WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Trump 2.0, Ghost Jobs, & Insufficient Savings #936 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.960 Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:07.320 today we're talking Trump V two, ghost jobs and insufficient savings. 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:28.280 Personally, Joel, I would have said Trump two point zero. 0:00:28.640 --> 0:00:29.520 That's what everyone's calling it. 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:32.960 That's why don't you didn't you out me? I like 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:33.840 V two as well. 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.040 Okay, but uh no, this says our Friday flight, our 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:40.200 weekly roundup of the different headlines we've come across this week, 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.479 and specifically we're going to talk about how they pertain 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:43.720 to your money. 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:46.400 That's someone else's money. This is all about you. Well, 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:48.959 I'm not infallible with my naming conventions. I will say, 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:50.560 as you just pointed out, Trump two point h would 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:52.839 have been better. Well, I just rolled. 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:54.440 Off the tongue. I think I've heard more folks recently 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:55.000 talking about it. 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:57.840 Well, we'll talk about there have been a flurry, there's 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:00.000 been a flurry of activity this week on the political 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:01.640 front that does impact your money. We'll get to that 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.040 in just a second. Matt. I logged into the back 0:01:04.120 --> 0:01:07.360 end of my mortgage account recently, though, and you know 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:09.480 what it said. On the right hand side. They were 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:14.040 essentially trying to get me to do a cash out refinance, 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:16.520 which would be a terrible idea. 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:18.880 Does not surprise me at all because this is a 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.759 newer mortgage servicer. I'm assuming that purchased your old That's 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.080 right there, you go, dude, that is what they do. 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:26.000 That is the business that they're in. They're all about 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:27.560 trying to get you to take on some of these 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:30.000 additional loan products that pad their bottom line. 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.040 And as anybody out there knows, if you've had your 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.080 mortgage for any length of time, rates have gone up significantly. 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:36.959 A cash out ref would put me in a really, 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.520 really bad financial position. But what it said, like the 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:43.920 marketing efforts said, your cash out resolution paid down debt 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.720 using equity. And they're trying. 0:01:46.440 --> 0:01:49.680 The new year, new you, that's right messaging and branding. 0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:51.400 They're trying to get that, hey, why don't you get 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:53.840 a lumps on a cash in your life to I 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:56.440 don't know, get rid of other crappy debts that might 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:59.720 be worse than your mortgage. What a bad idea that 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:03.320 would be for basically everyone, right to take a three 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.000 percent mortgage, turn it into a seven percent mortgage and 0:02:06.040 --> 0:02:08.160 then yeah, maybe pay down ten thousand dollars worth a 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.200 credit card debt or something like that. But then you've 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.960 got that mortgage debt looming for thirty years. The next 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.239 thirty years, you're probably extending the life of that loan 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:20.640 significantly by doing that cash out refine, I mean cashier refis. 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:22.520 They just make sense for basically no one. 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:24.880 Right, just given the fact that there's a chance that 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.080 we never go back to these I think some folks 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:30.079 are thinking, well, it'll come down at some point. We 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.560 don't know that that is actually going to happen. It 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.480 is yet to be determined those predictions. And we talked 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.200 about this at the time, where you know, real estate 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:42.000 agents mortgage brokers were telling people, well, Mary, the house date, 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.440 the rate, Yeah, it doesn't look like a great suggestion. 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.680 We set it at the time, and I think we 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:50.519 have been proven right, and yeah, will rates could rates 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.400 potentially go down in the coming years, Maybe maybe, but 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.280 it's not like totally could. But we don't know that 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.359 they're going to We don't know, all right, man. 0:02:58.360 --> 0:03:01.560 We saw a return to the Oval office for President Trump, 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:03.560 and I think a lot of folks might be wondering 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.440 how this might impact our economy as a whole. How 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.640 is this going to impact your personal finances? That remains 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.040 to be seen. There's always a whole lot of talk 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.080 and bluster when it comes to President Trump. There's a 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:17.480 litany of things that we can discuss. For instance, the 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.960 new twenty five percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico that 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:23.560 could be implemented as early as next week. 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:24.240 In terris. 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:28.560 They might serve a geopolitical purpose, but they essentially act 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:31.000 as a tax on consumers. 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.839 And raising the price of everyday goods right, whether it's 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.760 auto parts, food, the litany of things. 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.400 It's counter to the free market and the ability for 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.840 companies to produce goods at the absolute lowest price. And again, 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:47.040 I understand it from a geopolitical strategy standpoint, But how 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:49.600 this impacts Americans, we will see. 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.600 How broad those terrorists are. That will also impact how 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:53.160 we feel them. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:56.160 But there certainly is a chance that inflation, which has 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.520 calmed it could potentially be stoked by this policy change. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.200 Were executive orders that could have an impact in the 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:06.200 coming months, like an attempt to curb building restrictions in 0:04:06.320 --> 0:04:10.440 order to increase supply. How that actually will work in reality, 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:11.920 It's it's gonna be hard to discern. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.480 It sounds good on paper, but yeah, well yeah, how 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.280 well for that, Yeah, because that's what we need. 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.320 For instance, when it comes to housing, the largest line 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:22.560 item on everyone's monthly budget, more supply leads to lower prices. 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.560 Building codes are often local. So how is some sort 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:29.840 of you know, yeah, and which is yeah. Everyone who 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:32.240 is a big fan of Trump, of course, is praising 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.080 the stroke of the pen, the phone call, and the 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:37.600 ability to make everyone's lives better here in the States. 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.160 But Dave Chappelle, he actually said it really well on 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.440 Saturday Night Live. He said, whether people voted for. 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:46.400 You or not, everyone is counting on you good luck, 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:50.520 which I appreciate. Always count on Dave Chappelle to inject 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.000 a little bit of common sense into the discourse of 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:53.360 the time. 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:56.160 Yeah, I appreciate Dave, and that well said. Right, Well, 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:58.000 so we are. We're hoping for the best. We always 0:04:58.000 --> 0:04:59.520 hope for the best for our presents, whether you've voted 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.560 for them or not, because we want the best for 0:05:01.760 --> 0:05:04.279 our country and the three hundred and forty million people 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:06.000 inside of it. I'm sure we're gonna have a lot 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:07.599 to talk about in the coming months. Matt on the 0:05:07.640 --> 0:05:12.839 political front and how the political regime change impacts are 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:16.040 our finances, because it will, it will have an impact. 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.000 And hopefully we will pay attention to the headlines that 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:21.680 are actually going to matter, Yeah, and the things that 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:25.159 are actually going to happen, because I'm sure so many 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.760 media companies are like, yeah, strops back in office because 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:29.920 it gives them something to report on this and like 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.880 the craziness that oftentimes comes from the. 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.920 Tweets or truths or whatever it is that Trump is saying, 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:38.080 and you and I will attempt to our best to 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.840 keep it a political and focus on the money stuff. Indeed, 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.240 one thing we have to discuss is the meme coins 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:45.720 that the President and the first Lady launched a head 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.120 of the inauguration. It was kind of a crazy stunt, right, and. 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.040 Politics aside, It doesn't matter where you laying on the spectrum. 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.600 This is ridiculous, and we've kind of trashed meme coins thoroughly, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:59.320 and the cryptocurrency space. We have, i think, given a 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:03.120 lot of caution in our assessment of cryptocurrency and what 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.440 kind of approach normal investors should have towards crypto. And 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:08.960 some folks did make money in this kind of mean 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:12.279 coin bonanza if they bought early. They bought that Trump 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:15.400 coin early, then the cashed out quick. But this is 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.640 just another reminder that the mean coin space is rife 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.560 with grift. The majority of people lose money. And it's 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:24.800 interesting too, Matt, because the crypto space, I think they 0:06:24.839 --> 0:06:28.080 were hoping that a Trump presidency would usher in vibes 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:31.400 of legitimacy, and there has been a lot of talk about, 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.720 you know, bitcoin in particular having a national Bitcoin Strategic 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:37.440 Reserve or something like that. Is that going to be 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:41.280 a boon to some of the more popular, more long 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:45.719 standing cryptocurrencies. Maybe if it happens. Yeah, But just this 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:51.839 little stunt, I guess hasn't really aided in the legitimacy 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:53.799 of crypto. It hasn't started off in a good way. 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:58.120 And the takeaway for individuals listening is don't participate in 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:01.200 the mean coin insanity no matter w Yeah, and I 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.360 will say, be ready to lose your shirt if you yeah. 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:05.400 And again this is I think this is an a 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.560 political statement, but this shouldn't be anything new for folks 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.400 who have like followed what it is that Trump has done, 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:13.560 Like this is like typical behavior for him, right, Like 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:17.280 more recently, it's like the branded it's the dumb Lee 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:19.480 Greenwood bibles that Trump is selling for. 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:20.640 How much was he selling this for? 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:21.200 I don't six. 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.840 But then like the sneakers then, but even before he 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:28.040 was president, would you look great in those? By the way, 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.280 even before he was president? Like the like the Trump 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.400 steaks and the vodka, like this is something that he does. 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:36.840 And so on one hand, it's just it's more of 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:40.240 the same. I will say, I was shocked to see 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.760 the pastor that gave one of the benedictions at the 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:46.200 end of the inaugural address or whatever, he launched. 0:07:46.120 --> 0:07:46.760 A meme coin. 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:52.080 Oh really, yes, that is incredibly disheartening, Like like that 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.280 makes me angry. This is like a pastor, someone who's 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:58.680 supposed to be forsaking worldly riches in a self sacrificial 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:02.320 way to serve other people, and man talk about like 0:08:02.320 --> 0:08:04.120 that made me really upset when I when I heard that. 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.320 It just feels so counter to what someone who is 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:09.440 in ministry or someone who's a pastor that they should 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:09.720 be doing. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.760 Does this mean we're canceling the launch of our mean 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:12.880 coin that we have planned. 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:14.120 No, no, no, we're not ministry. 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.440 But we can do it. We can do it, Okay. 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.160 Something else though, that struck me was the mandate for 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:22.800 government workers to return to the office. Dude, working from home. 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.040 So twenty twenty, we're turning to the office rto. That's 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:28.880 the name of the game now. And I will say 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.760 there's evidence that working from home, at least at the 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.720 federal level hasn't had great results. That is costing the 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:38.840 government therefore us as taxpayers billions of dollars. 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.040 Yeah, there's a report issued kind of towards the end 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:42.720 of last year, I think from one of the senator's 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.160 offices that headlined, you know, just how much less productive 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:49.280 certain government agencies and certain individuals have been and just 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:50.439 how costly that's become. 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:53.480 Yeah, yeah, dude, we're talking especially like given all the 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.400 office space that is sitting empty, like that's real estate, 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.080 is incredibly expensive. And similar to the companies who have 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:01.800 issued returned to off orders, I think the government they 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.640 may not be crying you or river if you end 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:07.120 up quitting over this. It appears that increased efficiency at 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:11.000 the office and a trimm or payroll are simultaneous goals. 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.760 So we think that the smartest employers out there who 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.400 are looking to retain top notch talent will offer more 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.480 of a hybrid or more of a flex approach where 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.000 they do trust their great employees to do their job 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:25.559 wherever they are. But I do think as an employee 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:28.600 you might have to make up difficult choice if going 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:30.959 back into the office, let's say five days a week, 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:32.600 if that's going to be too tough of a pill 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:34.920 to swallow. I think eventually it'll settle out somewhere in 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:36.640 the middle, because I think there had to be this 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.280 sort of hard correct right, Like the pendulum swung so 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.040 far to one side and now I think it's almost 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.160 having to swing hard in the other direction in order 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:47.120 to I don't know for employees, for employers to communicate 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:49.280 too employees that they're taking this a bit more seriously, 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.839 But I think it'll eventually settle somewhere in the middle. 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:54.960 And so much depends on the industry, right, and it 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.560 depends on specific employees too, like how long have they 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.840 been with the company, how well do they know that 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.360 ask how well are they able to communicate with people 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.599 who are also working remotely. But I guess on the 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:07.720 flip side of this, this could impact the government's ability 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:10.120 to hire some of the top talent if some of 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.319 that top talent says, yeah, I'm not coming to the 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.120 office five days a week. I'm not doing that DC 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:20.200 hellish DC commute that I'm imagining is pretty rough, depending 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:22.200 on where you live and how far your commute is. 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:25.319 But I do think that the RTO trend is only 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:27.280 going to increase in the coming months, and that's going 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.040 to impact a lot of how to Money listeners if 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:33.480 their employer is kind of keen on pulling that off too, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.400 all right, Matt, Something else that everyone might want to 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:40.400 consider is rethinking their emergency fund, how much money they 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.800 have stored up in their high yield savings account. MarketWatch 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:47.640 pointed this out that changing economic realities might mean that 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:50.520 you don't have enough money saved up in your bank account. 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.640 You might not have enough liquidity, and instead of the 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:56.600 traditional three to six months that is typically recommended, some 0:10:56.640 --> 0:10:59.679 folks are opting to increase the amount of money they 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.839 have on hand to nine months or even more. And 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:06.320 that is I think a potentially smart move, specifically if 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:10.000 your industry or your particular job is less stable, right, 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.680 So yeah, yeah, if you're in a position that feels 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.200 a little more precarious, like I would want to have 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.200 more cash on hand, that seems like a smart move. 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.040 The average duration of unemployment has actually gone up as well, 0:11:23.240 --> 0:11:25.120 lasting on average five and a half months, So if 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:27.760 you lose your job, you're talking almost six months to 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:30.960 get the next one. So yeah, if that's the case, 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:34.640 three months certainly doesn't seem like quite enough. I guess 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:36.640 I kind of bland somewhere in the middle on this though. 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:38.480 Mat I think that telling people to save up nine 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:41.240 plus months worth of expenses that can feel a little 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:45.079 demoralizing because it's really hard to do and how much 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:47.680 you actually need it really does depend on a variety 0:11:47.720 --> 0:11:50.200 of factors, like are you a two income household, do 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.560 you have a bare bones budget that you could implement 0:11:52.720 --> 0:11:54.920 immediately upon the loss of a job, and how much 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.600 would that actually save you? Because if you're willing to 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:00.120 do that, hey, what looks like three months worth the 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:02.520 normal expenses could be five months worth of bare bones 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:06.079 budget expenses. And ultimately, I think having six months worth 0:12:06.080 --> 0:12:08.800 of any fund it's better than having three. And some 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.000 folks might understandably need or want to save even more. 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:14.640 And I think if you do experience a job loss, 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:17.720 you are going to be thankful that you thought ahead 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.400 of time, that you were planning, and that you had 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.200 a little bit extra on hand, that's true. 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:25.000 Yeah, And as we talked with Katie North about this 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.720 past Wednesday about sabbaticals, you might be able to parlay 0:12:27.760 --> 0:12:30.840 some of those additional funds into a sabbatical where you're 0:12:30.880 --> 0:12:32.440 being a little more introspective there. 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:35.480 Time off losing your job means a severance. If you've 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:38.240 got plenty of savings on hand and then three, five, 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:40.480 six months worth of severance, it's like set. 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.360 Yeah, So, okay, the unemployment rate is low, but that 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.040 doesn't mean that the job market is booming for job 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:48.080 seekers out there, or that hunting for a new gig 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:50.600 is easy. This is a part of why it takes 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:54.160 longer for most average job seekers to find a new gig, 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.480 and part of the difficulty is navigating a slew of 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:02.160 job postings online, many of which are so hiring platform Greenhouse. 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:06.200 They just released an analysis of online job listings and 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.439 they found that one in five are fake listings. And 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:12.720 it's not that the listing itself is an actual scam, 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:15.920 but that there was never actually any hiring activity for 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.280 that listed job. And so you might be wondering why 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:19.800 a company would do such a thing, Why would they 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:21.960 post a position that they don't actually intend to fill. 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:23.640 It does seem sailing well. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.640 It could be their speculation that could be in an 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:30.640 attempt to project growth that's not actually happening. Evidently, some 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:32.360 companies are using it as sort of like a fishing 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.720 line that they keep out permanently in hopes of catching 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:36.560 a rare talent. 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:38.719 But still, what would like a rare fish be man, 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.679 if you got a rare fish just leaving that line out. 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:45.280 Narwhall, I don't know that's a whale though, right, Yeah, 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.960 but it doesn't make it any easier for hard to 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:51.760 reel that in who are looking for work. It's something 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.000 to be aware of that you think it's going to 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:55.600 be easier than you think. In part, I think because 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:57.599 there are so like, oh, everywhere I look, there's a 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.200 job listing. The Internet makes job hunting easy, right, It 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:04.000 makes it look so simple and jobs appear to be plentiful, 0:14:04.040 --> 0:14:05.280 But that is not the case. 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:07.880 Yeah, I think just kind of approving some of those 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.120 job boards. It's not that you can't find a job online, 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:12.600 or that those job listings aren't helpful and can't put 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:14.480 you in the right direction, can't get you at least 0:14:14.480 --> 0:14:16.880 on the right trail in the right scent. But I 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:18.640 think it can get your hopes up when you see 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:20.440 a position that looks awesome and it looks like it 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.440 pays well, and then you never hear back upon reaching 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:26.160 out or applying. That's just kind of the reality of 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.400 you have to kind of like cast your net wide 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.200 on the Internet and you're just hoping for someone to 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.840 respond on the other end. Seeing that, Matt, you mentioned 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:36.680 that these listings are not scams, We'll see that just 0:14:36.720 --> 0:14:39.560 had a piece about job scams, and they're coming in 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.960 to folks via text message, like actual job scams. Yeah, yeah, gotcha. 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.040 These are just fake the ones you talked about. But 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:48.720 now we're talking about actual scammy jobs. What's happening in 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.600 these text messages that the person who's sending you the 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.680 message pretends to be a recruiter who has a solid 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.360 work from home job, and hey, maybe your employer just 0:14:57.400 --> 0:14:59.000 said you got to come back to the office four 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:00.960 days a week and you're like, wait, I don't know. 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.200 Taking me back to twenty twenty, yeah, I like this work. 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:05.360 From home job that this person's texting me about. But 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:07.680 what they're trying to get you to do is to 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:11.080 pay them for like a starter kit. Hey you got 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:12.920 this awesome job, but we have to mail you a 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:14.760 computer and stuff like that, so you need to send 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:16.880 us like seven or eight hundred bucks that's going to 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.760 get this ball rolling. Well, the truth is, no legitimate 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:23.320 employer needs money from you upfront, so be careful, especially 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:27.000 if you're getting any text message about employment. It is 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.640 almost inevitably a scam. Most employers are going to reach 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.160 out via email, right It's like when the irs a 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.920 going to text you either, So be careful the medium 0:15:36.920 --> 0:15:38.880 that's being used. And I think this is also just 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:40.640 a good time out to issue a reminder that the 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.680 majority of jobs come through a good old fashioned networking. 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:46.480 It's not that online job hunting is a complete waste 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:47.720 of time. Again, I think it can put you on 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:50.160 the right sense, but we're still talking about eighty percent, 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.360 only eighty percent of those listings being legit, and we're 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:56.520 talking about the potential for scams as well, So don't 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.240 neglect the tried and true method that has worked for decades. 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:01.960 It really does. So much of the time come down 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:05.000 to who you know, keeping that network active, staying in 0:16:05.000 --> 0:16:07.920 touch with people who might be consequential in your career 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:08.600 moving forward. 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.400 That's right, man, And speaking of networking reminds me a 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.760 friend of the show, Jordan Harbinger, who always talks about 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:15.640 digging the well before you need it, before. 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.760 You're thirsty, man, before you're thirsty. But we've got more 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:18.120 to get to. 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:21.400 We're gonna talk about the direction that rents have been 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:22.680 trending over the past year. 0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:32.560 We'll get to that and more right after this. We 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:35.160 are back. Now it's time, as always, to get to 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:38.600 the ludicrous headline of the week. This one comes from 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:43.560 the Washington Post and WAPO. Yeah. Listener Kathy posted this 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:46.600 in not a fancy neighborhood, it's a media organization that 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:49.040 sound like a fast neighborhood. Listener Kathy posted this in 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.160 the how to Money Facebook group, and if you're not 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:53.360 a member of the how to Money Facebook group, go 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.320 check it out because twelve thousand plus members helping each 0:16:57.320 --> 0:16:59.720 other out with their personal finances. But the title of 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:04.760 this article was toys are a scam gets right to 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:07.080 the point. And maybe we're saying this too late now, 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.240 like that kind of headlight. Maybe we're covering this after 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:13.360 the fact, because Christmas was, after all, about a month ago. Well, 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:14.120 I will say. 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.600 We talked we had a similar story to this prior 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:20.320 to like leading up to Christmas. We're giving folks awarding, 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:21.520 like give them a little heads up. 0:17:21.600 --> 0:17:23.200 This is a news to us well, and you and 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:26.439 I we talked about like some of the changes we 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:28.119 were making to what we were buying our kids this 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.440 Christmas because of the toy overload. Right, but the gist 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:33.919 of this article is that kids ask for toys, we 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.240 buy them, and then those toys don't get played with 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:38.639 very much. Classic and the author they actually make a 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:42.119 distinction which I appreciated, between like bikes and games and 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.720 art supplies versus basically all the other toys out there. 0:17:45.960 --> 0:17:48.560 And I think even my kids got obsessed for a 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:52.000 minute with those surprise toys. It was like a little 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.520 I mean, it's just plastic crap and then they're they're 0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:56.840 inside of like a ball or whatever, and you open 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:58.320 it up and you have no idea what's going to 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.000 be inside, but it's one of like four different things. 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:02.239 It's like a puppy dog, stuffed animal or something like that. Right, 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:05.440 when do you buy these toys? Uh? Target, I guess, Okay, 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:07.800 my parents got some of these for of them they 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:09.800 kind of fed into the It's more about the thrill 0:18:09.840 --> 0:18:12.560 of the hunt, right, yeah, exactly, as opposed to like 0:18:12.640 --> 0:18:15.520 that thing gets tossed aside, it's played with again. So 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.360 I've been there as a parent, and as much as 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:19.800 my kids don't want to hear it, I think there 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.440 is a lot of truth to the claim that toys 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:25.680 are a scam. I think the authors onto something here. 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.600 My kids have too many toys, and some they play 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:32.080 with religiously, but others get used rarely, if ever. And 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:33.960