HTM is BACK! (Video Edition) #1174

Summary

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Podcast Summary: How to Money – HTM is BACK! (Video Edition) #1174

Date: August 3, 2026
Hosts: Joel and Matt

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Overview and Main Theme

In this upbeat episode, Joel and Matt return from their summer break with exciting updates: "How to Money" is now adding a video component! They dive into personal summer highlights, frugal travel tips, their approach to vacation spending, and reflect on maintaining healthy money habits. The hosts also respond to a thoughtful listener question about integrating lessons from their sabbatical, and share which finance minds they'd invite to a dream dinner party.

Their friendly banter and practical advice make this episode especially engaging for listeners wanting real-life money strategies, lifestyle hacks, and a behind-the-scenes look at the creators’ lives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Show Goes Video

• YouTube Channel Launch: The hosts announce that the podcast will now be available in video format on YouTube (“How to Money POD”), aiming to reach new audiences and experiment with visual engagement.
  • "We're in a new era, brother. ... If you want to see our mildly attractive faces, you can now migrate on over to YouTube." – Joel (02:09)
• Behind-the-Scenes Adaption: Technical hiccups and their casual home setups are openly discussed, inviting listener feedback on the video experience.
  • "We want to hear back from folks ... what they think we should do as far as the video." – Matt (04:11)

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2. Summer Highlights & Frugal Family Travel

• World Cup Madness & Personal Experiences: Joel and his family got deeply into the World Cup, supporting Norway and attending a match live, which became a highlight.

  • "I got to go to a match ... England Argentina ... so fun to see it live and in person. You saw me on TV." – Joel (06:53)

• Williamsburg & Shenandoah Adventures: Matt’s family visited Colonial Williamsburg for July 4th ("patriotic spirit at an all-time high"), and Joel’s family hiked Shenandoah—though with an ER visit (broken wrist), unexpectedly costing the most.

  • "The most expensive part of our trip was ... the emergency room visit." – Joel (10:04)

• Travel Cost-Saving Philosophy: Both point out that driving often beats flying for families due to surging airfares. Local trips become more valuable for cost and experience.

  • "While you might be like, 'Oh, I hate paying the extra dollar something a gallon,' it's still far better than paying these massively inflated airfare prices." – Joel (13:15)

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3. Vacation Spending: Eating Out vs. Cooking In

• Family Beach Trips & Meal Prep: They share that, unlike many families, their default is cooking at their beach rental instead of dining out—saving hundreds and enhancing connection.
  • "We didn't eat out once. ... It's frugal, it's easy. Especially when you're feeding 11 people." – Joel (15:29, 17:32)
• Money-Saving Habit: The hosts highlight prepping meals ahead as a way to simplify vacations and keep costs down.

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4. Frugal Wins in Everyday Life

• Best Store-Bought Ice Cream? Matt celebrates Aldi Premium ice cream's high ranking in Wirecutter’s list, reinforcing that enjoyment doesn’t have to come from expensive splurges.

  • "Aldi Premium ice cream ... only got five ingredients. ... I've been shouting from the mountaintops." – Matt (18:39)

• Movie-Going Strategy: Both prefer to reserve cinema outings for special, premium experiences (IMAX 70mm "Odyssey"), justifying higher ticket prices for a rare event.

  • "If I'm gonna go out somewhere to get ice cream, it needs to be the best ice cream that the world makes ... If I'm going to actually spend the money to go out, I want to see it like Christopher Nolan intended." – Matt (20:38, 21:17)

• Intentional Date Nights: Discussing Wall Street Journal reporting on the average date night hitting $189, Joel and Matt advocate for meaningful, low-cost alternatives like biking.

  • "Sometimes the best things in a relationship are not the most costly things." – Joel (22:20)

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5. Emerging Trends & Cautionary Tales

• Sports Gambling Explosion: US public spent over $165 billion on sports betting last year, more than all other entertainment combined—a worrying trend.

  • "If this is something ... you found yourself doing too much ... go back and look at the past year and say, how much did I actually spend on this?" – Joel (25:19)

• Apple Product Price Hikes & the Temptation to Upgrade: With memory shortages and new products like foldable phones (starting at $2,000), the hosts question the culture of constant upgrading and encourage buying refurbs and holding on to devices longer.

  • "It does not make sense at all to upgrade regularly." – Matt (34:41)
  • "The products are often ... better made, but as the cost goes up ... maybe I should hold onto this as long as I can." – Joel (34:04)

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6. Healthcare Dilemmas and Job Lock

• Health Insurance Trap: 1 in 4 Americans now stay in less-than-ideal jobs for the health insurance—what the hosts call the new golden handcuffs. They discuss personal strategies for handling health costs and alternatives (like telehealth and health sharing ministries).
  • "Now it's not the pension that's the golden handcuffs. It's having access to a decent health insurance plan through your employer." – Joel (39:47)
  • "It just makes it ... difficult for someone to say, 'Hey, I want to go start a small business.' ... The hardest leap that most of them have to figure out...is healthcare." – Joel (42:01)

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7. Listener Question: Lessons from Sabbatical & Finance Dinner Party (Starts ~49:57)

A) Sustaining Sabbatical Habits

• Intentional Scheduling: Both hosts use their sabbatical learnings to protect work-life balance, like taking most of the summer off and sticking to nontraditional workweeks for more family time.
  • "We started making a plan for the next summer ... We did not work on Fridays ... Our days looked and were structured just looked different so that ... our lives felt a bit more restful and family oriented." – Joel (51:46)
• Refined Perspective: They’re less existential now; the break has become a healthy rhythm that brings renewed energy and appreciation for work/life.

B) Dream Dinner Party: Personal Finance Edition

• Who’d They Invite? A blend of personal friends in the finance space and respected authors—Joel picks voices like Chad Carson, Jesse Kramer, Mad Fientist (Brandon), and Justin Peters, while Matt would love Morgan Housel and fellow "dad-finance" thinkers.
  • "We're not sitting around talking about Roth IRAs ... It's about all the other real life amazing things that you can do with that money." – Matt (66:03)
• Meaningful Living as the Goal: Both emphasize valuing relationships, personal growth, and real-world impact more than just the numbers.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adding Video:

  • "These two dinosaur podcasters are getting with the times." – Joel (02:43)

• On Family Spending:

  • "One of the things we saved money on, neither you or I got on an airplane this summer. What we did, we just, we drove." – Joel (13:15)

• On Cost Pressures:

  • "The most expensive part of our trip was ... the emergency room visit." – Joel (10:04)

• On DIY Meals:

  • "We didn't eat out once. ... We preplanned some of this stuff and sometimes it makes it easier if you pre-cook some things and bring them down with you." – Joel (15:29, 17:22)

• On New Technology Temptation:

  • "The foldable iPhones ... are going to start at $2,000. That's crazy." – Matt (32:09)
  • "It just feels like this is a solution looking for a problem to solve." – Matt (32:16)

• On Health Insurance’s Role in Career Decisions:

  • "Now it's not the pension that's the golden handcuffs. It's having access to a decent health insurance plan through your employer. That's really the golden handcuffs for a lot of people." – Joel (39:47)

• On Sabbatical & Life Design:

  • "Sometimes it takes a rhythm...where you can edge a level deeper into the impact that it can have on you. ... This is a rhythm we're going to institute that's good for us as individuals, for our families, for our business." – Joel (57:28)

• On the Purpose of Money:

  • "It's not to have whatever net worth placard on your wall ... it's about all the other real life amazing things that you can do with that money." – Matt (66:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:09 – Announcement: How to Money goes to video (YouTube)
• 06:00 – World Cup adventures & live game attendance
• 08:27 – Colonial Williamsburg & Shenandoah travel stories
• 10:04 – The (literal) price of a broken bone on vacation
• 13:15 – Family travel philosophy: driving vs flying
• 15:28 – Why their families never eat out on beach trips—meal planning secrets
• 18:25 – Wirecutter’s best ice cream rankings, Aldi's surprising win
• 20:25 – Why they'd splurge on IMAX but rarely go to the movies otherwise
• 22:20 – The realities of expensive date nights; low-cost quality time tips
• 24:27 – $165B spent on sports gambling: alarming cultural trend
• 32:01 – Discussion of Apple’s foldable phone, tech upgrade cycle, and refurb recommendations
• 39:47 – The new “golden handcuffs”: job lock due to health insurance
• 49:57 – Listener Question: Sabbatical lessons & dream dinner guests
• 59:08 – Aligning lifestyle with values: sabbatical rhythms & family time
• 62:25 – Dinner party picks: Who the hosts admire in personal finance

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Tone and Language

Warm, conversational, self-deprecating, and honest—Joel and Matt clearly communicate as close friends and speak in accessible, jargon-free language. Personal stories and laughter balance their practical financial advice, making the episode informative yet entertaining.

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Summary: Why Listen to This Episode?

• Get a look behind the scenes as "How to Money" expands into video.
• Learn actionable family money hacks for travel, eating out, and more.
• Hear cautionary takes on current trends like gambling and tech habit cycles.
• Find inspiration to blend intentional living and finances—plus hear how two friends have designed work and family life their way.
• Enjoy relatable, humorous takes on the small (and big) challenges of everyday money management.

Recommended for: Listeners seeking practical advice, financial inspiration, or just honest talk about how to spend, save, and truly enjoy your money—without losing sight of what matters most.

Transcript

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Joel]

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[Matt]

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[Joel]

Check Lyft welcome to how to Money. I'm Joel.

[Matt]

And I am Matt.

[Joel]

And we're back baby.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Matt.

[Joel]

We're in a new era, brother.

[Matt]

So the first thing folks may have realized is that they can okay, the first thing that we need to do is make our intro music shorter, I think, because for folks who are just listening to this, what they don't see is the fact that we are trying out video for the first time. And I guess we haven't really thought about what we're going to do while the music plays because in the previous iterations of the show I would always add that after the fact. So this is the first time we've ever heard our music Leading into the show. Like it's a live radio program or something.

[Joel]

I know. Well, yeah, these Dinos two dinosaur podcasters are getting with the times. We're launching. Launching video. Bear with us as we kind of figure things out. But if you, like, want to see our mildly attractive faces, you can now migrate on over to YouTube. We'll put the link in the show notes on howtomoney.com but, like, my mustache, in its full glory exists.

[Matt]

Will folks get to see it? Can you get it a little closer to the camera so folks can see it up close?

[Joel]

Let me see what I can do.

[Matt]

I want to be. Yes. What a gift to people. I mean, less that.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Less.

[Matt]

Less of the eyebrow flaring.

[Joel]

I. I channel that for myself.

[Matt]

You know what? You feel better about it? I'll be honest. I feel a little insecure. Cause I feel like my. What do you call the early onset gray? Something about this light. I'm set up in a very temporary spot at home as we're attempting this. Yes. And don't I look way older with. I feel like. What's the CNA Silverback gorilla? What's that? Cnn?

[Joel]

These guys are majestic.

[Matt]

I feel like Anderson Cooper over here with the. With the white.

[Joel]

Nobody hates Anderson Cooper's hair. Okay. Like, everybody thinks he looks distinguished. You're channeling the same vibe.

[Matt]

Any hair is better than no hair.

[Joel]

That's true. And I will say, if you're looking at video, you can see the shirt that I'm wearing. Reppin my team.

[Matt]

Yeah, boy.

[Joel]

Norway. I'm actually thinking of renaming my son Erling. He's almost seven years old and he's been used to being called Ezra, but he'll get used to Erling.

[Matt]

I think you might be able to. I think you can make the change. Hey, one more sort of housekeeping thing before we go, too. I want folks to know. I want. I think we should hear back from folks, too, as to whether or not, like, what they think we should do. As far as the video, I think some. Just some feedback as we attempt this here on. On Riverside. So, yeah, yeah, for the most part, it'll probably sound like this. But like, if we're going to do. Do this, I'm just. I just threw the imac up in the corner of my bedroom, so this isn't long term either. But anyway, we'll figure out some background.

[Joel]

We'll. We'll get the quirks and the kinks and, you know, worked out and we'll.

[Matt]

Yeah, we'll still.

[Joel]

We'll try to make it sound like you're used to, but just include video along with it as well. Yeah, people are used to that more and more with podcasts, obviously.

[Matt]

Exactly. Which is why we're doing it. Yeah. That's the thing. There haven't been a ton of folks who have been clamoring for it, but I do think there are a number of folks who have not heard the how to Money gospel because maybe they do all of their listening and watching over on YouTube.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

And so, yeah, it's. They didn't know how to Money POD channel is the channel that we established. Jill. I don't know if you know, if you knew this like seven years ago, but it sat there empty and it's under our how to MoneyPod at Gmail.

[Joel]

We essentially staked our claim, put our flag in the ground, and then we used it.

[Matt]

Yeah, we were just like first.

[Joel]

Yeah. Anyway.

[Matt]

But I. Yeah, I think it's clear. I just want to be transparent with folks. Folks are getting a behind the scenes kind of look and we've already recorded some content. Like you've got interviews where there's not going to be video because we decided after that that we're going to do this. So you're going to see some video come in. It's going to be inconsistent for a few until we kind of get into our groove, but either way, we want to hear back from folks. Sorry to kind of backtrack a little bit and talk about some technical stuff, but it sounds like you were kind of launching into what you've been up to this summer, which is rooting for Norway.

[Joel]

Yeah, so much World cup this summer for me and my family. And we, we just, we watched a ton. Like, that was kind of the thing. We all rallied around and like, we, we all got into it and specifically cheer for the US Obviously, but then also, also cheer for Norway. I think Norway captured the. The hearts and imagination of Americans. And just like the world, like, just think of the row. Everybody got into the row, Matt. That was the thing. Yeah, you gotta love it. It was super exciting.

[Matt]

I'm not gonna lie. South Korea didn't get very far, so I had to. I crossed the Pacific and the Atlantic. I guess you can go the other way. Crossed over the land, took the, the land route and joined you at Norway. There just wasn't much to see as far as South Korea goes. But yeah. Do you want to share with folks what else you got to do as far as the World Cup?

[Joel]

I got to, I got to go to a match and I just got. It was A friend reached out and man just was like, hey, I've got. I got an extra ticket. Do you want to go to the England Argentina match? And I was like, do I? Yeah, that'd be great. So it was, man, one of the greatest gifts. It was so fun to see it live and in person. You saw me on tv.

[Matt]

Oh, yeah. Well, that's.

[Joel]

I made the cut.

[Matt]

I think a lot of people would have. The seats that y' all had were incredible. So insane. If you thought you saw Joel, what's wrong?

[Joel]

I got this, like, can show people. This is, like, some little plaque from the match that they gave us. So if you're on video, you can see it.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Ooh.

[Joel]

It's like a little FIFA present.

[Matt]

So I love that you're doing show and tell, because you know what that does is entice folks.

[Joel]

That's right.

[Matt]

To check out the video feed. So what is that little 5 by 5 inch plaque thing that you. You're holding?

[Joel]

It just kind of, like, has. Because, you know, Georgia's the Peach State, so it's got, like, a soccer. A bunch of peaches all over. It's kind of an artistic. Like a plaque for. In commemoration of that match. So, okay. The.

[Matt]

That's a FIFA design in collaboration with Atlanta as a host city, specifically.

[Joel]

Y.

[Matt]

Okay, nice.

[Joel]

So super fun. That was definitely one of the. One of the highlights of the summer. A lot of other highlights we can talk about. You know, we. You and I, we both did some traveling. You celebrated July 4th in epic style. I don't think anybody could have done it better.

[Matt]

Oh, yes. Maybe if you're. Wait, where was the Declaration of Independence actually written? Philadelphia.

[Joel]

Right? Yeah.

[Matt]

So we took the family up to Colonial Williamsburg for the 4th, and we'd never done that before, and it was awesome. It was a ton of fun. So much fun. Kids got to learn a lot. I learned a lot just seeing all the folks who are living the life of, like, I am a printer. Like, the print printer there, where he's, like, pressing copies of the Declaration of Independence on July 3rd on a 250-year-old printing press.

[Joel]

That's so cool.

[Matt]

It's mind blowing. And so, I don't know, my. My patriotic spirit was, like, at an all time high over the summer.

[Joel]

But, yeah, that was asking. Did you ask that guy what his thoughts of AI are? That'd be an interesting conversation. Or did he have to, like, stay in character and he'd be like, AI, I have no idea what you're talking about?

[Matt]

Well, you've got folks who Are like interpreters like him, where they're not like, like in character the whole time. Like they're doing the thing and explain it. But then you do have folks who are in character like the whole time. So you'll see Thomas Jefferson walking around and he's. You know, it's like a. Like a Renaissance festival where they're like, well, what's that device you're holding there, young lad? You have your phone or something like that? No, I was gonna say the printing press guy was super cranky. And evidently that's just his, like, that's just how he is. He's just real feisty. He's like peppering people with questions. I don't know. I think he was kind of going for the. I just read this book, the Samuel Adams archetype. Like, he was just. Yeah. Rebel. Kind of rabble rouser sort of type.

[Joel]

Anyway, you know, Tony, Williamsburg was awesome. Glad they do.

[Matt]

Ton of fun. What else do y' all do you want to share anything else y' all

[Joel]

did over the summer when hiking in Shenandoah National Park? That was one of the highlights.

[Matt]

That's right.

[Joel]

And yeah. Oh, man. The most. You want to hear what the most expensive part of our trip was, Matt? Oh, you know what it was. The emergency room visit.

[Matt]

Oh, my gosh. I was going to say, I guess the place you stay because lodging is always pretty.

[Joel]

Yeah, you would think, typically. But no, it's. I haven't gotten the bill yet, but I'm.

[Matt]

Wait, so y' all went to an actual er?

[Joel]

We had to. So we were in like Nowheresville, Virginia. And I'm even like looking it up because we thought my daughter, she fell. We were hiking. We thought she broke her wrist. Turns out she did break a bone in her wrist. Yeah. And. But there was nowhere, no urgent care to get an X ray, so we had to go to the ER or like drive hours, which my wife was like, no, you know, like cheap old meat.

[Matt]

Yeah, I get that.

[Joel]

We should. She was like, no, we're just going to go. I was like, okay, that's fine. So, I mean, that's going to be the most expensive part of our trip. And I will see. You know how I can negotiate with the hospital on the back end.

[Matt]

Never. Never paid the first bill. Joel never paid the first bill.

[Joel]

Oh, you didn't pull to this podc. Called out of money before.

[Matt]

Oh, my gosh. You should have made her. Did you see the story about the guy that impaled himself on his hiking pole?

[Joel]

Yes.

[Matt]

Did you see the photos yes.

[Joel]

And he hiked 10 miles.

[Matt]

So what the reason he said that he did his. So he's with buddies. He wasn't hiking solo and it was evidently some massive hike. And yeah, he was 10 miles.

[Joel]

Freak accident.

[Matt]

He was 10 miles out and his buddies were like, dude, we need to like airlift you. And he was just like, I think, I guess he was a nurse, like a wound nurse. He assessed himself and was like, I'm not going to pay an outrageous. What's a helicopter?

[Joel]

To get air back here.

[Matt]

Yeah. So he credited the cost of. What I mean, of getting a helicopter right out of there and just being like, I can handle this, I can, I can hike. So that's just like beast mode move right there.

[Joel]

I'm so impressed.

[Matt]

I'm impressed too, that he knows that, like, that's going to be an expensive bill. Do I need to. Plus I'm sure he was just like, this is gonna make an awesome story

[Joel]

for whoever I wanna tell the story to. If you see the picture, one, you're like, oh my gosh, that's a crazy thing to go through. And then two, you think about it

[Matt]

through his lat muscle.

[Joel]

Like, it looks like to go 10 miles like that. I don't understand. Miraculous.

[Matt]

That's what he should have told to just like, hey, I heard about this guy that hiked 10 miles with a pole through his torso.

[Joel]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, fortunately for me, my cousin is a really gifted hand surgeon. And so when we came back here, she saw my daughter and so we've had, we've had the best of care for her and she's going to be just fine at sealing up. Great. So, yeah, we had a great summer. And one of the ways, I think we saved money too, Matt, like, neither you or I got on an airplane this summer. What we did, we just, we drove. And I know there's a lot of talk about high gas prices, but let's be honest, what's even more expensive is airfare right now. And so driving while you might be like, oh, I hate paying the extra dollar something a gallon from where things were back in early spring, it's still far better than paying these massively inflated airfare prices. Especially when you're talking about taking a family.

[Matt]

Yes, dude, 100%. Like, I'm pretty sure I've shared this with you as far as my overall philosophy when it comes to flying places with the kids. And like, I mean, again, we've got a 12 year old. Like, we have flown with the kids. We actually kind of took a specific trip Just to fly. Because they were just sad that they had never been on a plane before. It wasn't like we just flew somewhere and flew back like it was an actual trip. We weren't just going for like a joy ride. But that being said, my general philosophy is that especially when the kids are younger, like, we are going to start near where we live and then just slowly branch out. Because early on Kate was like, oh, I don't know, it'd be really fun to take them to Europe. The cultural experience, the memories. I'm just like, yeah, babe, that's crazy expensive. And A, in we wait five, six, seven years to do this, we're going to have more money to be able to afford these trips because of compounding and investing.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

So it'll be less of a hit to us personally, like when we decide to pull the trigger.

[Joel]

But B, from like a percentage of your net worth perspective.

[Matt]

Yes, exactly. But then B, the ability for them to appreciate what it is that we're doing and taking in the cultural sites. It's like, I'm not gonna fly all a young family with young kids to Paris or to Rome just to eat gelato. Like we can, we can do that locally. Right? And so, and a big part of that, like you said, is hitting up places that you can drive to, but just stateside, generally speaking. But we'll see. I've got my eyes set on some like more west coast travel next summer. And that might be like, I don't want to spend two days, two days driving in the van in order to get the family to like Yellowstone or something like that, you know, like that's.

[Joel]

Yeah, that's a long trip.

[Matt]

That's where I'm just like, oh, geez. Okay. Is this going to be the beginning of the era where we are going to fly to go to go spots.

[Joel]

But I think one of the, one of the other money saving things. I know you do this really well and this is, this is something that whenever you're planning a trip, this is something we think about a lot. One of the biggest costs now, and I think this is like part enjoyment is to go out to eat. Right? Like, hey, we're visiting this place, let's go out to a restaurant or two that we enjoy. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I was shocked at everyone we met. So we took a family beach trip together, like we always do. Like your family. My family.

[Matt]

Yep.

[Joel]

We didn't eat out once. We rarely if ever eat out. Right. When we're on these trips and we're doing.

[Matt]

I don't think we ever have on

[Joel]

the, like a couple of years, like barbecue to take. To take to the house.

[Matt]

We got the barbecue to go on the first night because we couldn't get in until later. But like, I too. So a. We didn't mention the fact that we did the typical family, the, the how to money family beach trip, which is so much stinking fun. It's also. Yeah, it's just great. I love it. But. But yeah, we always cook at home. And like you said, we were talking to other families, you know, like meet folks out on the beach and stuff, and they're like, oh, it's like one of the first questions they ask.

[Joel]

Have you been to this restaurant? What do y' all go?

[Matt]

And I'm just like, wait, what? Wow, we don't, we don't at all do that.

[Joel]

I didn't even know those restaurants existed except for maybe on our, our runs, we'll, we'll. We'll run by them and we'll be like, oh, that, that's where that was they were talking about.

[Matt]

There's.

[Joel]

There.

[Matt]

I will say there's a distinction. Okay. And so I don't want to drag. So there's a difference between going on a road trip where you're seeing a lot of sites and your schedule's pretty packed. We're not doing much cooking on those trips, although for the most part we do try to start the day with eggs. Like if we're staying at. Staying at an Airbnb eggs and toast at home. Start the day with some, you know, a nice meal that way. So stinking affordable. We're not going to go through all that because every minute, every hour is so valuable. Like wherever we're visiting on the road trip. Right. Guess what we're doing at the beach all day, we're just like sitting on our butts. And so, like, the beach is the perfect time to save money by cooking at home. And yeah, I'm with you, man.

[Joel]

A lot of butt sitting. Yeah. So you take advantage of the kitchen and man, your wife in particular made some delicious meals.

[Matt]

So I am fortunate to be married to her for many reasons. And you are fortunate to be her friend.

[Joel]

Yes, I am.

[Matt]

Hey, dude. No, Emily's chicken pot pie was mind blowing as well.

[Joel]

She.

[Matt]

She did that ahead of time. Brought it up. But yeah, there's just the whole.

[Joel]

You smoked some pork, some pork butts ahead of time. So like, yeah, that was. We pre planned some of this stuff and sometimes it makes it easier if you like pre. Cook some things and bring them down with you. Transport them in a cooler.

[Matt]

It's so easy.

[Joel]

Yeah, it's frugal. It's easy. Makes her, you know, especially when you're feeding 11 people. Versus just taking a necessity.

[Matt]

Yes. Yeah. Versus just the default of going. Going out. Dude, I was just talking to a friend and they're like, it was like in the evening after dinner time and they were saying, hey, let's, you know, let's go to Dairy Queen, like get an ice cream. I was like, okay, that's, that's fun. And I'm going through my head thinking, well, we've got ice cream back at home. And so it's. I don't know, for some people, they love going out, but man, it's. It is definitely not my default reaction as opposed to how can I do this more affordably and get just as much enjoyment, if not better enjoyment? Because.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Okay, here, here's a news update. Here's something from over the summer that we haven't talked about. Wirecutter did a. They ranked all the best store bought ice cream that you, that you can get. And guess what was very close to the top, if not one of the top spots.

[Joel]

I, I know, I know what you're gonna say because it's the one you get, isn't it? It's the Aldi Premium. It's what it was.

[Matt]

Finally gotten some recognition. I've been saying this for years, the Aldi. So I don't think it took the very top spot. It was like some fancy, expensive brand.

[Joel]

But the very next Blue Bell or Tillamook or something.

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the very next one was the Aldi Premium ice cream. It's the Black Box Vanilla. It's only got five ingredients. And I'm just glad that the folks over at Wirecutter have finally realized what I've been shouting from the mountaintops. Especially with the affogato, by the way, you know how good that junk is.

[Joel]

For real, man. Yeah. No, you've been affogato maxing, as they call it.

[Matt]

All right, you want to hit a few more topics here before we take a quick break?

[Joel]

Yeah, let's jump.

[Matt]

I'm more conscious of the clock now because I see the clock ticking. I think the video thing is going to do a lot for us if we can stay on topic, if we can stay on time. But this is the first one back, so I feel like we've got a lot that we're just thinking of.

[Joel]

And I will say, normally this is an Ask HTM episode. And we will take one question towards the end and we'll take next Monday kind of be back to normal format.

[Matt]

Regular programming is what they say in the industry, Joel.

[Joel]

Regular programming. One of the things we haven't done, Matt, is seen the Odyssey and we have it.

[Matt]

But we're going to.

[Joel]

But we're going because you got us tickets, which I'm so yesterday. Because what, there's 21 theaters in the whole country that have, like, the full IMAX experience 70 millimeter screen.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Joel]

And they've been crazy sold out. Even if you, like, wanted to go to one that wasn't sold out. I was looking. The seats were. There's like, three seats, and they're in the worst part of the theater.

[Matt]

So front row, far right. And it's like, you don't want to sit there.

[Joel]

Exactly. So we finally got decent tickets, but we're not going for another, like, three weeks.

[Matt]

Yeah, weeks. Because I happened to check it and I saw that. I was like, oh, my gosh, they did another drop or something like that. So that's what. Yeah, I fired off the text. I can't wait.

[Joel]

We're drive 45 minutes to see this. But I saw that some people were driving and taking buses and going, you know, taking hours to migrate to see the Odyssey in its full IMAX glory.

[Matt]

Yeah. Well, I think it's going to be worth it. And this is something we talked about over the beach as we're debating it. If I'm going to go out and see a movie, I'm looking for a premium. Premium experience. Because there's. You can do so much great stuff at home.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

Let's go back to the ice cream analogy. I can make a pretty dang good ice cream sundae at home. I can pull a really great affogato. You come over. We're doing it super cheap. If I'm gonna go out somewhere to get ice cream, it needs to be, like, the best ice cream that the world makes essential.

[Joel]

It needs to be some fanciful Jenny's flavor that you couldn't concoct at home.

[Matt]

Exactly. And in a similar way, when it comes to movies, like, everybody's got flat screens now. Like, everyone's got a pretty decent home setup and they can stream movies. And so I guess if you don't want to wa weight, that's why people are going out. But otherwise, if I'm going to actually spend the money to go out, I want to. I want to see it like Christopher Nolan intended, you know, in the full 70 millimeter glory. So that's.

[Joel]

I'm excited and I think it's worth the wait. And it's worth probably. I haven't even asked you how much you spend on those tickets, but I'm guessing they're like 3x what we normally spend on going to the movies, so let me.

[Matt]

It's not actually all that much more.

[Joel]

Oh, really? I was thinking it was going to be like 25 bucks.

[Matt]

Wait, isn't that what tickets normally cost? 25?

[Joel]

Not at the theater we normally go to. It's like 850.

[Matt]

Oh, okay.

[Joel]

I don't know why we have like 1960s throwback pricing in our movie theater, but we do.

[Matt]

Wait, I can't find the email. I want to say it was 30. It was either $34 or $43.

[Joel]

A piece. A piece.

[Matt]

So yes, it was.

[Joel]

It's better be worth the splurge.

[Matt]

But yeah, that's the thing. I want it to be like, I am 100% willing to pay that when

[Joel]

you and I, we go see a movie theater in the theaters, what, like once a year?

[Matt]

Yeah, I never, I never go to see movies.

[Joel]

This will be worth it.

[Matt]

It'll be worth it. And this is the perfect movie too, because you're not getting spoilers because everyone knows the story.

[Joel]

Like it's like the Titanic. You're like, what's gonna happen?

[Matt]

Yeah, exactly. All right, what else you got?

[Joel]

Oh, I saw the average date night for some reason costs $189 now. And so what I was glad to see this was there was a Wall Street Journal article about this that people are taking more extreme measures to make their dates cost a lot less. Like when they want to hang out. It, man, it makes me think I'm going to go like a little nostalgic here. My, my, my buddy Billy strings one of the lines in one of his songs. Says she loved the things I bought her when I did not have a dime. And I think sometimes the, the best things in a relationship are not the most costly things. They're just the ones that you put a lecture, time, intention and effort into it'. Emily and I. Yeah, Emily and I have been doing one of the things we've been really enjoying lately is going on longer bike rides together and it costs essentially nothing. We've already got the bikes. We just, we drive out to this trail that we can, you know, take a 25, 30 mile bike ride on and we have this lovely time together. We're able to chit chat. We're in nature there's all these ways. I think it's. Yeah, if the average date night costs $189, one, that's ridiculous. It's okay to spend that much on a date on occasion. But if that's average, like, that's absurd. And you have, I think, too high of standards for what a date should entail. And there's all these ways to be intentional when you're dating, whether it's someone you're married to or you're not married to, that don't have to run the bill up nearly that high.

[Matt]

Yeah, that's true. Although occasionally you do want to go out for a fancy dinner. And in those cases, sometimes, I mean, I'll be honest, that can't be the average date night. It's not the average date night, exactly. Yes. I think about the really nice restaurant we love to go to. And I'm like, we're dropping more than 189 bucks, but all of our other date nights are costing a whole lot less. So this makes me think of. Did you see the stats on sports gambling? We're kind of talking about entertainment and just how it is people are spending money. And I saw the ridiculous stat of that. I think it was in the US Alone last year, in the past year that we spent over $165 billion on sports betting. Just that alone. Which is more than like all other forms of entertainment combined, essentially. Which is mind blowing.

[Joel]

That was the thing. Because I think sometimes numbers get lost on us, right? Like 165 billion.

[Matt]

165 billion.

[Joel]

That's a ton of money. But to think that it's more than people spend on, like, movies, books, concerts, sports tickets combined in a single year. That's how big this industry has gotten. And I don't. I think we probably have different views on whether or not it's good for society or should people be allowed to do this. But I think if this is something that, you know, your friends are involved in or you found yourself doing too much, man, just maybe go back and look at the past year and say, how much did I actually spend on this? Because maybe you're not realizing how much money you've actually lost. Because it's really easy to think about this. Couple of times you won maybe a big sum on a random bet that you made, but all those losses add up over time, too. So go back and actually look at the facts because. And for a lot of people, like, they find themselves getting addicted to it.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Matt.

[Joel]

Right. And so they're spending money to gamble on sports that they don't actually have and they're going into debt for it. And that's what worries me. And to see that it's gotten to be this. Become this big of an industry, I think it's very worrisome. As someone who cares about his community, cares about the people who live around him in this nation, and doesn't want them addicted to spending money they don't have on gambling that is just like, in hopes of a quick return.

[Matt]

Yeah. It feels like it just leads to more degenerate sort of behavior.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

Like. Like there's not much good that you get out of it. Like, oh, you go to a concert. Okay. That's like an event where typically you're going with some friends and there are memories that are. That are formed as opposed to bets, which just feel like the bet in and of itself is the entertainment and then it's just gone. Like once that bet is. Once that thing's over. But. Yeah, couldn't agree more, man. All right, hey, let's take it. We're at 24 minutes and 30 seconds is what I see right now. So we're gonna take a quick break. We've talked about what we've done over the summer. We've talked about where the show's headed next. So I guess we got a few more stories we'll get to, including one quick listener question. This is kind of like a catch all random episode, but we'll get to all that right after.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Joel]

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[Matt]

That's right. Policygenius is an online insurance marketplace that allows you to compare the quotes from some of America's top insurers side by side for free. And they help you to find your most affordable policy that's also going to meet your needs. They answer your questions, they handle your paperwork, and they advocate for you throughout the entire process. This is why policygenius has thousands of five star reviews on Google and trustpilot from customers who found the best policy fit for their needs.

[Joel]

With Policygenius you can find 20 year life insurance policies starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage. Head to Policygenius.com to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save. That's policygenius.com say you've always wanted to take a spontaneous trip to the Caribbean. Here's the thing. If you get smart with your money, you can do things like that. With Empower, you can start making the most of your money so you can go out and live a little. Isn't that why we work so hard to have some fun with our money? Like treating yourself to something special or

[Matt]

spontaneously doing something extra for a loved one? Use Empower and get good at money so you can be a little bad. Join their 20 million customers [e-mail] not an Empower client, paid or sponsored. So I was worried that you couldn't hear the music when I first played the intro at the very beginning of the show, but that's why I was just like, thumbs up. Can you hear that? And then you were dancing and I was like, okay, he can hear it now.

[Joel]

Sometimes I dance when there's no music. Matt. That's just me. That's how I roll.

[Matt]

Dance like no one's watching. Joel, you know something else I realized too, typically on Monday episodes we are sharing a beer, but with this being digital and video. What you drinking, buddy? Do you have anything?

[Joel]

I just have my Nalgene of water here, staying hydrated.

[Matt]

I've got an iced latte that I pulled. I pulled a shot, poured some milk over ice, and I'm drinking that right over here.

[Joel]

That sounds delicious.

[Matt]

That's kind of a fun little surprise because before we would agree on what we would drink. Now, if one of us wants to crack open a crack open a brew, it'll be a surprise. Yeah, there's so many fun potential, like what do you call it? Knock on effects of doing the video thing that are starting to delight me.

[Joel]

Anyway, we still have some beers that a listener recently sent in, but I think there's two of each, so we'll have to have those.

[Matt]

Oh, okay.

[Joel]

We can coordinate those. Beer's always Going to be a part of what we do. Because we love craft beer and we love, like, the message that we can portray through the love of craft beer.

[Matt]

Yes. Also, on another beer note real quick, I didn't tell you this. When we were leaving the beach with you guys, we stopped at one of your favorite breweries that I had never been to, yet Two Tides went to Two Tides. Oh, my gosh. Dude, that place is awesome.

[Joel]

So cool.

[Matt]

It's just such a cool, like, I don't know, you described it this way before, but like a old bungalow on top of a commercial. That's exactly what it is. It's so weird. It's like they just plopped a. I

[Joel]

love all the separate rooms. Like, you're. There's a game room and there's like a room with couches.

[Matt]

They themed differently. Yeah. Anyway.

[Joel]

And the beers are just money.

[Matt]

The beers are so good. And it was a perfect one too, because we stopped there and there's a coffee shop. Was the coffee shop open when you were there? To the. Off to the side?

[Joel]

I don't remember.

[Matt]

It's in the same. It's in the same space. And so they kind of share like one big, long corner. Anyway, it's called flat.

[Joel]

It's the coolest part of Savannah, for sure.

[Matt]

It's so cool. Yeah. But they're pulling really good coffee drinks there too. So I'm like, thank you very much. I can stop in here. Kate and I can get drinks for the road. Coffee drinks? Yeah, coffee drinks for the road. And then buy a bunch of beers to take home. Win Win, man, I was so happy about that. Anyway, wanted to mention that before you got to the next thing you wanted to talk about.

[Joel]

All right, well, let's talk. Let's talk about Apple stuff for a bit. Just because, like, I'm curious, what percentage of Americans use Apple products now? It's gotta be like, really high. Probably what 3/4 of Americans use, like an Apple product in some way, form or fashion. Their. There's a lot of talk you find, I converted. I would convert back, though. I'm not like, I'm not married to them. Yeah. If I found. The reason I switched, I think I've mentioned this before, is that the Google Pixels became like, they jacked the price up. They used to have good Google Pixel phones for like 250 bucks. And when they jacked it up to like 500 bucks or 450 or whatever it was, I was like, hmm, the price gap is not significant enough yet. In the same way that it used to be. But they still have better sales sometimes on Pixels. So would I go back? I think I would if the right deal came along. But I'm happy where I am too. But there's talk about the new Apple foldable phone that's just going to raise the price point.

[Matt]

Oh my gosh.

[Joel]

In general. Right. Like, and people are going to think they need this new thing. I'm curious to hear what you think about this. And it's one of the most recent price hikes.

[Matt]

Well. Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, first of all, like, the foldable phones, did I say that they are going to start at $2,000?

[Joel]

That's crazy.

[Matt]

That's. It makes no sense to me. Like, I don't. It feels like this is a solution looking for a problem to solve. Right. It's like, oh, just because we can create this foldable screen, we're gonna make a device that includes it. Like, it just doesn't make sense. Because phones you can stick in your pocket. Right. I'm not like, oh, I wish that was smaller, but also a little bit thicker. That's not the direction I'm going. And then if you're looking for a bigger screen, like, that's why tablets exist, like an iPad. Right. So I just don't understand who. I mean, I'm sure plenty of people will buy it, but I am definitely not interested. So much so that I recently purchased a refurb phone and I did not wait for the new drop of the. The foldable iPhones because I got. I've got zero interest in that at all. So anyway.

[Joel]

Yeah, yeah. And, well, and Apple is, you know, there's this tight supply of memory that is essentially the culprit behind these price hikes that Apple just announced. Because we talked about the new Neo laptop that Apple is putting out and put out into the world, and it seems like it's a great device. And it started at what, 600 bucks? And I think even college students could get it for 500 bucks maybe.

[Matt]

I mean, it's a really student ID. Yeah.

[Joel]

Really inexpensive, solid laptop. But the price on. That's going up by 100 bucks. The price on other products that Apple sells are going up by 2,250. Like it's, it's so expensive. Right, to buy electronics these days. For a while we just saw, at least in a lot of the electronics, orbit prices were declining. Especially though, when you think about something like flat screens, TVs or so much competition. People used to steal those, Matt, because they were so expensive. And now why would you steal it like you'll get one for 150 bucks. Like they're not that expensive but the

[Matt]

we're starting with the time.

[Joel]

Right. Like, and I think I'm hoping that this causes people to think twice before they upgrade on some sort of set schedule. Like oh yeah, I get a new laptop every two years or something like that. Because one, the products are often they last longer, they're better made but as the cost goes up, like the price of upgrading when you don't need to just it makes it feel like less of a slam dunk and more of like maybe I should hold onto this as long as I can so that I'm not forking over money I don't need to spend.

[Matt]

Yeah. 100%. And again, I want to reiterate, I just kind of, I want to make it a point to encourage folks to consider Apple refurb.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Because we, so I recently got one of those because we are sort of taking my old phone and what do you call it, matriculating it through our family and somebody else is going to be using that one. But I'm like wait a minute, why would somebody buy a newer phone that has like one additional spec, like one additional on paper feature as opposed to when you buy refurbed at Apple, it's a new screen, it's a new battery, it's a new shell. Like it's a brand new phone. Except for perhaps the chip which is why the prices of all the Apple products are going up. It's because of AI. It's all the chips are going to all like hyperscalers. It's going to all these AI build outs and they're starting to see a shortage. And it's not just Apple. Like it's going to impact all the different electronics makers. So I appreciate that you didn't say this is an Apple thing because they might be the first one to approach it this way from a strategic. Hey, just so you know, heads up. That's their approach as opposed to other companies who are going to try to follow suit. But I guess nobody wants to be the initial bearer of bad news. But yeah, sure, when the advances that you see with the phones when they're so minuscule, it does not make sense at all to upgrade regularly. Which is one of the arguments for. Have you seen the lease program that Apple rolled out?

[Joel]

Yeah. If you're looking at the video right now, gun to my head because I saw that and I was like that's. I hate that. I hate that more than I hate almost anything.

[Matt]

Yeah. And Honestly, it would have kind of made sense ten years ago. Right. Like, there is a big difference between the iPhone 3 and the iPhone 4. Right? Yeah, I was like an Apple fanboy. I was lining up at the mall with my buddy Steve. Like we, like that was. I was that guy. Like the guys, people waiting in line, that, yeah, 100% I was all about. It was. I think that was the first one with a glass back, dude, that, with a. Oh, yeah, it was.

[Joel]

Were you camping out like days in advance?

[Matt]

No, we weren't that hardcore, but we were there for like. Yeah, the morning of essentially. But that's so far in the past now. Like, who cares? It's all the same at this point.

[Joel]

Well, I think I saw if you want like the newest model of iPhone, iPhone 17, I don't know if I think 17 Pro, something like $46 a month to lease it over a year. Think about you're spending 550 something dollars. Right. To borrow the phone for a year and then give it back. Yeah.

[Matt]

I have access to a quick calculator on the computer as well, Joel, because we're not sitting there with our antiquated paper and pen.

[Joel]

That's right. That's right.

[Matt]

Yet another thing I'm delighted by. All right, sorry.

[Joel]

We're trying to be new school, but the other thing is like you're mentioning the upgrade cycle doesn't matter as much. I think we're seeing that people are holding onto their phones longer. So this Apple getting into leasing, I think it's going incentivize some people because it seems like the easy thing. I don't have to actually make the purchase because $46 a month sounds better than $950 or $800 that you might spend or $600 on the refurb phone. But ultimately you come out ahead. If you buy the $500 $600 refurb phone and you hold on to it for four years, that's going to be a much better cost. Right. That you pay. But it just means forking over the money upfront, having that money saved instead of taking what feels like the easy route of the lease, which is ultimately going to cost you way more over time.

[Matt]

Yeah, you just, you just need to not be on the like the cutting edge, like the vanguard. Right. Like if you are right there, you're constantly getting blunted and just you're taking it on the chin pretty regularly. I was thinking, just thinking about other things we received over there, over there over the summer regarding, you know, news that impacts our Money. Did you get an email from. So we have health sharing. You also have it as well. Did you get, did you see the email about getting rid of the healthy incentive discount?

[Joel]

I did.

[Matt]

Oh, I hated that. I hate that. A. I hate that it's going to cost us more. But also I just hate that you're removing that carrot that they're dangling in front of folks to say, hey, if, you know, if you are paying a little more attention to your health, it'll cost you a little bit less because it should cost the pool overall less money. And, you know, they found that it didn't really help, I guess, all that much. So it didn't make sense.

[Joel]

But which surprises me because I used to work for an employer and they every year they had these like health metrics. And if you hit some of these health metrics, then you got a discount on your insurance. Like you paid less than other people. Yeah. And that makes sense to me, right? That healthier people ultimately.

[Matt]

But here's the question.

[Joel]

Cost the system less.

[Matt]

Did you have to go in and get tested in person? Did they check your blood pressure? See, that's the difference. And, and it's self reported. And I think there's a bunch of folks who are just kind of like, ah, it's close enough.

[Joel]

Ouch. Oh, my, My waist circumference is. Yeah. Is it under 36 centimeters? Yeah, yeah, it is. Yeah, that's. Yeah.

[Matt]

Wife is like, honey, you haven't worn a size 31 since college.

[Joel]

All right.

[Matt]

Yeah, I was bummed about that, you know, because that's one of the, you know, great ways that you can save when it comes to spending a little bit less on Healthcare, but 100%.

[Joel]

Okay, so this is obviously becoming, it's a hotly debated political topic in our society, but it's also just something that's impacting people's bottom lines, like right and left across the country. The cost of health insurance. And there was a new stat that said 1 in 4Americans are staying in a job that maybe they'd otherwise prefer to leave because of health insurance. Matt, it is. Now. It's not the pension that's the golden handcuffs. It's having access to a decent health insurance plan through your employer. That's really the golden handcuffs for a lot of people. I'm curious to hear your thoughts. I mean, it, it makes sense. Like, I think that, I think that's true, but I think like, there's also. It feels like you're between a rock and a hard place. There's not other Great alternatives for most people when they do have a great health insurance plan and they would like to go do something different, how do they make it happen?

[Matt]

No, I mean, I agree that, that that is the difficult situation we find ourselves in. It's the state of healthcare in the United States and like, there's a real benefit there. Like, we were talking recently about the guy. Like, it made me think about the guy at Costco. Was it the journal that profiled the guy that is like, I'm a millionaire because I worked at Costco. And he's been there for, for decades and decades. And he, one of the things he cited was the fact that, well, the benefits are so great. And he talks about, I think his wife had brain cancer. Then he had some issues and they took. Took prolonged leaves of absence from work. And it's a real benefit. Right. And so we talk about the, the overall. The total compensation package that you are receiving from your employer. Not obviously just your, your income, not just retirement. But yeah, man, you got to look at the, you got to look at the, the health benefits. And with that being. I mean, that was something that they. That was Post World War II, right. Post. It was after then their limits set as to how the government set as to how much additional employers could pay. So what they were trying to do is find another way to compensate their employees without actually increasing their wages. And that's when the whole workplace sponsored healthcare provider healthcare was an option for folks. And I hate that it's a thing because it does leave folks tied up in positions, jobs perhaps that they want to leave. And so it just makes it.

[Joel]

Which does prevent economic dynamism and really

[Matt]

gunks up the gears a little bit.

[Joel]

Yeah. For the ability for someone to say, hey, I want to go start a small business. And that's the hardest leap that most of them have to figure out. Right. I think there's a lot of way you can like, save up enough money. You can have a great idea, you, you can have a working prototype, you can have a business partner, you can do all these things to, to get the ball rolling on your business, but then you're like, like, how are we going to do healthcare? And so typically, inside of a marriage, that means one person has the steady job, right. The W2.9 to 5 that provides the health insurance, and then the other person is able to kind of go take that leap. But what if both people want to do that? Well, then you're like trying to conjure it together. And because of how expensive things, the lack of subsidies and how expensive it's become to buy healthcare on the open market, on the exchange, People are like, yeah, even at that point, at that price point, we can't afford to do this. It just doesn't make financial sense. We have to stick with the job. And so I just wish that there were things we could do to reduce the cost of health insurance. But part of that is we've kind of done it to ourselves as a nation. And so now people feel this, what they're calling job lock, you know, something like 23 million adults saying, like, no, I am locked into this because if I tried to make another move, it's just prohibitively expensive, or I'm leaving my family exposed to a lack of health access and to just the reality that's going to cost way more. I mean, I talked at the beginning about my daughter breaking her wrist and how expensive that's going to be for us. And my wife has a job where, if she would see a few more clients every week, she could potentially get health insurance to her work.

[Matt]

Oh, you putting on the pressure?

[Joel]

No, I'm not. Because, like, what we decided is we've tried to plan and be thoughtful about this, but it has taken a lot of planning and a lot of thoughtfulness because it's so expensive, expensive, and it's such a big part of our annual spend. But I know for a lot of people, like, getting to that point is really difficult. It's too high of a hurdle to overcome.

[Matt]

It can be. That's the thing. I mean, it just depends on your, I think, your personal situation, what you've got going on. Because that's the. I think that's the other part of it, too, as you're kind of talking through it. I don't want folks to think that it's inordinately expensive because for some folks, it may not be right. And so they have in their mind that, oh, it's going to cost us. Oh, I don't even know what it's going to cost us. It's going to be, you know, just like an extraordinary amount of money. I just pulled up my budget, and we spent $1,752 last year out of pocket on medical stuff. And that's aside from our. I think it's 350, roughly. 350 is what we spend a month.

[Joel]

So you're talking about.

[Matt]

And so that is 4,200 plus 12. So you're looking at was 54, 5,400 bucks.

[Joel]

That's not nothing if we're being Totally honest with the audience. You avoid medical stuff at all costs. And you, like your kids don't go to the dentist. I'm about to take my kids to the dentist tomorrow and I've checked in. I know what I'm paying. But it's one of those things where we try to do it every two years.

[Matt]

Healthcare includes.

[Joel]

Huh?

[Matt]

Does most healthcare include orthodontia?

[Joel]

Usually your employer has a dental plan as well. There might be some additional dental plans. The dental plans are. Especially if you're buying it on your own, it's very rarely worth the cost. It's just worth budgeting for the work that you're going to need. And if you need something really, really expensive. You know, we've talked about medical tourism before as being an option that more people are partaking in. But yeah, I mean, and I think for a lot of. You're healthy, your family's mostly healthy, and you have catastrophic coverage if something were to happen. It's there that you're hoping pays out in terms of medical sharing companies. But there's definitely a little bit of hope involved.

[Matt]

There's definitely a risk. Yeah. And so, I mean, that was last year. The year before 2024 is 1,000 bucks more. So we spent roughly 6,500 total for coverage, plus out of pocket. But I will say the year before that it was a lot less. We were in like the 4,000. That was maybe a cheaper year where we're like, ah, maybe we don't need to go in. But I'll tell you what, it does make those telehealth visits incredible because it's like a $25, like we used to get it for free, but the ability to not have to leave your home. Like one of our daughters deals with strep, like skin infection. She just. I don't. I'm like, gosh, wash your hands more or something.

[Joel]

Like, some people are just carriers, right?

[Matt]

Yes, people. There's a certain set of population that always a colony of staph bacteria on their skin. And so therefore, when they get injuries, they're more likely to get an infection. But even still, the ability to not have to take the time to go in person when we know exactly what it is. Right. To avoid a local physician and to do the telehealth for 25 bucks, like right then and there and then just head up to the store to get the antibiotics, that helps to alleviate that a little bit. I know another. Not everybody wants to do. Yeah.

[Joel]

Clutch for some things. For other things, there's a lot of things you call the you'll telehealth about and they'll be like, you need to go see somebody. Then there's some things where they really can be helpful.

[Matt]

Yep. Totally agree.

[Joel]

Should we. Let's take a break.

[Matt]

Yeah.

[Joel]

And get to in just a second, we're going to take a question from a listener. This is normally our Listener Questions Monday episode. And then we'll say sayonara from our first YouTube foray.

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[Joel]

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[Matt]

spontaneously doing something extra for a loved one? Use Empower and get good at money so you can be a little bad. Join their 20 million customers [e-mail] not an Empower client, paid or sponsored. Okay, Joel, I am excited about this one. Here on the show, we are all about comparing prices to save money on so many things in life. So why wouldn't we compare prices for our next ride share? Taking a few seconds to check Lyft can save you real money on your next ride. And I did this last time. I caught a ride home from the airport after some travel and guess who came out on top? It was Lyft. Don't just price check with your flights and phone plans and groceries. Comparing rideshare prices will help you to save money every time you ride. Save money? Check Lyft.

[Joel]

We looked like Beavis and Butthead when we did.

[Matt]

I was channeling my inner Beavis, I think. Does he have the top hair?

[Joel]

I was gonna say. I don't know.

[Matt]

No, that's Butthead. I think Beavis is the one. He's the blonde hair guy. So that would be you anyway.

[Joel]

That would be me. Yeah.

[Matt]

So yeah, like you said earlier you want to go ahead and take the. Should we go ahead and do the listener question? This is yet again, new territory. New territory. We have never done this before, but I've got it queued up. Yesel reached out to us and she wanted to. Yeah, just kind of probe and ask us a few questions regarding us being able to take a break over the summer.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

Hi, Matt and Joel, It's Yesil calling from Maryland. Here are just a couple questions since I know you're looking for some freshies. First one is this summer will be one year since your sabbatical. So I'm curious, what are some ways that you continue to instill some changes that came from that sabbatical? And also what are some practices or shifts that you may have wanted but you didn't? Just an interesting thought experiment just to help review your experiences from that time. And second, if you could have your dream dinner party of personal finance folks, alive or dead, who would you have? Let's say you could invite up to five people. All right. Well, I hope you're doing well. Thanks again for everything you do on the podcast. Thanks. Bye.

[Matt]

Nice. Thank you, Yesel.

[Joel]

Okay, so, Matt, Jesus talked about money. Can I include him as, like, a personal finance influencer?

[Matt]

He's. Yeah. At the top of the invite list, I guess. Yes. Yeah. Jesus, there are more parables about money than any other topic in the New Testament. Isn't that correct? I could be wrong on that.

[Joel]

I believe so. And I think there's a good reason for it, because it's really easy for us to get very attached to money and then get to the later on in our life and be like, why did I make that such a central part of things? You know? And that's part of the premise and the purpose of this show is to put money in its proper place.

[Matt]

Yeah. By the way, was Jesus Christ super saver? Was that one of our besties that we rolled over the summer or.

[Joel]

Yeah, I think so.

[Matt]

Okay. What was the Ancient Money truths or something? That was one from a couple years ago. That was a fun one. Okay. Yes. Well asked three questions. First of all, takeaways from last summer's sabbatical that we are still kind of finding a way to incorporate into our lives now.

[Joel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Matt]

You got anything?

[Joel]

I think one of the things that we did coming back from last summer was to start making a plan for the next summer, for this past summer that just occurred, and to say we want elements of that every summer. We don't want it to be one and done. I would say the other thing. The kind of weekly rhythms that we started to institute after our sabbatical were our focused work. Time was very intentional, highly intentional, but it was. It was reduced. Like, we just. Like we. We did not work on Fridays. I forget when exactly we started that, but we also.

[Matt]

We did that before last summer. But. Okay, I think it.

[Joel]

But then even just Monday through Thursday, like, the way our days looked and were structured just looked different so that it felt. Our lives felt a bit more restful and family oriented. And so just, you know, is it Parkinson's law where that the amount of time you give to work, like, it's going to take up the time. And so if you reduce the time that you give to work, can you still be. And obviously there's like, a limit to that. Right. I don't think we could record three excellent podcasts a week and dedicate three hours to it. Like, it wouldn't be very good. But. But the reality is there were places where we could cut back. And so we, in terms of time and some of the things that we gave our time to for work, and we're able to kind of become more optimized and efficient and still get just as much joy out of the work we're doing. I think create something that's just as helpful for people and then at the same time, have a little more freedom in our regular routine.

[Matt]

Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah. I think the biggest thing is the fact that we essentially did something very similar this summer that we did last summer. So, like, last summer weeks, we. We set it up more like a sabbatical where, like, I feel like this summer we worked a little bit more like little. Little bits here and there where we were kind of like maintaining the business. Whereas last year I think we had bigger chunks of time where I know where I was completely shunned, like, shun up from the. From the actual work in order to.

[Joel]

And this was a little more like Sean Unshun.

[Matt]

Unshun, Exactly. It's more of a revolving window or revolving door this year. But last year I treated it personally, I treated it more like an actual sabbatical, where I'm just like, cool, we've got a great show. We really like what we do, what we're doing here. I love how we're helping people. Is this the right thing to continue doing? Just, like, trying to step away from the actual work in order to gain perspective? Whereas this year it felt less like a sabbatical. And I wouldn't even call it a sabbatical this year, as opposed to saying, man, we own our own business. We have put ourselves in the position to be able to take summers off. I want to be able to spend time with my family. Why not? And so this year just felt more. It was less introspective. Just as fun. And I want to say, too, I guess, okay, here's where my mind's at. It makes me think about, you know, how back when we had kids, we put the date nights on the calendar, repeating every week. And no matter what, even if you. And so basically for folks that need to get caught up, one week Kate and I would have a date night. You would come over, babysit the kids. The next week you and Emily would go out on a date night. I would watch your house, watch your kids. But we did not move that unless somebody was out of town. Basically, like, we always did it. And we did that for 10 years. And there were days when I didn't want to do that or Kate and I weren't like, mostly because you didn't

[Joel]

want to watch my kids.

[Matt]

No, no, not that. Like, Kate and I were like, not on speaking terms. We weren't on not speaking terms. But sometimes you just don't feel like going out on a date.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

But the fact that it was baked into the calendar, it was baked into our schedules and rhythms and routines, and you know what that meant that you were going to be coming over at whatever it was. 7:30.

[Joel]

7:00'.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Clock.

[Joel]

I don't know.

[Matt]

I can't remember when we used to. What time we would do it.

[Joel]

7:30. Yeah, because we put the kids. That's right, they were younger and they'd go to bed at that point.

[Matt]

But then guess what? Because we went out on that date night, it caused Kate and I to grow closer together. And so the structure of that was incredibly beneficial, I know, for mine and Kate's relationship. I'm sure you would say the same thing. And in a similar way, that's how I feel about this summer. From last summer. Like, last summer, it's just like, I think we need to do this. Like, let's. Let's try this out. Let's experiment. Let's see this summer. It's like, oh, let's do it. And because it was there, I was certainly looking forward to it, but I was able to approach it in a way that I think almost there were times that I was receiving things from this summer break that I think I appreciated more because we did it last summer.

[Joel]

Right.

[Matt]

Like, I'm just thinking about at one Point at the beach, our kids were all. Maybe was this like, the last night, they were all running. They had just gotten in a shoving match. We're pushing each other into the inlet. It was funny. And their kids were getting hurt. Whatever. We were walking back down the beach. This is in the evening, like, sun setting, and there are just this gaggle of kids all together. They're all friends. You see the relationship. And I was able to zoom out a little bit now. I was able to say to myself, this is so good. And I was able to not just view it through my eyes, but almost to see myself in that situation. And I found that I was appreciating that in a way that I haven't in the past. In that last year, it's like I was striving for that maybe in the past, whereas now, having practiced it a little bit, I'm able to recognize that in a way that I appreciate it just more fully. Does that make sense?

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

Okay.

[Joel]

Yeah.

[Matt]

I'm not sure if I communicated that well, but that's just what.

[Joel]

Sometimes it takes a rhythm, right, of doing something to where you can edge a level deeper into the impact that it can have on you. Right. And so there was something, I think, about this summer that we approached it with, like, a less, like, kind of a existential, like, what are we doing and where are our lives going from here? And more of, like, this is, like, a rhythm we're going to institute that is good for us as individuals, good for our families, good for our business, good for, like, dude, I'm chomping at the bit. Like, I'm so excited to be back and to try video now and to, like, see where this. Where what we do can go. Because the whole goal behind this, the whole goal of our show is for us to have a good time, but also the main. Main goal is to help and serve other people. And so if we can offer advice that leads to life change. And we get emails all the time from listeners. And it's so edifying for us to be like, wow, amazing. You've been listening and it's helped you. It's impacted you. Let's. Like, that's. At the end of the day, all we can ask, right, is that not to have the biggest audience ever, not that YouTube's going to make us Internet famous, could care less, but that this show would have impact on the people who listen, that it would help them understand and think through whatever's going on in their finances better so that they can live a healthier life and Have a healthier relationship to their money. At the end of the day, that's what I care about. And I think that time away gives me a better perspective towards it that you can't get when you're just in it day in and day out. You need a little bit of time away. It's a better appreciation to then be able to approach it. Yeah, yeah. Appreciation and then a healthy approach to it.

[Matt]

It's. Yeah, it kind of makes me think of travel, too. Like, the first time you go on vacation abroad is different than the second time you do it, because, like, the second time, like, there's just little tricks and little things that you do and you're able to appreciate. Like, you come back from the first one, you're like, like, I wish we'd have done more of that. I wish we'd have done more of that. And there's just a level of appreciation for it as opposed to trying to force it. The first time, I feel like this time I'm like, oh, last year I said that I want to enjoy more time with my kids. I was still learning how to do that, you know, because there's times where I'm just like, well, I got some time. I'm just going to take on this massive project out in the yard, and I'm like, you know, beast in it for two weeks, as opposed to being like, oh, no, let's actually slow down. And what does it actually look like to spend time with the kids? Appreciate that time. It's connecting more of what I say that I want and what I value to. Like, last year, it's like, I don't know, there's some distance, but now I'm like, oh, it's like it's getting closer to what I'm claiming. Right. There's less cognitive dissonance, which is always a good feeling when you are living the world, when you're living in a way that aligns naturally with your values.

[Joel]

And I think so often that's what creates just a lot of anxiety and hardship in people's lives, is the gap between what they say they want and the way they're living. I know it does for me. I know it does for me. Those are the places where I need to lean into and be formed and hopefully make different attempts and a different approach in the future so that I can become more of the person who, like the things that I say align with the things that I do.

[Matt]

Yeah, okay. So anything that you did last summer that you didn't do that you wish you could do better. A better job. You got anything there? Let me skip that part.

[Joel]

Yeah, I'm trying to think if there's anything I wish could done better. I think. No, I don't think so. I don't think there was anything.

[Matt]

Joel's like, nailed it.

[Joel]

I will say the thing. I'm also watching the clock, too, so that I liked. I liked the travel and some of the little trips that we did, we didn't have as much. My wife's working more this summer, so we didn't have as much ability to travel. So I was hanging with the kids more, doing more, like, you know, pool hangs and little day stuff. But the thing that I. And I love that slight difference, but the thing that I really like more than. More than anything. I think a lot of times, like, we make travel seem like it's the greatest thing in modern history. Like, to be able to take big trips is like, that's everyone's goal, it seems like sometimes. So there's like travel, porn, travel, lust. And you want to be able to do that.

[Matt]

Right. Don't you want to travel? Right.

[Joel]

Yeah, I'd like to travel as much as the next person. But there's something great about the rhythms of not working and being at home and having some of that time is a beautiful thing. And so don't assume that just because you're not working, you've got to, like, be on a plane and go somewhere. Yeah.

[Matt]

Yep. Yeah, we did a better job with that. I mean, last year we intentionally wanted to have a longer road trip, which we'd never done. We definitely did not do that this summer. Still had a. Still had a good time. Okay, real quick. She mentioned the personal finance people that you would have over for dinner. Who would that be? We've already mentioned. Jesus Christ.

[Joel]

Yes. Yeah. And so I was trying to not go too meta with it in my answer, because I was like, oh, you could get like Warren Buffett and stuff. But I don't think he's not like a. He's not really personal financing.

[Matt]

He's like, let me research this business and find where there's untapped value, essentially.

[Joel]

But would I like to hang out with Warren Buffett? Yeah, of course. For sure. Like, who wouldn't? What a.

[Matt]

He's close enough to say, Warren Buffett.

[Joel]

Human, maybe. But I'm going to go with, like, my best friends in the personal finance space who I think are also really smart. So I. I put our buddy Chad Carson, who's really smart about real estate, in there. Our friend Jesse Kramer Love that dude. Lives up in Rochester, New York, doing some great stuff. And he's just a great guy. So I'd love to hang out with him. The mad scientist who we got to visit in person in Scotland.

[Matt]

Brandon.

[Joel]

Love hanging out with that guy, Justin Peters, who runs the podcast Five Minded. Fantastic guy, really thoughtful, ask great questions,

[Matt]

and literally runs as well, which is where my mind.

[Joel]

He's a great guy.

[Matt]

I feel like the folks, I'll be honest, I don't consume a whole lot of. Of virtually any personal finance content. And I don't know if that makes me a pariah within the personal finance space. The fact that, like, oh, he doesn't support the other folks, but, like, I want to. The folks I would want to have over are the okay, Morgan Housel. I'll totally have him over because he does so much research and has such great stories and ties it to what's going on. I just love him as a storyteller. I would love just to sit there and pepper him with questions and have him tell me stories. But besides that, I'm thinking of people who I know, and the reason I would want to hang with them is because I'm interested in what they're into outside of personal finance. And so, for instance, Justin Peters, he's a runner. Who else did you mention? Oh, Brandon.

[Joel]

Brandon, Mad scientist.

[Matt]

He's so into craft beer that, like.

[Joel]

And music.

[Matt]

And music. And so, like, it makes me think of, like, even Carl Mindy, Carl Jensen. And like, he takes on these home projects and he calls it. What does he call it? Like, something tourism, like building tourism or something. Like, he'll go visit a friend for a month, work on a project with him, and to him, that's fun. I'm like, dude, that kind of sounds awesome. That's my kind of fun because I try to be handy. I like doing stuff around the house.

[Joel]

But he's using his financial independence in an interesting way.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yes.

[Matt]

Yeah, absolutely. I think the closest I get to actual personal finance content, like, honestly, I think about Jordan Grummet, Doc G. Because anytime I've listened to him recently, like, he is grappling with the kind of stuff that I'm starting, the kind of questions that I'm starting to ask, which is spending the money that you've saved and invested over the years and decades and being okay with that. And I sense, like, a type of peace that he has. Not that I'm anywhere near, like, he's so much wealthier than I am, but I love how he's talking about not Feeling comfortable with spending large amounts of money and without necessarily being like, oh, but we're going to maintain this. In order to generate this kind of revenue, there's a certain level of trust and letting go that you have to get to. That I feel like he's arrived at. So anytime he talks about stuff like that, I try to see if I can give it a listen or read up.

[Joel]

But our buddy Chad, he's into soccer, he's into sabbaticals, and he's into building bike paths and biking. So there's just so much in common with these people that we mentioned. You're think I hadn't really thought about that, but yeah, the reason I like them is because they have, they're really thoughtful, they've got varied interests that they pursue wholeheartedly. Like, they're all in on it, you know, and, and they're. And because of that, they're fascinating people. And so it's.

[Matt]

Yeah, we're not sitting around talking about Roth IRAs. Like, no, we're talking about all the other stuff outside of what we talk about day in and day out on the show. And to me, like, and it just drives home the point of what's money for? It's to do awesome things. It's not to have whatever, you know, net worth placard on your wall and be like, I finally did it. I hit my number. No, it's about all the other real life amazing things that you can do with that money. The, the lives that you can impact, how it is you can teach your kids, how you can improve your community. Like, that's what it's all about, man. And anytime I see somebody doing that well, I want to do that well. Right. I'm trying to think of, like, I can't think of any like, like, other dad. I feel like we're like solidly in the dad personal finance space or whatever. But like, any dudes out there doing that, I would love to. I'd probably want to have them over for dinner and talk about, like, dad stuff. Like hell. How are you talking about? Oh, yes, we do have money, kids, but also you need to work and go out there and kill your own thing and bring it home and cook it. Right? Like, how do you find that balance between providing for them, not spoiling, spoiling them, and being able to provide them, hopefully with a better life than what it is that we had? Not that there was anything wrong with our lives growing up, but we're always striving to be better. Right?

[Joel]

I was just talking to My oldest, who just turned 13. So I have a teenager now, which I don't feel old enough to be the dad of a teenager, but I am. And we're talking about when I started working. And I started working at 14 at a fast food restaurant. And. And so she was like, well, can I get a job when I'm 14? And I'm like, yeah, you can totally get a job when you're 14. That sounds great. And so we're going to be thoughtful about that. And how much do you work and what does that look like? And are you going to try to do an entrepreneurial thing? Are you going to go to try to work somewhere and learn stuff? I ran into Matt just the other day. The guy who was a manager at the restaurant I worked at when I was 14. Yeah. I took a selfie with him. I'll show you the picture. And he was like, just show it

[Matt]

to me right now. Can you pull it up? Would it take too long?

[Joel]

You know, I can.

[Matt]

Well, I, I think what you're pointing to. Well, I'm just gonna, I'll buy you some time. Is that these are the things that we're wrestling with day in and day out. And so because of that, those are the.

[Joel]

See that?

[Matt]

I love it.

[Joel]

That's so cool, dude. Like, that's Jason and Jason's the man. And I learned so much working for people like Jason as an idiot 14 year old. And I was like, jason, do you remember how dumb I was?

[Matt]

We all were.

[Joel]

And he was very kind. He's like, you weren't that dumb. And I'm like, yeah, I know, I was, I know, I know.

[Matt]

I was like, I'm not that smart now. So, you know. Yeah, have been down there.

[Joel]

It wasn't the 5, 15 an hour that I made, although that, that wasn't insignificant, but it was, it was that, those kinds of relationships and it was the, it was learning how to be a good worker, how to interact relationally with co workers, how to not be as much of an idiot. Those were the things that really moved the needle for me. 14, 15, 16 year old working. That's what you learn. And I think when you put too much emphasis on school and academics, there should be a big emphasis there. Right. It's really important. We don't minimize that in our house. But we do say that, like to be a fully well rounded human, I do think, does she have to start working at 14? No. But will she need to start working by like 16 and be like her head pointed in that direction?

[Matt]

Yeah. Yeah, well, that's the thing too. I mean there's other ways to do it as far as like there are also ways even like our daughter who's also about to turn 13, but she's got like a regular babysitting gig. And so when it comes to communicating well with that family or responding in a quasi professional way, showing up on time, you know, like the first few times, it's like she's supposed to be over there at like 5pm or something like that. And she, it's like 5pm she's like, oh, I gotta get over there. I'm like, oh, you're late. Like you need to be there. You know, just me saying that and then her seeing the. Maybe the response. You know, they're very kind. But if they're just like, okay, yep, we're going to get out of here. You know, it's seven, you know, whatever, it's. It's five o'. Clock. So just some of those little lessons can also be learned in a more sort of casual work environment as opposed to full on W2 job. But yeah, that's cool, that's fun that you ran into him. We are running longer than I was expecting. We're just over an hour here. Do you got anything else you want to share before we.

[Joel]

No, but I think we. There were some good elements that are going to push people towards the video. Like if you want to see that picture of me, we did so much

[Matt]

former boss show and telling baby, I love it.

[Joel]

I know.

[Matt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joel]

So come check us out on, on, on YouTube if you want to keep listening the audio, that's great too.

[Matt]

I love.

[Joel]

We'll continue from audio in my ears.

[Matt]

Yeah, we'll continue pumping it out and yeah, just so folks know we're. I mean we're manually sticking that over on YouTube ourselves as well. It's not like. Because iHeart doesn't have that built in. It's not like Spotify where it's like built in and you can choose whether you're gonna do audio or video. So this is at least for now. I think it'd be awesome if, if I, I mean I think this is fun and maybe I heart will see the value in it and they'll start incorporating it into the feed somehow.

[Joel]

Perhaps.

[Matt]

I don't really know. But yeah, I think we will continue this.

[Joel]

What do you think? Sounds good. No, this was good. I enjoyed it. Looking forward to being back full on in the fall and taking more of your money questions. And if you have those money questions, howtomoney.com ask is the place to go to submit those voice memos. And yeah, send tomorrow. Stick with us. Tell your friends about how to Money. It's a good place to be. Hang out with us more.

[Matt]

The channel is how to Money pod over at YouTube. How to MoneyPod I'm queuing up the exit music.

[Joel]

Okay, so can I go ahead and say that's gonna do it for this episode. Until next time, Best friends out.

[Matt]

Best friends.

[Joel]

Foreign.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Matt]

Okay, Joel, I am excited about this one. Here on the show, we are all about comparing prices to save money on so many things in life. So why wouldn't we compare prices for our next rideshare? Taking a few seconds to check Lyft can save you real money on your next ride. I did this last time. I caught a ride home from the airport after some travel and guess who came out on top? It was Lyft. Don't just price check with your flights and phone plans and groceries. Comparing rideshare prices will help you to save money every time you ride. Save money. Check Lyft.

[Joel]

Say you've always wanted to take a spontaneous trip to the Caribbean. Here's the thing. If you get smart with your money, you can do things like that. With Empower, you can start making the most of your money so you can go out and live a little. Isn't that why we work so hard to have some fun with our money? Like treating yourself to something special or

[Matt]

spontaneously doing something extra for a loved one? Use Empower and get good at money so you can be a little bad. Join their 20 million customers [e-mail] not an Empower client, paid or sponsored.

[Podcast Host/Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.