July 1, 2025 • 7 mins
Amy talks with the host of ‘How to Money’ Joel Larsgaard about the new MVNO cell services, financial advice from TikTok, and MorningStar’s list of the best 529 plans for your kids future education.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's say good morning now to the host of how
to Money on KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's our buddy Joel lars Guard. Morning Joel, morning, Amy.
We know you are going.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
To head out for vacation because this is the last
time we're going to talk to you for a couple
of weeks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Where are you guys going? So we are going to
head over to Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, my wife's best friend lives there, so we'll be
staying with them for a few days and we'll hit
up the Big Island for five.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Or six days.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
And look at that how to Money Joel has figured
out how not to spend money on a hotel room
in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Stay with a friend, especially in expensive places like Hawaii
to go.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Okay, let's talk about these new cell services, their mv
n O. What does m v NO stand for.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Mobile Virtual Network Operator? And what is yeah? Okay, so basically.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It's all of these these new name brands are trying
to establish themselves as name brands. The big three are
you know, Verizon and AT and T and T Mobile.
Those are the ones you see the ads for everywhere.
And if you've been if you're a little more online,
you've seen the ads for companies like mint Mobile, which
is an mb and o that runs on T mobiles network.
(01:08):
But there have just been a proliferation of these mb
and o's and they're essentially, you know, buying space from
the big three and then they're reselling cell service at
a much cheaper price to the general public. And so
if you don't fall for the advertising when you're watching
your favorite sports team, then you're you're actually doing your research.
(01:28):
You could save a ton of money on cell phone service.
And it's amazing. It's one of those things where in
the era of inflation, we have seen a downward trend
in prices on cell phone service, and so what used
to be a good price three years ago, even you're
you're overpaying if you haven't reshopped your cell phone service.
So it's it's really important to re shop. They're Mint Mobile.
I just mentioned they're a great one. Us Mobile is
(01:50):
my current favorite, and they've got some of the best plans.
We're talking about unlimited cell phone service with talk, text
and data as well well. For the low low price
of seventeen dollars and fifty cents a month if you
prepay for a year, that's pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, that and you pre pay for a year, so
it would be about two hundred bucks, right, Yeah, I
mean I pay almost that in a month.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Well, I'm always shocked by this, but when you look
at the stats of what the average I'm always baffled.
I'm like, there's no way this is true. The stats
show that the average person pays something like one hundred
dollars a month for cell phone service, and I'm like
that that can't be right because I'm paying not much
more than that for cell phone service for a full year.
(02:33):
So if that is true, if those numbers really are accurate,
then some people must be paying much more than one
hundred dollars a month. If I'm paying a whole lot less,
and I think a lot of folks think amy, well,
then I must be getting this inferior product. I'm getting
this third rate cell phone service. And you do have
to look at the fine print. For instance, with US Mobile,
(02:54):
yeah it's unlimited data, but after ten gigs, they're going
to throttle you, so you're not going to get as
fast as speeds. The truth is also that most people
don't use even ten gigs in a month because they're
on Wi Fi at work, they're on Wi Fi at home,
and unless you're watching like copious amounts of YouTube videos
when you're driving around in your car or walking the
streets of your neighborhood, you don't need that much data.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
And there are other options out.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
There too, like Google's Google has a pretty good cell
phone service as well that works well overseas. So there
are lots of options in the NB and O world.
What's interesting too, is there these companies. They are new
ones springing up, like the SmartLess podcast the Jason Bateman,
Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. They're creating a SmartLess cell
(03:37):
phone service. I guess it's just easier than ever to
create one of these companies. You know, the President has
a new ish MV and O cell phone service that
they announced just a couple of weeks ago. But just
be careful, be wary what are you getting and how
much are you paying? Because I do believe the President's
is like forty seven dollars a month, and like I said,
I'm paying seventeen dollars a month, So look at the
(03:57):
trade offs between what you're getting and because yeah, I
wouldn't buy it because my favorite podcast host launched one,
I'm looking for the best value cell phone plan and
US Mobile Mint Mobile. Those are typically two of the
top two. I would recommend people check out Okay Perfect.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And then you know, we're doom scrolling all over the place,
and one of those places is TikTok. And so people
are now getting financial advice from TikTok.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, I mean this has been a growing problem right
where there's something about financial advice in sixty seconds that's
cast out to everybody everywhere where.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
There's just it's hard to find nuance.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
And so there's a lot of people saying, well, I
heard this on TikTok and I applied it to my
life and it turns out, actually it didn't work for me.
Think about getting tax advice from TikTok. I mean, it's
so specialized your tax situation and what makes sense for you, you know,
the tax maneuvers that are actually going to help you
save on your taxes versus your neighbor. A lot of
it depends on your how you make your money and
(04:58):
do your own real estate right, all these other things.
And if you're taking your tax advice from TikTok and
they're trying to apply it directly to your life, you
could be making a mistake. And then there's just all
sorts of fraudulent claims on TikTok as well. And again,
I have friends in this space.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Do what I said shocking?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, I know right well, And I have friends in
this space, and they really aren't. They're smart, they're good,
They're delivering good content, good advice on TikTok and on Instagram.
So I'm not like castigating everyone who creates content on
these platforms. I think there are some really well intentioned
people who do offer good advice and who do try
to create the nuance that's necessary. It's just that there's
a lot of people who aren't doing that. And there
(05:37):
was this trend going around lately, and especially with kind
of what's happening with student loan repayment now, where the government,
the current administration is saying, yeah, you got to start
paying your student loan bills again after three and a
half years of not having to, and people are like,
I didn't remember I had student loans.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
How much do I owe again? What's my monthly payment?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And you know, a lot of people are shocked, and
so a lot of people haven't, you know, because they
haven't been paying. They're not paying and their credit score
is getting dinged, and so you're looking for anything, you're
grasping on to hope that somehow, some way you don't
actually have to pay that student loan, and TikTok is
more than happy to oblige and interesting theories of how
you can avoid paying your student loan. And The New
(06:15):
York Times wrote about this recently and they're basically saying, Oh,
you can file acclaim based on privacy, or you can
dispute a student loan record, and this is a way
that you can get your student loan debt erased. And man,
if only it were that easy. In fact, student loan
debt is one of the hardest things to get rid of.
There are special exemptions for student loans where you can't
(06:37):
get rid of them even in bankruptcy court typically. So, yeah,
if you follow this advice on TikTok, you might be
excited to think that you can get rid of your
student loan debt, but it's not going to happen in reality.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Okay, So basically think twice before following financial advice that
you get from a platform known for recipes and dance moves.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, stick to the recipes and dance.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Moves all right. How the money on KFI, it's Joel Larsgard.
You can hear him every Sunday from noon to two.
Have a wonderful vacation. We'll talk to you soon, all right,
Thank you, Amy, all right, take care,
Let's say good morning now to the host of how
to Money on KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
It's our buddy Joel lars Guard. Morning Joel, morning, Amy.
We know you are going.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
To head out for vacation because this is the last
time we're going to talk to you for a couple
of weeks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Where are you guys going? So we are going to
head over to Hawaii.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Nice.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Yeah, my wife's best friend lives there, so we'll be
staying with them for a few days and we'll hit
up the Big Island for five.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Or six days.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
And look at that how to Money Joel has figured
out how not to spend money on a hotel room
in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Stay with a friend, especially in expensive places like Hawaii
to go.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Okay, let's talk about these new cell services, their mv
n O. What does m v NO stand for.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Mobile Virtual Network Operator? And what is yeah? Okay, so basically.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It's all of these these new name brands are trying
to establish themselves as name brands. The big three are
you know, Verizon and AT and T and T Mobile.
Those are the ones you see the ads for everywhere.
And if you've been if you're a little more online,
you've seen the ads for companies like mint Mobile, which
is an mb and o that runs on T mobiles network.
(01:08):
But there have just been a proliferation of these mb
and o's and they're essentially, you know, buying space from
the big three and then they're reselling cell service at
a much cheaper price to the general public. And so
if you don't fall for the advertising when you're watching
your favorite sports team, then you're you're actually doing your research.
(01:28):
You could save a ton of money on cell phone service.
And it's amazing. It's one of those things where in
the era of inflation, we have seen a downward trend
in prices on cell phone service, and so what used
to be a good price three years ago, even you're
you're overpaying if you haven't reshopped your cell phone service.
So it's it's really important to re shop. They're Mint Mobile.
I just mentioned they're a great one. Us Mobile is
(01:50):
my current favorite, and they've got some of the best plans.
We're talking about unlimited cell phone service with talk, text
and data as well well. For the low low price
of seventeen dollars and fifty cents a month if you
prepay for a year, that's pretty incredible.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Okay, that and you pre pay for a year, so
it would be about two hundred bucks, right, Yeah, I
mean I pay almost that in a month.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Well, I'm always shocked by this, but when you look
at the stats of what the average I'm always baffled.
I'm like, there's no way this is true. The stats
show that the average person pays something like one hundred
dollars a month for cell phone service, and I'm like
that that can't be right because I'm paying not much
more than that for cell phone service for a full year.
(02:33):
So if that is true, if those numbers really are accurate,
then some people must be paying much more than one
hundred dollars a month. If I'm paying a whole lot less,
and I think a lot of folks think amy, well,
then I must be getting this inferior product. I'm getting
this third rate cell phone service. And you do have
to look at the fine print. For instance, with US Mobile,
(02:54):
yeah it's unlimited data, but after ten gigs, they're going
to throttle you, so you're not going to get as
fast as speeds. The truth is also that most people
don't use even ten gigs in a month because they're
on Wi Fi at work, they're on Wi Fi at home,
and unless you're watching like copious amounts of YouTube videos
when you're driving around in your car or walking the
streets of your neighborhood, you don't need that much data.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
And there are other options out.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
There too, like Google's Google has a pretty good cell
phone service as well that works well overseas. So there
are lots of options in the NB and O world.
What's interesting too, is there these companies. They are new
ones springing up, like the SmartLess podcast the Jason Bateman,
Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. They're creating a SmartLess cell
(03:37):
phone service. I guess it's just easier than ever to
create one of these companies. You know, the President has
a new ish MV and O cell phone service that
they announced just a couple of weeks ago. But just
be careful, be wary what are you getting and how
much are you paying? Because I do believe the President's
is like forty seven dollars a month, and like I said,
I'm paying seventeen dollars a month, So look at the
(03:57):
trade offs between what you're getting and because yeah, I
wouldn't buy it because my favorite podcast host launched one,
I'm looking for the best value cell phone plan and
US Mobile Mint Mobile. Those are typically two of the
top two. I would recommend people check out Okay Perfect.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And then you know, we're doom scrolling all over the place,
and one of those places is TikTok. And so people
are now getting financial advice from TikTok.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Yeah, I mean this has been a growing problem right
where there's something about financial advice in sixty seconds that's
cast out to everybody everywhere where.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
There's just it's hard to find nuance.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
And so there's a lot of people saying, well, I
heard this on TikTok and I applied it to my
life and it turns out, actually it didn't work for me.
Think about getting tax advice from TikTok. I mean, it's
so specialized your tax situation and what makes sense for you, you know,
the tax maneuvers that are actually going to help you
save on your taxes versus your neighbor. A lot of
it depends on your how you make your money and
(04:58):
do your own real estate right, all these other things.
And if you're taking your tax advice from TikTok and
they're trying to apply it directly to your life, you
could be making a mistake. And then there's just all
sorts of fraudulent claims on TikTok as well. And again,
I have friends in this space.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Do what I said shocking?
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, I know right well, And I have friends in
this space, and they really aren't. They're smart, they're good,
They're delivering good content, good advice on TikTok and on Instagram.
So I'm not like castigating everyone who creates content on
these platforms. I think there are some really well intentioned
people who do offer good advice and who do try
to create the nuance that's necessary. It's just that there's
a lot of people who aren't doing that. And there
(05:37):
was this trend going around lately, and especially with kind
of what's happening with student loan repayment now, where the government,
the current administration is saying, yeah, you got to start
paying your student loan bills again after three and a
half years of not having to, and people are like,
I didn't remember I had student loans.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
How much do I owe again? What's my monthly payment?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And you know, a lot of people are shocked, and
so a lot of people haven't, you know, because they
haven't been paying. They're not paying and their credit score
is getting dinged, and so you're looking for anything, you're
grasping on to hope that somehow, some way you don't
actually have to pay that student loan, and TikTok is
more than happy to oblige and interesting theories of how
you can avoid paying your student loan. And The New
(06:15):
York Times wrote about this recently and they're basically saying, Oh,
you can file acclaim based on privacy, or you can
dispute a student loan record, and this is a way
that you can get your student loan debt erased. And man,
if only it were that easy. In fact, student loan
debt is one of the hardest things to get rid of.
There are special exemptions for student loans where you can't
(06:37):
get rid of them even in bankruptcy court typically. So, yeah,
if you follow this advice on TikTok, you might be
excited to think that you can get rid of your
student loan debt, but it's not going to happen in reality.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Okay, So basically think twice before following financial advice that
you get from a platform known for recipes and dance moves.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, stick to the recipes and dance.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Moves all right. How the money on KFI, it's Joel Larsgard.
You can hear him every Sunday from noon to two.
Have a wonderful vacation. We'll talk to you soon, all right,
Thank you, Amy, all right, take care,
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