September 14, 2025 • 31 mins
Thinner iPhones are coming! But they're expensive. And way too many Americans seem to be fine with taking on debt to buy a new tech device. But that's a terrible idea!
Ask HTM: Clint wants to know about protein-loading on the cheap.
Health insurance costs are on the rise. Matt and Joel offer tips to help folks cope with price hikes and benefit cuts.
Ask HTM: Chris wants to know if he should get a VA loan or a conventional loan with a bigger down payment.
Ask HTM: Clint wants to know about protein-loading on the cheap.
Health insurance costs are on the rise. Matt and Joel offer tips to help folks cope with price hikes and benefit cuts.
Ask HTM: Chris wants to know if he should get a VA loan or a conventional loan with a bigger down payment.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kf 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?
Joel and Matt have you covered? This is how to
Money with Joel Larsgard and Matt.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Altmes KFI am sixty live.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. This is how to Money.
I am Matt Altmes.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And I'm Joel Larsgard. Don't forget to sign up for
the how to Money newsletter. You can find that up
at how tomoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Let's talk about how thinner iPhones are coming, which seems silly.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, but it seems silly in its own right though too.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, the thinnest iPhone ever. And I just love to
watch Apple try to do their marketing thing and make
us think that this is the greatest thing since lifespread
or in assess he in our lit.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Do you remember I can't remember what version it was
that came out, but Apple specifically was asking people to
not come in the store and bend the phones because
there are reports. I want to say it was like
the seven. It's like at that point in time, it
was the thinnest yet, and folks were coming in like,
wait is it there's reports of them bending in people's
pockets or something like that. They're like, please don't come
in and bend our iPhone. How's that not going to happen?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Now?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
With the with the iPhone Air, which is now the
thinnest right of all time.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
It's interesting to see like the new product release and
how they're trying to go about promoting these things. And
I just I think the tech guy turned to typically
is Marquis Marquez Brownlee, who just like does an awesome
job on YouTube reviewing stuff, and I just like Engadget
and Get Yeah, they do a great job too. Still
the it's the classic is classic suck in my ways.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So was Brown Dude. He's been on YouTube for since
he was like a child, basically viewing tech gadgers. He's
got like twenty million subscribers. He's incredible.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So but he was just like saying, I mean, the
battery lives inferior, Like everything is inferior about the phone.
And guess what on top of that, I think most
people are going to do Matt, They're going to put
a case on it, and so that super thin thousand dollars.
I mean, if not there, I know that the ceramic
shield is stronger and stuff like.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
That ceramic shield too, baby, yeah, stronger better than ever put.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You're running that risk right of okay, tossing it on
the ground shattering the screen.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I am of the mind. I am almost willing to
consider because I think about, like my old phones back
in the day, how many like when I would drop them,
even with cases, and they would crack, what they would shatter.
And I'm thinking about how I've got scratches all over
my current screen. It isn't a case, but I drop
it all the time and it doesn't break. I think
the technology has gotten to the point that I wonder
if the and we've talked about how you've got to
(02:39):
ensure you're quote unquote ensure you but by putting a
case on it, and I am wondering if that's gonna
end up being some sort of holdover, some sort of remnant,
and instead of okay, boomer, it'll be like, okay, millennial
you with your big clunky iPhone case. I hope, so I.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Hope that the that they're able to manufacture these phones
in such a way that you don't need a case,
and then if you drop it your phone it's sill. Okay,
that would be amazing. Like I would love to have
a case free phone. I just don't might be willing
to risk it.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
We'll see, all right, Richie, rich Maybe I'm looking forward
looking for an excuse to get it as as a holder,
as an owner of an iPhone thirteen Proeah, maybe I'm like,
I don't know, maybe I can get it, you know,
a refer fifteen for sixteen on the cheap, you know,
sixteen pro. That's a good point, a nice one.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Upgrading maybe to a user refurbished model that's not quite
the newest one makes more sense as a new model
gets released, because the prices go down on those models, right,
so the smart money nerds do, yeah, exactly, But are
you going to pay like, you know, twelve thirteen hundred bucks?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
I think the top.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Of the line Pro Max with the biggest storage is
like two grand now, so they're really starting to do
in that territory of the new one.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Yeah. So which is that's the cost of a computer?
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Right?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Yeah? It's more than crazy?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, so I guess just I think the upgrades are
mostly incrementals, Yes, there are some upgrades, but do you
actually need that? And then I think the thing that
makes me the statist Matt is that some people think, well,
you know what, I really need this thing. They bought
into the marketing height the thinnest iPhone ever, I've got
to have it in my pocket. And while at Hub
found that one in four people are more than willing
(04:14):
to go into debt for the new iPhone. And yeah,
I need debt for tech gadgets. We're not down with it.
It's a terrible idea. If you can't actually afford the
cost of the new phone with cash that you have
on hand, even then like consider whether or not you
should put that into your budget or not. But if
you don't have the money to buy it, going into
debt for it is just utterly absurd, at least from
(04:36):
the he of money perspective.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Yeah, as a general rule of thumb, do not finance
deppreciating assets. That's my rule of thumb. I think that's
a great rule with it. If you are looking to
buy a home, sure that can work out. But everything else.
That's why I'm not a huge fan of Carleon's per student.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Loans in moderation right because you are an appreciating asset
that you're doing some investing in investment in your knowledge
base and your marketability.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
But even that can get out of control. As we know,
that's true. Okay, maybe a quasi related article. There's a
story of the young dude. They talked about his attempt
to flip stuff, to flip items on Facebook marketplace in
order to make a profit. This is not a new concept,
but he was looking for items, some free, some he
paid for to purchase in order to sell for more
than he paid. I think this was over on the journal.
(05:22):
But the most impressive flip was a set of rims
like car tire rims that he got for free and
then he turned it into a three hundred dollars sale.
This reminds me of you remember the Canadian blogger some
kid who upgraded. He bartered his way from a red
paper clip over the course of like years I think,
but he eventually bartered his way up to a home
(05:44):
in the actual house. Incredible. What this reminded me of, Yeah,
I forgot what he started with though it was literally
a red paper clip, which is I think there's like
a statue or like an art installation of like the
red paper clip to like commemorate because he was such
a bolic what he did, I think that was sort
of the first of its time, right, And in large
part he was able to do that because he garnered
(06:04):
a lot of media coverage and people are probably willing
to part with something that was maybe maybe worth a
little bit more actual money, but they were willing to
be a part of his journey, be a part of it,
and maybe something he had to them was more valuable.
But that's the that's the that's what's so beautiful about
a free market, the ability to choose what it is
that you want to put out there, what you want
(06:25):
to sell, what you want to purchase. As well, he
had Pokemon cards, which have evidently had like the best
return other than like the SMP over the past.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
That was another Pokemons have cards have outpaced the SMP
in terms of well depends on what MS return which.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Which which card. But he this this guy though he
occasionally lost money. But and of course he said that
dealing with folks who ghosted him or who were just
like super flaky, that's the worst part, which I totally agree,
that's the worst part of trying to buy or sell
something especially on something like Facebook Marketplace. But yeah, you
can totally respect the hustle and I respect this guy's
(07:02):
hustle too when it comes to finding ways, so it
makes some additional cash on the side. Yeah, I couldn't
agree more.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
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 (07:27):
Our first question this week comes from a listener who
has questions about his health and his spending.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Hi guys, my name is Clant from Paula, Iowa.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I'm thirty nine, a foundry worker, married with two kids,
and I'm going to money gear number seven my wife
and I is craft beer equivalent is vehicles.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
We have seven vehicles.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
How can we possibly have seven vehicles? You might wonder, Well,
my car, my wife's work car, nice family car, truck, Camper, Camaro, motorcycle.
All vehicles are paid for and I don't get rid
of anything until it no longer functions and any future
purchases would be in cash. Onto my question. I've been
eating better and doing light exercise. I've been drinking a
(08:11):
protein shake in the morning and it last me until
I get off work. They are the ones from Sam's Club,
the member mark members mark ones. I had a dollar
fifty is serving It isn't too bad. I'm trying to
decide whether to up my game or not and get
a better product with more natural ingredients. I don't know
if the more expensive ones are worth it or if
it's just marketing. Do you guys recommend any quick, easy
(08:33):
protein options for at work that you guys use. Thanks
have a great day and thanks for all the great
content that you guys put out matter.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
If my car breaks down, I know who I'm calling
to borrow one from? Clint? Would you borrow his camper
or his He said he had a motorcycle too. I
don't know that sounds nice. Yeah, I was like those
eight Clint, I'll say having seven vehicles like that is
totally legit. But he said he's specifically in money year
number seven. So I'm gonna say more power to you.
(09:02):
You do what you like. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
No judgment when you've put in the work and you're
crushing joy free of guilt, right, your your.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Craft be equivalent. Yeah, And the fact that he is
buying those cars in cash, So the fact is he's
he's basically doing better than most folks who just have
like one or two cars. He's got seven cars. So yeah,
I'm totally fine with it. And he knows different to
being out I don't know, he's what do you think
he's like out in the Midwest Iowa? In my mind,
you picture on one hand, a very expensive garage with
seven cars. That's like that's hard to maintain. Sure, Versus
(09:33):
if you are out west, you probably have more land,
You've got property.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Maybe you've got like this big affordable metal outbuilding.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, like a like an affordable garage, and you're like, yeah,
I keep the spare vehicles in there because it's cost
effective to hang onto this.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Maybe you leave mountain the elements, some of them cover
them with a tarp. I mean some people do that, right,
So but yeah, I think when you when you own
them debt free, and when you realize, hey, this this
is the thing I spend money on, is like, there's
no shame in that game?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Is if you're not.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Going into significant amounts of debt port and he's like,
I'm if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm not
replacing it too, which I love so Clint, you got
a good mentality on that, man. And even if that's
not our thing, we can understand that it's yours and
appreciate that. And i'd say two, congrats on making all
these moves here. Physical health, I think you know more, exercise,
better eating. Those are those are two pillars of making
progress on that front. I have done one of those things, Matt.
(10:20):
I'm exercising more, eating differently. I've made small changes, but
I've not made significant changes on that front.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
A little more credit. You're still eating the barbecue and
the mac and cheese. Yes, yes, I am. Those good
for you. It depends on what if you're, Hey, Barbie
uploading before a race. I guess barbecue and that's protein
right there. So you got the meat, so but I
lathering it slathering yeah, probably probably decent bit so yeah,
maybe don't.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I don't know that either of us have perfectly formed
that we're not. We're not Andrew Hueman on this, but you, Matt,
you've made to changes on both those fronts.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
You're working towards it.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You're working towards it, and all the financial progress that
that Clint has achieved, I think it. You know, it
means a lot less if your physical health is in
rotten shape. There's a there's a whole lot of people
who pay. There was that article recently that you and
I talked about where the guy was like, yeah, I
reached financial independence, but I gave up relationships and I
gained eighty pounds.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And you're just like paying eighty pounds while he was
in college, right, you're talking about the young guy. He's
like the entrepreneur sold multiple businesses for millions of dollars.
It's like, cool, maybe the train off wasn't worth it
even if you go a billion dollars. Sorry, non interested.
And I wish you and I we could get more
Americans to realize this. I think it's a particular problem
in our society where there's just a lot of unhealthy
(11:32):
foods that are easily accessible to us, and we haven't
questioned that ready availability, and many of us have just
like bought into the ease, kind of like the uber
eats of things like yeah, just get fast food, delivered
to me and we'll call it a day. That's my dinner.
It's not just I think that paying more attention now
is going to reduce medical costs down the road. It will.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It's also you're paying attention to that like prevention on
the front end, which is so crucial. But also you're
gonna feel better, You're gonna have more mobility, you're gonna
be able to enjoy the money and that slew of
cars that you have right as it grows.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
So just yeah, being in better shape is huge. Yeah,
your conversation with Nick macgilly makes me think about that.
That was his craft beer equivalent, was splurging on. He's like,
I'm going to say yes basically to all the health
things because and he talked about how that is the
one thing that you would trade basically all of your
money for if you don't have it, So the ability
to prioritize that a little bit and obviously so here
(12:23):
now some of those things we don't have full control over, right,
it's absolutely I'm sure there are things that we can
change about our diet and the way we live that
impact whether or not we get cancer or what type
of cancer we get. But there's also a whole lot
of things that are genetic or predisposed to that are
impossible to avoid. It's just the roll of the dice
to a certain degree. But there's still a lot you
can do.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I think to yeah, allow yourself to enjoy better health,
whether it's just a walk. You and I take a
walk after lunch, a walk after dinner with your spouse
or your friend or something like that.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Love it. Yeah, Yeah, took two walks yesterday because I
had extra pie.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Part of the reason you and I are drinking less
beer it is it impacts the sleep the older we get.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
It makes a big difference, and it's not a surprise.
I think Clint said he's thirty eight or thirty nine, like,
these are the kind of things you start thinking about.
What exactly when I started thinking about these things once
she gets to be that age. But Clint he specifically
called out the protein powder from Sam's Club, the members
Mark brand, which I'm guessing is pretty solid. But I'm
not gonna speak to it personally because I don't have
the experience there. But what I can speak too directly,
(13:24):
which of course gives me the opportunity to talk about
al d so here's the uh. I started this a
few weeks ago, and I started it, I did it once.
But I'm gonna call this the al D item of
the week, which is the elevation way. It's the protein powder.
I've been supplementing with that for a couple of years now.
At this point, it tastes pretty good. The vanilla tastes
good at least. I would not recommend the other flavors.
(13:45):
Chocolate's fine. I've tried some of the they've got, like
these limited time flavors. Sometimes there's like a it's like
a vanilla high or something. All the other flavors were
pretty terrible, so I would not recommend those.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
But the best part, the cool thing is if you
buy it at all me and you don't like it,
you can take it fast and take it back. There's
that satisfaction guarantee.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I think I did that actually with one of them. Well,
I think one of them. I powered through, but by
the end of it, I was like gagging the second
one because it was I got them both on sale,
and I was like, I can't pass up an opportunity
to reduce my per gram of protein costs even more so,
that's the best part. A tub of that protein powder
cost eighteen dollars and twenty nine cents, okay, and I've
(14:24):
never so I've never broken down the cost per serving.
That's what Clinton does. But I have broken it down
to the price per gram of protein. That's my preferred
metric of choice, which in this case is just three
cents per gram of protein, which is amazing. Dude. It
is seriously really tough to beat that, and I try
to beat that. Specifically, at Costco, they've got the Organ
(14:45):
brand protein. It's a peep it's vegetable. It's not Way protein.
It's like pea protein. I didn't like it as much,
made me a little gassy. I was a little tough
on the stomach. I appreciate you switching back to the
other brand. The Way was much better for my body.
But even there at Costco when it was on sale,
it only I was only You're only able to get
(15:06):
it for about five cents program of protein, which is
still affordable. It's just not as affordable as as Aldie.
So I'm going to speak directly to that. I'm a
fan of what it is at Aldi is selling, even
though eventually you kind of get tired of it and
so I do supplement the flavor of the protein powder
by getting the peebe the what is it called the
peanut butter power fit Peebi fit, which they do so
(15:29):
at costco. I always add a spoon of that just
to help it taste a little bit. Yeah, better flavor.
And in the morning, that peanut butter powder so good. Yeah,
I'm a huge fan of that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
I put real peanut butter scoops of peanut butter in
my daughter's smoothies in the morning.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
She ended up.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
She's a smooth addict. But then you gotta hit, You
gotta plow the blender, say, as opposed to the shaker bottle. Man,
that's what's so convenient about the shaker bottle. You fill
it with water, the powder, give it a shake, you're
on your way. I wonder if she'd be okay with that,
because she likes the almond milk with you. I she
likes the texture, Yeah, smooth. I get that.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
You're listening to how Too Much with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
By the way, you can always find more money saving
information over at howtomoney dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Let's talk health insurance. Matt let's super fun topic. Everybody
knows health insurance is super cheap and super affordable.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's so great. I think everyone loves their coverage to
everyone loves the system that we're in.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
That's the best part. How efficient it is, how well run.
Of course not true. Health insurance costs are on the
rise in a meaningful way this year, in particular two.
Without making any changes, price heikes would likely be roughly
like nine percent year over year from employers what they're
what they have to pay for coverage for their employees,
(16:43):
like almost a ten percent bump in a single year, Matt.
That's far out paces inflation. They won't be quite as
high because of benefit reductions, so price increases are going
to be closer to six and a half percent according
to some recent data. And there was a survey of
like seventeen hundred comp and they basically said, yeah, a
lot of the higher costs are going to have to
(17:04):
be shoved onto our employees, So open enrollment, we're getting
close to that starting a lot of how to money listeners,
they might be shocked by coverage reductions that they see
or cost increases are probably a little bit of both.
So I guess we just kind of want to give
you the heads up and say, be ready to make
some hard decisions here. High deductible health care plans are
not for everyone, but if you're in good shape, with
(17:26):
few procedures planned for the coming year, and you've got
solid savings on hand, it can be a really good
way to save on monthly premium costs. And then it's
important to note that the cost of plans on healthcare
dot gov, they're going up to it at an even
higher rate, and it seems like subsidies are diminishing at
the same time. So what do you do when you're
(17:47):
between a rock and a hard place in terms of
health care costs. These are difficult discussions and there is
no easy answer. I guess I do want to at
least highlight the fact that health sharing companies for some
people might make sense if you're the cost of your
plan is skyrocketing, in particular on healthcare dot gov. They're
not the same thing as insurance, and we want to
highlight that, and you should do your due diligence for
(18:08):
signing up for one. We have articles up on the
site actually about the health sharing plans as well, but
you might want to at least consider one, because when you're
talking about a price gap of potentially multiple thousands of
dollars every month on premiums versus whatever health sharing plans
call their premiums a share amount or.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Whatever household portion. Yeah, depending on that company.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
At some point, traditional health insurance becomes just unaffordable for
a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
It's true. Okay, so yeah, So there was one study
that found that a decent chuck of folks actually choose
a health insurance plan in less than thirty minutes. Half
of millennials say they blindly pick a plan. They're just
kind of like, oh, that one sounds nice, I just
go for it, which is crazy, Like, this is not
a case where it's sticking your plans on a dartboard
and just kind of going with a random choice that
where that's going to be a smart idea, And I
(18:54):
like one of the toughest parts about choosing the right
plan is just knowing what your healthcare costs, what your
needs are going to be, uh, and of course what
you're sort of out of pocket costs are going to
be in the upcoming year. You can't perfectly predict, you know, accurately,
what you're gonna need, but you can likely come up
with a decent range. And while this isn't always possible,
you can plan ahead for some different health procedures. Maybe
(19:18):
you can kind of lump some into a current a
singular calendar year when you do have more robust coverage.
It reminds me of when you might quote unquote bunch
you're giving yeah right as to whether or not you're
going to atomize your taxes or a bunch of health
procedures too.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Yeah, do that.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And we've had friends who have done that, who have
been a bit more strategic when it came to, oh,
I ruptured my achilles, we're gonna, you know, got to
get that fixed this year. I guess this is also
the in that case, they didn't go with a more
robust coverage, but they realized this is the year that
we're going to hit high deductible schedule everything else. Yeah,
So they did like wisdom teeth removal with a daughter.
(19:54):
Another daughter had like the tonsils removed. You know, they
kind of like went through the litany of all the
things that they were con itering. It's just like, not,
you're obviously not gonna get some of these things done
unnecessarily but they were planning. All of these things were
essentially on the.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Dock, on the radar, but they might not have happened
till like the following year, and they're like, all right,
we're gonna shove it all into this calendar exactly.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
And of course, don't forget about flexible spending accounts. Still
forget about hsas health savings accounts as well, because they
can these can be tools that you can use and
they can at least help you to save on taxes
for those increased healthcare expenses.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, some people underutilize those maps, especially like the the fsays.
If you have act we prefer hsas for long term
investments and tax free growth. But when you're talking about
the fsays, that's that's usually like dollar for dollar, plan
out you're spending, know how much you can stock in
there so that you are avoiding taxes on healthcare spending
at least. Let's talk about Tesla for a second, Matt.
(20:47):
You remember you remember when Tesla's were kind of the
it car, the model s. They're expensive, man, and people,
but there still are, but yeah, not as expensive, not
nearly as expense of as they used to be. And
that's partly because they've released additional models that are less
expensive right than that flagship model less, but it's also
because they've economies of scale, right, and they've figured out
(21:09):
how the manufacturing process, how to really manufacture those and
bring the cost down. But I just remember when they
were so expensive and was really only rich people and
the elite that could afford at Tesla, and now that's
not the case. I used, Tesla costs less than the
average used internal combustion engine vehicle these days, and so
(21:29):
that's kind of hard to fathom. It's not something you
could have predicted, I don't think ten years ago. The
EV tax credits are expiring at the end of September,
at the end of this month, and so if you've
got the cash and you've got the interest, now might
be a good time to pounce, as prices have gone
down and the tax benefit still remains. But the New
York Times they also have a detailed EV versus gas
(21:50):
calculator that I think is worth checking out. But it's
just fascinating to see that. Yeah, some electric vehicles have
become cheap enough to really justify upgrading or switching from
from an ice vehicle basically over to electric because the
savings are that significant. And think about how much you're
(22:10):
going to save on gas too, especially if you're a
heavy driver. The one place you might not save when
we're talking about electric vehicles is on insurance. And that's
the one thing you don't want to get a quote
from your insurance company before you make that switch, because
you might say, oh, this seems like a good deal.
That you call your insurance company, they're like, well, you're
paying two thousand dollars a year for coverage for your cars,
(22:31):
and now because you added that ev in and you
ditch the other one, well that's going to be like
thirty two hundred dollars a year. And you're like, I
wasn't planning on spending that much extra. That cuts into
the savings that I was hoping to experience. So beware,
get that quote ahead of time before you like make
that plunge. It's like the total benefit.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Package that you were to receive from an employer in
a similar way, what's the total expense that you're going
to be experiencing when it comes to operating your electric vehicle.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, that's one hundred percent spot on, all right, We've
got actually more to get to on today's.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
You're listening to how To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Don't forget to sign up for the how to Money
newsletter over at howdimoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Let's get to a question now about different types of
home loans and how to know which one is best
for you.
Speaker 7 (23:18):
Hey, guys, my name is Chris. I'm currently in the
process of transitioning out of military station in Testin, Florida,
and my wife and I aren't planning to buy a home
on our next location. We're trying to decide between using
a VA loan with zero percent down we're going to
conventional home loan putting twenty percent down. We're twenty five
and twenty three years old, expecting your first child in December,
and my wife plans to stay home full time after
(23:40):
the child is born. We'll have enough say for a
twenty percent down here after selling our current home. I
also have a VA disability rating over ten percent, so
the VA finding fewd wave given our current situation, would
make more sense to use a VA loan invested savings
instead of putting twenty percent down. If so, it'll be
wise put some of the money into a five twenty
nine of lump sum contribution instead of as a monthly
(24:00):
contribution after our child's born. For context, for in money
year six, we have no debt other than our current mortgage,
and we have invested roughly three hundred thousand dollars between
taxbul and retirement savings outside our down payment in cash.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Thanks ANDREI. You guys doing Holy cow? Did Chris say
that they've got something like three hundred thousand set aside?
And specifically earlier in his question, did he say that
they were in there like early to mid twenties? Holy cow?
That is totally impressive. Chris, you and your wife you
obviously have good heads on your shoulders when it comes
to your finances, and so we will do our best
certainly to help you with this particular question. That being said,
(24:36):
you are making beautiful progress towards financial independence. I was
not that far along, I will say, when I was
your age, and I think most likely you'll be fine
with either choice. But still, let's try to he's looking
to take it to the next levels. Help Chris to
optimize here. Let's let's do it.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Seems like the main question right is whether or not
to put money towards the down payment or into a
five to twenty nine plan, And if like it were a
question of paying low interestrate mortgage instead, Matt, I think
I'd say we prefer the five twenty nine in all likelihood,
keep your two point seventy five or three point three
point zero percent interest rate mortgage intact, because, like we've said,
(25:13):
it's not an asset, but it's not a bad thing
to have, and you might would likely want to prioritize
other financial goals ahead of that, or even savings. Right,
just prioritizing savings over paying off that low interestrate mortgage
makes more sense given the current climate we're in. But
with higher interest rates that we've seen, it likely makes
more sense to get that conventional mortgage with twenty percent down.
(25:33):
I'm going to put a caveat in here. I think
if you're willing to do other things with the excess money,
we might lean in the VA loan direction. Like if
you're willing to do smart things like with the money
that you're not putting down, then I think the VA
loan can make more sense. But with interest rates north
of six percent, although they have ticked down a little
bit in recent days, not having that additional mortgage debt
can be wiser. Is wiser, I think really than it
(25:56):
was five years ago, although you could still for a
V loan and you can still put money down. Yeah,
so much about this question though, it looms large of
what you're going to do with that money. If it's
going into a five twenty nine What are your alternatives
that might be smart? But even that we have to
talk about timing a five twenty nine contribution.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Sure, well, it's important to note that the VA loan
might come with a lower interest rate and you you
can avoid that funding fee, which can be significant. So
that means, okay, you've got zero percent down and you
get the lower rate at the same time taking that
additional money and then investing the rest like that is
the behavioral alternative that we want to make sure that
you're doing. If that's the case and you can plan
(26:37):
to stick to that plan, I think I would recommend
doing that, and I think you can. I think you
are capable of doing that. Again, especially given how much
he has already sacked away, it makes me think that
he's got no issues when it comes to self discipline
and doing the right thing with the money, right, But
so much of it does come down to the specific
terms that you are being offered, and so shopping around
(27:00):
it's crucial. Not all VA loans are are equal. It
just depends on the lender. It depends if you're looking
at a major bank who's a participant in the VA
loan program, or a local local credit union. Actually makes
me think of it. There's a local credit union in
our area and they've got this. This is the first
time ever I've ever seen this Productjoel. It's called yeah,
a fifteen fifteen arm. The interest rate is currently in
(27:22):
the low five so it's locked in for fifteen years,
and then it adjusts once fifteen years, which I'm like,
wait a minute, there's a go. This is a pretty
solid product.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Here, And when you look at the average time that
people spend in a home something like twelve years, she's.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Not even going to be there. Yeah, fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You probably won't have that mortgage fifteen years from now,
but you will have saved a significant amount of interest
yeah in those first fifteen years, because yeah, the rate
is so much lower than the prevailing thirty year fixed.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
Rate totally, so it's something to consider. You could also
reach out to a mortgage broker who specializes in VA loans.
But I think shopping around when you're getting a MORGE
is just going to be so crucial here, and it
can see you tens of thousands of dollars not only
over the years, but closer to the time of purchase
as well.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah, and I think like, really, what you're getting at is, Yeah,
if you don't have to put all that money down,
you you might get better terms, the lower interest rate
with the VA loan, and you're gonna do something smart
with the money that would have gone to pre pay
that mortgage anyway, be ready for that higher monthly payment
because you won't have brought us much to the table.
But if you have the wiggle room in your finances
(28:27):
to make that higher payment work and you can do
something smart with the excess, I think it makes a
lot of sense, especially if you're getting the absolute best
terms by going with the VA loan against instead of
a conventional loan. And then when it comes to the
five twenty nine plan question, I just want to suggest
this to be careful not to overemphasize money that you're
putting into a five twenty nine because if you're planning
on private school, you're going to want to make it
(28:48):
a higher priority, right then if you're just hoping to
pay for your kids college. But there can also be
downsides to investing too much in a five to twenty
nine in a single year as well.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Yeah, because well he specifically said, and then I'll do
a lump sum investing. Yeah, that's yeah, I think that's
what you're getting at.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, And yeah, if you put too much in in
a given year, you might be foregoing future tax benefits
that can be significant by spreading out those contributions. So,
for instance, in the state that we live in, there's
an eight thousand dollars max per beneficiary amount that you
can get a tax benefit on a state, essentially a
state tax exemption on that money that you're putting into
(29:26):
the five twenty nine. And so if that's the case,
if you're like, well, I've got thirty two thousand dollars
I want to put in, Well, if you spread it
over four years instead of one, you're getting that state
tax benefit every single year to the max. And so
I just want you to be thoughtful about how much
you're putting in and the rate at what you're putting
in those dollars so that you're not leaving right tax.
(29:46):
You know the ability to exempt those dollars from tax
on the table. I think it would just be better
to get it every single year instead of foregoing that
by getting the money in sooner, just know the state
rules for where you're contributing, because I know you said
you're in Florida, but you're moving.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
You just don't want to win if on tax benefits,
that would be a that would be a mess totally.
And if you end up going with the VA loan
and not using that down payment, that money it could
you know, it could sit there in your savings account
for a bit as you get adjusted to your new life.
You got the uh multiple changes happening right Like you're moving,
you're moving down to one income, You've got another mouth
to feed, so there's a little bit it's it would
(30:20):
be nice to have some additional margin. I guess that's
what I'm saying. But eventually I would love to see
you make this take that money and make it just
a combination of accounts where you stick that maybe in
your roth IRA, maybe you stick it in a workplace
retirement account, any additional maybe you can yes, five twenty nine,
you know, up to the state deduction limit. Maybe beyond that,
(30:41):
hang onto that in cash, maybe stick it in a
taxable brokerage account. Actually it make I think I if
it was me, I would be hanging on to maybe
more of that in cash in my savings as opposed
if I didn't use some of that money as a
down payment. Because also what does that mean. It means
you've got less equity in the home, and if you
moving sooner than expected a lot of times, that means
(31:03):
you got to come to the table with more money.
And whereas typically that money is just taking out of
what it is that you are receiving, right like from
the purchase price.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Which is one of the biggest downsides of not putting
more down is that if you do, like say two
and a half years from now, end up moving, Oh,
we need to move, and guess what, the market's been
pretty stagnant.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
We actually need a lot of money.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, especially with reel tur fees. We got to bring
money to the closing table exactly prepared for that. And
hopefully you're like making a buying decision because you do
plan on living there a long time. But if you're
not sure about that. Yeah, behooves you to have even
more cash totally. 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,
(31:41):
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
Kf 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?
Joel and Matt have you covered? This is how to
Money with Joel Larsgard and Matt.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Altmes KFI am sixty live.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. This is how to Money.
I am Matt Altmes.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
And I'm Joel Larsgard. Don't forget to sign up for
the how to Money newsletter. You can find that up
at how tomoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Let's talk about how thinner iPhones are coming, which seems silly.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, but it seems silly in its own right though too.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yeah, the thinnest iPhone ever. And I just love to
watch Apple try to do their marketing thing and make
us think that this is the greatest thing since lifespread
or in assess he in our lit.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Do you remember I can't remember what version it was
that came out, but Apple specifically was asking people to
not come in the store and bend the phones because
there are reports. I want to say it was like
the seven. It's like at that point in time, it
was the thinnest yet, and folks were coming in like,
wait is it there's reports of them bending in people's
pockets or something like that. They're like, please don't come
in and bend our iPhone. How's that not going to happen?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Now?
Speaker 4 (01:23):
With the with the iPhone Air, which is now the
thinnest right of all time.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
It's interesting to see like the new product release and
how they're trying to go about promoting these things. And
I just I think the tech guy turned to typically
is Marquis Marquez Brownlee, who just like does an awesome
job on YouTube reviewing stuff, and I just like Engadget
and Get Yeah, they do a great job too. Still
the it's the classic is classic suck in my ways.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
So was Brown Dude. He's been on YouTube for since
he was like a child, basically viewing tech gadgers. He's
got like twenty million subscribers. He's incredible.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
So but he was just like saying, I mean, the
battery lives inferior, Like everything is inferior about the phone.
And guess what on top of that, I think most
people are going to do Matt, They're going to put
a case on it, and so that super thin thousand dollars.
I mean, if not there, I know that the ceramic
shield is stronger and stuff like.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
That ceramic shield too, baby, yeah, stronger better than ever put.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
You're running that risk right of okay, tossing it on
the ground shattering the screen.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I am of the mind. I am almost willing to
consider because I think about, like my old phones back
in the day, how many like when I would drop them,
even with cases, and they would crack, what they would shatter.
And I'm thinking about how I've got scratches all over
my current screen. It isn't a case, but I drop
it all the time and it doesn't break. I think
the technology has gotten to the point that I wonder
if the and we've talked about how you've got to
(02:39):
ensure you're quote unquote ensure you but by putting a
case on it, and I am wondering if that's gonna
end up being some sort of holdover, some sort of remnant,
and instead of okay, boomer, it'll be like, okay, millennial
you with your big clunky iPhone case. I hope, so I.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Hope that the that they're able to manufacture these phones
in such a way that you don't need a case,
and then if you drop it your phone it's sill. Okay,
that would be amazing. Like I would love to have
a case free phone. I just don't might be willing
to risk it.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
We'll see, all right, Richie, rich Maybe I'm looking forward
looking for an excuse to get it as as a holder,
as an owner of an iPhone thirteen Proeah, maybe I'm like,
I don't know, maybe I can get it, you know,
a refer fifteen for sixteen on the cheap, you know,
sixteen pro. That's a good point, a nice one.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Upgrading maybe to a user refurbished model that's not quite
the newest one makes more sense as a new model
gets released, because the prices go down on those models, right,
so the smart money nerds do, yeah, exactly, But are
you going to pay like, you know, twelve thirteen hundred bucks?
Speaker 4 (03:41):
I think the top.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Of the line Pro Max with the biggest storage is
like two grand now, so they're really starting to do
in that territory of the new one.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Yeah. So which is that's the cost of a computer?
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Right?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Yeah? It's more than crazy?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Yeah, so I guess just I think the upgrades are
mostly incrementals, Yes, there are some upgrades, but do you
actually need that? And then I think the thing that
makes me the statist Matt is that some people think, well,
you know what, I really need this thing. They bought
into the marketing height the thinnest iPhone ever, I've got
to have it in my pocket. And while at Hub
found that one in four people are more than willing
(04:14):
to go into debt for the new iPhone. And yeah,
I need debt for tech gadgets. We're not down with it.
It's a terrible idea. If you can't actually afford the
cost of the new phone with cash that you have
on hand, even then like consider whether or not you
should put that into your budget or not. But if
you don't have the money to buy it, going into
debt for it is just utterly absurd, at least from
(04:36):
the he of money perspective.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
Yeah, as a general rule of thumb, do not finance
deppreciating assets. That's my rule of thumb. I think that's
a great rule with it. If you are looking to
buy a home, sure that can work out. But everything else.
That's why I'm not a huge fan of Carleon's per student.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Loans in moderation right because you are an appreciating asset
that you're doing some investing in investment in your knowledge
base and your marketability.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
But even that can get out of control. As we know,
that's true. Okay, maybe a quasi related article. There's a
story of the young dude. They talked about his attempt
to flip stuff, to flip items on Facebook marketplace in
order to make a profit. This is not a new concept,
but he was looking for items, some free, some he
paid for to purchase in order to sell for more
than he paid. I think this was over on the journal.
(05:22):
But the most impressive flip was a set of rims
like car tire rims that he got for free and
then he turned it into a three hundred dollars sale.
This reminds me of you remember the Canadian blogger some
kid who upgraded. He bartered his way from a red
paper clip over the course of like years I think,
but he eventually bartered his way up to a home
(05:44):
in the actual house. Incredible. What this reminded me of, Yeah,
I forgot what he started with though it was literally
a red paper clip, which is I think there's like
a statue or like an art installation of like the
red paper clip to like commemorate because he was such
a bolic what he did, I think that was sort
of the first of its time, right, And in large
part he was able to do that because he garnered
(06:04):
a lot of media coverage and people are probably willing
to part with something that was maybe maybe worth a
little bit more actual money, but they were willing to
be a part of his journey, be a part of it,
and maybe something he had to them was more valuable.
But that's the that's the that's what's so beautiful about
a free market, the ability to choose what it is
that you want to put out there, what you want
(06:25):
to sell, what you want to purchase. As well, he
had Pokemon cards, which have evidently had like the best
return other than like the SMP over the past.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
That was another Pokemons have cards have outpaced the SMP
in terms of well depends on what MS return which.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Which which card. But he this this guy though he
occasionally lost money. But and of course he said that
dealing with folks who ghosted him or who were just
like super flaky, that's the worst part, which I totally agree,
that's the worst part of trying to buy or sell
something especially on something like Facebook Marketplace. But yeah, you
can totally respect the hustle and I respect this guy's
(07:02):
hustle too when it comes to finding ways, so it
makes some additional cash on the side. Yeah, I couldn't
agree more.
Speaker 6 (07:08):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI Am six forty.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
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 (07:27):
Our first question this week comes from a listener who
has questions about his health and his spending.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Hi guys, my name is Clant from Paula, Iowa.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I'm thirty nine, a foundry worker, married with two kids,
and I'm going to money gear number seven my wife
and I is craft beer equivalent is vehicles.
Speaker 4 (07:47):
We have seven vehicles.
Speaker 5 (07:49):
How can we possibly have seven vehicles? You might wonder, Well,
my car, my wife's work car, nice family car, truck, Camper, Camaro, motorcycle.
All vehicles are paid for and I don't get rid
of anything until it no longer functions and any future
purchases would be in cash. Onto my question. I've been
eating better and doing light exercise. I've been drinking a
(08:11):
protein shake in the morning and it last me until
I get off work. They are the ones from Sam's Club,
the member mark members mark ones. I had a dollar
fifty is serving It isn't too bad. I'm trying to
decide whether to up my game or not and get
a better product with more natural ingredients. I don't know
if the more expensive ones are worth it or if
it's just marketing. Do you guys recommend any quick, easy
(08:33):
protein options for at work that you guys use. Thanks
have a great day and thanks for all the great
content that you guys put out matter.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
If my car breaks down, I know who I'm calling
to borrow one from? Clint? Would you borrow his camper
or his He said he had a motorcycle too. I
don't know that sounds nice. Yeah, I was like those
eight Clint, I'll say having seven vehicles like that is
totally legit. But he said he's specifically in money year
number seven. So I'm gonna say more power to you.
(09:02):
You do what you like. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
No judgment when you've put in the work and you're
crushing joy free of guilt, right, your your.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Craft be equivalent. Yeah, And the fact that he is
buying those cars in cash, So the fact is he's
he's basically doing better than most folks who just have
like one or two cars. He's got seven cars. So yeah,
I'm totally fine with it. And he knows different to
being out I don't know, he's what do you think
he's like out in the Midwest Iowa? In my mind,
you picture on one hand, a very expensive garage with
seven cars. That's like that's hard to maintain. Sure, Versus
(09:33):
if you are out west, you probably have more land,
You've got property.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Maybe you've got like this big affordable metal outbuilding.
Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, like a like an affordable garage, and you're like, yeah,
I keep the spare vehicles in there because it's cost
effective to hang onto this.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Maybe you leave mountain the elements, some of them cover
them with a tarp. I mean some people do that, right,
So but yeah, I think when you when you own
them debt free, and when you realize, hey, this this
is the thing I spend money on, is like, there's
no shame in that game?
Speaker 4 (09:57):
Is if you're not.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
Going into significant amounts of debt port and he's like,
I'm if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm not
replacing it too, which I love so Clint, you got
a good mentality on that, man. And even if that's
not our thing, we can understand that it's yours and
appreciate that. And i'd say two, congrats on making all
these moves here. Physical health, I think you know more, exercise,
better eating. Those are those are two pillars of making
progress on that front. I have done one of those things, Matt.
(10:20):
I'm exercising more, eating differently. I've made small changes, but
I've not made significant changes on that front.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
A little more credit. You're still eating the barbecue and
the mac and cheese. Yes, yes, I am. Those good
for you. It depends on what if you're, Hey, Barbie
uploading before a race. I guess barbecue and that's protein
right there. So you got the meat, so but I
lathering it slathering yeah, probably probably decent bit so yeah,
maybe don't.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
I don't know that either of us have perfectly formed
that we're not. We're not Andrew Hueman on this, but you, Matt,
you've made to changes on both those fronts.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
You're working towards it.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
You're working towards it, and all the financial progress that
that Clint has achieved, I think it. You know, it
means a lot less if your physical health is in
rotten shape. There's a there's a whole lot of people
who pay. There was that article recently that you and
I talked about where the guy was like, yeah, I
reached financial independence, but I gave up relationships and I
gained eighty pounds.
Speaker 4 (11:11):
And you're just like paying eighty pounds while he was
in college, right, you're talking about the young guy. He's
like the entrepreneur sold multiple businesses for millions of dollars.
It's like, cool, maybe the train off wasn't worth it
even if you go a billion dollars. Sorry, non interested.
And I wish you and I we could get more
Americans to realize this. I think it's a particular problem
in our society where there's just a lot of unhealthy
(11:32):
foods that are easily accessible to us, and we haven't
questioned that ready availability, and many of us have just
like bought into the ease, kind of like the uber
eats of things like yeah, just get fast food, delivered
to me and we'll call it a day. That's my dinner.
It's not just I think that paying more attention now
is going to reduce medical costs down the road. It will.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It's also you're paying attention to that like prevention on
the front end, which is so crucial. But also you're
gonna feel better, You're gonna have more mobility, you're gonna
be able to enjoy the money and that slew of
cars that you have right as it grows.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
So just yeah, being in better shape is huge. Yeah,
your conversation with Nick macgilly makes me think about that.
That was his craft beer equivalent, was splurging on. He's like,
I'm going to say yes basically to all the health
things because and he talked about how that is the
one thing that you would trade basically all of your
money for if you don't have it, So the ability
to prioritize that a little bit and obviously so here
(12:23):
now some of those things we don't have full control over, right,
it's absolutely I'm sure there are things that we can
change about our diet and the way we live that
impact whether or not we get cancer or what type
of cancer we get. But there's also a whole lot
of things that are genetic or predisposed to that are
impossible to avoid. It's just the roll of the dice
to a certain degree. But there's still a lot you
can do.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
I think to yeah, allow yourself to enjoy better health,
whether it's just a walk. You and I take a
walk after lunch, a walk after dinner with your spouse
or your friend or something like that.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Love it. Yeah, Yeah, took two walks yesterday because I
had extra pie.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Part of the reason you and I are drinking less
beer it is it impacts the sleep the older we get.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
It makes a big difference, and it's not a surprise.
I think Clint said he's thirty eight or thirty nine, like,
these are the kind of things you start thinking about.
What exactly when I started thinking about these things once
she gets to be that age. But Clint he specifically
called out the protein powder from Sam's Club, the members
Mark brand, which I'm guessing is pretty solid. But I'm
not gonna speak to it personally because I don't have
the experience there. But what I can speak too directly,
(13:24):
which of course gives me the opportunity to talk about
al d so here's the uh. I started this a
few weeks ago, and I started it, I did it once.
But I'm gonna call this the al D item of
the week, which is the elevation way. It's the protein powder.
I've been supplementing with that for a couple of years now.
At this point, it tastes pretty good. The vanilla tastes
good at least. I would not recommend the other flavors.
(13:45):
Chocolate's fine. I've tried some of the they've got, like
these limited time flavors. Sometimes there's like a it's like
a vanilla high or something. All the other flavors were
pretty terrible, so I would not recommend those.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
But the best part, the cool thing is if you
buy it at all me and you don't like it,
you can take it fast and take it back. There's
that satisfaction guarantee.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I think I did that actually with one of them. Well,
I think one of them. I powered through, but by
the end of it, I was like gagging the second
one because it was I got them both on sale,
and I was like, I can't pass up an opportunity
to reduce my per gram of protein costs even more so,
that's the best part. A tub of that protein powder
cost eighteen dollars and twenty nine cents, okay, and I've
(14:24):
never so I've never broken down the cost per serving.
That's what Clinton does. But I have broken it down
to the price per gram of protein. That's my preferred
metric of choice, which in this case is just three
cents per gram of protein, which is amazing. Dude. It
is seriously really tough to beat that, and I try
to beat that. Specifically, at Costco, they've got the Organ
(14:45):
brand protein. It's a peep it's vegetable. It's not Way protein.
It's like pea protein. I didn't like it as much,
made me a little gassy. I was a little tough
on the stomach. I appreciate you switching back to the
other brand. The Way was much better for my body.
But even there at Costco when it was on sale,
it only I was only You're only able to get
(15:06):
it for about five cents program of protein, which is
still affordable. It's just not as affordable as as Aldie.
So I'm going to speak directly to that. I'm a
fan of what it is at Aldi is selling, even
though eventually you kind of get tired of it and
so I do supplement the flavor of the protein powder
by getting the peebe the what is it called the
peanut butter power fit Peebi fit, which they do so
(15:29):
at costco. I always add a spoon of that just
to help it taste a little bit. Yeah, better flavor.
And in the morning, that peanut butter powder so good. Yeah,
I'm a huge fan of that.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
I put real peanut butter scoops of peanut butter in
my daughter's smoothies in the morning.
Speaker 6 (15:40):
She ended up.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
She's a smooth addict. But then you gotta hit, You
gotta plow the blender, say, as opposed to the shaker bottle. Man,
that's what's so convenient about the shaker bottle. You fill
it with water, the powder, give it a shake, you're
on your way. I wonder if she'd be okay with that,
because she likes the almond milk with you. I she
likes the texture, Yeah, smooth. I get that.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
You're listening to how Too Much with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
By the way, you can always find more money saving
information over at howtomoney dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Let's talk health insurance. Matt let's super fun topic. Everybody
knows health insurance is super cheap and super affordable.
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's so great. I think everyone loves their coverage to
everyone loves the system that we're in.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
That's the best part. How efficient it is, how well run.
Of course not true. Health insurance costs are on the
rise in a meaningful way this year, in particular two.
Without making any changes, price heikes would likely be roughly
like nine percent year over year from employers what they're
what they have to pay for coverage for their employees,
(16:43):
like almost a ten percent bump in a single year, Matt.
That's far out paces inflation. They won't be quite as
high because of benefit reductions, so price increases are going
to be closer to six and a half percent according
to some recent data. And there was a survey of
like seventeen hundred comp and they basically said, yeah, a
lot of the higher costs are going to have to
(17:04):
be shoved onto our employees, So open enrollment, we're getting
close to that starting a lot of how to money listeners,
they might be shocked by coverage reductions that they see
or cost increases are probably a little bit of both.
So I guess we just kind of want to give
you the heads up and say, be ready to make
some hard decisions here. High deductible health care plans are
not for everyone, but if you're in good shape, with
(17:26):
few procedures planned for the coming year, and you've got
solid savings on hand, it can be a really good
way to save on monthly premium costs. And then it's
important to note that the cost of plans on healthcare
dot gov, they're going up to it at an even
higher rate, and it seems like subsidies are diminishing at
the same time. So what do you do when you're
(17:47):
between a rock and a hard place in terms of
health care costs. These are difficult discussions and there is
no easy answer. I guess I do want to at
least highlight the fact that health sharing companies for some
people might make sense if you're the cost of your
plan is skyrocketing, in particular on healthcare dot gov. They're
not the same thing as insurance, and we want to
highlight that, and you should do your due diligence for
(18:08):
signing up for one. We have articles up on the
site actually about the health sharing plans as well, but
you might want to at least consider one, because when you're
talking about a price gap of potentially multiple thousands of
dollars every month on premiums versus whatever health sharing plans
call their premiums a share amount or.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Whatever household portion. Yeah, depending on that company.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
At some point, traditional health insurance becomes just unaffordable for
a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
It's true. Okay, so yeah, So there was one study
that found that a decent chuck of folks actually choose
a health insurance plan in less than thirty minutes. Half
of millennials say they blindly pick a plan. They're just
kind of like, oh, that one sounds nice, I just
go for it, which is crazy, Like, this is not
a case where it's sticking your plans on a dartboard
and just kind of going with a random choice that
where that's going to be a smart idea, And I
(18:54):
like one of the toughest parts about choosing the right
plan is just knowing what your healthcare costs, what your
needs are going to be, uh, and of course what
you're sort of out of pocket costs are going to
be in the upcoming year. You can't perfectly predict, you know, accurately,
what you're gonna need, but you can likely come up
with a decent range. And while this isn't always possible,
you can plan ahead for some different health procedures. Maybe
(19:18):
you can kind of lump some into a current a
singular calendar year when you do have more robust coverage.
It reminds me of when you might quote unquote bunch
you're giving yeah right as to whether or not you're
going to atomize your taxes or a bunch of health
procedures too.
Speaker 5 (19:33):
Yeah, do that.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And we've had friends who have done that, who have
been a bit more strategic when it came to, oh,
I ruptured my achilles, we're gonna, you know, got to
get that fixed this year. I guess this is also
the in that case, they didn't go with a more
robust coverage, but they realized this is the year that
we're going to hit high deductible schedule everything else. Yeah,
So they did like wisdom teeth removal with a daughter.
(19:54):
Another daughter had like the tonsils removed. You know, they
kind of like went through the litany of all the
things that they were con itering. It's just like, not,
you're obviously not gonna get some of these things done
unnecessarily but they were planning. All of these things were
essentially on the.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Dock, on the radar, but they might not have happened
till like the following year, and they're like, all right,
we're gonna shove it all into this calendar exactly.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
And of course, don't forget about flexible spending accounts. Still
forget about hsas health savings accounts as well, because they
can these can be tools that you can use and
they can at least help you to save on taxes
for those increased healthcare expenses.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Yeah, some people underutilize those maps, especially like the the fsays.
If you have act we prefer hsas for long term
investments and tax free growth. But when you're talking about
the fsays, that's that's usually like dollar for dollar, plan
out you're spending, know how much you can stock in
there so that you are avoiding taxes on healthcare spending
at least. Let's talk about Tesla for a second, Matt.
(20:47):
You remember you remember when Tesla's were kind of the
it car, the model s. They're expensive, man, and people,
but there still are, but yeah, not as expensive, not
nearly as expense of as they used to be. And
that's partly because they've released additional models that are less
expensive right than that flagship model less, but it's also
because they've economies of scale, right, and they've figured out
(21:09):
how the manufacturing process, how to really manufacture those and
bring the cost down. But I just remember when they
were so expensive and was really only rich people and
the elite that could afford at Tesla, and now that's
not the case. I used, Tesla costs less than the
average used internal combustion engine vehicle these days, and so
(21:29):
that's kind of hard to fathom. It's not something you
could have predicted, I don't think ten years ago. The
EV tax credits are expiring at the end of September,
at the end of this month, and so if you've
got the cash and you've got the interest, now might
be a good time to pounce, as prices have gone
down and the tax benefit still remains. But the New
York Times they also have a detailed EV versus gas
(21:50):
calculator that I think is worth checking out. But it's
just fascinating to see that. Yeah, some electric vehicles have
become cheap enough to really justify upgrading or switching from
from an ice vehicle basically over to electric because the
savings are that significant. And think about how much you're
(22:10):
going to save on gas too, especially if you're a
heavy driver. The one place you might not save when
we're talking about electric vehicles is on insurance. And that's
the one thing you don't want to get a quote
from your insurance company before you make that switch, because
you might say, oh, this seems like a good deal.
That you call your insurance company, they're like, well, you're
paying two thousand dollars a year for coverage for your cars,
(22:31):
and now because you added that ev in and you
ditch the other one, well that's going to be like
thirty two hundred dollars a year. And you're like, I
wasn't planning on spending that much extra. That cuts into
the savings that I was hoping to experience. So beware,
get that quote ahead of time before you like make
that plunge. It's like the total benefit.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
Package that you were to receive from an employer in
a similar way, what's the total expense that you're going
to be experiencing when it comes to operating your electric vehicle.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, that's one hundred percent spot on, all right, We've
got actually more to get to on today's.
Speaker 6 (23:00):
You're listening to how To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Don't forget to sign up for the how to Money
newsletter over at howdimoney dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Let's get to a question now about different types of
home loans and how to know which one is best
for you.
Speaker 7 (23:18):
Hey, guys, my name is Chris. I'm currently in the
process of transitioning out of military station in Testin, Florida,
and my wife and I aren't planning to buy a home
on our next location. We're trying to decide between using
a VA loan with zero percent down we're going to
conventional home loan putting twenty percent down. We're twenty five
and twenty three years old, expecting your first child in December,
and my wife plans to stay home full time after
(23:40):
the child is born. We'll have enough say for a
twenty percent down here after selling our current home. I
also have a VA disability rating over ten percent, so
the VA finding fewd wave given our current situation, would
make more sense to use a VA loan invested savings
instead of putting twenty percent down. If so, it'll be
wise put some of the money into a five twenty
nine of lump sum contribution instead of as a monthly
(24:00):
contribution after our child's born. For context, for in money
year six, we have no debt other than our current mortgage,
and we have invested roughly three hundred thousand dollars between
taxbul and retirement savings outside our down payment in cash.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Thanks ANDREI. You guys doing Holy cow? Did Chris say
that they've got something like three hundred thousand set aside?
And specifically earlier in his question, did he say that
they were in there like early to mid twenties? Holy cow?
That is totally impressive. Chris, you and your wife you
obviously have good heads on your shoulders when it comes
to your finances, and so we will do our best
certainly to help you with this particular question. That being said,
(24:36):
you are making beautiful progress towards financial independence. I was
not that far along, I will say, when I was
your age, and I think most likely you'll be fine
with either choice. But still, let's try to he's looking
to take it to the next levels. Help Chris to
optimize here. Let's let's do it.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Seems like the main question right is whether or not
to put money towards the down payment or into a
five to twenty nine plan, And if like it were a
question of paying low interestrate mortgage instead, Matt, I think
I'd say we prefer the five twenty nine in all likelihood,
keep your two point seventy five or three point three
point zero percent interest rate mortgage intact, because, like we've said,
(25:13):
it's not an asset, but it's not a bad thing
to have, and you might would likely want to prioritize
other financial goals ahead of that, or even savings. Right,
just prioritizing savings over paying off that low interestrate mortgage
makes more sense given the current climate we're in. But
with higher interest rates that we've seen, it likely makes
more sense to get that conventional mortgage with twenty percent down.
(25:33):
I'm going to put a caveat in here. I think
if you're willing to do other things with the excess money,
we might lean in the VA loan direction. Like if
you're willing to do smart things like with the money
that you're not putting down, then I think the VA
loan can make more sense. But with interest rates north
of six percent, although they have ticked down a little
bit in recent days, not having that additional mortgage debt
can be wiser. Is wiser, I think really than it
(25:56):
was five years ago, although you could still for a
V loan and you can still put money down. Yeah,
so much about this question though, it looms large of
what you're going to do with that money. If it's
going into a five twenty nine What are your alternatives
that might be smart? But even that we have to
talk about timing a five twenty nine contribution.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Sure, well, it's important to note that the VA loan
might come with a lower interest rate and you you
can avoid that funding fee, which can be significant. So
that means, okay, you've got zero percent down and you
get the lower rate at the same time taking that
additional money and then investing the rest like that is
the behavioral alternative that we want to make sure that
you're doing. If that's the case and you can plan
(26:37):
to stick to that plan, I think I would recommend
doing that, and I think you can. I think you
are capable of doing that. Again, especially given how much
he has already sacked away, it makes me think that
he's got no issues when it comes to self discipline
and doing the right thing with the money, right, But
so much of it does come down to the specific
terms that you are being offered, and so shopping around
(27:00):
it's crucial. Not all VA loans are are equal. It
just depends on the lender. It depends if you're looking
at a major bank who's a participant in the VA
loan program, or a local local credit union. Actually makes
me think of it. There's a local credit union in
our area and they've got this. This is the first
time ever I've ever seen this Productjoel. It's called yeah,
a fifteen fifteen arm. The interest rate is currently in
(27:22):
the low five so it's locked in for fifteen years,
and then it adjusts once fifteen years, which I'm like,
wait a minute, there's a go. This is a pretty
solid product.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Here, And when you look at the average time that
people spend in a home something like twelve years, she's.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Not even going to be there. Yeah, fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
You probably won't have that mortgage fifteen years from now,
but you will have saved a significant amount of interest
yeah in those first fifteen years, because yeah, the rate
is so much lower than the prevailing thirty year fixed.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
Rate totally, so it's something to consider. You could also
reach out to a mortgage broker who specializes in VA loans.
But I think shopping around when you're getting a MORGE
is just going to be so crucial here, and it
can see you tens of thousands of dollars not only
over the years, but closer to the time of purchase
as well.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
Yeah, and I think like, really, what you're getting at is, Yeah,
if you don't have to put all that money down,
you you might get better terms, the lower interest rate
with the VA loan, and you're gonna do something smart
with the money that would have gone to pre pay
that mortgage anyway, be ready for that higher monthly payment
because you won't have brought us much to the table.
But if you have the wiggle room in your finances
(28:27):
to make that higher payment work and you can do
something smart with the excess, I think it makes a
lot of sense, especially if you're getting the absolute best
terms by going with the VA loan against instead of
a conventional loan. And then when it comes to the
five twenty nine plan question, I just want to suggest
this to be careful not to overemphasize money that you're
putting into a five twenty nine because if you're planning
on private school, you're going to want to make it
(28:48):
a higher priority, right then if you're just hoping to
pay for your kids college. But there can also be
downsides to investing too much in a five to twenty
nine in a single year as well.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Yeah, because well he specifically said, and then I'll do
a lump sum investing. Yeah, that's yeah, I think that's
what you're getting at.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
Yeah, And yeah, if you put too much in in
a given year, you might be foregoing future tax benefits
that can be significant by spreading out those contributions. So,
for instance, in the state that we live in, there's
an eight thousand dollars max per beneficiary amount that you
can get a tax benefit on a state, essentially a
state tax exemption on that money that you're putting into
(29:26):
the five twenty nine. And so if that's the case,
if you're like, well, I've got thirty two thousand dollars
I want to put in, Well, if you spread it
over four years instead of one, you're getting that state
tax benefit every single year to the max. And so
I just want you to be thoughtful about how much
you're putting in and the rate at what you're putting
in those dollars so that you're not leaving right tax.
(29:46):
You know the ability to exempt those dollars from tax
on the table. I think it would just be better
to get it every single year instead of foregoing that
by getting the money in sooner, just know the state
rules for where you're contributing, because I know you said
you're in Florida, but you're moving.
Speaker 4 (29:59):
You just don't want to win if on tax benefits,
that would be a that would be a mess totally.
And if you end up going with the VA loan
and not using that down payment, that money it could
you know, it could sit there in your savings account
for a bit as you get adjusted to your new life.
You got the uh multiple changes happening right Like you're moving,
you're moving down to one income, You've got another mouth
to feed, so there's a little bit it's it would
(30:20):
be nice to have some additional margin. I guess that's
what I'm saying. But eventually I would love to see
you make this take that money and make it just
a combination of accounts where you stick that maybe in
your roth IRA, maybe you stick it in a workplace
retirement account, any additional maybe you can yes, five twenty nine,
you know, up to the state deduction limit. Maybe beyond that,
(30:41):
hang onto that in cash, maybe stick it in a
taxable brokerage account. Actually it make I think I if
it was me, I would be hanging on to maybe
more of that in cash in my savings as opposed
if I didn't use some of that money as a
down payment. Because also what does that mean. It means
you've got less equity in the home, and if you
moving sooner than expected a lot of times, that means
(31:03):
you got to come to the table with more money.
And whereas typically that money is just taking out of
what it is that you are receiving, right like from
the purchase price.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Which is one of the biggest downsides of not putting
more down is that if you do, like say two
and a half years from now, end up moving, Oh,
we need to move, and guess what, the market's been
pretty stagnant.
Speaker 4 (31:20):
We actually need a lot of money.
Speaker 1 (31:21):
Yeah, especially with reel tur fees. We got to bring
money to the closing table exactly prepared for that. And
hopefully you're like making a buying decision because you do
plan on living there a long time. But if you're
not sure about that. Yeah, behooves you to have even
more cash totally. 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,
(31:41):
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
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