WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Robots, Rent Control, & Taylor Swift #438 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.800 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:26.040 and today we're discussing robots, rent Control, and Taylor Swift. Yeah. 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.960 So what do all three of those things haven't common? Well? Money, 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:32.160 of course, that's what we're gonna talk about today. How 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.680 the stories that we've come across this week how they 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:38.760 apply to your personal finances. We've got those three stories 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:42.040 plus several others that we're gonna get to today. That's right, Matt. 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.479 But before we dig into those stories, before we get 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:46.680 into the Friday flight, I wanted to quickly mention that 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:50.120 I filed my first homeowners claim in my adult life. 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:54.080 Is something you're excited about? Um, not really, it's it's 0:00:54.160 --> 0:00:56.720 luckily this is bad news, But I guess it kind 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:58.639 of depends on how things shape up for you, right, 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.160 I mean, ultimately it's it's not the worst thing ever, 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.839 but it's also not fun, I would say. But basically, 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:07.040 what happened that the house that we're doing some work 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:08.600 to right now that used to be a duplex, we're 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:10.640 turning it back into a single family home for our family, 0:01:10.920 --> 0:01:14.319 someone decided to get down on the cross space and 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:17.959 rip out the copper pipes with the sauce. Huge bummer dude. Actually, 0:01:18.000 --> 0:01:21.120 So I was one that discovered it because Kate and 0:01:21.160 --> 0:01:23.000 I and the kids were just out for a walk 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:26.880 and they had recently like busted out the back wall 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.520 of your entire house and which is to me super fascinating, 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:32.679 Like we're really interested in stuff like that. And so 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:34.720 we went snoop and well, Emily she like sent us 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:36.039 to the lock box code and was like, hey, go 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:37.880 check it out, you know. So we poked our head 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.000 in there. Y'all had just left town, I think, and 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:41.960 uh it was like, do you hear that? Is that 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:45.240 something like water running? And I was like, uh, yeah, 0:01:45.319 --> 0:01:47.160 I don't know why the water is running. And sure enough, 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.120 we kind of poked our head down through the floor 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.240 and saw like a river underneath your house. It did 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:54.480 not look like something that was planned. It was it 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:56.559 was not a good thing, and it was not And yeah, 0:01:56.560 --> 0:02:00.640 so that water ended up ruining the h VAX them 0:02:00.640 --> 0:02:03.240 and you know a couple other things down there. And 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:05.480 it was one of those things where I had my 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:08.520 deductible set as high as possible, and that's something we've 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:10.720 recommended on the show, and I had never had to 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:14.040 file an insurance claim before, and so I was like 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.360 looking pretty just saving money every year on the money 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:19.720 I was paying to the insurance company, but came back 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:22.000 to bite me in this instance. But I will say, 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:23.480 you know, I need to do the math at some 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.400 point and kind of see what's what's the difference how 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:27.639 much am I saving on an annual basis, because I'm 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:29.960 sure I have more than made up for, uh this 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.080 the additional deductible amount that I had to pay in 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:35.720 order to replace the HVAC system and fix you know, 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:38.520 some of the other things that were ruined by this 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:41.280 act of vandalism. But I think that advice still holds 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:43.440 true because, Yeah, one of the other things that it 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.480 does is is having a higher deductible prevents you from 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:50.040 filing needless claims because if you have that really tiny deductible, 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:52.240 you might start doing it willy nilly, and then your 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.320 rates start to go up over time. And so I 0:02:55.320 --> 0:02:58.480 think this one claim hopefully shouldn't have too much of 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.720 an adverse impact on the premiums you'll find out next 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:05.799 year comes up, right, Well, so have you heard from 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.000 them at all? Because oftentimes your stories about how when 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:10.000 you file a claim like this, something I mean, this 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:11.960 isn't it's not a tiny claim, but it's also not 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:13.720 like a massive claim. It's not like a true felt 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:18.160 in between, and so I'm curious if because sometimes individuals 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.960 will get booted from there insured because once you use it, 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:22.960 you lose it. Yes, I have heard that too, and 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:26.639 uh so obviously that hasn't happened to you, I think, yeah, 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:28.880 I mean, the higher rates is definitely something that's worth 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.360 revisiting once you do get your your bill or your 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:34.040 premium for next year, because that's unfortunately not something that 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.040 you can shop around. I mean, you can shop around 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.560 your home insurance, but when you take advantage of your insurance, 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.000 it goes onto your clue report, and that's something that 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.280 follows you from one insure to the next, and that's 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.480 like the database where every insurance company can chant, does 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:50.080 this person five claims or not? And yeah, hopefully one 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.080 claim isn't gonna mess me up. And it was the 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.320 right thing to do, even though it was tough because 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:56.240 I'm one of those guys who's like, I'm gonna go 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:58.600 through all my life and never use this insurance. But 0:03:58.760 --> 0:04:00.560 that's what it's there forms that time when you do 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:02.400 want to use it and like you said, though, it 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:03.720 is tough to know how much you're saving, and so 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:06.040 you actually crunch the numbers. But that did cause me 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.800 to go and check my homeowners insurance because we just 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.080 hadn't touched our home policy in a while. Dude, my 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.320 deductible was said at one thousand dollars, I'm getting hosed. 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.559 That's too low. Yes, I'm getting hosed every single year. 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:23.000 And so immediately wrote an email to our insurance agent 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:24.679 because I don't know how that happened, but at some point, 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:26.560 I mean, I know I didn't set it there intentionally, 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.920 but at some point I think it reset or they 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:32.520 just automatically migrated it down to whatever the standard policy is. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.520 But I'm sure that you're wishing that would have happened 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.800 to you. If only we could trade places accidentally just 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:39.840 weeks before the accident, would have been great. Yeah, because 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:41.960 obviously we're back, and let us know what the difference is, 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:43.680 like how much you're able to save, because if I mean, 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.560 I'm curious, my assumption is it's probably a couple hundred 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:50.320 dollars a year. Oh yeah, I'm hoping by boosting that deductible, 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.640 we should see a significant savings every single year. But yeah, 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:55.680 I'll let you know, okay, all right, Well, yeah, and 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:57.520 and nobody needs to shed tears from me. Not a 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.279 big deal, but h and and ultimately means we're getting 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:02.160 a new HVAC system, Like this whole house is gonna 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:03.880 be new at the end of the day. You really are. 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:07.080 It's yeah, it's gonna it's cool. Bank accounts taking a 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:09.720 beating right now, but at least for a while. Yeah, 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.440 hopefully that means that no repairs needed on this house 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:14.400 for a long time, good buddy years. Yeah, well, let's 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.240 move on. Let's get to the Friday flight. Let's do 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:19.120 stories we found interesting this week in the realm of 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:23.279 personal finance. And first let's talk about budgeting for Christmas. 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.120 There was a new service something you do budget Christmas, 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:29.320 and well, I trying to keep that budget minimal, but 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:32.120 obviously we we there is money they get spent every 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:34.560 year around the holidays when it comes to yeah, gifts 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.359 for our friends and loved ones, or experiences that we 0:05:38.400 --> 0:05:41.880 share with other people, bringing something to a holiday party. 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:43.560 Those those are all the kind of things that you've 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.719 got to plan ahead for. And there's a new survey 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.040 from ally Bank and it reveals that Americans are worried 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:54.000 about going over budget this holiday season. That makes sense 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.400 to me, especially with inflation, which we're gonna talk about 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:58.400 in just a little bit. It's like everything costs more. 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.120 Am I gonna be able to to stick to the 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:03.040 budget that I have? People don't want to overspend, and 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:06.320 we're all about that. But the statistic that followed in 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:10.520 that same survey revealed that two in five people they're 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.839 not doing any planning, they're not using a budget at all. 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:17.279 And so, yeah, people who are like I'm really worried 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.240 about going over budget the budget that I don't have, 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:23.039 I found that interesting. And it's gonna be hard not 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.280 to go overboard if you don't have a plan, if 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:27.240 you don't have any sort of budget when it comes 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.120 to your holiday spending. And so, yeah, no, wonder you're 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.800 worried about it. Um, if you want to prevent what 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.159 we would say a January financial shock that can linger 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:39.400 into the summer months, well you need to get a 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.760 plan in motion now. You need to be prepared with 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:46.279 a budget for holiday spending. That's right. And of course 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:48.320 I was making fun of you because you too not 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:50.800 to budget in the formal sense like you don't track 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:53.760 every sense that you spend like I do, but you 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:55.760 still have a more of a shoot from the hit 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.960 spending plan, and certainly when it comes to something like Christmas. 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.200 But the number one thing that we think folks should 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:03.080 make sure to do, you know, in order to not 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.680 go overboard, is just to develop a list of people 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:08.279 that you plan to buy presents for and just you know, 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.840 don't don't overdo it just because maybe you have a 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.520 little more cash sitting around in your accounts, uh this year. Uh, 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.400 you don't need to buy anything, you know, for your 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.760 your third cousin who's twice removed. Hey, we're very close, Matt. 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:21.800 If that's the case, then make sure to buy them 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:23.920 a nice gift. But just make sure that you have 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.480 communicated with folks with your family, who you're close to, 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:30.760 who you don't plan to exchange presence with. Because part 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:32.520 of the reason we tend to go overboard is out 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:36.360 of this sense of obligation and and this almost reciprocal 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.480 nonspoken agreement that we seem to have, especially with family members. 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.440 But right down the specific amounts that you aim to 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.040 spend on each person. We've talked about this somewhat recently, 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.600 but even consider giving cash with just a thoughtful, uh 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.120 handwritten letter or a note, that can be a great 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.600 way for you to avoid finding your spending continuing to 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.960 increase throughout the holidays. Maybe even giving a fun experience 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:00.920 instead of a of a high priced item. But just 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.120 don't overdo it because of the you know, you can't 0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:06.480 blame it on the holiday spirit. You can't say that like, oh, well, 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.440 I just this is something I feel like doing. We 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:10.680 don't want you to approach you're spending that way. We 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:12.880 want you to have a plan. Getting in the Christmas 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.600 spirit or the holiday spirit is a great thing. But 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:17.400 if you know yourself and you know you're the kind 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:20.360 of person because the jolly nous takes over your soul 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.040 that you just start spending dollars like crazy, Like, yeah, 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:24.600 you want to have a plan so that you don't 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:26.480 do that. Yeah. Well, And one of the other things too, 0:08:26.520 --> 0:08:29.840 is just avoid spending on yourself because you see all 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.360 the money that you're spending and you think, holy cal like, 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.040 I am spending so much money on other people. I 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.920 am being so generous. I deserve a little bit of that. 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:39.920 I'm gonna treat myself Uh. And that's another way to 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:42.480 add a solid, i don't know, ten percent onto your 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.240 holiday spending budget where you to start buying some items 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.440 for yourself. And so that's something we want you to avoid. 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:49.720 And by the way, we're gonna go into depth about 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.920 how to have more of a minimalist Christmas. We're gonna 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.240 talk about that on Monday with guest Meg Nordman, so 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:58.240 you can look forward to that, no doubt. All right, 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:00.839 let's move on, Matt to talking about Tylor Swift for 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.600 a second. You're a big fan, right, I am not 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.000 a Swift tie, but I do like some of her music, Okay, yeah, 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.400 and and me me too, Like I I like a 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.319 few of her songs, but I only really listened to 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.920 Taylor Swift when my wife is listening to Taylor Swift. 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:18.240 And you know what, she's talented, just not my jams. Yeah, 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:21.920 I mean specifically, recently, her music has gotten like, you know, 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:23.960 a little darker. Yeah, get a little more of an 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:26.160 indie vibe to some of the stuff she's like. Now, well, yeah, 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.080 and uh, if our listeners remember we we just had 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:33.000 an episode about ownership recently. It was episode and there's 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:36.200 this new story this week that to me reflected the 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:39.840 power of individual ownership and uh, and how it leads 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.560 to building wealth and just like a real substantial like 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:47.000 pop cultural moments, and and this was really Taylor Swift right, 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.000 Like she she's more than just a good musical artist, 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:53.120 as it turns out, adored by tens of millions of people, 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:56.960 she's an incredible businesswoman. And she actually just rereleased an 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:59.679 album that originally came out in two thousand and twelve. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:02.360 Why did she do that well, because the rights to 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:05.400 her original songs were sold out from under her and 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.320 they now belonged to like some hedge fund or something 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:09.080 like that, sold to the hedgephone buy some guy named 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.160 like Scooter or something like that. Right, apparently Taylor and 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:15.200 Scooter are not on good terms at odds they're not celebrating. Uh, 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:17.600 not going to be the same holiday parties, is my guest. 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.240 But she rerecorded those songs and re release them, and 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:23.600 that meant that she owns the music that her fans 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:25.920 are now listening to. No swifties are going back and 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:30.880 listening to that album. They're listening to the Swift version, 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.000 the one that that Taylor is now profiting from because 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:36.480 she owns it directly, and it's also at the same 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.920 time it's devaluing those original recordings in a significant way. 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.680 I'm not sure which one she's happier about, probably considering 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:47.040 where she is with their finances, I'm sure the ladder 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.200 it's probably a little more enjoyable at the moment. Uh. 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:52.280 And you know, she already did this with. The first 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:54.560 album that she did this with was Fearless, and that 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:58.200 album sold almost one million copies since April, and those 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:01.800 newly recorded songs have been streamed six hundred million times, 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.200 and so this is just an awesome I don't know. 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:07.040 And even though she's a total celebrity, this is still 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:09.920 a very fun success story when it comes to an 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.560 individual and their business acumen because Taylor, Yeah, she's got 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.440 that ownership over everything that she's creating. That's incredibly powerful. 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:18.760 And again, it just goes to show how important it 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.920 is to be an owner not just a consumer. Yeah, 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:24.920 we see that clearly in Taylor Swift's example. It's just 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:26.480 it's fun to see someone not just be a great 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:30.520 entertainer but also great business person as well. Then, so, um, yeah, 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.559 just kudos to t Swift on that front. And and yeah, 0:11:33.600 --> 0:11:35.880 Matt le's let's let's keep moving. Let's talk about inflation 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:39.720 for a second. The costs of essentials in our lives 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.839 have been going through the roof, well, cost of everything, yeah, 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:45.240 has definitely been going up, but yeah and quickly, right, 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.440 And gas prices in particular, or something that's on everyone's mind. 0:11:48.520 --> 0:11:52.560 The state of California actually is setting gas price records 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.160 this week. Those are the kind of records you prefer 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:59.400 to remain unbroken, especially records that they're not celebrating in 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.959 a positive way. And don't drive an electric vehicle in California. 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:03.480 If you have a gas powered vehicle there, you're probably 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:06.559 like not happy. And the national average of a gallon 0:12:06.600 --> 0:12:09.320 of gas is almost three dollars and fifty cents uh. 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:12.000 And when you run the numbers, Matt that this costs 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:15.960 the average person sixty nine dollars more every single month 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:18.760 compared to where gas prices were last year. And that 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:22.319 that's real money for for lots of folks like that, 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:24.839 that's a whole lot more money that's going straight into 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:26.679 the gas tank just to get where you need to go. 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:28.640 And of course, you know, we talked a little bit 0:12:28.640 --> 0:12:31.640 about e bikes last week. It only makes more and 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:34.480 more sense to go in that direction when we see 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:38.120 those numbers. But also grocery store prices are rising sharply, 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.400 and in fact, you know, prices for meat, poultry, and 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:43.760 eggs were up more than ten percent in September. And 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.080 so we're seeing shoppers having to make decisions at the 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.040 grocery store so that their grocery budget remains intact. They're 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:53.280 trading down for lower priced items because of how quickly 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.320 these prices are escalating, and and many are buying more 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:58.880 store brand items instead of the name brand counterparts. That's 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:00.920 something that you and I are are all about, you know, 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.400 We're all about that. We're less about switching to store 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:07.040 brand beer. You've tried the Aldi beer before, yeah, and 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:10.120 in the Kirkland signature beer too, But I'm not down 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:12.080 with either. I am willing to drink some of the 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.240 I think it's called hopping nomad or whatever is the 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.600 Aldi beer in the summertime, like after cutting the grass. 0:13:16.600 --> 0:13:19.560 I'm okay with an occasional six pack of that. But uh, 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.800 you know, inflation, like basically we've just seen inflation stick around, 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:24.439 right it Like we thought it was just going to 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.120 be around for a few months, but it has been 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.640 much more sticky, and store brands and substitutions are two 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:33.520 great ways to curd costs as those rising prices continue 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.120 their climb. But what else can you do? You know, Joel, 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.679 you're talking about the high costs of gasoline. Well, on 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.000 the gas front, not all of us can drive less. 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:44.959 There are just sometimes places that we have to be. 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:47.200 We may not have the option to work from home, 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:51.640 and so that morning and afternoon commute is still going on. Um. 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.680 But there are a lot of us who can change 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:57.400 our driving patterns and habits because a big chunk of 0:13:57.400 --> 0:14:00.160 the miles that we drive our discretionary myself to get 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.120 to work. But can you combine more trips and go 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:05.079 to the grocery store once every two weeks twice a 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:07.160 week if you happen to work near a costco, that 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.439 needs to be something that you're doing. And the other 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:11.760 thing too. A lot of those miles are within just 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:14.960 a smaller radius of our home, So we really could 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.280 hop on a bike a bit more for those shorter 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.920 trips in order to curb our gas usage. And if 0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:21.560 you are going to get in the car, look at 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.120 this is gonna sound silly, but just accelerate a little 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.160 more slowly, like like coast. You notice this when you're 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:30.480 riding on your bike. But there's this one stretch where 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.920 I always take a right onto a more main road. Uh. 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.840 And whoever is behind me, well, after they make their right, 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:38.960 they'll come zoom and past me. But there's always a 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.320 stoplight like one block up, and they're just like flooring it. 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.880 Just wasted gas fifty feet or something like that. And 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.520 I always just gonna slam it on the brakes again. Yeah, yes, 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:48.960 And I always pull up right next to them. And 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:50.800 sometimes I love it when I'm like even a car 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:52.280 too in front of them, and that you know, they 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:55.040 floored it. They wasted all that energy. Uh, they've lost 0:14:55.080 --> 0:14:57.920 their whatever their patients, they've they've lost their cool. But 0:14:58.080 --> 0:14:59.920 just take it easy. Uh. And the other thing too, 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.160 we're talking about insurance earlier on, while you're already driving 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.160 like a grandma. See if your insurance provider, if they 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.200 offer one of those monitors or the driving trackers, because 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.720 you know what, if you can combine gas savings with 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.040 some insurance savings as well, that is two birds with 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:16.920 one stone right there. Uh. And then yeah, on the 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.240 food front, where your shop is going to make the 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:23.800 biggest difference. We've already mentioned Aldi and Costco randomly, but 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.320 those stores can make a massive difference in your food budget. 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:30.000 Legal is also another affordable option. But we want you 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:32.320 just to constantly be challenging what it is that you've 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:34.840 all always done in order to see if you can 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:36.400 save a little bit here and there, because you might 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.280 find that these are patterns that stick. Uh, and even 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:43.480 when groceries are dropping in price, if you maintain those habits, well, 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:45.480 then you're saving money every single month. You're not just 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.560 breaking even. And so just even simple things like buying 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:50.760 sale items, throwing them in the freezer, doing things that 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.680 you haven't done before in order to curb your spending, 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.200 and just stop eating steak right now probably. I mean, 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.240 you know, it's a rare delicacy for for us saying 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:01.840 it's like once a year, I feel like, seriously, but 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:04.520 when we do have it, it's it's a delight. But 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:06.480 if you're having it on a weekly basis, you fancy 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:10.600 and probably should trade down to chicken or meatless mondays 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:12.360 or you know, whatever you want to do. But we've 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:14.920 got more stories to get to on today's Friday flight, 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:18.320 including that robot story and a really interesting one about 0:16:18.400 --> 0:16:21.440 rent control. We'll get to those and more right after 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:32.440 this break. Alright, we're back in. Before we get to 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:36.720 that more heavy academic topic of rent control, put our 0:16:36.760 --> 0:16:39.080 putting our economist hats on. We yeah, we actually are 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:40.600 going to do that. But before we get to that one, 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:42.800 let's get now to our ludicrous headline of the week. 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.840 And this one is from Fast Company and it reads 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.320 science proves it most n f T s are worthless. 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.480 You know what? Trust science on this one. Well, here's 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.040 the thing. It's less about the science, and it's just 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.720 kind of like the simple numbers. It's like empirical evidence. 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:59.160 It's just data. It's like, I love that they wrote science, 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:01.160 And where does science actually come into play here? It's not. 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.600 It's like, really like we've just looked at the actual 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:07.720 sales prices of n but science sounds a little more fun. 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.960 I guess like we've just discovered a new statistics. Yeah. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.560 But this article focused on the research from the University 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.760 of London, which poured over the sales data from thousands 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:18.760 of n f T s and oftentimes, you know the 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.199 n f T sales that make the headlines or for 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:22.840 the different n f t s that might go for 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:25.840 tens of thousands or even tens of millions of dollars. 0:17:25.840 --> 0:17:27.720 In the case with that people n f T that 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.560 that's sold for like seventy million dollars. But here is 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:35.359 an interesting little tidbit. Three quarters of n f t 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.760 s actually sell for fifteen dollars or less, and actually 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.760 only one percent sell for more than And so the 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:46.320 crypto punk n f t s that were you know, 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:50.480 all the rage for a minute, Yeah, those are extreme outliers. 0:17:50.520 --> 0:17:52.520 But this doesn't mean that n f t s aren't 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:54.399 here to stay. But at the same time, we're not 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:57.119 saying that, you know, the space is only about making 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.879 money or getting super rich, because you know, even if 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.560 is a digital piece of art, it's okay to buy it, 0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:04.680 but only by it if you like it. If it's 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:09.040 something that you can somehow remove the knowledge that you 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:10.639 have of n f t s and what they have 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:12.679 sold for, and can if you can just evaluate it 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.439 from just a sense of appreciation. I don't know if 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.399 that's something that anybody could actually do by actually removing 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.040 the dollars and cents from it, But if that's something 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:21.840 you can do, and it's something that you're drawn to, 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:23.720 this n f T, then if that's the case, go 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.000 ahead and buy it. But it's just important to know 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.280 that the latest, you know, the new n f T 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.080 that you scoop up, is very unlikely to actually make 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:33.560 you any money. Uh, it's I don't know. I see 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:35.720 this almost as like a wake up call for for 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:37.880 those who are making n f T s to realize 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:39.520 that they're probably not going to get rich that way. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:41.680 But then also for those who are looking at investing 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:43.919 in the n f T s that that's also probably 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:45.520