November 3, 2025 • 45 mins
Let’s kick off the week with some fresh listener questions we have lined up for you! And don't just stand on the sidelines- if you have a question you’d like us to answer, toss your voice memo our way. It only takes about 90 seconds to record and you can find a step by step guide over at HowToMoney.com/ask . Regardless of how random or bizarre you might think it is, we want to hear it!
1 - Tax help: where should I find a tax professional and how much should one cost?
2 - Frugal or cheap: should I continue to reuse ziploc bags if I have millions in the bank?
3 - Revocable trust: does it make sense to update my parents' trust or should they scrap it for a brand new one?
4 - Savings rates: what’s going on with HYSA interest rates?
5 - Termites: is it time to take matters into my own hands or do I just pay to renew the termite warranty?
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During this episode we enjoyed a The Scars on Greedy Palms by Burial! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Head of Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and
today we're going to answer some of your listener questions.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
That's right, buddy, We've got let's see five excellent listener
money questions to get to.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Today. We're gonna talk.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
About finding a tax professional, specifically a listener. He wants
to know how much he should be paying and actually
whether or not he should be considering a tax pro
We'll get into all that here in a second. Another
listener's got millions of dollars in the bank. He's still
using his ziploc bags. He wants to know how we
feel about that, whether we endorse this move or whether
(00:51):
we're gonna put the gobash on it.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Are they actual name brand Ziploc bags, Matt, or are
they the generics?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Is it Boulder that's the that's the Aldie brand. Of
course I know the Boulder bags.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And of course in recent months, Costco has launched Kirklan's
signature rivals to the zip blocks they're shaking in their boots.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, oh it's been I hardly ever get over to
the Costco as much anymore, much to your great shame.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I'm really only heading over there to get the Kirklemansig
smoker pellets, and then also the meat that needs to
go on top of the trigger whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I do want to.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Spoke a big old hunk of meat. That's a good
reason to venture it is it's not typically something I'm
going to find at Aldi the big like a brisket.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
That's good for report.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
But I wanted to also highlight one other listener question
that's more of a homeowner's question. She's got a question
about her termite bond or termite warranty, I.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Think is what she calls it. But we'll get to
those plus more during our episode today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, those can be expensive. What do you do when
it feels like it's breaking the budget? Matt quickly wanted
to mention I stayed for the first time ever at
a timeshare resort. Oh, do tell well? This was the
listeners because I know, well, this was just because of
the generosity of something. They said, Hey, I've got extra
extra points, would you like to stay? I would like
(02:08):
to use some of those points for a free stay
for you and your family. And I was like, yes, please,
thank you very much, And it was it was such
a pleasant experience. We had the best we had the
best trip and nice to have free lodging when you go,
so that was awesome one of the things. Uh, there
were some things I really liked about it, including like
they have this like activity center and we did some
(02:28):
family activities. That was like a fun, different, unique part
of a trip too. But then there was when I
like when I signed in or when I like checked in,
they said, hey, do you want to go to a
times your presentation?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Of course they did, so, yeah, you started with a pros,
but then you got to the cons.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Well they asked him that they honestly were not ridiculously
pushy about it or anything like that, but I said,
you know what, I don't know. I think I might
be interested in in it. What's like, what do I
get if I go? And they said, well, you get
seven seven free nights at any one of our places.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
That's a lot. Actually, okay, so did you go. It's
like a free a free week. I was like, okay,
completely free vacation.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
And I mentioned the activity center. I was like, wait
a second, if I go it this time on this day,
my family can go do this activity while I sit
in the presentation and perfect as like a personal finance
podcast host, I'm like, this is great fodder for the show.
Like I need to have at some point in my
life sat in a timeshare presentation to know what it's like.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, so I was like, this is like that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Can't be the only one who's ever sat in a
timeshare presentation from twenty five years ago.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I did it when I was in college. This is
doubly beneficial. Didn't get a free week and also have
something some understanding, more understanding of the timeshare industry. But
I signed up and then they were like, okay, well
actually your your wife has to come with you, and
I was like, well, we get our kids here, and
so it didn't end up working out. I basically said, yeah,
I'm not it's not worth it from to that extent
(04:00):
if it's just me and they can go do something.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, So you.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Would have done it if it was just you, I
would have How long was the presentation hour and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Oh, that's not so bad of course.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Either way, I'm proud of you for sticking to your
guns and realizing at the stage of life that we're in,
our time is just more valuable. Like we are being
pulled in different directions by so many different things, right,
like obviously your everyone's mind immediately goes to your career
and the time spent there. But then like socially, I'm
thinking about the time that's being required of me, like
for my kids and all the things that they want
to do and the things that they want to tell
(04:30):
me about my friend. But then like our parents on
the other side of us as well, right like the
older generation, we're kind of we're being pulled in that way,
And so I don't think there's any other time in
our life where we're gonna feel like we have so
little time. It's like a multiplier effect compared to it's
like right now, it feels like it feels like my
time's worth four x what it was like ten years ago,
And it feels like it's gonna like like ten years
(04:51):
from ten years from now, I feel like it'll be
four times less as well. But like right now, man,
it just feels it's just it's just ramped up. It's
ramped up even more. Yeah, So I I had the
factor that and in just like the annoyance my wife's like,
I don't I don't want to go to that. I
was willing to like hang out with the kids while
you go, but I don't want to go check that out.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
So uh and while you're.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
On vacation, Yeah, that's another multiple, that's another vacation. If
that hour and a half leads to more vacation, then
it's like, I don't know, I could justify it.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Vacation time is more valuable too. That's another multiplier as well,
because an hour and a half at home, okay whatever,
I'm not doing anything, but when you're somewhere you would like,
somewhere special, you want to I don't know, there's things
I want to be doing that all the time. It's
why I'm willing to pay more for car rentals now,
because the thought of waiting in line or not having.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Do you not have to wait in line if you
pay more?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, I'm thinking about once I'm going with a more
discounted car rental agency. And I stood there and there's
like fifteen people. It took me for I think I
told the story. It took me like forty five minutes
to get through this line. And I looked over at
the nicer one that a lot of folks have heard of.
There's nobody in line and they're just sitting there talking
to each other.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Is that anomaly or is that always true?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I don't know, am I'm experientially that's true. And so
because that and I've also had I told the story
about when the more affordable option didn't have my car,
which then sent me on a hours long wasting mission
in order to find a vehicle that I could take anyway,
all that being said, I'm just pointing out that they
need to be paying a premium while you're on vacation
because the hours.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Spent while you're on vacation or those are real valuable.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Man. Just know, for everybody out there listening, if you're
interested in going to a timeshare presentation and you are married,
they're gonna want your spouse, and in fact, I think
they typically they're obligated to. Your spouse has to be there.
That's a fellow decision maker, and so you they're going
to want to make sure both of you sign on
the dotted line and not just you, So you can't
do it if your spouse isn't willing to.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
That's so interesting that they don't.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Don't force them to come along and force your kids
to come Like I was, just like, now I gotta
do that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I don't want to do.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
That it's so interesting. I would I would almost think
the opposite. I would almost think that if both of
them are there, like there's one person who's going to
say no, no, no, like we're not going to sign
on the dotted line here, Like there's one person in
the relationship who thinks.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
More rationally yeah, logically perhaps, and another who might get
carried away.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And that I guess there's all different rhymes and reasons
that they do.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
It the way they do well.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That next vacation I was already plotting. I had to
kind of start rolling back that back in my mind.
All right, let's mention the beer we're having on this episode.
This one, of course, is by Berial because it's called
the Scars on Greedy Palms, and they have just the
most interesting names of their beers. I think they just
like put in some sort of dystopian word generator or
(07:28):
phrase generator, and that's what they put on all their beers.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I think they can train whatever AI model on their
previous names of their beers and come up with an infinite.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Number one hundred percent of new beers.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yes, that would also taste delicious. That's sorry, I can't
wait to talk about this one at the end for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Already so good, all right, And if you have a
money question, we would love to hear from you. Just
think what your money question is, record it into the
voice memo app on your phone, just state your name
at the very beginning, send it back over to us,
and hopefully we can take it next week on the show.
We'd love to have an abundance of variety of your
listener questions to take to help you as an individual,
(08:03):
then also to help all of the How Money community
as well. Man, let's get to the first question for
this episode. This one's specifically about finding somebody to help
them out with their.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Money a Joel Matt Big Fans.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
My name is Lucas from escal in California, and I
had a quick question on how to go about seeking
and choosing a tax professional to help plan for retirement.
My wife and I are in a stage now where
we're looking at hopefully maxing out our eras and other
tax advantaged retirement accounts, but don't really know where to
(08:36):
go next, and so we're looking for wisdom, but we
also don't know who to go for for wisdom. So
any advice that you could give on how to seek
those professionals who to look for how much money to
spend when seeking those professionals would be tremendously helpful.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Thank you so much. Joel Lucas is looking for wisdom.
He came to the right place, did he all right? Talking?
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I thought you were referring to yourself humble as always. No,
I'm referring to you, my friend.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Well, I don't know if that's true, but we'll do
our best here, Lucas. And first you said you were
looking for a tax professional, but you also then mentioned
saving for retirement, so it doesn't necessarily sound like you're
looking specifically for a tax professional, but maybe for more
like a financial advisor who kind of keeps their eyes
on the tax ramifications of different choices you might make,
(09:27):
which totally makes sense, and I think it is one
of the biggest reasons that you should consider hiring help
is because the tax ramifications of downstream impacts of even
small mistakes that we might make, they can't add up significantly,
especially as we near retirement and our net worth has
grown significantly. It's something that you really do need to
(09:49):
pay attention to.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, So, for instance, let's say you're trying to simplify
your portfolio by selling certain holdings in your taxable brokerage account, well,
you are likely going to run up a tax bell,
potentially even into the five figures, maybe even more, and
that could be avoided with proper planning. There are many
investors and a lot of folks who are listening who
might be diligent about saving and investing, but that being said,
(10:12):
they may not be as in tune with the tax
code as well as the consequences of buying and selling
some of their different assets.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
I'd be curious to know, Matt.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Even for everyone listening like to do, how to money
listeners understand what percentage you understand that they're doing something
like short term and long term capital gains taxes and
when you pay what and what the time period is
involved in there? Right, Like that's kind of a that's
even like one on one in some ways. But I
think a lot of people don't necessarily know the difference.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
And a lot of it comes down to the fact
that one of these things we do frequently, typically every
single month, as we dollar cost of dollar cost average
into the market, and then some of these other decisions
are rarely done and because of that, we were just
less experienced typically with that. But when and how much
it is that you sell, Like I wist see it
as much of an art as a science, and I'm
(11:00):
not talking about timing the market, but you do there
is a way to avoid as much of the tax
bill as possible and having the help of a pro
who has walked I mean hopefully like hundreds of other
clients through similar circumstances, that can help you to avoid
some of the potential tax stumbling blocks that you might
run into. Yeah, almost making me think of like someone
(11:21):
climbing Mountain Everest. Man, if I wanted to go climb Everest,
which I have zero desire to do that, but if
I did, I would probably hire one of the fabled
shurpas who's like scurried up and down the.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Mountain carry all your stuff for you. That would be nice, right,
get up with a little bit lighter load. And it's
amazing like how those surpas, because they're used to that climate,
they're used to the mountain and the conditions, like they
can carry that stuff and still be like ten times
faster than the average person.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Going to climb.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And I think it's part of it. Yeah, it's just
that experience that they have, the knowledge that they have,
and there is something really really valuable about that. But
if you're in the wealth building phase of your life, Lucas,
like looking to fill up those tax advantaged accounts, you
can likely do a lot of that stuff on your
own right without the help and the added expensive a
tax professional. So right now you're trying to max out
(12:11):
your iras and your workplace accounts, which is wonderful. It's
something that we applaud and that we recommend. This show
really is built and geared towards people like you to
give you the advice and the encouragement you need to
keep on pressing towards that goal and to build that
net worth up while you're in your working years. But
you might not need a professional to help you pull
that part of it off, right. That might be something
(12:33):
that really is within your own grasp. It's all about
like growing the gap between earning and spending, diversifying, keeping
costs low, like the stuff we talk about pretty regularly,
and you're doing that quite well at this point, and
so I would just kind of take a long, hard
look at exactly where you're at. You might need hired
help in the future, But do you actually need that
hired help today, Like instead of climbing Everest, if you're like,
(12:57):
I'm just going to do a five thousand foot mountain, right,
I'm going to climb that thing. I can do that
on my own. Like, that's the state. Maybe that's the
stage you're in. And once you get to Everest levels,
that's when you do need the sharper to come along
with you. But yeah, so much that depends on where
you actually find yourself, what stage of the wealth building
process you're in.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, And so it's not a hard and fast rule
that you should hire a pro once you reach the
one or two million dollar net worth threshold, but it
is often when advisors are more likely to have you
on as a client, although different FinTechs out there have
changed that. But it's also when the stakes are high
enough for this kind of decision to matter. And where
should you turn then? At that point, well, head over
(13:37):
to howdomoney dot com forward slash advisor. That is a
great place to look for a properly vetted, fee only
fiduciary advisor. We've partnered with the great folks over at
wealth Ramp and you can hire someone by the hour.
You can even hire them now, even if you're maybe
just looking almost for more of a tune up as
opposed to an ongoing relationship. Yeah, just to answer some
(13:59):
of the questions that you might have, or maybe this
is something you want to You've got your your sites
set for, you know, much further down the road, and
establishing an ongoing relationship is something that could pay off
as well.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
And this is where paying attention to the compensation model
matters a ton and what it is that you need.
So you might go to how to money dot com,
slash advisor and say, well, I want to link up
with somebody and have an ongoing relationship and have like
an in depth financial plan created. And you can do that,
and that can cost a lot or and it might
be worth it again if you are in some of
(14:31):
those some of those later stages wealth preservation stages. But
if you're kind of early on, you're like, I just
have some really significant questions and I would like to
spend a couple of hours with somebody who really knows
what they're doing and has helped other people kind of
think through the ramp up phase. You can do that too, right,
and you can find somebody who will just you can
pay an hourly fee to and you can feel really
(14:54):
good about getting great advice without paying working over nearly
as much, and having an ongoing relationship where you're continue
to pay them a.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Year after year.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So how much should you be spending to hire this pro? Well,
that also depends, but we like the fee for service
model at paying someone at an hourly rate. I just think
it helps overall align incentives really well. There's so many
flawed models that tenderly to poor outcomes in the advisor
client relationship, specifically ones where there are commissions for selling
(15:24):
certain products. And then you have to think twice about
whether or not your advisor is recommending an insurance policy
because they stand to benefit financially by selling you that policy,
or if it's because it's actually the best thing for you.
And yet truth be told. Depending on all the stuff
we don't know about your finances, maybe things are getting
complicated enough where it makes sense for you to hire
(15:45):
someone in the near term. But we also just want
to stress that hiring an advisor is not a reason
to punt on learning for yourself.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
Man.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I think that's one of the most important things we
talk about advisors. Some people think this means I can
check out of my financial life by hiring this pro
to handle it for me, and that doesn't work out
well for a lot of people. You see the stories
of professional athletes in particular, hiring someone to manage their
finances and then they end up destitute because that person
took advantage of them. It's kind of like managing a
(16:14):
rental property. You still want to know the ins and
outs of what it looks like to do proper and
effective landlording before you hire someone to do it for you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And in regards to specific amounts, typically when you are
looking at the assets under management model, you're looking at
one percent, and I'm pretty sure wealth ramps average is
actually much less than that on average, but you can
do that. Or if you're looking at the hourly rate,
it oftentimes just a few hundred bucks if you're looking
for more of that one time service. And you know
(16:44):
what he was saying early on too, that he was
looking at hiring a tax professional. If that is actually
the scenario that he's in, I would just say just
to start asking around, because I think starting conversations with
friends and I think you'd be surprised that the folks
who you think, hey, man, they've got to going on
and figuring out who they use for their CPA for
their accountant could lead to a great conversations with them.
(17:06):
Yas might be surprised because they might be like saving
for retirement. What are you talking about, bro? But I
think that could be a good way to find someone
there local to where you are, if you are looking
for someone who you can go to in person, show
up there in the office and have a great conversation.
And I will say, personally, my accountants, I pay a
round five hundred bucks for my personal return and that
(17:28):
comes with a whole host of handling. We've got a
pretty complicated personal tax return situation with investment properties and
owning your own business, Joel. So it's almost like we
have a very similar tax preparation process that you and
I have to get its true, but hopefully those are
some numbers that can get you, I guess thinking in
the right.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Direction, Lucas.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
But Joel, you've got more to get to. We are
going to hear from a listener who thinks it might
be time actually for her parents to update their trust.
So we'll hear from her plus others right after this.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
All right, Matt, we're back. I'm telling me some more
listener questions. This one is kind of a fun frugal or.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Cheap Hey, Joel and Matt, this is Ian from Virginia.
In one of your replay episodes last week, you mentioned
something about reusing ziploc bags. I just want to know,
is that still frugal or cheap? Even though I have
a net worth in the multiple millions, I still reuse
(18:33):
ziploc bags. So I'd like to hear of you two
could make me change my mind on that or maybe
agree with me. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
All Right, Joel, You're going to make Ian change his
mind prove me wrong, is what I do. I do
like that.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I'm down to try to change his mind.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I also appreciate that. I want to, Yeah, because because
you're downe with.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
That, right, I'm down with it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
And I just want to say, like, we love taking
frugaler cheap questions, and I personally I think reusing ziplock
bags is still fruit will not cheap. Oh yeah, it
depends on what you put in it, though, because oh yeah,
I'll reuse ziplock bags or some things, in particular some
of the things I perpetually bring to work which Matt
sees me snacking on, or almonds.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I'm looking over right now, you're oh, that is a
kind of a crummy looking bag.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
It seemed better a few rounds of almonds in it.
Mango is another one which gets less nasty and messy,
and even almonds aren't too bad. So I'll use as
a bag three or four times, Mango bags six or
seven maybe.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Oh well, yeah, I completely agree, as opposed to like say,
bring some fried chicken and it's not freasy, and they're
like that's gross. Yeah, Like, yeah, don't use that. I'm
not done with that, although I'm curious. Okay, So the
bag that I think I've used reused the most. In
my backpack every day when I come to the office
with my lunch, I put my banana in a special
(19:53):
pouch so the banana doesn't get dented up becaure you
don't want it next to like the supperware containers, the.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
The hard edges well bananas for some reason, like it'll sticky, well,
slickiness on the outside.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
I was gonna say, the.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Flavor profile will seep into other things. If it's close
to over too long, that's true. I don't mind that though,
Like everything gets to taste like banana runts.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Nah, I don't want that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
The best kind of runt I want to eat. I
want my banana flavor when I have a bana. I
don't want it when I eat other stuff. But that
makes that like I truly think fed chicken that tastes.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Like banana man, I don't know, sounds prettyummy, okay, my
banana bags.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So like I take it and I throw it in.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
There because of the like the stickies, like the sap
or whatever that comes out of the banana peel. I
don't want that getting all over the inside. I'm a
backpack yeah, so that's why I stick it inside the
bag and then I roll it up and toss it
in there. But I truly think that I've had that
bag for like for years, because why would I why
would I change it out? Because the banana comes in
its own zip bloc bag. It comes in its peel,
that's right, and so it's not like.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Unlike most foods. It has its own its own pouch. Yeah,
pouch exactly. Well, then I think it's you could highlight
that there are other options right there, like reusable ziploc bags,
stasher bags or one of those like this Skilicon bags.
You and I try to try this. I still use
them sometimes, especially like kind of a pain in the
butt if we make kids, the kids paying you need
(21:05):
to wash out?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, yeah, they can be.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well that's that's the thing, because some containers like tupperware
are eat super easy because I can throw them in
the dishwasher. Yeah, flip them over and they're going to
get clean. Whereas those stasher bags they want to close,
like the their default position is shut. Yeah, and so
sticking those in the dishwasher to try to get clean.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Oh you got a hand washer. See that's okay. I'm
hand washing stuff a lot. Hey, that raises another question.
Are you hand washing ziploc bags if you're if you're
if you'ressing it now, I'm tossing it.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
If you're washing a stasher bag, what's the difference? Because
they hold up better, there's a good there. I'm not
going to wash the zip lock bag. I'm just because
and and the if it's currently holding up though, bag
isn't high enough to get me interested in washing it.
And how those aren't gonna dry. Where's the Stasher bag?
You can leave it open and dry it, can you?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah? Okay, yeah you can't.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I'm living here living proof that you can. So yeah,
they have like generic equivalents too, because the Stasher bags
can be kind of expensive. That's the name brand. Yeah,
and you have to decide, well, how many uses is
it going to take to pay off? We have a
few that we use, and I will say for certain
things they're helpful. I guess it'd also be better for
the environment over the long term. But if you're being
(22:12):
thoughtful about that, reusing plastic, your plastic bags like your ziplocks.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, and I guess you're just as easy to wash
and dry. Not true, Okay, so I was just thinking
through this. Here is why it is true because when
you I don't know if you do this, but if
you take a ziploc bag, and this is helpful a
when you're loading it, but it also b when you're
when you're trying to get it to dry, but you
fold back the.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Zip, you know what I'm talking about, You cuff it.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Essentially, it'll not as easy, but then it will stay
upside down and it will dry out. Whereas again, the
Stasher bags. They want to shut they they just want
to stay moist and wet and clammy and.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Gross man not sue. Not true.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
That being said, I'm not I'm also not out there
hand washing ziplock bags because I'm just not doing that
right now.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Well, and they're so little value, Like I don't know
what they cost per bag, and that'd be interesting. I
should run run the math on that. Before we took
this question. My guess, is there what like eight cents
a piece, twelve cents apiece something like this that block Yeah, son,
I feels terrible, but it is nice If I'm like,
if I can bring that down to three or four
cents per use, essentially by reusing those for non messy items,
(23:16):
I'm totally down to do that.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I get that.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Part of the reason we like to take frugal cheap
questions too is because it can be a hang up
for people who lean overly frugal. Right, they border on
cheap and they major on minor things, because ultimately, when
it comes down to your decision on whether or not
to reuse it block bags, it's not going to make
a major difference in your wealth building efforts. But some
people are so concerned with pinching pennies, and they're leading
(23:39):
big bucks on the table in terms of negotiating their
pay or investing in their own human capital, and there
can be this tendency to major on the miners to
think in like have just short sighted thinking in the
personal finance space. But in retort to what I just
said as well, Matt, I've also just begun to think
that my frugal choice is they're not just about how
(24:01):
large my net worth is and how big it can grow.
I don't want a bran new car because I don't
value it, even if my bank account says I can
afford it, even if my bank account says I can
afford unlimited zip block bags and I don't have to
reuse them. There's something I value about being able to
reuse things and not flippantly throw away money.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
And I get that.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
I think there's a I don't know if it's a
gamification aspect, but I guess it can be. To me
at times is yeah, do I have to upgrade that thing?
If not, I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Sure, Yeah, yeah, so Ian, I would say, no matter
how big your net worth gets, like, don't be so
cheap as to not reconsider your spending habits from time
to time in order to maximize the value of the
dollars that you've a masked, but also don't become so
flippant that you completely disregard these small ways to make
or to save money that matter more than just the
(24:51):
actual dollars or the pennies that you might be clowing back, right,
Because intelligent use of money, it's not just about your
overall optimization levels. I think there's a per satisfaction and
like a fulfillment side of things too, where you get
to live your life according to your specific values and
so like, just because you can spend money in a
more absurd way doesn't mean that you should. Like, there
(25:14):
is something intrinsically rewarding to live your life intentionally, to
live a well considered life, and even when like the
eventual outcome might be similar to where you would have
ended up had you not thought about it. Right, Like,
on the surface, you might have two people and oh
they look really similar or some of the purchases that
(25:34):
they make, But I think how it is that they
arrive to that point has all the difference in their
life fulfillment and satisfaction and something that kind of empowers
as to why it is that they did the thing
to begin with.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yeah, Like there's more enjoyment that I think you can
get out of life when you've thought through some of
these things.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And I guess when it comes down to it, I
think of frugality in the proper context as a virtue.
And when you think of something as a virtue, it
goes beyond just a way to save a little bit
of money. It and I don't know, maybe this is
overstating it, but it does become a part of your
identity to a certain extent. And I don't want to
be like the frugal guy right like in like the
nerdiest way possible. But I do think that like intentional
(26:15):
frugality in the right places truly does reach that level
of virtue, at least in my conceptualization of it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Totally agree, man, Yes, it's about throwing your weight behind
the things you truly care about and then like not
hardly giving any attention to the things that you don't
care about.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I'm still not picking up pennies.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
So I well, I'll leave it for my kids. Now
actually came and we're walking arond the neighborhood. We saw
a bunch of change and I started kind of going
for them, and then I was like, actual, Leslie, tell
the kids about that, and they can come up here
instead of to head up to the cul de sac.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Pretty soon, the reason to pick them up is going
to be because they're a relic from bygone era.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
All right, Let's get to another question, Matt. This one
is from a listener who has a question about helping
her parents out.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
My name is Jocelyn, and I'm from the San Francisco
Bay area. My question is related to my parents' estate plan.
They have a trust that's at least thirty years old,
and they own multiple rent properties. It's actually not clear
to me whether each property has its own trust or
everything is included under one. But this trust hasn't been
reviewed in decades, so I'm trying to figure out what's
(27:15):
the best next step. Should they just get a new
trust drafted or is it actually a thing to get
an old trust reviewed and updated. Open to your thoughts
and thank you for all the help, all.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right, Jocelyn, I think this is a really important question.
Thank you for sending this one our way, because I
think any way that you can help your parents to
get things squared away now is going to benefit you
when your parents pass. And this doesn't even include like
if you've got siblings as well. This is it's like
a PSA that you're doing, you know, on their behalf
as well. And by the way, this we're gonna kind
(27:50):
of we're gonna wait into more like legal territory, Joel,
You and I we are not lawyers, We are not
estate planning attorneys.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
And I didn't even sleep at a holiday and last.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Night, Jocelyn reach out to us, and we're going to
do our best to help inform you a little bit
and to at least give you our thoughts on estate
planning from more of a personal finance standpoint.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And usually kind of like what you're alluding to, Matt,
is people they don't address some of these issues until
it's pastime, and that can create significant issues. Something that
can be like a small task on the front end
can be an enormous burden for family members left behind
if not addressed properly right. So I've seen this recently
(28:30):
where like just something as simple as not changing and
beneficiary right can have cascading impacts on the family that's
left behind and grieving, and so it's really important to
think about the stuff on the front end. Joshlyn is
a wise daughter to be doing.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
That.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Just doesn't sound like you want to get all up
in your parents' business just for the sake of it, right,
It sounds like you just want to make sure that
they have their ducks in a row. My guess is
that those rental properties are in a single revocable living
trust because each property can still have its own LLC
designation if that's the case, which provides legal protection for
(29:07):
each of those rental properties for your parents, while still
ensuring that they didn't have to create a rat's nest
of trust. And so it's likely what they did when
they created this many decades ago. But I guess you'll
find that out in this process.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
That's right, But Joss, multiple decades, Holy cow, I think
you said thirty years.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
It's definitely time to review this trust because a lot,
a lot could certainly have happened over these years, right,
Like we're maybe talking to new members of the family,
maybe new assets, a different split as to what assets
are going to go to which person. But whether your
folks end up simply updating so that's the term that
you used. Whether they do that, whether they update the
(29:49):
trust as opposed to scrapping it all together and starting fresh,
it depends on the scope of the changes that they
are looking to make. And by the way, updating the
trust is actually called amending the trust, so like not
unlike the amendments to our constitution.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Oh, do you have a favorite amendment, Matt, that you
want to share with us?
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Now?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Which one? Which one repealed the Oh? Yeah, the undoing
your prohibition? Yes, exactly, that's one of.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
My But if they are one, so that's an amendment.
But if your folks are wanting to make a fairly
straightforward change to their trust, like the ones I just mentioned,
then an amendment should totally suffice. So, for instance, adding
a new beneficiary like that is something that can totally
be accomplished via an amendment.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
True story.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
On the other hand, if you're going to make significant
changes to the trust, and over the years the trust
has multiple amendments, well, which it doesn't sound like that's
been the case, Matp, because they haven't touched it so right,
it's been sitting and gathering dust. Yeah, but that would
be when restating the trust could likely make more sense, right,
because if not done well, all the new amendments could
(30:56):
conflict with each other, making it difficult to understand what's
going on and what your parents' actual wishes were. So
it could create some vagueness in the trust that you
don't want to exist.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, alluding to more of the rats nest scenarios that
you alled to earlier, That's totally what happens when you
keep on like bolting on these new fixtures to.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
This which amendments supersedes which one? And what was the
original intent of the framers of this trust.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
I almost almost picture like a like a eighty eight
Camaro or something like that, and like over the years
it's got new owners and like everyone keeps adding things on.
It's like, oh the spoiler and not the spoiler pipes
out the side. Oh I'm gonna put this on the engine.
And man, after twenty thirty years, you start looking at
this thing and you're like, does this thing even run?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Is it even possible?
Speaker 1 (31:39):
In high school, it wasn't Camaros, it was Honda Civics.
That's what people used to mess with those and add
on all sorts of stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
A Honda says at least they get good gas myledge.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
But then you couldn't even tell that were Honda civics
at the end of the day. So I think that's
kind of your point. There's also the issue of privacy,
right that's lost when you make amendments because as beneficiaries,
they can see the history of the amendments, which could
lead to some dramas and potentially hurt feelings exactly. But
I think it's worth considering an amendment since those are
generally more affordable and easier to pull off than doing
a complete reinstatement of the trust or restatement of the trust.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Yeah, Restating the trust is sort of like if you
strip the command or the hunt a sieve down to
its frame and like completely rebuild the thing from scratch,
as opposed to just like slapping slapping on a new accessory.
But Jocelyn, again, this isn't something that we're experts on,
and so we would highly recommend reaching out to an
estate planning attorney with your folks. And this is actually
(32:32):
assuming too that your folks are. You said that you
are there in the Bay Area. This is assuming that
your folks are as well. But you want to reach
out to in a state planning attorney wherever, in whatever
state that your folks live in. And I just think
this is a great way for you to proactively get
the ball rolling or having these conversations with your parents.
And it's just going to be a better way to
understand what it is that your parents, what they've got
(32:53):
going on, and ultimately what their wishes are. Like that's
the whole point of the trust as well, for them
to be able to direct their resources, their assets that
they've worked hard and accumulated over the years, that they're
going to the right people and in the right directions
that they wanted to.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
And this should not be an expensive endeavor. I mean,
we're talking three figures, not even four figures in all likelihood.
I mean, depending maybe low four figures.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Restatement could cost a lot, depending on the complexity involves.
But an amendment isn't something. And again the fact that
it hasn't been touched, I feel like and if there
aren't actually any major changes, it seems like an amendment
that addresses some of these issues might be all she needs.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Yeah, it might be a simple fix, all right, man,
We've got more to get to, more questions to get
to from listeners, including one about like pest control and
the game kind of expensive? Is that something I should ditch?
We'll get through that and more right after this.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
All right, buddy, we are back from the break and
it is now tigned for the Facebook Question of the Week,
which is from Susan and she wrote, I have savings
languishing away in a low interest money market at my bank.
I've been thinking of putting it into a high yield
savings account. I already have an AMEX high old savings
set up with about twenty thousand dollars in it. But
(34:10):
the interest rate has gone down multiple times in two
years and has never gone up. Is that the case
with all high yield savings accounts? Yeah, yep, Yeah, that's
pretty much that's what we've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So if that's the only question, let's move on now.
I mean, truly, every high yield savings account has seen
rates drop, and there's really no exception to this rule
that I'm aware of. And uh, well, except for maybe
one matt one savings rate that I can say, rates
have not gone down at all. They've not gone southward,
and that is only with the giant banks. They haven't
(34:45):
changed their saving rates not one bit. Isn't that impressive? Yeah,
there's nowhere but up when you are at point zero
one percent. Yeah, so avoid those dummies, the giant banks,
because yeah, they don't change their savings rates, but that
means they never move them upwards. So I guess just
by staying the same, they're starting to look slightly more
competitive with true high healed savings accounts. But yeah, I
(35:07):
mean because of the downward movement in rates, yeah, the
head man, Yeah, they lowering those rates. That impacts a
bunch of different sectors of the economy. But the saddest
part for me, I really hate to see, like we
went through this era of sabers making essentially nothing, and
I just hate to see sabers getting crushed. And so
rates are still obviously higher than they were six or
(35:29):
seven years ago, but yeah, to see them go back
down kind of brings a tear to my eye.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, the past three or four years were nice if
you were sitting on a good amount of cash. But
as the FED has lowered rates, I mean savings rates,
that's one of the most immediate responses that you like
you hear from your bank. Basically within hours of the
FED announcing a rate cut. Yeah, you're just like anticipating
that email. It's there, and yeah, but I will say
(35:56):
AMX's rates are actually they're pretty solid. They are totally
in the bresh lone of online savings accounts, and so
if you're happy with the product and you're happy with
the customer service, I would totally just stick with them. Like,
you can always find a slightly higher rate. C for instance,
has a slightly higher rate than what it is that
amex is offering. I think MX is around three and
(36:17):
a half percent. But it's often not worth the headache
of switching banks unless Yeah, I mean if you got
a ton of money, like I mean, if you know,
I don't know, if you go from twenty to sixty
to seventy thousand, I might say, yeah, I might try
to grab that extra point two five percent, because that
does add up over time.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Even with twenty grand, it's totally worth going from big
bank to one of our favorite online savings.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Into the accounts in the threes. Yeah, that jump is
worth it.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
But trying to go from like three and a half
to three point nine or something like that, I just
I don't think it's worth the hassle for most people.
But yes, Susan savings rates are going down. Your your
bank is not treating you unfairly. It is just what's
happening in the market right now. Let's get to another question.
This one comes from Katie. She says thoughts on termite
treatment warranties and other options. When I bought my home
(37:06):
in twenty seventeen, I inherited a termite policy. My house
was treated during construction with a trench and barrier system
that has reapplied every ten years. It was done at
time of construction twenty four again in twenty fifteen, and
is due again this year. I've never had any problems
with termites, so my house was inspected last year with
no issues. My home is in Florida with frame construction
and hardyboard siding. Since I bought the home, the cost
(37:29):
of renewal has gone up every year. Started around one
hundred and fifty bucks, but it's ballooned to almost five
hundred bucks a year. The company that originally sold the
contract was a large regional provider that has since been
bought by a bigger company. I'm considered a legacy customer
because my policy, and this is a long question by
the way, which includes cost of any repair is not
just treatment is no longer offered. As long as I
(37:49):
maintained the policy, I'm covered, But once it's canceled, I can't.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Get it back.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I'm pining the renewal this year because it's a retreatment
year and that's already included. But with the price continuing
to rise, I'm wondering whether it's worth the cost going forward.
I have a good emergency fund. Should I just self
ensure or are there other options I should be looking at?
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Well, first off, I think what she said about it's
a retreatment year, so yeah, that would be I think
it would be unwise to stop paying right now, like
you've been paying into this thing, go ahead and get
that last treatment. But I would totally consider not paying
the next year. Yeah, not renewing that thing.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
This is Joel.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
This is like an industry that I feel is more
clouded with fear a little bit right Like, it feels
like such a she said she's a legacy customer. I
feel like all like pest control generally speaking, feels somewhat
like a legacy industry where for a while there when
people weren't treating their homes at all and we didn't
Folks didn't know better, and there's like a lot of
(38:44):
brush up against their house and houses were getting termine damage.
And yeah, across the country, we needed to make a
whole lot of changes. But I feel like we've wised
up right, and I think there's a whole lot of
common sense that we can put to use and say,
maybe you shouldn't put all that firewood up against your house,
like there are some things like that, it's a pretty.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Ground for insects that you don't want in your.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
House absolutely, And so I think thinking through that, I
think think thinking through whether or not you are in
a more rural, wooded area, I'm going to be more
likely to say to to say yes to maintaining that
pest control versus a mo urban environment where there's hardly
any trees around and it's mostly concrete or think. And
she mentioned how her home is constructed. It makes me
(39:27):
think about your old house that was like literally made
of concrete, like the outside there was no intermites.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
They couldn't they couldn't. And so I think this.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Is like your neighbors both have term do they have
termite treatments going on? And that's kind of insulating you
to a certain extent.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, it's true.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yes, I think these are just may be going on
their door ask They're just all considerations. It's not this
like world ending thing. Termites are bugs and you don't
want them for sure, and they can cause a lot
of damage. But I think by implementing some common sense,
I think that can help you to decide whether or
not this is thing that you want to keep up yourself,
whether you want to cancel all together or just continue
(40:03):
to pay.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
I mean, it's kind of like I put this in
the category of you should go to the dentist twice
a year, and you should get your oil changed every
three thousand miles. Those are good rules of thumb. But
it's also true that if you go to the dentist
once a year and you get your oil changed every
five thousand miles, you're gonna be okay, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Especially if you are running on synthetic oil.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Right exactly so, and I get the five hundred dollars
a year reacit like, it's like, I don't want to
spend that much on this. I've got other goals, other
things I want to do with that money. But I
think the horror stories about what termites have and can do.
They often keep people paying the price exactly even if
they like don't want to, but they're like, gosh, I
don't feel I'm between a rock and a hard place.
I don't have another option, but you have to weigh
(40:44):
the risks and the potential rewards of keeping the coverage
versus ditching it. And Matt, I don't have one of
these contracts on my home. But we also regularly DIY
pest control using a product called Telstar. We have a
post on how to money dot com about how we
DII our own pest control. Taustar does not work the
same way. It does not kill the the termite colony,
(41:06):
but if you spray it regularly around your house, it
creates a barrier or like essentially a repellent for those termites.
But mark your calendar spray the predator of your house regularly,
which essentially means every three months. And that website where
we buy Taustar, they also sell the termite based bait
stations that you can install yourself. The ones that the
professional pest control companies are using.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Switch over to the bait stations instead of spraying.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
And this is like that's even more effective then, right,
So there are I think ways to also say, listen,
I don't want to like just stop and do nothing
and see what happens, just roll the dice, but I
do want to take some preventative measures. But also like,
do I really need to pay some one five hundred
bucks a year for that? Probably not?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Ultimately, this is something that you can do for a
lot less money, Katie. But if you were to actually
have termine activity or god forbid, an actual like full
on infestation, you would of course be on the hook
for repairs. And so that's something that you mentioned, Joel,
that the plan that she has cumber covers repairs, which
is that I mean, that's pretty great. And also I'm
(42:11):
gonna know that she mentioned that she's in Florida. Termites
are much worse in the southeast, and so I would
factor that in for sure as well. It all comes
down to risk and whether or not you're willing, whether
or not you're willing to roll the dice. And actually
I'm thinking about what you said about reaching out to neighbors,
because there is a certain element and maybe touch on
a hot topic, hot button topic, like it makes me
(42:33):
think of like people who choose to or to not
get vaccinated. I'm not gonna judge either way. In a
similar way, there's a herd, there's a level of herd immunity, right,
And if everyone around you is taking great care of
their home, and whether it's their spraying themselves or whether
they've got these great termite bonds, these warranties in place,
chances are you are going to be much less susceptible
(42:55):
to having termites. But that being said, if you look
around and everyone around you is being a bit reckless,
a bit careless, Like everyone around you is like they're
stacking all the wood up against their house and you
live in the middle of the woods, yeah i'd be
I'd probably sign up for the having someone else take
care of this, because that's not something I would want
to I don't want to mess with.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
So not not simple and easy or straightforward, But I
think there are things you can do to get away
from this expensive obligation. Diyatt and still feel pretty comfortable
about your prospects for avoiding termite damage.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Totally agree.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
All right, let's get back to the beer mat. This
one was called the Scars on Greedy palms. It was
an ipa was burial. But also they did this in
collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing, which is out of Seattle. What
were your thoughts on this?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
I pa, cloud Burst, that sounds like such an appropriate
name for a brewery out of Seattle. Get us where
it rains. This beer was so stinking good man. It
smelled incredibly dank right when we cracked it and poured it,
but at the same time it drank so fresh. I
don't know if I ever had ever had a beer
that was so dank smelling but then so fresh tasting.
(44:01):
So it was simultaneously happy, but it was also balanced
as well. It was bright and light, jewel but at
the same time was earthy. Somehow this beer packed like
all the ends, all the spectrums into.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
One singular beer, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could.
I can't so good. I can't say.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
I don't know whether this beer was a kin to
walking out in like a fifty something degree morning where
it's like crisp and beautiful and luscious.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
It's a little chilly, but then the warmth from the
sun is warming your face. Somehow got it all?
Speaker 1 (44:30):
It's yeah, exactly, there's like a mixed thing in there
because I'm not cold. I'm so happy, yes, and I
feel bright and sunshine and this beer like ran that
gamut and so yeah, I really really enjoyed this one,
and I yeah, I'll get more if I can because
it was that good.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Maybe that was because of the Simcoe Dinah boost. I
I don't even know what that is.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
I know, I know, I was like, that sounds like
something from the movie Cars that like Queen would put
a or something.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
I love it. But that's gonna be it for this episode.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
You can find our show notes up on the website
at howsomoney dot com. Hey leave us a review if
you enjoy this episode and you haven't yet done that
for us, and of course you can do that wherever
it is that you're currently listening to this episode.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
Buddy, that's going to be it. So until next time,
Best Trinds Out, Best Friends Out,
Welcome to Head of Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and
today we're going to answer some of your listener questions.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
That's right, buddy, We've got let's see five excellent listener
money questions to get to.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Today. We're gonna talk.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
About finding a tax professional, specifically a listener. He wants
to know how much he should be paying and actually
whether or not he should be considering a tax pro
We'll get into all that here in a second. Another
listener's got millions of dollars in the bank. He's still
using his ziploc bags. He wants to know how we
feel about that, whether we endorse this move or whether
(00:51):
we're gonna put the gobash on it.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Are they actual name brand Ziploc bags, Matt, or are
they the generics?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Is it Boulder that's the that's the Aldie brand. Of
course I know the Boulder bags.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
And of course in recent months, Costco has launched Kirklan's
signature rivals to the zip blocks they're shaking in their boots.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, oh it's been I hardly ever get over to
the Costco as much anymore, much to your great shame.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I'm really only heading over there to get the Kirklemansig
smoker pellets, and then also the meat that needs to
go on top of the trigger whatever.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
I do want to.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Spoke a big old hunk of meat. That's a good
reason to venture it is it's not typically something I'm
going to find at Aldi the big like a brisket.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
That's good for report.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
But I wanted to also highlight one other listener question
that's more of a homeowner's question. She's got a question
about her termite bond or termite warranty, I.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Think is what she calls it. But we'll get to
those plus more during our episode today.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Yeah, those can be expensive. What do you do when
it feels like it's breaking the budget? Matt quickly wanted
to mention I stayed for the first time ever at
a timeshare resort. Oh, do tell well? This was the
listeners because I know, well, this was just because of
the generosity of something. They said, Hey, I've got extra
extra points, would you like to stay? I would like
(02:08):
to use some of those points for a free stay
for you and your family. And I was like, yes, please,
thank you very much, And it was it was such
a pleasant experience. We had the best we had the
best trip and nice to have free lodging when you go,
so that was awesome one of the things. Uh, there
were some things I really liked about it, including like
they have this like activity center and we did some
(02:28):
family activities. That was like a fun, different, unique part
of a trip too. But then there was when I
like when I signed in or when I like checked in,
they said, hey, do you want to go to a
times your presentation?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Of course they did, so, yeah, you started with a pros,
but then you got to the cons.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Well they asked him that they honestly were not ridiculously
pushy about it or anything like that, but I said,
you know what, I don't know. I think I might
be interested in in it. What's like, what do I
get if I go? And they said, well, you get
seven seven free nights at any one of our places.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
That's a lot. Actually, okay, so did you go. It's
like a free a free week. I was like, okay,
completely free vacation.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
And I mentioned the activity center. I was like, wait
a second, if I go it this time on this day,
my family can go do this activity while I sit
in the presentation and perfect as like a personal finance
podcast host, I'm like, this is great fodder for the show.
Like I need to have at some point in my
life sat in a timeshare presentation to know what it's like.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yeah, so I was like, this is like that.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Can't be the only one who's ever sat in a
timeshare presentation from twenty five years ago.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I did it when I was in college. This is
doubly beneficial. Didn't get a free week and also have
something some understanding, more understanding of the timeshare industry. But
I signed up and then they were like, okay, well
actually your your wife has to come with you, and
I was like, well, we get our kids here, and
so it didn't end up working out. I basically said, yeah,
I'm not it's not worth it from to that extent
(04:00):
if it's just me and they can go do something.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Yeah, So you.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Would have done it if it was just you, I
would have How long was the presentation hour and a half.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Oh, that's not so bad of course.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Either way, I'm proud of you for sticking to your
guns and realizing at the stage of life that we're in,
our time is just more valuable. Like we are being
pulled in different directions by so many different things, right,
like obviously your everyone's mind immediately goes to your career
and the time spent there. But then like socially, I'm
thinking about the time that's being required of me, like
for my kids and all the things that they want
to do and the things that they want to tell
(04:30):
me about my friend. But then like our parents on
the other side of us as well, right like the
older generation, we're kind of we're being pulled in that way,
And so I don't think there's any other time in
our life where we're gonna feel like we have so
little time. It's like a multiplier effect compared to it's
like right now, it feels like it feels like my
time's worth four x what it was like ten years ago,
And it feels like it's gonna like like ten years
(04:51):
from ten years from now, I feel like it'll be
four times less as well. But like right now, man,
it just feels it's just it's just ramped up. It's
ramped up even more. Yeah, So I I had the
factor that and in just like the annoyance my wife's like,
I don't I don't want to go to that. I
was willing to like hang out with the kids while
you go, but I don't want to go check that out.
Speaker 3 (05:08):
So uh and while you're.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
On vacation, Yeah, that's another multiple, that's another vacation. If
that hour and a half leads to more vacation, then
it's like, I don't know, I could justify it.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Vacation time is more valuable too. That's another multiplier as well,
because an hour and a half at home, okay whatever,
I'm not doing anything, but when you're somewhere you would like,
somewhere special, you want to I don't know, there's things
I want to be doing that all the time. It's
why I'm willing to pay more for car rentals now,
because the thought of waiting in line or not having.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
Do you not have to wait in line if you
pay more?
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Well, I'm thinking about once I'm going with a more
discounted car rental agency. And I stood there and there's
like fifteen people. It took me for I think I
told the story. It took me like forty five minutes
to get through this line. And I looked over at
the nicer one that a lot of folks have heard of.
There's nobody in line and they're just sitting there talking
to each other.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Is that anomaly or is that always true?
Speaker 2 (05:56):
I don't know, am I'm experientially that's true. And so
because that and I've also had I told the story
about when the more affordable option didn't have my car,
which then sent me on a hours long wasting mission
in order to find a vehicle that I could take anyway,
all that being said, I'm just pointing out that they
need to be paying a premium while you're on vacation
because the hours.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
Spent while you're on vacation or those are real valuable.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Man. Just know, for everybody out there listening, if you're
interested in going to a timeshare presentation and you are married,
they're gonna want your spouse, and in fact, I think
they typically they're obligated to. Your spouse has to be there.
That's a fellow decision maker, and so you they're going
to want to make sure both of you sign on
the dotted line and not just you, So you can't
do it if your spouse isn't willing to.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
That's so interesting that they don't.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Don't force them to come along and force your kids
to come Like I was, just like, now I gotta
do that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
I don't want to do.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
That it's so interesting. I would I would almost think
the opposite. I would almost think that if both of
them are there, like there's one person who's going to
say no, no, no, like we're not going to sign
on the dotted line here, Like there's one person in
the relationship who thinks.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
More rationally yeah, logically perhaps, and another who might get
carried away.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And that I guess there's all different rhymes and reasons
that they do.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
It the way they do well.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
That next vacation I was already plotting. I had to
kind of start rolling back that back in my mind.
All right, let's mention the beer we're having on this episode.
This one, of course, is by Berial because it's called
the Scars on Greedy Palms, and they have just the
most interesting names of their beers. I think they just
like put in some sort of dystopian word generator or
(07:28):
phrase generator, and that's what they put on all their beers.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I think they can train whatever AI model on their
previous names of their beers and come up with an infinite.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Number one hundred percent of new beers.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yes, that would also taste delicious. That's sorry, I can't
wait to talk about this one at the end for sure.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Already so good, all right, And if you have a
money question, we would love to hear from you. Just
think what your money question is, record it into the
voice memo app on your phone, just state your name
at the very beginning, send it back over to us,
and hopefully we can take it next week on the show.
We'd love to have an abundance of variety of your
listener questions to take to help you as an individual,
(08:03):
then also to help all of the How Money community
as well. Man, let's get to the first question for
this episode. This one's specifically about finding somebody to help
them out with their.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Money a Joel Matt Big Fans.
Speaker 5 (08:16):
My name is Lucas from escal in California, and I
had a quick question on how to go about seeking
and choosing a tax professional to help plan for retirement.
My wife and I are in a stage now where
we're looking at hopefully maxing out our eras and other
tax advantaged retirement accounts, but don't really know where to
(08:36):
go next, and so we're looking for wisdom, but we
also don't know who to go for for wisdom. So
any advice that you could give on how to seek
those professionals who to look for how much money to
spend when seeking those professionals would be tremendously helpful.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Thank you so much. Joel Lucas is looking for wisdom.
He came to the right place, did he all right? Talking?
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I thought you were referring to yourself humble as always. No,
I'm referring to you, my friend.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Well, I don't know if that's true, but we'll do
our best here, Lucas. And first you said you were
looking for a tax professional, but you also then mentioned
saving for retirement, so it doesn't necessarily sound like you're
looking specifically for a tax professional, but maybe for more
like a financial advisor who kind of keeps their eyes
on the tax ramifications of different choices you might make,
(09:27):
which totally makes sense, and I think it is one
of the biggest reasons that you should consider hiring help
is because the tax ramifications of downstream impacts of even
small mistakes that we might make, they can't add up significantly,
especially as we near retirement and our net worth has
grown significantly. It's something that you really do need to
(09:49):
pay attention to.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Totally.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, So, for instance, let's say you're trying to simplify
your portfolio by selling certain holdings in your taxable brokerage account, well,
you are likely going to run up a tax bell,
potentially even into the five figures, maybe even more, and
that could be avoided with proper planning. There are many
investors and a lot of folks who are listening who
might be diligent about saving and investing, but that being said,
(10:12):
they may not be as in tune with the tax
code as well as the consequences of buying and selling
some of their different assets.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
I'd be curious to know, Matt.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Even for everyone listening like to do, how to money
listeners understand what percentage you understand that they're doing something
like short term and long term capital gains taxes and
when you pay what and what the time period is
involved in there? Right, Like that's kind of a that's
even like one on one in some ways. But I
think a lot of people don't necessarily know the difference.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
And a lot of it comes down to the fact
that one of these things we do frequently, typically every
single month, as we dollar cost of dollar cost average
into the market, and then some of these other decisions
are rarely done and because of that, we were just
less experienced typically with that. But when and how much
it is that you sell, Like I wist see it
as much of an art as a science, and I'm
(11:00):
not talking about timing the market, but you do there
is a way to avoid as much of the tax
bill as possible and having the help of a pro
who has walked I mean hopefully like hundreds of other
clients through similar circumstances, that can help you to avoid
some of the potential tax stumbling blocks that you might
run into. Yeah, almost making me think of like someone
(11:21):
climbing Mountain Everest. Man, if I wanted to go climb Everest,
which I have zero desire to do that, but if
I did, I would probably hire one of the fabled
shurpas who's like scurried up and down the.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Mountain carry all your stuff for you. That would be nice, right,
get up with a little bit lighter load. And it's
amazing like how those surpas, because they're used to that climate,
they're used to the mountain and the conditions, like they
can carry that stuff and still be like ten times
faster than the average person.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Going to climb.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
And I think it's part of it. Yeah, it's just
that experience that they have, the knowledge that they have,
and there is something really really valuable about that. But
if you're in the wealth building phase of your life, Lucas,
like looking to fill up those tax advantaged accounts, you
can likely do a lot of that stuff on your
own right without the help and the added expensive a
tax professional. So right now you're trying to max out
(12:11):
your iras and your workplace accounts, which is wonderful. It's
something that we applaud and that we recommend. This show
really is built and geared towards people like you to
give you the advice and the encouragement you need to
keep on pressing towards that goal and to build that
net worth up while you're in your working years. But
you might not need a professional to help you pull
that part of it off, right. That might be something
(12:33):
that really is within your own grasp. It's all about
like growing the gap between earning and spending, diversifying, keeping
costs low, like the stuff we talk about pretty regularly,
and you're doing that quite well at this point, and
so I would just kind of take a long, hard
look at exactly where you're at. You might need hired
help in the future, But do you actually need that
hired help today, Like instead of climbing Everest, if you're like,
(12:57):
I'm just going to do a five thousand foot mountain, right,
I'm going to climb that thing. I can do that
on my own. Like, that's the state. Maybe that's the
stage you're in. And once you get to Everest levels,
that's when you do need the sharper to come along
with you. But yeah, so much that depends on where
you actually find yourself, what stage of the wealth building
process you're in.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, And so it's not a hard and fast rule
that you should hire a pro once you reach the
one or two million dollar net worth threshold, but it
is often when advisors are more likely to have you
on as a client, although different FinTechs out there have
changed that. But it's also when the stakes are high
enough for this kind of decision to matter. And where
should you turn then? At that point, well, head over
(13:37):
to howdomoney dot com forward slash advisor. That is a
great place to look for a properly vetted, fee only
fiduciary advisor. We've partnered with the great folks over at
wealth Ramp and you can hire someone by the hour.
You can even hire them now, even if you're maybe
just looking almost for more of a tune up as
opposed to an ongoing relationship. Yeah, just to answer some
(13:59):
of the questions that you might have, or maybe this
is something you want to You've got your your sites
set for, you know, much further down the road, and
establishing an ongoing relationship is something that could pay off
as well.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
And this is where paying attention to the compensation model
matters a ton and what it is that you need.
So you might go to how to money dot com,
slash advisor and say, well, I want to link up
with somebody and have an ongoing relationship and have like
an in depth financial plan created. And you can do that,
and that can cost a lot or and it might
be worth it again if you are in some of
(14:31):
those some of those later stages wealth preservation stages. But
if you're kind of early on, you're like, I just
have some really significant questions and I would like to
spend a couple of hours with somebody who really knows
what they're doing and has helped other people kind of
think through the ramp up phase. You can do that too, right,
and you can find somebody who will just you can
pay an hourly fee to and you can feel really
(14:54):
good about getting great advice without paying working over nearly
as much, and having an ongoing relationship where you're continue
to pay them a.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Year after year.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
So how much should you be spending to hire this pro? Well,
that also depends, but we like the fee for service
model at paying someone at an hourly rate. I just think
it helps overall align incentives really well. There's so many
flawed models that tenderly to poor outcomes in the advisor
client relationship, specifically ones where there are commissions for selling
(15:24):
certain products. And then you have to think twice about
whether or not your advisor is recommending an insurance policy
because they stand to benefit financially by selling you that policy,
or if it's because it's actually the best thing for you.
And yet truth be told. Depending on all the stuff
we don't know about your finances, maybe things are getting
complicated enough where it makes sense for you to hire
(15:45):
someone in the near term. But we also just want
to stress that hiring an advisor is not a reason
to punt on learning for yourself.
Speaker 6 (15:52):
Man.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I think that's one of the most important things we
talk about advisors. Some people think this means I can
check out of my financial life by hiring this pro
to handle it for me, and that doesn't work out
well for a lot of people. You see the stories
of professional athletes in particular, hiring someone to manage their
finances and then they end up destitute because that person
took advantage of them. It's kind of like managing a
(16:14):
rental property. You still want to know the ins and
outs of what it looks like to do proper and
effective landlording before you hire someone to do it for you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
And in regards to specific amounts, typically when you are
looking at the assets under management model, you're looking at
one percent, and I'm pretty sure wealth ramps average is
actually much less than that on average, but you can
do that. Or if you're looking at the hourly rate,
it oftentimes just a few hundred bucks if you're looking
for more of that one time service. And you know
(16:44):
what he was saying early on too, that he was
looking at hiring a tax professional. If that is actually
the scenario that he's in, I would just say just
to start asking around, because I think starting conversations with
friends and I think you'd be surprised that the folks
who you think, hey, man, they've got to going on
and figuring out who they use for their CPA for
their accountant could lead to a great conversations with them.
(17:06):
Yas might be surprised because they might be like saving
for retirement. What are you talking about, bro? But I
think that could be a good way to find someone
there local to where you are, if you are looking
for someone who you can go to in person, show
up there in the office and have a great conversation.
And I will say, personally, my accountants, I pay a
round five hundred bucks for my personal return and that
(17:28):
comes with a whole host of handling. We've got a
pretty complicated personal tax return situation with investment properties and
owning your own business, Joel. So it's almost like we
have a very similar tax preparation process that you and
I have to get its true, but hopefully those are
some numbers that can get you, I guess thinking in
the right.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Direction, Lucas.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
But Joel, you've got more to get to. We are
going to hear from a listener who thinks it might
be time actually for her parents to update their trust.
So we'll hear from her plus others right after this.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
All right, Matt, we're back. I'm telling me some more
listener questions. This one is kind of a fun frugal or.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Cheap Hey, Joel and Matt, this is Ian from Virginia.
In one of your replay episodes last week, you mentioned
something about reusing ziploc bags. I just want to know,
is that still frugal or cheap? Even though I have
a net worth in the multiple millions, I still reuse
(18:33):
ziploc bags. So I'd like to hear of you two
could make me change my mind on that or maybe
agree with me. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
All Right, Joel, You're going to make Ian change his
mind prove me wrong, is what I do. I do
like that.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I'm down to try to change his mind.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
I also appreciate that. I want to, Yeah, because because
you're downe with.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
That, right, I'm down with it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
And I just want to say, like, we love taking
frugaler cheap questions, and I personally I think reusing ziplock
bags is still fruit will not cheap. Oh yeah, it
depends on what you put in it, though, because oh yeah,
I'll reuse ziplock bags or some things, in particular some
of the things I perpetually bring to work which Matt
sees me snacking on, or almonds.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
I'm looking over right now, you're oh, that is a
kind of a crummy looking bag.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
It seemed better a few rounds of almonds in it.
Mango is another one which gets less nasty and messy,
and even almonds aren't too bad. So I'll use as
a bag three or four times, Mango bags six or
seven maybe.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Oh well, yeah, I completely agree, as opposed to like say,
bring some fried chicken and it's not freasy, and they're
like that's gross. Yeah, Like, yeah, don't use that. I'm
not done with that, although I'm curious. Okay, So the
bag that I think I've used reused the most. In
my backpack every day when I come to the office
with my lunch, I put my banana in a special
(19:53):
pouch so the banana doesn't get dented up becaure you
don't want it next to like the supperware containers, the.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
The hard edges well bananas for some reason, like it'll sticky, well,
slickiness on the outside.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
I was gonna say, the.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Flavor profile will seep into other things. If it's close
to over too long, that's true. I don't mind that though,
Like everything gets to taste like banana runts.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
Nah, I don't want that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
The best kind of runt I want to eat. I
want my banana flavor when I have a bana. I
don't want it when I eat other stuff. But that
makes that like I truly think fed chicken that tastes.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Like banana man, I don't know, sounds prettyummy, okay, my
banana bags.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So like I take it and I throw it in.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
There because of the like the stickies, like the sap
or whatever that comes out of the banana peel. I
don't want that getting all over the inside. I'm a
backpack yeah, so that's why I stick it inside the
bag and then I roll it up and toss it
in there. But I truly think that I've had that
bag for like for years, because why would I why
would I change it out? Because the banana comes in
its own zip bloc bag. It comes in its peel,
that's right, and so it's not like.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Unlike most foods. It has its own its own pouch. Yeah,
pouch exactly. Well, then I think it's you could highlight
that there are other options right there, like reusable ziploc bags,
stasher bags or one of those like this Skilicon bags.
You and I try to try this. I still use
them sometimes, especially like kind of a pain in the
butt if we make kids, the kids paying you need
(21:05):
to wash out?
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Yeah, yeah, they can be.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Well that's that's the thing, because some containers like tupperware
are eat super easy because I can throw them in
the dishwasher. Yeah, flip them over and they're going to
get clean. Whereas those stasher bags they want to close,
like the their default position is shut. Yeah, and so
sticking those in the dishwasher to try to get clean.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Oh you got a hand washer. See that's okay. I'm
hand washing stuff a lot. Hey, that raises another question.
Are you hand washing ziploc bags if you're if you're
if you'ressing it now, I'm tossing it.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
If you're washing a stasher bag, what's the difference? Because
they hold up better, there's a good there. I'm not
going to wash the zip lock bag. I'm just because
and and the if it's currently holding up though, bag
isn't high enough to get me interested in washing it.
And how those aren't gonna dry. Where's the Stasher bag?
You can leave it open and dry it, can you?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Yeah? Okay, yeah you can't.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
I'm living here living proof that you can. So yeah,
they have like generic equivalents too, because the Stasher bags
can be kind of expensive. That's the name brand. Yeah,
and you have to decide, well, how many uses is
it going to take to pay off? We have a
few that we use, and I will say for certain
things they're helpful. I guess it'd also be better for
the environment over the long term. But if you're being
(22:12):
thoughtful about that, reusing plastic, your plastic bags like your ziplocks.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, and I guess you're just as easy to wash
and dry. Not true, Okay, so I was just thinking
through this. Here is why it is true because when
you I don't know if you do this, but if
you take a ziploc bag, and this is helpful a
when you're loading it, but it also b when you're
when you're trying to get it to dry, but you
fold back the.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Zip, you know what I'm talking about, You cuff it.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Essentially, it'll not as easy, but then it will stay
upside down and it will dry out. Whereas again, the
Stasher bags. They want to shut they they just want
to stay moist and wet and clammy and.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Gross man not sue. Not true.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
That being said, I'm not I'm also not out there
hand washing ziplock bags because I'm just not doing that
right now.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Well, and they're so little value, Like I don't know
what they cost per bag, and that'd be interesting. I
should run run the math on that. Before we took
this question. My guess, is there what like eight cents
a piece, twelve cents apiece something like this that block Yeah, son,
I feels terrible, but it is nice If I'm like,
if I can bring that down to three or four
cents per use, essentially by reusing those for non messy items,
(23:16):
I'm totally down to do that.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I get that.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Part of the reason we like to take frugal cheap
questions too is because it can be a hang up
for people who lean overly frugal. Right, they border on
cheap and they major on minor things, because ultimately, when
it comes down to your decision on whether or not
to reuse it block bags, it's not going to make
a major difference in your wealth building efforts. But some
people are so concerned with pinching pennies, and they're leading
(23:39):
big bucks on the table in terms of negotiating their
pay or investing in their own human capital, and there
can be this tendency to major on the miners to
think in like have just short sighted thinking in the
personal finance space. But in retort to what I just
said as well, Matt, I've also just begun to think
that my frugal choice is they're not just about how
(24:01):
large my net worth is and how big it can grow.
I don't want a bran new car because I don't
value it, even if my bank account says I can
afford it, even if my bank account says I can
afford unlimited zip block bags and I don't have to
reuse them. There's something I value about being able to
reuse things and not flippantly throw away money.
Speaker 3 (24:21):
And I get that.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
I think there's a I don't know if it's a
gamification aspect, but I guess it can be. To me
at times is yeah, do I have to upgrade that thing?
If not, I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Sure, Yeah, yeah, so Ian, I would say, no matter
how big your net worth gets, like, don't be so
cheap as to not reconsider your spending habits from time
to time in order to maximize the value of the
dollars that you've a masked, but also don't become so
flippant that you completely disregard these small ways to make
or to save money that matter more than just the
(24:51):
actual dollars or the pennies that you might be clowing back, right,
Because intelligent use of money, it's not just about your
overall optimization levels. I think there's a per satisfaction and
like a fulfillment side of things too, where you get
to live your life according to your specific values and
so like, just because you can spend money in a
more absurd way doesn't mean that you should. Like, there
(25:14):
is something intrinsically rewarding to live your life intentionally, to
live a well considered life, and even when like the
eventual outcome might be similar to where you would have
ended up had you not thought about it. Right, Like,
on the surface, you might have two people and oh
they look really similar or some of the purchases that
(25:34):
they make, But I think how it is that they
arrive to that point has all the difference in their
life fulfillment and satisfaction and something that kind of empowers
as to why it is that they did the thing
to begin with.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Yeah, Like there's more enjoyment that I think you can
get out of life when you've thought through some of
these things.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And I guess when it comes down to it, I
think of frugality in the proper context as a virtue.
And when you think of something as a virtue, it
goes beyond just a way to save a little bit
of money. It and I don't know, maybe this is
overstating it, but it does become a part of your
identity to a certain extent. And I don't want to
be like the frugal guy right like in like the
nerdiest way possible. But I do think that like intentional
(26:15):
frugality in the right places truly does reach that level
of virtue, at least in my conceptualization of it.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Totally agree, man, Yes, it's about throwing your weight behind
the things you truly care about and then like not
hardly giving any attention to the things that you don't
care about.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I'm still not picking up pennies.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
So I well, I'll leave it for my kids. Now
actually came and we're walking arond the neighborhood. We saw
a bunch of change and I started kind of going
for them, and then I was like, actual, Leslie, tell
the kids about that, and they can come up here
instead of to head up to the cul de sac.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Pretty soon, the reason to pick them up is going
to be because they're a relic from bygone era.
Speaker 3 (26:46):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
All right, Let's get to another question, Matt. This one
is from a listener who has a question about helping
her parents out.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
My name is Jocelyn, and I'm from the San Francisco
Bay area. My question is related to my parents' estate plan.
They have a trust that's at least thirty years old,
and they own multiple rent properties. It's actually not clear
to me whether each property has its own trust or
everything is included under one. But this trust hasn't been
reviewed in decades, so I'm trying to figure out what's
(27:15):
the best next step. Should they just get a new
trust drafted or is it actually a thing to get
an old trust reviewed and updated. Open to your thoughts
and thank you for all the help, all.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Right, Jocelyn, I think this is a really important question.
Thank you for sending this one our way, because I
think any way that you can help your parents to
get things squared away now is going to benefit you
when your parents pass. And this doesn't even include like
if you've got siblings as well. This is it's like
a PSA that you're doing, you know, on their behalf
as well. And by the way, this we're gonna kind
(27:50):
of we're gonna wait into more like legal territory, Joel,
You and I we are not lawyers, We are not
estate planning attorneys.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
And I didn't even sleep at a holiday and last.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Night, Jocelyn reach out to us, and we're going to
do our best to help inform you a little bit
and to at least give you our thoughts on estate
planning from more of a personal finance standpoint.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
And usually kind of like what you're alluding to, Matt,
is people they don't address some of these issues until
it's pastime, and that can create significant issues. Something that
can be like a small task on the front end
can be an enormous burden for family members left behind
if not addressed properly right. So I've seen this recently
(28:30):
where like just something as simple as not changing and
beneficiary right can have cascading impacts on the family that's
left behind and grieving, and so it's really important to
think about the stuff on the front end. Joshlyn is
a wise daughter to be doing.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
That.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Just doesn't sound like you want to get all up
in your parents' business just for the sake of it, right,
It sounds like you just want to make sure that
they have their ducks in a row. My guess is
that those rental properties are in a single revocable living
trust because each property can still have its own LLC
designation if that's the case, which provides legal protection for
(29:07):
each of those rental properties for your parents, while still
ensuring that they didn't have to create a rat's nest
of trust. And so it's likely what they did when
they created this many decades ago. But I guess you'll
find that out in this process.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
That's right, But Joss, multiple decades, Holy cow, I think
you said thirty years.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
It's definitely time to review this trust because a lot,
a lot could certainly have happened over these years, right,
Like we're maybe talking to new members of the family,
maybe new assets, a different split as to what assets
are going to go to which person. But whether your
folks end up simply updating so that's the term that
you used. Whether they do that, whether they update the
(29:49):
trust as opposed to scrapping it all together and starting fresh,
it depends on the scope of the changes that they
are looking to make. And by the way, updating the
trust is actually called amending the trust, so like not
unlike the amendments to our constitution.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Oh, do you have a favorite amendment, Matt, that you
want to share with us?
Speaker 6 (30:05):
Now?
Speaker 3 (30:06):
Which one? Which one repealed the Oh? Yeah, the undoing
your prohibition? Yes, exactly, that's one of.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
My But if they are one, so that's an amendment.
But if your folks are wanting to make a fairly
straightforward change to their trust, like the ones I just mentioned,
then an amendment should totally suffice. So, for instance, adding
a new beneficiary like that is something that can totally
be accomplished via an amendment.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
True story.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
On the other hand, if you're going to make significant
changes to the trust, and over the years the trust
has multiple amendments, well, which it doesn't sound like that's
been the case, Matp, because they haven't touched it so right,
it's been sitting and gathering dust. Yeah, but that would
be when restating the trust could likely make more sense, right,
because if not done well, all the new amendments could
(30:56):
conflict with each other, making it difficult to understand what's
going on and what your parents' actual wishes were. So
it could create some vagueness in the trust that you
don't want to exist.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, alluding to more of the rats nest scenarios that
you alled to earlier, That's totally what happens when you
keep on like bolting on these new fixtures to.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
This which amendments supersedes which one? And what was the
original intent of the framers of this trust.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
I almost almost picture like a like a eighty eight
Camaro or something like that, and like over the years
it's got new owners and like everyone keeps adding things on.
It's like, oh the spoiler and not the spoiler pipes
out the side. Oh I'm gonna put this on the engine.
And man, after twenty thirty years, you start looking at
this thing and you're like, does this thing even run?
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Is it even possible?
Speaker 1 (31:39):
In high school, it wasn't Camaros, it was Honda Civics.
That's what people used to mess with those and add
on all sorts of stuff.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
A Honda says at least they get good gas myledge.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
But then you couldn't even tell that were Honda civics
at the end of the day. So I think that's
kind of your point. There's also the issue of privacy,
right that's lost when you make amendments because as beneficiaries,
they can see the history of the amendments, which could
lead to some dramas and potentially hurt feelings exactly. But
I think it's worth considering an amendment since those are
generally more affordable and easier to pull off than doing
a complete reinstatement of the trust or restatement of the trust.
Speaker 3 (32:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Yeah, Restating the trust is sort of like if you
strip the command or the hunt a sieve down to
its frame and like completely rebuild the thing from scratch,
as opposed to just like slapping slapping on a new accessory.
But Jocelyn, again, this isn't something that we're experts on,
and so we would highly recommend reaching out to an
estate planning attorney with your folks. And this is actually
(32:32):
assuming too that your folks are. You said that you
are there in the Bay Area. This is assuming that
your folks are as well. But you want to reach
out to in a state planning attorney wherever, in whatever
state that your folks live in. And I just think
this is a great way for you to proactively get
the ball rolling or having these conversations with your parents.
And it's just going to be a better way to
understand what it is that your parents, what they've got
(32:53):
going on, and ultimately what their wishes are. Like that's
the whole point of the trust as well, for them
to be able to direct their resources, their assets that
they've worked hard and accumulated over the years, that they're
going to the right people and in the right directions
that they wanted to.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
And this should not be an expensive endeavor. I mean,
we're talking three figures, not even four figures in all likelihood.
I mean, depending maybe low four figures.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Restatement could cost a lot, depending on the complexity involves.
But an amendment isn't something. And again the fact that
it hasn't been touched, I feel like and if there
aren't actually any major changes, it seems like an amendment
that addresses some of these issues might be all she needs.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Yeah, it might be a simple fix, all right, man,
We've got more to get to, more questions to get
to from listeners, including one about like pest control and
the game kind of expensive? Is that something I should ditch?
We'll get through that and more right after this.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
All right, buddy, we are back from the break and
it is now tigned for the Facebook Question of the Week,
which is from Susan and she wrote, I have savings
languishing away in a low interest money market at my bank.
I've been thinking of putting it into a high yield
savings account. I already have an AMEX high old savings
set up with about twenty thousand dollars in it. But
(34:10):
the interest rate has gone down multiple times in two
years and has never gone up. Is that the case
with all high yield savings accounts? Yeah, yep, Yeah, that's
pretty much that's what we've been seeing.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So if that's the only question, let's move on now.
I mean, truly, every high yield savings account has seen
rates drop, and there's really no exception to this rule
that I'm aware of. And uh, well, except for maybe
one matt one savings rate that I can say, rates
have not gone down at all. They've not gone southward,
and that is only with the giant banks. They haven't
(34:45):
changed their saving rates not one bit. Isn't that impressive? Yeah,
there's nowhere but up when you are at point zero
one percent. Yeah, so avoid those dummies, the giant banks,
because yeah, they don't change their savings rates, but that
means they never move them upwards. So I guess just
by staying the same, they're starting to look slightly more
competitive with true high healed savings accounts. But yeah, I
(35:07):
mean because of the downward movement in rates, yeah, the
head man, Yeah, they lowering those rates. That impacts a
bunch of different sectors of the economy. But the saddest
part for me, I really hate to see, like we
went through this era of sabers making essentially nothing, and
I just hate to see sabers getting crushed. And so
rates are still obviously higher than they were six or
(35:29):
seven years ago, but yeah, to see them go back
down kind of brings a tear to my eye.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, the past three or four years were nice if
you were sitting on a good amount of cash. But
as the FED has lowered rates, I mean savings rates,
that's one of the most immediate responses that you like
you hear from your bank. Basically within hours of the
FED announcing a rate cut. Yeah, you're just like anticipating
that email. It's there, and yeah, but I will say
(35:56):
AMX's rates are actually they're pretty solid. They are totally
in the bresh lone of online savings accounts, and so
if you're happy with the product and you're happy with
the customer service, I would totally just stick with them. Like,
you can always find a slightly higher rate. C for instance,
has a slightly higher rate than what it is that
amex is offering. I think MX is around three and
(36:17):
a half percent. But it's often not worth the headache
of switching banks unless Yeah, I mean if you got
a ton of money, like I mean, if you know,
I don't know, if you go from twenty to sixty
to seventy thousand, I might say, yeah, I might try
to grab that extra point two five percent, because that
does add up over time.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Even with twenty grand, it's totally worth going from big
bank to one of our favorite online savings.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Into the accounts in the threes. Yeah, that jump is
worth it.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
But trying to go from like three and a half
to three point nine or something like that, I just
I don't think it's worth the hassle for most people.
But yes, Susan savings rates are going down. Your your
bank is not treating you unfairly. It is just what's
happening in the market right now. Let's get to another question.
This one comes from Katie. She says thoughts on termite
treatment warranties and other options. When I bought my home
(37:06):
in twenty seventeen, I inherited a termite policy. My house
was treated during construction with a trench and barrier system
that has reapplied every ten years. It was done at
time of construction twenty four again in twenty fifteen, and
is due again this year. I've never had any problems
with termites, so my house was inspected last year with
no issues. My home is in Florida with frame construction
and hardyboard siding. Since I bought the home, the cost
(37:29):
of renewal has gone up every year. Started around one
hundred and fifty bucks, but it's ballooned to almost five
hundred bucks a year. The company that originally sold the
contract was a large regional provider that has since been
bought by a bigger company. I'm considered a legacy customer
because my policy, and this is a long question by
the way, which includes cost of any repair is not
just treatment is no longer offered. As long as I
(37:49):
maintained the policy, I'm covered, But once it's canceled, I can't.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
Get it back.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
I'm pining the renewal this year because it's a retreatment
year and that's already included. But with the price continuing
to rise, I'm wondering whether it's worth the cost going forward.
I have a good emergency fund. Should I just self
ensure or are there other options I should be looking at?
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Well, first off, I think what she said about it's
a retreatment year, so yeah, that would be I think
it would be unwise to stop paying right now, like
you've been paying into this thing, go ahead and get
that last treatment. But I would totally consider not paying
the next year. Yeah, not renewing that thing.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
This is Joel.
Speaker 2 (38:24):
This is like an industry that I feel is more
clouded with fear a little bit right Like, it feels
like such a she said she's a legacy customer. I
feel like all like pest control generally speaking, feels somewhat
like a legacy industry where for a while there when
people weren't treating their homes at all and we didn't
Folks didn't know better, and there's like a lot of
(38:44):
brush up against their house and houses were getting termine damage.
And yeah, across the country, we needed to make a
whole lot of changes. But I feel like we've wised
up right, and I think there's a whole lot of
common sense that we can put to use and say,
maybe you shouldn't put all that firewood up against your house,
like there are some things like that, it's a pretty.
Speaker 3 (39:02):
Ground for insects that you don't want in your.
Speaker 2 (39:06):
House absolutely, And so I think thinking through that, I
think think thinking through whether or not you are in
a more rural, wooded area, I'm going to be more
likely to say to to say yes to maintaining that
pest control versus a mo urban environment where there's hardly
any trees around and it's mostly concrete or think. And
she mentioned how her home is constructed. It makes me
(39:27):
think about your old house that was like literally made
of concrete, like the outside there was no intermites.
Speaker 3 (39:33):
They couldn't they couldn't. And so I think this.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Is like your neighbors both have term do they have
termite treatments going on? And that's kind of insulating you
to a certain extent.
Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, it's true.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yes, I think these are just may be going on
their door ask They're just all considerations. It's not this
like world ending thing. Termites are bugs and you don't
want them for sure, and they can cause a lot
of damage. But I think by implementing some common sense,
I think that can help you to decide whether or
not this is thing that you want to keep up yourself,
whether you want to cancel all together or just continue
(40:03):
to pay.
Speaker 1 (40:04):
I mean, it's kind of like I put this in
the category of you should go to the dentist twice
a year, and you should get your oil changed every
three thousand miles. Those are good rules of thumb. But
it's also true that if you go to the dentist
once a year and you get your oil changed every
five thousand miles, you're gonna be okay, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Especially if you are running on synthetic oil.
Speaker 1 (40:23):
Right exactly so, and I get the five hundred dollars
a year reacit like, it's like, I don't want to
spend that much on this. I've got other goals, other
things I want to do with that money. But I
think the horror stories about what termites have and can do.
They often keep people paying the price exactly even if
they like don't want to, but they're like, gosh, I
don't feel I'm between a rock and a hard place.
I don't have another option, but you have to weigh
(40:44):
the risks and the potential rewards of keeping the coverage
versus ditching it. And Matt, I don't have one of
these contracts on my home. But we also regularly DIY
pest control using a product called Telstar. We have a
post on how to money dot com about how we
DII our own pest control. Taustar does not work the
same way. It does not kill the the termite colony,
(41:06):
but if you spray it regularly around your house, it
creates a barrier or like essentially a repellent for those termites.
But mark your calendar spray the predator of your house regularly,
which essentially means every three months. And that website where
we buy Taustar, they also sell the termite based bait
stations that you can install yourself. The ones that the
professional pest control companies are using.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Switch over to the bait stations instead of spraying.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
And this is like that's even more effective then, right,
So there are I think ways to also say, listen,
I don't want to like just stop and do nothing
and see what happens, just roll the dice, but I
do want to take some preventative measures. But also like,
do I really need to pay some one five hundred
bucks a year for that? Probably not?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Ultimately, this is something that you can do for a
lot less money, Katie. But if you were to actually
have termine activity or god forbid, an actual like full
on infestation, you would of course be on the hook
for repairs. And so that's something that you mentioned, Joel,
that the plan that she has cumber covers repairs, which
is that I mean, that's pretty great. And also I'm
(42:11):
gonna know that she mentioned that she's in Florida. Termites
are much worse in the southeast, and so I would
factor that in for sure as well. It all comes
down to risk and whether or not you're willing, whether
or not you're willing to roll the dice. And actually
I'm thinking about what you said about reaching out to neighbors,
because there is a certain element and maybe touch on
a hot topic, hot button topic, like it makes me
(42:33):
think of like people who choose to or to not
get vaccinated. I'm not gonna judge either way. In a
similar way, there's a herd, there's a level of herd immunity, right,
And if everyone around you is taking great care of
their home, and whether it's their spraying themselves or whether
they've got these great termite bonds, these warranties in place,
chances are you are going to be much less susceptible
(42:55):
to having termites. But that being said, if you look
around and everyone around you is being a bit reckless,
a bit careless, Like everyone around you is like they're
stacking all the wood up against their house and you
live in the middle of the woods, yeah i'd be
I'd probably sign up for the having someone else take
care of this, because that's not something I would want
to I don't want to mess with.
Speaker 1 (43:14):
So not not simple and easy or straightforward, But I
think there are things you can do to get away
from this expensive obligation. Diyatt and still feel pretty comfortable
about your prospects for avoiding termite damage.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Totally agree.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
All right, let's get back to the beer mat. This
one was called the Scars on Greedy palms. It was
an ipa was burial. But also they did this in
collaboration with Cloudburst Brewing, which is out of Seattle. What
were your thoughts on this?
Speaker 2 (43:41):
I pa, cloud Burst, that sounds like such an appropriate
name for a brewery out of Seattle. Get us where
it rains. This beer was so stinking good man. It
smelled incredibly dank right when we cracked it and poured it,
but at the same time it drank so fresh. I
don't know if I ever had ever had a beer
that was so dank smelling but then so fresh tasting.
(44:01):
So it was simultaneously happy, but it was also balanced
as well. It was bright and light, jewel but at
the same time was earthy. Somehow this beer packed like
all the ends, all the spectrums into.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
One singular beer, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I could.
I can't so good. I can't say.
Speaker 1 (44:18):
I don't know whether this beer was a kin to
walking out in like a fifty something degree morning where
it's like crisp and beautiful and luscious.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
It's a little chilly, but then the warmth from the
sun is warming your face. Somehow got it all?
Speaker 1 (44:30):
It's yeah, exactly, there's like a mixed thing in there
because I'm not cold. I'm so happy, yes, and I
feel bright and sunshine and this beer like ran that
gamut and so yeah, I really really enjoyed this one,
and I yeah, I'll get more if I can because
it was that good.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Maybe that was because of the Simcoe Dinah boost. I
I don't even know what that is.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
I know, I know, I was like, that sounds like
something from the movie Cars that like Queen would put
a or something.
Speaker 3 (44:59):
I love it. But that's gonna be it for this episode.
Speaker 2 (45:01):
You can find our show notes up on the website
at howsomoney dot com. Hey leave us a review if
you enjoy this episode and you haven't yet done that
for us, and of course you can do that wherever
it is that you're currently listening to this episode.
Speaker 3 (45:14):
Buddy, that's going to be it. So until next time,
Best Trinds Out, Best Friends Out,
Hosts And Creators
Joel Larsgaard
Matthew Altmix
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Dateline NBC
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!