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September 30, 2024 48 mins

Let’s dive into 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 - What are some pros and cons of combining our finances as newlyweds?

2 - How much more should I be willing to pay for health insurance if it means I can contribute to an HSA?

3 - Should I consider extra money over the limit in my 401k as an emergency fund or as retirement savings?

4 - I purchased an expensive car during the pandemic at 5%. I’m currently paying extra on it but should I unload it completely?

 

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Hat of Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.
Today we're answering your listener questions.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Joel, what if we started answering listener questions on like
Thursday or something, I'll throw everybody off. Listeners will be
shocked if that were the case, and we're not going
to do that to folks, so I don't worry about that.
We are going to hear from listeners today. On Monday, Joel,
We're going to hear from a listener who is considering
unloading a COVID car. It's a car that she purchased
during the pandemic. Another one is from some newlyweds who

(00:47):
are considering combining accounts, their financial accounts and their money.
They're trying they want to hear our inputs. We have
to say you combine the money or not exactly. That's
kind of like the bigger question right Then another listener,
he's wondering what he should do if he has over
contributed to his four one K. He kind of has
like the opposite problem that most Americans have. But I'm

(01:07):
looking forward to that one and others during today's episode.
And by the way, that's I think that could that
might be more of an issue for folks as more
and more four to one K plans auto enroll their
employees and sometimes have like built in automatic increases to
the percentage of their pay that goes towards a four
one K. So you might be hearing that and thinking, oh,
what a luxury. Must be nice. It could happen to you.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
It could, yeah, especially like yeah, if you're let's say
you're twenty three. I remember that, Matt when when I
was that young, and I was like, who max is
out these accounts? And then you get for the long
in your career and you're like, wait, I think I
might be able to get a little bit closer.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
That's right. Plus, when it's based on a percentage like
that and you get a pay increase, there's just, yeah,
a lot of different scenarios where that could be the case.
I don't know, as I was saying it, maybe think
that like, oh, yeah, what a ridiculous problem to have.
But I think there might be more folks, especially our listeners,
who might have this problem. I agreed, yeah, all right,
that real quick.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
I just wanted to mention, if you're not on the
Facebook group to have the money Facebook group, you should
be if you're on Facebook, because it's one of the
best corners of the Internet. A lot of your fellow
listeners helping each other out from time to time, offering suggestions,
people asking questions, and then just getting the hive mind
at work to help you out with whatever money problem
you're facing. And somebody mentioned this the other day, matth
thought this was good. Have you ever used the OOPS

(02:19):
paint section at home Depot or Low's.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
I have, not, like the pre mixed stuff that somebody
doesn't pick up.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Right, Yeah, it's like somebody didn't pick it up or
they were like, oh, you kind of screwed this one up.
That's actually not the color I requested, and so they
put it on the discount shelf.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I've seen it before, but I have never actually I
have sold Okay, so you can take back paint that
isn't pre mixed, but I have. This is years ago now.
Actually just came to mind. I have ordered some paint
and it was a five gallon bucket and uh, I
can't remember. It was when we were flipping a home
and we couldn't use it for some reason. I don't
I literally cannot remember why. But I listed it on

(02:53):
I think at that point in time, Craigslist and somebody
bought it. So somebody there got a deal because it
was the shade that they're looking for.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
The shows how old you are or nobody uses Craigslist anymore.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Is it still around? Actually?

Speaker 1 (03:02):
I think yeah, it exists, but I don't know the
last time I used it.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
But Listener Paint.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, Listeners was like, hey, that's the way to get
like massively discounted paint, and I was I think two
things on this. I think one that's true, especially if
you got like a smaller project around You're like, I'm
painting a pinch or something like that. Yeahs oftentimes you're
talking about a court instead of a gallon or or
I don't know, you don't want to get like three
quarters of the way into a project though, like painting
somebody's bedroom, and then you're like, I ran out of this.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Oops, paint this custom paint that I don't know if
it's exactly correct right, like it may not necessarily match
up to the code that's on.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
The exactly or also, oops, it's not my favorite color.
And now I'm pot committed and I got to go
get another gallon of this junk so I think, oops,
paint can be really cool for some things. But also
I don't know, if it's an extra twenty five bucks
and you're talking about all the time and the labor
that you're going to extend to paint something, maybe make
sure it's the color you want to.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
If it's something like out back in the backyard that
no one's going to see and you don't really care
about the color because half of why you paint something
is to like preserve the wood. You know, it's to
keep the moisture out, and you got to get a
good coat of pain on there, so you're not forking
out more money because you're also paying for some wood
to be replaced, which.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
Is why it's nice to live in a brick house,
which you don't have to Oh my gosh. Yeah, but
I'm saying you used to. You used to live in
like a concrete house.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
I was so jealous.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
It was like a bunker.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
It was like, I mean, literally a bulletproof house. Okay,
So this actually remind I love that Home Depot does this.
I'm assuming Lows does it as well. But part of
the reason I love this is because it's paint that's
not now going to waste, which of course makes me
think of food. And this is really similar to we've
talked about this before. I think it's been a minute
but too Good to Go, which is an app or

(04:39):
a website. It is this company that's looking to eliminate
food waste throughout the country and it recently came back
on my radar because they a few months ago, or
maybe several months ago at this point, they partnered with
Whole Foods and so you can go there now, which
is funny because you and I were there recently and we're like, now,
look at all this pre prepared food. And one of
the things they do with the food, and you.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
And I questioned, was the hold this get used? Oh
there's so much of it.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
Sweet perks for the employees. Yeah, you're here, I think
some of the so they've got surprise bags. And it
can be a sweet deal because you're paying something like
ten dollars for thirty dollars of goods, thirty dollars of
prepared food, and it's something to consider. You know, if
I was looking for maybe a healthier meal last minute
versus let's say going to get some fast food, I

(05:23):
would consider it. And it's not something I thought too
much about until we talked with Whole Foods founder John
Mackie on the show. We can link to that in
the show that's said, you want to share why you
and I were in Whole food.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
That I was going to say, because I says like
a recent food hack, people will probably be like, but
I thought, man, Joel usually shop at all to your Costco,
And that is true.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Were ninety nine percent.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Of our grocery, right, and we have been darkening the
door of Whole You do legal as well, legal, Yes,
we never closed by. We've been going to Whole Foods
more recently, not just because we like John Mackie and
he was a great guest, but because if you're an
Amazon Prime member on Friday nights, you can get one
of their freshly made cheese pizza for eight dollars and
so on Pizza movie nights. Oh it's like the same

(06:03):
price as like Papa John's, but it's like way better. Well,
they build it, right, or build it? You don't build
a pizza, I guess they construct one.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
They construct it and then they fire it in the
oven right there. And so our families we get together
and we do what we call pizza movie Night every
other Friday, and for the longest stretch. Man, So we've
been doing it close to two years. Where you and
I we'd head to Costco and get their super affordable pizzas. Yep.
But you know what, Man, after a while that pizza

(06:32):
it kind of weighs on you. It's not the best pizza,
it's not the best quality. But and initially you're like, oh, yeah,
this is great, what a great price. You're also grabbing
some other things while you're there at the store, no
big deal. But man, hitting it every two weeks pretty
much without fail. When it comes to pizza movie night,
we've got a quick with the Alt Guards, our combined
family Moniker. It gets all quick. And I guess a

(06:55):
few months ago we'd start to be like, you want
to just do burgers instead? Maybe you'll do We'll switch
it up because the thought of having another Costco pizza. Yeah,
I feel like I need to give it like six
to nine months and then I can go back to it,
yes and be like, oh, it's so good. I do
actually miss this.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
The Whole Foods, especially when it's on sale, is like
this incredible happy medium. It's a step up of delight.
It is a step up, represents a fantastic value.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
And they got other not flavors. Man, I'm getting all
my pizza terminology off, toppings, toppings, different styles of pizza
that you can get. And last time we got the
uh risotto and garlic.

Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, that thing was so good.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
True your wife Emily and I both in particular, really
like that one. It was tasty.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Tore it up from the floor up. Yeah, all right,
so yeah, just oops, paint Whole Foods pizza too good
to go, a few tips, and there a lot of
options out there for folks. Yeah, all right, let's get
to your questions though. After we mentioned the beer we're
having on this episode. This one's called a head Full
of Dynamite. It's a hazy ipa by Fremont Brewing. I
picked this one up when I was in California just
a few weeks ago. We'll give our thoughts on this

(07:57):
one at the end of the episode.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Dino, Might I know Mike normally spelled with an air,
which is what's the show? Yeah? Something from like the eighties?

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, was it the Jefferson's Orrible or the eighteen.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Now I don't think it was that, Okay, I have
no idea. I'm just thrown out old eighties TV shows. Yeah,
I didn't actually watch as a kid. All right.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
So, and by the way, if you have a money
question for the two of us, we'd love to hear
from you. You go to have the Money dot com,
slash ask for directions, or truly just record the voice
memo on your phone, send it to us via email,
super quick and easy, and hopefully we can take it
next week on the show. Matt, let's get to a question.
This one is about combining finances as you're Married's.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Hi, Matt and Joel. This is Brianna from Chicago. I
love your show. I just had a question. So me
and my husband were recently married in January, and we
are considering combining our bank accounts. And really the reason
we're considering it is just because it seems like that's

(09:00):
what you're supposed to do when you get married. But
we're trying to figure out if it's for us or not,
so we're going through some pros and cons. Really, the
main pro that I can think of is that I
am really into budgeting, and I don't really get a
picture of the whole family situation because I don't really

(09:24):
see what's happening with his dollars. But other than that,
we really couldn't think of much else for pros and cons.
We do kind of split our bills according to how
much we make, so whoever makes more money ends up
paying a little bit more of the bills. We are
planning on having kids soon, so I know our expenses

(09:48):
will change soon, but it's nothing that I think we
can't handle. We'll just adjust accordingly, and I don't see
any issues with that going forward. So if you guys
know any pros and cons that could help us make
this decision, that would be really helpful. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Brianna. Congrats you got married back in January. But in
my book, you are still one percent a newly wed.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
When you crossover and become not a newly web.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Eighteen months, like once you get to tw years is
kind of like, oh, yeah, we've been married for a
couple of years. Yeah, when there's another word for it,
like one year that didn't sound very long. Two years,
Oh okay, you can see a couple of years in
my book. Eighteen months and greener, you're still a newlywed.
So the pro that you offered that man, that's a
huge one. It's likely the number one reason to strongly
consider combining accounts. And I think it'll put you to

(10:37):
on the same page from a record keeping standpoint, which
is such a big benefit, especially for someone like you,
your personalities, maybe somebody who's a little more into the numbers.
But on top of that, it just makes it easier
to create and achieve mutual goals. And man, I will
say after I mean, Kate and I we married for
seventeen years, but I believe that there is real power

(10:58):
in pulling your resources as a married couple, and it's
just one of the I think one of the ultimate
ways to show that you're on the same team, right,
Like you're wearing the same jersey. Yeah, at this point,
you're working towards some of the same life goals. And
I think that's huge, pulling in the same direction. And
there's something kind of subtle about that. In some ways,
Matt and s people might give that. I don't give
much credence to that, but there's something mental that happens

(11:18):
when you're kind of doing that, moving in the same
direction together that really can be a booster towards helping
you guys achieve your financial goals.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
And it's not just our bias, although I think we
are probably just to lay it out, there were probably
bias in that direction. Anyway, Hey, you're combining your lives.
You mentioned that you're going to likely have a kiddo
in the near future, and I think that just means
you're intertwining your lives to basically the greatest degree possible.
So why not combine your finances. But it's not just that.

(11:48):
It's studies too that reflect that combining your finances is
the best thing typically typically and I say typically because
it's not the best for everyone. But the most recent
study that we saw the couples who combine money, they
experience more relational satisfaction. So I don't know if you
like being happy, because that's another check in the combined
accounts column. Because when you get married, you're intentionally, like

(12:11):
I said, you're weaving your lives together for better or
for worse, even like say it in the vows right,
rich or poorer, And to make those vows and then
to hold back elements of life integration, I think it
can have lingering side effects. And so there's something about
combining money that maybe forces you to have hard conversations,
which isn't always fun in the moment, but those hard

(12:32):
conversations are something you might otherwise completely avoid, and I
think it could cause relational drift over time. That avoidance
can lead to growing distance in the relationship. And so
I think you actually want to provoke these conversations and
you're kind of forced to talk about money regularly, and
I think that that's going to help in that endeavor.
So I think that combining finances can actually lead to

(12:52):
a stronger relationship. It doesn't mean that it's easier necessarily,
but I think it can lead to just increased strength.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
There's an element of self sacrifice as well, because that's
one of the things that you do, I mean when
you get married, is that you're not doing everything for
to make you happy, but to make someone else happy.
And I think that's one of the like, one of
the strongest elements of a healthy marriage is a willingness
to defer to the other person. And whether it's Victor
Frankel looking to the things that lead to a fulfilling life,

(13:20):
but oftentimes it's giving yourself to something large or something
outside of yourself, as opposed to just seeking, Oh, how
can I make myself the happiest, Like, how do I
personally garner the most life satisfaction? Sometimes it's dedicating your
life to something that you think is even more important
than yourself. And in this case, what we're talking about
is a relationship.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
I think kind of what you're hitting at here, too, Matt,
is that it's less of like a fifty to fifty mindset.
Let's split this thing equally, and it's more of like
one hundred hundred mindset, which the math doesn't really work
on that, but just you know, at least in your
mind you can envision what that means, what that looks like.
And so, like I guess I've heard people talk about
at times, Okay, my income is mine, my wife's got

(13:59):
her student loans, she's got to payoff, and then we're
each chipping in and contributing to half the vacation. That
kind of feels rigid and individualistic. And there's nothing wrong
with individualism in some parts of society, but in this case,
you're missing out on the healthy team vibe, which is
I think what you're striving for. Typically in marriage, it

(14:19):
can kill some of the magic in the relationship. If
you talk about finances like that, and there's Yeah, there's
this real power in two people who love each other
pushing for the same thing and saying no, no, no.
Like when we got married, those student loans kind of
became ours and so let's work on eliminating them together.
It's a it's a cheap phrase, Matt, but teamwork makes

(14:39):
a dream work. And I think I think there's I
think there's like some really truth to that. And if
the vacation is your goal together as a couple, saving
up for that and then being able to pay for
it in cash, it makes the vacation awesome. Whereas if
you're each chipping in, I don't know, it's it changes
the vibe.

Speaker 2 (14:56):
I think, Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah, and I mean
and I will say, and you and Emily as well.
But this is the approach that we have taken. Like Kate,
she put her career on hold for over a decade
not to raise our family. And so does that mean
that she doesn't get to spend any money that I
have earned over the past over the past ten years.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
Of course, not because you've benefited from that would be ridiculous.
Her choosing not to turn an income, and that's a
part of could share.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
More than you. Of course, yes, but she's so much
smarter she is actually, But you're talking about like avoiding
sort of like more of a business relationship, because it
starts to get weird if you start thinking through like
are you going to have a conversation where it's just like, okay,
now you're your prank. I guess what I'm getting at
is like, are you then going to say, okay, so
now that you're staying at home, you're not earning as much,

(15:40):
but like, do you get an allowance? Is there some
sort of stipend that you get because okay, now there's
two kids at home, all right, doesn't quite get doubled.
That's a weird sort of conversation to have.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
Right to sound like some weird nineteen fifty stuff, Yes, exactly.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
And so I think that's a big part of what
makes a healthy relationship, I think. And this is I
feel like we're starting to get more into relational advice
than money vice, like this, yeah, being dependent on each
other as opposed to being independent. And I think for
folks who are huge proponents of keeping their money separate,
they're not fully dependent on each other. And that's such
a beautiful part of what I think makes the marriage work.

Speaker 1 (16:14):
And you have to make so many decisions that, by
necessity are dependent decisions, and then to keep your money independent.
I think you're you're making some of those decisions harder
because you're saying we're going to be dependent on each
other as I as we choose to bring a kiddo
into this world, and as I'm sacrificing for this shared goal.

(16:34):
But if money's kept separate, I don't know, that feels
like you're pulling in opposite directions at that point. Yeah,
and you mentioned business time, makes me think you want
it to be more like Flight of the Concord's business time,
less like Gordon Gecko business time.

Speaker 4 (16:46):
Right.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
So so but I think if if that's why, you
just don't want to think of your finances as some
sort of You're not some corporation, right, you are an
interdependent family unit, And so that's it's it's our preference,
and we think that the best outcomes based on our
personal experience and then based on also the data stats
based on Yeah, it just shows that's got it works
for everybody, right, Like That's what I guess.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
So we've kind of been going on about how you
should combine your finances. But there are some instances where
if you're not totally sure, if there are some trust issues, yeah,
there are certain things to work through. If there has
been a history of poor financial habits. Maybe on the other.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
Part deception or deception, you just straight.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
Up line absolutely and so.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
And that's particularly true, I think, Matt for people who
have been married for a long time and they're like, oh,
wait a second, I've seen a bunch of red flags.
I need to start making different choices because we have
combined things, and I have to start shoring up my
own financial future. Those are things we're thinking through. But
that doesn't sound like that's the case with Brianna and
they're in you know, newly wed merrill bliss totally. But
do leave some room for autonomy and individual freedom, right

(17:46):
because there can be a certain line item in your
budget where each of you is allowed to spend like
three hundred bucks a month, no questions asked me, whatever
the number you choose, even though all that money is
flowing from a single account. I guess you could have
the one combined and then two separate accounts. That's one
thing too. But if you want to buy fancy craft
beers and he could care less. Well, you still get
to and maybe he likes buying physical books and you're like,

(18:07):
that's stupid. The library is so much smarter. But guess what,
it's his money and he can do as he pleases
with it. Because I think as long as it's coming
out of this agreed to budget and the monthly spend
amount that you guys have come to together, it's fine,
and you can have you basically have zero say unless
it's like something immoral or something like that. I guess

(18:29):
you basically have no say over how your partner spends
the money. I think that's good too, because it gives
you that release valve of getting to do some of
the things that matter to you that you might not
agree on.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
As a couple, and also leaves room for kind of
some sponsaneity as well, where it feels like you're able
to surprise the other. The other partner it's like, well,
how do I buy them gifts if she's over there
monitoring the my credit card? Okay, well there's a way
to do that with even I think with individual credit
cards that maybe you have spending limits set on that
you pay with your combined account. Like, I guess, I
just don't want folks to get too hung up on
that issue if they're wanting to do something a little

(19:00):
special without it being completely broadcasted because they're getting an
alert every time to make a purchase.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah, I tried the credit card statement, what's this five
hundred dollars hotel charge? And you're like, oh, well, you
just ruined the surprise.

Speaker 2 (19:10):
Ye.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
Yeah, you don't want that thing. Yeah, so you want
to save a little bit of room for that. And
the truth is, too not every relationship is created equal. Again,
we're talking about personal experience and we're talking about data.
But still there are reasons for other couples, understandably so,
to make different choices. This is just especially given kind
of the way Brandna you ordered your question, it makes
me think that combining your finances together makes a whole

(19:32):
lot of sense.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
And especially with her, with her saying that kids are
in the future, because I mean, in my mind, that
makes it even more of an argument because what that
tells me again is that your earnings are going to
be they're gonna be hampered, Yeah, most likely by you
staying at home for a certain period of time.

Speaker 1 (19:47):
If she was like, Hey, we've been dating for three weeks.
Should we combined finances? We be like no, but like
you're you've been married for you know, a decent chunk
of time and you're plan on having kids. It's like,
all right, I see the merit.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
Yeah, all things to consider, and we shared more of
our personal sperience. But hopefully Brandon, that gets you pointed
in the right direction. Joe, We've got more to get to.
We're gonna hear from a listener. This is a fellow
that's in money gear seven. He's crushing it, But is he?
Is he crushing it too hard?

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Joel? We'll get to that and more right after this.
All right, we're back Mattless. It's our next question. This
one is specifically about HSA's and to what lengths you
might go to be able to contribute to one.

Speaker 4 (20:29):
Hey, Matt and Joel, this is Tim calling from West
Tennessee and I have another HSA related question for you.
My wife and I are both thirty eight and have
been maxing out HSA contributions for years and typically pay
medical costs out of pocket. I am self employed and
she has traditional employment with health insurance offered, but no
employee sponsored high deductible health plan to allow for an

(20:51):
HSA account. Our total income allows us to get a
high deductible plan privately for about five hundred dollars a month.
We're fairly healthy and go to the doctor about five
times per year total. Her current cut rate plan is
three hundred and fifty dollars a month, does not allow
HSA contributions, and no providers seem to take it. We
were wondering when the tipping point is for making sense

(21:14):
to pay insurance premiums just to fund and invest in
an HSA plan or go without insurance. Take the amount
we would pay in premiums and HSA contributions and then
invest that into some other form of retirement strategy. The
total amount would be we would be investing would max
out a traditional IRA for both of us Andrew four
O one K, so we would need another strategy for

(21:35):
the money to go into. Any thoughts on how to
best allocate retirement dollars in this situation, Thanks for any
advice you can provide.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
Matt, West, Tennessee. That's a good part of the country.

Speaker 2 (21:46):
That's is that where Emily's from.

Speaker 1 (21:47):
That's where she's from.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
I'm more of a West North Carolina kind of guy
in myself, Western North Carolina. That's Asheville western.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
Fresh print style. No, well, I think first off, like
for Tim, what we should sake here is he's been
using the hs like a champ until this point, and
he's kind of doing everything else like a champ too.
Like Tim, you're.

Speaker 2 (22:06):
Head listening to the right podcast making the right decisions
in life.

Speaker 1 (22:09):
That's right, Good job Tim. I can't vouch for all
of his other podcast subscriptions, but at least this one right.
And for anyone who wants the details, by the way,
about how to utilize an HSA as this extra super
potent retirement account just like Tim is, we'll put a
link in the show notes to an article we wrote
on the site. But yeah, if you want the TLDR,
you got to let your HSA money linger. You got

(22:32):
to invest the money you stick inside of in HSA
because the point for the reason for doing that is
because it's the only account in existence that allows you
to avoid taxation altogether. But the key is you got
to have the free cash flow to be able to
pay for current medical expenses out of pocket from your savings,
which isn't always easy. But exactly if you can do that, man,
the HSA can be this incredible tool that allows you

(22:55):
to massively ratchet up your investing game.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
That's right. So for Tim, it sounds like the conundrum
for him is to either pay more for health insurance
in order to have access to an HSA or to
choose the cheaper health care plan that doesn't give you
that access. And I would say that if paying one
hundred and fifty dollars more a month for health insurance,
if that's not going to save you money in any

(23:18):
other meaningful way, and it sounds like it won't, then
it's time to I would say, kind of like more
in the loss of being able to contribute to invest
within an HSA for the time being, I think like.

Speaker 1 (23:28):
Three nights of crying into your pillow should suffice.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
Hey, he has been contributing to one, so yeah, obviously
you're not going to lose that, but maybe moving forward
at least and then the next stage of life, he
may not be able to do that. On the other hand,
if it would save you a decent chunk of money,
let's say by lowering copays or something, I think it
might be worth considering. But all things being equal, I
think opting for the higher cost plan just to be
able to contribute some HSA dollars, I don't think that
makes much sense. It's sort of like, so he says

(23:53):
its one hundred and fifty more a month, So it's
almost like paying an eighteen hundred dollars annual fee just
to have access to an account with that. Honestly, isn't
that massive, right, Like an agent say, like they're great,
but they still only have a maximum contribution amount of
just over eight thousand dollars. It'd be different if Tim
was loaded and this is going to free up. There's
like a new pocket that's going to allow him to

(24:15):
invest in additional thirty thousand dollars. And yeah, this is
a cr vital part of his early retirement strategy. But
that's not necessarily the case here. I agree, Yeah, the I.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
Think that's actually the good way to think about it,
the annual fee, right, because that's kind of what it is.
And if that quote unquote annual fee that you mentioned,
Matt came with substantially better health covers, we're gonna save
you money in copays and body blond, you'd recover it
that way. Then Okay, yeah, it's worth it. It's it's
worth getting the nicer healthcare plan. But that doesn't sound
like that's what Tim's gonna experience. And so well, one

(24:45):
thing he said that it sounds like I think he
called it the cut rate plan that his wife has.
He did say that it doesn't it seems like that
it's not accepted at a lot of places.

Speaker 2 (24:53):
That's something to consider because if you've got this healthcare
plan that you're paying for, I mean three fifties on nothing.
I mean it's it's fairly affordable, but it's still a
lot of money. If you're not able to actually use that,
I would say, okay, we'll shoot. It's time to kind
of weigh the pros and cons here. And maybe it
sounded like he's it seemed like it wasn't accepted. So
is it actually accepted at other places or maybe Tim,

(25:16):
because you really like it hsas, you're like, nobody actually
takes this crappy insurance. We need to move to one
that allows us to have an HSA. I think that
that is something to consider.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
I call my doctor first and be like, hey, you
accept this plan or not, And if they're like, no way, dude,
or actually the copay is a whole lot more under
that plant whatever. I would ask those questions because yeah,
that could that could maybe dramatically reduce that annual fee
ish thing with experience, and it might make it more
more worth paying more for the nicer health care plan.

Speaker 2 (25:44):
Totally, because it's Yeah, basically, the way I see it
is like he might be getting a deal on health insurance.
This is through his wife's plan. But there's nothing worse
than getting a deal on something that you're that you
can't use, yeah, because then it's then you kind of
fallen into the trap of like, but it was on sale, right, Okay,
do you actually need that? Do you want that? Are
you just going to keep that in your shed for
the next two years before you sell it like at
a yard sale, new with tags? So keep that in

(26:06):
mind as well.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Yeah, And so Tim was basically saying, all right, if
I can't contribute to an HSA or if I'm not
choosing that healthcare plan, where should I put the money?
He said that he owns his own business, but I
didn't hear him say one word about a solo for one.

Speaker 2 (26:18):
Count Oh snap, And this is a special little pocket
that will allow you to investment.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
Think about how many dollars you can funnel into that account.
It's insane. So it's well worth considering because you can
contribute as a business owner, then you can contribute as
an individual, which means many tens of thousands of dollars
can be thrown into that account every single year if
you're so inclined, and if you've got that kind of
free cash flow to invest, So I would look into
that account with Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab. Matt and I

(26:45):
have our solo for one K with Fidelity, and the
costs are essentially non existent, so that's definitely something worth
looking into totally.

Speaker 2 (26:54):
And then beyond that, just I would consider a taxable
brokerage account because you know, you're already putting a ton
of money away into investment vehicles that can't be tapped
until fifty nine and a half, which is more than
two decades from now, And there's nothing wrong with that
at all. But if you've got let's say, more medium
term investing goals, or maybe you're thinking about work and less,
maybe you're thinking about retiring all together. Before you reach

(27:16):
that quote unquote full retirement age, weill having some funds
within a taxable brokerage account. That makes a ton of
sense too. You're certainly not getting a tax break. That's okay.
You're doing a lot on that front already, and by
investing within a brokerage account, you'll be able to gain
a good bit of flexibility. But one other thing he
said to I think he mentioned was that should I
consider dropping insurance altogether in order.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
To invest those dollars as well?

Speaker 2 (27:41):
And I would say I wouldn't do that. And this
is coming from somebody who tries to avoid going to
the doctor, like you go lessen Tim that I mean, well,
Tim said, that's the FID times a year.

Speaker 1 (27:51):
You go five times a lifetime. It's like, haven't quite
hit my quote yet, so I got another visit?

Speaker 2 (27:58):
Like that is a type of health and ssurance that
you can't afford not to have, right, like if you
didn't have that, And it doesn't really matter how healthy
you are, Like I'm all about being active and being
you know, like we joke about being how we're slowly
turning into like Jim Bros. Because we're focusing on our
health a little bit more. There are certain things it
doesn't matter how healthy you are that can come out
of freaking nowhere like cancer or an aneurism, and guess what,

(28:21):
there's nothing that is going to complete that could completely
wreck your finances more than something like that, regardless of
how much you've sked away. We've seen all the headlines,
we've seen the stories about medical debt, medical bills, how
they can mess people's lives up.

Speaker 1 (28:34):
It's the number one reason that Americans file for bankrupt
and it's medical debt is typically not because someone went
in to get liposuction right like no'm or is because
someone went in to get a teeth cleaning right. It's
typically the unknown. It's a thing that slaps you upside
the head that you could not have predicted. And that's
why you need insurance against the unpredictable. So not having
health insurance is a little too scary for us. You'd

(28:57):
be living life on the edge and if something were
to happen completely upend everything you've been able to wortlely.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
Derail exactly because he's so focused on that retirement, making
sure he's got those dollars set aside, but all that
could be gone, I mean within like a few months
of treatment, putting on what he's got going on. That's
exactly I would hate see him in that position. All right, Matt,
let's get to our next question. This one is we've
got an over zealous listener here who has more than
maxed out their four oh one K.

Speaker 5 (29:23):
Hey, Matt and Joel, this is Greg and Tampa. Thanks
so much for all you guys to do. Love listening
to during my long runs here in Tampa. Really takes
the pain out of running and all this heat and humidity.
Just finished a five mile and I was listening to
you guys talk about some retirement accounts and got me
thinking money. Gear number seven here lucky enough to be
able to fully fund all the accounts, including my HSA
rothen four to one K, and actually over contribute to

(29:44):
my four to one K, just in case maybe an
early retirement or just some flexibility in my later years
in my career. Anyway, I never thought about this, but
when I look at my account, Vanguard seems to put
that money into a separate pile once I hit my
contribution limit, call it retirement savings, and it seems like
that money is available for withdrawal without penalty and for

(30:07):
no required reason. So my question is is this just
a savings account. Is everything over the limit just a
savings account? And if it is, can I count that
as part of my emergency fund? Or should I just
think of it as one big pile of retirement money
and forget about it? How would you guys think about

(30:27):
this and how would you treat that extra contribution? Thanks
so much?

Speaker 1 (30:32):
Cool long runs for the win, Matt, I speaking your
love language, drawling. No, it's funny, dude, Like people are like, oh,
do you love running now? And I'm like, no, I
still really kind of sort of hate it. Really, Yeah,
I have not fallen in love with it. I feel
great afterwards, and the sense of accomplishment that I get
from it is palpable.

Speaker 2 (30:51):
And knowing that you're doing the healthy thing. Yeah again, well,
Jim browth thing, we can stop it. But typically what
would I rather do? Not go for a most of
the time? Yeah, I feel maybe you'd run faster if
you're running down in Florida with like the gators nipping
at your.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
Heels, maybe maybe I would be Maybe i'd be as
fast as Greg if that was the case.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
It's funny because, like most of most folks listen to
the show, we're at the top of the food chain.
But Greg lives somewhere where there is a predator that
can take him out.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
That's right, that's right. And I think that Greg' stay
out of the Marshy area.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
If you're no, no, no, If you're looking to really train
and step up your your performance, you only run in
low lying lakes, marshy areas along the coast where there's
a chance of an alligator.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
They're pretty quick, though, man, aren't they find you?

Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (31:34):
I think so. Well.

Speaker 1 (31:34):
Also, there's the there's pythons down there in parts of
the like Florida.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
They're not as fast.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
As alligators there, right, I don't know, but they're pretty freaky.

Speaker 2 (31:43):
Yeah. Either way, it's a little a little sketchy.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
There's a guy who I think has made a fascinating
Instagram following taking out pythons down in Florida because they're
not native animals.

Speaker 2 (31:54):
To the area. Yeah, you know more about the Florida
man than I do.

Speaker 1 (31:59):
Let's get to Greg's actual question. And Greg, first off,
I mean kudos on all you've been able to do,
and we love, of course your desire to toss more
money into your retirement accounts like that is something like
I feel like we're constantly trying to coax people into
doing but you're kind of doing it proactively, like you're
doing it without us having to get on you as

(32:20):
like my mom would have said growing up, like Joel,
don't make me tell you again, right, And she usually
had to tell me again, But you don't have to
be told twice. So like, being able to contribute the
max to your four on and K is incredibly impressive,
especially like think about the contribution limit of a four
one K twenty three thousand dollars.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
A lot of money a year is what you're.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
Allowed to sock into those things. That's a ton. And
you know, we're all, of course all for maxing out
your four one k if you have that financial ability,
but going beyond that can actually cause issues. So Greg,
I think basically your heart is in the right place,
but you're gonna want to change your approach and what's
what might seem like a small misstep on the surface

(32:59):
can actually be really detrimental and become a massive pain
in your side.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
Yeah, yeah, there can be too much of a good thing.
It makes me think of like, okay, what are other
scenarios on the same beer, Because there's no up beer.
I try to avoid the beer analogies, and honestly we
should probably just stop the whole fitness analogies for like
a solid six months as well. So let's say, uh,
you don't like going to the gas station because you're like, oh,
such a hassle, so waste of time. I hate waiting
in the line at Costco. Maybe the smell bothers you. Whatever,

(33:25):
So you're saying to yourself, in order to keep myself
from having good to go to the gas station more often,
I'm going to fill up the tube that leads to
the gas tank. I'm not gonna just fill it up normal.
I'm gonna pull the nozzle out a little bit. I'm
gonna fill it all the way up and for good measure,
you know what, I'm just gonna like just just kind
of spray the spray some around it. But that's not good.

(33:47):
That's dangerous. There's gasoline everywhere. It's not good for your
paint either, And so I think that is the environment either. Now, yeah,
you don't want to do that. It's you're messing up
your you're marring up the paint of your four one K. Greg.
Maybe that's the way you can think about it, and
that is because overfunding your tax advantage accounts, but it
comes with taxes and penalties and it can be a
pain in the butt to undo what's been done. And
so instead of reducing your tax bill, instead of helping

(34:09):
you to invest for your future, contributing too much to
a four to one K can actually create more of
a tax headache. You're actually going to get taxed twice
on those dollars, which might sound surprising to you honestly,
but that's because you're not getting the tax break in
the year that you funnel those dollars into your four
to one K. Money over that threshold, it doesn't qualified
for any preferred tax treatment, and then you're gonna pay

(34:31):
tax when you take those dollars out in the future
as well. It's the worst of both worlds. Yeah, and
this is not a scenario we want to see you
to continue.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
And yeah, you basically getting bludgeoned upside the head by
the IRS if you over contribute to those accounts, if
you overfund them. So the question is what should you do,
And so we would say we'll get those dollars out
of there right to prevent getting horribly treated by the IRS.
To avoid getting penalized because the longer you leave the
money in there, actually the more tax hell you're going

(34:59):
to incur from them. There's literally a six percent annual
penalty on money that gets left in a four to
one K, and not just that every year is left in,
it compounds, dude, it keeps getting worse. So it's like,
this is one of those things where the IRS is saying,
don't cross over this line, and if you dip your
toe over the line, they're gonna slash it off. So
you don't want that to happen, like kill Bill style.

Speaker 2 (35:20):
Or something that's gonna get nipped off by the alley.

Speaker 1 (35:22):
Right right, Yeah, And basically you know the IRS hates
it when people do this. They're gonna make you feel
the pain. So here's what you do.

Speaker 2 (35:28):
Greg.

Speaker 1 (35:28):
You tell your planned administrator what happened that you've contributed
too much to your four oh one K. Then they
can send it back to you in what's known as
a corrective distribution. We would get the ball rolling on
that asap, because again, you don't want to cross over
into another calendar year having too much money in the
four one K. Having Let's say you put in twenty
eight thousand dollars instead of twenty three. Well, that's six
percent annual penalty. It's gonna get charged next year too,

(35:51):
if you leave it in too long.

Speaker 2 (35:52):
And here's where the story gets even worse. If you
don't get the ball rolling on that and make that
correction within the year that you mistakenly contribute too much,
well then it's considered an early withdrawal. So then you're
paying a ten percent penalty on subsequent years were you
to then get it fixed. Yeah, it's amazing, Like literally
you're getting hammered at every turn here, Greg.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
I would imagine most people heard this and they're like, oh,
that sounds like a small accident that probably the IRS
will quickly forgive. But no, not at all.

Speaker 2 (36:20):
Yeah, I think a lot of folks might be thinking, oh,
that was a wise move, just go ahead, just to
be safe right now. This is an instance where you
don't want to be safe.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
It's like you called the head of the IRS like
a bad word or something, and he's like, literally got
it out for you.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
It's like, did I are you taking like personal offense?
That's something I've done, sure to seem like it, But
this is an instance where Greg, I'm not sure if
you are filing your own taxes, maybe you're going the
DIY route. But this is something that a tax professional
should be able to catch and advise you on. Any
money above and beyond the contributional limit would be ideally
put into a roth IRA if you qualify and you

(36:53):
wanted to invest more dollars or simply you can just
stick it within a taxable brokerage account. But putting more
money into a four one K then you're allowed to.
It's just going to create more headaches, generate more taxation.
And we literally never say this, but it's time for
you to dial back those four one K contributions because
you're contributing too much.

Speaker 1 (37:12):
Yeah, Usually we're trying to say, oh, go in there
and pump it up by one or two percentage points, greg,
do not do that. Do not increase the amount that
you're contributing to that four and k in fact that
you want to decrease it and make sure that you're
falling underneath that threshold. And then you want to pull
in the overages from this year so that you aren't
getting tax to the moon on it. We just yeah,
want you to to your money to be working for

(37:33):
you and running a foul of the irs typically means
you're getting penalized and that you have fewer dollars working
for your future. So I hope that's helpful. Best of
luck to you, Matt. We've got more to get to
on the show, including we're going to talk about downgrading
to a cheaper car. Does it make sense? We'll get
to that right after this.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
We are back from the break and it is now
time for the Facebook Question of the Week. This one
is from Danielle and she wrote, I had a car
loan of a little under seventeen thousand dollars with a
five point zero six percent interest rate. She was very specific,
I have a minimum payment of three hundred and forty
dollars and I have been paying four hundred dollars a month.

(38:19):
Today I change it to a bi weekly payment of
two hundred and twenty five dollars, so four to fifty
a month in total. This car was needed at the
time and was bought when prices were still crazy due
to the pandemic. Should I consider getting rid of it
and getting a cheaper car? Is there a way to
do this without losing money? Should I stick it out?
Should I pay more per month, Joey sounds like we're
hearing from somebody who is sick and tired of having

(38:39):
a car loan, yeah, a car note in her life.
I get that the average new car payment continues to
go up and up, the prices of used cars is
still significantly expensive, and if you finance that sucker over
five or six years, especially with higher interest rates, you're
talking about a long time of having a really crummy
car loan in your life. And then, Matt, typically what
happens is people are a few years of their payments

(39:00):
and they're like, ah, time to upgrade and.

Speaker 1 (39:02):
Get another loan and roll that old loan into the
new one, and it only gets worse and worse and worse.
And so is when their.

Speaker 2 (39:07):
Gride has lost that new car smell, and they're like,
it's not doing it for me anymore.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
So let's nip this thing in the bud. Let's get
rid of car loans as quickly as possible and then
hopefully avoid them for the rest of your lives. And
I feel like her question match should kind of make headlines,
Like I was just thinking, if this was an Onion headline,
it would read something like American and Individual considers downgrading
car to save money, because it's so antithetical to the
human the way American humans at least approach cars.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
It's not the consumptive way.

Speaker 1 (39:34):
No, no, no, nobody does this. So Danielle, first, the
fact that you are like even considering this is awesome,
So we're really proud of you on that factor. But
should you actually do it? And I think the answer
is maybe so. One thing worth considering is the tax
implications of selling a car and then buying a new one.
In the state of Georgia, at least you pay sales
tax every time you buy a new vehicle, right, which

(39:55):
makes it actually advantageous to keep your car longer. And
always used to be like that, Matt. We used to
pay something that was essentially a much smaller amount every
single year based on the value of your car. But
know the car tax laws in your state. Before you
sell the car to save a few thousand bucks and
then find that you owe four figures in additional tax
because you just up or downgraded to another car, it

(40:18):
feels like and I really don't love that this is
the way that car taxes work in our state, Matt.
And it might sound ancillary or something like that, but
it's really not because that number can add up significantly.

Speaker 2 (40:28):
It has a big impact. Yeah, it's funny because you
and I we need somebody. Back in the day, and
he used to do this thing where he would buy
a pretty affordable car, drive it for a few months,
and he was a photographer and so he would then
take a really good pictures of it, do a good
job as a salesman essentially, And he wasn't like lying
or anything, but he's just like, I can sell this
car in a few months for the same price that
I bought it at, if not more. And over the

(40:49):
course of a couple to a few years, he was
able to significantly upgrade the car that he had. But
he in party he was able to do that because
he wasn't paying freaking sales tax essentially every single time.
In Georgia is called the title advolorm tax, but essentially
it acts as.

Speaker 1 (41:03):
A sales tax on the vehicle. It's a percentage of
the overall problem. It's that changed.

Speaker 2 (41:08):
He had to stop because no longer a strategy that
you could employ that throws a wrench in your plan.
So for folks who live in states where that is
not the case, the tax implications really aren't there, but
something that you do need to consider though, Danielle is,
would you need to get another loan? So I love
that you are aggressively paying this thing off. You're doing
it faster than prescribed, but you do have a fairly
low interest rate for today's environment. So she's got a

(41:30):
five percent rate and today like you got to have
like a super prime credit score in order to score that.
Even then you're probably talking about like seven or eight percent, right, yeah, yeah.
And if I think if you're opting to get a
slightly cheaper ride, but then in today's environment, let's say
you had a finance it at a higher rate, well
you may not be saving quite as much money as
you thought. But if it does mean that you're able

(41:52):
to own your car free and clear, where you're ditching
that car payment altogether, well then it might be worth it,
because that no car payment life is truly where it's at.
You don't want to be financing depreciating assets. And if
it means driving a solid ride that does have more
miles on it, well there are additional things that you
still want to consider, but that could be a smart
financial decision.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
It's like you're making a sacrifice driving something maybe it's
not quite as attractive, that could potentially have more issues
with it coming up. But if you're able to buy
a five thousand dollars car, because man, you're dead set
on being car debt fretty completely, and that allows you to, yeah,
get rid of the car payment altogether, I could see
that being a smart move. I think probably a lot

(42:31):
of people are listening out there and they're like, that
sounds cheap, not frugal guys. But I do think Matt,
I've had reasonably good luck buying super duper cheap cars
over the years. Seriously in the sub five thousand dollar range.
Even the car that I currently drive four thousand bucks,
you know, because it's a five and so I do
think that it's under salt. People always think I was

(42:52):
talking to about the other day. He just assumes that
he has to spend thirty plus thousand dollars even to
buy a three or four year old used car.

Speaker 2 (42:59):
Yeah, you got to do that.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
I was like, I don't know why you think you
have to do this, but I think some people just
feel like that's the only way to get something that's reliable,
and that's just not the case, you have to pay
extra attention though, So I would tell Danielle and everyone
else out there do your research if you're going this direction,
because you are kind of talking about the devil universe,
the devil you don't And if your current car is
in great shape and expect to have a long life,

(43:21):
let's say a lot of maintenance has been recently performed.
With trading down, it could be short sighted. But if
you're getting to the point where maybe you're gonna have
to drop a lot of money on the car you
currently have, and you're able to secure an old Corolla
driven by a granny, you know, it's a typical way
people think about it is, well, she drove a four
thousand miles a year and it's in killer shape even

(43:41):
though it's older. Like if you can zero in on
a car like that, or really whatever else kind of car,
consumer reports suggests based on reliability for the price, you
might not be signing yourself up for many more headaches
or repair costs. I would just not assume that a
twenty eleven car, for instance, is going to cost a
lot more in repairs than a twenty nineteen car. Depends

(44:02):
on a whole bunch of factors, depending on the make
and model that you're transferring into and how well that
owner kept it up. It really might not mean that
many additional repair expenses every year.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
That's true, and honestly, I think she's concerned less about maintenance,
even though that is something she needs to consider. She's
going to get something different. But she writes that she
may be overpaid for the vehicle, and I think that's
kind of weighing on her. The fact that, like, think
like we were. I remember, like car prices were crazy.
This is back during the pandemic. This Joel, you remember

(44:33):
the ever given back when that thing got stuck in
those Yeah, like supply chains were snagged, there were tons
of issues, and car prices were going through the roof.
That was the reality of it. And if you needed
a new vehicle back then, that's just what happened. And
there's nothing, Danielle, unfortunately that can make up for that.
That's just water under the bridge and moving forward. I

(44:54):
think you can make the best decision, but yeah, you
can't right that wrong necessarily, but time will help right
the wrong. Yeah, a weird place. It doesn't have much
to do with interest rates. Again, the rate that you
have is actually pretty good. It doesn't sound like you
spent way too much on this vehicle, but maybe for
what it is that you purchased, it seems like well,
in today's prices, I certainly overpay, but again that's in

(45:14):
the past, and I think that for you to take
some of these more drastic moves today, you'd kind of
be cutting off your nose. Despite your face, I.

Speaker 1 (45:21):
Think you're right. I think ultimately I would probably be
hanging onto the car if I were her and paying
it down with fervor like she's doing. And I think
she's on the right path.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
Totally knock it out. And again five percent, it's not
like the worst rate in the world, but it sounds
like she wants to be done with it, and I
totally agree. I think just attacking that completely, eliminating that
from her life. But then after that, banking that payment
for your next eventual car purchase, I think that would
be smart. That way you never have to make a
car payment again. I think that.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
Would be a great plan to make a resolution. This
is the last car I'll have payments on ever, for
the rest of my life, and to stick to that
would be incredible, And part of that is mac. I
think banking the payment for future purchases. I think it's wise.

Speaker 2 (46:00):
Totally agree, Joe. Let's get to the beer that you
and I enjoyed it during today's episode, Head Full of Dynomte.
This is a hazy I pa by Fremont. Is it
Fremont Brewing? Yeah? Okay, here on the side, Fremont Brewing
out of Seattle, Washington. I got confused because it says
Seattle Earth, and most folks don't put Earth as their location.

(46:22):
It's kind of a given, guys. But Joel, your thoughts
on this one, man?

Speaker 1 (46:27):
I dug this one. This I get why they called
it dynamite because it does have like it feels powerful
in your mouth for punch. Yeah, most definitely a hoold
lot of flavor. I enjoy this one.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
I don't. I think it was like kind of an
earthy I p a in a lot of ways. I
had some of those tones going on. Do you think
you're impacted by the fact that it says Seattle Earth
Maybe subtle messages? Yeah, or maybe they knew that and
they don't put Earth on any of their other beers
that they only put it on this one because it
does have earthier tones that could be.

Speaker 1 (46:58):
I enjoyed it though.

Speaker 2 (46:59):
Yeah, this might sound weird, but it kind of had
like savignon blanc like flavors going on, like a white
grape it maybe like it even made me think of
muscadine a little bit. I don't know something about the
the floral sort of fruity notes, like it wasn't overly sweet,
but the earthy or the vegetable flavor profile that I
was pulling out of this made me think that so
really good. Yeah, super stoked that, you know, I got

(47:21):
to enjoy. Glad you were able to. Did you pack
this in your in your pack? I did, because you
checked your you checked your big pack. Right fly on
Southwest you can check a bag for free. That is
the best way, one of the best ways to transport
beer across the country. If you're curious, so Southwest for
the wind, Matt, that's gonna do it. For this episode,
we'll put show notes links to some of the stuff
we mentioned up on our website at howtomoney dot com.

(47:41):
There's obviously tons of other resources there to help you
out in your financial journey as well. Until next time, though,
best Friends Altum, best Friends out Mum four,
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Joel Larsgaard

Joel Larsgaard

Matthew Altmix

Matthew Altmix

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