Ask HTM - Marriage Goals Over Investing, SS Survivor Benefits at Age 30, & Best Cars for New Mamas #1120

Summary

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Podcast Summary: How to Money – Episode #1120

"Ask HTM – Marriage Goals Over Investing, SS Survivor Benefits at Age 30, & Best Cars for New Mamas"
Original Air Date: March 30, 2026
Hosts: Joel & Matt
Podcast: How to Money (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

This episode features co-hosts Joel and Matt answering diverse listener questions about what to prioritize when new funds become available (especially balancing marriage goals and investing), the reality of Social Security survivor benefits for young families, strategies for unmarried couples claiming dependents, choosing the best car as a new parent, and how to divvy up an inheritance when faced with medical expenses. With plenty of practical tips, personal anecdotes, and their characteristically conversational style, the guys blend solid financial guidance with a dose of humor and real-life experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Buying Used vs. New: Shoe Deals & Middleperson Value

Segment: 02:52–08:15

• Matt describes how he saved money by buying "used" (basically new) trail running shoes off eBay.
• Importance of learning how to recognize great deals and using pictures (like shoe tread) as proof of condition.
• Discussion about middle-people (sellers/flippers): While some criticize “middlemen,” Matt and Joel argue they provide real value by doing the legwork many people aren’t willing to do.
• “Some people love it. Some people are like, please let me go to an estate sale every weekend. Let me hit up all the thrifts.” – Matt, [07:36]
• Takeaway: Don’t overlook “used” marketplaces—they can deliver real savings and new-to-you items.

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2. Listener Q1 – Prioritizing Financial Goals After Paying Off Debt

Segment: 09:17–24:21

Listener Eric (Colorado):

• 29, renter, $6,000 emergency fund, maximizing 401a (6% match), some 457b, just paid off car loan and student loans. Wondering whether to boost emergency funds, invest more for retirement, or start saving for marriage.

Hosts’ Guidance:

• Celebrate the freedom of no more auto or student loan payments.
• Emergency fund: $6,000 is a good start, but for renters with no kids, aim for at least three months' expenses—probably higher than $6k for more cushion. “I think that’s probably not quite enough to have the comfort you need... Three months should be sufficient.” – Joel, [13:43]
• Next: Roth IRA vs. 457b
  • Roth IRA often the better next move: lower (or no) fees, post-tax growth, flexibility (can withdraw contributions without penalty in emergencies).
  • “The ability to have those two tax buckets to be able to draw from... is a good position to put yourself in.” – Matt, [15:00]
• Marriage as a goal:
  • Don’t delay marriage simply for financial milestones, unless you’re talking about a big, expensive wedding celebration (which can be scaled as circumstances allow).
  • “Getting married is not a Money Gear 7 kind of goal. Agreed. It's this thing that—oh, like, why wait?” – Matt, [18:02]
  • Prioritize the commitment and relationship, not just the party.
• Strategy: Build up emergency fund → consider Roth IRA → plan for marriage (the commitment, not the costly party).

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3. Listener Q2 – Social Security Survivor Benefits vs. Term Life Insurance

Segment: 28:50–39:30

Listener Brianna (Chicago):

• Asks if Social Security spousal survivor benefits make term life insurance unnecessary when considering potential reliance on those if spouse dies (especially when there’s already savings).

Hosts’ Guidance:

• Survivor benefits are real but rarely enough for total financial needs, especially if you have kids.
• "For a moderate to high earner, SSA survivor benefits typically replace only a portion of the income." – Joel, [30:33]
• Survivor benefits act as a floor; term life insurance provides the flexibility and security for your family’s future.
• Lump sum from Social Security is minimal (“like, 250 bucks” – Matt, [34:05]), compared to hundreds of thousands from a term life policy.
• Term life insurance is very affordable and offers true peace of mind—worth it for families with dependents.
• Goal: Eventually self-insure as your net worth grows and kids leave home, but for most, term life is essential during the high-dependency years.

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4. Listener Q3 – Child Tax Credits for Unmarried Couples

Segment: 39:54–47:16

Listener Erica (Salt Lake City):

• Unmarried parents: two kids, she claims the first as a dependent and uses a Dependent Care FSA through work; asking about best arrangement for tax credits with two kids going forward (FSA, head of household, etc.).

Hosts’ Guidance:

• One person can claim the child tax credit for a given child in a year.
• Evaluate which partner benefits more: Sometimes a lower-earning partner claiming both kids can unlock maximum Earned Income Tax Credit.
• Dependent Care FSA limit is per taxpayer (not per household, if unmarried), allowing for potentially $10,000 (vs. $5,000 for married filing jointly) to be shielded from tax if both claim a child.
• Utilize "head of household" status for the higher earner and largest standard deduction.
• “What you need to be focusing on is your entire household, you and your partner combined together.” – Matt, [46:31]
• Key: Coordinate between partners to maximize total household tax savings, not just individual returns.

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5. Listener Q4 – What Car Should a New Mom Buy?

Segment: 51:01–56:57

Listener Nina:

• Single, bought an 8-year-old luxury car that’s now 12 years old and “near the end of its life.” She’s expecting her first child and asks for car replacement recommendations from other parents.

Hosts’ Guidance:

• Don’t assume 12 years is “end of life”—well-maintained cars can last hundreds of thousands of miles.
• Having one child doesn’t require a totally new car; evaluate need vs. want.
• Leather (luxury) interiors can actually be easier to clean with little kids than cloth.
• “End of life is in the eye of the beholder… this car in particular has a lot of room left to run.” – Joel, [52:04]
• If upgrading, consider the Mazda 5: affordable, sliding doors, mini-minivan vibes, suitable for young families.
• Recommendation: Maintain current car as long as safely possible; avoid unnecessary upgrade costs.

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6. Listener Q5 – Allocating a $100,000 Inheritance During Medical Hardship

Segment: 56:58–62:22

Listener (Anonymous):

• $185k mortgage @ 6.5%, kids’ 529 plans, HSA/Roth/401k, $100k inheritance incoming but needs to preserve cash due to son’s serious medical needs.

Hosts’ Guidance:

• Priority: Maintain flexibility and security – don’t spread funds too thin.
• Strongly suggest reserving $30–40k in accessible high yield savings for immediate/future medical needs, especially after recent years of high healthcare expenses.
• “I feel like she's drastically underestimating potential future medical expenses…” – Matt, [58:03]
• De-prioritize 529s and mortgage prepayment while weathering uncertainty; focus on accessible funds.
• Funding IRAs is fine (since contributions are accessible), as is using some (e.g., $10k) for “memory-making” like a family trip.
• “It’s an inheritance so… if you can spend 10% of it, or maybe, yeah, if there’s more taxation... then put the majority of it towards stuff that's going to bolster your ability to live the life you want and to be there for your son...” – Joel, [62:02]

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Notable Quotes

• On side hustlers and resellers:
  “Middle people, middle people, people of middle earth. They do something to grease the wheels of the system…” – Matt, [07:20]

• On avoiding car loans:
  "Our hope is for you to never have a car loan ever again." – Joel, [11:00]

• On marriage as a money goal:
  "Getting married is not a Money Gear 7 kind of goal... this is your closest relationship. That rises above everything else." – Matt, [18:02 & 19:50]

• On Social Security survivor benefits:
  "Survivor benefits act as a floor; term life insurance provides the flexibility and security for your family's future." – Joel/Matt, [32:54]

• On maximizing tax credits for unmarried couples:
  "Work together as a household—minimize taxes over the long run, not just a single year." – Matt, [46:31]

• On new cars for new parents:
  "End of life is in the eye of the beholder... this car probably has a lot of room left to run." – Joel, [52:04]

• On inheritance allocation in tough times:
  “If you spread your money too thin and you put it into these illiquid places, the chances that you feel more pressure... that could hit and that could feel really awful.” – Joel, [59:46]

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Used gear and value of resellers: [02:52–08:15]
• Listener Eric – Financial priorities after loan payoff: [09:17–24:21]
• Listener Brianna – Social Security survivor benefits vs. term life: [28:50–39:30]
• Listener Erica – Tax credits/unmarried partners: [39:54–47:16]
• Nina – Best cars for new mamas: [51:01–56:57]
• Anonymous – Inheritance & medical needs allocation: [56:58–62:22]
• Beer review: Wonderstruck Triple IPA: [62:22–end]

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Memorable Moments

• Matt and Joel joking about Matt's used running shoe “air quotes” purchase and the invaluable role of resellers (“people of middle earth”).
• The story of selling beloved two-wheeled rides (Colonel Mustard and the CB 550) to fund engagement rings, illustrating financial trade-offs.
• Friendly banter about how “end of life” for a car is debatable, especially given today’s long-lived vehicles and the value of what you already own.

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Final Thoughts

Throughout the episode, Joel and Matt emphasize purposeful decision-making, flexibility, and keeping values (especially family and relationships) front and center when navigating financial choices. Their advice consistently highlights the importance of balancing smart investing and saving with the realities of life’s major milestones, unpredictable challenges, and the need to enjoy the journey along the way.

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Share your questions or listen to more at: HowToMoney.com
Submit your own questions via the voice memo app to [e-mail]

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Get [e-mail] future expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your account. Apply Fidelity Brokerage Services member NYSE SIPC welcome to how to Money.

[A]

I'm Joel and I am Matt.

[B]

Today we're answering your listener question.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So this is, is this the first time we've spoken today? Some days we, there are some days when we are chatting about these. Well, we both show up early, we go get our coffee like on Mondays or Tuesdays. When we do that, we always catch up. But then some days if we kind of like, if one of us shows up a little bit earlier, the, you know, vice versa and like the other one's kind of working and then like you jumped on a call like. I don't know. I feel like we haven't, we haven't chatted yet today, so this might be the very first. Did you go for a run this morning? How was it?

[B]

Duh. Yes. You know, I was actually just listening to something about habits and.

[A]

Were you reading some James Clear?

[B]

No, no, this is a more spiritual minded book. But they're talking about habit formation and one of the suggestions that's made is that to ditch a bad habit. And this is actually. He quotes James Clear. Oh, did it in this book.

[A]

There you go. It's hard to get away from him.

[B]

You replace it with a good habit and running has been my good habit. And I will say some bad habits have fallen to the wayside.

[A]

Yeah, you don't smoke nearly as much as you used to. Only in the first mile when you're warming up.

[B]

Right, right. That's fine.

[A]

Yeah, gotta warm up the lungs and

[B]

the by mile six and the quads. Yeah, put down the cigarettes, you know.

[A]

You know, I wanted to share something real quick. Cause last week. Are you gonna gift me some like old stinky socks or something?

[B]

I did. I do think after last week I should have a gift for you this week.

[A]

But. No, no, no, it's all good. I did think about how I recently though purchased some used shoes off of ebay. And when I say used shoes, what you don't see are the very exaggerated air quotes that I'm putting around used. Because dude, and you've seen these shoes. These jokers were brand new. These are. It was. I was looking for a new trail running shoe.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like I'm a big ultra guy and spending some more time out on the trails found these temps which I've never worn before, which I've never.

[B]

One of the specific makes of their shoes and models or whatever.

[A]

And so I was like, oh my gosh, here's a great way to try these bad boys out for 40 something dollars. And again you can always tell because if they include a picture of the bottom of the shoe and you can see like the very fine molding on the, you know, you got the big treads, but then even within that, they've got like tiny little texture on the actual lugs or whatever. Dude, I knew that these shoes had not been worn. And it's just a great way to keep a pair of shoes from ending up in the landfill. Not to mention, of course, it's saving me a ton of money. And it's a pair of shoes that maybe I wouldn't have otherwise tried because I'm like, well, I don't want to drop 120 bucks on this thing. Yeah, Like, I think now, honestly, they're even more than that. They're like 150, 160 list price. But to be able to try these out, and granted they're an older model, but if you can get behind that, man, if you're okay with that, it's a great way to save a ton of money. How.

[B]

How hard is it to find? Is it like finding a needle in a haystack, diamond in the rough? Or is it like, I don't know, every time I log on ebay, I can find a great pair of barely used shoes for like a third of

[A]

the price for about, I would say, with 10 minutes or less time spent looking, because there are tons of ultra size 9 and a half, which is what I wear. But knowing your. I mean, that's the other part.

[B]

If you have some used ultras, feel free to send them in and mail to Matt right now.

[A]

I mean, that's the other great thing too. If you have a brand that you know, like, I just know that the nine and a half's are gonna fit me perfectly. That's what I'm looking for. And yet, like, you gotta kind of wade through some terrible listings where you're just like, dude, you just need to throw those. Nobody wants those shoes. And you got them listed for 50. Get out of here. Yeah, but then you find. Yeah, like a. I don't know. I think in particular, if you can find. I have found the most luck with getting older pairs that are in virtually new condition. Like the pair that I'm wearing now or that I ran in recently with you. I don't think they'd ever been worn before. Like, truly, they had been laced up and maybe they'd been walked around inside the home on carpet or something like that. But so, yeah, right now you're on temp sixes or something like that. So if you're down with like the temp twos or one and a half or whatever, hey, save a ton of money.

[B]

And the reason they're probably selling it and not able to get as much is because, well, the return window passed even though I didn't wear. And then they're just like cleaning out their closet and they're like, I got to get something for this. I got to salvage some sort of.

[A]

Or in this case, I think it's. It was someone who. That's just what they do. They just find these items and they sell them.

[B]

So which is a real.

[A]

Which means they probably found them either

[B]

at a garage sale or yard sale

[A]

or maybe even the thrift store.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Making a 10x profit. So.

[B]

And at some point you buy them

[A]

for four bucks, sell them for 40 something. Hey, why not? I do love side hustle.

[B]

Sometimes we talk smack about middlemen in, you know, in our society. Like, oh, they're just, they're leeching off the system or something.

[A]

Taking a cut.

[B]

But middlemen kind of make in women too. Middle women. I want to be fair.

[A]

Middle people.

[B]

Middle people. Middle people. People of middle earth. They have like, they do something to grease the wheels of the system where

[A]

I would not spend the amount of time required to find that pair of shoes going to all the yard sales or scouring all the different Goodwills.

[B]

And I'm happy they get their cut because they're.

[A]

They provide me value. Yeah, I don't want to spend my time doing that. But they are happy to. They should be paid.

[B]

Some people love it. Some people are like, please let me go to an estate sale every weekend. Let me hit up all the thrifts. Like, I had a buddy, I think talked about this on the show before. That was what that was. What he did for a long time was furniture, clothing reseller. Now he's a furniture reseller and he just makes money finding those diamonds in the rough, getting them ship shape, taking good pictures and guess what? Otherwise I have to do all that hard work. Although I can't afford his furniture.

[A]

Especially folks who are willing to drop 6,000 on some sort of mid century sofa or something. You know, lounger, it's. Yeah. Those are the folks who are willing to pay for that.

[B]

Yep. Some of those pieces are insane.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Let's mention the beer we're having on this episode, Matt. This is called Wonderstruck. It's a triple ipa, which means it's a beast. This is by Single Speed Brewing, but actually with a couple of their buddies, Back Pocket and Peace Tree Brewing Company. So we'll give our thoughts on this one at the end of the episode. Another beer from Iowa. So big thanks to listener Clint. Oh, yeah, our way. This looks awesome, by the way.

[A]

Looking forward to it.

[B]

By the way, if you have a money question we want to hear from you. We want you to record it on the voice memo app of your phone and to send it directly over to us. Howtomoneypodmail.com Just say your name at the very beginning, send it on over, and hopefully we can take it next week on the show. We love your money questions. We need your money questions in order to be able to pull these episodes off. So if you're like, I've had one, I've been ruminating on it. I've thought about it, but man, it just sounds like a pain. It's actually really easy. It's real quick and we'd love to hear from you. So make it happen. All right, Matt, let's get to first question for this episode. This is specifically a question about what to do when there's more money coming in.

[C]

Hi, Joel and Matt. My name is Eric and I'm from Colorado. I'm looking for some money gear, advice. My partner and I are 29. We are renters and we have about $6,000 in emergency funds. I work full time year round. She works seasonally. My job provides a 401A plan with a 6% match and a standard 457B plan, but no match. I maximize the 401A plan and contribute a little extra to 457. We just paid off our car loan and we only have one vehicle. I'm excited that I just finished off my student loans. We're wondering, with our increased cash flow, what do we focus on? Do we go to gear four and pad our emergency fund for more cushion and more flexibility? Would you say you want to aim for the three month, six month or a year? With our situation we are considering, should I contribute more to my employer offered 457B plan or start a separate Roth IRA or do we go straight to year seven if we're comfortable enough and start focusing on saving money for getting married? Is it better that we tackle one year fully at a time or is it okay to split the difference? Thanks for your time. Big fan of the show.

[A]

All right, Joel, Eric is trying to figure out what to do next. You know what I just realized, too? I didn't share some of the topics we're going to discuss today, but for instance, we got a listener who's looking to tackle some life goals like saving for retirement, getting married. That's what this one obviously is about. But yeah, first of all, Eric, the fact that you don't have any student loans, you don't have a car loan, this is going to very much change your monthly financial situation. Honestly, I think everybody who's listening to the show, like all listeners, should get to experience that. So well done there. And yeah, our hope is for you to never have a car loan ever again.

[B]

To feel how good it is and then want to feel that way, to

[A]

be free all the time, to not have it hanging over your head. I think it might be the single biggest obstacle for a lot of folks to building financial freedom. So, yeah, experiencing this payment freedom, it should be a nice incentive to keep your car costs low and to encourage you to save up for your future car needs.

[B]

It's almost like if you've been living your life on not enough sleep, and then for like a week, you're on vacation and you get enough rest and you're like, gosh, it feels really good.

[A]

This is what I'm supposed to feel like.

[B]

Then go back into your normal routine and try to carve out an extra hour and a half, two hours of sleep so you can feel like that all, all the time. Matt, I think everybody differs in their sleep needs, although generally speaking, we all need roughly seven and a half hours. But I've got, like, I think I'm one of the people who needs more. Like, I think I need at least eight. Eight and a half is ideal for me.

[A]

And I end up like, was it Arianna Huffington who's like, oh, I need 11 hours of sleep every night in order to.

[B]

Not quite.

[A]

There's my full potential.

[B]

But my goodness, that would be nice. But I have a friend who swears he can get by on like five. And dude, yeah. He says there's, like, some sort of gene that's morphed in and like, something like sub 1% of the population has the ability to continue to thrive on less than five hours or right around five hours of sleep?

[A]

It's possible. But would life be better? Would you feel slightly less stressed? Would your blood pressure be lower? Would you recover fast, like, all, all of these things? Would you be more patient with your kids? Like, there's all these things that. Could they be better were you to actually get a little bit more sleep? I don't know. It's hard to not argue that unless he has done some a B testing. He's like, nope, I'm just as awesome.

[B]

Well, sorry.

[A]

So, okay, great.

[B]

Sorry for the sleep diversion, but it just made me think, like, that's, that's what it's like, to pay off your car loan, you feel this new freedom. Don't. Don't go back into that.

[A]

I feel refreshed.

[B]

Yeah. People are like, great, for a little while, I won't have a car loan and then I'm gonna get another one again at some point. It's like now, just keep avoiding it like that. That's. That's just a good way to live.

[A]

You don't want that thing.

[B]

That's healthy. And you know, it sounds like you're doing a solid job saving for retirement already, Eric, but you're not like on a course for fire in 10 years or something like that. But who cares? That's not our jam. Anyway, on this podcast, ideally you'd be stocking money into a Roth IRA as well. But yeah, when it comes down to it, money gear number four comes before money gear number five for a reason. And 6,000 bucks is what you mentioned you had in your emergency fund. I think that's probably not quite enough to have the comfort you need. Right, Agreed. It's a great start. Like, you're rocking it, you're on your way. But I think that's the next best thing is to increase how much you have in your emergency fund. Your renters, you don't have kids, I don't think. Which means three months worth of expenses should be sufficient. Right. Repairs aren't on you and you don't have like. I don't know if I've mentioned this on the show, Matt.

[A]

The.

[B]

An emergency visit through the orthodontist that we had to make. Like last year with our daughter. She was like, had her hands on the skateboard and then the skate on her knees. We talked about that face plant. And like those kinds of emergency visits can cost a lot of money when you don't have kids. Like your emergency fund I think can be maybe a little bit less thorough. Yeah, right.

[A]

A little leaner, but I don't know about 3k lean. I'm sorry, 6k lean.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. But 3 months lean probably. Right. That should, that should be sufficient. So we'd love to see you increase that buffer before endeavoring to suck more money away for your long term future.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

With this higher cash flow, my guess is it's just not going to take too long for you to hit that goal.

[A]

Totally agree.

[B]

You already got 6k. How long is it going to take to get three months worth of expenses?

[A]

Full three. And honestly, I don't think he needs, I'm guessing him and his partner, that they don't need to have a ton more because he is obviously very comfortable with the increased risk that he's taking on. Just with the $6,000 he can handle it emotionally. I just want to make sure that he can handle it financially. Right. Like because there are certain things that come along. Right. Like what is the deductible on your car insurance? What does it look like?

[B]

Or health insurance.

[A]

Yeah. And like you've got a full time job, like you work year round. But maybe I could change. Like there are just so many different factors there. I want you to be a little more. I would love for you to be more bulletproof, more robust, more durable, to be able to handle whatever it is that life throws at you. Then after that. Yes. Then the Roth IRA is likely going to be your next, next best bet. Putting money into that 457, that's not bad. But the Roth IRA is the better choice. And that is for a few reasons. One is that the fees, and this is of course if you opt for a low cost brokerage, the fees can be incredibly low to either non existent. And that's not always the case when it comes to 457s but it's also because of the different tax status. So you'd start to be able to accrue money in a post tax account in addition to your pre tax one, the 401A. So yeah, the ability to have those two tax buckets to be able to draw from not knowing exactly where things are going to be 20, 30, 40 years from now is a good position to put yourself in. And there's just a whole lot of flexibility with a Roth that we love, not only from a tax standpoint, but also the ability to pull some of those contributions if you find yourself in a weird situation down the road.

[B]

Yeah. So what you're getting at, Matt, let's talk about the flexibility of the Roth for just a second one is that, yeah, those contributions can be withdrawn at any point in time, which makes the Roth a perfect backup to the emergency fund. So let's say you have three months worth of liquid savings in a high yield savings account, but you're able to max out your Roth for many years in a row over time. The goal is to never pull money out of the Roth until you're reaching retirement age. So you need the money. But it's nice to think of that as like a, an emergency emergency fund backup to the backup. Yeah.

[A]

One additional layer of redundancy.

[B]

That's right, that's right. So it doesn't hurt.

[A]

Let's just say.

[B]

Right.

[A]

As opposed to getting hit with a 10% penalty. Yeah. With tax deferred.

[B]

That is one of the best features. And in some ways, like, I don't love that it exists. Like, there was one time, or very early on in my money journey, I took money, some of those contributions out of my Roth ira. And looking back, I was like, I had the savings on hand. I just, like, didn't want to.

[A]

You don't want to deplete your savings.

[B]

I didn't want to deplete. I talked about that. Yeah.

[A]

Or maybe it's been a long time.

[B]

So it was. It was just one of those things

[A]

where I should intentionally forget things. That way you can.

[B]

We can reshare them.

[A]

It's like, no way that happened to you.

[B]

It's just automatically happening, bro. We're getting that old. We forget things called cognitive decline. That's right. But I remember doing that, and I was like, it's probably not that big of a deal. And then you look at what's happened with the market, and if I took $3,000 out of my Roth IRA, what would that be worth today? And then what's that going to be worth, you know, in the next 15 or 20 years when I'm ready to tap that money? It actually was a bigger deal than I thought it was at the time. So, yeah, we prefer you, of course, to never take money out of the Roth IRA until you're closer to retirement age. But the fact that you can access some of the money is a benefit. So, yeah, I think pat your E fund at three months and then go Roth ira, and then you're kind of sort of by proxy, adding to the months that you have on hand for your emergency fund at the same time.

[A]

Yeah. Also, Eric mentioned getting married, and here's something that's really interesting to me. He essentially put getting married in money gear 7 sort of as, like, this sort of far off, wouldn't it be nice kind of goal. And I totally disagree with that approach. To me, getting married is not a Money Gear 7 kind of goal. Agreed. It's this thing that. Oh, like, why wait? Like, if you know that y' all want to get married, this is. Okay, so here's a. There's a big distinction between getting married and throwing a big, massive wedding. Right. And so if what you're talking about here is throwing a big, massive wedding, okay. Maybe there is a way where both of these. Of these things can kind of simultaneously coexist. Right. Where y' all go get married. So you're legally married. You're married, filing jointly. Right. Like you're doing all the things. But maybe it looks like a bigger party a year or two, two from now because you want to be able to save up the money for that. I totally understand that. But if you are actually postponing, actually getting married because you feel like you need to save up a certain amount of money, I think that's not something I would, honestly, I don't think I wouldn't postpone on that. There's some things that I think are more important than feeling like you're going to be perfectly ready. Because guess what? Depending on the individual or the couple, that could be perpetually off in the future thinking, oh, a little bit more. Oh, we're not quite ready. Same thing with kids. You never feel completely ready to have kids. It just kind of happens. And you're like, okay, I guess we're doing this.

[B]

It doesn't just kind of happen.

[A]

It does just happen. But it does kind of feel like that sometimes. It's like magic. Whoa. But there's the difference, though. I think some folks are going to hear that and are like, okay, well, you can take that same logic and apply it to, I really want to go on this vacation. This is the kind of life I want to. I want to lead. But like, what is when I think about getting married and when I think about kids, what is at the core of those aspects of life that somebody might call a luxury?

[C]

Right.

[A]

Like a Money Gear 7 kind of goal. But that's relationship. And not only relationship, but like your most core, the closest relationship you could ever potentially have with another human being, that being your spouse, but then also your kids. And that is, I dare say, the most important thing and rises above everything else. So in my mind, it doesn't. It doesn't come anywhere near as being the same as a house or a car or a vacation or all of these other things.

[B]

It's not a consumer good, it's a commitment. Right. And.

[A]

Yes. Yeah. And it's.

[B]

And it's like a. A day, a celebration to mark that commitment. So the actual wedding. Yeah. So I think it's worth talking about, well, how much do we set aside for that? And, and how important about financial goal? For sure.

[A]

Plan it out.

[B]

You need to. But I think you're right to highlight the importance and to say that, yeah, this is not a money gear number seven thing, a boat or whatever, or like all the other things you're mentioning for sure. But like.

[A]

Or a big fancy destination wedding. Yeah, that Feels more like a lifestyle choice as opposed to getting married. Yeah.

[B]

So I think it's a good idea to come up with like an ideal budget and timeline. And we want you to consider what you want for the big day and then the trade offs that you have to make in order to get there. That process, it might make you dial back your, your expectations just a little bit. You might, I don't know, cancel the band in favor of a DJ or something like that. Or you might say, you know what? We really want to accomplish these. We want to get married a year from now, but we also want to accomplish these other things. Maybe you shrink the invite list a bit in order to have a slightly smaller wedding at a smaller venue that's going to cost a lot less or you opt for a weekday wedding. Those are not ridiculous things.

[A]

It's not a big. Yeah, it's not a big massive wedding venue. It happens to be your favorite craft beer bar that serves really good food and they got the private room in the back. Like there's a spot that we go to all the time, Joel, here in town and people rent out that back room. And it's like, is it the. I don't know, is it like the Hollywood. What we're used to seeing, you know, in the 90s and rom coms, like as far as what a wedding should. Is it hitched? You know, like at the end of Hitched and there's like this. I never saw that one with what's his name. Was that Will Smith? Yeah, yeah. I just remember this like massive dance sequence sort of thing, you know, like there are these images that people have of what a wedding should look like. And in some cases, if you have the means to pull that off, you probably also, your family would help you out with something like that. Then go for it. But just know that it doesn't necessarily have to be like this big lavish, you know, big fat Greek wedding kind of style event.

[B]

I think that's true. And I think also you tend to. And I think there's some good in this sacrifice. Extraordinarily you go above and beyond in order to make this thing happen. Right. Like I remember selling my beloved scooter that got me around town, Matt. Because I just didn't need. I called him Colonel Mustard. It was yellow and I didn't need that anymore. What I prefer to do was to buy an engagement ring for my wife. And I remember that trade off of, gosh, I'm going to miss this thing. But I'm getting something so much better. Yeah, boy. And so that's. Maybe take that mentality, too. Is there something you can kind of get rid of to help fund this or a side hustle you can pick up so that you're not completely bagging your other financial goals for the time being to reach this marriage goal? But, yeah, marriage ain't money gear number seven, either. Yeah, agreed.

[A]

Also, how have we never talked about that? I'll let you finish your story, Colonel Mustard. Well, I think I've heard you talk about the scooter before, but you selling it for the engagement ring. Because that soul mirrors my Honda. I had a, like, mid-70s Honda CB

[B]

and I thought a much cooler ride. That explains a lot about both of us.

[A]

Yeah. Also, two wheels got us around, but in different styles, perhaps. But that was totally.

[B]

I couldn't really have anyone ride on the back because already, like, 40 was its top spot speed, so.

[A]

Oh, no. This thing was. What's it? A 550 CB? 550. That thing was great, but I sold it because I was like, you know what? Time to start being a bit more responsible. I need. Don't. It's going to take me a little bit too long to save up the cash to be able to buy this engagement ring that I wanted to. So, yeah, those are. Like you said, those are the kind of sacrifices you make in order to prioritize something that has quickly become a more important goal.

[B]

Last but not least, take any bigger lump sums. You get tax refunds. Like, that's. That's the season we're in. If you got a nice tax refund, the average American's getting a much more substantial one than last year. Put it directly into the wedding fund. Anytime something like that happens, anytime you pay off a debt and you have extra cash on hand above and beyond what you're say using to save and invest for other goals. Put it in the wedding fund, and once that's topped all the way off, you have all the money saved. You can go back to, like, saving and investing even more intentionally. But yeah, I just wouldn't. I wouldn't put the wedding on the back burner, man. That's that we get our advice.

[A]

Make it happen. Totally agree.

[B]

Some people might say that now.

[A]

All right, Joel, we got more to get to. We're going to hear from a listener who is planning on banking on some Social Security survivor benefits, but she actually happens to be a bit younger, so we'll get to her question. Plus more. We're going to talk about the best cars to get when you have kids. That and more right after this.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[B]

one of the most rewarding experiences of my life was traveling all around Australia. I hit up the great city of Melbourne. The coffee scene was incredible. Had my first flat white there and now it's my morning drink of choice. I took a lovely road trip down to the 12 apostles, which is a beautiful collection of limestone rocks jutting out of the ocean, catching some breathtaking views on the Great Ocean Road. And of course I found a great local brewery, the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse. Snagged a couple of delicious beers and I've still got that T shirt. I even hopped on a plane to visit the delightful island of Tasmania. Hobart is one of my all time favorite towns. And visiting the Mona while there was one of my highlights. My trip to Australia was one of the best investments I've ever made. I loved every minute. The wildlife, the culture, the people and those memory dividends of our epic excursion, they keep paying off every time I see a picture of that trip or I reminisce with my travel companions. Australia is a destination that proves joy and financial wisdom can go hand in hand. Explore more destinations in Australia and start planning your memorable [e-mail]. all right, we're back. We got more of your money questions to get to. We love taking your questions. And Matt, let's get to one specifically about, I don't know, do you need insurance when Social Security exists?

[D]

Hi, Matt and Joel, this is Brianna from Chicago. I just had a question. I know you guys talk a lot about term life insurance, but as far as I understand, there's also a spousal death benefit from the Social Security. And I don't think you guys have ever mentioned that. And you know, you get, I think you get a monthly stipend basically if your spouse were to pass away until your children are to have certain age. I just wanted to see if I was missing something because with that and then also savings, I feel like I wouldn't need term life insurance. Okay, thanks. Bye.

[A]

All right, Brianna, great question. And I want to first kick things off with the fact that you've got it sounds like substantial savings on hand. That's awesome. Right? In case something were to happen to, you know, not only in day to day living, but in case something might happen to your partner or your spouse. It's a great place to be in first of all. But still we're talking about here is being able to replace your significant other's income. And most folks don't have anywhere close to enough on hand to meet the different obligations that they would face, especially with children, which it sounds like you have were your spouse to pass away. So on one hand I want to say, yes, this is a real thing. Also she called it a death benefit, which sound a little too like morose. Yeah, yeah. Which is, I think Social Security actually calls it a survivor's survivor's benefit. It's not like you're receiving something good for someone to die. There's a, there's a branding issue with death benefit. You get it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You feel it.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

But it's a real thing for sure. But at the same time, I don't know, it's not, not quite enough.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Well. And yeah, so we need to get into the nitty gritty of the Social Security survivor benefit and then also term life insurance. And so government benefits like the Social Security survivor benefit would be helpful if your spouse were to pass away and you were left to raise your kids on your own. Likely still though, it won't be enough. Right. And that's because for a moderate to high earner, SSA survivor benefits typically replace only a portion of the income. Right. That was coming in. And so if you depended heavily on one income as a family, those survivor benefits just aren't going to be enough or it will at least make your life uncomfortable enough to where you will wish you had had other means. Likely a term life insurance policy. I guess depending on how much money you have saved, you might be like, no, I'm like, I'm like a squirrel over here and I got a pile.

[A]

You guys don't understand how much I get.

[B]

Yeah. Okay. If so, I mean, yeah, it's possible to self insure. This is just one of those, this is just one of those things where most people can't and actually where most people would be unwise to try to self insure to that extent because it would mean other trade offs in, in what they have to do with their finances. It would mean having a lot more liquid savings on hand, not being able to invest some of those dollars. And, and if you didn't have a term life insurance policy and you just planned on government benefits, it would mean in all likelihood you have to Dial back on expenses because of this reduced income. There's also, by the way, a family maximum benefit and benefits for kids and once they reach age 18, typically. So there are just more stipulations that could prevent you from, from living the life you've been accustomed to if you're relying solely on government money to come through. Like, yeah, I'm not worried about, like the government not paying. I'm just worried about that not being enough.

[A]

Yeah. And it could potentially change. You know, you start to dive into the Social Security question a little bit. But I mean, honestly, just talking about Social Security as a replacement for retirement is actually a good parallel. Cause someone would say, well, dudes, why should I even save for my own retirement? What if I've got Social Security to count on once I am of age? And it's like, well, yeah, something will be there, but it's not going to be great. It's not going to be quite enough.

[B]

It's probably not going to help you live the life you want to live. And again, it might help you get by with like a bare bones existence.

[A]

Exactly. Yeah. So it comes down to how aggressively you've invested how much money you have on hand. Because again, yeah, there might be someone who is in a situation to where you're like, okay, yeah, that's going to be plenty. But yeah, I think of the Social Security survivor benefits as like a helpful floor. Right. So it keeps you from like getting below a certain point and then the term life policy as the benefit that allows you to then maintain the flexibility that you've been able to achieve. Right. And so, like, it kind of continues. You're able to continue on the same trajectory as opposed to the way I see the survivor benefits. It's sort of like, oh, you're up and coming. Right. You're kind of up and to the right. And then all of a sudden this tragic event happens and all of a sudden, at most you're kind of like flatlining when it comes to your lifestyle and some of the things that you're able to achieve with what you're hoping even for your kids. In addition to that, as far as the survivor benefits, there's no lump sum. Like, if you would have had a term life payout. Actually, I take that back. There is a, there is a lump sum payout, but it's like teeny tiny.

[B]

It's not nearly as significant as, like, you got.

[A]

I shouldn't even be mentioning it because you don't need to be counting on it. Yeah, like it's 200. I want to say it's like 250 bucks or something like that. It was. It's like a. It's a historical.

[B]

That a lump sum.

[A]

It's a historic relic. Some of the history. You want to know some of the history of it?

[B]

Bring it.

[A]

It was created back in the 30s. Congress actually created this thing, and it was to cover the cost of a funeral. Because back then, that's about how much

[B]

a funeral would cost. Yes. Now we're talking, what, like, much.

[A]

A lot more.

[B]

Many thousands of dollars on the cheap end to do a funeral.

[A]

Yeah. And then I think in the 50s, it was capped at 250 bucks. And so it's just like this thing that has still existed, but it's nothing compared to what you would get with a term life payout. Because that is the kind of lump sum that can help with everything. Right. Like, we're talking about replacing lost income. We're talking about paying off debt. We're talking like, even a mortgage. Imagine being in a situation where you straight up own your home free and clear, paying for college. Right. Like, these are the dreams and hopes you might have for your kids, or even just giving you a long enough Runway that you don't have to, you know, pile financial stress on top of the emotional grief that you're already going through. It buys you a little bit of time. And all of these things are things that maybe right now in the moment, you're like, oh, I can handle all of that. But I think it would be different were the worst to happen.

[B]

And it's just hard to know how you're going to respond, how it's going to impact you and how you're like, I'd probably be able to go back to work in six months, maybe, like, but. Or I've got skills. I could find a job. And, well, what if the economy's not doing so hot, then?

[A]

So there's just all these things outside of your control.

[B]

Exactly. And so, yeah, the term life insurance policy is worth having. And like, the crux of the matter here, too, Matt, is trying to forego term life. It just doesn't make a lot of sense because it's so cheap. Yeah.

[A]

So it would be different if it cost you an arm and a leg, but because it's especially for someone who's got tons of savings on hand, it's like. Seems like you could probably easily afford this.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If what I'm. If I'm guessing.

[B]

So I think it'd be. It'd be cheap, not frugal. Right. To avoid the term life insurance because you're like, I don't, I don't think I need it because I think I've done pretty well on my own. But this is just, this is a literal insurance policy. Right. To prevent worst case scenarios. So I'd rather find an extra 50 or 60 bucks in my monthly budget to get a decent term life policy in place than just hope that Social Security benefits and my own savings that I've been able to stow away, plus like a meager workplace life insurance plan that she mentioned in her email, at least that she has, would be enough to cover my family in a worst case scenario. It's, it. I don't, you know, there's just so many unknowns about what happens when you lose someone that's closest to you, how everything happened. You know, what, what happens with your family. You know, maybe you need to add on to your house because one of your friends or a loved one is going to come live with you. I mean there's just all of these, there's, there's all of these unknowns. What's it going to make take to make your life work and tick and be good as you move forward from a loss? I just think a term life, it's like it's kind of drops in the bucket essentially. It's such a smart buy. Yeah, it's one of the necessary buys. One of the only necessary buys for, for most people, not for everyone we can talk about who term life doesn't make sense for, but definitely for this family. Yeah.

[A]

If there's folks who are counting on your income, you need term life insurance and. But I do like where her head's at, which is she's thinking about like well I can self insure and that is ultimately the goal eventually.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like that is the goal. As your kids grow up, as they leave the nest, as you grow your net worth as your investments increase. Like you're not going to need term life insurance much beyond she's already got kids. So like you probably only need like a 10, 15, like maybe tops 20 year, 20 year term beyond that and you've got once they're less dependent on your income, the ability for you to self insure and to. Yeah. To count on some of those investments that's going to, I'm guessing that's certainly going to appeal to you. But right now during, I'm going to guess what are the most expensive and labor intensive years, having that solid term policy is just going to provide some nice peace of mind which I Don't like to say, but in this case, term life peace of mind gives you that shield, that meaningful financial backstop man so worth all the money that it would cost you, which isn't very much.

[B]

I was actually talking to an older fellow recently, Matt, who's done well and he's invested, he's got a great nest egg. And he consulted an advisor to ask about whether or not he could ditch certain insurance policies. And his kids have flown the coop. His kids are like full fledged adults making their own income. They don't live at home. And so you just drop it. He dropped them. Yeah, he dropped them. He doesn't need them anymore.

[A]

Stop paying. Yeah, that's literally what you can do.

[B]

And his insurance policies were a lot more expensive, I think. But a term like policy might be like, I'm just going to keep it around anyway, because why not keep it around for two more years when the premium is so low? Yeah.

[A]

If you've got a locked in, stable level term policy, it doesn't make sense because that's the other part of it too. If you're like, well, kids are gone, we've got enough money on hand. Why should I be paying into this thing for another three years? Well, chances are when you got that quote for that plan 27 years ago.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

It was probably really affordable. So you're paying virtually nothing. And you would feel like. I'm sure you'd probably feel like a dummy if you were to stop paying on that, have coverage lapse, and then your partner three months later after you choke on a drumstick or something like

[B]

that is just like, oh, what a way to go.

[A]

They're just like waving their fist at you.

[B]

Better than getting cursing you in an accident. On my 50cc. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I think I would have been the one who would have been in more of a world of hurt, though.

[B]

That's true. Oh, and if you're gonna shop, by the way, policy genius. If you're a Costco member, Costco has a great place to shop. But yeah, find a good deal on that term life insurance and it's worth it.

[A]

Did you ever wreck that thing? Like crash it or did you ever have to lay it down? No, I don't really have to lay down a scooter.

[B]

You're not really in high danger situations in that thing.

[A]

Yeah, that's something I was able to luckily avoid.

[B]

All right, let's get to another question, Matt. This one is about claiming dependence on your taxes.

[D]

Hi, Matt and Joel, this is Erica from the Salt Lake City area. My question is about child tax credits for unmarried partners. So my partner and I welcomed our second child in January 2025. So now we have two kids and two adults. And so in the past for our son, I was just, I was claiming him and I was getting a dependent care FSA through my work for his child care, expenses for daycare. But now that we have two kids, we're just wondering, as we enter filing 2025 taxes, what is the best scenario? Should I claim both kids? Should we each claim a child? And if we each claimed a child, could he then use the child care tax credit for our daughter's costs because he didn't have a dependent care FSA for her? When open enrollment happens this coming July or June for us, could he get a dependent care fsa? If he claims our daughter in this tax year, could he get a dependent care FSA for her? I have one for him. Would that be okay if we remain unmarried? So I know that there are things to consider and I'd love your guys insight about this situation.

[B]

Ooh, Matt, what you think lot to consider here, right? There's many different potential impacts of what you choose to do here. So this is a great question. Tax time is here and the IRS is.

[A]

Well, I'm thinking about the tax child credit too. Like that's a huge factor as well. And she didn't even mention that that's primarily focused on the dependent care because

[B]

that's what, twenty two hundred dollars per child I think right now. And only one person can claim the child tax credit for a given individual child in a specific year. And so that's one important thing to consider is that if you claim them, you are getting a tax benefit if you claim both and your partner is not getting that same benefit. But then there's a lot in addition to consider besides just that you've got

[A]

the earned income tax credit as well. Right. Let's imagine a scenario where you are like, you know what, let's keep this fair and square. We're each going to claim one of the kids and that's a totally understandable way to proceed. But it may not be as ideal from a financial standpoint. And this is where the details come into play because this could be an instance where the lower earning partner actually has the most potential tax benefits to gain from claiming not just one kid, but both kids as dependents. So much of it depends on how much that lower earner earns and the specifics of their tax situation. But in some situations it could allow that partner to qualify for the earned income tax credit. If we're talking about less than $58,000 and just to get any exposure to the earned income tax credit, and then we're talking about maxing that credit at around $7,300, if your AGI can get down to like around $24,000, that being said, that's a huge ask. May not be possible, but just to keep that like $7,300, that's even more money, man. And so when you're talking about who claims who, these are the kind of sort of questions that you need to be asking yourself. Not just looking at the Dependent Care flexible spending account, where there's clearly something that's been on your radar. Y' all have been able to take advantage of the account in the past, but making sure that you're looking at the full picture here in order to maximize, or I should say minimize how much you're paying in taxes.

[B]

Yeah. And if one of you was able to get more tax benefit, you could say, oh, cool, well, I'm going to throw this bone your way for tax savings. And then I want you to take care of this additional bill or something like that. I'm sure that's something you can work out on the back end, but it's just nice to know where the potential tax savings lie so that you can then kind of make an informed decision. And if you, you couldn't come to an agreement for some reason, or if both of you, by the way, tried to claim both kids, the IRS has like this tiebreaker rule that applies. So know that. And then the multiple, multiple Dependent Care FSA that you mentioned, that's another one of those quirks that's well worth considering. And it's another good reason, especially if neither one of you has like a low enough AGI to qualify for that earned income tax credit for each of you to claim one child on your taxes, because this will allow you, each of you, to employ your Dependent Care flexible savings account and to avoid taxation on those dollars, which is a not insignificant perk. I love the idea of both of you having access to that and avoiding tax with those accounts. But the only way you can do that is if each of you claims

[A]

one, each of you claims one. And to get to your part of the question that you're asking about, well, can we do that since we're not married? Absolute like that is totally something that you can do because we're talking about savings of $5,000. That's the limit per taxpayer. And it's per you as an individual, as an individual taxpayer, it's not per household. Right. So this actually allows you to funnel more money than a married couple would be able to into those accounts. Because when you are married filing jointly, the IRS is looking at that household at that point as one singular tax paying entity. Right. Like it's a joint return. So It's a singular $5,000. If you both are filing separately 5,000 times two. So that's awesome, right? The ability to contribute that much to your workplace FSA in order to reap the tax benefits there. So if your child care costs are that high, it's totally the right move to make. I will say, while we're talking about households, make sure that you are making the most of the head of household filing status. Right. And it's typically the higher earner is taking that filing status as well as the larger standard deduction in order to bring your taxes down. So something to keep in mind. But also again, as you're talking about the dependent care flexible spending account, if one person were to claim both kids and get the full deduction, well, guess what, that means again, that the singular filer is not able to contribute to the FSA as well. So there's so many different factors.

[B]

You got to agree on this and know enough about each other's income, financial situation to be able to make a good decision here.

[A]

And it does sound like they're on the same page. Right. It's not like they're both pulling in separate directions, but it is made slightly more complicated given that y' all aren't married. Because you know what this makes me think of is when we talk about pre tax dollars for retirement or post tax dollars and what do we, what do we say? We're like, oh, you want to minimize taxes over your lifetime, not necessarily for that one singular year.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And in a similar way, that's how I think about them as a household, as a couple, as a team, versus them individually. Because yes, you could maximize your tax benefit to you as an individual, but what you need to be focusing on is your entire household, you and your partner combined together. That's the equivalent of minimizing taxes over the lifetime as opposed to just for a singular year. That might be a helpful heuristic to view this through, Erica.

[B]

But, but hopefully that's helpful. I mean, there really are potential if you work together and you agree that there's a lot of, there are ways to make a smart decision that's going to save you quite a bit on taxes and you might actually do better, right? Filing separately than you would filing filing jointly.

[A]

This is definitely one of those cases.

[B]

Yeah. All right, we got more to get to, Matt, including when you need to upgrade a vehicle and what to do with inheritance money. We'll get to those questions right after this. Man. We've hired some great folks to work behind the scenes with us at how to Money over the years. If you're a small business, you know this the right hire can make or break things for you, hoping the right people see your job. Posting is not the best growth strategy. So when the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Sponsored Jobs.

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one of the most rewarding experiences of my life was traveling all around Australia. I hit up the great city of Melbourne. The coffee scene was incredible. Had my first flat white there and now it's my morning drink of choice. I took a lovely road trip down to the Twelve Apostles which is a beautiful collection of limestone rocks jutting out of the ocean, catching some breathtaking views on the Great Ocean Road. And of course I found a great local brewery, the Great Ocean Road Brew House. Snagged a couple of delicious beers and I've still got that T shirt. I even hopped on a plane to visit the delightful island of Tasmania. Hobart is one of my all time favorite towns and visiting the Mona while there was one of my highlights. My trip to Australia was one of the best Investments I've ever made. I loved every minute. The wildlife, the culture, the people. And those memory dividends of our epic excursion, they keep paying off. Every time I see a picture of that trip or I reminisce with my travel companions. Australia is a destination that proves joy and financial wisdom can go hand in hand. Explore more destinations in Australia and start planning your memorable [e-mail] this plant shop

[A]

a perfectly balanced ecosystem thanks to genius from Global payments. Tracked inventory, seamless payments and reviews in one place. Big league reliability for your business. That's genius. All right man. We are back from the break. It's now time for the Facebook question of the week which is from Nina, which is. What's the name of one of your cats? What's the name of your other cat?

[B]

Birdie.

[A]

Birdie, that's right.

[B]

And Birdie's. Well those.

[A]

Does birdie hide one?

[B]

We did not name them by the way. They came pre named.

[A]

So you could have changed it, couldn't you?

[B]

I guess, but I thought they gotten used to it.

[A]

So did you ask the cats?

[B]

No, but those are not the names I would have named the cats.

[A]

What would you have chosen? Right, like right out like your scooter was called Colonel Mustard. So I feel like you would have named your.

[B]

I would have gone a little off the path. That's something funky.

[A]

Yeah. All right, Sorry. This is from Nina. She wrote curious what kind of vehicles those of you with young kiddos are driving. Silly single me purchased an eight year old low mileage luxury vehicle for four years ago and it's nearing end of life. Luckily most of those recent repairs have been covered through extended warranty. But counting my blessings as I research my next step, diligently help this new first time mama out with some ideas. Joel, commence the pushback.

[B]

Okay, gotta start there and we'll give you our thoughts here on the specific question you asked. But gotta. And I'm also excited for Nina by the way, having a baby. Awesome. Oh yeah, congratulations.

[A]

First before the pushback.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Congrats on new life.

[B]

Yes. But she said a 12 year old car is near the end of its life. She even like put some money into it, made some repairs recently. My thing. I'm guessing, I'm guessing that's not true.

[A]

And that life's good for another hundred thousand miles.

[B]

Basically, yeah.

[A]

Based on the way she's talking, end

[B]

of life is in the eye of the beholder. And I think this, this car in particular has a lot of room left to run. Right. You might be like, I don't need the luxury car anymore. Depending on how luxury it is, you might actually do better by trading, by selling that and buying something that's less expensive and roomier. I don't know. But I just want to question that from the outset. Like, is it time to get rid of this car? Do you have to also, you're having a kid. We didn't.

[A]

She didn't say she's having triplets.

[B]

Right. Like, I still remember, Matt, your Volkswagen

[A]

Jetta, The Vita Passat wagon.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

And you had three car seats sandwiched next to each other in the background.

[A]

No, no, we were willing to. We were about to.

[B]

Oh, I thought you. I thought you did.

[A]

No, Well, I mean, I think we were, we were very willing to, but then we came across a pretty good deal. But that's something that people need to. I mean, certainly three is tougher. Honestly, I think that's what it came down to because we would have had to have gotten like one of two car manufacturer seats. Our memory, Joel, it is failing us, actually.

[B]

Yeah. Like, you would have had to spend a lot more on the car seats because they.

[A]

And it would have been such a

[B]

tight squeeze them in.

[A]

Yeah. And granted, I mean, this is a Passa wagon. Like, those aren't like giant cars. It's not like you're throwing, you know, three kiddos in the back of a, like a larger vehicle. But all that being said, we certainly rocked a couple years of having two kiddos plus a Great Dane in the back of that wagon. And it was perfectly fine. Even when we're going on trips, going on little road trips, going to see family.

[B]

So two questions to premise. One is, is this car at the end of its life? I would say think again. And two, do you need to change cars because you're having a kid? I would also say probably not. Like you might want to. And that's different. But I would just want to question both those premises.

[A]

Totally agree. Yeah. Especially when you, like, there are different car influencers out there, Joel.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, and you're like, oh, she's got four kids and she says this is all she does. And she says that this vehicle, this is the one to get. And so I think a lot of times, folks. And that's totally fine. If you got the money, you're like, alright, let's just put down the cash to buy this thing. But for folks who don't need to, or you don't really value that bigger vehicle. I don't know, I just don't like people making decisions like that. By default when there might be other things that they value in life as opposed to dropping $60,000 on a used Expedition Max kind of thing.

[B]

Recently got an email from a listener who said, hey, your recent talk about cars actually had my eye on. And she's like, oh, man, the way you guys talked about how little it was actually going to save me in gas if I made the upgrade, man, I just realized there's so many better things I want to do.

[A]

I know, but there are certain things, whether it's on social media and you see it and you think, oh, this is what you have to do. Or if it's just the price of gas as you drive by and you think, oh my gosh, I'm spending, so how much more? And then you actually crunch the numbers and you're like, oh, actually not that much more. Or you think, oh, how's this actually going to impact my life or make me feel, oh, it's somebody on social media. It's designed to make me feel crappy about my situation and about myself. She's got a luxury car. I bet it's got like nice leather interiors. That's actually exactly what you want with kids because that's gonna avoid cloth lead to easy cleanup.

[B]

The, the one actual make and model suggestion I'll give Here is the Mazda 5. That was a car that rest in peace, we rolled with for many, many years and it was great. It's so cheap. It's got the sliding doors. It has a third row.

[A]

The third row is mini. Minivan is what those are.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And this third row is quite small. Yeah, definitely. Like grown men. Grown people cannot really fit in the back of that car very well. But if you're planning on having more kids and you just, you're like, it's time I'm done with the luxury car. I need something a little bit roomier. Then I think that car is worth looking at because it's well made, it's inexpensive. When they're quite as highfalutin as the minivan, when they stop making it though 2015 maybe. So you're still talking about an older car.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, you're definitely talking about an older car.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So you're. To me, that still sounds new, but I realize for a lot of people it doesn't.

[A]

Well, for a lot of people it's, you know, you have a 12 year old vehicle and it's just like, well, I got to upgrade to something that's like three years old, two years old. But you know what's crazy is that cars that are 10, 15 years old when they came out, they're state of the art.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And has life changed all that much and how we get around and how we transport ourselves in the past decade or two? No, like, like you have a view.

[B]

Saw a few waymos yesterday and it

[A]

made me think that certainly changed.

[B]

Things have changed.

[A]

Yeah. Things are. Think things are safer. I'd rather have a robot, a waymo as opposed to a distracted teenage driver who's on their phone.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But like it's just funny how a decade ago you have something that's state of the art and like the newest and greatest technology and then all of a sudden ten years later it's like, oh well, that's garbage. It's like, well no, that actually kept people safe and was totally fine back then. Things haven't changed all that much.

[B]

Yeah. Right.

[A]

In our actual physical environment.

[B]

So Nina, we hope that helps. Yeah. All right, let's get to a question from anonymous. Who says if you were to receive $100,000 inheritance pre tax, how would you divvy it up? Context. We have a mortgage of 185,000 at six and a half percent. It's our only debt. We have 529s for both our kids, an HSA Roth and a 401K. We have a high yield savings account with an emergency fund. We haven't been able to add to our Roth or savings in two years as our son was diagnosed with a rare disease and has been in and out of the hospital. I'm tempted to break it into groups of tens. 10,000 to the mortgage, 10,000 to kids, 529s. 10,000 to the high yield. Max out the Roth, 10k to index funds, 10k for son's medical needs and 10k for an international family vacation. I think that's really all we'll have post taxes as we live in one of the highest tax states in the country. I feel behind due to lack of savings and investments over the past couple years. But I had to move to a part time remote position so I can be with my son in the hospital. So I don't want to put it all in investments and paying down the mortgage as we'll probably need some of these funds for my son's medical care. Matt, where should we start?

[A]

Yeah, well, first off, I'm very sorry to hear about your son Anonymous poster. Beyond that, I'm gonna give the tldr wish. I feel like this was a little bit longer. Like I think. Well, I don't know Maybe I don't. There's so much to say here. Like, I love that she's talking about breaking it up, it up into groups of tens because it just means to me that she's not overly focused on one singular area. But I feel like she's drastically underestimating potential future medical expenses because she said that they haven't been able to contribute to the Roths for the past two years. So that's almost $30,000. That is a lot of money. I mean, that tells me that they spent maybe close to that in medical expenses over the past two years. And so when I see you mention something like, oh, I would love to put 10 down, you know, $10,000 more towards the mortgage, and so that one, as well as the additional 10 towards your kids 529s, that's great for sure. But those are far more like far off priorities in my book, as opposed to the more immediate need, which might be to making sure that your son can get the treatment that he needs, that you can go to some of the different follow ups, whatever it is that you might be facing there. So I would, right out of the gate, I would take 10 back from the mortgage, I would take 10 back from those 529s and then what you got? Boom, $30,000. I would take that money, throw that. Oh, I guess there's a. You talked about putting another $10,000 in. Was it a high yields account? Maybe she mentioned. So then you got 40, which to me, I would. Man, if it was me, that is 100% the situation I would want to be in, just to have just a solid 40k sitting there in the high yields account, you're earning at least 3%. So it's not like you're missing out on massive returns, right?

[B]

Like, you know, especially it helps diminished income. Like. Yeah, which makes sense. Like, I would do the same, right. I'd be working less, making less money so I could be there with my child. And that makes this inheritance kind of a blessing of sorts to extend your timeline and decrease the pressure you might feel to get back out there into the workforce. Because you're like, of course, what do I want to do? I want to be with my kid and make sure I'm there for all the appointments and like, yeah, I would just the. If you spread your money too thin and you put it into these illiquid places, the chances that you feel more pressure or actually the financial reality of having to go back to work full time sooner rather than later, that that could hit and that could feel really awful. And yes, it would feel nice to make progress on some of those other financial goals, but I think that's the top priority. And yeah, it would be. It would be for me, and it sounds like it is for you.

[A]

And granted, she knows more about the situation and what's going on from a medical standpoint, but, like, I don't. The way I'm reading this, they're not totally out of the storm yet, and I would still want to make sure that I've got plenty on hand, plenty of margin to make sure that we can handle any of those, those curve balls that this medical condition might toss your way.

[B]

And I think 529 plans just make those not a priority right now. Those are like, like we've said before, there's scholarships for college, there's financial aid, there are ways to reduce the cost, but trying to continue to load those up, that's just putting pressure on yourself. That's unnecessary.

[A]

100%. Don't. Yeah, take that $10,000. Sit on that as cash. Same thing with the mortgage. Even though you're like six and a half percent. That's so high. You know what? It's fine. Like, once, once you put it towards a mortgage, it's gone. Like, I mean, I guess you could take it out via, via HELOC, but your desire to contribute to your IRAs, that's. That's great. I'm more for that.

[B]

The Roth IRA.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, the Roth IRA.

[B]

Especially since, like we talked about earlier, contributions are accessible. Last but not least, you mentioned the vacation. And we typically say when you get an inheritance, it's unexpected money, right. That you haven't budgeted for. Do smart things with most of it, but take some of it to enjoy.

[A]

Have some fun, create some memories with your kids. I'm absolutely for. I'm fine with leaving that $10,000 designated for travel for making memories. I think that's great.

[B]

But maybe you could, I don't know, take two vacations with it. And so I was just thinking, wow, that's a really expensive vacation, but I don't know how many people are in your family or.

[A]

International trips can be expensive if you're heading over to Europe or something.

[B]

But yeah, it's an inheritance, so don't, don't feel like you have to use every dollar wisely, but if you can spend 10% of it, or maybe, yeah, if there's more taxation than we're aware of to reduce the price of the trip a little bit, but then put the majority of it towards stuff that's going to bolster your ability to live the life you want and to be there for your. Your son, really, in the coming years.

[A]

Absolutely. All right, Joel, let's get back to the beer that you and I enjoyed today, which was a Wonderstruck, a triple ipa, not only by a single speed brewing company, but Back Pocket and Peacetree. What'd you think?

[B]

One, I love the can colors, can design.

[A]

It's like orange and yellow gray.

[B]

Super retro. Yeah, it looks good.

[A]

Feels like the late 70s.

[B]

I love that. Single Speed is the main brewery. Like, going with the bike motif.

[A]

That's cool. That's the best vehicle to tote your kids around.

[B]

That's true. That's true.

[A]

Cargo bike.

[B]

Cargo bikes are so great, so underrated.

[A]

I'm so glad that, yeah, people, they know to not completely count on us saying that a cargo bike is the solution to every problem. I feel like for a while there, people are probably like, dudes, we're tired of hearing y' all talk about riding around in your cargo bike and your through your neighborhood, taking your kids to school.

[B]

We do it so much less because our kids have gotten older and they're riding their own bikes. Right? Yeah, it was. It's fun while it lasted. Yeah. To me, this one had, like, some bitter, pithy, citrus notes going on.

[A]

It was sharp.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This is like the difference between, like, a mild cheddar and, like a sharp, extra sharp cheddar. Like, when you bite into it and you're like, whoa.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Yeah. You kind of have to be.

[B]

It was kicking.

[A]

Put some hair on your chest.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

It reminds me of some of those west, like, Green Flash. Some of their beers were. I mean, a lot of them were. Were a lot like this. Just really smack you in the face. Really strong, really pungent. Yeah. But.

[B]

Yes, but this, to me, was hitting both those nuts because I even. I wrote down in my tasting notes that it's not. It's not west coast bitter. It's. It's balanced while being, like, a really, really big beer. Pretty ramped up. Yeah. This was not insignificant little thing. It was a big old triple ipa. You whacking those taste buds hard in the best way.

[A]

And I guess that's how they do it there out of Waterloo, Iowa. So. Yeah. Thanks again, Clinton, for sending this one our way, and glad, Joel, that you and I, that we got to enjoy this one, that we got to share it on today's episode. But listeners can find our show notes up on the [e-mail] by the way. If you have not left us a review, I'm guessing we might have a whole lot of maybe there's some newer listeners who have only recently joined us. 2026. That was the year that they're going to get their finances in shape. Right? Well, if you have enjoyed the show, head to Apple Podcasts, wherever it is that you might listen to Podcasts. Leave us a solid review over there. It helps to get the word out.

[B]

Say something nice about how good looking

[A]

Matt is or something allows us to continue to create this show, which I want to continue to do.

[B]

So we like it.

[A]

Yeah, we appreciate y'.

[B]

All. It's a good gig.

[A]

All right.

[B]

We like the community too. Y' all are the best. Until next time, Best friends out Best Friends.

[A]

Every business has its own rhythm. It's got its rushes, its lulls, moments when every second counts. Running a business isn't about doing one thing well. It's about making sure everything works together. That's where genius comes in.

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[A]

Yeah, big league reliability for your small business. Well, that's genius. Meet [e-mail] struggling to see up close? Make it visible with Viz. VIZ is a once daily prescription eye drop to treat blurry near vision for up to 10 hours. The most common side effects that may be experienced while using VIZ include eye irritation, temporary dim or dark vision, headaches and eye redness. Talk to an eye doctor to learn if VIZ is right for you. Learn [e-mail]

[D]

is it just me or is it getting really hard to figure out the best way to save for retirement? Fidelity can help you find clarity so you can save the best way for you. With a free personalized plan, goal tracking and timely insights, you'll be set to take on retirement your way. Get [e-mail] future expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading while transacting in your account. Apply Fidelity Brokerage Services member NYSES IPC

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Travel is such a life changing pursuit and my trip to Australia was one of the best investments I've ever made. I got to enjoy the bustling metropolis of Melbourne and and some of the best coffee of my life while also driving the great ocean road and taking in spectacular views. I even hopped on a plane to the island of Tasmania. That was my favorite stop. I loved it all. A trip to Australia doesn't just offer a getaway, it's an investment in experiences that stay with you. Explore more destinations in Australia and start planning your memorable [e-mail] this is an iHeart podcast.

[D]

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