August 26, 2025 • 6 mins
Amy talks with the host of ‘How to Money’ Joel Larsgaard about credit card spending slowing and stock market influencing.
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Transcript
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, Joel lars Guard and Joel, I
would think that maybe you would think that one hundred
dollars chicken nuggets topped with caviar is not a good
way to use your money.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hey, you've got me salivating right now. That No, it
sounds terrible. Maybe both of those things separately.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I've had caviar once. I wasn't super impressed. And if
you've got the money and you really want caviar nuggets,
I mean, do your thing. But yeah, going into debt
for it, that's what I have the problem with.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, so let's talk about going into debt credit cards.
Spending is slowing, but debit card use is up.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
And on the face that sounds like a good thing.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
It does. It does, and so but let's dig into
the details just a little bit, Like it is interesting
to see that people are turning back to their debit cards,
and they're putting down their credit cards at least a
little bit more than they have been. And I think
there has been, of course, an overreliance on credit cards
in this country. We've seen know that headline number of
(01:01):
overall credit card debt just continue to increase, surpassing a
trillion dollars last year, And so you might think, okay,
good people are spending a little bit less on the
credit They're being a little more thoughtful because when they
spend with their debit card, it means there's actually money
in their account, And to some degree, I think that
is true, and I'm okay with it. But I also
(01:21):
and it might portend something for the economy as well,
but I am also you know, I like credit cards
for multiple reasons if you can use them properly, which
means paying them off on time and in full. And
part of that is because some of the protections that
credit cards afford, like if someone takes your credit card,
if you lose your credit card, you drop it on
the ground and someone else picks it up and starts
(01:42):
spending money willy nilly like they were you. You're just
not responsible for anything racked up on that credit card,
any purchases that are made, whereas with a debit card,
if you're not paying attention, there is a chance, depending
on your bank policy, but according to federal law, you're
not as well protected. So it might actually be better
instead of switching to a debit card. If you feel
(02:02):
like you can't handle a credit card respons responsibly, cash
might be the better idea instead.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Okay, and.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I I used to use my debit card exclusively and
then I switched over and started using my credit card.
The worry with the credit card for me, and I
don't know how you guys are, but it's that even
though you go and you go, I'm going to pay
it off every month, that you can slip.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yes, I like the idea of people using credit cards
like they would a check book back in the day,
and so I want people to know what their limits
are for everything, to write down their purchases. I have
a friend who literally has a physical book on their
kitchen counter, and when she comes home after doing some shopping,
(02:50):
she writes down the purchases and she's balancing her accounts
like she does a checkbook. And I think, if you're finding, hey,
I like the rewards of credit cards.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I'll like the.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Protections that credit cards offer, but I am worried about
slipping and overdoing it finding a way to manually and
they're used to. There were apps for a minute that
were trying to do this thing. They didn't stand the
test of time. But whatever it takes for you to
be able to use that credit card but not overdo it,
I think it is really important. And so implement a
system that could help you, could help you actually stick
(03:21):
with a credit card without going overboard. But if you
can't do that, I think cash is a better option.
And really what it comes down to, I'm not completely
against debit cards. They're just not my favorite, and so
I would if that is ultimately the system that helps
you stick to your budget, good for you. I think
the other thing is too just the there's even been
(03:43):
like scientific evidence about tapping to pay and just the
ease of making purchases in our modern economy, So finding
ways to create barriers between you and knee jerk purchases,
whether it's a twenty four hour wait period that you
institute before you buy something, because it's so easy to
just be like, need the thing, go buy it right now,
and you don't even shop around, and you don't even
(04:03):
think twice about whether or not you already have that
thing or you can source it elsewhere. That's the kind
of thing that really gets us into trouble.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Okay, all right, so just be cognizant of it.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And I like the idea of just kind of keeping
track of what you're purchasing on your credit card because
it's so easy to get away from you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Number saying and that that is one of the biggest
downsides of credit cards is yeah, they got the protections,
Yeah they got their rewards, but people assume, oh, I'm
getting all these rewards when I spend this is great,
and I can't wait to go on that trip that's
paid for by my spending. But especially when you look
at some you and I talked about this recently, some
of the new credit cards that are out. The business
model they operate on is essentially, hey, the more fancy
(04:42):
subscriptions you have in your life, the more you're gonna
get rewarded. And so these cards they don't just become
rewards for the purchases you're already gonna make. They're trying
to influence the things that you're buying. And they're like, hey, no,
you should sign up for that Peloton membership, No you should.
You should get a clear car, a clear path to
go to the airport. Spend one hundred bucks and yeah,
we'll already fund half of that. I mean there's all
(05:02):
these ways that these credit cards are pushing us to
spend more. They're not just rewarding us for the spending
that we're doing. So yeah, be careful about that too.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Okay, And you just mentioned influencing, and so just real quickly,
we want to touch on how we're letting our political
decisions influence our financial decisions.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, there was a new Gallup poll talking about how
like politics is driving people's thoughts about the economy, where
it's going, and even impacting how they decide to invest.
And this isn't shocking. I mean, it's amazing how people
feel about the country is largely determined on whether it's
an R or a D in the White House, and
I just I think it's I get why, maybe to
(05:46):
a certain extent, but I also think we've placed too
much emphasis on that singular individual and how they're going
to impact the stock market. When you look at history,
it turns out that whether it's A in the White
House have a major I on stock market returns. And
so I hate to see that optimism when pessimism gap
be so extreme. And also people are capitalizing on the
(06:09):
fact that we have extreme political beliefs and there's, for instance,
there's an ETF that's like MAGA focused right, make America
Great Again ETF. It's underperformed the S and P five
hundred significantly, and at the same time, the expenses are
like fifteen x what they are on the basic S
and P five hundred funds or total stock market funds.
And I'm a big fan of So yeah, somebody's making
(06:31):
money on the fact that we're polarized at the same time.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Too great, great, all right, Joel Larsguard.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You can listen to him give you lots and lots
of great financial advice like you just did just now
right here on KFI every Sunday from noon to two.
It's called how to Money, and you can also follow
Joel at how to Money Joel on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Thanks Joel, Thank you. Amy
Let's say good morning now to the host of how
to Money on KFI, Joel lars Guard and Joel, I
would think that maybe you would think that one hundred
dollars chicken nuggets topped with caviar is not a good
way to use your money.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hey, you've got me salivating right now. That No, it
sounds terrible. Maybe both of those things separately.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I've had caviar once. I wasn't super impressed. And if
you've got the money and you really want caviar nuggets,
I mean, do your thing. But yeah, going into debt
for it, that's what I have the problem with.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, so let's talk about going into debt credit cards.
Spending is slowing, but debit card use is up.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
And on the face that sounds like a good thing.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
It does. It does, and so but let's dig into
the details just a little bit, Like it is interesting
to see that people are turning back to their debit cards,
and they're putting down their credit cards at least a
little bit more than they have been. And I think
there has been, of course, an overreliance on credit cards
in this country. We've seen know that headline number of
(01:01):
overall credit card debt just continue to increase, surpassing a
trillion dollars last year, And so you might think, okay,
good people are spending a little bit less on the
credit They're being a little more thoughtful because when they
spend with their debit card, it means there's actually money
in their account, And to some degree, I think that
is true, and I'm okay with it. But I also
(01:21):
and it might portend something for the economy as well,
but I am also you know, I like credit cards
for multiple reasons if you can use them properly, which
means paying them off on time and in full. And
part of that is because some of the protections that
credit cards afford, like if someone takes your credit card,
if you lose your credit card, you drop it on
the ground and someone else picks it up and starts
(01:42):
spending money willy nilly like they were you. You're just
not responsible for anything racked up on that credit card,
any purchases that are made, whereas with a debit card,
if you're not paying attention, there is a chance, depending
on your bank policy, but according to federal law, you're
not as well protected. So it might actually be better
instead of switching to a debit card. If you feel
(02:02):
like you can't handle a credit card respons responsibly, cash
might be the better idea instead.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Okay, and.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I I used to use my debit card exclusively and
then I switched over and started using my credit card.
The worry with the credit card for me, and I
don't know how you guys are, but it's that even
though you go and you go, I'm going to pay
it off every month, that you can slip.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yes, I like the idea of people using credit cards
like they would a check book back in the day,
and so I want people to know what their limits
are for everything, to write down their purchases. I have
a friend who literally has a physical book on their
kitchen counter, and when she comes home after doing some shopping,
(02:50):
she writes down the purchases and she's balancing her accounts
like she does a checkbook. And I think, if you're finding, hey,
I like the rewards of credit cards.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I'll like the.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
Protections that credit cards offer, but I am worried about
slipping and overdoing it finding a way to manually and
they're used to. There were apps for a minute that
were trying to do this thing. They didn't stand the
test of time. But whatever it takes for you to
be able to use that credit card but not overdo it,
I think it is really important. And so implement a
system that could help you, could help you actually stick
(03:21):
with a credit card without going overboard. But if you
can't do that, I think cash is a better option.
And really what it comes down to, I'm not completely
against debit cards. They're just not my favorite, and so
I would if that is ultimately the system that helps
you stick to your budget, good for you. I think
the other thing is too just the there's even been
(03:43):
like scientific evidence about tapping to pay and just the
ease of making purchases in our modern economy, So finding
ways to create barriers between you and knee jerk purchases,
whether it's a twenty four hour wait period that you
institute before you buy something, because it's so easy to
just be like, need the thing, go buy it right now,
and you don't even shop around, and you don't even
(04:03):
think twice about whether or not you already have that
thing or you can source it elsewhere. That's the kind
of thing that really gets us into trouble.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Okay, all right, so just be cognizant of it.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
And I like the idea of just kind of keeping
track of what you're purchasing on your credit card because
it's so easy to get away from you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Number saying and that that is one of the biggest
downsides of credit cards is yeah, they got the protections,
Yeah they got their rewards, but people assume, oh, I'm
getting all these rewards when I spend this is great,
and I can't wait to go on that trip that's
paid for by my spending. But especially when you look
at some you and I talked about this recently, some
of the new credit cards that are out. The business
model they operate on is essentially, hey, the more fancy
(04:42):
subscriptions you have in your life, the more you're gonna
get rewarded. And so these cards they don't just become
rewards for the purchases you're already gonna make. They're trying
to influence the things that you're buying. And they're like, hey, no,
you should sign up for that Peloton membership, No you should.
You should get a clear car, a clear path to
go to the airport. Spend one hundred bucks and yeah,
we'll already fund half of that. I mean there's all
(05:02):
these ways that these credit cards are pushing us to
spend more. They're not just rewarding us for the spending
that we're doing. So yeah, be careful about that too.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Okay, And you just mentioned influencing, and so just real quickly,
we want to touch on how we're letting our political
decisions influence our financial decisions.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Yeah, there was a new Gallup poll talking about how
like politics is driving people's thoughts about the economy, where
it's going, and even impacting how they decide to invest.
And this isn't shocking. I mean, it's amazing how people
feel about the country is largely determined on whether it's
an R or a D in the White House, and
I just I think it's I get why, maybe to
(05:46):
a certain extent, but I also think we've placed too
much emphasis on that singular individual and how they're going
to impact the stock market. When you look at history,
it turns out that whether it's A in the White
House have a major I on stock market returns. And
so I hate to see that optimism when pessimism gap
be so extreme. And also people are capitalizing on the
(06:09):
fact that we have extreme political beliefs and there's, for instance,
there's an ETF that's like MAGA focused right, make America
Great Again ETF. It's underperformed the S and P five
hundred significantly, and at the same time, the expenses are
like fifteen x what they are on the basic S
and P five hundred funds or total stock market funds.
And I'm a big fan of So yeah, somebody's making
(06:31):
money on the fact that we're polarized at the same time.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Too great, great, all right, Joel Larsguard.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
You can listen to him give you lots and lots
of great financial advice like you just did just now
right here on KFI every Sunday from noon to two.
It's called how to Money, and you can also follow
Joel at how to Money Joel on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
Thanks Joel, Thank you. Amy
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