July 6, 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):
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 Larsguard and Matt.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Altmes KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
This is how to Money. I am one of your hosts,
Joe Larsgard and I am Matt all mixed. By the way,
you can always find more money saving information over at
howtomoney dot com. 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,
(00:53):
I'm unaware of. And a lot of that is because
there are state specific programs or just small all find
nuances that I have not 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 state as well. There are cool perks for
(01:14):
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, well
(01:35):
that's the eye of the beholder. But you can get
a state match to your five to twenty nine plan
for in order to say, 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 what the cost
and expenses look like, and on some of those investments
they're quite low. So the Maryland five to twenty nine
(01:57):
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
state contribution, So it's important, Donnie said to do the
(02:20):
math to see which one is going to work out
better for you. 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 contribution, and in that case, you'd want to
take the state five hundred dollars contribution and you're getting
out it's like set a net four hundred dollars win.
So again, all of those details are available on Maryland
(02:40):
five twenty nine dot com. But it just reminded me like,
oh man, there's so 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,
(03:02):
like we want to highlight these things on the show.
We want to make people aware of incredible benefits or
free money. Right, 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
(03:22):
in front of neighborhoods, at least where I live, saying
congrats to these grads and hate where are they going
to college? Well, and for 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.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
But here's one thing.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That I wasn't on my radar until I saw an
article in Indie Week, and it was that college graduates
tend to leave a lot of their possessions behind when
they fly the coup, when they leave the dorm or
whatever campus housing or off camp 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
(04:08):
a trailer to stick all their stuff in, and so
a lot of it ends up at the dumpster. Could
be 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 Weeks. She talked about
salvaging some really nice stuff that graduates were leaving behind
(04:28):
at the school closest to her. High end tables, luxury sneakers,
Lululemon workout stuff like shoved in a bag, fancy appliances
like 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
(04:48):
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,
this is something I'm going to keep, this is something
i'm gonna 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.
(05:09):
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
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.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
And so in the interim you just don't have.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Anywhere to put it, so it ends up on the curb,
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 stuff on
the curb that you otherwise are 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
or of a hassle to take it. And if you
(05:49):
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 that even
if an item is initially more expensive, it can cost
you less over time to buy the nicer thing upfront
(06:10):
and to hold on to it. But then also because
of extreme wealth in this country, when you think about
the fact that like 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 money
based on the fact that based on some arbitrage right,
(06:30):
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.
They've started businesses where they go to thrift stores and
(06:52):
buy stuff and list it on eBay. And I'm not
saying that it's not a job.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
It is.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
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
(07:20):
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 in the trash
and then you know, I don't know, maybe you don't
(07:42):
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
been a cost center into a profit center and still
(08:04):
get something new at the same time.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I just love that that's possible. If you're paying attention,
you're listening to How To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty, don't forget to sign
up for the how to Money newsletter over at howdimoney
dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Let's take a question now from a listener who wants
to know about taking a road trip. Should he rent
a car or use the one he's got? And actually
it's kind of a question named towards you as.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Well, Angel and Natt. 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
(08:52):
a car. I always struggle with the whole idea of
how confident am I that the haller can make it
there and back with the family. And tell appreciate your
perspective and hope you have a great trip.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
Rob is so polite. He calls it a high mileage
vehicle as opposed to a clunker.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
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 (09:15):
You remember during the Obama administration there was something called
Cash for Clunkers, a government program where you get paid.
That's right, And like they didn't I didn't realize that
was a government brother. They didn't avoid the term. Yeah, yeah,
it was. Well, so that's because they're trying to encourage
you to offload.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
It was all about the great, the evy green transportation man.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
That's right. I think I love this question.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
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 and you know,
when it comes down to it, Matt, we know that
opting for a used car makes so much sense just
from a financial perspective. But if you're scared that, you're
(09:54):
that your 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.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Are your thoughts?
Speaker 5 (10:06):
I think that's I mean, that's a large consideration as well,
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 4 (10:18):
This is over the course of a couple of weeks.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
And so first of all, there's the depreciation, right There
are estimates that cars depreciate at twenty cents a mile.
I'm guessing that ours is probably less at this point.
But if you run the math, we're talking about losing
six hundred dollars at least in value on the car
by putting it through its paces to this degree, 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,
(10:42):
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 offa Yeah, appreciate your will cost you
more putting those miles on it. And so I will
say I just went ahead and second that out there.
But I'm not really thinking about the depreciation all that much.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
This is our vehicle.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
We're not necessarily looking I guess another way to thinking
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. 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.
(11:20):
We don't want to roll in late. We want it
to unfold. I guess it's the way we want it to,
especially for that private audience with the Pope that you've gotten.
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,
(11:41):
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
miss our tour? You know, things like that.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
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 less likely.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
I would say, it's compared to like one hundred and
fifty thousand mile.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
You're playing the odds. Long in the Is there an equivalent.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
To long in the tooth when it comes to vehicles
like long in the oodometers, long in the radiator.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Or something like that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
So I had to race down there and we man,
we got so lucky with being able to replace the
alternator that day somewhere y Yeah, on a Saturday, nonetheless,
when a lot of shops are closed. But that's the
kind of thing that, yeah, I 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 hassle,
and so yeah, I think you have to take those
(12:42):
things into consideration. And if you're the kind of family
that prioritizes high mileage non clunker vehicles, rob those are
the kind of questions you have to have to wrestle with.
And I think, man, if you were to decide to
take your own van, you'd probably want to have it
at least looked over thoroughly before you went. Sure even
want the fresh oil change right, checking the tires, fluid levels,
spark plugs, all that kind of stuff would be why
(13:03):
same thing for you, Rob, if you're going to opt
to go that route, just make sure your beautifully vintage
vehicle is at 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
(13:23):
unlimited mileage that you're able to get through the rental
car company.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
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.
(13:48):
You just get every dollar you spend on It just
matters more because of all the mileage you're avoiding putting
on your vehicle, and so I'd be leaning in that direction,
especially with the kind of travels you guys have planned
and the little that the time sensitive nature of not
wanting to screw that up. Yeah, one argument for folks
taking their own car, and this isn't something that we
especially feel, but I have I have heard folks push
(14:09):
back and say, well, I want to take my vehicle
like they have more like they're more car people.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
This is because that they have.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
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 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
(14:34):
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 I get.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
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 to.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Not even considered the entertainment system, which is what I
assume your friend. Yeah, yeah, no, I think there's also this,
like a is a frugal versus cheap 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
(15:15):
that I already owned, as opposed to straight up for anyone,
because you know, getting stranded on the side of the
interstate or even some country back road where it's just
me and my backpack it's no big deal, says a
little more.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Fun and serendipitous when you're solo than it does been.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
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 (15:43):
Yeah, probably posted picks of our my hitchhiking adventures before
the chainsaw from the old bud like commercials.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, good times was fun.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
People are more reticent to pick you up when you're
with shady characters like my friend Josh indeed.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
But yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
I mean, I think when one person is and you
can kind of roll with the punches, that's one thing.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
But kids, it's not just the vehicle of the punches. Yeah,
it's it's the party. It's who you're.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Rolling with as well. That is something you got to
take into account.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I think it's similar like the idea of staying at
a hostel. I'm a ful I don't care. That's fine.
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 plan around everybody's goals and dreams.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I think I would be willing to stay.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
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.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Now. I don't want to sleep.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
On like someone's couch where it's slanted and angled.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
As long as.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
It's quiet, it's a comfort. There's a comfortable mattress, and
I have control of the temperature. I think I would
one percent be able to get a great night's sleep.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Side note, all right, Hey, we got more money saving
information to get to.
Speaker 7 (16:46):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
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
(17:13):
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
(17:35):
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
(17:56):
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
(18:17):
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
(18:37):
that was highlighted 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 in
(18:58):
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, the
robust data it's able to collect about where you are
and what you're doing. And the insurance companies are like, yeah,
we'd like that because the more information we have, the
(19:19):
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.
(19:40):
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
(20:01):
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 homeowners
insurance front, and having insurance is crucial for most folks.
(20:24):
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
(20:46):
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
the statistic has always a 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, this
(21:09):
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 statistics show that four out of ten
people do own their home and they don't have a
mortgage attached to it. And in that case, you can
(21:31):
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 will find
out if you act your insurance, so you cannot, as
(21:53):
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 going to 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 shopping around for insurance in order to find the
(22:14):
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
(22:34):
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
(22:55):
money to back up that increased deductible that you're taking
on totally.
Speaker 7 (23:01):
You're listening to how to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty and.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
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 how toomoney dot com forward slash ask.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
This next question comes from a listener who just got married.
Speaker 8 (23:24):
Hey guys, this is justin from Kocomo, Indiana. I just
got married six days ago, 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 4 (23:42):
But not the strategy.
Speaker 8 (23:44):
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
(24:08):
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 Cocomo, come check out
the Coderie in Cocomo, Indiana. It is a cocktail bar,
(24:31):
but we have a huge selection of craft beers and
the best burgers in Indiana.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Okay, two things. What was it called the Coterie, the Coderie,
the COTTERI and then also Cocomo. That sounds like a
place that should be, like in Hawaii or something.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
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 talk
about this, I don't so I don't think so. But
thank you for that recommendation. Justin sounds like an awesome place.
We're all about cocktails, burgers.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
In addition to delicious craft equal opportunity in bubers. Heck yeah,
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 to to get on the same page.
You're paddling together in the same direction when you combine
your finances, and all the stats point to improved happiness levels.
(25:18):
It points to the ability to move towards those mutual
goals faster. But that being said, I think 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. Joe,
Let's let's get to it.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Let's do it. Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
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, 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 up
(25:56):
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
joelll tell you to do it, or you're not doing
it right. There are different ways to make this happen
(26:17):
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 station of your finances.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
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 maybe encourage 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 going to love you sickness
and health till the day I die. You're going to
(26:51):
care for 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 honestly all these things
when I 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 have a
(27:13):
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
(27:33):
customer service, and go with them instead of going with
the bank you've been with.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
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 now
for record keeping, I think that can work just fine.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
There's like less to keep track of it. 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
app so it's easy to keep track of it anything
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 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 WINEAPS, so you've got different financial goals that you've
(28:16):
got set up in there. Two accounts is what some
folks are going to advise what we think it's unecessary.
I think it's potentially clunky.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
It also doesn't provide for that individual legal protection for
this assets if the marriage were to dissolve, like Joel said,
for folks who have.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Just more difficult backgrounds.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
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 savings account with my name and you
have one with your name.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It would be a prenup that would cover yours, right, But.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
In community proper state property states in particular, that money's
still going to get dibbat up fifty to fifty.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
And he mentioned too that his wife doesn't she's not
into WINEAP. I think it's totally okay to divvy up
responsibilities based on your respective strengths and your interests. I
think that you justin you're maybe more of a nerd
accountant CPA type who likes to listen to personal finance podcasts.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
If you are in charge of tracking and spending and
why app 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
(29:31):
extent that she wants to be informed, But beyond that,
I think there's plenty of other things in life.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
That you should be focusing on as opposed to the numbers.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
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. That's true, And you just
talked about kind of the mutual involvement, Matt, and I
(30:01):
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, but you're
having discussions about it openly together. Yeah, because then those
(30:23):
shared goals are going to help determine just how hard
you work towards each individual component of personal finances like investing, saving, spending, giving,
and then those goals are going to shift them morph
over the years, causing you to rethink things right, dialing
back or increasing contributions, amount amounts, and given years. I
think it's okay to have like an eighty twenty or
(30:44):
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 wine nab 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 fifty split. Similar how you might split
up like cooking duties. Maybe it's like, hey, now I'm
(31:05):
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 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 in the dark on all the financial decisions that
(31:25):
get made. And so 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 you
need to be clued in at least a little bit,
even if somebody like the other partner is pulling the
majority of the weight.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
YEP, I agree.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
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, Joel said this, and if.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
You are, she's like, who those guys?
Speaker 5 (32:00):
I mean, 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 is pumped
up to. I'm guessing that's probably not something that she's
(32:20):
going to be all that interested interested in as opposed to, well,
what does that mean for us being able to eat out?
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Like?
Speaker 5 (32:26):
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 help
bring personal finances alive. Because of some of these things
that you want to do in real life, as opposed
to just focusing on the numbers.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
I think that's really important to disinterested party.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
That's the best way to get them at least a
little interested in what you guys are trying to accomplish.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
To get you've been listening to How To Money with
Joel Larsgard. You can always hear us live on KFI
Ams six forty twelve pm to two pm on Sunday,
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 Larsguard and Matt.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Altmes KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
This is how to Money. I am one of your hosts,
Joe Larsgard and I am Matt all mixed. By the way,
you can always find more money saving information over at
howtomoney dot com. 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,
(00:53):
I'm unaware of. And a lot of that is because
there are state specific programs or just small all find
nuances that I have not 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 state as well. There are cool perks for
(01:14):
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, well
(01:35):
that's the eye of the beholder. But you can get
a state match to your five to twenty nine plan
for in order to say, 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 what the cost
and expenses look like, and on some of those investments
they're quite low. So the Maryland five to twenty nine
(01:57):
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
state contribution, So it's important, Donnie said to do the
(02:20):
math to see which one is going to work out
better for you. 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 contribution, and in that case, you'd want to
take the state five hundred dollars contribution and you're getting
out it's like set a net four hundred dollars win.
So again, all of those details are available on Maryland
(02:40):
five twenty nine dot com. But it just reminded me like,
oh man, there's so 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,
(03:02):
like we want to highlight these things on the show.
We want to make people aware of incredible benefits or
free money. Right, 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
(03:22):
in front of neighborhoods, at least where I live, saying
congrats to these grads and hate where are they going
to college? Well, and for 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.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
But here's one thing.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That I wasn't on my radar until I saw an
article in Indie Week, and it was that college graduates
tend to leave a lot of their possessions behind when
they fly the coup, when they leave the dorm or
whatever campus housing or off camp 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
(04:08):
a trailer to stick all their stuff in, and so
a lot of it ends up at the dumpster. Could
be 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 Weeks. She talked about
salvaging some really nice stuff that graduates were leaving behind
(04:28):
at the school closest to her. High end tables, luxury sneakers,
Lululemon workout stuff like shoved in a bag, fancy appliances
like 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
(04:48):
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,
this is something I'm going to keep, this is something
i'm gonna 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.
(05:09):
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
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.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
And so in the interim you just don't have.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Anywhere to put it, so it ends up on the curb,
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 stuff on
the curb that you otherwise are 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
or of a hassle to take it. And if you
(05:49):
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 that even
if an item is initially more expensive, it can cost
you less over time to buy the nicer thing upfront
(06:10):
and to hold on to it. But then also because
of extreme wealth in this country, when you think about
the fact that like 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 money
based on the fact that based on some arbitrage right,
(06:30):
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.
They've started businesses where they go to thrift stores and
(06:52):
buy stuff and list it on eBay. And I'm not
saying that it's not a job.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
It is.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
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
(07:20):
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 in the trash
and then you know, I don't know, maybe you don't
(07:42):
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
been a cost center into a profit center and still
(08:04):
get something new at the same time.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I just love that that's possible. If you're paying attention,
you're listening to How To Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty, don't forget to sign
up for the how to Money newsletter over at howdimoney
dot com slash newsletter.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Let's take a question now from a listener who wants
to know about taking a road trip. Should he rent
a car or use the one he's got? And actually
it's kind of a question named towards you as.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Well, Angel and Natt. 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
(08:52):
a car. I always struggle with the whole idea of
how confident am I that the haller can make it
there and back with the family. And tell appreciate your
perspective and hope you have a great trip.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
Rob is so polite. He calls it a high mileage
vehicle as opposed to a clunker.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
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 (09:15):
You remember during the Obama administration there was something called
Cash for Clunkers, a government program where you get paid.
That's right, And like they didn't I didn't realize that
was a government brother. They didn't avoid the term. Yeah, yeah,
it was. Well, so that's because they're trying to encourage
you to offload.
Speaker 5 (09:27):
It was all about the great, the evy green transportation man.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
That's right. I think I love this question.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
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 and you know,
when it comes down to it, Matt, we know that
opting for a used car makes so much sense just
from a financial perspective. But if you're scared that, you're
(09:54):
that your 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.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
Are your thoughts?
Speaker 5 (10:06):
I think that's I mean, that's a large consideration as well,
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 4 (10:18):
This is over the course of a couple of weeks.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
And so first of all, there's the depreciation, right There
are estimates that cars depreciate at twenty cents a mile.
I'm guessing that ours is probably less at this point.
But if you run the math, we're talking about losing
six hundred dollars at least in value on the car
by putting it through its paces to this degree, 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,
(10:42):
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 offa Yeah, appreciate your will cost you
more putting those miles on it. And so I will
say I just went ahead and second that out there.
But I'm not really thinking about the depreciation all that much.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
This is our vehicle.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
We're not necessarily looking I guess another way to thinking
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. 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.
(11:20):
We don't want to roll in late. We want it
to unfold. I guess it's the way we want it to,
especially for that private audience with the Pope that you've gotten.
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,
(11:41):
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
miss our tour? You know, things like that.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
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 less likely.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
I would say, it's compared to like one hundred and
fifty thousand mile.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
You're playing the odds. Long in the Is there an equivalent.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
To long in the tooth when it comes to vehicles
like long in the oodometers, long in the radiator.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Or something like that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
So I had to race down there and we man,
we got so lucky with being able to replace the
alternator that day somewhere y Yeah, on a Saturday, nonetheless,
when a lot of shops are closed. But that's the
kind of thing that, yeah, I 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 hassle,
and so yeah, I think you have to take those
(12:42):
things into consideration. And if you're the kind of family
that prioritizes high mileage non clunker vehicles, rob those are
the kind of questions you have to have to wrestle with.
And I think, man, if you were to decide to
take your own van, you'd probably want to have it
at least looked over thoroughly before you went. Sure even
want the fresh oil change right, checking the tires, fluid levels,
spark plugs, all that kind of stuff would be why
(13:03):
same thing for you, Rob, if you're going to opt
to go that route, just make sure your beautifully vintage
vehicle is at 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
(13:23):
unlimited mileage that you're able to get through the rental
car company.
Speaker 5 (13:26):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
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.
(13:48):
You just get every dollar you spend on It just
matters more because of all the mileage you're avoiding putting
on your vehicle, and so I'd be leaning in that direction,
especially with the kind of travels you guys have planned
and the little that the time sensitive nature of not
wanting to screw that up. Yeah, one argument for folks
taking their own car, and this isn't something that we
especially feel, but I have I have heard folks push
(14:09):
back and say, well, I want to take my vehicle
like they have more like they're more car people.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
This is because that they have.
Speaker 5 (14:14):
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 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
(14:34):
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 I get.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
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 to.
Speaker 5 (14:55):
Not even considered the entertainment system, which is what I
assume your friend. Yeah, yeah, no, I think there's also this,
like a is a frugal versus cheap 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
(15:15):
that I already owned, as opposed to straight up for anyone,
because you know, getting stranded on the side of the
interstate or even some country back road where it's just
me and my backpack it's no big deal, says a
little more.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Fun and serendipitous when you're solo than it does been.
Speaker 5 (15:28):
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 (15:43):
Yeah, probably posted picks of our my hitchhiking adventures before
the chainsaw from the old bud like commercials.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Yeah, good times was fun.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
People are more reticent to pick you up when you're
with shady characters like my friend Josh indeed.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
But yeah, I think you're right.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
I mean, I think when one person is and you
can kind of roll with the punches, that's one thing.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
But kids, it's not just the vehicle of the punches. Yeah,
it's it's the party. It's who you're.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Rolling with as well. That is something you got to
take into account.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I think it's similar like the idea of staying at
a hostel. I'm a ful I don't care. That's fine.
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 plan around everybody's goals and dreams.
Speaker 4 (16:22):
I think I would be willing to stay.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
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.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Now. I don't want to sleep.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
On like someone's couch where it's slanted and angled.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
As long as.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
It's quiet, it's a comfort. There's a comfortable mattress, and
I have control of the temperature. I think I would
one percent be able to get a great night's sleep.
Speaker 4 (16:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Side note, all right, Hey, we got more money saving
information to get to.
Speaker 7 (16:46):
You're listening to How to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
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
(17:13):
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
(17:35):
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
(17:56):
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
(18:17):
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
(18:37):
that was highlighted 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 in
(18:58):
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, the
robust data it's able to collect about where you are
and what you're doing. And the insurance companies are like, yeah,
we'd like that because the more information we have, the
(19:19):
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.
(19:40):
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
(20:01):
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 homeowners
insurance front, and having insurance is crucial for most folks.
(20:24):
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
(20:46):
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
the statistic has always a 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, this
(21:09):
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 statistics show that four out of ten
people do own their home and they don't have a
mortgage attached to it. And in that case, you can
(21:31):
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 will find
out if you act your insurance, so you cannot, as
(21:53):
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 going to 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 shopping around for insurance in order to find the
(22:14):
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
(22:34):
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
(22:55):
money to back up that increased deductible that you're taking
on totally.
Speaker 7 (23:01):
You're listening to how to Money with Joel Larsgard on
demand from KFI AM six forty and.
Speaker 5 (23:07):
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 how toomoney dot com forward slash ask.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
This next question comes from a listener who just got married.
Speaker 8 (23:24):
Hey guys, this is justin from Kocomo, Indiana. I just
got married six days ago, 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 4 (23:42):
But not the strategy.
Speaker 8 (23:44):
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
(24:08):
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 Cocomo, come check out
the Coderie in Cocomo, Indiana. It is a cocktail bar,
(24:31):
but we have a huge selection of craft beers and
the best burgers in Indiana.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
Okay, two things. What was it called the Coterie, the Coderie,
the COTTERI and then also Cocomo. That sounds like a
place that should be, like in Hawaii or something.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
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 talk
about this, I don't so I don't think so. But
thank you for that recommendation. Justin sounds like an awesome place.
We're all about cocktails, burgers.
Speaker 5 (24:58):
In addition to delicious craft equal opportunity in bubers. Heck yeah,
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 to to get on the same page.
You're paddling together in the same direction when you combine
your finances, and all the stats point to improved happiness levels.
(25:18):
It points to the ability to move towards those mutual
goals faster. But that being said, I think 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. Joe,
Let's let's get to it.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
Let's do it. Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
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, 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 up
(25:56):
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
joelll tell you to do it, or you're not doing
it right. There are different ways to make this happen
(26:17):
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 station of your finances.
Speaker 4 (26:29):
Right, that's right.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
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 maybe encourage 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 going to love you sickness
and health till the day I die. You're going to
(26:51):
care for 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 honestly all these things
when I 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 have a
(27:13):
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
(27:33):
customer service, and go with them instead of going with
the bank you've been with.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
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 now
for record keeping, I think that can work just fine.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
There's like less to keep track of it. 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
app so it's easy to keep track of it anything
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 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 WINEAPS, so you've got different financial goals that you've
(28:16):
got set up in there. Two accounts is what some
folks are going to advise what we think it's unecessary.
I think it's potentially clunky.
Speaker 5 (28:22):
It also doesn't provide for that individual legal protection for
this assets if the marriage were to dissolve, like Joel said,
for folks who have.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Just more difficult backgrounds.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
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 savings account with my name and you
have one with your name.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
It would be a prenup that would cover yours, right, But.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
In community proper state property states in particular, that money's
still going to get dibbat up fifty to fifty.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
And he mentioned too that his wife doesn't she's not
into WINEAP. I think it's totally okay to divvy up
responsibilities based on your respective strengths and your interests. I
think that you justin you're maybe more of a nerd
accountant CPA type who likes to listen to personal finance podcasts.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
I get it.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
If you are in charge of tracking and spending and
why app 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
(29:31):
extent that she wants to be informed, But beyond that,
I think there's plenty of other things in life.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
That you should be focusing on as opposed to the numbers.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
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. That's true, And you just
talked about kind of the mutual involvement, Matt, and I
(30:01):
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, but you're
having discussions about it openly together. Yeah, because then those
(30:23):
shared goals are going to help determine just how hard
you work towards each individual component of personal finances like investing, saving, spending, giving,
and then those goals are going to shift them morph
over the years, causing you to rethink things right, dialing
back or increasing contributions, amount amounts, and given years. I
think it's okay to have like an eighty twenty or
(30:44):
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 wine nab 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 fifty split. Similar how you might split
up like cooking duties. Maybe it's like, hey, now I'm
(31:05):
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 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 in the dark on all the financial decisions that
(31:25):
get made. And so 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 you
need to be clued in at least a little bit,
even if somebody like the other partner is pulling the
majority of the weight.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
YEP, I agree.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
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, Joel said this, and if.
Speaker 4 (31:59):
You are, she's like, who those guys?
Speaker 5 (32:00):
I mean, 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 is pumped
up to. I'm guessing that's probably not something that she's
(32:20):
going to be all that interested interested in as opposed to, well,
what does that mean for us being able to eat out?
Speaker 6 (32:26):
Like?
Speaker 5 (32:26):
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 help
bring personal finances alive. Because of some of these things
that you want to do in real life, as opposed
to just focusing on the numbers.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
I think that's really important to disinterested party.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
That's the best way to get them at least a
little interested in what you guys are trying to accomplish.
Speaker 1 (32:54):
To get you've been listening to How To Money with
Joel Larsgard. You can always hear us live on KFI
Ams six forty twelve pm to two pm on Sunday,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
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