1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,759
Speaker 1: Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt.

2
00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:06,000
Speaker 1: Today we're discussing quitting your job, my curl, weddings, and

3
00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:27,480
Speaker 1: a hefty credit card sign up bonus. That's right, Joel.

4
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,040
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about those stories plus a bunch more

5
00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 1: on our Friday flight. That's our Friday episode where we

6
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:34,920
Speaker 1: talk about the different articles that we came across this

7
00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,480
Speaker 1: week and how they pertained to our money. But first, man,

8
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:39,440
Speaker 1: had I ever shared that we spent some of our

9
00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,920
Speaker 1: stimmy money on this kitchen aid mixer back in the spring.

10
00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,320
Speaker 1: I know you got your your fancy new gravel bike,

11
00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,160
Speaker 1: and well, yeah, you've been enjoying that, so so that was, Yeah,

12
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,120
Speaker 1: that was my splurge. I guess well, last year, like

13
00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,159
Speaker 1: Kate was kind of I in a new mixer, right,

14
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,920
Speaker 1: so everybody got into making breads. Kate's been making breads

15
00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,720
Speaker 1: for years. She's way ahead of the curve doing it before.

16
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,200
Speaker 1: It was but the old mixer that she she had,

17
00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: like her grandmother's mixer. It was an old kitchen aid

18
00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 1: mixer and it just wasn't doing what she needed it

19
00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:10,959
Speaker 1: to do. I'd actually repaired it multiple times. A bread joke, right,

20
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,120
Speaker 1: Oh man, I'm so dad and I didn't even realize it.

21
00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:19,080
Speaker 1: But even after multiple repairs, Uh, it continues to break

22
00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,880
Speaker 1: because she's just like overloading it, honestly with the amount

23
00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 1: of dough that she she puts in it. Uh. And so, yeah,

24
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,760
Speaker 1: we got one of these like super nice, like massive

25
00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,399
Speaker 1: Kitchen Aid mixers. And you wouldn't be surprised that a

26
00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,759
Speaker 1: few months after we got it, a little mailer showed

27
00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,360
Speaker 1: up in the mailbox saying that we should sign up

28
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,280
Speaker 1: for Kitchen Aids Extended Service Warranty Plan. And I think

29
00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:40,800
Speaker 1: a lot of folks might see that and think, yeah,

30
00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,039
Speaker 1: we just dropped. I mean, it was like around five

31
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,679
Speaker 1: bucks that we dropped. This was expensive, high end mixer,

32
00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,240
Speaker 1: and some folks would say, yeah, we we gotta protect

33
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:51,320
Speaker 1: that thing. Uh. But now we were talking about it,

34
00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:52,800
Speaker 1: and I was explaining why we didn't need to do that.

35
00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,360
Speaker 1: First of all, you've got the manufacturer's warranty, right, and

36
00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,040
Speaker 1: so literally the first year you pay for on that

37
00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,440
Speaker 1: service plan, it's just money that you're paying that you're

38
00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,720
Speaker 1: not receiving any real benefit from. Secondly, the manufacturer's warranty

39
00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,680
Speaker 1: gets extended by the credit card that we put it

40
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,399
Speaker 1: on a lot of credit cards have that as a benefit. Yeah, Yeah,

41
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,040
Speaker 1: that additional year of warranty is definitely one of the

42
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,120
Speaker 1: perks of paying with the credit card exactly. And I mean,

43
00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:14,840
Speaker 1: and then you know, as we're talking about it too,

44
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,320
Speaker 1: we just can't ensure all the things in our lives

45
00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,760
Speaker 1: right Oftentimes we just need to self insure by just

46
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,040
Speaker 1: having money on hand, whether that's in an emergency fund

47
00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,160
Speaker 1: or just basically taking the risk. But hey, there's a

48
00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,239
Speaker 1: chance this might break, and if so, we're going to

49
00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,560
Speaker 1: see how much it's worth it to us in order

50
00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,160
Speaker 1: to fix that thing. But obviously, having a quality product

51
00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:34,440
Speaker 1: like like they make, we're not expecting it to break

52
00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,560
Speaker 1: anytime soon. The one that we had been using. I mean,

53
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,080
Speaker 1: it's been around for you know, thirty forty fifty years,

54
00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:40,960
Speaker 1: and I know they say that they don't make them

55
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:42,520
Speaker 1: like they used to, but we're not expecting this thing

56
00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:44,680
Speaker 1: to go out anytime soon. Just putting that out there

57
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,680
Speaker 1: because there are a lot of different options for folks

58
00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,839
Speaker 1: to consider other than going ahead and writing that check.

59
00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:51,400
Speaker 1: For Oh, let's go ahead and do five years at

60
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,640
Speaker 1: a time, because we're it's even less per year if

61
00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,240
Speaker 1: we were to do that as opposed to you know,

62
00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,240
Speaker 1: just a single year. Yeah. I remember a while back

63
00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,400
Speaker 1: we did an episode called You're Probably Underinsured, Why You're

64
00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,720
Speaker 1: Probably Untured? And there are definitely a few types of

65
00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,679
Speaker 1: insurance that people really need and and some types of

66
00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,960
Speaker 1: insurance and maybe people have that they need more of.

67
00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,040
Speaker 1: But one of the types of insurance that we talked

68
00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,240
Speaker 1: about in that episode that is the worst kind of

69
00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,560
Speaker 1: insurance to buy is an extended service warranty. And so yeah,

70
00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: that the numbers just don't work most of the time.

71
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,440
Speaker 1: Finding those simple ways, like which credit card you pay

72
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:24,240
Speaker 1: with to extend the warranty that you're already given through

73
00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:26,160
Speaker 1: the manufacturer is the way to go. And it's not

74
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,320
Speaker 1: that nobody ever uses the service warranty. Some people get

75
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,920
Speaker 1: value out of it, but it's a small thing. And

76
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:35,920
Speaker 1: like two years later we totally put that thing and

77
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,040
Speaker 1: it would have costed us a hundred bucks. Yeah, and

78
00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,240
Speaker 1: in kudos to those people, like they got lucky, I'd say.

79
00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,760
Speaker 1: And and most people, though, should be foregoing that additional

80
00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:47,840
Speaker 1: manufacturers warranty because they're never going to see it return

81
00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:49,600
Speaker 1: on it. And yeah, it's better just to like you said,

82
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:51,920
Speaker 1: self insure keeps some cash on hand, that's right, and

83
00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,080
Speaker 1: just take care of your things as well. Like, we're

84
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,160
Speaker 1: definitely gonna make sure we don't overload this mixer, but

85
00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,240
Speaker 1: I don't even think it's possible, given how big this

86
00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:01,720
Speaker 1: thing is. Well, I hope that this mixer is able

87
00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,760
Speaker 1: to be handed down to your kids, just like you know,

88
00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,560
Speaker 1: Kate's mixer was from her grandma to generations. Yeah, exactly. Yeah,

89
00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,040
Speaker 1: so let's let's keep moving, Joel. You know you officially

90
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,920
Speaker 1: stepped away from your full time day job in radio

91
00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,800
Speaker 1: earlier this year, right, kind of been transitioning out of

92
00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,080
Speaker 1: it there for a while. Well, dude, last weekend I

93
00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,000
Speaker 1: shot what will likely be my last wedding that I

94
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,320
Speaker 1: will ever cover. Yeah, thank you, A little little applause

95
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,360
Speaker 1: from you there. It's a little surreal, you know, fully

96
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,520
Speaker 1: making that transition to a new job, a new career,

97
00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:32,440
Speaker 1: but you know, I've definitely been ready for it. Yeah,

98
00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:35,440
Speaker 1: you haven't really been doing weddings for quite some time.

99
00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:37,440
Speaker 1: I have, like a couple that you lined up a

100
00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:39,360
Speaker 1: long time ago. So this was the last one. So

101
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,880
Speaker 1: we really have been only focusing on how the money

102
00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:45,760
Speaker 1: for for quite some time now. Um, But yeah, this

103
00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:47,920
Speaker 1: was just kind of the last remnant of the weddings

104
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,039
Speaker 1: that you booked. And man, I'm I'm glad for you

105
00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,000
Speaker 1: because it is nice just to kind of have be

106
00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,839
Speaker 1: able to be like solely focused on one thing. And yes,

107
00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 1: well I still got to get the editing done, so

108
00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:00,520
Speaker 1: it's still like on my mind of little bit, but

109
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,719
Speaker 1: this is actually like being there in person, right. But

110
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,480
Speaker 1: you know, not only does this make sense for me,

111
00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,359
Speaker 1: like on a personal level, it's something else wanting to

112
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,280
Speaker 1: get out of, but from like a financial in a

113
00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:11,480
Speaker 1: business standpoint as well. You know, it's it's no surprise

114
00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 1: that the wedding and events industry took a huge hit

115
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,200
Speaker 1: last year. Uh, but you know, some very small weddings

116
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:18,839
Speaker 1: they still carried on. And then with that, it's pretty

117
00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,080
Speaker 1: clear now that micro weddings are here to stay. But men,

118
00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,400
Speaker 1: even before the pandemic, the industry started shrinking. Based on

119
00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,960
Speaker 1: the Knots Annual Real Weddings Survey, the average cost of

120
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:33,040
Speaker 1: of weddings has been dropping since uh, and that's when

121
00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,320
Speaker 1: like a little over thirty five thousand dollars that's what

122
00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,240
Speaker 1: most folks were paying for their weddings on average, and

123
00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,520
Speaker 1: guest counts have actually been going down evidently two since

124
00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,200
Speaker 1: two thousand and seven, which is ironically enough, when Kayt

125
00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:44,560
Speaker 1: and I got married, and I feel like we were

126
00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:46,920
Speaker 1: at the peak of like big weddings back when we

127
00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,080
Speaker 1: got married as babies. It's like I'm inviting everyone I've

128
00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,599
Speaker 1: ever met in my life. That's totally true. I mean literally,

129
00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,440
Speaker 1: just this seems like everybody we knew in college was

130
00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:56,839
Speaker 1: invited because your mom is like, Matthew, aren't you gonna

131
00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:01,760
Speaker 1: invite your third cousin who you met that one time? Uh?

132
00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,400
Speaker 1: But yeah, I mentioned that because I think this is

133
00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,080
Speaker 1: a good trend for couples who are thinking about getting

134
00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,599
Speaker 1: married and and you know, throwing the most expensive party

135
00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,320
Speaker 1: of their lives. Hopefully this is encouraging for them to

136
00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,760
Speaker 1: know that they don't have to spend a fortune to

137
00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,840
Speaker 1: get married. Uh. I think folks should consider a small

138
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,760
Speaker 1: backyard wedding with just their you know, closest friends and

139
00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,400
Speaker 1: their families. I definitely think there is a trend away

140
00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,880
Speaker 1: from those very large and extravagant weddings. There will always

141
00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,120
Speaker 1: be really nice weddings out there, don't get me wrong,

142
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,240
Speaker 1: but as far as that being kind of the acceptable

143
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:32,880
Speaker 1: way to you know, throw a wedding. I feel like

144
00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:34,920
Speaker 1: those days might be in the rear view mirror. Yeah,

145
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:36,720
Speaker 1: I think it's important for us to, like we've said

146
00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:38,760
Speaker 1: throughout this process, for us to be able to take

147
00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,440
Speaker 1: some positive change in our life away from this last

148
00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,760
Speaker 1: year and a half almost of of COVID, And this

149
00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,040
Speaker 1: is one of those positive changes. I think where people

150
00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:50,279
Speaker 1: are gonna have smaller weddings, spend less money on weddings.

151
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:52,159
Speaker 1: Weddings are great and their day that they should be

152
00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,440
Speaker 1: celebrated with some close people that you care about, but

153
00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:56,279
Speaker 1: at the same time, they don't need to cost a fortune. Yeah,

154
00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:57,880
Speaker 1: I think a lot of those weddings were that where

155
00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,359
Speaker 1: the folks still have them, and that was in the

156
00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,560
Speaker 1: sizes were reduced down too, just a couple of dozen folks.

157
00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,200
Speaker 1: Those folks were probably really happy with how they actually

158
00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,400
Speaker 1: end up, you know, painting out. So this actually makes

159
00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,799
Speaker 1: me wonder too. I've got like ten to fifteen dollars

160
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,840
Speaker 1: worth of photography gear uh and now the question, yeah,

161
00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:14,000
Speaker 1: like what do I do with it? I mean, is

162
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,280
Speaker 1: it eBay? But I'm also thinking through how I don't

163
00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,560
Speaker 1: necessarily want to have to go through the ordeal like

164
00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,920
Speaker 1: shipping something. But I like I know I would get

165
00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:23,040
Speaker 1: more money by listening on eBay. I just need to

166
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,160
Speaker 1: make sure I'm not being lazy and just posted like

167
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:29,280
Speaker 1: in a neighborhood Facebook group where I'm getting like pennies

168
00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,000
Speaker 1: on the dollar for right. But of course I ain't

169
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,239
Speaker 1: gonna keep some basic geared because I still enjoy shooting,

170
00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,760
Speaker 1: but just I don't need all the fancy lighting equipment

171
00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,920
Speaker 1: and all those really expensive lenses. There you go, Well,

172
00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:39,880
Speaker 1: I hope you're able to sell it and make decent

173
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,120
Speaker 1: money from it, because yeah, you just quit weddings, man, Like,

174
00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:45,720
Speaker 1: let us think in that's pretty dope. That's crazy. And

175
00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,840
Speaker 1: on a related note, Matt, let's talk about jobs overall,

176
00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,600
Speaker 1: because interestingly enough, it's not just you quitting your job.

177
00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:52,720
Speaker 1: A lot of people, a lot of folks are jobs

178
00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:54,720
Speaker 1: now are thinking about it at least. Yeah, it's it's

179
00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,960
Speaker 1: been called the Great Resignation, and yeah, people are quitting

180
00:07:57,960 --> 00:07:59,800
Speaker 1: their jobs in record numbers. There are a few different

181
00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:02,760
Speaker 1: races that have actually been conducted recently showing that somewhere

182
00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,280
Speaker 1: between workers are considering handing in their two week notice

183
00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,600
Speaker 1: and quitting their job. Right now. That's a huge percent

184
00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,040
Speaker 1: of the population. And to think like one and three

185
00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:14,080
Speaker 1: people like your office mates, they might not be there

186
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,200
Speaker 1: much longer. They're kind of sitting there staring at the ceiling.

187
00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,440
Speaker 1: Where can I go next? And yeah, that that raises

188
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,960
Speaker 1: the question like is this a good thing? And well,

189
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,040
Speaker 1: it depends, like what perspective you're taking. I think, you know,

190
00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,600
Speaker 1: it's only smart to quit your job if you've got

191
00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:30,640
Speaker 1: something else lined up, or if you have plenty of

192
00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,560
Speaker 1: savings on hand to be able to absorb a few

193
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,680
Speaker 1: jobless months. But this could be great news for lots

194
00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:38,960
Speaker 1: of folks I think who have had a lot of

195
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,200
Speaker 1: time to think long and hard about what they want

196
00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,880
Speaker 1: their life and their work work life to look like. Right,

197
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,640
Speaker 1: there's just, like we said, a lot of lessons that

198
00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:49,760
Speaker 1: we can gain from the past here and half of COVID,

199
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,200
Speaker 1: and people should be making concrete changes in their lives

200
00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,559
Speaker 1: at this point based on what we've learned. I think maybe,

201
00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:57,240
Speaker 1: you know, if we were making a change back in

202
00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,520
Speaker 1: like June of last year, it's one thing we're making

203
00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:03,560
Speaker 1: a maybe a fearful decision based on the current circumstances.

204
00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:05,679
Speaker 1: But now there's a lot of emotions that play when

205
00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,360
Speaker 1: you're in the you know, smack middle of a pandemic.

206
00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,079
Speaker 1: Yeah exactly. But now you know, I think we've had

207
00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,160
Speaker 1: enough chance to say, Okay, how do I want my

208
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:14,800
Speaker 1: life to change? How do I want it to look

209
00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,320
Speaker 1: moving forward? And if quitting your job is part of

210
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,199
Speaker 1: that um and you have the financial resources or to

211
00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,800
Speaker 1: do that, or you have the resume to be able

212
00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,960
Speaker 1: to find something that is going to be a better

213
00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,520
Speaker 1: fit for you, than yeah, we say go for it.

214
00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,920
Speaker 1: And at the same time, Matt, leaving your job for

215
00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,840
Speaker 1: another job is the quickest way to make more money too. Yeah,

216
00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:34,600
Speaker 1: that's right, And I mean it's good for the economy

217
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,520
Speaker 1: as a whole as well, right, Like from a productivity

218
00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,400
Speaker 1: standpoint to folks are shuffling around from one job to another,

219
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,240
Speaker 1: or from one industry to another because they find more

220
00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,679
Speaker 1: happiness there or maybe they're just better at it. Like

221
00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,560
Speaker 1: that's just good for productivity levels and for the economy

222
00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:49,920
Speaker 1: to grow as a whole. But yeah, you know, there

223
00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,200
Speaker 1: are also more now hiring signs up, so it's easier

224
00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:55,240
Speaker 1: to find another job if that is what you're after.

225
00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:57,760
Speaker 1: That's a good thing for folks to want a change

226
00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,600
Speaker 1: of scenery. But because there aren't an off workers out

227
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:03,200
Speaker 1: there to fill many of the jobs that are available. Uh.

228
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,120
Speaker 1: Some employers are having to step up their game. UH.

229
00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,480
Speaker 1: The New York Times had an interesting article documenting the

230
00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,200
Speaker 1: creativity that HR departments are having to bring in order

231
00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,040
Speaker 1: to attract new workers. We've already seen different sign up

232
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,480
Speaker 1: bonuses being a thing in many industries. Did you see

233
00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,560
Speaker 1: how Applebe's had this program that they called Apps for

234
00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,480
Speaker 1: Apps Free Advertiser throw an application away and it was

235
00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,240
Speaker 1: crazy successful. They're hoping to get like ten thousand applicants.

236
00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,760
Speaker 1: They got four, like over forty thousand people filling out

237
00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:32,080
Speaker 1: applications and submitting their resumes. I would say that that

238
00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,920
Speaker 1: was an overwhelming success, although maybe folks were just wanting

239
00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,439
Speaker 1: like the moth realistics. I don't know. It's been a

240
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,679
Speaker 1: while since I've been in an Applebee's here, So you

241
00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:41,240
Speaker 1: might be able to get paid more, but you will

242
00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:45,200
Speaker 1: also likely see other mycencentives dangled before you, even, like

243
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,560
Speaker 1: scholarships for different family members, which isn't something that companies

244
00:10:48,559 --> 00:10:52,080
Speaker 1: have really ever done. Uh. Salary is obviously an important

245
00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,480
Speaker 1: part of a job offer, but definitely pay attention to

246
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:56,760
Speaker 1: the other perks when your job hunting as well. Some

247
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,160
Speaker 1: of those additional benefits that you could receive for other

248
00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,280
Speaker 1: members in your family. Could easily make one opportunity stand

249
00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:04,679
Speaker 1: head and shoulders about the rest. Yeah, Monzter ellistics, that's

250
00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,959
Speaker 1: a small part, it's nice. But a scholarship for your

251
00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,439
Speaker 1: partner to go back to school to drastically lower the

252
00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:13,880
Speaker 1: costs of of that education, that's a much bigger part.

253
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,200
Speaker 1: Come on, like, when's the last time you had mont realistics?

254
00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,160
Speaker 1: That sounds so good right now? Like some motzrealistics and

255
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,319
Speaker 1: Era not my jam, buddy, what you never dug those

256
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,679
Speaker 1: most realistics? Yeah? Oh my gosh. I mean I think

257
00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:26,400
Speaker 1: I ate the boneless wings there, but I don't know

258
00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:29,120
Speaker 1: ever the Montster ellistics. I'm not sure which one's worse

259
00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,160
Speaker 1: actually for you, that the cheese or the boneless meat. Well,

260
00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,439
Speaker 1: here's here's another thing worth noting while we're talking about

261
00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:37,840
Speaker 1: jobs finding a new job, is that some folks are

262
00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:40,720
Speaker 1: actually going to need to acquire new skills in order

263
00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:42,600
Speaker 1: to get some of the jobs that are out there.

264
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,080
Speaker 1: The gap between where you are and the job that

265
00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,120
Speaker 1: you want could be as big as getting an advanced degree,

266
00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,080
Speaker 1: which obviously takes time, takes you years, but often the

267
00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:52,640
Speaker 1: skills that you're gonna need for a lot of the

268
00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,120
Speaker 1: jobs that you're interested in are actually much easier to get. So, yeah,

269
00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,040
Speaker 1: there might be like a single self pace course that

270
00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,520
Speaker 1: you need to take, or maybe you need to work

271
00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:02,120
Speaker 1: on some of the soft skills that they're going to

272
00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,160
Speaker 1: help you land the job that you're you're hoping for,

273
00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:09,040
Speaker 1: like getting your resume looking better or increasing your ability

274
00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,160
Speaker 1: to interview well, you know, pivoting in your career or

275
00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,840
Speaker 1: changing employers could be easier and more lucrative for you

276
00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:17,720
Speaker 1: right now, but you also might have to step up

277
00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,679
Speaker 1: your game in order to take advantage of some of

278
00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: these opportunities. Right. So some companies right now are saying

279
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,360
Speaker 1: we're gonna offer these extra perks if you come work here.

280
00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:27,079
Speaker 1: But at the same time, you have to be qualified,

281
00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,000
Speaker 1: and so it's gonna be really important to make sure

282
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,280
Speaker 1: that you have the qualifications necessary for the job you're

283
00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:35,120
Speaker 1: looking to land. Yeah, and getting some of that training

284
00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,160
Speaker 1: can be as simple as going to Goodwill and so Joel,

285
00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,880
Speaker 1: I say Goodwill, and you probably think like cheap T shirts, right, Oh, yeah,

286
00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:43,640
Speaker 1: I got a bunch of coals in my drawer. Yeah,

287
00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,240
Speaker 1: but no, they've got this training and career Advancement program

288
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,280
Speaker 1: where participants can go and get some some legitimate, serious

289
00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:51,360
Speaker 1: job skills training, and like you said, a lot of

290
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,640
Speaker 1: it can be some of those software skills like interviewing.

291
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,319
Speaker 1: But they've also partnered with Google, uh, and so folks

292
00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:57,520
Speaker 1: can go in there and go through some of these

293
00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,240
Speaker 1: certificate courses. And there's an example in this where that

294
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,040
Speaker 1: we're talking about here, there is a lady who went

295
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,280
Speaker 1: through that program and then after that was hired by Google.

296
00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,040
Speaker 1: She bought her own house, she's got an acre of land,

297
00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:10,920
Speaker 1: started her own nonprofit in her own hometown where she lives.

298
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,599
Speaker 1: Truly amazing. You always kind of see those signs in

299
00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:15,360
Speaker 1: the windows at at good Will where it's just like

300
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,960
Speaker 1: job training, and I've never really thought through what that

301
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,000
Speaker 1: actually means, but after digging on their sites some I

302
00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:21,760
Speaker 1: was seriously impressed. And so we'll make sure to link

303
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:23,040
Speaker 1: to that in the show notes. If that's something that

304
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,520
Speaker 1: sounds interesting to you. Yeah, that definitely seems like a

305
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,240
Speaker 1: cool program and it could be helpful to a lot

306
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,160
Speaker 1: of folks who are looking to kind of, you know,

307
00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:31,640
Speaker 1: get into a more lucrative line of work or just

308
00:13:31,679 --> 00:13:33,800
Speaker 1: do something more interesting because they're they're board doing what

309
00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,240
Speaker 1: they're doing now, and Matt, let's talk about paying for

310
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,320
Speaker 1: college for a second. One of my favorite financial websites

311
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,000
Speaker 1: morning Star. They do a great job keeping everyone, all

312
00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,000
Speaker 1: of us consumers, up to speed on which plans are

313
00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,600
Speaker 1: the best. They kind of release ratings every single year,

314
00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:50,680
Speaker 1: and they actually just came out with a really helpful

315
00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,439
Speaker 1: article about where you should go to sign up for

316
00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,280
Speaker 1: a five plan if you're interested. And I know recently

317
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,440
Speaker 1: we talked about on the show that's saving for college

318
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,680
Speaker 1: is overrated and a couple of weeks ago we we

319
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,640
Speaker 1: knocked it hard. We still stand by that. We agree

320
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:06,520
Speaker 1: you should, of course be more focused on building up

321
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,520
Speaker 1: your retirement nest egg in tax advantaged accounts before you

322
00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:13,559
Speaker 1: start saving for your child's future education needs. But there

323
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,160
Speaker 1: are still some solid reasons to contribute to a plan,

324
00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:20,400
Speaker 1: and if that's something you're financially ready for, where you

325
00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,520
Speaker 1: open that account can make a really big difference in

326
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,480
Speaker 1: how much you're able to save for your kids future.

327
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,680
Speaker 1: You want to make sure you're getting the tax benefits

328
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,000
Speaker 1: if your state offers them um, and you want to

329
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,480
Speaker 1: make sure you're not paying unnecessary fees by opening up

330
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,960
Speaker 1: that five nine account. In the wrong place. Yeah, it's

331
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,240
Speaker 1: it's best to invest directly through your own state's website

332
00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,880
Speaker 1: instead of going through a third party like a bank

333
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,760
Speaker 1: or a broker a financial advisor, and that will ensure

334
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,760
Speaker 1: that you aren't paying any fees needlessly because five plans

335
00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,440
Speaker 1: are just really easy to set up on your own

336
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:52,600
Speaker 1: and also man's you know, speaking of paying for college,

337
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,960
Speaker 1: parent plus loans are pretty terrible that the New York

338
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,600
Speaker 1: Times they read a story about how awful they are,

339
00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,320
Speaker 1: and we totally agree. Parents should think long and hard

340
00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,280
Speaker 1: before taking on college debt for their kids via one

341
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,080
Speaker 1: of those loans. Uh. These parent plus loans now make

342
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,280
Speaker 1: up nearly of new student loan borrowing, so it seems

343
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,480
Speaker 1: like they're on the rise, but they come with higher

344
00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,160
Speaker 1: interest rates, they come with worse terms. Uh. And the

345
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,040
Speaker 1: thing is there's very little actual underwriting that takes place

346
00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,040
Speaker 1: when parents are approved for these loans. Institutions aren't checking

347
00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:24,200
Speaker 1: whether or not these parents can actually pay for the loans.

348
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,200
Speaker 1: It's not like getting a mortgage, right whether you know,

349
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,200
Speaker 1: they want to know everything about you, especially gonna praise

350
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,880
Speaker 1: the house, and we want to see like your last

351
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,440
Speaker 1: what what you cash flow look like? Where did that

352
00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,080
Speaker 1: deposit come from. Especially if you in your own business,

353
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:39,800
Speaker 1: they want to know all your details. But it's virtually

354
00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,360
Speaker 1: the opposite of that when it comes to these different

355
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,400
Speaker 1: parent plus loans. So if you are considering one of those,

356
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,320
Speaker 1: I think twice. Yeah. A lot of parents unwinningly take

357
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:49,200
Speaker 1: on these loans. They just assume it's a good thing

358
00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,680
Speaker 1: to help, you know, finance their kids education, but it

359
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,800
Speaker 1: comes back to buy them and it can really really

360
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:55,880
Speaker 1: hurt their finances over the long run. And by the way,

361
00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,600
Speaker 1: when it comes to looking up plans, mornings Are is

362
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,720
Speaker 1: a great website to go to to kind of dig deeper.

363
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,560
Speaker 1: Saving for College is another just awesome website. We'll link

364
00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:05,880
Speaker 1: to those in the show notes. But if you're trying

365
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,880
Speaker 1: to do the research and figure out which college savings

366
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:10,640
Speaker 1: plan is gonna be the best for me, those are

367
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,120
Speaker 1: two resources we'd recommend you check out. All Right, we

368
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,320
Speaker 1: got more to get to on this episode, including the

369
00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,680
Speaker 1: best credit card sign up bonus we've seen in a

370
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,360
Speaker 1: long time. We'll talk about that and more right after

371
00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:32,760
Speaker 1: this break. Al Right, we are fact this is our

372
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,240
Speaker 1: Friday flight, and Joel, it is now time for our

373
00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:40,040
Speaker 1: ludicrous headline of the week. I don't know if anybody

374
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,920
Speaker 1: could even hear that. I just whispered it. That was

375
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,760
Speaker 1: for all of our A S M R. Fans. Uh.

376
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:46,960
Speaker 1: And if you don't know what that is, we're not

377
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,640
Speaker 1: gonna explain it to you, but you can google it

378
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,600
Speaker 1: all right. Here is our article this week, which is

379
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,160
Speaker 1: Georgia County expects to make millions from speed cameras. Jo.

380
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:57,040
Speaker 1: This is from our local paper, the A j C.

381
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:00,840
Speaker 1: They wrote, uh, an in depth story, um the counties

382
00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,960
Speaker 1: in Georgia that are using these uh these different speed cameras.

383
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:05,720
Speaker 1: And we apologize to our listeners were strd to be

384
00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,240
Speaker 1: Georgia's specific here, but speed cameras are being used in

385
00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,119
Speaker 1: communities across sixteen different states. So this applies to a

386
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,440
Speaker 1: lot of people. You know. The specific article was about

387
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,119
Speaker 1: our stay exactly. Yeah. And you know, since speed traps

388
00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,080
Speaker 1: and speed cameras are a pain point for a lot

389
00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:22,840
Speaker 1: of folks, especially folks who are late to the beach,

390
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:25,480
Speaker 1: maybe we gotta late, start to pack in the car,

391
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:27,760
Speaker 1: been there, trying to forget about it. Yeah. Because of that,

392
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,800
Speaker 1: this this felt like something worth talking about. And so

393
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,120
Speaker 1: on one hand, the argument for these cameras, of course,

394
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,760
Speaker 1: is that these speed cameras they reduced crashes and fatalities

395
00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,520
Speaker 1: because folks are driving slower. That's a great thing, but

396
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,480
Speaker 1: those speed cameras can also be used as a money

397
00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,200
Speaker 1: grab on the citizens who who live in that community

398
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:45,919
Speaker 1: where they are being put up. One small community in

399
00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,280
Speaker 1: Georgia wrote thirty thousand tickets in three months right after

400
00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:51,600
Speaker 1: putting up their cameras. Uh. And of course, you know,

401
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,280
Speaker 1: that's a massive increase in revenue. And because of that,

402
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,080
Speaker 1: there have been a lot of criticisms of these cameras,

403
00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:57,720
Speaker 1: and that's part of why we wanted to talk about

404
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,200
Speaker 1: it today. I can understand why people people don't like them,

405
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,040
Speaker 1: and they're not my favorite thing either. I gotta say too,

406
00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:07,159
Speaker 1: if I were a citizen living where speed cameras read

407
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:09,240
Speaker 1: light cameras are going up, I'd at least want to

408
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,840
Speaker 1: know where that revenue is going, because oftentimes your local

409
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,160
Speaker 1: municipality they've quickly got more money because of these things, right,

410
00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,200
Speaker 1: and so I just want to know, like, where's the

411
00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,520
Speaker 1: money go expending more money on education now or infrastructure

412
00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,920
Speaker 1: anything meaningful, or yeah, where is the money going? I

413
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,240
Speaker 1: think that's a really important question for citizens to ask

414
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,040
Speaker 1: when these cameras are being installed. Yeah, and luckily to

415
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,600
Speaker 1: I mean specific to the story, they weren't going towards

416
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,080
Speaker 1: salaries or any benefits of employees. You were making the

417
00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,560
Speaker 1: decision to implement these cameras, which I think is a

418
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,159
Speaker 1: good thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. And yeah, I

419
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,040
Speaker 1: think to one of the ways that your local town

420
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,359
Speaker 1: or city can make it a little more palatable is

421
00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:49,920
Speaker 1: to make the first ticket costs very little or even nothing. Um.

422
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,240
Speaker 1: I think even just getting that warning in the mail

423
00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:54,160
Speaker 1: with the picture of your car can be a game

424
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,119
Speaker 1: changer for how people trying just that first one and

425
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,200
Speaker 1: you're like, oh, they got me, Well that's me. That's

426
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,239
Speaker 1: the back of my car. Yeah, and even if it's

427
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,760
Speaker 1: for zero dollars, but it says we caught you this time.

428
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,200
Speaker 1: You know, we're not going to find you anything. Here's

429
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,320
Speaker 1: the deal. Next time, it's gonna cost eighty bucks, hunter bucks,

430
00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:10,520
Speaker 1: whatever it is. Um. I think that's a better way

431
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,920
Speaker 1: to handle it. And I think it helps show citizens

432
00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,119
Speaker 1: that were really are about saving lives here, making our

433
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,760
Speaker 1: streets safer. That's the goal behind these cameras, And so

434
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:20,960
Speaker 1: I think I should be reflected maybe even in how

435
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:23,199
Speaker 1: those like first citations are handed out, it can be

436
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,919
Speaker 1: like a little warning shot across the bow, right, No

437
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,439
Speaker 1: need to who penalize me so severely just yet. Uh.

438
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,400
Speaker 1: And I'm also going to be more for it too,

439
00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,440
Speaker 1: because they specifically are putting these up in school zones, right.

440
00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,480
Speaker 1: And so if you're looking to reduce the speed of

441
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,600
Speaker 1: cars uh driving through different school zones as kids are,

442
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,560
Speaker 1: you know, walking home from school or biking, I mean, yeah,

443
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:44,760
Speaker 1: cars need to be going the speed limit at least,

444
00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,240
Speaker 1: if not slower when it comes to school zones because

445
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:48,560
Speaker 1: we want to make sure that our kids are getting

446
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,119
Speaker 1: freaked out, and of course we don't want anybody to

447
00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,360
Speaker 1: get injured. And you know, it also might make sense

448
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,040
Speaker 1: for folks who live in places with these speed cameras

449
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,600
Speaker 1: to maybe fight this technology with some of their own

450
00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,640
Speaker 1: tech uh, specifically different apps on your phone. I'm thinking

451
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,399
Speaker 1: of like the ways app, which canna alert you to

452
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,800
Speaker 1: speed traps speed cameras in the area. Uh. But also, man,

453
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,399
Speaker 1: just drive the speed limit, right, because if you do that, like,

454
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:09,879
Speaker 1: you don't have to worry about getting a ticket. If

455
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,840
Speaker 1: you just obey the law, you'll avoid these tickets, you'll

456
00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,400
Speaker 1: avoid these points against your record. And you'll save money

457
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,880
Speaker 1: on gas as well. When you speed costume more money. Yeah.

458
00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,199
Speaker 1: One of the one of the guys quoted in an

459
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,440
Speaker 1: article where speed cameras were put up in his community

460
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,600
Speaker 1: was like, Man, I'm I'm just getting these citations in

461
00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,320
Speaker 1: the mail on an almost daily basis now and it's

462
00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,439
Speaker 1: pretty frustrating. And I was like, you didn't change your

463
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,920
Speaker 1: behavior starting zero sympathy for that idiot, right. At some point,

464
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:37,919
Speaker 1: at some point you say I'm gonna start driving differently

465
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:39,800
Speaker 1: because I'm really tired of like the find like how

466
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,280
Speaker 1: who can afford it? Right? You can't keep up with

467
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 1: it exactly all right, And eventually I'm sure you get

468
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,280
Speaker 1: your license taken away. But while we're talking about cars,

469
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,520
Speaker 1: Matt too, let's offer some good news. It turns out

470
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,959
Speaker 1: the vehicles are lasting longer these days. Overall, the quality

471
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,520
Speaker 1: of cars has been improving, and the average age of

472
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,720
Speaker 1: cars and now on the road is just over twelve

473
00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,359
Speaker 1: years old. That's according to a new study from I H. S.

474
00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,359
Speaker 1: And whereas people used to think of a car getting

475
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,760
Speaker 1: old when it hit a hundred thousand miles on the odometer,

476
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,000
Speaker 1: I think some people still think of it that way.

477
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,200
Speaker 1: And we want to change their minds on that. I

478
00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:13,199
Speaker 1: h S said it's more common for cars to make

479
00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,080
Speaker 1: it to two hundred thousand miles these days. But one

480
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: more thing they found in that study, though, which wasn't

481
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,720
Speaker 1: so great. So I was excited that cars are lasting longer,

482
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:22,920
Speaker 1: and then I read this thing and I was a

483
00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,040
Speaker 1: little bummed out. Is that more families have an extra

484
00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,480
Speaker 1: vehicle in their garage than they used to. So the

485
00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:32,879
Speaker 1: total number of vehicles in the US has increased by

486
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,440
Speaker 1: ten percent over the last eight years. So that's ridiculous.

487
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,520
Speaker 1: It's not good. Yeah, pretty crazy. So I think our

488
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,399
Speaker 1: takeaway is basically owned fewer vehicles. Now is the perfect

489
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,040
Speaker 1: time to sell one of your vehicles if you're interested,

490
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,320
Speaker 1: because use car prices have obviously skyrocketed over the past year.

491
00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:49,960
Speaker 1: So get rid of one if you have an extra one,

492
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,720
Speaker 1: and don't be afraid to hold on your car even longer.

493
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:56,439
Speaker 1: Even as the mileage is getting up there two thousand miles,

494
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,000
Speaker 1: it's not a stranger to get to two miles. I'm

495
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,679
Speaker 1: planning on getting there with my minivan, and I think

496
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,360
Speaker 1: I'm probably five years away from that. So yeah, take

497
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:06,280
Speaker 1: you carry your car, keep it on the road. And

498
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,000
Speaker 1: have fewer cars. It's gonna make a difference in your

499
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,280
Speaker 1: personal finances in a big way. Yeah. And I was

500
00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,240
Speaker 1: surprised to see that the average age of vehicles on

501
00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,640
Speaker 1: the road right now is twelve years, specifically because our van,

502
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,080
Speaker 1: how is younger than that, right, And so like, this

503
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,520
Speaker 1: is one way that I feel kind of spendy. I'm like,

504
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:24,199
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, like who am I? But then I

505
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 1: make myself feel a little bit better that we don't

506
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,639
Speaker 1: have two or three cars, just one. That helps I

507
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: can justify it a little bit. Uh So, speaking of spending, man,

508
00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,080
Speaker 1: the Great Reopening, that's what we're calling it, right, Folks

509
00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,160
Speaker 1: are getting back out into the world. They're spending money.

510
00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,399
Speaker 1: It continues, and restaurants are back. Kitten, I actually had

511
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,680
Speaker 1: a nice date last night. You came over watch the

512
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,120
Speaker 1: kiddos while they're sleeping, and Kate and I sat out

513
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 1: on a patio at a nice local restaurant. By the way,

514
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:48,440
Speaker 1: your kids weren't sleeping. They are messing with me the

515
00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:49,879
Speaker 1: all the time, which was fine. I love I love them.

516
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:51,840
Speaker 1: They're great. I think it's because you don't rule with

517
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,920
Speaker 1: an iron fist. You're like, yeah, you wanna watch some basketball,

518
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,520
Speaker 1: but for the first time in quite a while, Americans

519
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:00,920
Speaker 1: are back to spending more at ball ours and restaurants

520
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,679
Speaker 1: then they spent at grocery stores. And that's according to

521
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,359
Speaker 1: the latest retail sales data. This is good news for

522
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,440
Speaker 1: the economy as a whole, and this is great news

523
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:10,880
Speaker 1: for our local favorite restaurants who have stuck it through.

524
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,080
Speaker 1: But one of the most interesting anecdotes from that data

525
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,200
Speaker 1: is that grocery spending, it didn't drop as people went

526
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 1: out to eat more, So it showed that Americans are

527
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:23,600
Speaker 1: spending close to more on the groceries. Uh, and that's

528
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 1: after they have resumed they're going out to eat spending,

529
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:28,639
Speaker 1: which is kind of like, Okay, there's gonna come at

530
00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: time when you realize that you're spending a lot more

531
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:32,960
Speaker 1: money every single month. But it seems like folks haven't

532
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,119
Speaker 1: yet realized that you can't keep spending as much as

533
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:37,200
Speaker 1: you were on groceries and resumed meeting out to the

534
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,959
Speaker 1: level that you were, and you can, but then at

535
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,640
Speaker 1: some point, yeah, yeah, something's gonna have to change. Right now,

536
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:45,800
Speaker 1: both are high. Um, and again just to note, you know,

537
00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 1: we love our local restaurants, but make sure that you know,

538
00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 1: as you are starting to eat out more, as that's

539
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,600
Speaker 1: becoming a more normal thing again, that you don't start

540
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,199
Speaker 1: spending money like crazy just across the board. You know,

541
00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,600
Speaker 1: maybe you're going out to eating restaurants and now you're

542
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,239
Speaker 1: also budgeting. Uh, get ready to spend real big on

543
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:03,760
Speaker 1: some travel. Right, makes some changes to your budget if

544
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 1: you need to. But yeah, watch out for overspending, no doubt.

545
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,359
Speaker 1: And on the note of over spending, Matt. The Washington

546
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,720
Speaker 1: Post had a great article the other day about how

547
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,680
Speaker 1: everything is becoming a subscription and it feels true. It

548
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:18,040
Speaker 1: feels like we're living in the era of the subscription,

549
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,680
Speaker 1: where every business wants to sell us a product and

550
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,600
Speaker 1: for us to pay for it on a monthly installment

551
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,800
Speaker 1: basis or or just have this ongoing relationship with us

552
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,280
Speaker 1: where they're in our pockets Netflix style, right, And yeah,

553
00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:32,920
Speaker 1: we talked about this recently actually with you getting Excel

554
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,560
Speaker 1: and instead of soft buying it once being done, it's

555
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,359
Speaker 1: like now they want you to pay either on a

556
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 1: yearly or monthly basis in order to be able to

557
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,160
Speaker 1: use that program for budgeting that you love. Yeah, oh dude,

558
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,480
Speaker 1: I love it. It's very important business and I mean, yeah,

559
00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: what's funny is I feel like like brands, it seems

560
00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 1: that they're positioning it almost like a no, we want

561
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,600
Speaker 1: to be in a relationship with you. Yeah. It's like, yeah,

562
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,000
Speaker 1: you want a relationship with my money. Yeah, let's let

563
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 1: you care about It's like a leech style ship. You're

564
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 1: stuck gonn dry. And people are forking over money for

565
00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,200
Speaker 1: subscriptions to things like meal service, a lot of streaming services,

566
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,239
Speaker 1: and even car washes. Like I mean, there's just so

567
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,080
Speaker 1: many different things that you can now pay a subscription

568
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:16,160
Speaker 1: for instead of buying it once and moving along. And

569
00:25:16,359 --> 00:25:18,760
Speaker 1: I think one of the things it's important for folks

570
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: for remembers that it can be easy to forget about

571
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:23,119
Speaker 1: some of the subscriptions that we've signed up for. And

572
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,080
Speaker 1: then also it can be difficult to cancel a subscription

573
00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 1: that we signed that we signed up for. I've noticed

574
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,680
Speaker 1: this before that you have to call a phone number

575
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,240
Speaker 1: you signed up for that subscription online, but then to

576
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:35,520
Speaker 1: cancel it, they want to make you wait on hold

577
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 1: and talk to a person so that they can try

578
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:38,679
Speaker 1: to convince you to keep it. They're like, hey, if

579
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,280
Speaker 1: you want to cancel, write us a letter, send us

580
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,840
Speaker 1: the facts canceling has to be done. Be a carrier

581
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,040
Speaker 1: pigeon but which is a ridicular light of fire, and

582
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: send us a smoke signal. So yeah, I think it's

583
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,640
Speaker 1: just important to note that as subscriptions have become kind

584
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 1: of normal and how we operate with businesses, it's important

585
00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: for you to keep track of the subscriptions that you

586
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,919
Speaker 1: have and make sure you do the old school thing.

587
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,800
Speaker 1: Check your bank and credit card statements every month to

588
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,160
Speaker 1: see if maybe there's a subscription that you're paying for

589
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 1: that's taking money out of your account because you know,

590
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,679
Speaker 1: you set it on automated payments and they're doing that

591
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,120
Speaker 1: every month and you forgot about it. So it's important

592
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,280
Speaker 1: to take that look at your statements so you can know, Okay,

593
00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:21,000
Speaker 1: actually I forgot about this thing or this thing um,

594
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,119
Speaker 1: and then you can go about canceling them. It's okay

595
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:25,280
Speaker 1: to have some subscriptions for things that are meaningful, but

596
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,160
Speaker 1: it's still frictionless to sign up for a sub Christian

597
00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,000
Speaker 1: these days, I bet you for a lot of our

598
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 1: listeners out there, Matt, they have one that they forgot

599
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:33,480
Speaker 1: about or they didn't realize that they still had, and

600
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,639
Speaker 1: they're still working over money for it. So yeah, make

601
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:38,440
Speaker 1: sure you dig through and cancel it all. Right now

602
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,239
Speaker 1: for our last story, if you are listening right now

603
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,480
Speaker 1: and you get excited about credit card sign up bonuses,

604
00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,320
Speaker 1: it is worth mentioning that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

605
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,640
Speaker 1: we've mentioned that one before, it's really great. Uh. They

606
00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:52,119
Speaker 1: are offering the biggest sign up bonus in its history.

607
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 1: You can make over if you meet the initial spending

608
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,840
Speaker 1: threshold of four thousand dollars in the first three months. Uh.

609
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,399
Speaker 1: And this is one of the best bonuses that we

610
00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:03,600
Speaker 1: have ever seen, and not saying a lot because we

611
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,920
Speaker 1: follow these different welcome bonuses that cards offer pretty religiously.

612
00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:09,520
Speaker 1: And we do want to point out that this card

613
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,160
Speaker 1: does come with an annual fee, but it also has

614
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 1: perks that make that annual fee worth it for a

615
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:17,520
Speaker 1: lot of folks. For instance, this is one of the

616
00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,200
Speaker 1: cards out there that extends the manufacturer's warranty, like we're

617
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:23,080
Speaker 1: talking about at the beginning of the show. Half one

618
00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,920
Speaker 1: of my other credit cards actually recently stopped doing that. Yeah, okay, yeah,

619
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,560
Speaker 1: you need to get you one of these, baby. Uh.

620
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,119
Speaker 1: And here's the thing. You can always sign up for

621
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,440
Speaker 1: this card and then call Chase, you know, and ask

622
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,920
Speaker 1: them to shift you maybe to a no annual feed

623
00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,199
Speaker 1: card down the road. If that's something that you know,

624
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,720
Speaker 1: you find that you're not receiving the benefits from that card,

625
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:42,840
Speaker 1: you can always switch to something that's not costing you

626
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,359
Speaker 1: any money. And so we'll make sure to put a

627
00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:46,639
Speaker 1: link to this specific card in our show notes for

628
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:49,240
Speaker 1: this episode up on the website at how to money

629
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,080
Speaker 1: dot com. Rich signing bonus always nice when you're signing

630
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:53,919
Speaker 1: up for a card, but yeah, if you're attempted to

631
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:55,479
Speaker 1: spend more with a credit card, or you can't pay

632
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,200
Speaker 1: your bills the big caveat yeah, in full, on time

633
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,080
Speaker 1: and in full every month, don't get it. But for

634
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,680
Speaker 1: those of you who say I'm really good with credit cards,

635
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: I always pay them in full and on time. And

636
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,439
Speaker 1: this signing bonus would come in really handy, and I'm

637
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:09,840
Speaker 1: just gonna use it on stuff I was gonna buy

638
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,920
Speaker 1: already in this card in particular right now. Could be

639
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,679
Speaker 1: a great move for you. But that's gonna be it

640
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,720
Speaker 1: for this episode. And Matt, as we're ending, we gotta

641
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: say Happy Father's Day. That's right, So my dad, your dad,

642
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,119
Speaker 1: Happy Father's day Dad, and uh to all the dad's

643
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 1: out there, we hope it's a great one for you

644
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,160
Speaker 1: and your families this weekend. That's right, so Joel. Until

645
00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:30,640
Speaker 1: next time, best friends out, Best Friends Out,