December 23, 2025 • 5 mins
Amy talks with the host of ‘How to Money’ Joel Larsgaard talking about the importance of turning off the lights, new millionaires not feeling rich, and practical things you can do to feel healthier and wealthier in 2026.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's say good morning now to the host of money
on KFI. It's Joel Larsgard.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Morning, Joel Morning Amy.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Okay, so you remember when your parents used to say this,
do you think we're made of money and turn off
the lights? Well maybe mother didn't know best in this case.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Well I resonate with that so much because I have
become that parent, and my kids leave their lights on,
and I in the morning, after I drop them off
for school, I walk upstairs every day and I turn
off all the lights in every bedroom, and I do
it with, you know, just a small amount of anger
(00:39):
simmering beneath the surface. And you know what, that needs
to stop, not just because I need to have a
healthier mental life, Amy, but also because it turns out
it's not costing me that much money. So I typically
think of it as this really frustrating thing because, hey,
if the lights are left on all day, it's going
to be expensive and it's going to add to the
electricity bill. And the truth is it's not actually when
(01:01):
you dig into the details. So when you especially and
this is truly the case, if you have led bulbs
installed in your house, right, so the old incandescent bulbs yes,
some people prefer the light that they emit, but they
cost a lot more to run.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
And so that's these LED bulbs. They used to be expensive.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Now they're like incredibly cheap and they're incredibly cheap to run.
So if you leave I didn't realize this, if you
exactly how cheap this was, if you leave an LED
bulbon for twenty hours, it would cost you three pennies
three pennies. So why am I getting all in a
tizzy about three pennies?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Why are you getting it all in a tizzy? Joel?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I'm not going to anymore. I'm a new man.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Good and you're saving money by running low power bulbs
as opposed to the incandescent, even though I still prefer
incandescent by a mile, just for the light.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
They look good, I agree. But LED bulbs have come
a long way and they've man. I remember when they
used to be five dollars a bulb, and it was
really hard to think about changing out all the light
bulbs in your house. And now you can get pretty
decent LED bulbs for a dollar bulb, Like, it's not
that bad.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And when you out of the savings.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Especially if you have kids who leave the lights on,
put led bulbs at least in their room, and then
just maybe you'll have a little more family harmony this
holiday season.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
One last thing to be grumpy about or grinchy about. Okay,
so there's people who make decent money, they might even
be considered millionaires, but even millionaires aren't feeling rich these days.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, and I totally get this. I mean, this is
from somebody who's like millionaires not feeling rich.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And there's some people.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Who'll be like, oh, that's ridiculous, Like I would love
to be in their position. And something like twenty percent
of Americans have reached millionaire status from investing over many,
many years. And think about even just what's happened with
the stock market over the last fifteen years. The number
of millionaires in this country has quite drupled in the
(03:01):
last fifteen years, so there are a lot more people
who pit millionaire status. It's also true that being a
millionaire it's not quite what it used to be, right,
So a million dollars in twenty fifteen isn't the same
as a million dollars in twenty ten. That being said,
it is still quite a bit of money. And it
was just reading this story story in the Wall Street
Journal about people who consider themselves moderate millionaires, And basically
(03:24):
it's like, Yeah, I have a million dollar net worth,
but I don't feel like I'm rich. And on one hand,
I get that, so much of the time your money
is tied up in these retirement accounts that you can't
tap until you know you reach retirement age, until you're
basically right there around age sixty, and so it feels like, Man,
I'm socking money away for this future. I'm building up
(03:47):
a big net worth, But at what point do I
feel like I get to spend like a millionaire? And
the truth is when you, yeah, well, I think you
can incorporate some of that slowly but surely back into
your life as you've done the right things steadily over
time and saving up a nest egg for your future.
It doesn't have to be all deprivation now. But at
the same time, if you go back and look at
(04:08):
the millionaire next door, right, this Seminole book, which interviewed
a bunch of millionaires, is like, what makes you a millionaire? Well,
driving an older car, like living on less than you earn,
like living below your means is a crucial part of
reaching that status in general. And so it's not that
I want people to not abandon the habits that got
them there, but I also want them to be able
(04:29):
to enjoy some of the here and now.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
That's why on the show we.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Talk about the craft beer equivalent, because I'm a big
craft beer guy. So should I wait to drink awesome
craft beer until I reach retirement age? Of course, not
like I should be drinking awesome craft beers now. And
everyone should figure out what that is for themselves so
that they can incorporate spending on the things that matter
to them while they're still saving and investing for the future.
It's really important to do both and and not be
(04:53):
grinch like about your spending. But hey be like, hey, yeah,
I want to reach millionaire status, but it also doesn't
mean I can spend like I'm making a million bucks
a year, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Okay, So, speaking of money, and after the first of
the year, we've done our splurging and Christmas and that
kind of stuff, I want to just a little preview.
I've talked to you about like three practical, easy things
you can do for a healthier, wealthier twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So let's do it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Let's do that after the new year.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Okay, I'm in great.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Thank you, Joe larscard to have a merry Christmas. We'll
talk to you next year.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
He was well, sounds good. Thanks. Hey,
Let's say good morning now to the host of money
on KFI. It's Joel Larsgard.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Morning, Joel Morning Amy.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Okay, so you remember when your parents used to say this,
do you think we're made of money and turn off
the lights? Well maybe mother didn't know best in this case.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Well I resonate with that so much because I have
become that parent, and my kids leave their lights on,
and I in the morning, after I drop them off
for school, I walk upstairs every day and I turn
off all the lights in every bedroom, and I do
it with, you know, just a small amount of anger
(00:39):
simmering beneath the surface. And you know what, that needs
to stop, not just because I need to have a
healthier mental life, Amy, but also because it turns out
it's not costing me that much money. So I typically
think of it as this really frustrating thing because, hey,
if the lights are left on all day, it's going
to be expensive and it's going to add to the
electricity bill. And the truth is it's not actually when
(01:01):
you dig into the details. So when you especially and
this is truly the case, if you have led bulbs
installed in your house, right, so the old incandescent bulbs yes,
some people prefer the light that they emit, but they
cost a lot more to run.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
And so that's these LED bulbs. They used to be expensive.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Now they're like incredibly cheap and they're incredibly cheap to run.
So if you leave I didn't realize this, if you
exactly how cheap this was, if you leave an LED
bulbon for twenty hours, it would cost you three pennies
three pennies. So why am I getting all in a
tizzy about three pennies?
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Why are you getting it all in a tizzy? Joel?
Speaker 2 (01:37):
I'm not going to anymore. I'm a new man.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Good and you're saving money by running low power bulbs
as opposed to the incandescent, even though I still prefer
incandescent by a mile, just for the light.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
They look good, I agree. But LED bulbs have come
a long way and they've man. I remember when they
used to be five dollars a bulb, and it was
really hard to think about changing out all the light
bulbs in your house. And now you can get pretty
decent LED bulbs for a dollar bulb, Like, it's not
that bad.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
And when you out of the savings.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Especially if you have kids who leave the lights on,
put led bulbs at least in their room, and then
just maybe you'll have a little more family harmony this
holiday season.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
One last thing to be grumpy about or grinchy about. Okay,
so there's people who make decent money, they might even
be considered millionaires, but even millionaires aren't feeling rich these days.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, and I totally get this. I mean, this is
from somebody who's like millionaires not feeling rich.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
And there's some people.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Who'll be like, oh, that's ridiculous, Like I would love
to be in their position. And something like twenty percent
of Americans have reached millionaire status from investing over many,
many years. And think about even just what's happened with
the stock market over the last fifteen years. The number
of millionaires in this country has quite drupled in the
(03:01):
last fifteen years, so there are a lot more people
who pit millionaire status. It's also true that being a
millionaire it's not quite what it used to be, right,
So a million dollars in twenty fifteen isn't the same
as a million dollars in twenty ten. That being said,
it is still quite a bit of money. And it
was just reading this story story in the Wall Street
Journal about people who consider themselves moderate millionaires, And basically
(03:24):
it's like, Yeah, I have a million dollar net worth,
but I don't feel like I'm rich. And on one hand,
I get that, so much of the time your money
is tied up in these retirement accounts that you can't
tap until you know you reach retirement age, until you're
basically right there around age sixty, and so it feels like, Man,
I'm socking money away for this future. I'm building up
(03:47):
a big net worth, But at what point do I
feel like I get to spend like a millionaire? And
the truth is when you, yeah, well, I think you
can incorporate some of that slowly but surely back into
your life as you've done the right things steadily over
time and saving up a nest egg for your future.
It doesn't have to be all deprivation now. But at
the same time, if you go back and look at
(04:08):
the millionaire next door, right, this Seminole book, which interviewed
a bunch of millionaires, is like, what makes you a millionaire? Well,
driving an older car, like living on less than you earn,
like living below your means is a crucial part of
reaching that status in general. And so it's not that
I want people to not abandon the habits that got
them there, but I also want them to be able
(04:29):
to enjoy some of the here and now.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
That's why on the show we.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Talk about the craft beer equivalent, because I'm a big
craft beer guy. So should I wait to drink awesome
craft beer until I reach retirement age? Of course, not
like I should be drinking awesome craft beers now. And
everyone should figure out what that is for themselves so
that they can incorporate spending on the things that matter
to them while they're still saving and investing for the future.
It's really important to do both and and not be
(04:53):
grinch like about your spending. But hey be like, hey, yeah,
I want to reach millionaire status, but it also doesn't
mean I can spend like I'm making a million bucks
a year, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Okay, So, speaking of money, and after the first of
the year, we've done our splurging and Christmas and that
kind of stuff, I want to just a little preview.
I've talked to you about like three practical, easy things
you can do for a healthier, wealthier twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
So let's do it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Let's do that after the new year.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Okay, I'm in great.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Thank you, Joe larscard to have a merry Christmas. We'll
talk to you next year.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
He was well, sounds good. Thanks. Hey,
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