Friday Flight - 'Just In Case' Planning, Consumer Caste System, & Credit Scores Crashing #1041

Summary

How to Money Podcast Summary Episode: Friday Flight – ‘Just In Case’ Planning, Consumer Caste System, & Credit Scores Crashing #1041

Date: September 26, 2025
Hosts: Joel & Matt
Podcast: How to Money (iHeartPodcasts)

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Overview

This "Friday Flight" episode is a rapid-fire roundup of current personal finance headlines and trends impacting everyday people. Joel and Matt discuss smart spending habits, the effects of tariffs and economic uncertainty, investment fads, surging prices, the so-called “consumer caste system,” changes in credit scores, and more. The vibe is conversational, empathetic, and focused on practical tips for thriving amid economic turbulence.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Smart Spending: The 24-Hour Rule

Timestamps: [03:03]–[06:29]

• Joel recounts how his daughter used the "24-hour rule" before making a $25 purchase at a vintage shop.
• This cool-down period is recommended to avoid impulse buys and reduce regret.
• Matt: “Yeah, I totally agree. More of us should implement that, like a cool down period where we just stay. Step away from the item. Rethink our life choices.” [06:29]
• Practical Takeaway: Sleep on non-essential purchases to spend more mindfully.

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2. Tariffs & Everyday Prices (Coffee, Shoes, Online Shopping)

Timestamps: [06:40]–[12:35]

• New and increasing tariffs—especially a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee—are causing price spikes (20%+ for some beans and other goods).
• US companies are running out of pre-tariff inventory, so higher prices are likely to be passed on to consumers soon.
• Sneaky fees: Unexpected tariffs and bills are showing up on international online orders.
• Small businesses and consumers face more uncertainty—some overseas retailers are even suspending US shipping.
• Joel: “Be careful buying internationally until more clarity comes on these tariffs.” [11:14]
• Matt: “At some point, this is going to lead to the economy grinding to a halt as folks are kind of like, what is about to happen, because there is no certainty.” [12:37]

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3. “Just In Case” Financial Planning Amid Uncertainty

Timestamps: [12:37]–[16:23]

• With economic volatility and unpredictability, creating a backup ("just in case") financial plan is wise.
• Key steps: Monitor expenses, check insurance, and create a bare-bones budget.
• If you're invested, consider your reaction to market drops and your time horizon.
• Matt: “A just in case financial plan is something that you hope you don’t have to use, but it is a smart exercise and it’s certainly great to have when the need arises.” [13:56]
• Real-life analogy: Being physically prepared with first aid in the wilderness or being mentally prepared for emergencies in public spaces translates to financial preparedness.

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4. Robinhood’s Startup Fund & Caution Against Chasing Fads

Timestamps: [16:40]–[18:16]

• Robinhood is launching a new venture fund for retail investors to invest in startups.
• Joel: “Morningstar… said this fund could spell disaster for investors.”
• High risks, high fees, and lack of experience make these funds hazardous for most.
• Emphasis on sticking to index funds: “The candy version of what you should be including in your diet” vs. “meat and potatoes and veggies.” [18:16]

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5. Why “Trading Like Congress” Doesn’t Work

Timestamps: [18:16]–[20:53]

• Jason Zweig (WSJ) noted that at market extremes, “buy and hold” gets questioned.
• Politicians’ trades often outperform, leading to FOMO, but most people should avoid emulating this.
• Matt: “Members of Congress should be forced to… either put their portfolio under, like, lock and key while they are in Congress… or you are just invested in the overall American stock market.” [19:18]
• Efforts to curb Congressional trading have gone nowhere.

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6. Quarterly Earnings Reports: Transparency vs. Overkill

Timestamps: [20:53]–[23:43]

• Ongoing debate over moving from quarterly to semiannual public company earnings reports.
• Quarterly reporting may prompt short-term thinking and risky moves; less frequent reporting could lower administrative costs.
• For index investors, this change is unlikely to matter much.

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7. Ludicrous Headline: “Consumer Caste System”

Timestamps: [26:49]–[30:36]

• Business Insider’s claim of an “American consumer caste system” triggered heated rebuttal.
• Citing things like early Costco hours for executive members or ad-free streaming, the hosts challenge the premise:
  • Joel: “In a caste system… you were bound for life. That’s not the case in American society. You and I, we can choose to pay for ad removal on our streaming or… for the Executive membership—or vice versa.” [28:28]
  • Matt: “This is why America is so amazing. We have the freedom… to make the kind of choices we want to make.” [29:10]

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8. Dynamic Pricing—Casinos, Water Bottles, and when “Surge” is a Cash Grab

Timestamps: [30:41]–[33:10]

• Surge/dynamic pricing has expanded beyond rideshares and airlines, now affecting casinos and even fast food.
• The hosts note it’s acceptable for limited-supply goods (flights, rides), but manipulative for unlimited items like bottled water.
• Dynamic pricing backlash: Wendy’s scrapped plans after consumer revolt.
• Joel: “The best thing you can do as a consumer is just to walk away from stupid prices.” [33:13]

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9. Noble Mobile: Phone Plan Innovation or Just a Gimmick?

Timestamps: [33:49]–[35:17]

• Andrew Yang’s Noble Mobile offers $50/mo for 20GB, paying users $1/GB unused.
• Interesting incentive, but still pricier than direct competitors if you’re a light user.

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10. Credit Scores: Why They’re Dropping and System Critique

Timestamps: [35:22]–[42:57]

• The average US credit score recently fell slightly after years of steady growth.
• Student loan payment resumption plays a big role.
• Gen Z has been hit hardest, with 14% seeing a 50+ point decline.
• Matt: “That 720 isn’t the 720 of yesteryear.” [35:52]
• Be wary of quick-fix credit solutions.
• Discussion of fairer credit models: Considering rent, shopping, and even educational history, although privacy concerns persist.
• Joel: “The more you understand how [the credit system] works, you know that paying your bills on time is crucial, that having a low credit utilization rate is one of those big things that impacts your score in a massive way.” [41:59]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Joel, on tariffs: “I just hope even if tariff policy remains somewhat in place, that we just kind of settle on something and it’s not a whack a mole sort of thing anymore.” [11:14]
• Matt, on financial preparation: “It’s like having that first aid kit. You don’t get it thinking, ‘I can’t wait to use this.’ You get it thinking, ‘I am an adult and I want to be prepared.’” [14:51]
• On the “caste system” idea:
  • Joel: “Different tiers of service are a benefit to consumers, allowing more choice. It is not some sort of dastardly sorting mechanism.” [28:28]
  • Matt: “We also need more Chris Farley references in our podcast.” [30:36]
• Matt, on walking away: “Vote with your dollars, vote with your feet.” [33:21]
• On credit models: “Understanding the system is crucial, and there’s just a huge chunk of Americans who are a part of it, but they don’t know how it works.” [41:59]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Smart spending lesson: [03:03]–[06:29]
• Tariffs’ consumer impact: [06:40]–[12:35]
• Just-in-case planning: [12:37]–[16:23]
• Robinhood’s new fund: [16:40]–[18:16]
• Congressional investing & FOMO: [18:16]–[20:53]
• Quarterly reports debate: [20:53]–[23:43]
• Consumer “caste system”: [26:49]–[30:36]
• Dynamic pricing critiques: [30:41]–[33:10]
• Noble Mobile pitch: [33:49]–[35:17]
• Credit scores dropping & reform: [35:22]–[42:57]

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Final Thoughts

This episode is packed with timely, relatable commentary tailored for everyday listeners. Joel and Matt remind us that being financially proactive and adaptable—not reactive to hype, headlines, or political gridlock—is the best path forward. From watching out for rising prices and sneaky fees to understanding the fundamentals of credit, their practical guidance cuts through the noise without losing their trademark friendly banter.

Transcript

[A]

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[C]

Castles, Irish countryside, ghost stories. It was the full Irish experience, Joel. We stayed in this remote Airbnb right out there on the water, and we actually even split another place with a host and her daughter to save some more cash. It great.

[B]

Those Airbnbs, man, they really helped make the trip what it was. And if you're heading out on an adventure, let your place help cover the cost of that trip. With Airbnb's co host feature, someone local can even manage things for you while you're away. Find a co [e-mail] host welcome to how to Money. I'm Joel.

[C]

I'm Matt.

[B]

And today we're talking, just in case, planning consumer cast systems and credit scores crashing.

[C]

That's right, buddy. This is our Friday flight, A little collection of some of the best headlines out there, the ones that pertain to your personal finances. We hope everyone has had a good week so far.

[B]

Yeah, it's been a good one for me, man. Nice, lovely weather, although still too hot. Ready for real fall? Come on.

[C]

Yeah, real fall. Let's pick it.

[B]

Come soon.

[C]

Let's protest.

[B]

Can we. Can you protest that?

[C]

Yeah, why not?

[B]

Who listens?

[C]

You can protest anything.

[B]

Yeah, that's true. Okay, so one thing I wanted to highlight. A smart financial move my daughter made the other day. Just kind of like a small thing, but you're like, ah, man. They're learning. They're listening. Does she buy the dip? She bought the dip.

[C]

Nice. Nice. Alma.

[B]

No, she's not investing yet. I'm investing on her behalf in 549 plans which might turn in the Roth dollar someday. We'll see. But no, what she did, this was a little shopping decision she made. She and my wife Emily, they stopped by a vintage shop after school. There's a cool little vintage shop. That's not.

[C]

I know. Which one is it the one you run past?

[B]

Yeah, I run past it. Yeah. All the time.

[C]

I've actually never stepped foot in there. But they keep putting stuff out, like, out onto the curb. And it keeps catching my eye, and I'm like, I need to go check that out.

[B]

I step in when I get tired of running, and then they're like, you're sweaty. Get out of here. So she went in there and she saw an old Cabbage Patch doll. And if you don't know what a Cabbage Patch doll is, like, old. Look it up.

[C]

Old school. Like one of the OGs from the 80s.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I'm assuming that's when they were initially birthed, right?

[B]

Yes. No, you can actually go. We went this spring back to the Cabbage patch. What is it they call it? Nursery, General Hospital, or whatever it is. And we saw a Cabbage Patch doll get birthed from a tree. It's a weird experience.

[C]

You're like, that's exactly how they do it. Yep, yep. Just like that.

[B]

That's how you were made, son. Well, I had one of these dolls when I was growing up. Do you want to venture a guess as to what my Cabbage Patch doll's name was?

[C]

You had an actual Cabbage Patch?

[B]

I did.

[C]

I thought they were mostly for the little girls.

[B]

Some boys have them, too.

[C]

Nat, I really did. I didn't know that.

[B]

Don't shame me.

[C]

I thought the boy dolls were.

[B]

I liked them.

[C]

The. My buddies. You remember the.

[B]

My buddy that might have been after the Cabbage Patch? I don't know.

[C]

Wherever I go, he goes. And then they came out with a kid sister the next year.

[B]

Oh, that's right. Yeah.

[C]

Kid sister.

[B]

No, they have boy Cabbage patch dolls. And then they've got all the accessories and stuff. My Cabbage Patch Doll.

[C]

Yeah. No clue.

[B]

Dick Rubin.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

That's a great name for a cabbage Patch doll, isn't it?

[C]

Is he also, like, a hip hop artist?

[B]

I think my mom still has.

[C]

Is he a producer?

[B]

Dick Rubin.

[C]

That's what it sounds like.

[B]

For sure. For sure. He was a mogul, Multimedia mogul. Okay, but.

[C]

So mine was.

[B]

So back to my story. I had a Cabbage Patch Dolls. This runs in the family. It's this place in Georgia, rural Georgia. You can go. You can actually see the Cabbage Patch dolls. But Selma sees the vintage one and she's like, I want this.

[C]

Nice.

[B]

And she's like, you know what, though? I'm not sure how much I want this. I think it was $25. Do I want it $25.

[C]

Kind of pricey for an old doll.

[B]

Yeah, it is. But I guess, like, the vintage ones actually go for more, and the new ones are actually kind of expensive. Like, when we went this spring, I.

[C]

Was like, how much were they? I forget.

[B]

They have different tiers. Right. So some of them were like 50 bucks and some of them were like 150 bucks. They got really expensive. 25 bucks actually seems reasonable based on what we saw. And so she was like, I'm gonna actually, mom, can we come back tomorrow? I'm gonna think it over. So she instituted the 24 hour rule to decide whether or not she actually wanted to spend 25 bucks on this doll. She did go back the next day. She bought it. She's glad she did it. But that only, like, confirms, I think, that she made the right move. She waited it out to see. And this is. I think something more of us should be doing is saying, I want that thing, but how bad do I want it? I don't know. Let me sleep on it. And I'll think I'll go back to that website or I'll go back to that store tomorrow. And I realize that can be inconvenient sometimes, but it will in all likelihood prevent us from making some poor choices that we come to regret later on.

[C]

Yep. I think that's awesome. I think. Yeah, I totally agree More of us should implement that, like a cool down period where we just like, stay. Step away from the item. Rethink our life choices.

[B]

Exactly.

[C]

I was like, I was proud of her. Yeah, you should be, man. But hey, let's talk about. Is this related at all? No, it's not related. No segue here. Let's talk about tariffs. Generally speaking, I feel like the impact of tariffs on the American economy, it's been muted, at least so far, but we are starting to see some price increases, including a recent inflation uptick that seems to be connected to tariff policy. I think that's one of the concerns that the Fed had when it came to lowering rates, is that, oh, but on one hand, we're seeing inflation maybe start to tick back up. And on the other hand, I think they're certainly more concerned with the soft job market.

[B]

It's the needle they have to thread because they have that dual mandate.

[C]

It's a tough, A tough job, I think. But the Supreme Court, they're going to hear the case for and the case against tariff mandates by the President soon. But specifically, if you like coffee, I would pray for a quick end to the tariff policy madness. 50% tariffs have been imposed against Brazil. These were implemented for largely political and for relational reasons, but they have led to quick run ups in the cost of raw beans, coffee beans.

[B]

We get something like a third of our coffee beans from Brazil in particular, so that's going to have a big impact on the market. It's the.

[C]

Is it the Robusto genus or whatever?

[B]

Which are those better or worse? I forget.

[C]

Or is it the Arabic?

[B]

Arabica? I think those are the superior beans.

[C]

Yeah, I forget my favorite beans come from Ethiopia, so. Oh, what's the tariff against Ethiopia? I should have looked that up.

[B]

No idea.

[C]

Right now it's probably like 90%.

[B]

It's probably changed 16 times in the past few months. That's true.

[C]

But generally speaking, we've seen price increases of 20% or so on coffee beans. Prices could obviously get even higher, but. But I think this means we're gonna have to start making some. You know, like, folks are always like, oh, should I take my lunch in? It seems like such a pedestrian move, right? Like, it's not a very attractive thing as opposed to, like, going out to eat. But this is a case where I think making a cup of coffee at home, it's gonna become more and more attractive. And coffee specifically is just an example of something that we can't really produce here in the United States. The coffee beans that we make are of genus Trapicus. Yeah, I was gonna say something like that, but I don't wanna.

[B]

Hawaii makes, it doesn't make some solid juice.

[C]

Hawaii's got some. That's right.

[B]

But certainly not enough to fill all our cups in the morning. In Hawaiian coffee also, they're all, they're.

[C]

Keeping all the really good stuff for themselves. They send over like the partially 10% Kona beans.

[B]

Yeah. I brought you back some real 100% Hawaiian coffee and it was, I told you it was quite expensive. So I must, I must really like you if I brought back 100%.

[C]

You do really like me.

[B]

I really appreciate it.

[C]

I brewed, I brewed the heck out of that coffee.

[B]

It is, it is just shocking how, and I guess it makes sense why it's so expensive there and it's, it's just much cheaper in some other countries. But I guess I'm going to be angling maybe for some Costa Rican coffee, man, instead of Brazilian coffee, but it's going to impact the entire coffee market.

[C]

And then got some good stuff specifically. There's some single origin from Aldi. Oh man, I even think about that. You can specifically choose. I've never thought about the single origin stuff though. There's a tariffs perspective and so there's, there's a Peru, Costa Rica, they've got. Oh man. Yeah.

[B]

The Brazilian coffee is going to be a luxury good soon.

[C]

I'm curious if they've seen those sell out because folks are. I wonder if those prices are holding steady and therefore just driving demand up, which is reducing the supply of the coffee on the actual shelves. Fascinating.

[B]

It is so fascinating.

[C]

Crazy.

[B]

All the domino effect of the tariffs. And then right on that note, like the extra inventory that many US companies had purchased is starting to run thin, which means that new orders are going to cost individuals more because of these tariffs. I don't see a way in which most of the price increases are not going to be passed on to customers. There have been some people saying, oh well, maybe the companies are just going to eat the tariffs and they're not going to pass on price hikes. But that especially in low margin industries, that's just not possible. And so like shoe companies are one example of a sector that is now feeling the price hikes with each order that they place. And other companies now are being accused of evading tariffs by undervaluing imports. So it just kind of creates a bunch of crummy reactions. Right. Where companies feel like they have to try to minimize the impact of tariffs by lying about the value of the Goods that they're importing under reporting the goods.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, I saw that Whirlpool specifically was accusing somebody, pointing their fingers like, hey, how come? Like, we've seen some significant declines on some of these guys, but they're the same number of boats coming across. What's going on here?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Which I get, it feels. Starts to feel unfair. And then, you know, another surprise bill that's hitting individual consumers directly is coming from online shopping. It's becoming more of a regular occurrence that you get like a bill after the fact that you weren't expecting. Many international post offices and companies are suspending shipping to the US for the time being. There's this little Australian boutique clothing boutique that Emily likes, and I got something for her a while back, and I went back to their site just to check it out, and they were like, hey, guess what? For the time being, we're not shipping to the United States at all until we kind of figure out what's going on with the tariffs. And it is just this continual moving target that they have found it safest to cut themselves off from even selling to American citizens. So be careful buying internationally until more clarity comes on these tariffs. But I just hope even if tariff policy remains somewhat in place, that we just kind of settle on something and it's not a whack a mole sort of thing anymore.

[C]

Yeah, no, I think that's one of the biggest implications, like, on an individual level, it leads to. And they cited different stories of folks who were getting. Yeah, they're getting slapped with like these tariff bills that weren't paid at the port. And so therefore, you, as the consumer before, it's like, hey, you can either pay for this now or once you receive the item, you can pay for it right there on the spot. And that's just going to lead to people not making these purchases. And so as individuals, it decreases expenses.

[B]

And small business owners, too.

[C]

From a small business standpoint, you don't invest because you are uncertain what the future holds. And ultimately, eventually, at some point, this is going to lead to the economy grinding to a halt as folks are kind of like what is about to happen, because there is no uncertainty. And I'm sure that's something that the current administration is wanting to avoid. Actually, that's one of the reasons why Trump was pushing so hard for the rate cuts, because what does that do? It juices the economy. Right. And so that allows him, I think, a little more Runway to be able to use these tariffs from a political negotiation standpoint as to whether or not. He will succeed. We shall see. But on a related personal finance note, cnn, they were advocating for a just in case financial plan. And they contend that with this economic uncertainty that we're all experiencing that it's wise to have plans for unpleasant potential scenarios. And some folks might find that to be depressing, but I think the exact opposite. I think the more that you can game plan these different nasty scenarios that might unfold, the easier it's going to be to prepare. So what that means is keep an eye on your expenses, I would say to check your insurance, make sure that you are properly insured and certainly, well, I guess this goes with expenses, but make sure we talk about a bare bones budget. That is something that we highly suggest.

[B]

We fire that thing back up.

[C]

We've dedicated an entire episode. I forget what number it is, but I'll link to it in the show Notes for this episode when we talked about what a bare bones budget is. But also from an, from an investing standpoint, you might want to think through how you would react to just a like big stock market drops and just make sure that you are invested accordingly. That you can, if you've got a long enough Runway. All right, I can handle the volatility, the ups and the downs, but maybe not if you are close, closer to retirement or if you are an early retiree. But ultimately, I think a just in case financial plan is something that you hope you don't have to use, but it is a smart exercise and it's certainly great to have when the need arises. It's like having that first aid kit. You don't get it thinking, like, I can't wait to use this. You get it thinking, all right, this is something that's I'm going to have on hand because I am an adult and I want to be prepared.

[B]

So that makes me think of when we were when I was in the woods a couple months ago with some of my friends and a rock hit the Achilles of one of the guys on the trip and it was pretty nasty. But we had fortunately a nurse practitioner with us and of course he had all the proper accoutrements. And someone else had brought some whiskey that you could pour on to disinfect the wound.

[C]

Oh, this is a waste of whiskey.

[B]

It was a waste of whiskey. But it actually worked out. It was good.

[C]

I would have been like, no, it's fine. Pretty sure there's no nasty germs on the rock. We're in the middle of nowhere, right?

[B]

Yeah, he probably would have been fine. But man, Having that needle and thread and sewing it up while. I mean, it was pretty awesome to watch, I can't lie. Yeah. But just that. Yeah, that being prepared. Right. Having it just in case. He was like, most every other time I've gone out in the woods, I've never needed this. I've always had it and I've just never used it before. This was the first time. It makes, makes me think of another friend who.

[C]

It makes me. Before you move on, it makes me wonder if folks who are in the medical industry, in particular, first responders, EMTs, it makes me wonder if they tend to be more financially prepared because if that's how you approach your work and how you sort of see physical activity and the risks involved there, I mean, certainly it would be very easy to translate that into your personal finance.

[B]

Sure. It also makes me think of a friend who, by the way, when he goes to a restaurant, he's always like, game planning. What if some bad dude comes in here and you know, starts making threats or whatever? Like what, what, what am I going to do? Is there a table I can kick over and hide behind? Is there an exit quick to my left or something like that? And I think I always kind of laugh at that.

[C]

But I was going to say that was me until you talked about the table because, like, I also always do that, like whenever kid and I, like we went out for a date night last night and I always prefer the seat where I can see the front door because if someone comes in there and Zach and all acting all crazy, I want to be able to have a game plan.

[B]

Yeah. And that's exactly what you're talking about here, the game plan before your finances. Like, is it likely to occur? No, but like if it does, you'll be ready. You want to be prepared. Yeah. Let's talk about investing for a second. Matt, we talked about Robinhood for a second last week. They have a new fund, they're starting up a new fund that is going to allow you to invest in startups, companies that are just getting launched. And so their so called venture fund is going to allow individual investors on the platform to make money on the hottest startups before they go public. Which sounds so awesome. Yeah. You're going to give me access to those Marc Andreessen companies, the Ubers, before they were Uber, before anybody knew who they were.

[C]

Cutting edge.

[B]

Give me some of that. Well, when you look at the numbers funding startups, it doesn't typically work out very well. Morningstar, and I quote, said this fund could spell disaster. For investors. Basically, they highlighted the structure of this fund, the likely fees investors are going to pay, and Robinhood's inexperience in this space. It's cool. Like the proliferation of investment options that we have. You can invest in almost anything under the sun these days. But we think disciplined investors are going to avoid sexy funds like this. They're going to opt for the boring route to build wealth instead. I think this is like the candy version of what you should be including in your diet. Maybe a small amount on occasion is good, but, like, we're all for the meat and the potatoes and the veggies. Right. And that's. That's really index funds when it comes down to it, that's going to give you your whole balanced diet, and you just don't really need anything like this in your life. That's true.

[C]

Okay, so on a related note, one of the goat investing writers, Jason Zweig, he had an excellent article about why you don't want to trade like a member of Congress. In his first line in that piece, he lays out the problem, and he writes, the peak of a bull market and the bottom of a bear market have one thing in common. Buy and hold investing starts to feel like a total waste of time, which is.

[B]

That's like the pushback I feel like we hear, especially now. They're like, I could have made so much more money doing all this other stuff. Matt and Joel, why were you telling me to do the basic boring thing?

[C]

Yeah, it can be really tough to watch others out there crush it, in particular, while they are investing in what seems like a more haphazard way. Not just in a haphazard way, but in a very, like, insider trading kind of way. Because we've seen this with politicians both on the right and the left, when it comes to the information that they have access to. And it's like they're essentially day trading. Like, it's their. Like it's their job, their actual job. What they should be doing is legislating, but instead what they're doing is making trades on the daily.

[B]

I guess. I mean, they haven't done much legislating, so maybe they feel like they've got extra time on their hands.

[C]

I know. Well, so that's. I think that's the biggest. That's one of the things that bothers me the most. First of all, I mean, I think members of Congress, they should be forced to not liquidate, but either put their portfolio under, like, lock and key while they are in Congress, while they are on special committees, or you are just invested in the overall American stock market. Right. Either the s and P500 or the total US stock market. Because, like, don't you, as a member of Congress want to just see the entire country improve as a whole? So that's one issue, but you speak to a whole nother problem. Yes, it totally sucks to see these individuals getting rich off of some of this insider information. Some of that can be mitigated a little bit by the fact that they have to disclose their trades.

[B]

And you can even within what, 60 days typically. Right.

[C]

Otherwise, you're penalized, but the penalty is really small. And so the bottom line, like there's a Nancy Pelosi tracker and you can.

[B]

Invest, literally the fund, Nancy, that's the ticker.

[C]

And you can invest just like she does and attempt to outperform the market. And she has done incredibly well for herself because of information that she is privy to. But it's one thing if they were actually doing their job and legislating and engaging in great debate, having these conversations and pushing forward bills, but you don't see that. Right. And so what it appears to be is that members of Congress are getting wealthy and wealthier based on the information that they have while not actually doing their job, the thing that they're supposed to do. So it's coming at the expense of everyday Americans. It's like, why does Mr. Qualify myself as.

[B]

Why does Mr. Smith go to Washington now? It's to enlargen his own balance sheet. And it's not to do his civic duty for the country is what it feels like. And you call out Nancy Pelosi, but like truly Republicans and Democrats both participate in this. And we've actually seen.

[C]

She's just the most notorious.

[B]

Yeah. And we've seen Democrat senators say, hey, actually, we want to put a stop to this. John Ossoff from Georgia said, here's a bill, guys, let's get behind this. Let's stop the insanity of single stock trading by elected officials. And there were crickets, crickets in response to that proposal. So there have been efforts, but nothing has actually happened so far. And I think too, Matt, like when, when stocks are flying high, it just feels easier for people to make riskier bets, especially because they're feeling some of that fomo. But the tortoise, right, the index fund investor wins and does quite well over time. Don't give into that. And you'll be glad, you'll be glad that you invested in the simple, boring way. I think down the line, when other people are reeling, maybe from some of their single stock bets or from some of their targeted investments that don't really pay off. Real quickly, I wanted to touch on quarterly earnings because that's been something that's been going around lately. President Trump has basically said quarterly earnings reports should go away. Actually, President Obama said something similar 15 years ago. I wonder if investors are like, what? This is not good. What's going to happen here? Well, one, we don't know what's going to happen with this and whether or not quarterly earnings reports are going to be turned into semiannual earnings reports. They might be and this could be a multi year long process to get there. Alison Schreger, who we've had on the show, she's a Bloomberg columnist, she wrote about why that's actually probably a good thing to not have quarterly earnings reports. It's because transparency is important and it's a necessary thing from our publicly traded companies. She also said, and I think I agree with her that quarterly reports are overkill. They lead to riskier company behavior. Focusing on short term results and as long term investors, I don't know, I don't really care about quarterly earnings reports myself.

[C]

We should be immune to some of that news.

[B]

Some people say, hey, less information means riskier markets. But again, I think for index fund investors, whether quarterly earnings reports stick around, whether we go to semiannual shouldn't be a big deal for any of us.

[C]

This isn't entirely new, not only in the US but abroad too. This is something that the EU did back in 2013. There's no conclusive evidence that it was good or bad. Like the only thing that they can definitively point to is the fact that the administrative costs have gone down because they don't have to report quarterly as opposed to just a couple times a year. So either way, I don't think this should be something that should impact individual investors one way or the other. But, but we got more to get to. We're going to talk a little bit about Andrew Yang as well as casinos.

[B]

No more more politician talk.

[C]

Yeah, but not actually a little less, a little less political in this case. We'll get to those stories though, and more.

[B]

Right.

[D]

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[C]

It makes me think you mentioned kids, Joel. I might be done having kids at this point, but my friends, my neighbors, they aren't. I've got family members who have a fresh baby at home as well and it is such an amazing season of life. But those changes should also bring about a reassessment of whether or not you've got your estate planning ducks all in a row. Trust and Will makes it simple and straightforward. Their easy to use website is simple to navigate and plus all your information, all your documents, they are securely stored with bank level encryption.

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[C]

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[B]

Alright, we're back to the break. It's now time for the ludicrous headline of the week. This one comes from Business Insider. And Matt, when I saw this headline, it just made me mad. It just made me mad. And I was like, I gotta click through. I gotta read this article. And it only made me madder. The headline read, America's new Consumer Caste System. And when you hear caste system, you're like, oh my gosh, what is happening that divides people into these groups that they can't get out of at all? That sounds frustrating or terrible. Like, what is this that this author is talking about? Well, the rest of the article is not much better than the headline. And the writer accuses companies of dividing consumers into categories. Right? The haves and the have nots, essentially. And the writer highlights in particular. Well, one, she's going after one of my faves here, Costco. She said Costco's new hours for executive members. That's one of the main culprits. Like the Richie Riches can get in an hour early and the rest of the unwashed masses have to sit in the parking lot and watch while other people shop. Like, what are you talking about? That's utterly ridiculous. Better step back.

[C]

Don't.

[B]

Don't talk smack about myself at Joel's Costco. Yeah, she also talked about paying to eliminate ads on streaming services. This is another sign of the cast system that she's pointing out. Some people can pay for the no ad services and others have to watch the ads. How terrible is that? Well, I think the problem with the reference to caste is that individuals had no choice about their position in society inside of a caste system. It's like you were born into something and there was no way to get out of it. Right? You were bound for life.

[C]

You literally have no choice. It depends on your family. Your family of origin. Does that sound like America, Joel?

[B]

No, it was this immovable fate from birth. And that's not the case in American society. And you and I, we can choose to pay for ad removal on our streaming or we can choose to spring for the Executive membership or vice versa. We can choose the opposite. So different tiers of service are a benefit to consumers, allowing more choice. It is not some sort of dastardly sorting mechanism that this author tries to make it sound like it. That one frustrated me.

[C]

Let's call her out. Her name's Emily. I think her name's Emily Stewart.

[B]

Okay, Emily Stewart and I. You're welcome to come on here and defend yourself if you want to chat about it, but I'm sorry, I just completely.

[C]

I will say she doesn't. She leans into, like the cast sort of framework a little bit in the article. I'm willing to cut her a little bit. A little bit of slack because I know that when you are. When you're a journalist, you come up with these articles and oftentimes there's an editor that takes it. They edit it, they slap a new headline up there and then they publish it. So it may not be her as much, but maybe they were wanting to lean more into that sort of cast system. But I can. That being said, I completely agree with what you're saying. Like, no need to cue the Lee Greenwood music, but, like, this is why America is so amazing. We have the freedom. We have the liberty to make the kind of choices that we want to make when it comes to how we. What we do with our. In life. Like, what we choose to do, not just with our money, but what we can do whatever we want as long as we're of course, not impinging on the rights of other people around us. But, like, that is what makes America so great. And we have nothing close to any sort of caste system here in the.

[B]

US and some people choose not to be members of Costco at all because they're like, bulk buying. Sounds dumb. I don't care that.

[C]

Don't need it.

[B]

Awesome. Don't want it. Some people choose to live in vans down by the river. Like, whatever you want to do, man. This is the kind of place where that is viable. And yeah, I think that's actually probably. That's part of the problem, is that we pit. We make it sound like, oh, this is what the elites can afford and this is what the non elites are stuck with. And I think there's just a lot of choice in there. Like, there's a lot of things I could afford, Matt. I choose not to because I don't care about it and I don't want that in my life.

[C]

You've got that freedom, man. Yeah. We also need more Chris Farley references in our podcast.

[B]

Yes, we do.

[C]

The Las Vegas Review Journal had an article about the rise in surge pricing on everything, basically at many of the bigger casinos now. So prices on the Strip are certainly already high by comparison, but they can vary now by the hour. So for instance, maybe you want a bottle of water at the MGM. Well, it might cost you $2 in the morning, but it'll be $3.50 later that night. Same thing is the case with beer, six bucks and then eight bucks later on in the evening. It's interesting because I think most folks staying at a casino, they're not terribly price conscious anyway. So it's likely why they will depends.

[B]

On if it's before or after they're. How much they've gambled away all their money. That's true.

[C]

So maybe this is a good target market to try this out on. But what I don't like here in particular is the fact that we've seen these models when it comes to airlines and when it comes to Uber pricing. Right, surge pricing. But the reason that that works is because there is a limited amount of supply. And I think folks are willing to let surge pricing, like, they're willing to give it a buy if they know that the actual supply is limited. There are only so many flights going to Las Vegas, and on those limited flights, there are only so many seats. And so if there is a massive demand, well, shoot, maybe we need to up the price a little bit. That's a way of. Essentially, the market prices are telling you what it is worth to consumers. In this case, I would wager that they basically have an unlimited supply of water bottles and of beer. So they are imposing this artificial scarcity on the supply. I think that right there is when consumers are going to get pissed because they're going to say, wait a minute, you've got tons of this stuff. It shouldn't cost any more now than it does than it did earlier. So that is the.

[B]

That's the.

[C]

It's a fine line between it being acceptable and it being this, what feels.

[B]

Like a cash grab.

[C]

As different companies are trying to adopt these pricing models, where they are in a lot of cases are necessary. I think dynamic pricing can be a fair and just way of allocating goods, except for when there are plenty of goods. And you're just doing this because it's.

[B]

Worked in other industries, which is why Wendy's backed off. If you remember, they were like, hey, we're gonna do dynamic pricing. A burger might cost this much at 11:00am and this much at 12:30 when there's like more Foot traffic. It's probably gonna cost a little more than in the store. And Wendy's was like, got so much crap for that, they decided, okay, people are so mad. We gotta. We gotta completely.

[C]

They've got a limitless line of burgers back there in the cooler.

[B]

Right?

[C]

They're not frozen.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

They're in the fridge.

[B]

That's right. That's what I hear.

[C]

Never frozen, Joel.

[B]

And so, yeah, I think the best thing you can do as a consumer is just to walk away from stupid prices.

[C]

Yes. Yeah. Literally. Vote with your dollars, vote with your feet.

[B]

And some people are like, oh, but I'm thirsty. And I'd be like, you know what? What? I'm gonna go keep walking and find a water fountain. If prices for parking are too expensive around the event, I'm going to. I park further away, Matt. Like, these are the kind of decisions. Yeah, they're annoying, right. It annoys people. They're like, but I don't want to have to do that. But these are the kind of decisions I think we have to make as consumers in the kind of society we live in.

[C]

Like, and that we're free to make.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

As Americans.

[B]

That's right, baby. That's right.

[C]

Speaking of a lot of singing this episode, America.

[B]

Well, American politician Andrew Yang just launched a new mvno, which is basically one of those tiny cell phone networks, mobile virtual network operators, what that stands for, he calls it Noble Mobile, which is awesome. The goal, just fun to say Noble Mobile. He's trying to align the profit motive with the behavior that individual cell phone users are trying to achieve. And so the price initially sounds like it's too much. 50 bucks a month for unlimited talk text and 20 gigs of data. But Noble Mobile wants to incentivize you to be on your phone less. So for every gig of data you don't use, you're going to basically get rewards equivalent to something like a dollar per gig for the data you're not using. And so I like this idea, man. I dig what Noble Mobile is trying to do, but here's the flip side of that. Even if you didn't use a single gig, you get 20 bucks back. Right. Which means you're still paying more for Noble Mobile service than you would be for Mint Mobile or US Mobile, who are a couple of our favorites. So, you know, yes, you would be paying less than the average cell phone bill, which is, I think, something like 80, 83, 85 bucks around the country. But you can do even better than that. So I like the incentivizing Thing. I think it's kind of cool. I like the proliferation of, you know, fairly inexpensive cell phone carriers. I'm still gravitate towards a couple of those other guys though.

[C]

Yeah, but then you wouldn't be able to say Noble Mobile on the basis or on the regular.

[B]

It does have a nice ring to it.

[C]

It does. Chernobyl mobile, that'd be different.

[B]

That one probably wouldn't be phenomenal. I don't think so.

[C]

Credit scores are dropping across the country. Joel. Did you know that? You knew that?

[B]

I heard that.

[C]

We talked about this. We've been seeing scores rise pretty significantly over the past 20 years from an average of 688 back in 2005 to an average in 2023 of 7 18. And you might be thinking, oh, this is the era of personal finance podcast. Maybe Matt and Jewel had a positive impact on society. Maybe. Probably.

[B]

I'm gonna say probably.

[C]

Yeah. But it's also a case of credit score inflation, basically. That 720 isn't the 720 of yesteryear.

[B]

Which is like grade inflation at schools where.

[C]

Yeah, 4.0 isn't what it. What it used to be back when we were in school.

[B]

Joel, I have many teacher friends in my life and relatives and the way they talk about how they have to grade their students now, now it's so different than what we experience when we don't have to.

[C]

Although maybe they do because it's been implemented from the top by that principal or in that district.

[B]

There's some pressure for sure.

[C]

There definitely is. But generally speaking, what we're saying is that folks, scores have increased due to this gentle upward trend that we have all been experiencing. But that being said, debt is becoming more of a problem now. Both from a headline amount of debt that is out there, there balances that are being held, amounts that are delinquent, also from an interest rate perspective. But because of that, credit scores are slipping. 14% of Gen Zers have seen their score decline by 50 points or more. And I think the resumption of student loan payments, that likely has a lot to do with it. And specifically I want to call out quick fixes that are marketed, that are advertised out there because those can create more problems in your life. But generally speaking, one of the things we tried to do here on the show is to explain how the credit scoring model works. We want folks to pay attention to it. We want folks to pay attention to their scores because it has a wide ranging influence on your financial life. Not just your ability, not just the rate that you're paying on a credit card balance, which we don't want you to do. But yeah, it has a wide, again.

[B]

Wide ranging impact and maybe I overstated it. With credit scores crashing at the beginning of the pod max, I think the average decline has been something like, like two points. But I think we are in an era where we saw a lot more leniency being baked into the models of the credit scoring system and we're just seeing less of that now. Especially with the multi year long pause in student loans. It's just shocking for people to have that payment back in their lives again. And many cannot afford to make that payment because of that. I think they're going to start to see their credit scores get hit. There's a lot of collateral damage from having, yep, a falling credit score. So make sure you're paying attention to that. One other thing worth considering while we're talking about credit scores, maybe updating the credit scoring system. We're not a huge fan of the way it works. And the three major credit bureaus, often they are unresponsive to, to individuals who have a problem or feel like that their credit score isn't reflective of and their credit report has like misinformation on it. Right. Like it's not accurate. And a new study reveals that there might be a better way to calculate credit scores. Basically only looking at prior borrowing history. That's not always the best way, the best tactic to take because it does leave some folks out of the credit market. This study found that they looked at shopping habits and they said, well actually someone's shopping habits can shed light on their likelihood of repaying debts. I think expanding maybe the pool of data, there's a lot more we can draw from now, including whether or not people make their rent payments on time. That's a big one. That is getting factored in more and more. But it's still there's a huge lack of that data in the credit scoring models, including more of the buy now, pay later stuff, which the buy now, pay later companies are kind of kicking their feet. They don't really want that to be the case. That data would be helpful in coming up with better credit scoring models and credit scores then. And I think based on this study it said, hey, when we go with this shopping data, actually it helps more people get into their ability to get into the credit economy but without really distorting it.

[C]

I almost see that as like a negative though as far as getting more folks in because like especially, I mean do we want to more easily be able to provide higher amounts of credit for new borrowers. Right. Like as in. Personally I'm like, I don't think I necessarily want to. It's a trade off. Like we're always trading in particular these days, our information for better rates, free apps, different things like that. So personally I'm less interested in that. But I'm also like, I don't know, maybe it's okay that there's a 25 year old out there who's never had a credit card. You know, for whatever reason that's fine. But as our 23 year old, I should say. And they're like, okay, I'm kind of getting my own place now. I'm not in college. Maybe I need to get a student credit card that's got like a tiny revolving balance or whatever.

[B]

Like a small credit limit.

[C]

A small credit limit? Yeah, like a $500 credit limit or $800 credit limit. And the ability for them to make some small mistakes with a limited amount of dollars. Right. It's kind of like you got the guardrails up a little bit when you're like when you're bowling. So I don't, I think regardless being aware of how it is that the scoring models work and paying attention to that is like, that's the biggest takeaway. Regardless of certainly the data breaches. I think that's a big improvement. I think that's an area where we, and luckily, hey, knock on wood, when's the last time we heard about a data breach when it comes to the. At least it has.

[B]

That might be because all of the data has been breached. I don't know.

[C]

There's like no more data to be breached. Yeah, they has all the data.

[B]

No, I get what you're saying. I do think that there are other elements though, especially for, let's say a recent graduate. Well, hey, what about, what were your grades? Like, what was your attendance like in school? Like those kind of things could factor into somebody's whether or not that person is a credit worthy borrower.

[C]

Then it starts feeling really technically, you know, it's like, oh man, they know everything about you. And it's one thing if you're going to take out a $200,000 HELOC on your home. It's like, okay, let's make sure we have all the financial information that we can find on you that you're going to have to scrape together all this info. It's another thing when you're talking about like access to an additional 5,000 or something like that. But It'll be interesting, I think, to see how it all shakes out and how different scoring models evolve. Especially like you said, as Buy Now, Pay later is able to get incorporated, which I think is vital. That's so important.

[B]

I think the biggest problem here, what it comes down to, is that way too many people who exist in the credit scoring system, because we all do, whether or not we want to. We are, we're essentially in this, grandfathered into this system that we didn't choose to be a part of. Understanding the system is crucial, and there's just a huge chunk of Americans who are a part of it, but they don't know how it works. And the more you understand how it works, you know that paying your bills on time is crucial, that having a low credit utilization rate is one of those big things that impacts your score in a massive way. If you can learn how the credit scoring system works, we have information up on our site if you're curious. But if. If you can learn how the system works and then act inside of that system accordingly, you might be frustrated by it occasionally, but you can succeed inside of it, even if the system is, you know, not. Not the best. And we would have done something different if we were starting something, if we were starting over completely from scratch. That's true.

[C]

All right, man, let's get out of here. We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and we will see you back here. We'll be back here in your podcatcher, in your earbuds, in your car stereo, or wherever it is that you happen to listen to. Our podcast here on Monday with a fresh Ask how to Money episode. But, buddy, until next time, best friends out. Best friends out. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with The Ultra Durable LG XBoom Portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because, let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom. And for a limited time, save [e-mail] with code Fall25. Bring the Boom XBoom.

[A]

Hi, I'm Frances Fry.

[B]

And I'm Anne Morris.

[A]

And we are the hosts of a new TED podcast called Fixable. We've helped leaders at some of the world's most competitive companies solve all kinds of problems. On our show, we'll pull back the curtain and give you the type of honest, unfiltered advice we usually reserve for top executives. Maybe you have a co worker with boundary issues or you want to know how to inspire and motivate your team. No problem is too big or too small. Give us a call and we'll help you solve the problems you're stuck on. Find fixable wherever you listen to podcasts Hi, it's Jemma Speg, host of the psychology of your 20s. This September at the psychology of your 20s, we're breaking down the very interesting ways psychology applies to real life, like why we crave external validation. I find it so interesting that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and not our own judgment of ourselves. So according to the study, not being liked actually creates similar pain levels as real life physical pain. Learn more about the psychology of everyday life and of course your twenties. This September, listen to the psychology of your twenties on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.