Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am
Speaker 1: mat and today we're talking about geographic arbitrage, purging the penny,
Speaker 1: and looking back in anger.
Speaker 2: So looking back in Anger doesn't really seem to have
Speaker 2: a personal finance angle to it, Joel. I actually had
Speaker 2: to look this up because I saw that you had
Speaker 2: this down as.
Speaker 1: A title of the episode, and you were like, what
Speaker 1: does that mean?
Speaker 2: And I realized that you wanted to talk about Oasis
Speaker 2: during this episode, which I mean one of their best songs.
Speaker 2: So I never owned that album. What's the story Morning Glory?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: And I certainly, of course knew about Champagne, super Nova, Wonderwall,
Speaker 2: but news to me that that's one of their best songs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right?
Speaker 1: That album was I have seventh grade. For me, that
Speaker 1: was my favorite album I bait.
Speaker 2: My friends were really into it, and I still love
Speaker 2: the Oasis, would you?
Speaker 3: All right?
Speaker 2: We'll get to Oasis probably later on, but yes, this
Speaker 2: is our Friday flight where we look at the most
Speaker 2: pressing news headlines that we've come across this week and
Speaker 2: we discuss how they pertain to your personal finances. Joel,
Speaker 2: really quick, you and I we got to take little
Speaker 2: breaks last week, we both of us actually went out
Speaker 2: on some mountain adventures. You went out with some friends
Speaker 2: out to California, and in your case you got picked
Speaker 2: up by a friend in their car, which is always nice.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 2: In my case, Kate and I flew out to Denver
Speaker 2: and we walked on over to the car rental agency
Speaker 2: whatever you picked up our car. Actually it was a
Speaker 2: two yet a raw four, which was just told that
Speaker 2: I got to drive around and kind of try out
Speaker 2: because I was kind of big on those. It served
Speaker 2: us well while we were driving around.
Speaker 3: That kind of thing.
Speaker 2: But here's the thing. When it came to returning that
Speaker 2: car back to the Denver Airport, we were getting pretty
Speaker 2: low on gas, and rather than stop at the Costco,
Speaker 2: which we really saw when we're like, oh that's the
Speaker 2: place to get gas, because of course we're Costcome members,
Speaker 2: instead we just drove straight up to the airport and
Speaker 2: drop the car off with an almost empty tank. Who
Speaker 2: are you do I lose my frugality, my frugal card.
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: Do I get that taken away?
Speaker 3: Had it over right now?
Speaker 1: That's ridiculous. What someone How much was gas? And how
Speaker 1: much were they charge? Because typically when when you do
Speaker 1: this paying a premium. You're paying a massive premium for
Speaker 1: every gallon they have to fill that car with. So
Speaker 1: you could just cost yourself like forty fifty bucks.
Speaker 2: No, well not that much.
Speaker 1: So it was it can be like three dollars a
Speaker 1: gallon difference, dude, if it's low, and it was a
Speaker 1: couple of dollars it was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I think gas around then in Denver was
Speaker 2: something like three a little over three dollars per gallon,
Speaker 2: and then they ended up charging us over five dollars
Speaker 2: per gallon, so it's you know, a little bit over
Speaker 2: a two dollars difference. So here's the rest of the story,
Speaker 2: which which was the hope, and there's more. We were
Speaker 2: a little bit late, so we were pressed on time,
Speaker 2: and so you don't want to miss a fly. Could
Speaker 2: have been had I stopped take the time to fill
Speaker 2: it up myself in order to get the absolute best
Speaker 2: price all on a gallon of gas. Well, if that
Speaker 2: caused us to miss our flight. Kate's getting a little
Speaker 2: stressed and because I saw the costco and I was like, obay,
Speaker 2: that's where we need to stop and get gas. And
Speaker 2: she's like, we are not stopping to get gas we
Speaker 2: are going straight to the airport.
Speaker 1: Well, the problem was stopping at Costco for gas is
Speaker 1: that it can often take a lot of extra time
Speaker 1: because of the line, which is.
Speaker 2: Where we would have stopped. And I think that one
Speaker 2: would have cost us because we would have ended up
Speaker 2: missing the flight. All right, Okay, I can and from
Speaker 2: my wife sanity because she you know, and here's here's
Speaker 2: what it's worth a lot. It's totally worth it. And
Speaker 2: the fact that if you're looking at say this, three
Speaker 2: dollars a gallon versus five dollars a gallon and the
Speaker 2: little over ten gallons that they had to fill up.
Speaker 2: So it's not a fifty dollars conversation, truly, what is it.
Speaker 2: It's a twenty dollars conversation. So would you be willing
Speaker 2: to spend twenty bucks to not have the additional stress
Speaker 2: to not miss your flight to you know, make your
Speaker 2: significant other happy? For me, dude, it was worth every dollar.
Speaker 2: I'd never so I'd never actually done that before either,
Speaker 2: But it felt, really I felt like if I felt
Speaker 2: like mister fancy pants, I just pulled on up. And
Speaker 2: I granted it was because we're short on short on time.
Speaker 2: If we had more time.
Speaker 1: I totally would have It would feel so amptithetical to
Speaker 1: everything that exists inside of me.
Speaker 2: It felt a little bit weird, but I thought, this
Speaker 2: is pretty nice not having to actually stop, Like, uh,
Speaker 2: are you.
Speaker 1: Gonna make this a regular habit?
Speaker 3: Then I shouldn't know.
Speaker 1: But there are certain things that you're less willing to do.
Speaker 1: Like some things are worth convenience. This is not one
Speaker 1: of them. Popping in and pumping the gas is like
Speaker 1: not terribly inconvenient. So I would say, if you if
Speaker 1: it was between you missing your flight and doing this,
Speaker 1: that's one thing. But if you're gonna start doing this
Speaker 1: on the rag and become some sort of fancy pants
Speaker 1: guy who pays five bucks at a gallon for gas
Speaker 1: without needing to, I'm gonna say, then your frugal card
Speaker 1: is a mistake.
Speaker 2: What I should have done was earlier on in the trip,
Speaker 2: even the day before. I should have filled up because
Speaker 2: I hadn't filled it up at all, and we stopped
Speaker 2: at a safe way because we're frugal, and we were
Speaker 2: cooking breakfast at home at the loft that we were running.
Speaker 2: That's because that's how we roll. It's a much better
Speaker 2: least in some contexts, I guess, but I should have
Speaker 2: stopped and filled up gas and at least they would
Speaker 2: have only needed to charge me for like four gallons
Speaker 2: or five gallons or something as opposed to almost the
Speaker 2: whole tank. Yeah, anyway, I thought that was worth sharing
Speaker 2: because it was something I've never done before, which is
Speaker 2: the rental company filled it up for us.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know what, we all have things where
Speaker 1: we're in a hurry, or something happens, or there's traffic,
Speaker 1: and we can't optimize everything.
Speaker 2: So I wouldn't make ourself.
Speaker 3: Up with the colts. Just don't get used to this.
Speaker 3: That's so I'm gonna say it was nice.
Speaker 2: We don't travel enough for that to be like a
Speaker 2: frequent thing. Anyway.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a nice little slurge.
Speaker 1: Okay, a listening on mat, let's get to the Friday
Speaker 1: flight for this week the sampling of stories we found interesting.
Speaker 1: Let's start by talking about the American dream. It's more
Speaker 1: expensive than ever. This is according to a new Go
Speaker 1: Banking rates analysis. Basically, they found that inflation has made
Speaker 1: it far more expensive to live the quintessential American.
Speaker 2: Lifestyle so familiar.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 1: Do they talk about the dream in other countries, is
Speaker 1: there like the Botswana and dream or.
Speaker 2: The chicken in every pot.
Speaker 3: I don't know he made up. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, but in America we have this American dream.
Speaker 1: The people want to own a house, white picket fence,
Speaker 1: two cars in the driveway, which I'd say one car
Speaker 1: of the driveways are better gold aft. But now the
Speaker 1: American dream costs roughly one hundred and fifty thousand bucks
Speaker 1: a year on average, although where you live has a
Speaker 1: massive impact on the actual cost of being able to
Speaker 1: afford that kind of typical stock American lifestyle. Of course, Hawaii,
Speaker 1: California more expensive than living in Mississippi or Arkansas, for instance.
Speaker 2: It makes me think of that as you know, that
Speaker 2: disease I'm sorry joke where he's like he's a parent
Speaker 2: or he's a kid of immigrants, and so he knows
Speaker 2: something about immigrants, and he's like, oh yeah. The government
Speaker 2: is like, oh hey you yeah, you yeah, you can
Speaker 2: come to America, but you got to live in Alabama
Speaker 2: because nobody wants to live in Alabama.
Speaker 3: That's not true.
Speaker 2: Well, he's just talking about it from a where he
Speaker 2: wanted to live standpoint. I've got nothing against the more affordable.
Speaker 2: Of course, I'm going to encourage folks to move to
Speaker 2: the states that are more affordable. Your dollars gonna go
Speaker 2: much further.
Speaker 1: Right, think about Arkansas, man likes so underrated from like
Speaker 1: an outdoorsy perspective as it, Yeah, I don't like by
Speaker 1: the thozarks Man like some of the best mountain biking
Speaker 1: in the countries in.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Arkansas, so sounds awesome.
Speaker 1: Don't hate on the low cost of living spots, especially
Speaker 1: right when you think about how much the cost of
Speaker 1: the American dream has gone up, it's like thirty six
Speaker 1: percent increase over the past decade. But then there's a
Speaker 1: flip side of that, Matt. I think sometimes those things
Speaker 1: make all the headlines and it's like, well, I guess
Speaker 1: nobody can afford the American dream anymore. Well, median household
Speaker 1: income has gone up by forty seven percent over the
Speaker 1: same time period, so household income has outpaced the rising
Speaker 1: costs of affording that American dream. So it's important to
Speaker 1: put that in perspective. It makes me think of like
Speaker 1: when we talk about headline credit card debt and it's like, oh, man,
Speaker 1: past a trillion dollars. Now it's past one point one
Speaker 1: trillion dollars. Well, what is it adjusted for inflation? And
Speaker 1: is it actually as bad as the headline number seems.
Speaker 1: You see a lot of doom loom headlines and you
Speaker 1: and I obviously would prefer to see zero dollars in
Speaker 1: credit card debt for all Americans. But it's maybe not
Speaker 1: quite as bad as people make it out to be.
Speaker 1: And this number, by the way, includes maxing out your
Speaker 1: for OW and K and your college savings plan for
Speaker 1: your kids.
Speaker 2: That's a part of the American dream that I can
Speaker 2: get behind.
Speaker 1: It, Yes, exactly, except for maybe the college savings plan
Speaker 1: for your kids. Maybe we switched out for the roth
Speaker 1: Irey instead, But that's what the four one k's for. Yeah,
Speaker 1: well we want you to do both. Yeah, and in
Speaker 1: life is expensive. The other thing to mention, too, Matt,
Speaker 1: is we've all got different dreams, not one static reality
Speaker 1: that we're all shooting for. And I guess my thought
Speaker 1: is that we still live in a country that makes
Speaker 1: our ability to live out our dreams of what our
Speaker 1: individualistic version of that American dream. We live in a
Speaker 1: country that makes it exceedingly possible for a large segment
Speaker 1: of the population. Although of course, not everyone to the
Speaker 1: exact same extent.
Speaker 2: That's true. Yeah, so would you move in order to
Speaker 2: achieve that American dream, Joel? If you didn't, if you
Speaker 2: didn't have.
Speaker 1: It depends on It depends on where I'm being asked
Speaker 1: to move. To a certain extent, we did move for
Speaker 1: its true a couple of years ago. But I bring
Speaker 1: that up because relocating it could significantly drive down the
Speaker 1: price of the most expensive things in your life, like
Speaker 1: housing or insurance, the cost of food, which could meaningfully
Speaker 1: reduce your overall cost of living. We've seen that happen
Speaker 1: more and more in our post pan world, and it's
Speaker 1: helped some folks basically keep like a high flute and
Speaker 1: paying job like a Silicon Valley paycheck while living let's say,
Speaker 1: on a Tennessee budget, which sounds awesome.
Speaker 3: Yeah you remember that.
Speaker 1: I mean that was commonplace for real while there in
Speaker 1: the right after the pandemic hit exactly. But it's like
Speaker 1: Facebook's like, we'll keep employing you. You can live wherever
Speaker 1: you want because the office is closed.
Speaker 2: Except for the fact that it's starting to cut both
Speaker 2: ways working from home geographic arbitrage. Employers are wising up
Speaker 2: because you might be able to keep your high paying
Speaker 2: job while moving to a cheaper location. But your boss
Speaker 2: they might also look for cheaper employee options remotely as well,
Speaker 2: so keep that in mind. It cuts both ways. This
Speaker 2: trend has been happening for a while now, it's growing
Speaker 2: and this isn't just a state to state sort of competition.
Speaker 2: Either employers or you know, or they're hiring less expensive
Speaker 2: employee in other countries as well. I mean, I think
Speaker 2: we're all familiar with just the different call centers that
Speaker 2: are not in the States. So let's just not get
Speaker 2: too comfortable with the maybe abundant job market that we've
Speaker 2: all a lot of folks have been experiencing over the
Speaker 2: past several years. As the job market cools, I think
Speaker 2: it's a good idea to keep your savings stout, make
Speaker 2: sure you've got that emergency fund, but keep your skills
Speaker 2: in top shape as well. Make sure your resume is
Speaker 2: looking good at least know where it is. That way
Speaker 2: you can update it if need be.
Speaker 1: And we have said this multiple times on the show,
Speaker 1: and I think it's important to reiterate Matt that when
Speaker 1: people go into the office, oftentimes it is harder to
Speaker 1: fire that person. I mean I guess if you're going
Speaker 1: to the office and you're just napping all day, then
Speaker 1: it's probably really easy to fire you. But the more
Speaker 1: FaceTime you're able to show to your fellow coworkers and
Speaker 1: to the higher ups, they're more likely you are to
Speaker 1: get a raise to keep your job to you're going
Speaker 1: to be You're not gonna be the first person on
Speaker 1: the shopping block. If you're only on a zoom call
Speaker 1: once a month, there's a higher chance that you are
Speaker 1: not the person who's staying when those job cuts come about.
Speaker 1: So even if you're not required to go into the office,
Speaker 1: you might want to say, yeah, I'm going to do
Speaker 1: it a couple times a week, just because that's good
Speaker 1: for me and securing my future paycheck. There's also a
Speaker 1: downside to job hopping, Matt. There was an article about this,
Speaker 1: basically one of the downside. I don't really thought about
Speaker 1: this that much, but we talk about taking a different
Speaker 1: job to increase your income. That's awesome, But one of
Speaker 1: the downsides potentially is accumulating less in your four oh
Speaker 1: one K. And that's partly because workers tend to cash
Speaker 1: out their retirement accounts when they leave, which don't like
Speaker 1: that we hate that it's awful, But if you quit
Speaker 1: too soon, you might also not reach the vesting requirement.
Speaker 1: Different jobs have different lengths of time before you're able
Speaker 1: to actually get the match that's promised to you. So
Speaker 1: if you leave after a year and a half in
Speaker 1: the vesting period is two years, sorry, you just lost
Speaker 1: all the matching money that your employer was going to
Speaker 1: give you. So we would just say pay attention to
Speaker 1: that and consider your employment timeline accordingly, and if you
Speaker 1: do leave your job, keep your four one K intact please.
Speaker 1: It's the numbers are dismal, Matt, when it comes to
Speaker 1: people leaving their job and then just like rating their
Speaker 1: retirement account like it's a piggy bank. Keep it in
Speaker 1: the four on K with your employer, or roll it
Speaker 1: over into an IRA with one of the low cost
Speaker 1: companies if it's not with one of those those low
Speaker 1: cost companies. Already, we have an article about Capitalize which
Speaker 1: is will help you do those rollovers for free, that
Speaker 1: we'll link to.
Speaker 3: In the show notes.
Speaker 1: But this is a problem, and it's a problem I
Speaker 1: hadn't really thought too much about, Matt. The fact that
Speaker 1: people going to work somewhere else might mean could mean
Speaker 1: kind of some slippage when it comes to the traction
Speaker 1: you're gaining and saving investing for your future.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 2: So while we are covering jobs, let's talk about earning
Speaker 2: more money, which I think most of us are keen on.
Speaker 2: In a way to do that is via the extremely
Speaker 2: underrated skill of emotional intelligence. This isn't like breaking news necessarily,
Speaker 2: but this is informative. There is new research out that
Speaker 2: shows that there is a linear relationship between your EQ,
Speaker 2: so your using emotional intelligence and emotion quotient interchangeably here,
Speaker 2: but that there is a linear relationship between your EQ
Speaker 2: and your salary. People with a higher EQ tend to
Speaker 2: earn almost thirty thousand dollars more per year than folks
Speaker 2: who have a low emotional intelligence. So what should you
Speaker 2: be looking to improve? Evidently four areas make up your EQ,
Speaker 2: and they are I'm going to let's see these out here.
Speaker 2: Self awareness, social awareness, self management, and relationship management. That's
Speaker 2: our relationship doing today, Matt, I think it's doing pretty good.
Speaker 2: How do you think our relationship is doing?
Speaker 1: I feel great about us as friends. Let's promote each other.
Speaker 2: You're not going to be able to improve all these
Speaker 2: areas like overnights instantaneously. I think some certain aspects of
Speaker 2: it are going to be easier for some than others.
Speaker 2: But realizing and improving how it is that you express
Speaker 2: your emotions and how you feel in the workplace, I
Speaker 2: think that can go a long way towards you making
Speaker 2: more money at least over time. And those soft skills
Speaker 2: are they're just as important as the hard ones that
Speaker 2: you've worked years to achieve. Like we focus on the
Speaker 2: degrees and the different skills and certifications, but just how
Speaker 2: it is that we work with folks in the office.
Speaker 2: With folks especially too, with varying in different backgrounds, can
Speaker 2: go a really long way in your ability to manage
Speaker 2: well in order to be a good team player.
Speaker 1: Makes me think of an episode we did a while
Speaker 1: back with Gorik. He talked about the unspoken rules of
Speaker 1: workplace success, and is what he was talking about. So
Speaker 1: much of those unspoken rules were just kind of basic
Speaker 1: EQ sort of emotional intelligence stuff and not letting your
Speaker 1: emotions get out of hand, being able to rain them
Speaker 1: in and keep them in check, being thoughtful about the
Speaker 1: wording that you're using in emails. There's so many little
Speaker 1: small things that people pick up on over time, your bosses,
Speaker 1: your coworkers, and the value of learning how to control
Speaker 1: your temper. For instance, it could add up to thousands
Speaker 1: and thousands of dollars in income where or potentially losing
Speaker 1: your job. I guess if you can't control it at all. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Orskinse scenario.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So it's really really interesting stuff. And Matt, let's talk
Speaker 1: about another workplace trend. People thought the fire movement was hot. Well,
Speaker 1: it turns out that actually the opposite of fire is
Speaker 1: kind of hot right now that more workers are choosing
Speaker 1: to unretire. So they hit their retirement age and they
Speaker 1: were like, cool, I'm done with work, and then they said, wait,
Speaker 1: a couple of years later, maybe I'm ready to get
Speaker 1: back into the workforce. And so some research from Pew
Speaker 1: reports that Americans over seventy five are basically the hottest
Speaker 1: segment of the workforce right now. A decent chuck of
Speaker 1: boomers basically said, I'm gonna quit, but I'm either not
Speaker 1: financially or emotionally ready to completely stop working, So I'm
Speaker 1: going back to the well, I'm going to go get
Speaker 1: a job again. And some of this is actually because
Speaker 1: many older Americans expect to live longer according to Pew, Like,
Speaker 1: so that's a good thing. They're saying, Listen, I'm seventy five,
Speaker 1: but I still feel young, and I think I'm gonna
Speaker 1: live till ninety five, So why not work till I'm
Speaker 1: eighty instead of bagging to work this early and having
Speaker 1: twenty years of no work at all. And I think
Speaker 1: if you like what you do, at least that's a
Speaker 1: good thing. I think the flip side of this, though, Matt,
Speaker 1: for young listeners, which is most of the folks listening
Speaker 1: to how to money, is to save and invest, like
Speaker 1: you're going to retire much earlier than age eighty, so
Speaker 1: not necessarily planning like, oh cool, this is a trend.
Speaker 1: I guess I'm going to work until I'm eighty two,
Speaker 1: because while you might get to do what you want
Speaker 1: to do for as long as you want to do it,
Speaker 1: that's amazing, many older workers also find that that isn't
Speaker 1: the case. So I would just say, like, yeah, hope
Speaker 1: for the best, but plan for bumps in the road,
Speaker 1: and that planning for bumps in the road is investing
Speaker 1: a decent chunk of your income so that you have
Speaker 1: at least optionality when it comes to those later working years,
Speaker 1: and I like the idea of trending back towards working
Speaker 1: at least part time as you get older. There's a
Speaker 1: sense of meaning, there's a social income, right, There's a
Speaker 1: lot of good stuff that comes with work, at least
Speaker 1: if it's work that you're choosing to do on purpose. Totally,
Speaker 1: but you just don't plan on working until you die
Speaker 1: and not invest a dime because exactly that's going to
Speaker 1: leave you.
Speaker 3: With zero choices.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and just the fact too that more folks are
Speaker 2: that they are returning to work. It just kind of
Speaker 2: underlines I think our view of work, which is that
Speaker 2: the ability for you to work and provide value into
Speaker 2: the world, that that in it of itself is fulfilling.
Speaker 2: And if you're able to do something that you find fulfilling,
Speaker 2: oftentimes you are compensated for that. And so it's a
Speaker 2: combination of that. But also I think maybe less emphasis
Speaker 2: was placed, maybe with the boomer generation on some of
Speaker 2: the things outside of work that also bring fulfillment. So
Speaker 2: you remove like this main thing that brought them a
Speaker 2: whole lot of fulfillment. Oh and by the way, a
Speaker 2: lot of money. But then you don't replace that with anything, right, Like,
Speaker 2: there's nothing else that's kind of steps into that void,
Speaker 2: and you kind of start thinking, well, shoot, I don't know,
Speaker 2: I was really good at that. Maybe I'll go back
Speaker 2: at least in a part time role or as a consultant.
Speaker 2: There are different ways to continue to provide that value.
Speaker 2: You're right, this could almost be seen as somewhat of
Speaker 2: like a work addiction. It's like, sure, I quit work,
Speaker 2: and so it turns out I had nothing else to do,
Speaker 2: even though I have enough money. Guess I'll go back
Speaker 2: to work because that is like the square peg fitting
Speaker 2: in the square hole, because it fits perfectly because that's
Speaker 2: what you've crafted over the past thirty forty years. Yeah,
Speaker 2: So it's tough to talk about having a healthy relationship
Speaker 2: to work, because I think that's more than likely. What's
Speaker 2: going on here is the fact that folks they don't
Speaker 2: have it in its right place, ye like, And that's
Speaker 2: that's the kind of I don't know, that balance that
Speaker 2: we are constantly trying to strike when it comes to work,
Speaker 2: finding value in it, but at the same time not
Speaker 2: having it be your everything because there are things outside
Speaker 2: of work, a lot of things. But we got more
Speaker 2: to get to We will eventually get to you talking
Speaker 2: about your unrequited.
Speaker 1: Love of Oasis, I make me saying it.
Speaker 2: Some travel trends. We'll get to that and more right
Speaker 2: after this. All right, Matt, let's keep rolling with this podcast.
Speaker 2: Do it because it's electric. Yes, I am referencing Oasis lyrics.
Speaker 2: Let's get to the ludicrous headline of the week first, though.
Speaker 2: This one comes from the FTC and the Federal Trade Commission,
Speaker 2: and the blog post title on their site was home
Speaker 2: title lock insurance not a lock at all. And you
Speaker 2: and I, Matt, we talk about insurance pretty regularly on
Speaker 2: the show. It's some types of insurance are necessary, like
Speaker 2: car insurance. Often you're legally required to have that. There
Speaker 2: are other types of surance not nearly as good, not
Speaker 2: nearly as necessary, And some other types of insurance even
Speaker 2: depend on what phase of life you're in. Right, so
Speaker 2: you're nineteen listening to this podcast. You don't get married,
Speaker 2: you don't have many kids.
Speaker 1: Chances are term life insurance is completely unnecessary, even though
Speaker 1: it's something we talk about sometimes as being a necessity
Speaker 1: for other people. And then there are other types of
Speaker 1: insurance that are just a bad deal. Basically, all the time.
Speaker 1: Makes me think of extended warranties MATT for your electronics
Speaker 1: items almost always a waste of money. You're throwing it away. Well,
Speaker 1: home title lock insurance, and I use insurance term loosely
Speaker 1: on this one is one of those kinds of insurance
Speaker 1: that is pretty trashy that you should essentially avoid, and
Speaker 1: the FTC put out a warning about.
Speaker 3: It last week.
Speaker 1: And the funny thing is, I said, I'm going to
Speaker 1: use the term insurance loosely. This isn't even really insurance.
Speaker 1: It's not protecting you in the case of someone And
Speaker 1: essentially this is someone pretending to be you stealing the
Speaker 1: deed to you your home, which is an incredibly rare event.
Speaker 1: So I wouldn't fixate on this possibility. But this quote
Speaker 1: unquote insurance offers to notify you after the fact that
Speaker 1: something bad happened to you. It's unhelpful, it's a waste
Speaker 1: of money. Plus, you can check your title for free
Speaker 1: with your estate's records department. Do not pay for these services.
Speaker 3: Ridiculous.
Speaker 2: This is like, it's a misnomer on two fronts because
Speaker 2: it's not insurance and it's also not a lock. Like
Speaker 2: two thirds of what they're selling you is a total
Speaker 2: crap home.
Speaker 1: The home part is right, it does have something to
Speaker 1: do with your exactly, but this is like praying on
Speaker 1: fear right. People are like, steal the deed to my home.
Speaker 1: Let me get this insurance to protect me, and then
Speaker 1: it doesn't protect you in any way foreign fashion.
Speaker 2: It makes me think of the the credit lock stuff
Speaker 2: that the credit buers offer, or like the credit notification
Speaker 2: services that costs folks money every single month, when the
Speaker 2: real quote unquote insurance that can truly prevent the problem
Speaker 2: is totally free, which is actually freezing your credit. It's like,
Speaker 2: I don't mind that it exists. If they want to
Speaker 2: sell this product, that's totally fine, but they need to
Speaker 2: completely bogus product. They should change. If folks want to
Speaker 2: be notified in case something like this, Okay, that's fine,
Speaker 2: if you want to do that. I don't think it's
Speaker 2: a wise use of money. But it's the It's like
Speaker 2: installing a nice lock on your home, right, and you're like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: this is going to prevent people from getting inside, when
Speaker 2: in reality it's actually just an alarm and the door
Speaker 2: isn't locked. It's like, well, okay, and you left the
Speaker 2: windows open. It's like, in reality, the better thing to
Speaker 2: do actually here in this case is just.
Speaker 3: To lock it.
Speaker 2: But it's just the fact that it's called something that
Speaker 2: it's not is the part that really gets under my skin.
Speaker 1: It's misleading. That's what we don't like. It certainly is
Speaker 1: it certainly isn't. And the other thing is lots of
Speaker 1: states and municipalities offer free notifications if you can literally
Speaker 1: sign up for notifications, which is essentially what this is,
Speaker 1: but it costs you money and you might be able
Speaker 1: to get the same service for free. Yeah, this is
Speaker 1: one of those things. Listen to the FTC here, they're
Speaker 1: spot one, and don't throw good money away on a
Speaker 1: product like this.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 1: On the note of insurance, at car insurance costs, they
Speaker 1: continue to skyrocket. They're going through the roof. And while
Speaker 1: price increases are slowing in almost every other sector of
Speaker 1: the economy, we keep talking about inflation coming down. Good news,
Speaker 1: Well that's not the case. We're talking about the car
Speaker 1: insurance segment of the economy. And there's a new report
Speaker 1: from Insurify which finds that car insurance rates are set
Speaker 1: to increase again this year. And they actually said, I
Speaker 1: think in the headline that in some states they're going
Speaker 1: to increase by more than fifty percent, which can you
Speaker 1: imagine like that kind of a jump. It's shocking to people.
Speaker 1: That's crazy, completely shocking. And the average full coverage premium
Speaker 1: is now almost twenty five hundred bucks a year across
Speaker 1: the country.
Speaker 2: That's also crazy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what you pay obviously depends on where you live,
Speaker 1: your driving record, your credit score in most states, and
Speaker 1: some other factors too.
Speaker 2: I guess how new your vehicle is, how much it
Speaker 2: actually costs a replace. I guess that's the other you're
Speaker 2: driving too, if you've got a newer, brand new vehicle,
Speaker 2: which I guess there's a lot of folks that do,
Speaker 2: as opposed to driving fifteen year old clunkers. Yeah, well,
Speaker 2: that's kind of how we like to roll, right exactly.
Speaker 2: Even if I do have the rental company fill my
Speaker 2: car up for me, Joel, I know I'm still and
Speaker 2: just may you're going to keep bringing this one. I
Speaker 2: am going to you time.
Speaker 1: You're never going to let live it down. If Surify
Speaker 1: is essentially projecting these costs are going to continue to
Speaker 1: rise through the end of twenty twenty four, we're not
Speaker 1: going to see a slow down in car insurance rates,
Speaker 1: and then I don't know, Matt, I guess there are
Speaker 1: a few options that people have though right own fewer cars.
Speaker 1: That's one of the things you mentioned. Hey, if you
Speaker 1: own one less car, you knock twenty five hundred bucks
Speaker 1: potentially off your annual car insurance costs. And I know
Speaker 1: that's a big lifestyle change, but for a lot of
Speaker 1: people it might be worth it. What about self insuring more,
Speaker 1: raising your deductible or dropping full coverage if your car
Speaker 1: is old enough and you have enough money in the
Speaker 1: bank to cover replacing that if something were to happen,
Speaker 1: and of course chopping around with other insurance carriers. And
Speaker 1: then if you find out that actually, well, the insurance
Speaker 1: company that I'm currently with, I've got a pretty good
Speaker 1: rate here, even though the rate's gone up, I'm not
Speaker 1: getting anything better elsewhere, Well, maybe ask about other discounts
Speaker 1: that they offer. Are there ways to save even more
Speaker 1: with the company you're with? Just a twenty minute conversation
Speaker 1: on the phone with an agent could mean significant savings.
Speaker 1: There's big money on the table here. When we're talking
Speaker 1: about in an era where rates are going up significantly,
Speaker 1: They're not going up with the same clip from different
Speaker 1: insurance companies, and every insurance company is going to offer
Speaker 1: different quotes based on how they their algorithm. So it's
Speaker 1: certainly worth shopping around, especially in today's environment.
Speaker 3: That's true.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And as those monthly budgets go up because of
Speaker 2: rising prices like the cost of insurance, it's also going
Speaker 2: to mean less demand for travel, which equals more cheap flights.
Speaker 3: On the way Hopper.
Speaker 2: They reported that fares are down eight percent year of
Speaker 2: a year. The New York Times they highlighted the fact
Speaker 2: that we're seeing more deals or seeing more discounts from
Speaker 2: different hotel chains as well. So it's not going to
Speaker 2: make up for those higher car insurance costs, but it's
Speaker 2: at least a bit of a bright spot. That's a
Speaker 2: little bit of a silver lining. Maybe get your car
Speaker 2: and go on a trip. I mean, and this is
Speaker 2: just another example of our economy. The market's returning to
Speaker 2: sort of that pre pan quote unquote normal because folks,
Speaker 2: you know, they had more cash on hand, folks wanted
Speaker 2: to travel more. We remember, like we talked about this
Speaker 2: on the show a couple of years ago, just the
Speaker 2: massive demand for travel as folks had more stimu money,
Speaker 2: more cash in the bank. And what did the airlines do.
Speaker 2: They accommodated for that. They increased the number of flights,
Speaker 2: they expanded their routes. And now there's more supply than
Speaker 2: there is demand. So if you are a traveler, you
Speaker 2: have more of a possibility these days to snag a deal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we're starting to see air airlines actually start
Speaker 1: to reduce some service, starting to correct because they're realizing
Speaker 1: prices are going down. Maybe we need to limit supply
Speaker 1: a little bit. It feels like right now might be
Speaker 1: the sweet spot. Yeah, it might be a good time.
Speaker 1: Except for Matt. When we're talking about travel, you know
Speaker 1: when you probably pay this without blinking, you probably love
Speaker 1: paying baggage fees. Based on recent.
Speaker 2: Information, we flew Southwest and slammed everything into our code
Speaker 2: of pack sees. Okay, yeah, which are great. That thing
Speaker 2: fits right under the seat in front of you.
Speaker 3: Love those things.
Speaker 2: So when I intentionally also make sure to not take
Speaker 2: up luggage over had luggage space for those who have
Speaker 2: larger bags, because I want to make sure that everyone
Speaker 2: I'm trying to contribute to the overall good here. It's
Speaker 2: very conscient. It's some folks that they take their backpacks
Speaker 2: and they throw it up there. Yeah no, no, no, you
Speaker 2: got room under the seat in front of you. So
Speaker 2: I went, what'd you do?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I put it in the overhead of my bag.
Speaker 1: But I also had to check a bag on this
Speaker 1: most recent trip because I was backpacking. I literally had
Speaker 1: one of those bag, big old backpacking backpacks.
Speaker 2: You would you get it, by the way, did you
Speaker 2: read it or borrow it from a friend? No? I
Speaker 2: bought it because I'm going to use it again. Oh
Speaker 2: there you go. Oh look at you.
Speaker 1: So this but from Mari I is a great bag.
Speaker 1: But luggage fees are getting worse. I didn't have to
Speaker 1: pay any fee because I also flew Southwest, but Airlines.
Speaker 1: New stats show the airlines raked in thirty three billion
Speaker 1: dollars in baggage fees in twenty twenty three, which is
Speaker 1: a fifteen percent increase over the year before. So, Matt,
Speaker 1: it just one of those things I think people maybe
Speaker 1: are getting used to when they travel. There's like, I
Speaker 1: guess I'm gonna pay a fee to check a bag,
Speaker 1: But the truth is you don't have to most of
Speaker 1: the time. So I just want people to know that,
Speaker 1: like as these fees become normalized, you can still avoid them.
Speaker 1: Many airlines are actually going to charge you for a
Speaker 1: carry on to these days, which annoys me. But if
Speaker 1: you know the rules, you know the hoops you can
Speaker 1: jump through, you can likely save or avoid that fee
Speaker 1: all together. So it makes you think of when we
Speaker 1: flew Frontier recently and like, hey, if you bring this
Speaker 1: bag that fits specifically in Frontiers little container, you can
Speaker 1: take it on. It counts as a personal item, right
Speaker 1: and so it's.
Speaker 2: A tight fit.
Speaker 1: We packed light and we were able to fit our
Speaker 1: bags inside of there, and we didn't pay any sort
Speaker 1: of fee. But the people in front of us, they
Speaker 1: were at a little too big, just a little too big,
Speaker 1: and guess what they had to pay a hundred bucks each.
Speaker 2: I felt terrible for what.
Speaker 1: A massive increase to the price of your trip.
Speaker 2: So how many times you could turn your car rental
Speaker 2: in with like on an empty tank, right, Like, that's
Speaker 2: five times.
Speaker 1: Right there, exactly. That's less of a bad decision. And
Speaker 1: with the other thing I guess that might help you
Speaker 1: avoid some of those fees is using the right credit card.
Speaker 1: So if you have friends who are like super loyal
Speaker 1: to Delta, or something like that, and if they used
Speaker 1: the Delta card when they booked their their trip, everybody
Speaker 1: who flies with them is able to check a bag
Speaker 1: for free. So I don't know pack lighter or use
Speaker 1: the right credit card, but at least know what the
Speaker 1: fees are and do your best to avoid them. They
Speaker 1: just don't have to be a fee that we blindly
Speaker 1: accept regularly totally.
Speaker 2: Also, we're not sponsored or anything, but we love the
Speaker 2: Codo Pasi Alpa twenty eight liter bag we've talked about.
Speaker 2: We've mentioned them before on the show. Maybe we'll link
Speaker 2: to them in the show notes.
Speaker 3: It's the best.
Speaker 2: But Joel, we mentioned rising fees at ATMs recently. Was
Speaker 2: that last week that we talked about that thinks so well.
Speaker 2: More retailers are charging you if you want cash back
Speaker 2: when you're paying with a debit card these days as well,
Speaker 2: that used to be a way that you could, oh, okay,
Speaker 2: this is the way I get my hands on some cash.
Speaker 2: But according to the CFPB, retailers like the Dollar Store Kroger,
Speaker 2: they're doing this as well. They're charging you when you
Speaker 2: opt for cash back when you are paying with a
Speaker 2: debit card. It's oftentimes still going to be a more
Speaker 2: affordable way to get your hands on some money than
Speaker 2: the average ATM fee that's out there, But just a
Speaker 2: heads up that you might pay anywhere from like fifty
Speaker 2: cents all the way up to three dollars, which makes
Speaker 2: me cringe a little bit to pull out some of
Speaker 2: your money. So I just remember doing this in high school, like, well,
Speaker 2: you literally buy a pack of gum. Oh yeah, in
Speaker 2: order to avoid because back then they weren't really reimbursing
Speaker 2: the different ATM fees as much, so you was this strategy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, buy a pack of gum and ask for twenty back.
Speaker 1: You need twenty forty bucks, like the pack of gum.
Speaker 1: Strategy always worked, and then it felt like the cheapest
Speaker 1: ATM fee of all time.
Speaker 2: Plus you got some juicy fruit to go along with it. No, yeah,
Speaker 2: what's gonna go wrong is that your favorite juicy fruit?
Speaker 3: Juicy fruit was the best.
Speaker 1: I mean it didn't last long, but the flavor was
Speaker 1: Remember you probably got the zebra gum, didn't you?
Speaker 2: Oh, fruits ripe? You know, was right? I was trying
Speaker 2: to think. My friend's always like a big red I
Speaker 2: hated the cinnamon is the worst. What do you think
Speaker 2: about people? Who you send them in toothpaste. It's something
Speaker 2: wrong with them, something wrong with this, I agree.
Speaker 1: Sorry to all you listeners out there who do it,
Speaker 1: feel free to write your angry emails to Matt. Let's
Speaker 1: go back to the well on some of the FTC
Speaker 1: is doing. They issued another warning this week that we
Speaker 1: thought was at least worth mentioning for bitcoin ATMs, which, surprise, surprise, man,
Speaker 1: scammers are using bitcoin ATMs trying to steal people's money.
Speaker 1: This is a new twist on a fairly traditional scam. Basically,
Speaker 1: a scammer tells you that there's bogus information on your
Speaker 1: account that you need to deposit money right away into
Speaker 1: one of these bitcoin ATMs. The money then goes to
Speaker 1: the scammer, never to be seen again. You are out
Speaker 1: whatever money you stuck in there. And so basically we're
Speaker 1: talking about scams raising your fear levels, praying on that feeling.
Speaker 1: If you don't know who's calling you hang up, log
Speaker 1: into your account to see if there's really an issue
Speaker 1: or not. If there's like there's insufficient funds in your
Speaker 1: bank account, well go directly to the website or to
Speaker 1: the app on your phone and see if that's actually true,
Speaker 1: before listening to these crooks and doing what they ask
Speaker 1: you to do.
Speaker 2: Well, you know what you can't get out of an
Speaker 2: atm Joel a penny, and that's because it's a worthless coin.
Speaker 2: A New York Times article this week said that, and
Speaker 2: this is a quote. Few things symbolize our national dysfunction
Speaker 2: more than the inability to stop minting this worthless currency.
Speaker 3: I think that's true.
Speaker 2: This is something that I think a lot of Americans
Speaker 2: can get behind. We totally agree, honestly. To understand the
Speaker 2: full scope of the problem, it's worth reading this entire article,
Speaker 2: but just a few highlights. They noted that this is a.
Speaker 3: Really long article.
Speaker 1: By the way, they hated the pennies so much they
Speaker 1: dropped a lot of ink I attraction.
Speaker 2: I'm a fan of writing about the things you care about.
Speaker 2: But they noted how one hundred dollars worth of pennies
Speaker 2: weighs in at fifty five pounds, giving at least a
Speaker 2: partial indication of the logistical nightmare the annoyances that pennies
Speaker 2: come with.
Speaker 1: Sounds like the solution for a good user pennies is
Speaker 1: as workout equipment than matt Oh.
Speaker 2: That's true that sand water people do all sorts. It
Speaker 2: also costs more than three cents to produce a single
Speaker 2: one cent piece. So we wanted to highlight this because
Speaker 2: our depending on your political background and just all the
Speaker 2: stuff that's going on with our country, right like our nation,
Speaker 2: it might be embroiled in conflicts here we agree with
Speaker 2: foreign and domestic. But this is something that I do
Speaker 2: think we can all get behind.
Speaker 1: Independence, conservatives, liberals, let's all unite in hatred of the penny.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Again, I don't want to prop myself up as some
Speaker 2: sort of elitist Joel, but I don't even pick up
Speaker 2: pennies on the sidewalking now, Like I've gotten to the
Speaker 2: point like it's got to be at least a nickel
Speaker 2: for me to bend over like I need. It needs
Speaker 2: to be the equivalent of five pennies for me to
Speaker 2: reach down there with you. It's too risky. Back to
Speaker 2: the day, dirty nasty germs.
Speaker 1: Back in the day, would a coke costs a nickel
Speaker 1: and and it went up to six cents, like that
Speaker 1: was a big deal, right, and a penny was like
Speaker 1: actually meaningful currency. It served a function, But it doesn't
Speaker 1: serve any function anymore. Nobody cares Canada. I think got
Speaker 1: rid of it eleven or twelve years ago, something like that.
Speaker 1: They ditched their penny, and so basically, if you're making
Speaker 1: a transaction in person, they round up or round down
Speaker 1: and nobody cares because a penny is essentially worthless, or
Speaker 1: if you're making an online transaction, you can still pay
Speaker 1: down to the penny.
Speaker 2: I guess, dude, how great would it be if all
Speaker 2: the prices out there always ended in a zero or
Speaker 2: a five. I feel like it would make life a
Speaker 2: bit easier too, for sure, for multiple reasons.
Speaker 1: Yep, I'm with you. So we're with the New York
Speaker 1: Times on this one. Let's abolish a penny. Let's move
Speaker 1: on with our lives people, Matt. Since we're talking about pricing,
Speaker 1: let's talk about the pricing of tickets to see one
Speaker 1: of the greatest bands in the history of the world.
Speaker 1: Here we go, Oasis, the band that sadly has not
Speaker 1: toured together for fifteen plus years. I want to say, yea,
Speaker 1: the Gallagher brothers. They're lack of friendship has been documented extensively.
Speaker 1: They really didn't like each other for a really long time,
Speaker 1: and I don't know if they actually like each other
Speaker 1: now again, or if they're just they.
Speaker 2: Just need to make a buck.
Speaker 1: They need to make a buck, and they're going to
Speaker 1: go on tour. Well, so I was stoked to hear
Speaker 1: that they are announcing a reunion tour. They haven't actually
Speaker 1: announced a US tour yet. When they do, I will
Speaker 1: at least be considering buying tickets. But the punks at
Speaker 1: Ticketmaster ruin everything, and they botched another rollout of tickets
Speaker 1: that people really want to, really care about, really wanted
Speaker 1: to buy. I don't mind dynamic pricing. We talk about
Speaker 1: that like, hey, it can help basically balance creatniquilibrium between
Speaker 1: supply and demand in so many cases. But Ticketmaster is
Speaker 1: taking dynamic pricing to the next level, ramping up prices
Speaker 1: while people are waiting in the queue buy tickets. So
Speaker 1: you're like, okay, cool, this is what I'm going to
Speaker 1: pay for tickets, and then you get in there, and
Speaker 1: then while you're sitting there, it's almost like a slot
Speaker 1: machine where the numbers are rolling around, but they're only
Speaker 1: going up, costing you more. As Ticketmaster makes you sit
Speaker 1: and wait and hope that you can get those tickets
Speaker 1: in it feels a little bait and switchy. Getting more
Speaker 1: expensive about a second. It's ridiculous, Yes, very bait and switchy.
Speaker 1: I agree, it's infuriating to customers. It's a complete and
Speaker 1: utter shame that getting to see your favorite live music
Speaker 1: has been held hostage by this awful company. I can't
Speaker 1: think of many companies matt that are worse or that
Speaker 1: rival Ticketmaster and just how awful they are. And then
Speaker 1: customers are left with the decision of trying to buy
Speaker 1: directly from the venue, which might allow you to skirt Ticketmaster,
Speaker 1: skipping the show altogether, or holding your nose and handing
Speaker 1: over gobs of cash. Something needs to change here, and
Speaker 1: I know the British authorities are looking at a Ticketmaster
Speaker 1: because of this.
Speaker 2: But same thing here, same side as well. I just
Speaker 2: don't understand how it's something that has continued, Like it's
Speaker 2: crazy when a grocery store groceries chains that have like
Speaker 2: razor thin margins. Was it Albertson's that was going to
Speaker 2: like merge with with Kroger and they got sued And
Speaker 2: it's like, uh, there's plenty of competition out there. Think
Speaker 2: about all the different grocery stores, all the different options,
Speaker 2: plus not to mention our favorite discount is like Aldi,
Speaker 2: but then you got somebody like Ticketmaster. Truly, they are
Speaker 2: effectively operating as a monopoly.
Speaker 3: I agree.
Speaker 2: I think something's got to change soon, and hopefully we'll
Speaker 2: see something a.
Speaker 1: Better change in time for the US ticket release of
Speaker 1: the Oasis tour, because it might. I don't know, because
Speaker 1: I mean I'm pretty sensitive. And if if I can
Speaker 1: get a ticket to go see Oasis for fifty bucks,
Speaker 1: I'm in. But if it's like one twenty, sorry, guys.
Speaker 2: Galer, Yeah, you wouldn't pay one twenty to see one
Speaker 2: of your favorite bands from your childhood.
Speaker 3: Not Nosebleed Seeds. Really, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I do love them though, if you if they came,
Speaker 2: you know, I feel like I missed out on seeing
Speaker 2: YouTube at at the Sphere in Vegas if they If
Speaker 2: Oasis goes to Vegas for the Sphere, I might join you.
Speaker 1: All right, We'll make a out of money. That seems
Speaker 1: like it would be a fun time. Yeah, But the
Speaker 1: only thing would make it better is if hooting the
Speaker 1: Blowfish opened up for Oasis, because that was that would
Speaker 1: like truly be seventh I'd come back to life for me.
Speaker 1: I guess that'd be the equivalent of going to see
Speaker 1: another Third Blind show, which I have seen. That was
Speaker 1: my first, That was my first real concert, and I
Speaker 1: don't think I paid ticket Master prices.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I saw him last year and it
Speaker 3: was awesome.
Speaker 2: But that's gonna be in For this episode. We want
Speaker 2: to give a quick newsletter referral shout out to Matt
Speaker 2: Z and Lori Lori G. Thank you both so much
Speaker 2: for sharing the how to Money newsletter with some of
Speaker 2: your friends. It comes out every Tuesday. It's free, it's
Speaker 2: chock full of helpful personal finance nuggets of wisdom. You
Speaker 2: can sign up for that at how to money dot com.
Speaker 2: Forward Slash Newsletter.
Speaker 1: No Doubt Bud. All right, I hope you guys have
Speaker 1: a great weekend. We'll catch back here on Monday. Until
Speaker 1: next time, Best friends out and best Friends out.
Speaker 3: Hues Electric. That's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2: I probably a friend.
Speaker 3: No no no no no no no no no no
Speaker 3: no no no no. Bom left the cars again.
Speaker 2: Need a little time to wake up the way