Friday Flight - Rent Reductions, Charity Parity, & Home Equity Sharing #1146

Summary

How to Money – Friday Flight: Rent Reductions, Charity Parity & Home Equity Sharing (#1146)
May 29, 2026 | Hosts: Joel & Matt | iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

Joel and Matt’s “Friday Flight” tackles a range of timely personal finance issues: the shifting dynamics in the rental market and strategies for negotiating rent, pitfalls of home equity sharing, potential legislative changes affecting charity donations and EV owners, subscription fatigue, and consumer tactics for tackling rising healthcare and prescription drug costs. All this is delivered in their signature relatable, jargon-free style focused on actionable advice for everyday listeners.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Listener Appreciation & Podcast Recommendations

(01:53 – 03:39)

• Joel and Matt open by expressing gratitude for their listeners and emphasizing their mission of demystifying personal finance.
• Quick recommendation: The podcast “Acquired” and their deep-dive episodes, especially on Vanguard and Costco.
  • Quote: “The latest one was about Vanguard…they dive into Jack Bogle’s history and the history of the company, and it’s just so good.” — Joel (02:55)

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2. Consumer Alert: Home Warranty Mailer Scams

(04:55 – 06:25)

• Joel rails against deceptive “final notice” home warranty mailers that appear official but are just marketing tactics.
• Both hosts warn that home warranties rarely pay off and the marketing is predatory.
  • Quote: “Home warranties…are almost never worth the money you pay for them.” — Joel (06:07)
• Comparison drawn to new, more expensive “Home Warranty 2.0” services and subscription models.

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3. Rent Reductions: Negotiation in a Renter’s Market

(07:04 – 11:38)

• Joel and Matt discuss the shifting rental market and why now is a prime time for tenants to request rent decreases.
• Refer back to Ep. 469 with Justin Pogue for negotiation tips.
• Key insights:
  • Do your research on local market rents.
  • Acknowledge it might feel awkward, but the data supports assertive negotiation.
  • If denied, consider offering something in return (e.g., lease extension).
  • Moving may be worthwhile if significant savings are available.
  • Use technology (and even AI) to script and prepare for conversations if you’re timid.
• Notable Quote:
  • “It’s possible you might get told no, but even still, you don’t have to take no for an answer.” – Joel (08:09)
  • “The head of research for the National Multifamily Housing Council recently said...‘It’s definitely a renter’s market out there’.” – Matt (09:22)

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4. Fixed-Rate Mortgages Aren’t So Fixed Anymore

(11:38 – 14:06)

• Even with a fixed-rate mortgage, payments can rise due to increases in escrow for taxes, insurance, and local services.
• A surprising stat: 65% of homeowners who escrow are facing a $2,200 average shortfall this year.
• Paying attention to property tax increases and appeals (Ownwell mentioned as a helpful service).
  • Quote: “You can appeal, right, if you feel like your property taxes have gone up too much or have gone up in error.” — Joel (13:48)

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5. The Dangers of Home Equity Sharing

(14:06 – 15:43)

• Home equity sharing allows you to sell a stake in your home’s current and future value for a lump sum.
• The hosts strongly advise against it, likening it to a payday loan for your house, with huge costs and loss of future equity.
  • Quote: “It’s a short-sighted move…You are selling part of the current and a part of the future value of your home.” – Matt (14:32)
  • “Avoid them. They're crap.” – Joel (15:43)

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6. Legislation Updates: EV Fees & the Charity Parity Act

(15:43 – 19:32)

• A proposed federal $130 annual fee for electric vehicles is being discussed to replace lost gas tax revenue. Some states already impose higher fees (e.g., $400 in Texas).
  • Quote: “At some point it starts to feel like a penalty from some of these states...disincentivizing people driving electric vehicles, which does seem ridiculous.” – Joel (17:35)
• Charity Parity Act: New bill would allow direct charitable donations from 401(k)s (currently only possible from IRAs), simplifying the process and offering tax advantages.
  • Quote: “I think this makes a whole lot of sense...feels like more of a leveling of the playing field.” – Matt (19:20)
  • “We’re in full support of the Charity Parity Act.” – Joel (19:32)

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7. Prediction Markets Banned in Minnesota

(19:41 – 20:24)

• Minnesota becomes the first state to ban prediction markets and related advertisements. The hosts see the move as understandable, given the risks and losses for most participants.
  • Quote: “I don’t see that as a bad thing…States can kind of make their own decisions on that too.” — Joel (20:10)

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8. Headline of the Week: Impulse Buying in Tight Times

(23:08 – 26:34)

• Despite tight budgets, a survey found impulse spending is up — food/beverages, electronics, and shoes are top categories.
• The appeal of “treating yourself” during financial stress is real, but the hosts urge listeners to examine the emotions behind these splurges.
  • Quote: “If you do it all the time…that’s your new normal. It’s the hedonic treadmill.” – Matt (26:44)
  • Joel shares that at his house, infrequent splurges (like a special Coke or Olipop) make them more meaningful.

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9. Subscription Fatigue: Beware the Recurring Cost Creep

(27:51 – 30:17)

• Americans are facing “subscription fatigue” with recurring charges for everything from car washes to gardening earthworm deliveries.
• Some companies even require a subscription for full access to basics (like internet-enabled mattresses).
• Hosts urge vigilance: review and cancel unused subscriptions every 3–6 months.
  • Quote: “We would just all do well to look at our credit card bills...cancel the ones that we forgot we had...” – Joel (29:10)
  • “Subscriptions can be worthwhile…but tread lightly.” – Joel (29:57)

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10. Healthcare Premiums Soar, and How to Cope

(30:39 – 34:55)

• Rising healthcare premiums (especially as subsidies phase out) are driving some consumers off ACA plans; in some high-cost areas, family premiums top $2,000/month.
• While some averages show smaller increases, many are opting for inferior coverage or going uninsured.
• The importance of jobs that provide healthcare is rising.
  • Quote: “I mean, for our family…we are talking about $2,000 plus a month for premiums.” – Joel (31:31)
  • “It certainly makes…a job that’s got solid health benefits…even more important.” – Matt (32:51)

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11. Negotiating Medical Bills: You Have Leverage

(34:55 – 37:41)

• Thanks to recent legal changes, medical bills can’t be reported to credit bureaus for one year, giving time to negotiate.
• Don’t pay the first bill—ask for reductions, wait out collection periods, and negotiate. Jared Walker ($4.org) says a 20% reduction is often easy.
  • Quote: “Never pay the first bill…there’s a darn good chance there is…something incorrect on your bill...or you could pay a whole heck of a lot less.” – Joel (36:14)

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12. Prescription Drugs: Lower-Cost Options & Unlikely Partnerships

(38:15 – 43:06)

• Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs now partners with TrumpRx, expanding access to affordable meds.
• Even though competition is helping, listeners are encouraged to price-check across platforms (e.g., GoodRx, Amazon Pharmacy).
• Hosts praise genuine cross-ideological collaboration in service of broader public benefit.
  • Quote: “That’s what some of the best businesses do—serve people and make some money, too.” – Joel (42:51)
  • “This is competition. This is capitalism at its best.” — Matt (42:51)
  • “Cost Plus Drugs existing…will lead to reduced prices across the board…just because of that increased competition.” — Joel (43:41)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Rent Negotiation Courage:
  “Most of the benefits are still going to flow, though, to the people who actually ask.” — Matt (09:22)
• On Lifecycle of Subscriptions:
  “There are apps you can pay to help you manage all the subscriptions you have in your life. That’s how bad it’s gotten.” — Joel (29:08)
• On Healthcare Negotiation Tactics:
  “This is how the game is played. And I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that I’m going to pay a little bit less.” — Matt (36:01)
• On Capitalism Driving Progress:
  “This is competition. This is capitalism at its best.” — Matt (42:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Listener thanks and podcast picks: 01:53–03:39
• Home warranty mailer scams: 04:55–06:25
• Rent reduction negotiation tips: 07:04–11:38
• Mortgage escrow/tax increases: 11:38–14:06
• Home equity sharing warning: 14:06–15:43
• EV fees & Charity Parity Act: 15:43–19:32
• MN bans prediction markets: 19:41–20:24
• Impulse spending headline: 23:08–26:34
• Subscription fatigue: 27:51–30:17
• Healthcare premium increases: 30:39–34:55
• Medical bill negotiation strategy: 34:55–37:41
• Prescription savings & partnerships: 38:15–43:06

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Tone & Approach

• Friendly, conversational, sometimes humorous (“This isn’t a Coke ad, but it really does sound like one”), and always focused on practical, realistic personal finance strategies.
• Encourages listeners to self-advocate, research, and not be afraid to have awkward conversations (with landlords, health providers, or even themselves!).

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Summary Takeaways

• Renters: Now is a good time to negotiate rent—do your research, be bold but not antagonistic.
• Homeowners: Be cautious with “home equity sharing” and watch for sneaky escrow increases; appeal taxes if needed.
• Consumers: Subscription costs and impulse spending can quickly erode financial gains—regularly review both.
• Healthcare: Rising costs are crowding out budgets, but you have tools—shop around for coverage, negotiate bills, and seek out the lowest prescription drug costs.
• Policy Changes: EV drivers and soon-to-be-retirees should track legislation that could impact their costs and tax deductions.
• General Advice: The best deals go to those who ask, compare, negotiate, and self-educate.

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Biggest Message:
Be your own best advocate, stay alert to changing markets and policy shifts, and don’t be afraid to have “awkward” conversations if it means saving money and living more freely.

Transcript

[Matt]

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[Joel]

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[Joel]

Welcome to How To Money. I'm Joel.

[Matt]

I'm Matt.

[Joel]

Today we're talking rent reductions, charity parity and home equity sharing.

[Matt]

Charity parody isn't even something, Joel, that you had to make up. That's a real thing thing that we'll

[Joel]

get to Julia Gulia from the Wedding Singer Julia Gulia.

[Matt]

Oh, man, I love it. You know what else I love? I love all of our listeners out there, man. Like, if you think about what it is that we get to do here day in, day out, the listeners that listen to you and I talk about listen to us badger on about personal finance and whatever other sort of random things that we come across that we think are interesting and hopefully going to be able to provide some value for people when it comes to their personal finances.

[Joel]

That's always the goal.

[Matt]

That's the goal. But even still, I'm appreciative of all of our listeners out there for sticking with us.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Oh, the how to Money show.

[Joel]

We should give a brief recommendation for a podcast episode that both you and I have been trying to get through. It's very long. The acquired's new Vanguard episode.

[Matt]

Oh. Oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah.

[Joel]

Well maybe we'll link to it in the show notes and also in Pod Talk.

[Matt]

Yeah, this is the big new segment of the show where we talk about podcast.

[Joel]

Podcast you should check out.

[Matt]

Well, normally it's really good.

[Joel]

By the way, they released I think eight or ten episodes a year because they're so long.

[Matt]

But they're all beasts. I mean anywhere from. I mean Vanguards was only. So the latest one was about Vanguard. So they dive into Jack Vogel's history and the history of the company and it's just so good.

[Joel]

Remind me of our conversation with Robin Wigglesworth who wrote the book Trillions. That was really, that was really fun.

[Matt]

But he got to meet Jack himself.

[Joel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

Super cool.

[Joel]

So it's a, it's a good show. And I don't listen to all their episodes. One, because they're long and two, I'm just not interested in some of the companies that they're profiling. But some, some of them, the Costco one from years ago was obviously one I had to listen to.

[Matt]

So I hadn't tuned into them yet at that point. But now they're. I'm subscribed and so that way I'm always reviewing. And the most recent one besides Vanguard that I listened to was Coke.

[Joel]

Oh, which was super. Yeah. Especially being in Atlanta.

[Matt]

Right? Yeah. I mean the Chandler, not the Candler family. Like I just think.

[Joel]

Yeah, that's why. And so many things are named Candler something right around Atlanta. And you're like, oh, I didn't realize that had to do with Coke. So.

[Matt]

Yeah, and that was totally one where I was running, running errands. And you better believe that I went to the register when I was at home dep how to buy some equipment.

[Joel]

You pay $3 for a Coke. Yeah.

[Matt]

Just like I got Coke on my mind. You better believe I'm going to enjoy one of these. Ice cold. Oh, delicious.

[Joel]

I will say that's one of my pet peeves. And I refuse to buy coke in like the 20 ounce bottle. Oh, right there. Cuz it's like, it's ridiculous.

[Matt]

It's overpriced.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

But oh my goodness, are you a beholden audience?

[Joel]

So you better believe it. I'll say like my kids, if we're like, let's say we're picking something up

[Matt]

to eat on the way Home.

[Joel]

They're like, can we get a Coke or something? I'm like, no, no, we've got like, we keep some on hand. We don't drink a lot at our house, but we keep some on hand at home for those special occasions. And I'm like, you can get a, you can get a can from down in the fridge.

[Matt]

Yeah, we are a fill up your water bottle family before we head out the door.

[Joel]

Right, Exactly.

[Matt]

Otherwise you're going to be thirsty.

[Joel]

That too.

[Matt]

We keep Cokes on hand specifically for family movie nights when we're popping a bunch of. You can't have popcorn and not have.

[Joel]

No, that's true.

[Matt]

Have an ice cold Coke. In my case, I like to add a little bit of rum.

[Joel]

Gosh.

[Matt]

Or bourbon too.

[Joel]

Sounds like a Coke ad, but it really does. I'm okay with it. It's good. Yeah. Coke, Ro. Cherry Coke in particular. Me and Warren Buffett, we have that similar.

[Matt]

Cherry Coke is good.

[Joel]

Briefly, before we get to headlines, I wanted to mention, Matt. I got this mailer in, in the mailbox this week and gosh, I just hate the way some of these, these, these notices look official even though they're just trying to sell me a product. So this is for a home warranty, but it says final notice, immediate response required. And it's got the name of my bank listed on there. This notice is to inform you this, that we've been trying to contact you and have not been able to regarding the property's home warranty.

[Matt]

They make it look like. Yes, you always say warranty. Funny, I like saying warranty. You like saying warranty? Yeah, they make it look like a jury summons, basically. And you feel like that, am I in trouble? And it's just a sales tax and

[Joel]

it says it will be our final attempt to contact you before we close the file on this property.

[Matt]

Like, yeah, go ahead and close it, bud.

[Joel]

Yeah, I know. It's like the most ridiculous thing ever. And so we have talked in the past.

[Matt]

Home warranties are lame.

[Joel]

They're lame. And these.

[Matt]

Avoid them.

[Joel]

These mailers are even lamer. And it's a wonder to me why they're allowed to say some of this stuff and make it seem super duper official. Got a fake barcode at the top. Oh, man, it looks like a government mailer or something. Like, I, I really need to be responding or el. Refer to property.

[Matt]

It's got the special property code on there. Policy offer expiration date. Oh, look at that.

[Joel]

Man, it's such a scam. And home warranties, like, they are almost never worth the money you pay for them.

[Matt]

Oh, no, you're. You're overpaying. You know, this makes me think of.

[Joel]

By the way, they seem cheap because they're really not that. If you think about it, like 500 bucks for what they're proposing. It sounds good until it comes time to actually getting them to honor the warranty.

[Matt]

Redeem the fact that you've been. It makes me think about. Well, so last week we're talking about Casa and how. And like that being a monthly service, we criticized it, rightly so, But I just realized that we did not put it in. It's a very similar product as the home warranty. Right. Because you're paying a recurring amount every single month, no matter what, no matter if you take advantage of it. And that's probably a part of the reason it kind of rubbed us the wrong way. Right.

[Joel]

It's a new, more expensive version of it.

[Matt]

It's like the. Yeah, it's the home warranty service 2.0. So another reason to avoid that. If you haven't listened to that episode, go back to last week's.

[Joel]

Yeah. All right, let's get to the stories we found interesting.

[Matt]

Let's keep rolling this week.

[Joel]

Let's continue talking about housing and let's talk about rent for a second. There was an article and it just brought to mind something we've discussed before on the show, Matt, that you can ask your landlord to lower your rent. And it sounds far fetched, but it's totally true. And for just a lot of years, and we were getting a lot of listener questions and feedback during those, like the, like the heart of COVID years, Matt, as rents were just popping, massive rent increases were happening right and left. And people were just like, what do I do? How do I stomach this? It was really, really tough. But, you know, as we've also discussed more recently, the housing market is just not. Not what it was a few years ago, in particular, the rental market across much of the country. And so buyers have more leverage now, but so do renters. And I think renters have even more than buyers. Go Back to episode 469, where we interviewed our friend Justin Pogue about kind of reducing your rent, if you want to know, like, all the tips and tricks and how you go about it. That episode is well worth listening to. But you got to know what's going on in the market, right, by doing your research. So you can respectfully ask for a rent decrease. I just want people to know that

[Matt]

got to be backed by some Data.

[Joel]

Yeah. I want people to know. It's possible you might get told no, but even still, you don't have to take no for an answer. You might want to offer something in return even as a renter, like adding an extra year to the lease, making it kind of a win win for you and your landlord. There are all sorts of ways to approach this. And then ultimately you have to know as well that if your landlord says no, I'm not budging. But you know the market and you know you can get a better deal elsewhere. Well, moving might be your best option. I know moving is a pain, but if you're keen to save money on rents, which I think is eminently more doable in this market than it has been in years, you got to jump through the hoops and you got to be willing to move down the road to save the money.

[Matt]

Yeah. And moving is not a hassle if you don't have a whole lot of stuff.

[Joel]

That's true.

[Matt]

Like your younger sister.

[Joel]

I know.

[Matt]

Which is why they move all the time. And keeping that one of those big three expenses to a minimum.

[Joel]

I stayed there recently and they have a one bedroom house or a one bedroom condo and they have like this tiny laundry room that, that's where they put me when I.

[Matt]

When I say in the laundry room.

[Joel]

In the laundry room. Dude. It's a laundry room slash office slash second bedroom for Joel when he.

[Matt]

Okay, so it's big enough for. It's a multi purpose utility room.

[Joel]

Yeah. Fortunately, I was there for just one night, but I'm always like shocked that they even have an extra pillow for me when I'm there because they, they live so minimally because they really don't

[Matt]

have a whole lot.

[Joel]

They really don't.

[Kraken Pro / Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Matt]

I love that. So to kind of back your, your argument here, the case that you're making. The head of research for the National Multifamily Housing Council recently said, this is a quote. It's definitely a renter's market out there and it's not true everywhere. But, man, we have seen that this is largely accurate. And you know, if you are hesitant to negotiate, maybe you're a little timid. There are deals that you can get that don't involve you asking directly of your landlord, please lower my rent. A month or two of free rent is still fairly easy to come by in cities that have increased apartments supply significantly over the past couple years. And I like what you said to how the worst. Most of the benefits are still going to flow, though, to the people who actually Ask. Right. Because even if there's a default, a month or two for free, if you ask, hey, maybe you'll be the one that ends up getting three months for free because they're trying to, maybe they're trying to hit some quotas or something like that. But I just think people, I don't know if it's, I don't know what it is. I feel like folks are less willing to have conversations with each other and just to make a request of somebody, especially somebody who they're paying a lot of money to be able to stay in a particular spot.

[Joel]

I think people tend to be afraid of confrontation and afraid of.

[Matt]

But I feel like it's gotten worse.

[Joel]

Yeah, I agree. And I think you feels like you're putting somebody out when really what you're doing is presenting information based on what's happening in the market and you're saying, hey, it's conversation. Yeah, exactly.

[Matt]

Informational conversation. Yeah, that's, that's what it is.

[Joel]

You don't have to be antagonistic in your approach. You're like, hey, it looks like this.

[Matt]

Don't be a jerk.

[Joel]

Yeah, but there's a way. I love living here. You can be super cool about it. Like, you don't have to be a jerk when you're asking for a rent discount.

[Matt]

Absolutely. You know, I wonder if it's gotten worse since the pandemic, if that's one of the knock on downstream domino effects of people being more by themselves, being lonely, engaging more online as opposed to like in person is maybe just assuming that everyone is like out to get them. Right. Like you are assuming the worst as opposed to just saying, hey, I'm just asking a question here. I get it. Because you lose a whole lot of context and when you are communicating online a lot of times. So in that case, maybe you can make that request in person. Right. To make sure your tone is incredibly clear. So you're not place a phone call. Yes, yeah, exactly. Which I think, myself included, I'm much less willing to do.

[Joel]

Yeah, unfortunately, you could even use like technology. Use AI to help you come up with a script. Hey, use AI to do some of the research about, hey, what's, what's happening with market rents, kind of exactly where I live. And, and you can have some of that documentation to say, man, I really think I should pay $100 less and I'm willing to, to do this or that to make it happen. Like, what can we do to pull this off? Let's keep talking about housing for just a second, Matt. When people talk about owning versus renting, even if buying a home leads to a higher monthly payment, they point out, well, hey, my mortgage payment is going to stay the same while rents are going to rise in the coming years, which makes buying a better long term play. I think there's a point to be made there that is, that is true, but it's not always true. It's partially true because first rents can decline, as we've seen, and at the same time, your fixed mortgage payment can go up. 80% of homeowners make mortgage payments through escrow, as it turns out. And of course that means that your taxes and insurance and even some local services like your trash might be paid through that escrow payment. Because all of those things cost a lot more now. Your insurance, right, your taxes and those ancillary services. Something like 65% of homeowners who escrow are going to find their escrow account in shortfall to an average amount. And this shocked me about. I did not realize it would be this much of 2,200 doll for the year. And woof, that means payments are going up even on that fixed rate mortgage. So if you find yourself in that position, you can either pay the shortfall in one fell swoop, which for a lot of people, they're like, don't. Wasn't planning on that, didn't budget for it. So no, just I'll start budgeting for it in the form of increased payments moving forward. A lot of folks are going to be shocked to find a 200 higher monthly payment amount. They're going to have to really change things around to pull that off. So I guess the takeaway here is to be prepared. This is happening to a lot of folks. It makes sense. Let's say your taxes went up from $4,000 a year to $5,200 a year because of appreciation. Like that's the kind of thing that's going to impact your housing budget. And also like we talked about recently, Matt, you can appeal, right, if you feel like your property taxes have gone up too much or have gone up in error. I literally just this week got an email back from Ownwell. We talked about Ownwell that said, hey, we won your appeal. You, we locked it. I think it lowered my overall assessed value by like 7 or $8,000. So it wasn't a ton. But now it's locked in for three years. I paid a little bit of money, I saved a little bit of money over the next three years. It was a win. Win.

[Matt]

I'll take it. Yeah, Also, we've talked a lot about how home values have risen significantly and we've advised folks who have this growing pile of home equity to try to ignore it. Leave it untouched for the most part. Right. Especially as borrowing rates have risen. But there has been a rise in something even more foolish to participate in, which is called home equity sharing. That lets you.

[Joel]

I like sharing, Matt. Sharing sounds good.

[Matt]

Yeah. It feels like the kind and generous thing to do. Nope. Lets you take money. Allows you to tap the equity in your home by allowing an investment company to have a stake in the value and of the appreciation of the home. And luckily these aren't super popular, at least not yet. But there's a chance. I mean, you never know, right? Like what happens in 2026. Maybe we'll see more folks leaning this way. And the bottom line is that they're. They're terrible. They're trash. You get a ton of money. Yes. But you are selling part of the current and a part of the future value of your home. It's a short sighted move because when you move or at the end of the agreement, you're going to owe the company a tidy sum of the profits that you make. I see it more as like a. It's almost like a payday loan for your home. Because it's bigger. Yes, just. And steroids. Yes. One of the other things to their. They're called home equity investments, which again makes it seem savvy and like you are participating in something. Something wise. Right. But unlike HELOCs where you have that line of credit available to you as well, the fees, the origination fees associated with these are incredibly high as well. So you were just completely paying out the. And we don't like them.

[Joel]

Agreed. Yeah. The risks are significant. So you might start to see these bandied around more in advertisements online. Avoid them. They're crap. And just because it sounds so nice to get a lump sum of your home equity and be like, but I get to avoid the 8 1/2% home equity line of credit. This sounds like the solution. This is the way. But no, it's not. Let's cover two pieces of legislation, Matt, that haven't passed but could have an impact on a lot of how to money listeners, a fee for driving an electric vehicle could be coming down the pike. A national fee. So a new bill in Congress is attempting to impose a $130 annual fee for EV drivers in order to compensate essentially for the gas tax that EV drivers don't pay. Because I don't know if you noticed this Matt, but you don't have to fill up your Nissan Leaf or your Tesla at the gas station. And because of that you're using the road scot free. You EV drivers out there. Right. And the rest of folks with their normal internal combustion engine vehicles are paying, they're essentially paying your share. And so this 18 cent tax per gallon that we have on fuel in our country, you know, goes to pay for upkeep of roads and highway infrastructures. And EV drivers have essentially been able to avoid that thus far. So I think this piece of legislation sounds fair, but it's just being, it's worth being aware of. If you're considering upgrading to an electric vehicle, plug in hybrid drivers under this bill would pay something like I think $35 a year. So a reduced amount if you have a plug in hybrid. But combine that with what states are charging and some states are charging EV owners like 200 plus dollars a year for driving an EV to try to cover state fuel taxes.

[Matt]

Yeah. Looking at you, Texas.

[Joel]

Yeah. State of Georgia has a pretty high one as well.

[Matt]

Actually Texas for a new EV. I think it's 400.

[Joel]

Is it 400?

[Matt]

I think it's 200 on a renewable.

[Joel]

And at some point it starts to feel like a penalty from some of these, from some states, a lot of money disincentivizing people driving electric vehicles, which does seem ridiculous. I get trying to get to trying to cover essentially the fuel tax that's being missed out on. I don't get necessarily trying to charge people a punitive rate for driving an electric vehicle, but it is worth knowing what that cost is in your state and realizing there might be one federally soon. Adding that into, you know, the whole math and the savings you're likely or maybe unlikely to get driving an ev. Just run the numbers and know that hey, you know, if you're paying a few hundred extra dollars a year in fees to the government, maybe an EV isn't quite as big of a win as you thought. Yeah.

[Matt]

Make sure to add that to your Excel formula as you are sitting down crunching the numbers to see whether or not Toyota RAV4 prime is actually what the payback period is going to be. At least that was the last one I calculated.

[Joel]

That's just 35 bucks I guess. Right. Nationally and most states aren't charging fees for the plugins it seems just for the full on EVs.

[Matt]

The full EVs.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

And like the Texas example is an outlier. That's one of the more expensive ones on another Policy note. A new bipartisan bill has also been introduced into the House and Senate that would allow folks to give money away directly from their 401k. And this is where you got the charity parity title for the episode. It's called the Charity Parity Act. And so you can currently perform qualified charitable distributions from an IRA, but not from your 401k. So if you wanted to give some of that money away and receive a tax benefit, you'd have to roll your 401k into an IRA first, which is just a whole lot of unnecessary steps.

[Joel]

Right. Why?

[Matt]

Why? It might be better, sure, but maybe not. So why not allow folks the same benefit no matter which account they are donating from? I think this makes a whole lot of sense and feels like more of a leveling of the playing field.

[Joel]

We don't usually petition for legislation on the show map, but, you know, I'll say I think we're in full support of the Charity Parity Act.

[Matt]

I like that one.

[Joel]

Yep. In other news of legislation that has actually passed, Minnesota has become the first state to ban prediction markets, including advertising of those prediction markets in the state. So I know, I don't know. We don't need to debate that. But I'm just in my, in my estimation with how far prediction markets have gone in this country and what we've read about them, who they benefit and the amount of people that lose money on them, I don't, I don't see that as a bad thing. States can kind of make their own decisions on that too. Right.

[Matt]

Exactly that. I mean, that's what's so great, is we can kind of see how that pans, how that shakes out for Minnesota. And if it seems like it's leading to positive results, then that's something that more states can decide to pass as well. And if.

[Joel]

Yeah, and maybe you'll be able to.

[Matt]

Isn't federalism great, Joel? The ability for different states to experiment.

[Joel]

Laboratories of democracy. I'll be curious if there are any on Kalshi or polymarket. Any bets that you can make about how this is going to pan out in the state of Minnesota. Only available to people who live in the other 49 states. Perhaps we got more to get to. We'll talk about growing, increasing healthcare premiums and how people are reacting and some good news about the cost of prescription drugs. We'll talk about that right after this.

[Matt]

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[Matt]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. All right, Joel, we are back from the break. And let's talk about splurges, because that's what the ludicrous headline of the week is about, which is from USA Today. Headline reads, impulse buying is up despite the financial crunch and here's why. And within that story, there's a survey and they find that people are Saying that their budget, yes, it is tighter, but that also they're making more impulse buys. And I think at the root of this, it's almost always this emotional response, right, where we might want a treat or reward because of the impact of having very little budget wiggle room. I don't know, maybe it's almost like a little bit of, like, you want what you can't have, and you're finding ways to treat yourself in these very small ways when it feels like at least that you're denying yourselves these larger expenditures, these larger splurges.

[Joel]

Perhaps we'll call it the Parks and Rec effect.

[Matt]

Yeah, the Tom Haverford effect. But the top categories for these impulse spending purchases are food and beverages, electronics, and then shoes.

[Joel]

Like you with your Coke at the checkout counter. You know.

[Matt]

You know, it's funny that I brought that up, because I think that is literally the only time I've ever done that, which is why it stood out to me that it was specifically from listening to that Coke episode. But, I mean, I get the desire to do this, the spur of the moment purchase. And I'm also fine if you want to let loose a little bit, if you want to engaged in some serendipity. But the keys are to sort of dig into the emotion, right? Like, why am I buying this? Is it because I'm stressed? If so, is there another way to maybe satisfy that stress other than just being parted with your own dollars? And even if you do, like, some of these, if that's a. Like, if it's your craft beer equivalent, if you want to engage in some of the spending, make sure that you are budgeting for it. Just because it's something that you enjoy doing doesn't mean you are completely not planning for it. Right. It's funny. So it's funny that you mentioned that because you were talking about earlier, too, about your kids. You know, I don't know, it kind of almost feels like an ongoing struggle. But because we say no so regularly, our kids, they just know that, like, it's not even a conversation anymore, I guess, at this point.

[Joel]

And so they've gotten beaten down to such a degree.

[Matt]

Well, and they just know that that's not how. Like, we. Yeah, like, oh, you want that snack? I'm sorry, buddy, you didn't eat your lunch. Like, how much of your lunch did you throw away? Right. And but what that does is it does allow us to let loose a little bit. And so when we now, when we do engage in some of those splurges, it's like, extra special. So I guess what I'm looking at is the frequency that we engage with some of these splurges. Because if you do it all the time, it's just. That's your new. It's the hedonic treadmill. It becomes your new normal. And yeah, I'm thinking about recently, my six year old, we went for a bike ride. We're gonna ride up to the top of the mountain. But we get there, and the mountain's closed to bikes and to cars for whatever reason. I was like, oh, dang it. So instead I was like, hey, let's ride to the grocery store. Which he was like, whoa, we can ride to the grocery store. It's like, a little bit further. But to kind of reward him, and because of the fact that we couldn't summit the mountain and have the nice view, we rode to Publix, parked our bikes and went inside, and he could pick whatever drink he wanted. And we just sat out there drinking our cold beverages. And, dude, like, based on the look on his face, he would have thought it was like Christmas. It was such a special treat because we never do that.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

So what I'm pointing to here is the frequency in which we engage in these quote, unquote. Quote unquote, splurges.

[Joel]

100%.

[Matt]

This is. That's an example of what you can choose to do if with your own family or on your own. But if that is something you want to gate, you want to engage in more frequently, just make sure you plan for it. I'm fine with that.

[Joel]

You're right. I mean, the things that we get used to, I think it makes sense. Like, we need to spend more, we need to do it more frequently to get the same kind of feeling. And we end up blowing our budget in the process. And so the more we can kind of curb our appetites and then engage rarely, it does make it more of a treat. It makes it more meaningful, makes the splurge more effective than, like, splurging on the wreck. Yeah.

[Matt]

And speaking of, gosh, we're tying in all the loose ends. You talked about cherry coke.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

So we both picked out. Is it Olipop? It's like that.

[Joel]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt]

Like a prebiotic.

[Joel]

Don't know if I've ever had one of those.

[Matt]

Well, he picked out, like, a cherry lemonade one, and I was like, okay, well, shoot, maybe I'll try one of these. And I got that. It was like the cherry soda.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

You know, it's like whatever their version of Cherry Coke. And I would not recommend it. His was really good. It was delightful and refreshing. Mind. It just tasted like a. Like a bad cherry.

[Joel]

Yeah, I think, like, yeah, I would be more inclined to get a unique flavor from them. Strawberry or something like that.

[Matt]

I'm massive misstep because nothing quite matched. Cherry Coke.

[Joel]

Yeah, you get like, you get.

[Matt]

You're going to get let down no matter what.

[Joel]

Oh, I believe it. 100% believe that. the other end of the spectrum, though, Matt, like, subscription fatigue is also becoming a greater problem in our country. More of our monthly budgets are going to companies that want recurring revenue by signing us up for a subscription. This is the business model. This is the way forward for everyone out there. The New York Times profiled a slew of oddball subscriptions that you can sign up for. I didn't realize, Matt. Earthworm delivery.

[Matt]

That's one of the things for the gardening nerds.

[Joel]

Yeah, I guess so. And of course, Amazon subscribe and Save. Why do they want you to do that? Because they want you to thoughtlessly get more of the thing that you wanted in the moment. Just sign up for it to get it every six months and every once in a while you can get a discount doing subscribe and Save, Matt. I'll take advantage of that. And then I'll go in the back of my account and cancel that so that I'm not getting those recurring shipments. Trampoline parks. That's another thing. Car washes. There are underwear subscription apps. I know, but you use it.

[Matt]

Not guilty.

[Joel]

Three times a week. So it's.

[Matt]

You get your money's worth at least twice. Yeah, that's just a habit now.

[Joel]

If you use it on the reg, that's okay. But I think, like, I even saw that there are, like, fancy mattresses now that are connected to the Internet and you have to pay a subscription for your bed to have certain features.

[Matt]

That's so silly.

[Joel]

It's so nuts.

[Matt]

Yeah, I don't like it.

[Joel]

I don't either. And so they, you know, they pointed out the oddity of subscribing to an app. Even that helps you manage your subscriptions. Like, there are apps you can pay to help you manage all the subscriptions you have in your life. That's how bad it's gotten. And so we would just all do well to look at our credit card bills, to write down and look at every subscription that we pay to cancel the ones that we forgot we had and the ones we're not getting enough value from, and then tread lightly before signing up. For a new subscription. So you're not paying perpetually out the nose without getting enough value from it. Reevaluate those subscriptions every three or six months because subscriptions can be worthwhile. There are some. Like your car wash mattress or. I was just thinking, I want us to go, my daughter and I, to go back to the rock climbing gym like we were. Do we?

[Matt]

Oh, yeah.

[Joel]

We subscribed during the winter. She loves it. We miss it. I think it's worth the money in our budget. And like we.

[Matt]

Especially in the summer months when it's super hot outside, I could see stepping into a nice, cool climbing gym.

[Joel]

It's like spring and fall. Less interested.

[Matt]

Yeah. Shoulder season, the nice months. But in the extreme weather months. Good call. Let me know if you head over there and you see a deal or something.

[Joel]

I will. So I think we're gonna do it and. But like paying one time and avoiding the subscription, by the way, even if it supposedly saves you money, can be a smart path to take too, if. Especially if you're the kind of person who forgets about your subscriptions or doesn't cancel. Like if that's you, like either put it on the calendar and actually cancel it or just don't sign up in the first place.

[Matt]

That's true. Yeah. Okay. So while we are talking about expenses, let's get to the high cost of healthcare. The monthly cost of premiums continues to go up as subsidies decrease. And this is especially true for folks who make more than $63,000 a year. ACA enrollment is likely to fall by 5 million folks this year because costs have become so dang high. It's pretty astronomical for some folks. That's a 20% decrease of folks with a plan through healthcare.gov in just a year. But it makes sense though, as costs in some cases have gone from hundreds a month to over 1000. Or in one case in the Times, they interviewed a lady who is paying over $2,000 a month now for her family.

[Joel]

She basically fathom.

[Matt]

Basically equates it to like a second mortgage that she wasn't planning on signing up for.

[Joel]

Well, that's what you and I, when we looked at plans on healthcare.gov this year, we wanted to look and see very expensive and for our family. I don't know about you, Matt, but even for some of the like, more limited plans, we are talking about $2,000 plus a month for premiums. Like they're just. There wasn't anything cheaper than that. It's pretty expensive.

[Matt]

It just depends though. It depends on where you are, because I will say the same data because I'm thinking of the nurse, you know, the time story. They're like, they, they kind of cherry picked a nurse out there in California because looking at the same KFF data. So this, the Kaiser Family foundation foundation, which is a bipartisan nonprofit health foundation, does a ton of research, but they found that the average premium increase, monthly premium increase went from $113 to 100 dol $78, which is far less than anecdotal examples.

[Joel]

No, but also that is because people are choosing inferior policies.

[Matt]

Exactly. Just, just saying not everyone is paying over $2,000 a month. They've seen, you know, even, even they were admitting as much the fact that they were expecting it to be roughly 114% increase. And in reality they've seen it increase by 58%. So basically, basically half that. And like you said, in some cases it's because folks are looking for the more affordable plans that do come with inferior coverage.

[Joel]

Because other people are just saying, I'm not getting insurance, it's too expensive and they're dropping it. Who can afford it, are sticking around.

[Matt]

Exactly. Which I will say it certainly makes, you know, a job. Like if you've got a job that's got solid health benefits, it makes that even more important. But even still, I think if you, even if you have solid coverage, you would be wise to budget more for your health care expenses coming up. As we are looking just off to the future, in other words, we're trying to, trying to plan ahead, but folks who can't afford insurance, and if you don't make a ton of money, I think you might find greater access to hospital financial assistance as well. So keep that in mind. And for other folks out there, from moving from the sort of policy and the healthcare plans all the way down to the actual healthcare bills that you might be receiving. Don't forget about $4 org. Joel spoke with founder Jared Walker earlier this year. And I don't think when I was editing that episode, one of the things that stood out to me, I remember listening and just being like, man, we have not talked about the one year grace period on medical bills nearly as much. What I do remember, and this passed around the same time because that's only that that when they extended, extended it out to a year, I think back in 2022 or 2023, around then is also when they said, okay, bills under $500 won't be able to be reported on your credit report. And I remember specifically us talking about that. But I don't think we spent much time talking about the extension of the grace period, the window in which medical providers or collections agencies can't report that bill to the actual credit bureaus, which means you've got a full year basically to be able to negotiate. Sort of like we're talking about earlier when it, when it comes to decreased rents, you're, you're not going to get a lower price unless you ask. And I think from a psychological standpoint, and because I'm thinking for myself as well, like we've got some expenses coming up, nothing serious or major, but just maybe a little bit more than we typically spend. And I'm thinking, man, I don't like that I have to sit on these bills in order to sort of write out the clock a little bit in order to have more effective negotiating conversations with either the health care provider or even with the collections, a third party collections agency. But like that's. It feels like it's kind of criminal.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

Especially if you're more buttoned up with your personal finances and you like to

[Joel]

knock stuff out, you're taken care of.

[Matt]

But like that is how you are going to pay less is by waiting. Not only don't pay the first bill. What's his name?

[Joel]

Marshall.

[Matt]

Yeah, Marshall Al, who used to work Rest in peace, Marshall. Yeah, but he was with KFF back in the day. But waiting even longer. Right. So in house, they'll collect anywhere from four to six months. And that's a great period of time to kind of start those conversations before they're like, well, we're about to send it off to third party collections agencies. So if you're like, hey, I owe 1200 bucks, I got 300 and I can pay right now. Yeah, there's a, I think there's a decent chance that you'll be able to get that. Jared said 20%, no problem.

[Joel]

Yes.

[Matt]

He's just like, you will pay all day, every day, all day, every day. You're gonna get a reduction of 20% or less. But I'm just picturing it. I'm just like, oh my goodness, how much more could you get that down just by waiting? And so B, type A and button up about it. Maybe put sort of like we do with subscriptions, reminders, put the reminder on the calendar so you don't forget about the thing. Because that would be really bad if you're like, oh shoot, it's been 13 months. Yeah, don't shot myself in the foot. But I love the ability for folks you may not like how you may not like the rules of the game, but this is how the game is played. And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I'm going to pay a little bit less.

[Joel]

Well, that's why the name of the late Marshall Allen's book was Never Pay the First Bill like that. He summed it up literally in the title of the book. And there's just a lot of good information in there. There's just a slew of reasons why you don't pay the first bill. And the main, the main one is that there's a darn good chance there is. There's something incorrect on your bill that you will overpay. And then on top of that, there's a really good chance that you could pay a whole heck of a lot less. Even if there aren't major inaccuracies, we've

[Matt]

got more leniency since he first did his reporting and wrote that book. So there's even, yeah, there's an even better reason for it. And I just think I envision some folks being like, guys, you're kind of shortchanging the healthcare providers. I think if you want.

[Joel]

Well, we've gotten pushback on that, even some reviews, sadly, on the podcast, because people disagree with the way we think about this. But like, in, that's the law.

[Matt]

Like, that is what it allows for. And I think if you like, by all means. I think if someone out there doesn't, you know, feels really good about the service they provide and want to pay full freight, they are more than welcome to. But personally, there's a lot of folks out there who are seeing their healthcare expenses go up by an incredible amount and that's, that's what's holding them back financially.

[Joel]

We could talk about the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law here, but then we could also talk about the kind of spirit of how healthcare companies should be approaching the people who. Their customers. Right. And yeah. How there's some bad faith at times in, in when it comes to billing practice.

[Matt]

And at the end of the day it's, it's billing practices because it's a business like, like again, going back to the having the conversation with your landlord thing, like, it's just a conversation. We're talking about having a conversation here. And to be able to enter into a conversation like, in good faith and at the end of the day, not take it personally because if they're willing to take it, then they see that according to the numbers and based on business that they're willing to say yes. This makes sense for us. If they say no, well, don't take it personally. And if they are saying yes to you, they're not taking it personally either because they're just looking at the bottom line.

[Joel]

They realize that's how the game is played. They don't hate the player.

[Matt]

Exactly.

[Joel]

Okay. Speaking of which, Matt, there is a part of the healthcare system that is getting easier for consumers to navigate.

[Matt]

You got some good news for us?

[Joel]

Yeah, I mean, gosh, for a long time, like prescription drugs. And it's not that there's no silver bullet. It's not like the prescription drug price problem is completely fixed. But there has been a lot of progress made in recent years and we've covered that over the years. But Donald Trump and Mark Cuban were hanging out this week and I don't think of them as being good friends, man. They kind of trade jabs back and forth at each other pretty publicly, fairly often. But they seem to have at least one common goal, which is to reduce prescription prices for Americans. And so they've gotten together and they've gotten past kind of some of their differences to, to talk about the Cost Plus Drugs, which was started by Cuban. And, and it's linking up essentially with Trump rx. So Cost Plus Drugs to remind folks it's run on Costco's model essentially of marking up drugs no more than 15%, which is incredible. Like, why do people love Costco? Because they know that nothing they buy there is going to be marked up more than 15%, which is far less than what a lot of other retailers mark up everything in the store. Right. And it's become one of the best places to turn for a bunch of different prescriptions because of that, often even serving up better prices than Costco's pharmacy.

[Matt]

Matt.

[Joel]

So you're like, Costco's always got the best price, sometimes a lot of times not always in the pharmacy. Look to places like Cost plus Drugs because you might find that prices are even more competitive there. Well, it was just announced this week that TrumpRx is going to offer 600 plus more discounted prescription medications thanks to a partnership with sites like Cost Plus Drugs and GoodRx. The partnership is necessary because TrumpRx is not fulfilling those prescription orders. It's essentially offering discounts via these partnerships. So it's like a pass through site, Matt, in an attempt to give Americans greater access to savings on meds. But man, we've been paying too much for medication for a long time in this country. And so much of the Medical innovation happens in this country, yet it happens because Americans pay more for meds than essentially anyone else on the face of the earth. And while there have been some efforts, I would say, from some pharmacy chains and from disruptors like Mark Cuban, it still takes a lot of shopping to find the best price on a given drug. It's worth the effort because it's gotten easier than ever now with the advent of some of these different sites. But I think Trump Rx is gonna get a lot of press. It's gonna help a lot of people save money, even still, for a whole lot of medications. It's gonna take, I think, a scrappy approach to get the best deal to looking towards different sites and to doing your research to be able to get the best deal for you. I mean, Amazon's pharmacy is another place that's worth looking. It's worth looking on GoodRx, it's worth looking at cost plus drugs. You still wanna, I think, kind of scour the Internet, scour those discount sites to find where you can get the best price on certain medications for you.

[Matt]

That's right. And it just goes to show too, that when you are willing to engage in conversation and especially with somebody who might be ideologically opposed to you, and they actually, I saw the press conference or whatever when they were kind of joking about that.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Like, that's what they did. Right? Like, they put some of those political differences aside and said, how can we better the lives of more Americans? And that's what they're able, that's what they're willing to do. Right. When you engage with somebody that you might not agree with on absolutely everything, you are still able to move the ball forward. You are still able to, like, those are the folks who are going to be able to create our future. In a way, it's just like whether or not you like it or not, like those who are slightly more idealistic and like super principled, well, it's tough to find common ground always with if there's somebody else who doesn't necessarily share those same values as opposed. And that's why some, a lot of people don't like politics, right? Because you get a little dirty. It feels like you're kind of compromising on certain values. But at the end of the day, there is a lot of good being done here because of Trump. Like, good on Trump for doing that and good on Mark Cuban for doing that as well.

[Joel]

And go saying, hey, the mission to lower drug prices for consumers surpasses whatever beef we have.

[Matt]

Exactly. And go, USA the ability for us to have a free market system that allows for a competition for somebody like Mark Cuban to essentially cut prices significantly by completely upending the traditional prescription drug model, the pharmacy, what is it? Pharmacy benefit managers who that don't provide a whole lot of value. They are the middlemen and they jack up prices for consumers. They obviously don't provide enough value to justify what it is that they do. And therefore Mark Cuban has provided an alternative. And I love that. This is competition. This is capitalism at its best.

[Joel]

A little bit of altruism from Mark Cuban alongside man, I'd be curious to know how much money he's going to make from this website. But there's certainly it seems like it's both a business venture and also an attempt to serve people. Which man, that's what some of the best businesses do also, right?

[Matt]

Absolutely. That's the goal. Let's go ahead and bring this all the way back to the start. Jack Bogle like he didn't need to create the low cost index fund, but he said that, well, this is going to serve the most amount of people here in America. And it even took a whole lot of convincing to get people to buy into the oh no, it's okay to be an average American as opposed to like shooting for the stars and being exceptional. He didn't have to do that, but he was able to do that and some incredible products for the American public who owes a ton of their wealth thanks to a lot of the progress that Vanguard has made.

[Joel]

Similar to Aldi existing and how that reduces grocery prices for all of us, even the people who don't shop at Aldi Vanguard Existing helps lower investing costs for all of us. And cost plus drugs existing in this new partnership with Trump RX will I think lead to reduced prices across the board for prescription drugs, even if you go to other sites just because of that increased competition.

[Matt]

That's right. I love it.

[Joel]

All right, let's wrap it up.

[Matt]

Matt, let's end it. That's going to be it for this episode. We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday with a fresh ask how to money and buddy.

[Joel]

Until then, best friends out.

[Matt]

Best friends.

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[Matt]

Yes, you can. A five minute quick and easy calorie burning workout.

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[Matt]

Come join our sweat sesh on TikTok.

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Hey guys, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.

[Matt]

I'm Joe.

[Joel]

I'm Kevin.

[Kraken Pro / Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it.

[Joel]

We.

[Kraken Pro / Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

We just contributed to it.

[Matt]

First people to do podcasts.

[Joel]

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.

[Kraken Pro / Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

[Matt]

Listen to hey Jonas on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. This is an I heart podcast.

[Joel]

Guaranteed human.