June 15, 2025 • 33 mins
One person's trash is another person's treasure. Recent college grads are abandoning really nice stuff! It could be a pickers paradise.
Ask HTM: Should you rent a car when going on an epic road trip?
Third party apps are collecting data on us. Could that be contributing to the rise of insurance premiums?
Ask HTM: What are the logistics of combining finances as newlyweds?
Ask HTM: Should you rent a car when going on an epic road trip?
Third party apps are collecting data on us. Could that be contributing to the rise of insurance premiums?
Ask HTM: What are the logistics of combining finances as newlyweds?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
K IF I Am six forty. You're listening to how
to Money on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Do you want to live well without drowning in debt?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Joel and Matt have you covered?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is how to Money with Joel lars Guard and
Matt ullmakes.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
K IF I Am six forty live every where on
the iHeartRadio app. This is how to Money. I am
one of your hosts, Joel Larscard.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
And I am Mat all mixed. By the way, you
can always find more money saving information over at howtomoney
dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I wanted to quickly highlight an email that listener Donnie sent.
He lives in Maryland, and there are all sorts of
things in the personal finance world that even as someone
who hosts a personal finance podcast, I'm unaware of. And
a lot of that is because there are state specific
programs or just small find nuances that I have not
(01:32):
begun to appreciate or research in depth yet. And so
Donnie sent this email and at least for listeners in Maryland,
and then maybe check and see if this is something
like this is available in your.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
State as well. There are cool perks.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
For people who stick money aside in five twenty nine
plans for their kids, and so Donnie basically wrote and
told me and gave a lot of detail on this.
So look it up for yourself on the Maryland five
twenty nine dot com web page for details. But if
you meet certain income requirements basically if you don't make
a ton of money and actually a ton of money,
(02:05):
well that's in the eye of the beholder, but you
can get a state match to your five to twenty
nine plan for in order to save for your kids college.
So not only have five twenty nine plans gotten more
flexible lately, and I looked up the Maryland five to
twenty nine plan to see you know what the cost
and expenses look like, and on some of those investments
(02:25):
they're quite low. So the Maryland five to twenty nine
plan is, I would say, at least a really good
solid one. Well, if you meet certain income requirements and
you're prone to interested in saving for your kid's future,
you might be able to get matching funds from the
state for making those contributions. Interesting thing you have to
you can't claim a state tax deduction and get this
(02:47):
state contribution, So it's important, Donnie said, to do the
math to see which one is going.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
To work out better for you.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But you might be able to get five hundred bucks
and maybe you would have only saved one hundred bucks
in taxes or something like that for making this contribute,
and in that case, you'd want to take the state
five hundred dollars contribution and you're getting out it's like
a net four hundred dollars win. So again, all of
those details are available on Maryland five twenty nine dot com.
But it just reminded me like, oh man, there's so
(03:15):
much to learn about personal finance. It never gets boring
to me. And there are so many ways that the
system is set up for people who are at least
curious and paying attention to benefit. And if you live
in Maryland, and again if someone else, by the way,
if you live in another state and you're like, my
state does something similar, shoot me an email, like we
want to highlight these things on the show. We want
to make people aware of incredible benefits or free money.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
This is almost like four to one k match at
work on steroids. Though for your five twenty nine plans,
it's really cool. All right, congrats to all the graduates.
I'm seeing more and more pictures posted. And then there's
all these those yard signs, the signs in front of neighborhoods,
at least where I live, saying congrats to these grads
and hate where are they going to college? And for
(04:01):
college graduates in particular, you've been putting in tons of
work for a lot of years. It's paid off with
a degree. And we talked about the job market last
week and how it's not as good as it has
been for new college grads. But here's one thing that
I wasn't on my radar until I saw an article
in Indie Week, and it was that college graduates tend
(04:23):
to leave a lot of their possessions behind when they
fly the coop, when they leave the dorm or whatever
campus housing or off campus housing they live in, they
tend to leave a lot of their stuff. They just
maybe it's they don't have a U haul or a
trailer to stick all their stuff in, and so a
lot of it ends up at the dumpster. Could be
(04:45):
some really nice stuff, right, It could be some trash
that nobody really wants, but it could be a nice couch,
or it could be in the case of this article,
who wrote for Indie week. She talked about salvaging some
really nice stuff that graduates were leaving behind at the
school closest to her. High end tables, luxury sneakers, Lulu Lemon,
workout stuff like shoved in a bag, fancy appliances like
(05:07):
nice toasters and microwaves and stuff like that. And one
person's trash is another person's treasure. And so the author
she basically highlighted how she was able to salvage almost
seven thousand dollars worth of stuff to prevent it from
being thrown in the trash and to put it to
use herself. And she created a spreadsheet and she said, hey,
(05:27):
this is something I'm going to keep, this is something
I'm going to sell, this is something I'm going to
give away. And I thought that was so cool. I mean,
it really is. The one person's trash is another person's treasure.
It's the most apt phrase here because as the college person,
you're saying, this is a burden to me. I don't
have anywhere to put it. Maybe I'm moving back home
(05:48):
with mom and dad for a few months. They don't
have room for this stuff. Or I don't know where
I'm going to end up. Maybe I'm sleeping on a
friend's couch for a couple weeks and then I'll figure
it out. And so in the interim you just don't
have anywhere to put it, so it ends up on
the herb, or it ends up in the trash can.
I think this happens. I've heard from people in New
York City right around the first of the month. Because
there are fewer places to store stuff, you just find
(06:11):
stuff on the curb that you otherwise You're like, why
are they getting rid of this? And it's because they
just can't take it with them, and it's more of
a pain, more of a hassle to take it. And
if you can deal with the hassle of moving it,
you just are the proud owner of something fairly nice
that someone else tossed out. And I think it also
says something about our culture that we live in an
era of disposable stuff, right, And it makes me think
(06:34):
that even if an item is initially more expensive, it
can cost you less over time to buy the nicer
thing upfront and to hold on to it. But then,
also because of extreme wealth in this country, when you
think about the fact that we have so on average
as a country, we're the wealthiest country in the history
of the world. There's room here for entrepreneurs to make
(06:56):
money based on the fact that based on some arbitrage
right the fact that somebody has said, oh, I used this,
I no longer need it, I'm tossing it aside, and
you can step in and be the middleman or woman
to enjoy the profit of that. Basically, I have friends
who have done this before, whether it's with used clothing.
(07:19):
They've started businesses where they go to thrift stores and
buy stuff and list it on eBay. And I'm not
saying that it's not a job.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It is.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It takes time, but if you have an eye for
that stuff, you can make a living literally just reselling things.
Another friend who said, who did that with mid century furniture,
and he just knows where to go, what to look for,
And once you get an eye for that, he's like,
you're able to find some things for one hundred bucks
that sell for thousands of dollars. And this reminded me
(07:50):
of that where people tossing stuff out you can benefit
from at least just the way people don't take care
of their stuff or get rid of it prematurely. At
the very least by the way. I wish folks would
donate that stuff so people can benefit instead of putting
it next to the dumpster, tossing it to the trash
and then you know, I don't know, maybe maybe you
(08:12):
don't have time for a side house so you're not interested.
But I think it's an underrated way to get cool
stuff or to make a buck, and you have to
roll up your sleeves and get a little bit dirty.
I think that's one of the things too, is this
is going to take maybe a little time, little effort,
but even I think that can be It's kind of
like my dishwasher story recently, buying extra dishwashers and flipping them,
and it's a way to turn something that would have
(08:32):
been a cost center into a profit center and still
get something new at the same time. I just love
that that's possible. If you're paying attention, that's right, buddy.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You're listening to How To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Don't forget to sign up for the how to Money
newsletter over at how tomoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Let's take a question now from a listener who wants
to know about taking a road trip. Should he rent
a car or he's the one he's got, And actually
it's kind of a question named towards you as well.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Angel and Matt. This is Rob Levine and Ellicott City, Maryland.
I know you both are big fans of driving high mileage,
paid off vehicles. I am right there with you, Matt.
I know that you have a big summer road trip
coming up, and I'm curious whether you will take your
high mileage vehicle on that trip or if you'll rent
a car. I always struggle with the whole idea of
(09:26):
how confident am I that the hauler can make it
there and back with the family. Intel appreciate your perspective
and hope you have a great trip.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Rob is so polite. He calls it a high mileage
vehicle as opposed to a cloaker.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Do you remember that, Rob, You make me feel good
about my vehicle. It's just a high mileage. He's totally pc.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You remember during the Obama administration there was something called
cash for Clunkers, a government program or you get paid,
that's right, And like they didn't, I didn't realize that
was a government bro They didn't avoid the term.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, yeah, it was. Well, so that's because they're trying
to encourage you to offload.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
It was all about the great the ev green transportation man.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I think I love this question and it's something that
I was curious to know before because I didn't I
hadn't asked you this yet. I was like, are you
going to take your head talked about it? Or are
you going to rent one? Especially given the length of
your road trip? And you know, when it comes down
to it, mad we know that opting for a used
car makes so much sense just from a financial perspective,
(10:23):
But if you're scared that you're that you're used car,
especially if it's getting really long in the tooth, is
going to hold on a longer drive. So I mean, yeah,
you are going on this pretty extensive road trip. We're
not talking about a couple hundred miles, We're talking about
thousands of miles, So what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I think that's I mean, that's a large consideration as well.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
The fact that I mean, like we're looking at driving
and we don't know our our exact itinerary just yet,
but we're at least going to be driving around three
thousand miles, if not more.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
This is over the course of a couple of weeks.
And so first of all, there's.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
The depreciation, right There are estimates that cars appreciate at
twenty cents a mile.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I'm guessing that hours is probably less at this point.
But if you run the math, we're.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Talking about losing six hundred dollars at least in value
on the car by putting it through its paces to
this degree.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
You say that yours would depreciate less, and that's just
because it's older, is older more to appreciate. So if
you're talking about a three year old used car will one,
you're probably not as worried about it it breaking down
on you or something like that exactly. But you're also
going to train off case. Yeah, depreciate you putting those
miles on it.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
And so I will say I just want ahead and
second that out there. But I'm not really thinking about
the depreciation all that much.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
This is our vehicle.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
We're not necessarily looking I guess another way to think
about it too, is just instead of thinking about it
as depreciation, maybe I should be thinking about it as
wear and tear on the vehicle. But even still I'm
not thinking about it through that lens as much. It's
more about the peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
That means a lot more on a road trip like
this with a pretty tight itinerary. I mean, we've got
stops in different cities. We don't want to roll in late.
We want it to unfold. I guess it's the way
we want it to, especially.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
For that private audience with the Pope that you've gotten.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But the reason I mentioned this is because, like Rob said,
when you've got the family in tow, I don't, Man,
there aren't a lot of things that are more stressful
than having to make a major repair while on the road,
while trying to travel and hit up multiple states, multiple cities,
multiple sites, things that we have tickets to, right, Like,
that's another thing. It's not like just checking in late.
It's a matter of, oh, man, are we going to
(12:20):
miss our tour? You know, things like that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Emily was taking the kids on a few hundred mile
trip and I was going to catch up to him
a few days later and the alternator went bust, And
so that's always a possibility, like you can never and
it's a possibility too with a rental car. You might say, hey, great,
this thing's two years old, it's got twenty thousand miles
on it, but it's much.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Less likely, I would say, compared to like one hundred
and fifty thousand mile.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
You're playing the odds.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Long in the Is there any equivalent to long in
the tooth when it comes to vehicles like long in
the oodometers, long in the radiator, something like that.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
So I had to race down there and we man,
we got so lucky with being able to replace the alternator.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
That day somewhere.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, on a Saturday, nonetheless, when a lot of shops
are closed. But that's the kind of thing that, yeah,
can throw a kink in into the plans. I was
going to pick them up and bring them home, and
it was just going to be like trips off for
the time being, massive passile and so yeah, I think
you have to take those things at a consideration. And
if you're the kind of family that prioritizes high mileage
non clunker vehicles, rob those are the kind of questions
(13:21):
you have to have to wrestle with. And I think, Matt,
if you were to decide to take your own van,
you probably want to have it at least looked over
thoroughly before you win. Sure you want the fresh oil
change right, Checking the tires, fluid levels, spark plugs, all
that kind of stuff would be why same thing for you,
Rob if you're going to opt to go that route,
just make sure your your beautifully vintage vehicle is at
(13:44):
least up to snuff from everything that you can ascertain.
I think the nice thing about renting a car, especially
when you're going on a really long road tip, is
that you benefit from the from the unlimited mileage that
you're able to get through the rental car company.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
So again, if you're driving a few hundred miles of
the course of a few weeks, you get less benefit. Right,
You're getting less bang for your buck, and the risk
is a whole lot less too. But since Matt, you're
driving at least three thousand miles, you're probably going to
do more than that. I think the price of the
rental looks far more attractive because you're like beating the
crap out of the rental car and not your own.
(14:19):
You just get every dollar you spend on It just
matters more because of all the mileage you're avoiding putting
on your vehicle. So I'd be leaning in that direction,
especially with the kind of travels you guys have planned
and totally the time sensitive nature of not wanting to
screw that up.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
One argument for folks taking their own car, and this
isn't something that we especially feel, but I have heard
folks push back and say, well, I want to take
my vehicle like they have more like they're more car people.
This is because that they have an emotional attachment to
their car. That was one of my dad's arguments for
because I was trying to talk them into getting an
EV and he's like, well, I can't drive that out
to the Midwest and visit family. I'm like, well, you
(14:55):
just you rent a car when you do that once
or twice a year. He's like, right, I want to
be able to take my car. And so that's a
consideration that I know some folks have in their minds,
but that in this case, this doesn't apply to us.
I'm like, no, it's not about the vehicle that we're
traveling as opposed to what we're doing as a family.
But for some people, part of what they're doing as
a family is the vehicle or they're traveling in.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I get that, especially when you have an older car
that doesn't have some of the new fangled tech accessories.
Renting the car might prove good in that capacity.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
To not even considered the entertainment, says so much, is
what I assume you're referenda.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Yeah. No, I think there's also this, like as a
frugal versus cheap.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Element to this question as well, because if it was
just me, Let's say, for some reason, I was planning
on doing this two week road trip, yes, but I
was maybe planning on doing it solo. Well, in that case,
I would be much more willing to take a well maintained,
older vehicle that I already owned, as opposed to straight
up for anyone, because you know, getting stranded on the
side of the interstate or even on some country back
(15:53):
road where it's just me and my backpack it's no
big deal, says a.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Little more fun and serendipitous when you're solo than it
does been.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Like, I would even be willing to like consider hitchhiking,
which I've never done before, because I'm like, oh, kind
of sounds like an adventure, but putting the family through
an ordeal like that is not something that I would
be interested in doing. That those are the kind of
memories that I think, I don't know, they would certainly stick.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, probably posted picks of our my hitchhiking adventures before
the chainsaw. Yeah, from the whole bud like commercials. Yeah,
good times fun. People are more reticent to pick you
up when you're with shady characters like my friend Josh indeed.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
But yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
I mean, I think when one person is and you
can kind of roll with the punches, that's one thing.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
But kids, it is not just the vehicle of the punches. Yeah,
it's it's the party. It's who you're rolling with as well.
That is something you got to take intoccount. I think
it's similar like the idea of staying at a hostel.
I'm auful, I don't care. That's fine.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I'm in my forties and I'm still down with that,
but my wife not as much, And so like you
have to kind of play around everybody's goals and dreams.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I think I would be willing to stay. I could
stay in a hostel too, as long as I had
a comfortable bed. I think for me that's kind of
what it comes down to now. I want to sleep
on like someone's couch where it's slanted and angled. As
long as it's quiet, there's a comfortable mattress, and I
have control of the temperature. I think I would one
hundred percent be able to get a great night's sleep.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Side note, all right, hey, we got more money saving
information to get to.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
If you're on Facebook, by the way, you want to
join a group of like minded folks who have money questions,
who have money insights, please go join the how to
Money Facebook group. All Right, is your smartphone making your
car insurance more expensive? The finance journal Kiplinger they dove
into that topic the other day and they found that
(17:44):
third party apps are feeding information to insurance company insurance
companies that could be used against you in setting rates.
So I'm not talking about the apps from your insurance company, right,
which we've talked about on the show before and I
have used before in order to save money on my insurance. Basically,
if you drive like a grainy for a month or
(18:06):
three months or what however long they tell you to
you plug something into your car. They might say, hey,
you're actually pretty safe driver. We're going to knock twenty
eight percent off your insurance rate, which is pretty cool.
I know some people are aware of those, but I
think that, at least from what I've seen and experienced,
they can be a good way to save money on insurance.
But what I'm talking about is actually a bunch of
(18:27):
different apps that collect other information on you. There was
another article just this week about how the Chinese apps
Timu and She and they might be spying on you
when you do your shopping and selling that information well
could end up at insurance companies. Maybe maybe, And so
apps you would not think of as spying on you
(18:48):
or collecting information that could be used to create a
dossier and sell that information are doing so. So it's
weather apps, shopping apps, navigation apps are all those apps
are all collecting some data if you allow them, and
then they're selling that data to data brokers who sell
it to insurance companies. And one of the main apps
(19:08):
that was highlighted to this, and I swear we've talked
about this on the show before, but I guess it
just refreshed in my mind. It's called Life three sixty
and this seems this app seems like a benign app.
It actually seems like it's an app that's poised to
help families share location and keep track of each other
and stay in touch with each other. Well, this app
(19:29):
in particular seems to be collecting information that is being
sold and it's leading to unexpected premium hikes for insurance
auto insurance in particular because of the data it's able
at the robust data it's able to collect about where
you are and what you're doing. In the insurance companies like, yeah,
we'd like that because the more information we have, the
(19:50):
more we can dial in rates for specific people if
they're engaged in behaviors that we deem unsavory or unhealthy.
And it is part of the brave new world that
we live in. But it scares me and it makes
me think that you should be really careful what apps
you download, and also you should be careful what you
let those apps share their permissions right that you give apps.
(20:11):
And the tough thing about something like Life three sixty
is the permissions that you need to grant it are
pretty crucial to the functioning of the app. So that's
one of those apps. Well, hey, you might want to
find a different way to stay in touch with your family,
Because if they're collecting that data and using it in
a way that's not just to allow you to use
the app for pro family purposes, they're using it to
(20:32):
actually spy on you and sell your data, then to me,
that app would not be worth downloading. Opt out of
sharing your data with apps whenever possible. And because of
the quickly rising insurance rates we've seen around the nation,
the number of uninsured is rising, especially on the homeotors
insurance front, and having insurance is crucial for most folks.
(20:55):
And by the way, if more motorists are going around uninsured,
it means you having insurance is even more necessary. Think
about that uninsured motorist protection that protects you in case
you get into an accident with somebody who doesn't have insurance.
That could be you're saving grace in case of an accident,
a car accident. But on the homeowners insurance front, statistics
(21:17):
recently revealed that seven percent of all homeowners report not
having any insurance coverage on their house. And this might
not be horrific given that and this is a surprising,
this statistic has always surprised me. Something like forty percent
of all homeowners own their homes mortgage free. And it's
funny because I know very few of those people. Actually,
(21:39):
this local woman who babysits our kids, wonderful. She we
were just talking this morning, and she doesn't have a
mortgage on her home. I was like, that's incredible. How
incredible is that. I look forward to joining you in
the ranks of that someday. But there aren't many people
out there that I know of who own their homes
mortgage free. But apparently the statistic show that four out
of ten people do own their home and they don't
(21:59):
have a mortgage attached to it. And in that case,
you can opt to go without insurance. But do you
want to Well, if you own your home outright, could
you still afford to rebuild that home in the event
of an emergency. That's a really important question. Those are
the only folks who should be willing to take that gamble.
And if you have a mortgage right, your mortgage holder
(22:21):
will find out if you act your insurance, so you cannot,
as someone with a mortgage on your home say I'm
gonna keep paying this mortgage, but I'm not gonna have insurance.
I'm gonna take that risk, because that puts the risk
also on the bank or the credit union where you
got your loan, and they're going to make sure you
have insurance. They're gonna get it for you, but it's
going to cost a heck of a lot more if
they buy it. So you want to be the one
(22:42):
shopping around for insurance in order to find the best
value for yourself. Because yeah, and if you're looking to
save money, if you're looking to save money on insurance,
raising your deductible, if you have the savings on hand,
can be a way to kind of split that baby
right where you're saying, the insurance is getting really expensive,
and that is certainly true. We've documented the rise in
(23:05):
homeowner's insurance costs over the past few years. They've been
significant as costs of Risen, the home prices of Risen,
insurance costs of Risen too, And so raising the deductible
is a way to save on premiums and you have
more skin in the game if you were to file
a claim, but you got to have the cash on
hand right in order to you got to have the
(23:26):
money to back up that increased deductible that you're taking on.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Totally agree you're listening to how to Money with Joel
Larsgard on demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
If you have a money question, we'll send it our way.
All you have to do is record your question on
the voice memo app there on your phone and send
it over via email. You can find the simple instructions
at howdomoney dot com forward slash ask.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
This next question comes from a listener who just got married.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Hey guys, this is justin from Cocomo, Indiana. I just
got married six days and my wife and I are
planning to combine our finances. I know this is a
topic you've discussed in the past, but I can only
find the content where you discuss the philosophy of combining finances.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
But not the strategy.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
What are your suggestions for going about creating a joint
checking account, deciding how much of each paycheck should be
put into that combined account. Should we keep our own
separate accounts for personal spending money, that type of stuff. Additionally,
I've been using wineab for over five years and I
love it. She is not interested in using wineab, so
(24:38):
I'm just curious. From the budget app standpoint, what's the
best way to view all of our information in the
same spot where I don't have to put in her
transactions for her. Any information you have would be greatly helpful.
And if you're ever north of Kokomo, come check out
the Coterie in Cocomo, Indiana. It is a cocktail bar,
(25:01):
but we have a huge selection of craft beers and
the best burgers in Indiana.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Thanks so much. Okay, two things.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
What was it called the Coterie, the Coderie, the couttery,
and then also Cocomo. That sounds like a place that
should be like in Hawaii or something.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
There was this band that used to come to my
elementary school and they would sing a song about Cocomo.
But I don't think they were saying when you were talking
about this, so I don't think so. But thank you
for the recommendation.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Justin. Sounds like an awesome place.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
We're all about cocktails burgers in addition to delicious craft beer.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Equal opportunity in bibers. Heck yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
But briefly, I will say so, I know this is
in Justin's question, but the philosophy is that by combining
your finances helps you too to get on the same page.
You're you're paddling together in the same direction when you
combine your finances, and all the stats point to improved
happiness levels. It points to the ability to move towards
those mutual goals faster. But that being said, I think
(25:54):
that's that's all we'll say on the philosophical reasons why
you should combine your money. Justin, however, is asking about
the strategy, Joel. Let's get to it.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Let's do it. Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So let's talk some logistics. And I do think that
the simplest thing to do is to combine your accounts,
to have one account that rules them all. A Lord
of the Rings is funnel everything, all of your income,
all of your spending through a single checking in savings
account that has both of your names on it. It's
quite possible to keep your individual accounts and to set
(26:26):
up transfers to a shared main account, but I just
don't think it's as effective. And I know some people, Matt,
especially if it's like a second marriage, they're just a
little more reticent to combine all the way, especially if
they've been burned. So this isn't like a judgment or Hey,
you've got to do things exactly the way Matt and
Joe will tell you to do it or you're not
doing it right. There are different ways to make this
(26:47):
happen and to make it work for you, But I
do think that the most effective way is to have
everything go into an account and let that be the
center what you call, Matt, the grand central.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Station of your finances, right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
And I just think that's a really effective way, both
kind of mentally and financially to do things. And I
think the other way i'd maybe encouraged you to do that
is to say that you just got married, right, just
a few days ago, and you said some bows they're
pretty significant, right, I'm gonna love you sickness and health
till the day I die. You're going to care for
(27:22):
each other until the end of time, right, So combining accounts,
I think it's really interesting to me that some people
buck that. They're like, I'm going to marry this person,
but and I would to say all these things when
I to marry them, but we're not going to combine accounts,
And I just I don't necessarily understand that way of
thinking again, unless it's like this is my second or
third marriage or something like that. But I would suggest
either using one of your current bank accounts if you
(27:43):
have a great online bank, and adding the other as
a co owner of that account, or opening up a
new account if your current bank suck, if you're with
one of the giant banks that we talk trash about
all the time, this is a great time to create
a fresh start bank account where you get to go
with one of the people that we say, one of
the institutions that is top notch and paying good rates
and has better customer service, and go with them instead
(28:06):
of going with the bank you've been with.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Totally, all money going into that account, all money leaving
that account. You've got like this United combined financial home base.
I don't think you need individual accounts for spending money. Again,
you can, but something as simple as each of you
having your own credit card that feeds into why NOP
for record keeping, I think that can work just fine.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
There's like less to keep track of it.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
It's like it's simple, yeah, I've got this credit card,
you've got that credit card, but both of them going
to wine apps.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
So it's easy to keep track of it.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Or I mean, I think for a lot of folks
that's how they're able to have spending that the other
one doesn't know about it, like when it comes to
gifts that kind of thing. But otherwise, I think even
just having your own card and you just I mean,
you're using wineapps, so you've got different financial goals that
you've got set up in there. Two accounts is what
some folks are going to advise. We think it's unnecessary.
I think it's potentially clunky. It also doesn't provide for
(28:54):
that individual legal protection for this assets if the marriage
were to.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Dissolve, like Joel said, for folks who have just more
difficult backgrounds.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Some folks think that, hey, I've got this account that's
online with my money in it. But in many states
that doesn't protect your money. That doesn't mean, oh, I've
got this individual save us account with my name and
you have one with your name. It would be a
pret that to cover yours, right, But in community proper
state property states in particular, that money's still going to
get dibbat up fifty to fifty.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
And he mentioned too that his wife doesn't she's not
into why ad I think it's totally okay to divvy
up responsibilities based on your respective strengths and your interests.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I think that you.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Justin you're maybe more of a nerd accountant CPA type
who likes to listen to personal finance podcasts.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
If you are in charge of tracking and spending and
why AD works best for you, I think that's great,
utilize it. But I think you're the ability for y'all
just to get on the same page. Like she doesn't
need to be sitting there right there next to you
as you're making the updates and providing her the feedback,
or as you're talking about some of the different goals
that you're both working towards. That can be something that
you predominantly focus on. Certainly, keep her informed to the
(30:02):
extent that she wants to be informed, But beyond that,
I think there's plenty of other things in life.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
That you should be focusing on as opposed to the numbers.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
By the way, I think I just made like a
legal comment, and I just want people to know I'm
not a lawyer and I don't know very much about
that stuff, but I do know that you should look
into the laws in your state to be aware of
when you keep money separate, Like are you actually protected
in some way, form or fashion by doing that, because
in many cases you're not.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
And you just talked about kind of the mutual involvement,
Matt and and I think you and I would both
say that both parties should be involved, both should play
a role and have a say in the finances. You know,
we want you to come to an agreement about goals
and savings rates and even investment options to kind of
so that both of you at least have an idea.
Maybe one of you has is leading the charge on that,
(30:50):
but that you're having discussions about it openly together. Yeah,
because then those shared goals are going to help determine
just how hard you work towards each individual in a
personal finances like investing, saving, spending, giving, And then those
goals are going to shift and morph over the years,
causing you to rethink things right, dialing back or increasing contributions,
(31:10):
amount amounts and given years. I think it's okay to
have like an eighty twenty or even like a ninety
ten responsibility split where it's like, hey, I'm in charge
here for the most part when it comes to finances,
because it's what I'm interested in and you trust me,
and so I'm the wineab guide. You don't care about
that stuff. I think it's totally fine, and that's actually
how a lot of relationships work. It's not a fifty
(31:31):
to fifty split. Similar how you might split up like
cooking duties. Maybe it's like now I'm the chef in
this house, right and you do the dishes, And that's
pretty common, pretty normal. It's a fifty to fifty split
on cooking. I would say it is more abnormal but
admirable if that works for you. But I think one
hundred to zero that's just not healthy, and that can
lead to marital issues down the road, and that can
lead one party to feeling like they're completely left out
(31:54):
in the dark on all the financial decisions that get made.
And so I think even if they want to be
left in the dark, it doesn't put you, It doesn't
put that partner in a strong position because then like
you need to be clued in at least a little bit,
even if somebody, like the other partner is pulling the
majority of the way.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Yep, I agree.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
I'm thinking about how justin, I'm picturing maybe something that
is maybe a little more ninety ten, and I want you,
justin to find different ways to talk about some of
the different savings goals, some of the shared life goals
that you have with your wife in a way that
gets her excited. Because what I don't want you to
do is say, hey, Matt and Joel said this, and
if you are, she's like, who are those guys? I mean,
(32:31):
if you are all about why nap, it means that
you are into the numbers, which means you are going
to be most likely incredibly successful in reaching some of
your financial goals. It means you also know your savings rate.
Don't tell your wife that, Like, don't be like, oh,
guess what our net worth just bumped up to. I'm
guessing that's probably not something that she's going to be
(32:51):
all that interested interested in as opposed to what does
that mean for us being able to eat out?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Like?
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Does that mean that we can take like is it
our date nights back on the table because our savings
rate hit x percentage? Does this mean that we'll be
able to go visit my sister next summer even though
she lives on the other side of the world, Like
find the things that she is interested in and.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
Help bring personal finances alive.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Because of some of these things that you want to
do in real life as opposed to just focusing on
the numbers.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I think that's really important to disinterested party.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
That's the best way to get them at least a
little interested in in what you guys are trying to
accomplish together. You've been listening to How To Money with
Joel Larsgard. You can always hear us live on KFI
AM six forty twelve pm to two pm on Sunday,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
K IF I Am six forty. You're listening to how
to Money on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Do you want to live well without drowning in debt?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Joel and Matt have you covered?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is how to Money with Joel lars Guard and
Matt ullmakes.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
K IF I Am six forty live every where on
the iHeartRadio app. This is how to Money. I am
one of your hosts, Joel Larscard.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
And I am Mat all mixed. By the way, you
can always find more money saving information over at howtomoney
dot com.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I wanted to quickly highlight an email that listener Donnie sent.
He lives in Maryland, and there are all sorts of
things in the personal finance world that even as someone
who hosts a personal finance podcast, I'm unaware of. And
a lot of that is because there are state specific
programs or just small find nuances that I have not
(01:32):
begun to appreciate or research in depth yet. And so
Donnie sent this email and at least for listeners in Maryland,
and then maybe check and see if this is something
like this is available in your.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
State as well. There are cool perks.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
For people who stick money aside in five twenty nine
plans for their kids, and so Donnie basically wrote and
told me and gave a lot of detail on this.
So look it up for yourself on the Maryland five
twenty nine dot com web page for details. But if
you meet certain income requirements basically if you don't make
a ton of money and actually a ton of money,
(02:05):
well that's in the eye of the beholder, but you
can get a state match to your five to twenty
nine plan for in order to save for your kids college.
So not only have five twenty nine plans gotten more
flexible lately, and I looked up the Maryland five to
twenty nine plan to see you know what the cost
and expenses look like, and on some of those investments
(02:25):
they're quite low. So the Maryland five to twenty nine
plan is, I would say, at least a really good
solid one. Well, if you meet certain income requirements and
you're prone to interested in saving for your kid's future,
you might be able to get matching funds from the
state for making those contributions. Interesting thing you have to
you can't claim a state tax deduction and get this
(02:47):
state contribution, So it's important, Donnie said, to do the
math to see which one is going.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
To work out better for you.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
But you might be able to get five hundred bucks
and maybe you would have only saved one hundred bucks
in taxes or something like that for making this contribute,
and in that case, you'd want to take the state
five hundred dollars contribution and you're getting out it's like
a net four hundred dollars win. So again, all of
those details are available on Maryland five twenty nine dot com.
But it just reminded me like, oh man, there's so
(03:15):
much to learn about personal finance. It never gets boring
to me. And there are so many ways that the
system is set up for people who are at least
curious and paying attention to benefit. And if you live
in Maryland, and again if someone else, by the way,
if you live in another state and you're like, my
state does something similar, shoot me an email, like we
want to highlight these things on the show. We want
to make people aware of incredible benefits or free money.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Right.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
This is almost like four to one k match at
work on steroids. Though for your five twenty nine plans,
it's really cool. All right, congrats to all the graduates.
I'm seeing more and more pictures posted. And then there's
all these those yard signs, the signs in front of neighborhoods,
at least where I live, saying congrats to these grads
and hate where are they going to college? And for
(04:01):
college graduates in particular, you've been putting in tons of
work for a lot of years. It's paid off with
a degree. And we talked about the job market last
week and how it's not as good as it has
been for new college grads. But here's one thing that
I wasn't on my radar until I saw an article
in Indie Week, and it was that college graduates tend
(04:23):
to leave a lot of their possessions behind when they
fly the coop, when they leave the dorm or whatever
campus housing or off campus housing they live in, they
tend to leave a lot of their stuff. They just
maybe it's they don't have a U haul or a
trailer to stick all their stuff in, and so a
lot of it ends up at the dumpster. Could be
(04:45):
some really nice stuff, right, It could be some trash
that nobody really wants, but it could be a nice couch,
or it could be in the case of this article,
who wrote for Indie week. She talked about salvaging some
really nice stuff that graduates were leaving behind at the
school closest to her. High end tables, luxury sneakers, Lulu Lemon,
workout stuff like shoved in a bag, fancy appliances like
(05:07):
nice toasters and microwaves and stuff like that. And one
person's trash is another person's treasure. And so the author
she basically highlighted how she was able to salvage almost
seven thousand dollars worth of stuff to prevent it from
being thrown in the trash and to put it to
use herself. And she created a spreadsheet and she said, hey,
(05:27):
this is something I'm going to keep, this is something
I'm going to sell, this is something I'm going to
give away. And I thought that was so cool. I mean,
it really is. The one person's trash is another person's treasure.
It's the most apt phrase here because as the college person,
you're saying, this is a burden to me. I don't
have anywhere to put it. Maybe I'm moving back home
(05:48):
with mom and dad for a few months. They don't
have room for this stuff. Or I don't know where
I'm going to end up. Maybe I'm sleeping on a
friend's couch for a couple weeks and then I'll figure
it out. And so in the interim you just don't
have anywhere to put it, so it ends up on
the herb, or it ends up in the trash can.
I think this happens. I've heard from people in New
York City right around the first of the month. Because
there are fewer places to store stuff, you just find
(06:11):
stuff on the curb that you otherwise You're like, why
are they getting rid of this? And it's because they
just can't take it with them, and it's more of
a pain, more of a hassle to take it. And
if you can deal with the hassle of moving it,
you just are the proud owner of something fairly nice
that someone else tossed out. And I think it also
says something about our culture that we live in an
era of disposable stuff, right, And it makes me think
(06:34):
that even if an item is initially more expensive, it
can cost you less over time to buy the nicer
thing upfront and to hold on to it. But then,
also because of extreme wealth in this country, when you
think about the fact that we have so on average
as a country, we're the wealthiest country in the history
of the world. There's room here for entrepreneurs to make
(06:56):
money based on the fact that based on some arbitrage
right the fact that somebody has said, oh, I used this,
I no longer need it, I'm tossing it aside, and
you can step in and be the middleman or woman
to enjoy the profit of that. Basically, I have friends
who have done this before, whether it's with used clothing.
(07:19):
They've started businesses where they go to thrift stores and
buy stuff and list it on eBay. And I'm not
saying that it's not a job.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
It is.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
It takes time, but if you have an eye for
that stuff, you can make a living literally just reselling things.
Another friend who said, who did that with mid century furniture,
and he just knows where to go, what to look for,
And once you get an eye for that, he's like,
you're able to find some things for one hundred bucks
that sell for thousands of dollars. And this reminded me
(07:50):
of that where people tossing stuff out you can benefit
from at least just the way people don't take care
of their stuff or get rid of it prematurely. At
the very least by the way. I wish folks would
donate that stuff so people can benefit instead of putting
it next to the dumpster, tossing it to the trash
and then you know, I don't know, maybe maybe you
(08:12):
don't have time for a side house so you're not interested.
But I think it's an underrated way to get cool
stuff or to make a buck, and you have to
roll up your sleeves and get a little bit dirty.
I think that's one of the things too, is this
is going to take maybe a little time, little effort,
but even I think that can be It's kind of
like my dishwasher story recently, buying extra dishwashers and flipping them,
and it's a way to turn something that would have
(08:32):
been a cost center into a profit center and still
get something new at the same time. I just love
that that's possible. If you're paying attention, that's right, buddy.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You're listening to How To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Don't forget to sign up for the how to Money
newsletter over at how tomoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Let's take a question now from a listener who wants
to know about taking a road trip. Should he rent
a car or he's the one he's got, And actually
it's kind of a question named towards you as well.
Speaker 6 (09:04):
Angel and Matt. This is Rob Levine and Ellicott City, Maryland.
I know you both are big fans of driving high mileage,
paid off vehicles. I am right there with you, Matt.
I know that you have a big summer road trip
coming up, and I'm curious whether you will take your
high mileage vehicle on that trip or if you'll rent
a car. I always struggle with the whole idea of
(09:26):
how confident am I that the hauler can make it
there and back with the family. Intel appreciate your perspective
and hope you have a great trip.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Rob is so polite. He calls it a high mileage
vehicle as opposed to a cloaker.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Do you remember that, Rob, You make me feel good
about my vehicle. It's just a high mileage. He's totally pc.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
You remember during the Obama administration there was something called
cash for Clunkers, a government program or you get paid,
that's right, And like they didn't, I didn't realize that
was a government bro They didn't avoid the term.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Yeah, yeah, it was. Well, so that's because they're trying
to encourage you to offload.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
It was all about the great the ev green transportation man.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I think I love this question and it's something that
I was curious to know before because I didn't I
hadn't asked you this yet. I was like, are you
going to take your head talked about it? Or are
you going to rent one? Especially given the length of
your road trip? And you know, when it comes down
to it, mad we know that opting for a used
car makes so much sense just from a financial perspective,
(10:23):
But if you're scared that you're that you're used car,
especially if it's getting really long in the tooth, is
going to hold on a longer drive. So I mean, yeah,
you are going on this pretty extensive road trip. We're
not talking about a couple hundred miles, We're talking about
thousands of miles, So what are your thoughts?
Speaker 3 (10:38):
I think that's I mean, that's a large consideration as well.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
The fact that I mean, like we're looking at driving
and we don't know our our exact itinerary just yet,
but we're at least going to be driving around three
thousand miles, if not more.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
This is over the course of a couple of weeks.
And so first of all, there's.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
The depreciation, right There are estimates that cars appreciate at
twenty cents a mile.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
I'm guessing that hours is probably less at this point.
But if you run the math, we're.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
Talking about losing six hundred dollars at least in value
on the car by putting it through its paces to
this degree.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
You say that yours would depreciate less, and that's just
because it's older, is older more to appreciate. So if
you're talking about a three year old used car will one,
you're probably not as worried about it it breaking down
on you or something like that exactly. But you're also
going to train off case. Yeah, depreciate you putting those
miles on it.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
And so I will say I just want ahead and
second that out there. But I'm not really thinking about
the depreciation all that much.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
This is our vehicle.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
We're not necessarily looking I guess another way to think
about it too, is just instead of thinking about it
as depreciation, maybe I should be thinking about it as
wear and tear on the vehicle. But even still I'm
not thinking about it through that lens as much. It's
more about the peace of mind.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
That means a lot more on a road trip like
this with a pretty tight itinerary. I mean, we've got
stops in different cities. We don't want to roll in late.
We want it to unfold. I guess it's the way
we want it to, especially.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
For that private audience with the Pope that you've gotten.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But the reason I mentioned this is because, like Rob said,
when you've got the family in tow, I don't, Man,
there aren't a lot of things that are more stressful
than having to make a major repair while on the road,
while trying to travel and hit up multiple states, multiple cities,
multiple sites, things that we have tickets to, right, Like,
that's another thing. It's not like just checking in late.
It's a matter of, oh, man, are we going to
(12:20):
miss our tour? You know, things like that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Emily was taking the kids on a few hundred mile
trip and I was going to catch up to him
a few days later and the alternator went bust, And
so that's always a possibility, like you can never and
it's a possibility too with a rental car. You might say, hey, great,
this thing's two years old, it's got twenty thousand miles
on it, but it's much.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
Less likely, I would say, compared to like one hundred
and fifty thousand mile.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
You're playing the odds.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
Long in the Is there any equivalent to long in
the tooth when it comes to vehicles like long in
the oodometers, long in the radiator, something like that.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
So I had to race down there and we man,
we got so lucky with being able to replace the alternator.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
That day somewhere.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, on a Saturday, nonetheless, when a lot of shops
are closed. But that's the kind of thing that, yeah,
can throw a kink in into the plans. I was
going to pick them up and bring them home, and
it was just going to be like trips off for
the time being, massive passile and so yeah, I think
you have to take those things at a consideration. And
if you're the kind of family that prioritizes high mileage
non clunker vehicles, rob those are the kind of questions
(13:21):
you have to have to wrestle with. And I think, Matt,
if you were to decide to take your own van,
you probably want to have it at least looked over
thoroughly before you win. Sure you want the fresh oil
change right, Checking the tires, fluid levels, spark plugs, all
that kind of stuff would be why same thing for you,
Rob if you're going to opt to go that route,
just make sure your your beautifully vintage vehicle is at
(13:44):
least up to snuff from everything that you can ascertain.
I think the nice thing about renting a car, especially
when you're going on a really long road tip, is
that you benefit from the from the unlimited mileage that
you're able to get through the rental car company.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
So again, if you're driving a few hundred miles of
the course of a few weeks, you get less benefit. Right,
You're getting less bang for your buck, and the risk
is a whole lot less too. But since Matt, you're
driving at least three thousand miles, you're probably going to
do more than that. I think the price of the
rental looks far more attractive because you're like beating the
crap out of the rental car and not your own.
(14:19):
You just get every dollar you spend on It just
matters more because of all the mileage you're avoiding putting
on your vehicle. So I'd be leaning in that direction,
especially with the kind of travels you guys have planned
and totally the time sensitive nature of not wanting to
screw that up.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
One argument for folks taking their own car, and this
isn't something that we especially feel, but I have heard
folks push back and say, well, I want to take
my vehicle like they have more like they're more car people.
This is because that they have an emotional attachment to
their car. That was one of my dad's arguments for
because I was trying to talk them into getting an
EV and he's like, well, I can't drive that out
to the Midwest and visit family. I'm like, well, you
(14:55):
just you rent a car when you do that once
or twice a year. He's like, right, I want to
be able to take my car. And so that's a
consideration that I know some folks have in their minds,
but that in this case, this doesn't apply to us.
I'm like, no, it's not about the vehicle that we're
traveling as opposed to what we're doing as a family.
But for some people, part of what they're doing as
a family is the vehicle or they're traveling in.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
I get that, especially when you have an older car
that doesn't have some of the new fangled tech accessories.
Renting the car might prove good in that capacity.
Speaker 4 (15:26):
To not even considered the entertainment, says so much, is
what I assume you're referenda.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Yeah. No, I think there's also this, like as a
frugal versus cheap.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
Element to this question as well, because if it was
just me, Let's say, for some reason, I was planning
on doing this two week road trip, yes, but I
was maybe planning on doing it solo. Well, in that case,
I would be much more willing to take a well maintained,
older vehicle that I already owned, as opposed to straight
up for anyone, because you know, getting stranded on the
side of the interstate or even on some country back
(15:53):
road where it's just me and my backpack it's no
big deal, says a.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Little more fun and serendipitous when you're solo than it
does been.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Like, I would even be willing to like consider hitchhiking,
which I've never done before, because I'm like, oh, kind
of sounds like an adventure, but putting the family through
an ordeal like that is not something that I would
be interested in doing. That those are the kind of
memories that I think, I don't know, they would certainly stick.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, probably posted picks of our my hitchhiking adventures before
the chainsaw. Yeah, from the whole bud like commercials. Yeah,
good times fun. People are more reticent to pick you
up when you're with shady characters like my friend Josh indeed.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
But yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
I mean, I think when one person is and you
can kind of roll with the punches, that's one thing.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
But kids, it is not just the vehicle of the punches. Yeah,
it's it's the party. It's who you're rolling with as well.
That is something you got to take intoccount. I think
it's similar like the idea of staying at a hostel.
I'm auful, I don't care. That's fine.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I'm in my forties and I'm still down with that,
but my wife not as much, And so like you
have to kind of play around everybody's goals and dreams.
Speaker 4 (16:53):
I think I would be willing to stay. I could
stay in a hostel too, as long as I had
a comfortable bed. I think for me that's kind of
what it comes down to now. I want to sleep
on like someone's couch where it's slanted and angled. As
long as it's quiet, there's a comfortable mattress, and I
have control of the temperature. I think I would one
hundred percent be able to get a great night's sleep.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Side note, all right, hey, we got more money saving
information to get to.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
If you're on Facebook, by the way, you want to
join a group of like minded folks who have money questions,
who have money insights, please go join the how to
Money Facebook group. All Right, is your smartphone making your
car insurance more expensive? The finance journal Kiplinger they dove
into that topic the other day and they found that
(17:44):
third party apps are feeding information to insurance company insurance
companies that could be used against you in setting rates.
So I'm not talking about the apps from your insurance company, right,
which we've talked about on the show before and I
have used before in order to save money on my insurance. Basically,
if you drive like a grainy for a month or
(18:06):
three months or what however long they tell you to
you plug something into your car. They might say, hey,
you're actually pretty safe driver. We're going to knock twenty
eight percent off your insurance rate, which is pretty cool.
I know some people are aware of those, but I
think that, at least from what I've seen and experienced,
they can be a good way to save money on insurance.
But what I'm talking about is actually a bunch of
(18:27):
different apps that collect other information on you. There was
another article just this week about how the Chinese apps
Timu and She and they might be spying on you
when you do your shopping and selling that information well
could end up at insurance companies. Maybe maybe, And so
apps you would not think of as spying on you
(18:48):
or collecting information that could be used to create a
dossier and sell that information are doing so. So it's
weather apps, shopping apps, navigation apps are all those apps
are all collecting some data if you allow them, and
then they're selling that data to data brokers who sell
it to insurance companies. And one of the main apps
(19:08):
that was highlighted to this, and I swear we've talked
about this on the show before, but I guess it
just refreshed in my mind. It's called Life three sixty
and this seems this app seems like a benign app.
It actually seems like it's an app that's poised to
help families share location and keep track of each other
and stay in touch with each other. Well, this app
(19:29):
in particular seems to be collecting information that is being
sold and it's leading to unexpected premium hikes for insurance
auto insurance in particular because of the data it's able
at the robust data it's able to collect about where
you are and what you're doing. In the insurance companies like, yeah,
we'd like that because the more information we have, the
(19:50):
more we can dial in rates for specific people if
they're engaged in behaviors that we deem unsavory or unhealthy.
And it is part of the brave new world that
we live in. But it scares me and it makes
me think that you should be really careful what apps
you download, and also you should be careful what you
let those apps share their permissions right that you give apps.
(20:11):
And the tough thing about something like Life three sixty
is the permissions that you need to grant it are
pretty crucial to the functioning of the app. So that's
one of those apps. Well, hey, you might want to
find a different way to stay in touch with your family,
Because if they're collecting that data and using it in
a way that's not just to allow you to use
the app for pro family purposes, they're using it to
(20:32):
actually spy on you and sell your data, then to me,
that app would not be worth downloading. Opt out of
sharing your data with apps whenever possible. And because of
the quickly rising insurance rates we've seen around the nation,
the number of uninsured is rising, especially on the homeotors
insurance front, and having insurance is crucial for most folks.
(20:55):
And by the way, if more motorists are going around uninsured,
it means you having insurance is even more necessary. Think
about that uninsured motorist protection that protects you in case
you get into an accident with somebody who doesn't have insurance.
That could be you're saving grace in case of an accident,
a car accident. But on the homeowners insurance front, statistics
(21:17):
recently revealed that seven percent of all homeowners report not
having any insurance coverage on their house. And this might
not be horrific given that and this is a surprising,
this statistic has always surprised me. Something like forty percent
of all homeowners own their homes mortgage free. And it's
funny because I know very few of those people. Actually,
(21:39):
this local woman who babysits our kids, wonderful. She we
were just talking this morning, and she doesn't have a
mortgage on her home. I was like, that's incredible. How
incredible is that. I look forward to joining you in
the ranks of that someday. But there aren't many people
out there that I know of who own their homes
mortgage free. But apparently the statistic show that four out
of ten people do own their home and they don't
(21:59):
have a mortgage attached to it. And in that case,
you can opt to go without insurance. But do you
want to Well, if you own your home outright, could
you still afford to rebuild that home in the event
of an emergency. That's a really important question. Those are
the only folks who should be willing to take that gamble.
And if you have a mortgage right, your mortgage holder
(22:21):
will find out if you act your insurance, so you cannot,
as someone with a mortgage on your home say I'm
gonna keep paying this mortgage, but I'm not gonna have insurance.
I'm gonna take that risk, because that puts the risk
also on the bank or the credit union where you
got your loan, and they're going to make sure you
have insurance. They're gonna get it for you, but it's
going to cost a heck of a lot more if
they buy it. So you want to be the one
(22:42):
shopping around for insurance in order to find the best
value for yourself. Because yeah, and if you're looking to
save money, if you're looking to save money on insurance,
raising your deductible, if you have the savings on hand,
can be a way to kind of split that baby
right where you're saying, the insurance is getting really expensive,
and that is certainly true. We've documented the rise in
(23:05):
homeowner's insurance costs over the past few years. They've been
significant as costs of Risen, the home prices of Risen,
insurance costs of Risen too, And so raising the deductible
is a way to save on premiums and you have
more skin in the game if you were to file
a claim, but you got to have the cash on
hand right in order to you got to have the
(23:26):
money to back up that increased deductible that you're taking on.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Totally agree you're listening to how to Money with Joel
Larsgard on demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
If you have a money question, we'll send it our way.
All you have to do is record your question on
the voice memo app there on your phone and send
it over via email. You can find the simple instructions
at howdomoney dot com forward slash ask.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
This next question comes from a listener who just got married.
Speaker 5 (23:55):
Hey guys, this is justin from Cocomo, Indiana. I just
got married six days and my wife and I are
planning to combine our finances. I know this is a
topic you've discussed in the past, but I can only
find the content where you discuss the philosophy of combining finances.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
But not the strategy.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
What are your suggestions for going about creating a joint
checking account, deciding how much of each paycheck should be
put into that combined account. Should we keep our own
separate accounts for personal spending money, that type of stuff. Additionally,
I've been using wineab for over five years and I
love it. She is not interested in using wineab, so
(24:38):
I'm just curious. From the budget app standpoint, what's the
best way to view all of our information in the
same spot where I don't have to put in her
transactions for her. Any information you have would be greatly helpful.
And if you're ever north of Kokomo, come check out
the Coterie in Cocomo, Indiana. It is a cocktail bar,
(25:01):
but we have a huge selection of craft beers and
the best burgers in Indiana.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Thanks so much. Okay, two things.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
What was it called the Coterie, the Coderie, the couttery,
and then also Cocomo. That sounds like a place that
should be like in Hawaii or something.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
There was this band that used to come to my
elementary school and they would sing a song about Cocomo.
But I don't think they were saying when you were talking
about this, so I don't think so. But thank you
for the recommendation.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Justin. Sounds like an awesome place.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
We're all about cocktails burgers in addition to delicious craft beer.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Equal opportunity in bibers. Heck yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
But briefly, I will say so, I know this is
in Justin's question, but the philosophy is that by combining
your finances helps you too to get on the same page.
You're you're paddling together in the same direction when you
combine your finances, and all the stats point to improved
happiness levels. It points to the ability to move towards
those mutual goals faster. But that being said, I think
(25:54):
that's that's all we'll say on the philosophical reasons why
you should combine your money. Justin, however, is asking about
the strategy, Joel. Let's get to it.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Let's do it. Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
So let's talk some logistics. And I do think that
the simplest thing to do is to combine your accounts,
to have one account that rules them all. A Lord
of the Rings is funnel everything, all of your income,
all of your spending through a single checking in savings
account that has both of your names on it. It's
quite possible to keep your individual accounts and to set
(26:26):
up transfers to a shared main account, but I just
don't think it's as effective. And I know some people, Matt,
especially if it's like a second marriage, they're just a
little more reticent to combine all the way, especially if
they've been burned. So this isn't like a judgment or Hey,
you've got to do things exactly the way Matt and
Joe will tell you to do it or you're not
doing it right. There are different ways to make this
(26:47):
happen and to make it work for you, But I
do think that the most effective way is to have
everything go into an account and let that be the
center what you call, Matt, the grand central.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
Station of your finances, right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
And I just think that's a really effective way, both
kind of mentally and financially to do things. And I
think the other way i'd maybe encouraged you to do that
is to say that you just got married, right, just
a few days ago, and you said some bows they're
pretty significant, right, I'm gonna love you sickness and health
till the day I die. You're going to care for
(27:22):
each other until the end of time, right, So combining accounts,
I think it's really interesting to me that some people
buck that. They're like, I'm going to marry this person,
but and I would to say all these things when
I to marry them, but we're not going to combine accounts,
And I just I don't necessarily understand that way of
thinking again, unless it's like this is my second or
third marriage or something like that. But I would suggest
either using one of your current bank accounts if you
(27:43):
have a great online bank, and adding the other as
a co owner of that account, or opening up a
new account if your current bank suck, if you're with
one of the giant banks that we talk trash about
all the time, this is a great time to create
a fresh start bank account where you get to go
with one of the people that we say, one of
the institutions that is top notch and paying good rates
and has better customer service, and go with them instead
(28:06):
of going with the bank you've been with.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Totally, all money going into that account, all money leaving
that account. You've got like this United combined financial home base.
I don't think you need individual accounts for spending money. Again,
you can, but something as simple as each of you
having your own credit card that feeds into why NOP
for record keeping, I think that can work just fine.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
There's like less to keep track of it.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
It's like it's simple, yeah, I've got this credit card,
you've got that credit card, but both of them going
to wine apps.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
So it's easy to keep track of it.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Or I mean, I think for a lot of folks
that's how they're able to have spending that the other
one doesn't know about it, like when it comes to
gifts that kind of thing. But otherwise, I think even
just having your own card and you just I mean,
you're using wineapps, so you've got different financial goals that
you've got set up in there. Two accounts is what
some folks are going to advise. We think it's unnecessary.
I think it's potentially clunky. It also doesn't provide for
(28:54):
that individual legal protection for this assets if the marriage
were to.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Dissolve, like Joel said, for folks who have just more
difficult backgrounds.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Some folks think that, hey, I've got this account that's
online with my money in it. But in many states
that doesn't protect your money. That doesn't mean, oh, I've
got this individual save us account with my name and
you have one with your name. It would be a
pret that to cover yours, right, But in community proper
state property states in particular, that money's still going to
get dibbat up fifty to fifty.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
And he mentioned too that his wife doesn't she's not
into why ad I think it's totally okay to divvy
up responsibilities based on your respective strengths and your interests.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
I think that you.
Speaker 4 (29:32):
Justin you're maybe more of a nerd accountant CPA type
who likes to listen to personal finance podcasts.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
I get it.
Speaker 4 (29:39):
If you are in charge of tracking and spending and
why AD works best for you, I think that's great,
utilize it. But I think you're the ability for y'all
just to get on the same page. Like she doesn't
need to be sitting there right there next to you
as you're making the updates and providing her the feedback,
or as you're talking about some of the different goals
that you're both working towards. That can be something that
you predominantly focus on. Certainly, keep her informed to the
(30:02):
extent that she wants to be informed, But beyond that,
I think there's plenty of other things in life.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
That you should be focusing on as opposed to the numbers.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
By the way, I think I just made like a
legal comment, and I just want people to know I'm
not a lawyer and I don't know very much about
that stuff, but I do know that you should look
into the laws in your state to be aware of
when you keep money separate, Like are you actually protected
in some way, form or fashion by doing that, because
in many cases you're not.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
And you just talked about kind of the mutual involvement,
Matt and and I think you and I would both
say that both parties should be involved, both should play
a role and have a say in the finances. You know,
we want you to come to an agreement about goals
and savings rates and even investment options to kind of
so that both of you at least have an idea.
Maybe one of you has is leading the charge on that,
(30:50):
but that you're having discussions about it openly together. Yeah,
because then those shared goals are going to help determine
just how hard you work towards each individual in a
personal finances like investing, saving, spending, giving, And then those
goals are going to shift and morph over the years,
causing you to rethink things right, dialing back or increasing contributions,
(31:10):
amount amounts and given years. I think it's okay to
have like an eighty twenty or even like a ninety
ten responsibility split where it's like, hey, I'm in charge
here for the most part when it comes to finances,
because it's what I'm interested in and you trust me,
and so I'm the wineab guide. You don't care about
that stuff. I think it's totally fine, and that's actually
how a lot of relationships work. It's not a fifty
(31:31):
to fifty split. Similar how you might split up like
cooking duties. Maybe it's like now I'm the chef in
this house, right and you do the dishes, And that's
pretty common, pretty normal. It's a fifty to fifty split
on cooking. I would say it is more abnormal but
admirable if that works for you. But I think one
hundred to zero that's just not healthy, and that can
lead to marital issues down the road, and that can
lead one party to feeling like they're completely left out
(31:54):
in the dark on all the financial decisions that get made.
And so I think even if they want to be
left in the dark, it doesn't put you, It doesn't
put that partner in a strong position because then like
you need to be clued in at least a little bit,
even if somebody, like the other partner is pulling the
majority of the way.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
Yep, I agree.
Speaker 4 (32:09):
I'm thinking about how justin, I'm picturing maybe something that
is maybe a little more ninety ten, and I want you,
justin to find different ways to talk about some of
the different savings goals, some of the shared life goals
that you have with your wife in a way that
gets her excited. Because what I don't want you to
do is say, hey, Matt and Joel said this, and
if you are, she's like, who are those guys? I mean,
(32:31):
if you are all about why nap, it means that
you are into the numbers, which means you are going
to be most likely incredibly successful in reaching some of
your financial goals. It means you also know your savings rate.
Don't tell your wife that, Like, don't be like, oh,
guess what our net worth just bumped up to. I'm
guessing that's probably not something that she's going to be
(32:51):
all that interested interested in as opposed to what does
that mean for us being able to eat out?
Speaker 3 (32:57):
Like?
Speaker 4 (32:57):
Does that mean that we can take like is it
our date nights back on the table because our savings
rate hit x percentage? Does this mean that we'll be
able to go visit my sister next summer even though
she lives on the other side of the world, Like
find the things that she is interested in and.
Speaker 3 (33:11):
Help bring personal finances alive.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
Because of some of these things that you want to
do in real life as opposed to just focusing on
the numbers.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
I think that's really important to disinterested party.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
That's the best way to get them at least a
little interested in in what you guys are trying to
accomplish together. You've been listening to How To Money with
Joel Larsgard. You can always hear us live on KFI
AM six forty twelve pm to two pm on Sunday,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
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