the week, which are we even 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:02.480 allowed to attribute that description to other stories? I will 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.400 check with our trademark lawyers, our copyright attorneys, and I'll 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:07.160 get back to you. It goes against our how we 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.319 do things concern on how the money. But this one 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:13.760 comes from CNBC and the headline reads Terra stable coin, 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:16.400 which is meant to be pegged to the dollar, plummets 0:14:16.400 --> 0:14:20.600 below thirty cents. And well, obviously a lot of folks 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.560 have maybe realized this if you own any cryptocurrencies, but 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:25.760 they have not had a great start to the year, 0:14:26.200 --> 0:14:28.200 similar to the stock market. But what happened in the 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:31.960 stable coin worse uh this week points to an issue 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:34.520 that we've had with some of the crypto offerings for 0:14:34.560 --> 0:14:37.640 a while. Stable coins are supposed to be no surprise 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.360 here stable uh. They aren't supposed to fluctuate in value 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.040 the way that many of the other coins do uh 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.040 and without being the case, some folks out there have 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:49.800 decided to stash their savings in stable coin accounts because 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.160 they were paying really hefty rates of interest, like in 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:56.360 the seven to eight percent range, which sounds pretty incredible 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:00.960 until that promise ends, and disaster get did for many 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.160 earlier this week, and so we would recommend for you 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.000 to not put money that you need, you know, your 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.960 savings in stable coin accounts. That money needs to be 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.400 in an actual f d i C insured savings account 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:15.040 with a real bank. So we share the story because 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:17.240 we want you to know that volatility isn't limited to 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:21.200 just individual coins like doage coin uh stable coins they 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:23.600 pose real risks as well. We've shared how it is 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:25.880 okay to put up the five percent of your overall 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:30.000 portfolio within cryptocurrencies, but that five percent should include not 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.960 only actual individual coins, but these stable coins as well. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.520 We want you to only gamble, only speculate with money 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.000 that you can afford losing. That's right, man. A lot 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.040 of these stable coin accounts, the way they're talked about, 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.120 the way they're marketed is like it's not gambling. Is 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:46.680 that it is like it is the same mus account, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.600 It is kind of a sure thing, but the reality 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.040 is it's not and it's not ensured in the same way. 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.040 It's not it's not the same thing as the same 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.920 use account, no matter what the websites say or purport 0:15:57.000 --> 0:16:00.080 these accounts to be. And we found that out of 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.080 people found it out the hard way this week. But 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:05.200 while we're talking about crypto, it turns out that most 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:08.600 folks who have invested in bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.680 they have a stash that's actually worth less now than 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:16.680 what they initially invested. And so I can confirm that myself. 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:20.000 Same here, you and I We both have relatively small 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:24.640 steaks in mostly bitcoin and ethereum. But yeah, both of 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.160 us are what we initially put in. Well, our position 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.400 is now worth less than the amount we bought in 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.920 for and and and that is because we were, like 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:33.880 a lot of the other folks who jumped on the 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.000 bitcoin back bandwagon when it was close to all time 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:40.800 highs late the average price of bitcoin, I believe last 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.680 year was right in the forty seven dollar range. And 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.520 that's when bitcoin was like water cooler talk, right, like 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:48.720 you you hopped in your uber and that was kind 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.440 of instead of the weather, people talked about bitcoin or 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.600 your coworker, instead of talking about what they were up 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.880 to this weekend, they talked about investing in crypto, and 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:01.920 so everybody seemed to be getting in on the crypto craze. Well, well, 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:05.320 now cryptos having its icorous moments, and folks who you 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:08.160 know bought in last year are kind of kicking themselves 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:12.119 because bitcoin, Matt, it felt in value in just the 0:17:12.200 --> 0:17:15.159 last week alone, and it's been cut more than in 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.560 half from its all time highs. And so I know 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.240 we say this regularly, and Matt, you just said it 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:22.359 to but keep your crypto exposure in check. There are 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:24.120 probably a lot of how to money listeners who would 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:28.119 be best best served by having zero exposure to the 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:31.440 crypto asset class. But but for folks who do want some, 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.240 keep it small. And if the past year in general, 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.240 in the past couple of weeks specifically haven't proven that 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:39.240 out that, I don't know what will, but I think 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:42.679 it's I think it's crucial that folks really trim and 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.960 make sure that they're not overexposed. Uh, so they're not 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.480 freaking out when weeks like this happened, because crypto is 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.840 still volatile, as I'll get out. That's right. Yeah, let's 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.800 talk about where most folks bought their bitcoin. Coin Base 0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:59.080 was a big one, robin Hood was another. In robin Hood, 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.240 they actually just announced that they are increasing fees for 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:06.239 taking money out of your account outbound transfers of your 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.520 money from robin Hood to another broke, which will cost 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:12.000 you one hundred dollars starting in July. That's a decent 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:15.000 chunk of money. Of course, we hate fees, and so 0:18:15.080 --> 0:18:18.120 this is a pretty crappy move. It's not that robin 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.480 hood doesn't have a pretty slick app. It's an incredible interface, 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.600 and honestly, if and whenever they get some roth ira 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.880 accounts or ira A options within their platform, we will 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.199 probably be pretty excited about that. But the fact that 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.040 they're trying to strong arm their customers by keep keeping 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:36.280 them locked into their ecosystem, by penalizing them, uh to 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:38.560 even think about transferring that money to to somebody like 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:41.520 Fidelity or Vanguard, that is something that we don't like 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.240 feel like it feels like coercion exactly. Yeah, yeah, they're 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:47.080 they're they're forcing you to stay, whereas like Fidelity and Vanguard, 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.199 they both charge you zero dollars for outbound transfers and 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:52.560 that's probably because their customers they're not going anywhere. They're 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:55.920 very happy with the offerings that Fidelity in Vanguard offer 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.439 And honestly, we've talked about this before, but maybe it 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:00.760 shouldn't be so easy for you to hop into an 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:03.399 app and mess around with your retirement savings gown. And 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.320 it's not like you and I are against great user interfaces, 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.080 and we can readily admit the Robin Hood has the 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:11.960 best user interface in the business. The love hate relationship. Yeah, 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.480 it's it's pretty cool. But the problem is what that 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:18.000