Friday Flight - Stellar Staycations, Devilish Destination Fees, & Pay Cut Gut Punch #1122

Summary

Podcast Summary: How to Money

Episode Title: Friday Flight - Stellar Staycations, Devilish Destination Fees, & Pay Cut Gut Punch (#1122)
Date: April 3, 2026
Hosts: Joel and Matt

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Overview

In this Friday Flight episode, best friends and hosts Joel and Matt dive into this week’s most pressing personal finance headlines and trends, focusing on practical, real-life money decisions. The episode’s main themes include reevaluating summer travel plans—especially the underrated staycation—facing rising destination fees in the travel and auto industries, and preparing for an evolving labor market where pay cuts are becoming more common. As per the show’s style, the conversation weaves in current events, relatable anecdotes, and actionable financial advice—all delivered with down-to-earth humor and optimism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Affordable Eyewear Hacks

(01:35–07:04)

• Buying Glasses Online: Joel shares how he recently bought four pairs of glasses for his daughter from Zenni Optical for just $91, far cheaper than traditional or mid-range retailers like Warby Parker.
• Flexibility & Cost: The hosts highlight the benefits of inexpensive frames, ease of home try-ons, and the iterative process of finding the best fit online.
  • "It just reminder to everyone if you need glasses, Zenny Optical is the way to go. Not an ad, just super cheap solid sunglasses that arrive at your doorstep in a week or week and a half.” – Joel (04:41)
• Support Local, But Stay Cost-Effective: Matt encourages supporting local optometrists if possible but cautions against overpaying for mid-tier retail options.

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2. Travel Plans in a Shifting Economy

(07:33–13:41)

• Impact of Political Events: Joel notes how recent political uncertainty and rising energy costs (“Trump’s address... with energy prices” - 08:32) are affecting summer travel.
• Staycations as a Solution: With plane tickets more expensive, the hosts praise staycations for their affordability, simplicity, and genuine restorative power.
  • "A staycation with the proper mindset, I think, is a win. Could be a way for people to save money and still enjoy their summer.” – Joel (10:29)
• Pro-tips for Travel Hacking: Matt recommends letting deals drive your travels (using tools like Google Flights’ Explore feature) and remaining flexible for savings.
• Children’s Curiosity: Joel recounts explaining to his kids how and when to find the best airfares (“usually two to three months in advance” – 13:39).

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3. Economic Anxiety & Recession Headlines

(13:41–17:34)

• Rising Recession Fears: Recent articles are stoking public anxiety with ominous titles (“Brace Yourselves, A Recession is Coming” from The Free Press – 13:43).
• Balanced Perspective: The hosts recount overblown recession calls from Bloomberg and others, advising listeners to “tune out” hyperbolic predictions and focus instead on practical preparedness.
  • "Don't run for the exits. Instead, continue to invest like an optimist, save like a pessimist." – Matt (16:01)
• Historical Context: Matt offers perspective on oil price surges, noting that today’s spikes are steep but still far below past crises.

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4. The Shifting Job Market and Pay Cuts

(17:34–24:01)

• Layoffs & AI: Joel discusses friends seeing workplace changes due to AI, hinting at reduced pay or job cuts even as headline unemployment remains low.
• The Reality of Pay Cuts: 40% of white-collar job-switchers have taken pay cuts over 10%, per Revelio Labs (18:26).
• Actionable Advice:
  • Build a larger cash cushion for flexibility if laid off.
  • Keep a "bare bones budget" handy.
  • Proactively communicate your value at work.
  • "If you like your job and your current pay, make sure your employer knows how valuable you are." – Joel (19:15)
• Prioritizing Workplace Culture: Look beyond salary when job hunting—companies with great cultures may offer better long-term prospects even if pay is slightly lower. Use networking and resources (even ChatGPT!) to research employers.

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5. Notable Career Path: Nursing

(24:12–24:57)

• Recession-Proof Option: Nursing is highlighted as a stable, well-paying field with high demand—great flexibility and less risk of AI replacement.

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6. Ludicrous Headline of the Week

(28:00–31:16)

• Yahoo Finance’s IRA Clickbait: The hosts roast a headline claiming “financial experts are trying to hide the truth” about IRA contributions.
  • "First off, any headline that makes it sound like...there are people who are trying to hide the truth from you...be skeptical, this is probably going to be bogus." – Matt (28:42)
• Social Media & Real Estate Hype: Caution against real estate investors (like Grant Cardone) who disparage 401(k)s/IRAs as “scams”—both real estate and stock market investing can be valid wealth-building paths.

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7. Price Hikes: Memberships & Streaming

(31:20–34:22)

• Sam’s Club & Netflix: Sam’s Club is raising base membership fees from $50 to $60; Netflix is hiking prices again.
• Evaluate Your Spend: Use price increases as prompts to examine whether memberships and subscriptions provide enough value to justify cost.
  • “It’s not really $10, it’s $60...they’re counting on you staying put no matter what. So this is just a good policy to at least stop for 30 seconds to a minute, maybe look at your spending history.” – Joel (33:08)
• Spring Cleaning for Finances: Now’s an ideal time to audit recurring charges and cut those that aren’t serving you.

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8. Destination Fees & New Car Pricing

(39:55–41:31)

• Sneaky Auto Fees: The average new car costs over $50,000, and destination fees alone now average $1,600—a hidden cost that’s difficult to negotiate.
• Advice: Focus on the total "out the door" price when buying, and consider avoiding new cars altogether to sidestep these fees.

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9. Used EVs as a Gas-Saving Alternative

(41:32–45:39)

• Rising Gas Prices Spur EV Interest: Joel and Matt discuss how escalating gas prices have led to spiking searches for used EVs and hybrids, notably old Nissan Leafs.
• Good Value in Older EVs:
  • 2017 and earlier Leafs are extremely cheap but carry range risks; 2018 and newer have better batteries and still-lower prices compared to new cars.
  • “Don’t make it out to be like, I gotta get the Rivian R1T tomorrow and pay 95 grand...those old school Nissan Leafs...they’re super cheap.” – Joel (43:52)

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10. Financial Spring Cleaning & Other Quick Tips

(35:33–38:42, 36:34–37:45)

• Financial “Spring Cleaning”:
  • Revisit your Internet bill and other utilities—prompt AI tools for negotiation scripts!
  • Declutter your finances by cancelling or renegotiating underused subscriptions.
  • “Let us know...your biggest [spring cleaning] wins” – Joel (38:42)
• Patio Pollen Tip: Matt shares a homeowner’s hack: use tarps to protect patio furniture from spring’s blanket of pollen.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "A staycation actually maybe creates more of a true vacation reality..." – Joel (12:00)
• "Invest like an optimist, save like a pessimist." — Matt (16:01)
• "You're unlikely to actually get a pay cut at your annual review...But we are seeing people who are looking for another job...have to be comfortable getting paid less." — Joel (18:26)
• “Now is actually as good a time as any to go through all your subscriptions, your recurring bills, and ask yourself, do I still use this service?" — Joel (35:33)
• "My disdain for buying new cars is at an all time high." — Matt (41:29)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:35 – Starting with affordable glasses online (Zenni, Warby Parker)
• 07:33 – The impact of political news and energy prices on summer travel
• 09:37 – Staycations as a money-saving alternative
• 13:41 – The “R” word: Recession headlines and historical parallels
• 17:34 – Labor market anxiety: AI, layoffs, and the reality of pay cuts
• 22:04 – Finding (and choosing) employers with good culture
• 24:12 – The value of nursing as a career choice
• 28:00 – Ludicrous headline of the week: The IRA “scam” myth
• 31:20 – Price hikes on memberships and streaming; evaluating worth
• 35:33 – Financial “spring cleaning” tips
• 39:55 – The hidden costs of new cars and destination fees
• 41:32 – EV/hybrid searches soar as gas prices climb
• 45:39 – Wrap-up and encouragement for listeners to share their own financial wins

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Tone & Style

Joel and Matt maintain their trademark conversational, witty, and encouraging approach, blending practical money advice with relatable stories and “best friend” banter. The emphasis is on actionable steps over fear-driven headlines.

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For detailed show notes and resources, visit howtomoney.com.

Transcript

[Matt]

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[Joel]

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[Matt]

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[Matt]

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[Matt]

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[Joel]

Welcome to how to Money. I'm Joel.

[Matt]

And I am Matt.

[Joel]

And today we're talking stellar staycations, devilish destination fees and pay cut. Gut.

[Matt]

That's right, buddy. This is our Friday flight, and we're gonna talk about the most pressing headlines and how they specifically pertain to your wallet, your money. Should we go ahead and kick things off?

[Joel]

Oh, can I say one? Yeah.

[Matt]

I thought you wanted to talk about Trump's address.

[Joel]

I do. We want to get to that.

[Matt]

Oh, do you?

[Joel]

Yeah. But. Okay, just briefly. Just briefly, because I think it leads into something we're gonna talk about. But my. You've been wearing Zenni glasses for a long time.

[Matt]

Zenny optical.com.

[Joel]

something we haven't talked about in a long time on the show, though. So if anybody needs a new pair of glasses and hasn't I just took

[Matt]

them off looking at them. I think I've had this pair for, like, three years. It's a literal pair of glasses, and

[Joel]

they probably cost you what, 20, $25 or.

[Matt]

I always get the. The lens upgrades.

[Joel]

Okay.

[Matt]

So that it's less. So it's more resistant to oil and glare, things like that. Gotcha. I don't know if it's worth it or not, to be honest, but it's

[Joel]

probably 50 bucks then, right? For a brand?

[Matt]

Yeah. I don't know, like 30 something. These are like $24 frames. With the upgrades, maybe it's like upper 30s, low 40s, something like that.

[Joel]

I mean, I still. So I had to get new glasses

[Matt]

because these are premium. That's why I got premium vision over here.

[Joel]

So my daughter, as it turns out.

[Matt]

Oh, no way.

[Joel]

Yeah. So my middle child.

[Matt]

How'd y' all figure that out? Cause she's not.

[Joel]

The vision's blurry. I get headaches sometimes. We're like classic. Classic means you probably, really probably need some.

[Matt]

Was she like, squinting? It's hard to see what was getting. They don't use chalkboards anymore.

[Joel]

It's all overhead projectors or the smart boards.

[Matt]

Oh, my gosh, A lot of smart boards. Yeah.

[Joel]

And so we were like, all right, let's go get your eyes tested. And it's not like an extreme prescription. It's a small one, but it's like, all right, okay, we gotta get you some glasses. And Emily's like, well, let's look at Warby Parker. 95 bucks. I'm like, yeah, that's good. They all look like pretty adulty. All the frames though, even the ones for kids.

[Matt]

Yeah, you look very academic.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Like, even as a kid, if you have Warby Parker's, it's like, oh, you subscribe to the Times, you know?

[Joel]

Right, Exactly. Are you reading the Wall Street Journal every morning? And Zenny just has some cuter kid like, frames. Yeah, absolutely. The adults are good.

[Matt]

I don't even wear Warby Parker's, you know? Yeah, I don't want to look that smart.

[Joel]

You do read the Wall Street Journal with a pipe every morning. So. And so. Yeah, we got four pairs of new glasses. Well, because she's gonna lose some, by the way. Yeah, you gotta prepare for that. Well, guess how much I paid for four pairs of glasses from Zeni?

[Matt]

I bet you got like the nine dollar pairs. So nine times four. 36 with shipping, 42 bucks.

[Joel]

Okay, so a little more. So $91 total, all in.

[Matt]

But you get the super baseline frames.

[Joel]

No, you got like slightly nicer 17, 18 frames. The clip on sunglasses to add on for a couple of them, which is nice.

[Matt]

So she's gonna Be set for summer dog.

[Joel]

I know man, I know. That's awesome. She looks adorable in them.

[Matt]

I can't wait to see her.

[Joel]

Yeah. So cute. But it's.

[Matt]

I love it.

[Joel]

And she's got, you know, glasses to wear with different outfits and then when she loses one. Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Matt]

That's super cute.

[Joel]

So it just reminder to everyone if you need glasses, Zenny Optical is the way to go. Not an ad, just super cheap solid sunglasses that arrive at your doorstep in a week or week and a half.

[Matt]

Yeah. Unless you've got a local optometrist who you absolutely want to support and they've got some nice frames there. By, by all means do that. What I want to see folks do is avoid the in between sort of companies. Right like where you're paying a fortune for an inferior product and it's like oh well actually if you throw one more pair of frames in there it's only $50 more and you know by the time you're all said and done is like $450 with the eye exam and to oh plus the bonus pair of glasses and you're just like well I don't even like any of these frames. But you end up getting them anyway.

[Joel]

It's just amazing one how cheap it's gotten.

[Matt]

So much more cost effective.

[Joel]

I still remember going to get glasses when I was a kid with my mom. I had like a. I very like small so I just like stopped wearing them because it was a very, very small prescription that didn't need But I've

[Matt]

never do you literally they were like

[Joel]

for reading glasses that I was supposed to. They were man it didn't really matter. So I just but or going with my parents, my dad wears glasses and and just how expensive it was, how time consuming it was back in the day.

[Matt]

It's so easy. Yeah.

[Joel]

And you can even do like the try on you know the video try on when you' you're on Zenny's website so you kind of see what you're going to look like in the glasses

[Matt]

and what's cool is once you yeah like you said did you all measure using the pupillary distance thing and do all that and so here's what's so great is that you are able to keep record of the frames that you bought which has the pupillary distance and all the different sort of metrics that pertain to that specific set of glasses. And then if she gets them and is just like oh goodness, they're actually kind of a little bit small on her when you Are looking at frames in the future, you know that, like, okay, let's find ones that have a. I don't. I'm just kind of making this up. But like a pupillary distance of. That's bigger by three or something like that. So instead of 67, maybe we're looking at 70, 71, that kind of thing. So you can improve. You can essentially. Yeah. Kind of reiterate or iterate upon the process. So these. What I'm saying is these will be the worst fitting pair of Zenny's that you will likely ever have. We'll dial it in more. Exactly. Because I found that to be the case over the years. This is. So the ones I have on now are my favorite. But, I mean, I've purchased over. I mean, over the years, probably eight or nine different pairs of Zennies, if I had to guess. But yeah, that's cool, man.

[Joel]

Pretty sweet, man.

[Matt]

I'm glad that that worked out for y'.

[Joel]

All.

[Matt]

Yeah. Oh, and I wanted to say, I bet another reason that you got four pair was because you pay the same price for shipping. Did you notice that?

[Joel]

Oh, once you got over a certain threshold, I think it was $89, you qualified for free shipping. And so honestly, that was. Part of. It was like, all right, I'm gonna hit 91. Yes. I need to get her at least two pairs, probably three anyway. Just because we went through retainers, like, it was funny.

[Matt]

These are a little bit bigger and slightly less painful, so hopefully she won't accidentally throw it away with her lunch. Right, exactly.

[Joel]

Exactly. All right, let's. Let's move on. Let's mention quickly the speech, man. I watched it live last night because I was very curious, and I'm like, this is gonna have a lot of the Trumpian address. Yes. It's gonna have a lot of impact on how we move forward. And it was. I was. I was assuming that we were gonna get some sort of breaking news, but it. It seems like kind of, hey, things are going to continue in the same manner for the next two to three weeks.

[Matt]

You're expecting something flashier?

[Joel]

I was, yeah. I was trying to be like, here's

[Matt]

the new Iranian leader. I brought him over myself.

[Joel]

Would have been interesting. That did not happen.

[Matt]

Instead, it was perhaps more presidential, where he's just there delivering a boring address to the camera. Maybe we need more boring politics.

[Joel]

And you and I were saying before this that it was proper to give and address the nation about what's going on and what the goals and the timeline. But I think what this Made me think. And we need to talk about a bunch of things today on the show. But summer travel is something that people are like, what's that gonna look like now?

[Matt]

Oh yeah, with energy prices, energy prices

[Joel]

and energy prices after that speech.

[Matt]

It's true.

[Joel]

Oil prices went up. Right. Because people are like, Ryan, this is not ending tomorrow. This is going to continue for at least weeks, if not longer.

[Matt]

It was kind of baked in the fact that, oh, he's going to give an address. Because there was the talk a few days ago too about things getting dialed back essentially. And by him saying, oh, two or three more weeks, I think a lot of folks were like, well, shoot, that's not what we were expecting.

[Joel]

Along with some serious threats of hitting them hard. Yes, exactly.

[Matt]

Essentially more pain to come.

[Joel]

That's macroeconomic stuff and some political stuff which we try to avoid. But especially with the rising airfares that we've talked about recently. Matt, I kind of wish I had bought summer travel tickets, like airplane tickets months ago before all this started. But if you're a procrastinator and you're finding that prices right now have made those dreams of hopping on a plane less feasible, I think one thing that we should piece of advice we can offer, Matt, is to consider the staycation for at least part of your summer trip.

[Matt]

I'm fine with that.

[Joel]

Yeah, it always sounds, I think more appealing to depart for an exotic location. But it's always important to consider the trade offs. You can enjoy your town or your city like a tourist. You can save a lot of money. At the same time you get to avoid the annoyances of the airport drama which we've talked about here on the show as well, which are getting better. And then obviously filling up your gas tank. It's not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than plane tickets right now, especially with fuel surcharges becoming more common. I think. Was it JetBlue that just raised checked bag fees citing higher fuel costs? And we're going to see more and more of that coming down the pike. And by the way, if you're like, I don't know, man, that sounds like a lame suggestion. Well, studies have actually found that staycations with short day trips can restore psychological well being similarly to an all out vacation.

[Matt]

I totally believe that.

[Joel]

Right. I mean the key is to mentally switch off from work to get into a different head space means like don't check your work email right while you're gone, whether you're on a full fledged vacation or a staycation. So staycation with the proper mindset, I think is. Is a win. Could be a way for people to save money and still enjoy their summer.

[Matt]

Totally agree. And I think that a part of why a staycation can be so restorative is because there's just a lot of logistics involved when you travel, right? Like, like you, you. You aren't kicking back in a place where you are familiar that. That hopefully, you know, a lot of people try to create a. A space where you feel relaxed when you are at home. And instead of enjoying that this thing that you've worked towards, it's like, all right, let's get out of here. Go somewhere where it's. Where I don't know where anything is. So there's like a. There's a mental fatigue as opposed to staying home, relaxing a little bit. And also, I think there's something to be said for a lot of folks, you've got that sort of frenetic work energy, and even just transferring that a little bit when you're enjoying your staycation at home here and there can allow you to feel better about being at home. Like, I'm thinking about, like, oh, there's the stack of bills or things, things I need to file or look into organizing your clothes a little bit, you're like, oh, I don't know, all the winter clothes, they're still kind of on the. I'm pulling things out of the summer bend piecemeal. Just things like that where you finally feel like you can get on top of some of those things. And then all of a sudden, your home, it's even more relaxing. And I think there's a sort of mental benefit that comes from that as well.

[Joel]

And how many parents have you talked to who come back from the vacation and they're like, I need a vacation from the vacation. And I think the staycation actually maybe creates more of a true vacation reality. I mean, I remember last year, even

[Matt]

though it's, like, boring. Yeah, kids are like, this sucks.

[Joel]

It's like, well, we didn't go to Hawaii this year, man.

[Matt]

Sucks.

[Joel]

But I do think that. I mean, it makes me think of our. Our sabbatical this past summer. And, man, I was shocked at how the staycation was just as good, if not better than some of our travels, and we had awesome travels, but there was something really special about being at home but not working.

[Matt]

I totally agree. Might be doing something like that again this summer as well. I will say if folks do want to get out of town, it's always a good idea to let the Deal influence your itinerary. So Google Flights Explore feature is an awesome way to search because you're looking for the best deals around the globe. You're not just looking for very minor price adjustments to your specific particular city that you want to visit within, like, a very short window of time. Right. So if you can be flexible on your dates and your destination, there are some huge ways to still save in a large way when it comes to money, despite what the. The headlines say regarding the cost and the price of travel.

[Joel]

My kids were asking about airfare prices last night. They were like, so what if you booked the day before? I was like, it's really expensive. They were like, what if you book three years in advance? And I was like, well, you can't actually do that. They're like, what do you do that's also very expensive? Well, they don't even have the tickets listed for sale yet. Okay, but what if you book like nine months in advance? I'm like, that's actually really expensive too. And they're like, then when are you supposed to book travel? And I'm like, well, usually two to three months in advance.

[Matt]

Two, three for international, right?

[Joel]

Yeah, yeah.

[Matt]

It just depends.

[Joel]

Keep looking. And I agree. Google Explore is great. Speaking of the headlines, though, Matt, recession predictions are rising. The Free Press recently published an article titled Brace Yourselves, A Recession is Coming. I guess that's based on. Is that a Lord of the Rings meme? The. Brace Yourselves.

[Matt]

Brace Yourselves.

[Joel]

Is that a Lord of the Rings?

[Matt]

I'm sure.

[Joel]

Boromir, maybe.

[Matt]

I don't think it's necessarily Lord of the Rings.

[Joel]

All right, I'll.

[Matt]

You've read that more recently than I

[Joel]

have, though, so I think it's from the movie. I shall defer. Okay, well.

[Matt]

Oh, speaking of classic. It's not really classic. We shouldn't talk about Harry Potter, but. Oh, the. The new Harry Potter series trailer looks good. I'm on board.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Anyway, same. Yeah. Okay.

[Joel]

So this makes me think though, about the. The Bloomberg headline from 2022. Do you remember that one that forecast a 100% chance of recession?

[Matt]

It wasn't just. It was everybody like all. It was like all the banks were like, yep, 100%. It was like 100%. Across the board. Somebody was saying that there is a

[Joel]

recession, leaving room for the possibility of there not being a recession. But Bloomberg went all the way and said 100%. I remember like, Jamie Dimon was making comments and it was like, everybody, they were extreme, but at least they weren't like, it's inevitable.

[Matt]

Was Bloomberg the only one?

[Joel]

Bloomberg was the 100%. 100%. And of course they were wrong.

[Matt]

Come on, Bloomberg, even say 99, give

[Joel]

yourself the 1% exactly like man, that's the one scenario we could not have thought of. Actually played out well. And a lot of the post liberation day takes were predicting similar things. Right. And you and I were no fans of tariffs, but they didn't have the pronounced impact actually that a lot of people forecast. And so this article, it's not ill informed. It actually it highlights real risks, right. Geopolitical risks in particular that after the speech from this week of course are meaningful and they could play out. Given what's happening in the Middle East, I wouldn't be surprised about a lot of potential outcomes that could have real massive ramifications on the global economy and on the US economy. But when the R word starts getting tossed around and they say a recession is coming, people tend to want to run for the exits. And I just, I just want to say you're going to see this word tossed around more and more in the coming weeks and it's frightening for a lot of people, Matt, but I hate to see, I think there's usually an emotional cortisol spike when you read those headlines and you feel like you need to take action.

[Matt]

That's the whole point, right? Yeah, don't run for the exits. Instead continue to invest like an optimist, save like a pessimist. And actually even pessimistic folks don't agree with this take. So there's this guy known as Dr. Doom, he's an economist at NYU and he actually recently shared that he doesn't see a recession on the horizon. So he was kind of providing a level headed take. So who should you actually listen to? And I think the best idea is to always be prepared for a recession, whether we're talking about on the economy as a whole or just in your own personal life. But generally speaking, tune out recession predictions and I think folks might be getting tossed here and there by the different headlines. And oh, prices are increasing. Like, like of course, the price of oil. We're just talking about that as well. Oh, dude, let's provide some context too because the price of oil, that's something where folks are like, oh my gosh, it's, it's the highest it's been in a really long time since 2022.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

So 2022, in 2022, the inflation adjusted price for the, for a barrel of oil was $135. So 2022, this is post pandemic. And before that it was 2008. This is during the Great Recession. The inflation adjusted price there is almost double what it is today. In today's prices, it would have been $212. This isn't to say that prices are not rising, but let's temper our expectations of whether or not a recession is going to come. And just for everyone to keep a level head.

[Joel]

Level heads. Let's talk about the job market, Matt, because instead of getting an annual raise, there's a chance you could actually get a pay cut at your annual review. Maybe. One of my friends actually recently mentioned he works for a pretty large employer here where we live. And he said, man, looks like we have too much staff because of AI implementation. And I was like, what's going to happen? He's like, I'm not sure yet. But we could see reduced pay. We could see people, people's jobs eliminated. And so the headline unemployment rate is still historically low. The job market has softened and folks who have been laid off, they actually find themselves in a more precarious position right now. Instead of applying for jobs hoping for a lateral move or to stay in the same basic pay range, there's a new study that highlights that many people feel forced to take a job with a similar title that pays less. There's this company, Revelio Labs, and they found that among all white collar workers who changed jobs at the end of last year, 40% took salary cuts of more than 10%. So you're unlikely to actually get a pay cut at your annual review. That's not something we're seeing in big numbers. But we are seeing people who are looking for another job or lose their job and then are on the job market. They have to be comfortable getting paid less because that's 4 in 10 people who are getting a significant pay cut. There are a few takeaways here though. I think that one is to save up more cash. Whether there is a recession, whether something happens to your job, more cash on hand is huge. Right. If you lose your job, that cash offers you a longer Runway, more time to hold out for the right position and pay package. Also, of course, have your bare bones budget on hand.

[Matt]

Your bbb.

[Joel]

Yes, because that's going to help you stretch your dollar even further if something happens to your job and you're out there looking and hunting. And if you like your job and your current pay, make sure your employer knows how valuable you are. Because if you were to lose your job, then the pickins are slimmer.

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Like, and that makes sense, like, from an intuitive standpoint, but also in this story. And we'll link to, of course, all of the stories we mentioned in the show notes for the Friday flight. But there is an individual that they were talking with, and he kept saying something like, oh, if they would only give me a chance, I could prove myself. Like that. I'm really good. If they only gave me the time. And the back of my mind, I kept thinking, well, man, you. You had time. It was with the job that you had prior to getting let go. And there's no time like the present when you are currently employed to be able to express not only your appreciation. This isn't like, I don't know, don't buy your boss a gift, but, like, find ways to. To prove your value and to show that you're invested, that you're taking this job seriously. Right. Like, it makes me think about relationships even. Like, I think back to when Kate and I were dating. A lot of my time was spent thinking of ways to impress her to, like, do something thoughtful.

[Joel]

Now that you got the ring on the finger, you don't have to do any of that.

[Matt]

But, like, unfortunately, that's true. You get married, you know, you've been married for like, 18 years. 19. Close to 19 years, and life looks a lot different. You have kids, you're kind of just cruising along. But think about. We just have a. Unfortunately, we take things for granted, whether it's relationships or with jobs. And so from a relationship standpoint, think about how far a sweet, thoughtful comment would go, especially if I shared that with her in front of the kids for them to see it as well. Right. Like, just think about just what you're doing from a family culture standpoint to truly to communicate something. There's no ulterior motive as well. But truly, I'm trying to let her know that I appreciate something that she's doing that goes a really long way in our relationship continuing to thrive and to do well. And so within a professional job context, I think that means leaning into your ability to express that you are taking this job seriously, that you are proactively moving forward, not just clocking in, showing up when you're supposed to be there and not providing a whole lot of value to that company.

[Joel]

Probably, yeah, extra. That might be extra effort most of the time and. But the effort that words you need to be used rarely to communicate that. It's like, it's how you show up.

[Matt]

Yeah. To the gig and the effort that you were. That it would take. Now Would I think be a fraction of the effort that it would take to then end up finding, having to find a new job. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's why I'm saying for folks who are currently employed, don't assume that you are going to continue to be employed indefinitely at this particular company.

[Joel]

100%. I think it's also a good idea when you're, when you are looking for jobs to, you know, whether you're currently employed or not, to look for work at companies that treat their employees well. I think this is something that doesn't get talked about enough. It's not just a job and a salary. It's like, well what's the culture of this place that I'm now signing on to show up at 40 plus hours a week? Right. And there's a new where you work matters report, Matt, which, which highlights companies that foster their employees careers.

[Matt]

Well, sounds very 90s where you work matters.

[Joel]

It does, it does, doesn't it?

[Matt]

Some sort of initiative from like the Bush era.

[Joel]

Well, and they highlight like 22 companies particular in tech, finance, manufacturing and healthcare that get the highest marks. I think the list is helpful, but the list also leaves a little to be desired because there are just tons of medium and small companies that treat employees incredibly, incredibly well, but also very big companies.

[Matt]

I saw Fidelity was on there on the list which made me very happy.

[Joel]

Fidelity, Yeah, I love Fidelity. I bet that's a great place to work, right? So I guess just talk to friends, ask around it. One, that's networking, right. Two, which is the best way to get a job. It might even be worth the sacrifice to get paid a little bit less to join a great company. I was talking to a friend the other day and he was like yeah man, I had this job offer but then I got another one and I took the one that paid less because it's a great, it was a great company. Two years in, I've moved up, I've climbed the ladder. I'm making more than I thought I would ever and so love it. I think, yeah, going. And it was all because that company is one that's known for a great culture and for looking after its employees. And so I think more job security, better advancement opportunities. Think long term when you're thinking about the job that you want and specifically looking towards companies that treat employees well. In fact, I actually used ChatGPT, Matt to look it up like hey, where we live, what are some of the best companies? And they gave me to work for and they gave me a great list of people first companies.

[Matt]

Nice.

[Joel]

And I was like, man, that's a good use of AI Just in case

[Matt]

Matt fires me, I got these, this list of companies where.

[Joel]

And you have that power and I'm worried you're gonna use it.

[Matt]

No, you. You're gonna fire me and then I'm gonna go get my nursing job because do you see the, the article in the journal that was talking about.

[Joel]

Oh, yes.

[Matt]

Nursing jobs being sort of like this rocket booster to middle class essentially. And it makes a lot of sense. It's not something that AI is going to be able to completely replace you aging population. The aging population. Yeah. You look at demographics, it's. It's recession proof as well. There's a whole lot of flexibility when it comes, when it comes to nursing work. Right. Like the poll, like a few 12 hour shifts, then you got the rest of the week to yourself. There's a whole lot to be. There's a whole lot to appreciate there.

[Joel]

I mean, it's a hard job. My mom was not easy a nurse. And I remember there's some stories from that. But. But yeah. And now you can make six figures as a nurse without.

[Matt]

Yeah, they talked about that.

[Joel]

Trying too, too hard, which is pretty incredible. And I don't mean without working hard, but I mean without like it's not. It's so much easier to make six figures as a nurse now than ever before. All right, we got more to Matt, including. We're going to talk about some companies raising prices and some ridiculous charges when you're buying a vehicle. We'll talk about that and more right after this. You love what you do. You also love the idea of not doing it one day. But it's getting harder to know the best way to move into the future towards retirement.

[Matt]

Right.

[Joel]

We hear about inflation, rate hikes, the changing market, got to get kids through college, build an emergency fund, and then there's retirement.

[Matt]

Yeah. Here is where Fidelity comes in, though. Fidelity can help you to find clarity and saving for the future, even as your path and your priorities evolve. How? Well, they'll help you to create a free, personalized plan that adapts as your priorities change. They'll also show you what's called timely insights, small tips on ways to save and invest to help meet your goals. And you can monitor your plan so you stay on target.

[Joel]

The future is coming and so is retirement. Fidelity can help you take it on your way. Learn [e-mail] future expenses charged by your investments and other costs and fees associated with trading or transacting in your Account Apply Fidelity Brokerage Services Member NYSE SIPC

[Matt]

Hey Donald, really flying on that treadmill. I'm trying to run as fast AS

[Joel]

T mobile 5G home Internet.

[Matt]

Zach. Well, you better pick it up because now T Mobile has the fastest 5G home Internet according to Ookla Speed Test.

[Joel]

Really?

[Matt]

How's this? T Mobile's faster than that, bud. Speed up. Plus they've got a five year price guarantee. Come on, faster.

[Joel]

How can I go any faster?

[Matt]

Channel the speed oft mobile 5G home Internet. Think hundred meter dash fast. Think drag racing fast. Think speed skating fast. Now let's bump up your speed a notch. Hey, whoa, whoa. That's too fast. You'll be right. Just walk it off. Get on the fast track. T Mobile now has the fastest 5G home Internet. And for a limited time it starts at just 30 bucks a month with autopay and a voice line. Plus a five year price guarantee plus taxes and fees. Fastest according to Ooklo Speed test intelligence data. Second Half 2025 all rights reserved. Guarantee for monthly price of 5G Internet data on eligible plans. Find exclusions and details@t mobile.com day or night. VRBoCare is here 24. 7 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the

[Joel]

moment you head home.

[Matt]

We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. Alright buddy, we're back from the break and let us now get to the ludicrous headline of the week, which is from Yahoo Finance. And even the fact that Yahoo has a finance sort of division.

[Joel]

Or do they actually have some good articles here?

[Matt]

Sometimes they do, but sometimes it feels a bit clickbaity.

[Joel]

Sometimes it makes me think of Yoohoo, the chocolate drink.

[Matt]

Yoohoo Bunny.

[Joel]

Do they still make that? Wait, no, that's Nesquik.

[Matt]

Yeah, that is Nesquik. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. Do they make Yoohoos?

[Joel]

Does Yoohoo have a mascot?

[Matt]

I feel like it was like a flood of chocolate milk. That's what I picture when I think of Yoohoo. Wasn't that part of their commercial?

[Joel]

That sounds right.

[Matt]

Back again back in the back from

[Joel]

the 90s and there was Ovaltine, which felt like the worst name for a chocolate drink ever.

[Matt]

Well, that's like a holdover from the 70s, wasn't it?

[Joel]

I guess I was like, I'm not

[Matt]

drinking that, yeah, no, this is something that a listener sent over. Headline read, should you really stop contributing to your IRA in 2026? Here's the real truth that financial experts try to hide.

[Joel]

Don't be coy, Matt.

[Matt]

Well, first off, any headline that makes it sound like that there are people who are trying to hide the truth from you. You know, the cabal of individuals who are just be skeptical, this is probably going to be bogus. And this one is, you're not going to be surprised at who actually gets highlighted here because it's social media influencers, it's real estate investors. And I will say I'm not against real estate investors. The folks that we talk to on the show are very smart and they would Never call your 401k or your IRA a scam like Grant Cardone does as he's referenced in this, this article.

[Joel]

And that guy, man, it's like this is so much bravado, it's not even funny.

[Matt]

This is his bread and butter, man. This is what he does. I think level headed smart individuals out there that approach life the way we do can hold two things in their mind at the same time. They can walk and chew gum at the same time. They believe that real estate investing can be a great path for those who are interested and who want to put in the extra work. And also that stocks and retirement accounts are a legitimate way to build wealth as well. It's just different strokes for different folks. And what it is that you want your life to look like.

[Joel]

I find it so interesting that the people, it's great if you go the real estate route and you build wealth directly through whether that's like owning commercial properties, whether it's owning residential properties, whether you're single family, whether you're multifamily, like find your niche, build wealth that way. Go for it. That's awesome. But then I find it so fascinating the people who do it that way want to just completely dunk on people who do it. Like, not everybody's cut out to be a real estate investor. Not everybody wants that route. And as we talk about on the show regularly, it is a part time job to be a real estate investor.

[Matt]

You know this, it's not purely passive.

[Joel]

You were just telling me about a workday you had with your kids at one of the rental properties. Right. And like child labor to get gussy that thing up, which you might be in trouble now with the authorities.

[Matt]

But that's, it was a character building moment. I was trying to instill grit.

[Joel]

Yes.

[Matt]

And we went to One of our favorite local haunts after the fact and got a great meal and some great beers. That's actually why we were talking, having that conversation because we're talking about.

[Joel]

Your kids love beer.

[Matt]

Well, you and I were talking about one of the great beers that they always have on tap.

[Joel]

Yeah. And so just in real estate investing, the way the people who are myopically focused on that dunk on and hate on other ways of building, let's be

[Matt]

honest, so much of it is because they're trying to gain all the attention. This is written by media that is trying to get all the clicks.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

And that's what they're going after.

[Joel]

We live in an attention economy.

[Matt]

That's right.

[Joel]

Let's talk about price hikes, Matt. They are all the rage right now. I got an email this week that Sam's Club is raising its membership prices from 50 bucks a year to 60 bucks a year for the. The less expensive version of their membership, which seems like not much, like 10 bucks a year. Joel, don't cry me a river. But it's a big jump from a percentage perspective. And so the. I'm not hating on Sam's. I.

[Matt]

Do you go there?

[Joel]

Well, we, we've got a membership member because of our trip to the beach this past summer. Sam's delivery was like the easiest thing for us to engage in. So we got a Sam's membership for that reason. It saved us a bundle. It was worth it. It was worth it. Literally just for that. Yeah. And then do I go there? No, I don't go there.

[Matt]

Well, wait a minute. You did the. You did the T. That's true.

[Joel]

I did the tire this year. So it definitely has paid for itself. But I don't need tires anytime soon. Like, will I renew? I don't know. This is definitely causing me to think twice. And so I get it. I think the big discounter, Sam's and Costco can save people a lot of money when you use that membership regularly. We just don't use it all that much. So this is a good reminder because I think most people also have that membership on auto renewal. They're going to delete the email, they're going to move on with their day. But every time you get a price hike notification, it's a good time to reassess the value proposition that this retailer holds in your life. Look at the data, determine whether or not the business still deserves your hard earned dollars. Again, $10 doesn't sound like a ton of money. It's not going to break the Bank, Matt, for most people listening, but it's not really $10, it's $60. Right. And then they're counting on you staying put no matter what. So this is just a good policy to at least stop for 30 seconds to a minute, maybe look at your spending history and say, does this still make sense for me?

[Matt]

That's right. Yeah. And let's be honest, we've had debates over lesser amounts of money, Joel. Netflix, they're doing the same. They're raising prices for the second time in this year, or not this year, but in 12 months. So the standard plan is now $20 a month. That is a $24 annual increase. And of course, folks are going to probably balk and are like, dude, we watch Netflix all the time. Like, it's got a ton of content. And I'm not trying to throw shade on Netflix's business model here, but, man, we are. We're a long ways from, what was it, 499 when they first started, when you would mail the actual discs? Those were the good old days.

[Joel]

Why do you hate Bridgerton, Matt? That's what people want to know.

[Matt]

No, if you are into that, then more power to you.

[Joel]

I haven't seen it, but the people who love it, love it.

[Matt]

Some people do. They can raise prices as often as they'd like as they continue to increase the content that they have. But you just have to ask yourself whether you're going to sit there and just take these increases or is it time to debate and just. I don't know. It's not even a debate. It's just asking yourself the question, am I getting value from this? Because businesses, retailers, they are banking on the fact that you're not price sensitive. But that is our true power in a free market economy. The ability to walk away when we're not happy with the price, once it exceeds the value that we're receiving.

[Joel]

It makes me want, like, maybe it's a good exercise to say, okay, what if Sam's Club jacked the price up to 120? What if they jacked it up to 180? Like, would I stick around then and maybe have, like, a number in mind of the value that it provides? Because to be honest, Matt, I've thought. I've done this kind of thought exercise with my Costco membership, and I'm like, they could actually charge me a lot more and I would stick around because I shop there enough. But. But the same is not true for Sam's Club because I don't shop there nearly as much. So the value proposition is far less for cost in my life.

[Matt]

If it was Costco, I'd have to, like, list out the amount of seaweed, kimchi, really nice rice, pork. I'm sorry. Yeah. Pork butts. But then also the prime brisket that we pick up on occasion. Look at the comparable prices. Divide that out. Well, I guess we're paying on an annual basis, so. Yeah. What is the savings that I'm gaining from all of those items? Because those I feel like. Oh, no. PB powder. The PB Fit powder. Oh, yeah, we also get that there.

[Joel]

We get that too.

[Matt]

Those prices there versus anywhere else. It wouldn't be too difficult of a math problem. I agree. I think I probably would continue to.

[Joel]

If they doubled it tomorrow, I'd be like, I'm in.

[Matt]

I probably think we would be too.

[Joel]

Yeah. Which sounds crazy. But then there are other things where you raise it by two bucks and I'm like, I'm out.

[Matt]

You barely had me to begin with.

[Joel]

Right. That's the straw that broke the camel's back right there. And I think now is actually a good time as any to go through all your subscriptions, your recurring bills, and ask yourself, do I still use this service? And I think the reason now is a good time is because it's spring. Spring cleaning. Let's do the financial spring cleaning thing too. While we're also cleaning out our garages and, you know, taking out our. Putting our winter clothes up and getting our summer clothes out.

[Matt]

Getting all the pollen off of everything. Oh, my gosh, it's awful. It's the worst. Where we are right now, we're so bad. Like peak. Everything's yellow, everything's covered. You know, I will say, okay, here's a quick tip. If you have patio furniture. I didn't think I'd be sharing this today, but last year I remember being so fed up with the amount of pollen in our screened in patio area, which is just surrounded by trees, that I said, you know what? Never again. It was just so filthy that I purchased brand new. Yes, I paid full price off of Amazon. I was not waiting for any sale, but I measured out what the dimensions needed to be to cover our eating area on the screen and patio, as well as the sitting area with tarps.

[Joel]

Order those.

[Matt]

Have those sitting ready to go. And once I realized pollen started ticking up. This is like two weeks ago. Covered that junk. Oh, my gosh, man, it is so wonderful knowing that all I'm gonna have to do is with Kate, grab the corners of that thing, walk outside probably just rinse it off, I guess. And to know that our furniture and our chairs and our table and the side tables and the coffee, that it's all gonna be completely protected from nasty, gross pollen. Yeah, I can't wait.

[Joel]

I wonder.

[Matt]

I kind of enjoy seeing it stack up on there. Cause I'm just like, guess who doesn't have to mess with that?

[Joel]

Do people in other parts of the country have no idea what the pollen's like here? Because I don't know, when you look at the pollen scale, it goes up to like 200 or something like that. And truly, where we live, the pollen count can be 5,000. And so it like, it breaks the scale. And it's not even.

[Matt]

Last year, I think the high was 14,000 or 17,000.

[Joel]

So crazy.

[Matt]

It's. It's completely insane. Yeah, that is. I'm not totally sure because we do have a lot of trees down here in Atlanta City, in a forest. Yeah. Is it like cicadas where other people are like, wait, what, what's that sound in the, in the background like? Oh, that's just what it sounds like down here, man.

[Joel]

Well, okay, so, yeah, cover your furniture if you live in a pollen prone area, but also renegotiate those bills or cut bills that don't make sense in your life. So I was just thinking like spring cleaning.

[Matt]

That was the topic.

[Joel]

Spring cleaning.

[Matt]

Spring cleaning, your finances.

[Joel]

Yeah. If your Internet bill used to be 50, but it crept up to 70 or 80 or something like that. Well, yeah, I know it's not fun to negotiate, to try to claw back that money, but it's worth the time, right? And I like again, used AI typed in a prompt, Matt. And it gave me like, hey, put this into the chat and you have a really good chance of getting your bill lowered back to what it was getting some sort of like a 12 or 24 month deal on the price of your Internet. And so it's not that hard to do. I think there's just like a mental block and people are like, well, I guess it's 80 bucks now, but it doesn't have to be. And so think about what spring cleaning financial tasks you can do. Look at your credit card statement. What are we spending money on? Does that still add value? Can we get that for a cheaper price? And I think that's just a worthwhile endeavor. I would love to hear, by the way, if you are like full bore doing some spring cleaning financial tasks, how much money did you save?

[Matt]

What are some of the biggest wins?

[Joel]

Let us know. What are Some of the biggest wins, and we can share them with the rest of the how to Money audience.

[Matt]

And renegotiating some of these subs is the perfect activity to do during your staycation. Yeah. Perhaps you've got a spring break coming up. Speaking of higher prices, Joel, also mailing packages. It's about to get more expensive because USPS, they're raising prices by 8% on many packages later this month because of the impact of oil prices. So if you do ship a lot of things via the U.S. postal Service, heads up. I mean, it makes sense, too. This is not like their business model is all that great. I'm fine with it. Like, the folks who are using it more charge them. I would rather see that than see the price of stamps increase, where it's something that everyone's getting hit with. And I'm also totally fine with smaller increases and receiving, like, lesser services, essentially. You know, like, you go into the post office and you're just thinking, man, this place is rough most of the time. Most of the. Yeah, most of the time.

[Joel]

But the line's usually long.

[Matt]

And I'm kind of okay with that. I'm kind of okay with us with there being a service that isn't, like, so luxury and so nice. It kind of feels. I don't know. That's kind of how I want things to run. It's not fancy, but they get the job done.

[Joel]

Okay.

[Matt]

For the most part. Let's talk about cars, because if you purchased a new car recently, I'm sure you were taken back at the cost, because the average new car now costs more than $50,000, which is insane. But it's not just higher prices, man. It's the higher fees that are a problem as well. And we're talking about the old destination charge that caused buyers to shell out more than $26 billion last year alone. So it's a charge that. So on average, the destination charge, it's $1,600, which is a ton of money. But again, kind of makes sense considering that the average new car costs, you know, more than 50k. But it's meant. So this destination charge is meant to cover the cost of shipping the vehicles, which has, of course, gone up. But it's also easier for carmakers to increase this line item. Right. Like this price, rather than to increase the sticker price of the vehicle.

[Joel]

It's kind of like the airlines charging more for bags but not ramping up the price on airfare.

[Matt]

Exactly. So a consumer. They quoted in that article. Companies are sticking a number in there that they think you'll look past. You can't typically negotiate this fee down, but you can negotiate around it by getting a better out the door price, essentially. So it's also another great reason just to avoid buying new cars altogether because of all these fees. And I don't know, man. Yeah. At the top of the list is the depreciation hit. But then you start adding all these fees and along with it and it just. My disdain for buying new cars is at an all time high.

[Joel]

It remains, it remains, it remains. It's more entrenched than ever.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Joel]

And used cars where it's at always will be. CarMax reports, Matt, that speaking of used cars, that EV and hybrid searches have lurched upwards because of rapidly rising gas prices. I think anybody in their EV is just like looking at every, every gas, gas car driver like we're idiots, like we're suckers. And they're right.

[Matt]

Not around us. Because of the fact that the Georgia state tax.

[Joel]

What's it called, the state gas tax, was repealed for 60 days.

[Matt]

Right. Yeah.

[Joel]

So. So we're paying some of the lowest gas prices in the country 33 cents

[Matt]

cheaper here in Georgia. The water's fine. Yeah. If you want to. If you can handle the pollen. Guys, come on. The water is just fine.

[Joel]

Come on down, move on down.

[Matt]

Check out the atl.

[Joel]

We got good beer, like fun podcast. So just.

[Matt]

And if you don't, even if you don't like the atl, you got the burbs. That's where we are. Yeah. If you don't, they're both great. If you don't like the burbs, we've got water too. You can head down to Savannah. We got Georgia beaches down there.

[Joel]

That's true.

[Matt]

Atlanta's awesome, man.

[Joel]

Yeah, it's.

[Matt]

It's where it's at.

[Joel]

Underrated. Also, great job market here. Yeah. Well. So obviously low gas prices over the past few years have made EV adoption progress slow, dramatically. Same with the repeal of the federal tax credits. But when gas Prices rise like 35% in a month.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Joel]

That creates a shock to the system. And a lot of people start entertaining the idea of an EV when otherwise they were like, nah, not interested. So we, we obviously don't know how long gas prices are going to remain elevated or how much higher they could go still. You know, we just talked about the high cost of buying a new car. The fees involved. Run the numbers about how much you could save based on your driving habits. If it's significant, I'd say consider an older, cheaper EV with a more limited range. If that works for you. Matt. I gave the suggestion a few weeks back of those old school Nissan Leafs. I still see them driving around and I'm like kind of miss mine, right. I don't drive very much. I drive so little that gas prices don't really impact me very much. I walk everywhere. This is ridiculous.

[Matt]

But we're living the life.

[Joel]

If you are a person, man. I know somebody, I was talking to a buddy yesterday who's like stuck in Atlanta traffic for like two and a half hours total getting to work and home.

[Matt]

Oh my gosh.

[Joel]

And I think like just an ev, nice quiet EV that saves you a lot of money if that's your normal, regular, everyday life. And that that lower range means nobody really wants those cars anyway. They're super cheap.

[Matt]

That's where the deals are. That's where the deals are 100%.

[Joel]

Especially if you can like charge at home, charge at work and then come home, like. Yeah, that's, that's the way to go.

[Matt]

Well, and so I've looked into this because you, yeah, you did mention this

[Joel]

a few weeks back. You would save so much money, dude.

[Matt]

And I thought, oh my gosh. And so it specifically. So 2017 is the last year that they made the old model. So that's the model. Yeah. So that's the one that looks like yours. It's a little more like hatchbacky looking. It's also the last year that they had the first gen battery. So if you have a 2017 or older, like you can get those for crazy cheap, like two, three grand. Yes. A lot of them still have a good amount of. What do you call it, mileage or distance on the battery range. Range. That being said, if you, you're taking

[Joel]

a bit of a gamble.

[Matt]

Yeah, you are. Especially in the winter, especially if you're doing higher speed driving. But even so, the next year, 2018 is when they've changed, when they changed the body style and it's a second gen battery that is much, much better. So basically you get a 2018 or newer and essentially you're going to be able to have that car for, I mean that battery is going to last

[Joel]

the life of the car for the most part. How much more do the 2018 cost? It's about double.

[Matt]

So you're looking at around like $8,000 still, which is still crazy affordable for something that's going to cost you virtually nothing to run in. Energy costs. Yeah.

[Joel]

So if you're, if you're the kind of person, and I think most People overestimate how much money they spend in gas every month. Or again, we've talked about this. Just the emotional reality of seeing the price of the pump and being like, ah, this cost me $70 when it used to cost me 45. And that is. That is frustrating. But how often are you filling up, like, actually look at the numbers and then say, well, does buying a $3,000 car or an $8,000 car make a lot of sense? Because guess what? I'm gonna save that in gas in, like, a year and a half. Like, if that's you, then, man, I'd be jumping on that.

[Matt]

It could be worth.

[Joel]

Don't. Don't make. Don't make it out to be like, I gotta get the Rivian R1T tomorrow and pay 95 grand.

[Matt]

Come on, babe. It's for the gas mileage.

[Joel]

Exactly.

[Matt]

Yeah. Just rolling her eyes.

[Joel]

Exactly.

[Matt]

No, I've set my sights on. You know what I've set my sights on all the coffee stuff. It's that espresso maker. The espresso maker is. The espresso machine is my Rivian equivalent, Joel.

[Joel]

Well, it looks good, too.

[Matt]

We'll see. We'll see. All right, that's gonna be it for this Friday flight. You can find the show notes up on the [e-mail] youm know, leave us a review if you haven't left us a solid one over at Apple Podcasts, wherever it is that you happen to listen, you know what you can do? You can leave us feedback, and we'll go looking for what it is that you said. You can think of it almost as, like, a not so private way for us to communicate with each other. There's like. It's like sending notes. I don't know, like a pen pal or something. Via. I'm just trying to get people to leave. I love Matt's housekeeping tips. Nice reviews for us. But that's gonna be it for today, though, buddy. So until next time.

[Joel]

Best friends out.

[Matt]

Best friends out. This is an iHeart podcast guarantee.