1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 2 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:05,840 Speaker 1: Matt's and today we're discussing mortgage news, spending trends, and 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: pumpkin spice. That's Rachel. This is our Friday episode, our 4 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: Friday Flight, where we talk about a lot of different 5 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: headlines that were in the news this week and we'd 6 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: like to talk about them, uh specifically and how they 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,480 Speaker 1: pertain to our money, how it affects our personal finances. 8 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: So I'm excited to get to the topics that you mentioned, 9 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: plus a few more. But first, man, this has been 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: the first week of virtual schooling for our kids. Yeah, 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: for a lot of people on the East Coast, which 12 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: led to massive Zoom problems on Monday morning. On Monday morning, 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: nine o'clock hit and Zoom was down. A lot of 14 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,200 Speaker 1: people freaking out. Teachers, school systems, parents, all the all 15 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: like just kind of scrambling essentially to figure out how 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: they're gonna connect one of them. I will say, I 17 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: feel like our teachers did a good job before job. Yeah, 18 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: we were on there early and whatever kids was able 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: to get on, but the other kid was not. And 20 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: before nine o'clock hit, we had already had a message 21 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: out and the teachers were switching over to Google Meat, 22 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: which by the way, in my opinion, is inferior to Zoom. 23 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: Do you have a preference Actually on this side, I 24 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: don't use them enough to really to know, I wouldn't 25 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: say so. I'm just glad Zoom got it back together. 26 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: It seems like it's working really well now. Just a 27 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: full fledged outage Monday morning, but they're you know, back 28 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: to normal by that afternoon totally. Well. I'll say that 29 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: I prefer Zoom because I want to share why, and 30 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: it's specifically because when you're muted, you can just hit 31 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: the space bar to talk. I didn't know that, and 32 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: so my second grader taught me that, I, like, you 33 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: don't have We don't use Zoom all that often, I 34 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: mean very rarely. A lot of the conference calls I 35 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: have been on have been on Google Meat. So yeah, 36 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: I'm not versed when it comes to Zoom. And Eddie 37 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: was like, no, Daddy, all you have to do is 38 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: hit the space bar and it un meets it you talk, 39 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: and so it's like a walkie talkie that are like 40 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: an intercom that is next to then I have to 41 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: find the button on your screen click click, it or 42 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: even do like the fancy command which I was doing before, 43 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: Like yeah, it's like command D or I don't know, 44 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: command you or something like that kind of MutS it 45 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: on on a Mac space farm. Man, that's all you 46 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: need if you're on the next stom call much better boom. 47 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: All right, let's get to our Friday flight map. The 48 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: stories we found interesting this week, and you wanted to 49 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: talk about pumpkin spice. I love them, do you really not? Really? 50 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: It's been years since I have gotten I mean literally 51 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: think it's been years since I've gotten a flavored Starbucks drink. 52 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: But I used to be a fan of the caramel frappuccino, 53 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: like in the summer, you know, they drizzle that caramel 54 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: all over the top. I'm more orange mocha frappuccino over here. 55 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: Of course you are reference lou Steel, but it is 56 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: psl season, man. You know, Halloween decorations and pumpkin spice latte's. 57 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 1: They both feel like that they are being sold a 58 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: little earlier every year. And for the sugar laden coffee drink, 59 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: this past Tuesday was actually the earliest that they have 60 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: been released. But we're not here to necessarily hate on 61 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: pumpkin spice latte. If that's your thing, you know, if 62 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: that's your craft beer equivalent, then enjoy. But like we 63 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: mentioned on Wednesday's episode, if you're picking up expensive coffee 64 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,519 Speaker 1: drinks primarily due to convenience, you are paying high feed. 65 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: This could be one of the ways that your habits 66 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: are are parting you from your hard earned money. Yeah. 67 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays. Actually, 68 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,680 Speaker 1: Like our street in our neighborhood in general, like we're 69 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: basically super into Halloween and are our My street at 70 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,080 Speaker 1: the street I live on, gets crazy. I'm really interesting. 71 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,399 Speaker 1: People know, We've talked about them. I'm interested to see 72 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: what it's gonna be like this year though with COVID, Like, um, 73 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: you know, you wear masks typically with the Halloween costumes, 74 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: so maybe that'll keep things going. But I don't know 75 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: everybody's in ninja exactly. But yeah, I don't really take 76 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: to the fall drinks and pumpkin spice pumpkin in general 77 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: is just not my jam. But I agree, Matt. If 78 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: it's an intentional choice to buy a drink that we love, 79 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: then it's cool. And if not, that we're wasting money, 80 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: we're watching dollars slip away based on convenience spending as 81 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: opposed to something that we've intentionally decided to prioritize in 82 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: our lives. And then you know, the rule of one 83 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: seventy three kind of comes into play here. And that's 84 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: where you take a monthly expense and you multiply it 85 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: by a hundred and seventy three to basically roughly figure 86 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: out how much money you'd have in ten years if 87 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: you invested that money instead. And I think that can 88 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: be a solid exercise for people to determine whether they 89 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: want to prioritize spending on something like pumpkin spice lattes 90 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: or pumpkin flavored beers, even which are also not my jam. 91 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: And you're such a pumpkin hater. I'm like the Scrooge 92 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: of Halloween. I don't love pumpkin, but man like a 93 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: nice pumpkin bread or a pumpkin pie. Like you don't 94 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: like any of that kind of stuff. It's okay, I 95 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: like pumpkin seeds. Uh that's because they don't taste like pumpkin. Yeah, 96 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: it's like I like things that are crunchy and salty exactly. 97 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: It sounds like I bet you also love potata chips. 98 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: I do. That's there, you go, yeah, but now pumpkin 99 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 1: flavor is not. I'm not really into it all right, 100 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: So maybe a quick example to uh, to help illustrate 101 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: the rule of one seventy three for folks. Let's say 102 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: you swing by Starbucks a couple of times a week 103 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: and you spend say five bucks on a pumpkin spice latze. 104 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: That's about how much they cost if you kind of 105 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: go with the medium sized one. And then maybe you 106 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: spend a couple of bucks too on like a bagel. 107 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: I believe that's a Venti sized. No Venti's are like 108 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: six bucks or I don't know that. Yeah, it's either small, medium, 109 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: or large. Like that's how the rest of the world 110 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: works were I don't think they respond to you with 111 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: the counter if you order like that they I think 112 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: they don't know. It just depends how you get. They 113 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: might SnO, actually look at you and be like, that's 114 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,600 Speaker 1: called at all. But you could easily spend say seven 115 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,200 Speaker 1: bucks a visit, right, plus tax and tip, you could 116 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: easily spend fifteen dollars a week. So you do the 117 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:25,520 Speaker 1: math on that, that equals sixty bucks a month. Multiply 118 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: that out by one seventy three, you're looking at over 119 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: ten thousand dollars were you to invest that money right, so, 120 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: your Starbucks habit could be costing you ten thousand dollars 121 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: over the long run, over ten years. And that's not 122 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: to say again, like you said, Jill, it's not something 123 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:41,880 Speaker 1: that we want people to avoid doing. If that's something 124 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: you love, by all means, make sure to do it. 125 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: I mean, we're not going to do the math on 126 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: on the amount of money that we'd be able to 127 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 1: say if we didn't drink beer, because I'm sure it 128 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: would be an incredibly large number. And it's not worth 129 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: it in the end for us to stop. It's worth 130 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: it for us to buy it into have this enjoyment 131 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: in our lives. But we just are wanting to point 132 00:05:57,880 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: out that this is real money, you know, because a 133 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,159 Speaker 1: lot of times people will say, oh, you know, cutting 134 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,560 Speaker 1: out latte, that doesn't really move the needle, But when 135 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: you do the math, it really does move the needle 136 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: to a certain extent. Yeah, And I think, you know, 137 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: personal finance experts have used the latte as kind of 138 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 1: this line of demarcation to a certain extent. I feel 139 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,119 Speaker 1: like that in avocado toast have become like the two 140 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: hot things, or of millennials would stop spending on these things, 141 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: then everyone would be okay and we'd have more money. 142 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: And that's just not true. Like there are much bigger 143 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: issues at play in the financial lives of millennials. But 144 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: it doesn't mean that that mindless spending is okay and 145 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: is a good idea for us to participate in. Especially 146 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 1: you take that mindless spending and then you multiply it 147 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: by other little areas where you spend without even really 148 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,120 Speaker 1: thinking about it, right as those things accumulate and build up, 149 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: like that's where it can seriously have a big impact 150 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: on your money. Yeah, exactly, all right, Matt, let's get 151 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: onto some more stuff. Last week, you and I we 152 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: shared how Fannie Man Freddie Mac we're going to start 153 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: charging lenders in additional half a percent fee on mortgage 154 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: reefis well, psych it's not happening at least for the 155 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: time being, and there's kind of good news and bad 156 00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: news here. The bad news is that the fee is 157 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: going to happen, but it's not actually gonna be implemented 158 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: until December as opposed to September, which is like right 159 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,359 Speaker 1: around the corner, but that fee, at least for the 160 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: time being, is still slated. It happened, which could cost 161 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,160 Speaker 1: the average person who's doing a refinance maybe like an 162 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: extra dollars, which is a lot of money. I think 163 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: the delay of that feed does incentivize people who have 164 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: been thinking about refinancing to actually maybe get off their 165 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: butt and start proceeding quickly so that they can avoid 166 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: that additional fee and also lock in some of the 167 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: incredibly low rates that are out there right now. That's right, 168 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: So that's delayed. That's good news, and a little bit 169 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: more of the good news too that you know that 170 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: extra fee that will not be charged on any refires 171 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: that are for loans that are less than a hundred 172 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: twenty five dollars, which is great, and it also won't 173 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: be charged on home ready and home possible loans either, 174 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: So this is all great for smaller refin amounts as 175 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: well as lower income borrowers. All right, man, let's keep 176 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: talking about mortgages. There's apparently a new form floating around. 177 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: When people are getting a mortgage right now and the 178 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: lender is actually asking the person who's doing the borrowing 179 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: to forsake the possibility of forbearance in the future. Many 180 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: mortgage services are creating this new form that asked borrowers 181 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: to certify that they haven't applied for forbearance for many 182 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: mortgage payments in the past and they have no plans 183 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: to ask for it. You and I'm out. We've talked 184 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: about lenders tightening their standards for borrowers, including requiring more 185 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: money down, scrutinizing your credit score more intently, but signing 186 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: a commitment to avoid seeking forbearance is like this new 187 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,120 Speaker 1: crummy wrinkle in the mortgage game. I don't like seeing 188 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,600 Speaker 1: that they're asking for this essentially hard commitment that you're 189 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: not going to need help at some point. Yeah, yeah, 190 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: I'm actually curious if those forms are going to have 191 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: any teeth, you know, because like you exactly, because you 192 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: can say that like, oh no, I didn't, I wasn't 193 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 1: planning to, but now I am in a situation where 194 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: I need to do that. That's something we'll keep an 195 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 1: eye on. But if you are in the process of 196 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,959 Speaker 1: buying a home, you know, definitely keep an eye out 197 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: for one of those new you know, COVID Nineteam borrower 198 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,319 Speaker 1: certification forms. That's what they're called be sure that you 199 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: understand what you're signing if they are going to make 200 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: you sign it. If I was in that situation, I 201 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: would even want to know ahead of time if a 202 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,839 Speaker 1: document like that was going to be at the closing table. 203 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 1: It might even be worth shopping around with additional lenders 204 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: to ensure that you do have access to those forbearance protections. 205 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: You know, we've seen how handy those protections have been 206 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: for a lot of individuals. I think maybe at the 207 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: beginning of this pandemic, most folks were thinking, oh, I'm 208 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:22,880 Speaker 1: gonna be fine, But we've heard from a lot of 209 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: folks who, you know, they've lost a job or they've 210 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 1: had their you know, their wages cut dramatically, and that 211 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: means they're in a position to where it's a struggle 212 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: to pay their mortgage. I think a lot of folks 213 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: have been surprised that they've been a position, you know, 214 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,079 Speaker 1: where they have needed that forbearance. Yeah, Matt, Well, on 215 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,959 Speaker 1: that note, Uh, a lot of people did experience pay 216 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: cuts in the beginning of the pandemic. But there have 217 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: been some stories floating around this week that pay cut 218 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: restoration is happening, that a lot of the people who 219 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: did take a let's say ten or twenty pay cut 220 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: at their job, they're starting to get their full pay reinstated, 221 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: which is great to see, especially because things are still 222 00:09:54,520 --> 00:09:57,560 Speaker 1: so uncertain in regards to the pandemic. But the economy 223 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,200 Speaker 1: is experiencing a little bit of stability right now, and 224 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: of course employees are excited to see that their company 225 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: is doing okay and has the ability to reinstate that pay, 226 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: and it's so good for their personal bottom line. At 227 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yelp, 228 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:13,319 Speaker 1: which laid off a thousand workers and furloughed more than 229 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: other workers in the spring, well they're bringing back nearly 230 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: all of their furloughed staffers and they are going to 231 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 1: fully restore employee pay and hours. So it's good to see. 232 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: There's so many different examples of companies who are struggling 233 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,320 Speaker 1: mightily and their companies doing better than anticipated. Just kind 234 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:33,640 Speaker 1: of six months into the pandemic and its economic effects, 235 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 1: they're able to kind of start getting back to a 236 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: little bit of normalcy in regards to employee pay. Ye 237 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: another example General motors. They reduce pay of workers with 238 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,319 Speaker 1: a promise to pay that money back with interest by 239 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: spring of one, but they're spending that up. That repayment 240 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: process is happening uh this year. You know, they say 241 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,520 Speaker 1: that they're going to have money back in workers hands 242 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: by the end of this year, which is really cool 243 00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: to see. You know, these moves are are acknowledging that 244 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: it's really tough takeing tenue working full time and not 245 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: received the pay that these individuals signed up for when 246 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: they are hired, you know, especially to given the additional 247 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: responsibilities of parents who are oftentimes facilitating online learning for kids. 248 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: And so hopefully this is a trend we continue to 249 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: see as businesses are getting back on their feet, that 250 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: we are able to see normal pay resume. All right, Matt, 251 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: there was a whole lot more that happened this week, 252 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:25,560 Speaker 1: including some really interesting stats about online shopping. We'll get 253 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 1: to that and more right after this break. All right, Joe, 254 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: we're back from the break, and before we dive into 255 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,679 Speaker 1: some spending trends where we're gonna talk about e commerce, 256 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: a quick update on stimulus checks. You know, we've previously 257 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,480 Speaker 1: mentioned the potential for an additional but that was something 258 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: that would have likely been included in an extension of 259 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: the Cares Acts or the new proposed Heels or Heroes Act. 260 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: But you know, since the Senate isn't scheduled to return 261 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 1: to d C until September, even if a new bill 262 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: does get past, and even if stimulus checks are included, 263 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: it will likely be maybe October before any of us 264 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,719 Speaker 1: see any of those additional stimulus dollars. We wanted to 265 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: mention that because we don't want folks that necessarily, you know, 266 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:13,600 Speaker 1: count on that money. We don't want folks spending that 267 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: money before they actually have it, right, We don't want 268 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: folks to count their chickens before they hatch. I never 269 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: ever count my chickens before they hatch. Never done it, 270 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 1: and I never will. Even when we did have backyard chickens, 271 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: never actually counted those chickens. Well, we never hatched any 272 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,520 Speaker 1: We just we just got the actual chickens from a farm. Well, 273 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: then you wouldn't have to count, didn't We didn't have 274 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 1: a rooster. That's you know, that's how it works. Yeah, 275 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: that's true. That's a good point. Are we gonna go 276 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: birds and bees here with this? Let's do it all right? Yeah? 277 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 1: Well maybe next time I think too, especially when we're 278 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 1: talking about congress or political movement and believing that something 279 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: is going to happen before we actually physically see it 280 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:50,439 Speaker 1: in reality. Um, it's an even better idea to wait 281 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: and to not sort of take any sort of action 282 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: or start spending money that we haven't seen because I 283 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: still think something will happen at some point, but the 284 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 1: timeline is just all screwed up at this point. But 285 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,000 Speaker 1: onto some other news, Matt, let's talk about e commerce 286 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:06,560 Speaker 1: and online spending and e commerce as you would expect 287 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: in a pandemic where we're all essentially staying at home 288 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,040 Speaker 1: a whole lot more. Uh, it's kicking butt. And US 289 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,719 Speaker 1: e commerce sales rose in quarter two, of course, in 290 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: large part due to the fact that we're staying out 291 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 1: of brick and mortar stores a whole lot more than usual. 292 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,080 Speaker 1: But that spiking online sales meant that e commerce grew 293 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: as much in the past three months as it had 294 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: in the previous five years. It's crazy. Yeah, it's like 295 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,320 Speaker 1: an acceleration of this trend that was already happening. But 296 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: it's like one of those fancy teslas where you go 297 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: to zero to sixty and two seconds. Uh, it's just 298 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: it's happening so much quicker than it normally. What e 299 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: commerce has hit ludicrous mode exactly. So, so much of 300 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: that also is due to that kind of the click 301 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: and collect that some of the bigger companies are doing, 302 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: like Target and Walmart allowing you to buy online and 303 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:49,959 Speaker 1: then have an easy pick up in the parking lot. 304 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: That has inflated the the online sales, but it kind 305 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,280 Speaker 1: of crisis in between path for people to use in 306 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,680 Speaker 1: order to grab their goods, and a lot of small 307 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: businesses are setting up on line shops in record numbers 308 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 1: two right now. Shopify is a company that hosts e 309 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: commerce websites. They saw a seventy increase in new online 310 00:14:08,559 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: stores in the second quarter compared to a year earlier. 311 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,959 Speaker 1: So small businesses are rapidly moving to shift and trying 312 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: to take advantage of where customers are moving, which is 313 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: to do more online shopping. Yeah. I saw another story 314 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 1: to where Best Buy they're they're turning like a quarter 315 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: of all of their stores into like these new like 316 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,120 Speaker 1: super shipping hubs or where they're able to accommodate more 317 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: online orders. But you know, just because this is good 318 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,200 Speaker 1: for the economy, and we're seeing e commerce increase. That 319 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: doesn't necessarily mean that that's good for us as individuals 320 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: when it comes to our spending, you know, And so 321 00:14:38,040 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: something interesting to keep in mind is like whether or 322 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: not this trend will continue, because it's you know, yet 323 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: to be seen here in the US. But something that 324 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: is really interesting is that in the UK they have 325 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: seen their e commerce levels remain really high even while 326 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,000 Speaker 1: lockdown efforts have ease and in person sales and commerce 327 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,920 Speaker 1: have returned back to normal levels. You know. Granted, this 328 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: might be due to pent up demand maybe a lot 329 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,760 Speaker 1: of or buy new gear for the for the school year, 330 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: you know, laptops, there's a laptop shortage as well. But 331 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: this could be a bad sign for us as individual savers. 332 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 1: You know, we might find ourselves dramatically overspending as we've 333 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,960 Speaker 1: really gotten used to online ordering and we're doing it more, 334 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: we're addicted, you know, while we resume our in person 335 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: spending as well. It's something for us to look out 336 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:21,760 Speaker 1: for and to monitor, you know, as we do resume 337 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: in person spending. Yeah, we've heard from a lot of 338 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: people to who are a little more bored these days 339 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: and maybe just more likely to emotionally spend online and 340 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 1: there are important ways that you can you know, curb 341 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: some of that unhealthy emotional spending, including unsubscribing from certain 342 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 1: company emails that might trigger you to spend, or you know, 343 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: stop following some people on Instagram who are constantly trying 344 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: to tell you things. And and also, you know, we're 345 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: a big fans amount of instituting like a twenty four 346 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: or a forty eight hour rule. So and when you 347 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: see something that you're interested in buying, you know, put 348 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: it in the cart, but don't actually purchase, and then 349 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: wait at least twenty four hours before you do. Oftentimes 350 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: you'll find that you're desire for that item has cooled 351 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: and you're not gonna follow through with that purchase. And 352 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: I think now more than ever, it's really important to 353 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: kind of institute some of those barriers into our lives 354 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: so that we don't overspend and over consume. Yeah, let's 355 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: talk about faith based health plans. Man. I've been actually 356 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: rolling with one of these, one of these health sharing 357 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: organizations for a few years now for medical coverage for 358 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: my family and for us. Man. It's worked out really great, 359 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: but I also fully understood the limitations of that coverage 360 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,320 Speaker 1: when I signed up. It's not technically or are legally 361 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: insurance like what you can find on healthcare dot gov, 362 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: even though it does behave and perform a lot like insurance. 363 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 1: But the reason that you know that we went with 364 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: one of these plans and that a lot of people 365 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: ought for these health sharing plans over traditional insurance is 366 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: because of the huge cost savings. For us. Man, it's 367 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,720 Speaker 1: at least five a month, and that's actually from a 368 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 1: couple of years ago. I haven't recently gotten health insurance quotes, 369 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: but it could be even more expensive now, which you know, 370 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: means that we would be saving even more money at 371 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,200 Speaker 1: the moment, because health insurance prices don't tend to go 372 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: down sky high, especially if you are self employed. Uh, 373 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: you know, and so that comes though with a trade 374 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,639 Speaker 1: off going with these plans. Uh. It also means that 375 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: you have limited benefits. So for example, you know, we 376 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: pay for wellness visits out of pocket. It's something that 377 00:17:10,840 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: we are aware of, we know about it, and then 378 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: we plan accordingly. I feel like that's when people can 379 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: kind of get into a touch situation, is when they 380 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 1: don't know exactly what it does and doesn't cover. Yeah, 381 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,159 Speaker 1: if you have a health sharing plan, you essentially have 382 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,880 Speaker 1: to be more willing to self insure and pay more 383 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:27,640 Speaker 1: things out of pocket as like an exchange for that 384 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,280 Speaker 1: highly reduced exactly premium amount, right, And I put premiums 385 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,880 Speaker 1: in quotes because they're not really premiums either, because it's 386 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: not real insurance. And there is a new proposal the 387 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: reason we're talking about this, there's a new proposal that 388 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,920 Speaker 1: would allow faith based plans to be considered insurance, which 389 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: means that these monthly contributions, they're not premiums, would get 390 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,479 Speaker 1: a tax break. But that's just it's so interesting to 391 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,360 Speaker 1: me that this is happening because insurance companies are subject 392 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,600 Speaker 1: to state regulation, but health sharing ministries they're allowed to 393 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: exist without this added oversight, in large part to the 394 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: fact that they're not selling health insurance. So this feels 395 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: kind of ill conceived. It's almost trying to bring something 396 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,120 Speaker 1: into the fold that is purposefully supposed to be set 397 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,879 Speaker 1: apart and completely different, to provide a unique service for 398 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: people that want something different than traditional health insurance. Yeah, 399 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:14,359 Speaker 1: it's pretty weird, man. You know. We we even served 400 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: well by our health sharing plan. I even wrote an 401 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: article about it over on the site that will link 402 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: to but they don't work well for everyone, you know, 403 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: like folks with pre existing conditions, they likely shouldn't even 404 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: consider them. But it will be interesting to see, you know, 405 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: how things do pan out, because if we have the 406 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: ability to deduct our monthly contributions like insurance premiums, like, 407 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna be all for that. However, that might set 408 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: these plans up to be regulated like traditional insurance plans, 409 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: which they plainly claim not to be. So I think 410 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: a lot of the nuance of this discussion will come 411 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: down to whether or not health sharing plans just get 412 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,280 Speaker 1: the deduction or if they are officially labeled as insurance 413 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: because they you know, like we said, they're clearly not insurance. 414 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,879 Speaker 1: But I could see if they wanted to pass some 415 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: of those tax deductions onto health sharing customers. So, yeah, 416 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: it's interesting. I definitely gonna be following along, and yeah, 417 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: if there's any real updates there, we'll make sure to 418 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: keep folks posted. Yeah for sure. All right, Matt, let's 419 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: to lastly, let's talk about credit cards, and our advice 420 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,400 Speaker 1: has always been to not cancel credit cards whenever possible, 421 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: because it adversely affects your credit score and your credit 422 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,159 Speaker 1: score obviously has this wide ranging impact. So keeping that 423 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 1: credit score high is just a huge part of having 424 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: you know, solid personal finances. And it's really important to 425 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,199 Speaker 1: note now that you should be attempting to keep your 426 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: credit card lines, all of them open. And I think 427 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:32,400 Speaker 1: credit card holders are facing like a specific challenge right now. 428 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: As Let's say you have a credit card that the 429 00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:40,359 Speaker 1: rewards are mostly bent towards travel, You're not of that 430 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: these days, you're not and you're like, I'm just not 431 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,399 Speaker 1: getting enough usage out of this card. It doesn't make 432 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: sense for me to have this card that has an 433 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: annual fee when I'm not traveling and I'm not using 434 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:50,880 Speaker 1: those rewards, and I'm not trying to rack up more 435 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,160 Speaker 1: travel rewards. And maybe you are. Maybe you're still using 436 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:54,639 Speaker 1: it and you're trying to save a up for travel 437 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,440 Speaker 1: in two but you're you're in all likelihood not going 438 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,919 Speaker 1: anytime soon, and you might attempted to cancel that card, 439 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 1: but that is not the best move for you. And 440 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,159 Speaker 1: cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which typically specialized in 441 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,719 Speaker 1: travel rewards, well, they've actually stepped up their game, allowing 442 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: grocery and gas station purchases to qualify for the three 443 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,240 Speaker 1: annual travel credit through the end of this year, and 444 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: real war points are worth more on grocery, dining, and 445 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:23,200 Speaker 1: home improvement purchases. So these cards are are catering their 446 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:26,359 Speaker 1: rewards to how people are currently spending, and that helps 447 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: make that card more relevant to how you're spending. It 448 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: makes you more likely to continue to use it. But 449 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: at the same time, if it's not working for you, you 450 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: you might not want to actually fully cancel it all 451 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 1: the way. And Jeel, what we're talking about specific credit cards, 452 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:40,480 Speaker 1: A quick note on grocery rewards. You know, if you 453 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,719 Speaker 1: found yourself spending more at the grocery store because you're 454 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: eating ls, the best card is still the Amex Blue 455 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: Cash Preferred Card. This is one that we've been using 456 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 1: NonStop lately. You get six percent back at the grocery 457 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: store and not only just on groceries, but on streaming 458 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 1: services as well. And you know, for better or worse, 459 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: more people are doing that as well. Their top tier 460 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,239 Speaker 1: categories that people are thinking about right seriously, And so 461 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,159 Speaker 1: if you don't feel like you're getting value, you know 462 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: out of your annual fee credit card, uh, we want 463 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: you to know too that you can call and ask 464 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: for a lower annual fee or a waiver of the fee. 465 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: For this year, reports showed that almost three quarters of 466 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:16,760 Speaker 1: people who have called and requested something similar have received 467 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,639 Speaker 1: a break. Another option, you could also ask to downgrade 468 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,280 Speaker 1: your card to another card that your credit card company 469 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: offers that doesn't have an annual fee. This won't hurt 470 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: your credit score and allows you to avoid those annual 471 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: fees for a card that isn't working for you where 472 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: you aren't receiving those benefits. And by the way, when 473 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,119 Speaker 1: you downgrade your your credit card, this this keeps your 474 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: score healthy in two ways. One because it's not a 475 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,399 Speaker 1: hard inquiry and so you're not asking for new credit 476 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: and to that your your history of credit. When you 477 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: downgrade a card, you're able to keep the previous history 478 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:51,119 Speaker 1: that you had with that card, and collectively that's of 479 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 1: your credit score. So that makes a pretty big difference. Yeah, 480 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 1: and if you decided instead to cancel your cutting the 481 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: history off right then and there, and you're also you know, 482 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,320 Speaker 1: low ring the utilization rate, so it's a it's a 483 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: big difference between canceling a card and downgrading. And we 484 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: would recommend like, yeah, either calling in asking for that 485 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: waiver of a fee or or downgrading, but do not 486 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: cancel the card. I know a lot of people were 487 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,760 Speaker 1: thinking about that now, don't do it, well unless you 488 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: have a spending problem. Yes, that's true. That's a good 489 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: Point's hard to dive. It's hard to dive into all 490 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,119 Speaker 1: the nuances here. But you know, if you want to 491 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: keep your credit score really healthy these days, which most 492 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 1: folks want to do, but especially if you're looking to 493 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: you know, refly or your home buyer, you want to 494 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,400 Speaker 1: keep your score in a good spot. But if you're 495 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 1: having issues with credit card spending, then you know that 496 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: might be a step that you do need to take 497 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: to remove that temptation from you. That's a good point. 498 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 1: That's a good point. All right, that's gonna do it 499 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: for this episode, Matt Well. I've shown us for this 500 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: episode up on our website at how to Money dot com, 501 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: and if you haven't already, we would be incredibly thankful 502 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,480 Speaker 1: if you were to leave us a review over at 503 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts. Make sure you subscribe wherever it is that 504 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts that keeps our show going and 505 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: growing as well. So Joel, that's gonna be a buddy 506 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: until next time. Best friends out, best friends out m