WEBVTT - Ask HTM - Car Repair Ripoffs, Roth Contribution Limit Confusion, and House Hacking Litigation Mitigation #865 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.120 Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt. 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:05.520 Today we're going to answer some of your listener questions. 0:00:24.520 --> 0:00:27.000 You know what, buddy, And by the ways, there might 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:29.120 be some newer listeners out there who are thinking, how 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:31.640 do I get my voice memo played on the How 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:32.440 to Money podcast? 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:34.320 All you gotta do is record. 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:36.000 That thing on your phone and email it to us 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:37.960 at how to Money pod at gmail dot com. 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:40.800 Send Matt one hundred bucks via Venmo. It does help 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.919 to question a little bit. Now, I'm just kidding. And if, 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:45.959 by the way, whatever question you have, send it over. 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:50.000 Like if it's a question you've been batting around in 0:00:50.000 --> 0:00:51.880 your brain, chances or somebody else has that question, you 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.520 might think, Yep, this is a stupid question. Nobody else 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:56.240 is thinking the same thing. But that's just not true. 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:56.960 You would be wrong. 0:00:57.280 --> 0:00:58.880 And plus it just add so much color. We love 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:01.200 hearing where everybody's from, what they've got going on in 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:03.560 their life. It adds a lot of detail and color 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:05.800 to the different financial topics that we talk about day 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:07.560 in and day out. But we're gonna hear from a 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.840 listener who is looking to manage some of his car 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.080 at maintenance costs how to do that most effectively. Another 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.600 listener is looking for some clarity on her WROTH and 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:21.880 her traditional IRA accounts. Specifically, she's asking about contributional limits. 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:25.000 And we've got someone else who's looking to mitigate some 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:27.880 risk when it comes to house hacking. We'll get to 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:31.000 that as well as additional personal finance topics during our 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:31.920 episode today. 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:33.760 Buddy most deeph All right, well, let's start off looking 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:37.280 forward to it. One interesting personal finance topic that I 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:38.880 wanted to cover, Matt after seeing it in the hod 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:42.200 of Money Facebook group. Listener Devin made a post and 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:44.080 you and I we haven't done a frugal achievement a while, 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:45.960 and so I was like, oh, this is a good 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.160 frugal chief, Matt, and I should bat this one around, 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.960 he asked. And if you're not a if you haven't 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:52.920 signed up for the how of Money Facebook group, please 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:56.280 go join if you're on Facebook, because it's occasionally there's 0:01:56.280 --> 0:01:57.840 silly things like this in there, but most of the 0:01:57.840 --> 0:01:59.680 time it's people helping each other out. And this was 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.640 an hon question I think from Devon truly saying should 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:04.320 I save money in this way? And tell you what 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.400 he asked you, I call this serious as well. 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.079 Yeah, you should say sometimes the questions are more technical, 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:10.000 whereas this one is. 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.440 It's a little more lifestyle based. That's right, that's right. 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:16.200 So his question was essentially, winshow wipers taking them off 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:17.920 my car? Is that frugal or cheap? And he was 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:19.680 basically saying, what if I take them off when I 0:02:19.680 --> 0:02:22.119 know it's not gonna rain, Because even just the sun 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:25.120 beating down on them is wearing at these windshield wipers, 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:27.280 And so guess what if I leave them in the 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.320 garage or maybe maybe even in the house and heated 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:32.919 and cooled, Matthews, windshield wipers are gonna last a whole 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:36.480 lot longer. I don't know what's your take on Devon's fruguler. 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.120 Cheap question, So I think, okay, I'm pretty sure that 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:39.960 you're gonna I know which direction you're gonna go in, 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.640 and so I'm gonna start start out by saying that 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:45.760 I think the knee jerk reaction is that this is 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:47.480 I think most people hear in this are like, man, 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:48.360 that is so cheap. 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.320 Basically everybody in the Facebook group said please don't do that. 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:53.440 But I think the reason that a lot of folks 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.720 would say that is because this is just an unorthodox 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.239 way to save money. And you know what, Joel, we 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:00.560 don't discriminate. We do not hate when it comes to 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:02.400 how does that people spend their money. That is the 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.679 craft beer equivalent. We always ask our guests, hey, what's 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:08.000 one way that is a total waste of money in fact, 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:10.079 but for you, you find a whole lot of joy 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.280 in spending your money this way. And so by that 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.000 same token, I feel I can't go down the path 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.720 of hating on someone's practice of how it is that 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.600 they save money because for that person it just might 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:22.840 be I don't know, it's just one thing, and for 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:26.160 different unique individuals out there, they might really enjoy how 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:27.840 it is that they're able to save a buck. What 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:29.600 I'm saying, I totally know what you're saying, Yeah, and 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:31.560 I agree. I think for a minute there, maybe I've 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:34.680 talked to Smack about plasma donation and I feel bad 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.840 about that now because we have listeners who do that. 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:39.600 They make extra money donating plasma, and I did it 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:41.320 in college, and so it was just like, I think 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.120 I've gotten past a point where I'm willing to do that. 0:03:43.440 --> 0:03:46.120 That doesn't mean that other people can't do it successful. 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.640 If not talk trash about donating plasma on the show. 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:49.160 I feel like I did. I don't know, maybe like 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:51.040 a year ago or something really and then we had 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:51.560 a listener. 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:53.880 We had a listener even write in or maybe maybe 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:55.640 it was an email, and that's how he would pay 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.600 for vacations. Yeah, it's specifically like trips to Disney. They 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:00.880 travel a ton and for him, it's how he's sort 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:02.160 of mentally accounted for it. 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:05.200 He siloed the money that he makes via donating plasma 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:06.840 and that's awesome vacation. And I think, but I think 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.600 I cheapened that a little bit because I was just like, ah, 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.600 I wouldn't do that. Different strikes for different folks, but 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:13.640 these different structure for different folks. I guess this one 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.280 makes me worried about the listeners safety at time. Like 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.200 let's say there is some sort of pop up thunderstorm. 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:21.919 We live in Atlanta. Those happen all the time. What 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:23.840 if you accidentally pop on your Wins show wipers and 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:25.880 they're not there, you have to sit, You're wasting time. 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.520 I guess the savings are so potentially small. I just 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.120 don't know that it makes sense to focus on this 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:33.920 one to take the wind show wipers on and off, 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.520 like depending on how whether checking your phone and stuff 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:37.919 like that. What's so what they're going to be like 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:41.640 today tomorrow? And I get the downside possibilities for forgetting 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.600 your win show wipers are far more severe than the 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.479 potential cost savings that you're gonna accrue. 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:48.159 Yeah, you can always keep him in your car that way. 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:49.760 If it does start to rain, you just hop out 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:50.600 pop them on real quick. 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:52.080 That's true. You know you can do it that way. 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:55.040 But I agree with you ultimately though, Like practically speaking, 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:57.520 I just know that. So I recently changed out the 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.479 wipers on our van. By the way, do they always 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.679 sell them at Costco? I think the micheline ones where 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.560 they don't squeak at all, and which is something that 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:07.000 our kids have been complaining. 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.680 About like for years. I actually I think they. 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:11.760 Rode in y'all's van and they're like, oh, it's so quiet. 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.320 And that's when I realized, Oh, I just need to 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:16.200 get the non cheap whin Scholl wipers that. 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:18.159 They sell at Costco. And honestly, when they're on sale, 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:19.400 they're cheap. They're eight bucks a blade. 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:22.360 Yes, literally, I bought two of them for sixteen bucks. Yeah, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.320 but so I recently changed them out. And what happened, though, 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:27.200 is when you're popping off the old ones, a lot 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:30.160 of times what happens is the little plastic tab that 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:33.120 holds them on breaks. And so this could be an 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.800 instance where Devin ends up actually paying more money because 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:39.400 of the fact that maybe he's getting ready to pop 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:41.599 off a perfectly brand new pair of wipers that he 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:44.240 had on during last week is a rainy week, and 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.040 he's going to wanting to preserve him and he ends 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.279 up breaking a tab. He's up the creek without a paddle. 0:05:48.320 --> 0:05:50.719 Then he's got to go maybe buy a whole other set. Yeah, 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:52.680 And then okay, so here's another So. 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:53.240 We've talked about. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:56.440 We dedicated an entire episode to are you being frugal 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:58.320 or are you being cheap? And one of the things, 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:00.719 like one of the criteria that we encourage folks to 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:04.080 think through was are you being too near sighted? Are 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:05.800 you only looking at the short term as opposed to 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.040 the long term. And so I was picturing myself in 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.800 the situation and I'm like, Okay, I'm driving around my 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:13.080 Winchel wiper arms are up there and they're sitting there 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:14.680 against the glass, and then I pictured that. 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:15.720 I was like, oh, I don't like that. 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:18.000 I don't like the idea of the arms sitting there 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.159 against the glass. And then I thought, what if my 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.719 knee bumps the winchell wiper arm and then that metal 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:26.520 just scratches across the glass of the of the windshield. 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:30.680 And he's worried about having streaks on his windshield from 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:32.760 there being gaps in the rubber because it's not able 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:36.800 to wipe properly. How about permanent scratches on the windshield, 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:38.839 Because here's the thing. You're not going to replace your 0:06:38.880 --> 0:06:41.520 windshield just because it's got some scratches on it. Somebody 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:43.599 like this is going to say, now I just have 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:47.320 to suffer through it. But that's an instance where you're 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.719 trying to pinch some pennies here and there, when ultimately 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:53.839 it's going to potentially cause you much more money or 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:55.040 hardly down the road as well. 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:58.599 Might say some pennies cost you dollars down the line. Yeah, 0:06:58.640 --> 0:07:01.440 you don't hit it perfectly in the way you take 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:03.160 them on and all exactly. And I think it's just 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:03.960 going to add a little. 0:07:03.760 --> 0:07:06.840 Hassle into your life for very little savings. So you're 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.240 super tall. I know you bump the winchell wiper arm 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.040 all the time. I know you're like just climbing in 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.280 for me now your vehicle. It's true. Yeah, So I'm 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:16.560 just gonna say, and you know, not again, not in 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.640 a hating way, but this was cheap in my estimation. 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:20.880 Ultimately, I agree. 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:23.480 I love the creativity in some of the different ways 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:24.720 that folks want to get out there to try to 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:27.520 save some money, But in this way, practically speaking, I 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:29.080 think it's just not going to pan outgain. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:30.800 Maybe too far. All right, Matt, let's mention the beer 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.160 we're having on this episode. This one is called Champion Ground. 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:36.320 It's abourbon barrel aged out with coffee in it from 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:39.560 the good folks over at Jackie. O's really looking forward 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:41.120 to having this one. We'll give our thoughts at the 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.600 end of the episode. But yeah, if you have a 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:46.200 money question for us, please do submit it. The instructions 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:48.400 can be found at how money dot com slash ask mount. 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:50.640 Let's get to the first question for this episode. This 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:54.600 one is about car maintenance and how to budget appropriately. 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.160 Hey guys, this is Rory from Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Thank 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:00.280 you so much for everything you do and for sharing 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.880 your knowledge and expertise so widely via the podcast. That's 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:10.680 super appreciated. My question today is on navigating carbon maintenance costs. 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.560 I'll just raise my hand and say, I'm not that 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:17.320 knowledgeable about cars, and I'm not very handy. I'm certainly 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:20.960 not a mechanic. So when I go into the shop 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:26.400 to get oil changes performed, oftentimes the technician will recommend, 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.800 you know, various sort of maintenance services that be done, 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:33.800 like break fluid flushes, and a recent one was a 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:37.640 rear differential fluid flush. I struggle a little bit because 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:42.880 these these kind of everyday maintenance upkeep items are so expensive. 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.520 So for example, for that break fluid flush, it cost 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:48.720 one hundred and fifty dollars, one hundred and twenty five 0:08:48.760 --> 0:08:53.440 dollars of which was which was labor. And I got 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:56.520 to imagine that this is a pretty straightforward procedure, so 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:58.720 it just seems so expensive. So I'm wondering if you've 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.960 got any tips or advice on how to navigate these 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:06.400 types of costs so that you're not spending you know, 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:08.720 an arm and a leg on them, especially when you're 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.800 just not that handy and not very well equipped to 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.240 do them yourself. Thanks a lot of guys, Bye Joe. 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:15.439 I like how Rory said that he is gonna go 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:17.240 ahead and raise his hand and admit that he's not 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:17.960 super handy. 0:09:18.200 --> 0:09:19.320 I can just picture like a group. 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:21.120 It's like, oh no, don't pick me, I can't change 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:26.920 mo oil. It's being honest with your talents and the capabilities. 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:28.800 That you have. I too, will raise my hand alongside Rory. 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.920 I have friends who are great at car maintenance, and 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.120 I'll you know, pick their brain, ask them questions. Sometimes 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:34.880 Hey I'm hearing the sound, Hey this thing is going 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:36.960 on with the car, and they've always got great advice 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:38.400 or they're like, just take it to your mechanic. And 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.720 that's what I end up doing because I can do 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.679 the most incredibly basic stuff like change my winshow wiper blades. 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:47.679 That's fairly That's about as far as it goes from me, though, 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.320 And so we say, like, first, first things, first, verify 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:54.320 whatever quote you're getting Rory. You know, one way to 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:56.600 do that is to utilize a tool that Kelly Bluebook offers, 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.600 which is going to help you estimate what to repair 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.560 for your given making. My should cost. So Matt I 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.440 looked up what the service that he was talking about 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:07.680 would cost on our twenty thirteen Odyssey, and one hundred 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.600 and fifty bucks seems like a great deal based on 0:10:09.840 --> 0:10:11.439 kind of the numbers that it spit back out for 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.360 a break flush. Yeah, exactly. I think it was supposed 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.360 to be between one hundred and seventy three and two 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:19.200 hundred and twenty three bucks something like that. So one 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:20.920 hundred and fifty bucks, it's like, oh, that's actually not 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.760 that bad. But the tool is really, I think, a 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:25.840 godsend when you're trying to figure out if the quote 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:27.920 that you were given is based in reality or not. 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:29.960 So at least you can see what Kelly Blue Book 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:32.880 says you're likely to pay to either an independent mechanic 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:34.360 or a dealer. They kind of break it up like 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.240 that so you can know, Okay, cool, Wait a second 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:41.080 to see it totally seems like this is not competitive 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.320 with what other mechanics are likely to charge me for 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.760 the same service. I need to check around, call a 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:49.760 couple of other mechanic shops and get quotes, or wait 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:51.680 a second, it looks like gonna get a decent deal here, 0:10:52.040 --> 0:10:55.000 or it's at least within the normal price range. Maybe 0:10:55.000 --> 0:10:56.160 I should just pay the piper. 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:58.760 And I think that should give folks you should feel 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:00.400 at ease once you look something up and if you 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:02.600 can find a price, if you can get a quote 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:04.600 that's within that range, because that's the biggest thing. 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:05.400 It's just not knowing. 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:08.480 It's being there in the lobby at a shop and 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.079 they tell you that it's going to cost as much 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:11.960 and you say, I don't know, well should I do 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:13.760 that or or shouldn't I like, you've got no idea. 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:15.640 You're kind of behold and then you're stuck there and 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.240 oftentimes you probably need to get going, or you need 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:19.640 to make a decision, you got to go to work, 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:21.880 you're about to catch your uber or something like that. 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:24.000 You need some data to help exactly. And so this 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:25.480 is totally something that you can just pull up on 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.120 your phone. But I think that could keep folks from 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:30.360 just feeling taking advantage of it. I think that's what 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:32.840 that's what I hear Rory speaking to, is the fact 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.280 that it's like, well, how am I supposed to know? 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.400 You feel like you just feel so vulnerable there in 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:39.000 the moment, and especially too like. 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.160 How so many people feel with people trying to sell 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:43.000 the financial products, You're like, well, you know better than me. 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:45.079 You're telling me I need this. I guess I should 0:11:45.120 --> 0:11:48.000 pay the big price, whereas a you know, quick little 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.920 search could inform you quite a bit and you might realize, 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.199 wait a second, this is fee laid and not actually 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:54.280 terribly helpful. 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.240 Except I would say that car maintenance is even you're 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:58.640 even more. It feels like you're being held hostage because 0:11:58.640 --> 0:12:01.040 literally your car is somewhere else you or being inconvenienced, 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:02.559 and you are just wanting to move on with life, 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:02.800 so you. 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:04.679 Have less time to figure out yes exactly. 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:06.520 It's a combination of that, and I think it's also 0:12:06.559 --> 0:12:09.200 a combination of feeling that like for a lot of folks, 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:12.600 you're not getting bigger repairs done on your vehicle like 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:14.959 every single year, like every year you get your old changed, right, 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.600 But it's not. It's like every few years that something 0:12:17.640 --> 0:12:19.920 bigger comes along. And I think what that means is 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.400 that given inflation and how we've seen prices go up, 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:25.000 we've seen prices go up on everything, and then let's 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.160 say two three years go by and all of a 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:27.920 sudden you're told it's going to cost you this much, 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:32.840 looking the actual price of a procedure or not a procedure, 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.600 this is a medical this is a car repair. Looking 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:37.520 a fix up like that can just put you at 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:40.120 ease as opposed to feeling like you're just getting older 0:12:40.120 --> 0:12:41.920 and you're like, oh, man, I remember when everything used 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:43.520 to be a whole lot cheaper cars didn't used to 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.880 cost us much to repair a nickel, right, exactly one 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:49.240 thing you mentioned though, so you said, trying to figure 0:12:49.240 --> 0:12:51.440 out whether or not you should go and go see 0:12:51.440 --> 0:12:55.120 an independent repair shop or a dealer. Well, stats show 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:57.439 that having work done at a dealership is going to 0:12:57.520 --> 0:12:59.840 cost you more, and you won't just pay more money, 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:01.880 but you're not going to be as happy with a 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:06.200 quality either. This is according to data from Consumers Checkbook. 0:13:06.679 --> 0:13:09.200 They found that a much higher percentage of folks were 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:13.120 happier with the work done at a locally owned independent shop. 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:16.320 The average hourly rate for labor there. It's also going 0:13:16.400 --> 0:13:18.480 to be more affordable as well. At a dealer it 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:20.920 comes in at two hundred and fifty five dollars versus 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:23.480 one hundred and eighty two dollars an hour at an 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:27.160 independent mechanic. So that's important to keep in mind car stuff, 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:29.959 it's not cheap. But yeah, these stats back up everything 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.600 else that we've heard, everything that I've certainly experienced myself 0:13:33.640 --> 0:13:36.960 over the years about independent shops. It's at least going 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.000 to be less expensive than the name brand dealership alternative 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.560 out there. And you know, just because you go to 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:45.680 one local shop doesn't mean you can't hit up some 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.080 others as well, where you can maybe call around see 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:49.960 what it is that they might charge for the same service, 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:50.559 that kind of thing. 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:53.440 So I needed to get new brake pads and my 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.000 roaters turned recently Matt, and I was like, okay, cool. 0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.440 The number came back hit me in the face. I 0:13:58.480 --> 0:14:00.240 was a little surprised. I was like, wait for all 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.800 four wheels, I think it was five hundred and sixty dollars. 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.160 I was like, that sounds like a lot, And it 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:06.800 was the inflation thing because I hadn't done that in 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:08.240 a long time, and I was like, I swear I 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.280 remember that being like three hundred bucks, sure, and. 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:13.920 So maybe it was two fifty. Maybe I'm remembering ry 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:15.560 it was like two twenty five. So I called my 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:17.160 friend pretty sure it was one hundred and eighty dollars 0:14:17.160 --> 0:14:19.920 to fixes his own cars, and I didn't ask him 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:21.840 to do it for me, although that would have been awesome. 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:23.520 But I was like, does this sound normal to you? 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:25.160 And he's like, yeah, it does. But here, call this 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:26.920 place in this place because they do good work too. 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:29.320 So I called two other places I trusted, and I 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.160 was able to get quotes over the phone, so I 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:32.440 didn't have to go in there and show them the car. 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:34.160 I was like, listen, this is exactly what I'm looking 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.960 to have done to this vehicle, and they had higher quotes. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.200 So I took it to the place that had given 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.360 me the initial quote that I already trusted. And that 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:43.480 I think is a really important part of this conversation too, 0:14:43.520 --> 0:14:45.520 is do you trust your mechanic? Do you think they're 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:48.840 recommending things to you that you don't actually need. If so, 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:50.960 that is a potential problem too, and I think it's 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:53.240 something that maybe people worry about. I don't know how 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:55.720 prevalent it is, but it's something people are like, I 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:58.120 don't know if you need to replace this in such hose, 0:14:58.240 --> 0:14:59.680 but if you say that it needs to happen, I 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.040 guess needs to happen. And so one thing I would 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:04.280 recommend is to ask your mechanic to show you the issue. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.880 Most of them will, and that can be enlightening, right. 0:15:06.960 --> 0:15:09.960 I love laying eyes on the problem, even if I 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.880 don't fully understand how everything's working under the hood or whatever, 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:14.480 if you can point it out to me and show me, hey, 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.480 look at the degradation in this. You can see how 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:19.680 like this products or this part of the car has 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:21.200 worn out over time it needs to be replaced. 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.480 It pushes like a finger through some poes. You're like, oh, buddy, 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:27.040 why don't you just leave that alone? Starts smoking and stuff, 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:29.000 and you're like, I guess I gotta repair it now. 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:31.840 Do whatever you gotta do. But the thing is, it 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:33.520 is often easy for us to see, even if we 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.280 don't know exactly what's going on. Maybe fluid discoloration or 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.280 worn down break pads or a belt that's past its 0:15:38.320 --> 0:15:40.480 prime like those are the things that even the layperson 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:43.520 who doesn't know anything like myself, can kind of understand 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:45.680 when they pointed out to you. And the best mechanics 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:48.560 are typically more than willing to spend a couple minutes 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.640 showing that problem to you and explaining it to you 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:53.160 to put you at ease totally. 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:55.440 Yeah, I think another question to ask too is what 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:58.400 would happen if I don't go through with this maintenance 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:02.360 right now? Yeah, so recently I received a quote. It 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:04.800 was like for some steering arms or like tyrod arm 0:16:05.320 --> 0:16:07.280 bushings or something. It was like the little rubber piece 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:08.840 or plastic piece that goes between it sounds like a 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:11.120 made up thing, I know exactly, but yeah, you get 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:12.840 super curious and say, oh, what does that mean? Like 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:14.920 I would love to see that A because well I 0:16:14.960 --> 0:16:17.960 am curious, but B there's a little bit of accountability there. 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:19.400 It's just like I would love for you to help 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.520 me to understand why this is gonna cost so much. 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:24.840 He showed it to me. I saw the cracks, but 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:26.880 then ask, okay, well, if I don't do this, what 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:27.560 does that mean? 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.480