WEBVTT - Friday Flight - AI Toys, Homeowners Held Hostage, & Impoverished Americans 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.719 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt. 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:07.440 Today we're talking AI toys, homeowners held hostage, and impoverished Americans. 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:29.680 That's right, buddy. This is our Friday Flight, the collection 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.560 of stories of news articles that we came across and 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:34.120 the ones that we think you need to pay attention 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:37.440 to because they impact your finances the most. 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:39.000 I think you need to pay attention so much, we're 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:40.360 going to force you to listen to us for the 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:42.040 next thirty something minutes. 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:45.239 Yeah, speaking of folks held hostage, we'll get to that 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.320 homeowner's held hostage story here in a second. But before 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:51.159 we kick things off, let's give a massive, massive thanks 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:53.640 to all of the How to Money listeners out there 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:57.960 who participated in the Daffy Voices for Good challenge. We 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:02.680 went up against like six, no, seven other podcasts, and 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:04.920 the reason I know this specific number was because there 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:09.600 was one podcast that beat us. But I was so happy. 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:13.440 I want to it's all relative here, because what I 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.319 calculated was the fact that something like pinching pennies, I 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:17.199 forget what it's called. 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:19.360 I don't know, I don't remember what they call their podcasts. 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:21.080 So we came in second and we were only a 0:01:21.080 --> 0:01:24.120 few thousand dollars short of taking that first place spot. 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.640 So I'm really proud of the generosity of our listeners percent. 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:30.280 But I was also super stoked to see that the 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:34.880 next six podcasts that competed in this challenge raised only 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:39.240 half as much combined that we were able to raise 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:43.240 with our listeners, which just demonstrates such an incredible generous 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:44.880 spirit man, and. 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.880 That not only are heart yeah, trying to build wealth, 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:49.240 they want to do good things. 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:52.000 With it and they're serious givers. Yeah, And honestly, I 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.240 hope that a lot of folks are checking out donor 0:01:55.320 --> 0:01:58.880 advised funds, specifically with Daffy, because we, again, we have 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.640 been such big of Daffy. What it does they do. 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:03.880 We've been with them for a long time and they 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.440 finally reached out and we're like, hey, maybe we'll start 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.440 advertising with you. Guys Like great a little bit, which 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:11.320 is something we started. Wait did we do that last 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.000 did we start the end of last year? I think 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:14.359 it was maybe? I think it was a beginning of 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.520 last year. Maybe, Okay, And yeah, Daffy was a we 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:20.280 like such a great part if it's a company we 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:23.240 already use and love it's like the perfect slam Dune partnership. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:25.840 So yeah, and really fun to participate in this challenge. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:28.000 Next year, hopefully we do this again. Next year, we're 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:31.400 gonna crush Pinching Pennies take the number one spot. Yeah, 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.440 well we'll beat them because our listeners are awesome and 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:37.160 maybe I don't know, maybe Matt, you'll we'll match even 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:37.760 more next year. 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.400 Yeah, I think let's do it. Let's go h okay. Oh, 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:42.960 one last thing. I'm seeing all the Spotify raps coming 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:46.440 out now. It's really fun to see. It's amazing how 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:49.480 much some people listen to specific podcasts and just to 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.240 see people like I listened to How the Money for 0:02:51.280 --> 0:02:54.120 fifteen thousand minutes last year and I'm like, oh my goodness, 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.120 and so much time listening to our voices. I hope 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:57.960 you haven't gone insane. 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:01.000 But time for me to do my once a month's 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:03.840 social media log in and I'll repost a bunch of 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.120 those folks tag us over on Instagram. Specifically, you kind 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:08.799 of run the Instagram. I kind of run the Facebook group. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.240 People have been posting in the Facebook group, so I'm 0:03:10.240 --> 0:03:12.200 sure you'll go to find some on Instagram for share. 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:14.480 But Thank you for listening. Give us a follow if 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.079 you don't at how the Money Pod. 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.000 All right, let's get to the Friday flight sampling stories 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.320 we found interesting this week. Let's talk about Black Friday 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.000 Cyber Monday. Did you participate the shopping holiday? 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:28.760 You snag yourself a deal? A little? Not much? Okay? 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.079 The main thing I talked about buying tires. There's like 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:34.920 an early Black Friday sale or whatever. Nice but running shoes. 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:38.160 I stocked up on cheap but good running shoes, so solid, 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.000 like the high end Adidas for all right, fifty bucks? 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:42.680 All right, yeah, way to go do it's happy to 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:43.040 get those? 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:45.120 You are are you? Are you brand loyal? Now you 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:47.080 have a lot? Only get the Adida shoes. Yeah, you 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:48.880 have a lot of Adidas when you know, because they 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:50.840 have the best sales to be you know, the sizing 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.880 and like you kind of know what brand or not brand, 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:56.720 what models they go for it as well. Well, you 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.280 are like an ultra person. I have, like I know 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.640 Ault people, and if Alter had shoes that were like 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:04.960 in that price range, I would totally consider it, but 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:07.480 they're a lot more expensive. Well, you're also cranking through 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:08.320 the shoes, that's true. 0:04:08.360 --> 0:04:10.400 I do okay, So, but like a lot of people 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:12.920 bought stuff on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sales reup 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:16.600 something like four percent year over year. Online sales in particular, 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:19.280 we're up nine percent year over year. But because of 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.560 inflation and tariffs and higher prices in general, those numbers 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.960 could be slightly more inflated than they seem. So maybe 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:26.960 actually people weren't buying a lot more. It's just that 0:04:27.040 --> 0:04:30.560 things cost more money. And by the way, Costco has 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.120 even sued for a refund of the teriffs they've been 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:35.360 forced to pay, which I kind of love to see that, 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.159 like Costco's sticking up for themselves. We always stay with Costco. 0:04:38.200 --> 0:04:41.400 Matt here on how to money gen Z shoppers appear 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:43.800 to be feeling the biggest pinch, and they're dialing back 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.360 spending accordingly. I want to say this, if you overdid it, 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:51.159 that's okay on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but it's 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:54.000 crucial to note the return policy so you can get 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:55.600 your money back before it's too late. If you're like, 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.400 all these packages are starting to arrive, I forgot I 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.479 even got that thing weight, I don't need that thing. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:04.320 Return it, you might maybe be able to mitigate some 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:06.000 of the damage that you did if you ever spent 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:10.240 The head of consumer insights over at Salesforce, that person 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:14.720 credited their spending rise this year to artificial intelligence, and 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:16.440 I think I think it was she She called it 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:21.520 the ultimate purchase accelerator AI. We're not anti AI, but 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.960 I just think caution is warranted for your budget when 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.520 you're using AI. It worries me to think that people 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.919 are like using that to facilitate even more buying habits, 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:30.440 which I. 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.559 Think is true. Yeah, yeah, so all the note of AI. Actually, 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:36.120 we're going to see more AI toys on the market 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.200 this year. The problem though, is that some are being 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.520 marketed for kids as young as two years old, which 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:44.719 then leads ovacy groups out there like fair Play to 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:48.400 issue some stark warnings and rightly so. And it makes 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.760 me think of some of the more educational devices, or 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:53.520 at least that's maybe what we tell ourselves, because like 0:05:53.839 --> 0:05:55.680 I think a typical response might be, well, you know, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.080 these toys, they're educational, this is going to help them 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.520 to learn, but man, it's so oh. It seems obvious 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.280 to me though, that two year olds are pretty ill 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:06.359 equipped to deal with AI and I don't know just 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.760 the proper way to interact with it. I actually asked 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.520 chat whether we should give our kids AI toys Joel, 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.280 and guess what, give me a pretty stern warning against it. 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:17.600 This is AI itself. You would think it would be 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:22.039 a bit more self propagating, none them like pluribus. It's 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.279 uh oh, I'll watch the biological mandate. I'm only a 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:27.920 couple episodes in and the verdict is out. I'll keep 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:30.919 you posting. But just even like myself as an adult, 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.359 I'm still trying to figure out how much, into what 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:37.239 capacity that AI should have in my life undred percent, 0:06:37.360 --> 0:06:40.200 And so with that in mind, I don't know. You 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:41.640 don't have to take this advice, but I am all 0:06:41.640 --> 0:06:44.720 for keeping AI toys at a nice distance from our kids. 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:46.279 Shoul get out there and touch some grass. 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:48.360 Yeah, there's a lot of risk when you're putting those 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.839 into your kids hands because of the nature of AI 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:55.120 and like large language learning models, what are they going 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:57.800 to encounter? Like, you don't know, And we've seen some 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:03.359 really sad stories about teens, young people and what a 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:07.480 relationship with AI has done to them. I think we're 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.360 still tread lightly, especially in the early innings. And let's 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.160 talk about returns for just another second, Matt. As shoppers 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.400 make more returns and the cost of accepting those returns 0:07:17.400 --> 0:07:21.239 has risen, some retailers have quietly been shortening their return window. 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.480 They're saying, hey, more people are making returns, and it 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:28.520 just it really harms our bottom line. So we want 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:30.480 to make it maybe a little more difficult to actually 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:34.720 follow through. Sephora and Ulta those are those are makeup shops, Matt. 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:36.320 I'm not sure if you've been in them. 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:39.040 Oh, yeah, I've been to Sephora. Your daughter she's getting 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.160 into the makeup right, like, uh, well, are a little bit, 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.520 but yeah, I took her there too long ago, a 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:45.840 little daddy daughter date. Well, they got to learn what's 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:47.640 going on next time you go to there. Next time 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:49.120 they get some makeup, if they want to return it, 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:51.720 they only have thirty days. They don't sixty days anymore. 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:53.880 So note that can you take can you take makeup 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:55.480 back if it's been used, like if you try it out. 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:57.000 I don't know, that's a good question. I don't know. 0:07:57.120 --> 0:07:59.200 I would I would think probably not. These are uncharted 0:07:59.200 --> 0:07:59.680 waters for me. 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:05.080 We'll look that up. But we're also seeing retailers attempting 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:07.240 to steer you towards their preferred method of making a 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.960 return that costs them less money. Like Amazon, they want 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.480 to get you to return stuff to Whole Foods because 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:15.400 they own Whole Foods instead of a UPS location that's 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:17.560 potentially much closer to you. And you're like, a Whole 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:19.200 food is like twenty minutes out of the way. I 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:21.360 don't really want to go there. It makes the return 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:25.640 a much bigger pain. And not to tout Costco's greatness 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:27.320 too much on this podcast already, but there's just a 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:29.040 lot of peace of mind when you buy from a 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:33.480 retailer who has a really great return policy, where you're 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:36.440 just not quite as worried. It might even be I 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:40.040 think sometimes at times worth paying a tiny bit extra 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.400 knowing that you're buying from a place that has a 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.880 good return policy. You can also, by the way, finagel 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.040 extra return time at a place like Target by having 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.720 their credit card. So just know what the return policy 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.079 is before you buy, and be prepared to jump through 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:56.720 the hoops and stay organized to make those returns in 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.320 a timely manner, because returns are definitely a part of 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:01.480 the holiday shopping reality. 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:03.840 Yeah, most stuff. Yeah. My dad actually just purchased a 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:07.160 Blackstone griddle and he was at Costco and it was 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.040 on sale, and he's like, should I go for it? 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:13.000 And I said absolutely, because I've been preaching the gospel 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:17.160 of the outdoor griddle for like seven years now. Like 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.240 everybody I come in contact with, I tell them just 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.520 how this has revolutionized how we cook our meals, specifically 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.040 the proteins outside, but not even the rotin's like, dude, 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:29.240 a big breakfas Saturday morning breakfast, like twenty four pancakes 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.400 on the It's insane. Everybody who converts, they never want 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:33.920 to go I know. And I told him, I was 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.240 just like, you are going to love this, but if 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:40.320 you don't Costco. So he rest assured that he would 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.240 be able to take that back. Joe, I've got a 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:43.599 stat here for you that I think you're going to 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:47.240 be able to vamp on for minutes. The average American 0:09:47.320 --> 0:09:50.480 has almost two hundred and fifty dollars in unused gift cards. 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:55.440 A third of those Americans have admitted to losing some 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:58.640 of that money due to the fact that the cards 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:02.160 either expire soon the retailer has closed, or they straight 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:05.440 up lost the gift card and my inside's are turning 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:07.480 right now, go for it. I wish you could see. 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:09.640 I know this is like the hill I die OneD. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:11.280 I don't know. I know you don't like gift cards. 0:10:11.320 --> 0:10:14.920 I don't mind them, but I figured this would give 0:10:14.920 --> 0:10:15.640 you something to play with. 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:17.839 Okay, I'm gonna go on the dietrive I go on 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:20.520 every year, which is that you're turning cash, money that 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:24.600 you can use at any location across the United States 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.679 and you know, the parts of the world too, into 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:32.360 something that is used usable at really only one retailer. 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.440 And why would you do that to yourself? Why would 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:37.120 you take money that you can use anywhere and like 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:39.520 turn it into money you can only use in one place. 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:41.280 I think most people are doing it for other people, 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:42.120 not themselves. 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.000 And they are, they are so much of the time. 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.040 But that's why we have this problem where people leave 0:10:47.080 --> 0:10:49.960 their gift cards in their underweards or or forget that 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.360 they have them, or that the retailer that they have 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:55.040 a gift card too does go out of business and 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.720 then they're kind of out of luck. So just be 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:00.360 careful when buying gift cards this season. If you have 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:04.800 gift cards, you haven't used, gather them up and start 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:07.800 using them, consider giving them away if you don't care 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:11.199 about that retailer, or you can sell them. You're not 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:12.960 going to make as much money as the face value 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:14.200 of the gift card, but you can sell them on 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.760 a site like card cash dot com. There's also a 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:18.280 cool site that will link to in the show notes 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.720 where you can donate unused gift card dollars. So if 0:11:21.760 --> 0:11:23.440 you find yourself in that vein we're like, I got 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:24.920 some random one slider, I don't know what to do 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:26.440 with them, Well, you can donate them, which is cool. 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:27.120 That's pretty cool. 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:32.520 And there's actually the only time I'm down with gift 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:34.520 cards where I think they actually make sense from a 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:38.000 purchasing perspective is when you're getting a discount. So Costco 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:40.360 has the discount of gift card section, like use seventy 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:42.280 or eighty bucks for one hundred bucks worth of gift cards. 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.000 If you're going to use them, why not get a 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.080 discount and make some money on that target This Weekend 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.360 is doing their ten percent off gift cards. They do 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:53.920 it every single year. That's like one of those super 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:55.800 popular retailers. So if you're like I want to get 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.720 a gift card for somebody. I want them to have 0:11:57.760 --> 0:11:59.560 a wide range of options for what they can buy 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:02.199 with them, and I also don't want to pay full price. 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.320 That could be a good option. Do y'all shop at 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:08.520 Target frequently? I would say frequently enough where the discounted 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:09.960 gift cards would make sense for us. 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:11.400 The last time I went in there, I don't know. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:13.800 Maybe it's just online shopping has just ruined it for me. 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.560 But just walking through there and being inundated with the 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:20.040 smells and the stuff. Just what is Target smell is 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:24.200 drew like a combination of crappy coffee drinks and popcorn. 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.480 Well they have the Starbucks they have? Yeah, that makes sense, 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:30.079 Like that's the first thing. The door. What's worse walking 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.320 into a into a Target and the smell there, or 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.520 the smell at Sephora where there there's all these tweens 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.440 who are spraying perfume everywhere. I think, I think the 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.319 perfume smell. I can't handle that? What but we when 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.880 I shop at Target usually it's usually it's online try 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:44.600 to avoid I don't know, I'm just not much for 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.440 going in store shoping. I get it. Hey, let's talk 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.400 about some some policy implications some things that are happening 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:53.240 at a very high level, and how that's impacting h 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:57.160 impacting folks their ability to save specifically, because we're going 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.960 to talk about the Trump accounts for baby. 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.560 I'm so stoked that babies can now save money, invest 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:04.120 and get rich. 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:08.600 Yeah. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, because it officially 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:12.280 passed that made these Trump accounts a reality, but it 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:14.040 has taken some time to get them off the ground 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:16.120 as far as like what are the particulars, what are 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:19.880 the details? It can be a bit confusing, but there 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.640 is more coming to lights. These accounts are available to 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:27.640 kids eighteen and under. But and this is the headline 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.199 thing that I think drew a lot of the eyeballs 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:34.040 in initially there is that they're dangling that carrot right 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:38.120 of the free thousand dollars that, though is only available 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:42.360 to children who are born between like January first, twenty 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.280 twenty five or the very end of twenty twenty eight. 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.360 You also have to be a US citizen with a 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.839 Social Security number. And so if you are, you know, 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.280 if you've already had a kid this year or congratulations 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:56.520 if you have to get off congrats, yeah, oh man. 0:13:56.840 --> 0:14:00.559 Every time we have a listener question who mentioned if 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:02.559 it's a like we should be talking about that. I 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:04.640 you know, it hasn't even popped into my mind. 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:06.440 Else we should do we have had the money socks 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:08.800 for adults, we should get baby hod of money socks 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:10.480 and then we should ship those how to money socks 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.199 every time a listener has a baby. 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.040 Instead of how the money baby socks about how to 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:17.480 money onesies. Because of that that sounds even cutere. 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:18.800 Because the baby soxs would be like kind of tiny, 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:19.760 you wouldn't be able to see the. 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.840 Yeah, good point, and uh but onesies, onesies are where 0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:24.440 it's at. You might have to actually look into that. 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:27.720 Is there a sock fancy? But for onesies probably ones fancy? 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.240 God exist. But we're mentioning this because if you if 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.560 if that is you and you've got a kid or 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:35.640 think you might certainly grab that free money for your 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.840 child if you are eligible, there's a specific form you're 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.080 gonna need to keep it out for IRS form forty 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:43.600 five forty seven. That's what you're gonna want to fill 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:45.640 out if you do have a child this year or no, 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:47.000 what if you had a child this year? 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:49.680 Is that reference to Trump being the forty fifth and 0:14:49.680 --> 0:14:50.560 forty seventh president. 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.360 Oh my gosh, I didn't think about that until just now. 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:56.880 Are you serious? That's crazy? This is so stupid. Gosh, 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:59.000 it's like we're living living in a real life meme. 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:03.400 But I think you're probably right. Probably is gosh. An 0:15:03.440 --> 0:15:05.960 online portal is going to open this coming summer to 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.320 make it easier as well. The good news though, is 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.680 that you can invest the dollars in low cost ETFs, 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:12.800 which is certainly the way to go to help that 0:15:12.880 --> 0:15:15.560 nesse grow for your little one. I think it's a 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.520 cool idea, although it does have a limited timeframe and 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.760 it certainly has a limited ability as to what you 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:25.680 can do with that account, right, Like the functionality is limited, 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.600 which means that long term, I do think the actual 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.240 impact of these accounts might be limited. 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:33.080 It's a seed of a good idea, and it will 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:37.680 help some kids and some families, and but is it 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:40.600 going to have this wide ranging major impact on their 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.800 future lives. I think it's overstand probably, And by the. 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:46.440 Way, I'm willing to be open to it, right because 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.120 I'm sure when they created like the four to one K, 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.640 they're like, what's this dumb four to one you know, 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:52.800 like or this thing that they named after the senator 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:56.200 Senator Roth, but like, look at what those have turned into. 0:15:56.320 --> 0:15:59.080 And so I'm willing to be open minded, but I 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:00.000 am a bit skeptical. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.200 Yeah, And I think it's really important to look at 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.960 the details of this account because some people might be 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:07.520 drawn to putting more money in these accounts beyond the 0:16:07.520 --> 0:16:10.840 free thousand dollars, and that might not be the smartest 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.280 move because even though you can contribute even more to 0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:16.560 these accounts, it makes very little sense to utilize them 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:20.240 past the free money, because the taxes can be complicated 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:22.800 or excessive if the money isn't used for a home 0:16:22.840 --> 0:16:24.120 down payment or for education. 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:27.160 So that is just how its tax is pretty complicated, 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:28.920 is yeah, okay, a portion of it is taxed at 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.360 this rate, it gets pretty funky. 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:33.280 So the five P twenty nine account is probably a 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:35.760 better way to save for your kids or even like 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:40.000 the UTMA accounts like are likely better than these Trump 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:42.240 accounts for are putting more money into take the free money, 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:48.720 but after that, probably look elsewhere. And interestingly enough, Matt 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.800 the Dell computers entrepreneur Michael Dell. He announced this week 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.160 that he's offering an additional two hundred and fifty dollars 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:58.080 for kids ten and younger who would have otherwise been 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:01.920 left out of this Trump account goodness. And at first 0:17:01.960 --> 0:17:03.200 when I saw that, I was like, oh, man, the 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:07.040 public private partnership. Sometimes it like makes me a little squeamy, 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.400 But man, it seems like this is just like a 0:17:10.440 --> 0:17:14.960 philanthropic good deed that Michael Dell is doing and for 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.320 the children. And even some of our kids are going 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:19.920 to be eligible for this, So not only if you 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:21.639 just had a newborn, but if you have a kid 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.920 who's elementary school age, you might be your kids might qualify. 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:27.880 He's donating I think we like six and a half 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:29.080 billion dollars to make this. 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:30.320 A realitmendous amount of money. 0:17:30.440 --> 0:17:33.000 Yeah, so it's a pert I didn't see coming. And 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:35.200 I think maybe the best part of this, the silver lining, 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:37.200 could be that more kids are going to be made 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:41.040 aware of compounding returns and investing in how the market 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:42.919 works from an earlier age because they're like, I got 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:45.760 this account, Like you might start telling your kid about 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:48.399 it at age six or seven. That's the upside, and 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:50.800 then they kind of they get to learn exactly. So 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.399 maybe that's like the most underrated part of these accounts. 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.359 I wish instead I could just roll that Dell money 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.320 just straight into their five twenty nine, you know, like 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.680 I don't have to open up another account, but I'm 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.840 probably going to because two hundred fifty bucks, I mean, 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:04.119 I think I want to get my hands on that. 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.760 Don't want to leave free money behind. Yeah, And it's 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:09.640 I'm also like I kind of gave like the the 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.040 I'm open minded, like this could lead somewhere kind of argument. 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:15.320 But it's hard not to be cynical, especially when they're 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:17.360 called Trump accounts, right, Like, because what do you think 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:19.399 of when you hear Trump accounts. I think of like 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.160