Ask HTM - Investing in Startups, Refinancing Student Loans on a Fixed or Variable Rate, and Skyrocketing Home Insurance Rates #232

comes to student loans. And then we're also going to take a question as to why some homeowners are seeing their insurance rates skyrocket as well as what to do about those increased rates as well. And plus then we've got two other questions as well. Man, Yeah, if my homeowners insurance rates go up, I'm walking, I'm leaving. I want to burn that house down. I'll shy so you can do that. That's home's fraud. Don't do that. That's

in church froud. Don't do that. Yeah. Yeah, not a good idea, but yeah, some good questions lined up, some kind of unique questions I think to today on the show, Matt. But before we get to those, I want to mention really quickly that Acorns, which is an app that we've talked about on the show before which kind of helps people save more money. It kind of rounds up you're spending and then siphons off and almost indecipherable amount of your money into a savings account, so so that you

can develop savings much quicker than you otherwise normally would. Well, they've just launched something called Acorns Early, and basically what they're trying to do with this is help you save and invest for your children in a similar fashion. And I just think that's so cool math that Acorns is launching this, And it does cost five bucks a month in order to have one of these accounts to start investing for your kid early. But the cool thing is if you had a baby in you qualify for a

free Acorns family plan until your child turns eighteen. So I don't know the math on that right off the top of my head, but five dollars a month times twelve months times eighteen years, that's a lot of free Acorns Early account time, right. I thought you're gonna say it didn't know the math of how many free years that meant you had, And I was gonna say eighteen

eighteen free years, but how many months overall? That's math that's beyond my pay grade, right, Yeah, but it's worth pointing out to that there are other brokerages and banks out there that offer accounts for kids for free. However, what's kind of special about this Acorn's Early account is they seem to be focusing on some of that personal finance education, right. I saw that if when you sign up, you get like a couple of free books, uh to

teach kids, you know, different lessons. It's sort of like, uh, the Little Red Hen but with money instead, you know, a Little Red Hen, classic great book, but just different ways to teach kids and connect with them about how saving works and how you know, interest works, how compounding interest works. It really does seem like that they're committed to partnering with parents when it comes to raising your

kids to be financially savvy. Yeah, and I know that's a question that comes up quite a bit for from our listeners, from most Americans. How do I teach my kids to to handle mone a well? And having something like acorns Early that service where not only are you investing for their future, but you're also at the same time helping them with financial literacy tools that are going to benefit them in the long run. That's kind of a nice little pairing, right, even though it does cost

that five bucks a month. I agree. I think having both of those things simultaneously, actually doing the savings and then having Acorns as a partner essentially helping you teach your kids about money and how to handle it well

is is pretty great. Yeah, And the fact that it's free definitely worth signing up, even if you're not totally sure what you want to do with that account yet, right, you know, you may not even have a need for an account for your kids, but because it is free, it doesn't hurt to go ahead and sign up, and you can even sit on that account until you find yourself in a position where it is necessary. Sort of like the fact that I signed us up for TikTok

Joel just in case. Just in case, I mean, I feel that way about a lot of the news different social media accounts. Don't want somebody grabbing that how the Money handle on TikTok. Well, I waited too late. Somebody already did, Like kid has how the Money, so I had to get how the Money pod and so I'm not totally sure if we're ever gonna use that accounts and you know what that would look like, but I wanted to go ahead and make that happen just in case we do want to use that in the future.

Never hurts to go ahead and sign up for another account. Go ahead and reserve your spot now. Yeah, and if that TikTok squatter wants to hand us back regular how the Money will take it, well, we can reach out to them, even though we'll probably never use it. All right, Matt, Well, let's mention the beer that we're having on the show today. We're drinking a beer called Barry Salty by Talisman Brewing Company. Big thanks to listener Andy for donating this one to

the show. We'll give our thoughts on this Raspberry Goza at the end of this episode. That's right, Joel, And and again this is a listener questions episode, and so we want to make sure our listeners know that they can submit their own questions on our website at how the Money dot com forward slash ask. There you can find the simple instructions on how you can send us

a voice memo. And we appreciate all of our listeners who send in their questions and if you have a good one for us, we would love to hear from you. And so Joel, let's go ahead and take our first question from this episode. Hey, Matt and Joel, this is Zach from Atlanta, fellow a t L resident, and fellow fan of Monday Night Brewing. Hey, so, my question is regarding fixed rate versus variable rate loan refinancing, specifically for

my student loan. So I know the best advice usually is to go with a fixed rate refinance because interest rates have been historically very low lately and it's less

risk to have a fixed rate. However, since the Chairman of the Fed recently committed to keeping interest rates very low for the next two years in light of the pandemic and whatnot, I'm wondering if it would be more prudent to actually refinance with a variable rate since I could count on that race staying pretty low the next couple of years, especially if I tried to pay off this thing in the next few years. So yeah, I'm just wondering if you guys thoughts have changed on that

at all. So thank you and thank you guys for the show. I really appreciate all the advice you guys have motivated me to recently buy a house here in Atlanta and pursue house hacking. So yeah, really thankful. Keep it up, guys, Zach your house hacking, Oh my gosh,

I love it. I love hearing that. It's like, seriously one of the number one ways to jump start your wealth building by massively lowering the amount of money outgoing every month towards like what you pay to live somewhere and owning that home and running out parts of it two people for years to come. And that's gonna be a big head start to Zack and building his finances

in a positive direction. Not only is he possibly lowering his expenses significantly, but he might even be making some every single month on top of, you know, ways paying towards his mortgage. So that's when house hacking it reaches a just like the perfect level possible if you're actually making money to live in a place like house hacking nirvana. And then Zach also a great job on supporting an

amazing local craft brewery. Monday Night Man, they rule the day that actually that we're recording this uh, they are releasing another one of their special hop hut I p A. S. And Joel, you and I we went in on one. Uh, one of us needs to go pick that up in the next few days. Yeah, we do. It's gonna be a good one that I'm excited and the beers have gotten so good. Yeah, we love Monday Night. But Zack onto your question about fixed rate or floating rate student

loan refinancing, Well, you make an astute observation. First, Matt and I were typically fans of fixed rates for mortgages and for student loans. We have been over the past few years, in particular because we've basically been at historically low rates and we're still at historically low rates. But for some people it actually does make more sense right now to have a floating rate instead of a fixed rate. And so yeah, let's talk about why that's the case

and who that applies to. Refinancing into a variable rate makes more sense for your situation, in particular because of the Fed's decision to keep rates low for the next couple of years, which is kind of uncommon to have that signal, for them to announce that and say that this is what we're gonna do, because you know what if they go back on what they said, they're going

to get a lot of crap. Yeah, exactly, exactly, So it just really helps people out when it comes to planning and how they're going to organize their debt, which is Zac's question, right, And it's just such a sweet advantage to be able to know and count on the fact that that floating rate is going to stay low for at least a few years. Yeah, exact. This could be an especially great decision for you because you mentioned that you want to pay this loan off in the

next few years. Right. We wouldn't normally recommend a floating rate for someone who you know, might take you know, eight or twelve years to pay off their student loan, Butza, it sounds like you can really get after it in short order. So a floating rate a variable rates for you, it's gonna be a solid move, and it will mean that you'll be able to pay less in interest overall, which is a huge win. Yes, so much if it comes down to time frame as to whether you're choosing

something that's variable or or a rate that's floating. When it comes to the mortgage you're choosing, or when you're considering a home equity line of credit, versus a home equity loan in a short time frame with kind of the FED telegraphing what they're gonna do, means that a floating rate is a better idea for a lot of

people right now. And Zach also too, it's it's really important to mention and for anybody else with the student loan, that federal student loan payments are essentially on hiatus until October, and so if you are refinancing a federal student loan, you're going to lose that benefit and you're going to need to start paying on it pretty quickly. But it sounds like that's not a deal breaker for you because you are looking to pay it off as quickly as possible.

But for everybody listening before you decide to do something like this in refinance a federal student loan, read our article on how to money dot com about student loan refinancing before you do it. There are a lot of ins and outs and a lot of particulars that you need to take into consideration, and there are certainly some cases where it makes more sense to stick with having your federal loan instead of refinancing because of the rights

that you have as a federal student loan holder. But still it can make sense to refinance with a private lender, in particular if it means that you can pay off your loan more quickly while paying less interest. And in that article, Matt, we also talked about a couple of our favorite companies for people to consider doing a student loan refinance with. So will make sure to put that article in our show notes for this episode, Yes, we will, man, all right. Next up, we're gonna take one on four

one K distributions as well as increasing insurance rates. But first let's take a quick break. All right, we're back from the break in. Our next question is about taking a distribution from your retirement account, and this one comes from the Windy City. Hi guys, this is Elizabeth in Chicago. I hope you and your families are well. I wanted to ask what you thought about taking a four one K distribution under the Cares Act. It looks like my

company is offering this if you meet certain criteria. I understand there's no early withdrawal penalty, which is provided under the Act. However, it's not clear if you have to pay back the distribution or not. An example would be to take a small amount of my balance, say ten dollars to do some home improvement surround my house that are not critical but do increase the value of my home in the long term. Thanks Elizabeth, Thanks so much for that question, and we hope that you are doing

well too. And as much as I like renovating homes. Uh, the ore quick answer is going to be that we're not a fan of you taking money out of your froe owen k, even though it's become easier to do so. The Cares Act. It did away with a penalty for taking money out of your froe own k early, specifically as a way to help people who do need to access that money that they otherwise wouldn't be able to touch.

And you know, you can take up two hundred thousand dollars out while avoiding that ten percent penalty that you would normally incur, and you can pay the taxes over a three year period as well. And so you know, I say all these things, and you might be thinking to yourself, like, this sounds pretty great, right, Yeah, in reality,

is not something that we would recommend. Yeah, And that's ultimately because your money is best left in your account to grow for years to come, and in particular, home improvements is not a good reason to tap your retirement accounts early. If you had lost your job and this money would would be needed to put food on the table, I think you know we'd be having a different conversation.

But to do something like like home improvements, it doesn't make sense to tap your retirement account, even just to take ten tho dollars out, despite the fact that it's become easier and less financially burdensome to tap that four O one K right now. Right if you really do want to do those home improvements, Matt and I would suggest a couple of other ways to tackle it. One is to make a goal to save up ten thousand

dollars and pay for those renovations in cash. You could even right now consider taking out a home equity line of credit and pay for the repairs that way, and bonus rates are incredibly low on those right now. But we're just not fans of taking money out of your retirement account in order to get work done on your home.

I know that the Cares Act and the ability to withdraw funds from your four O one K have caused a lot of people to tap their retirement accounts, and lots of people just took that as a signal that now was a good time to take money out of retirement in particular too to avoid those fees and pay the taxes over a more time year period. But there are very few people who are going to be better financially served to take money out of their retirement accounts

instead of just continuing to let it grow. Yeah, and one last thing, Elizabeth, Uh, if you make renovations and make improvements to your home, make sure that you're doing them for yourself, right. Don't necessarily go into that thinking that you're gonna be able to get that money out when it does come time to sell at home. Oftentimes, the dollar amount that we put into our homes to improve it, that doesn't necessarily translate dollar for dollar when

it comes time to sell. So make sure that those improvements are for you, not for the next owner of your house. All right, Joe. Our next question is from a listener who is seeing his homeowner insurance premiums skyrockets, so let's hear from him. Hey, guys, my name is Pavel. I'm from Central Florida, work here as a police officer, and I have a question about a home insurance. I have a whole house mortgage. We've been paying it for

about six years, have nine years left. And I know just when I started with a house mortgage, my home insurance used to be about thousand dollars a years, and I went to eleven hundred. This year, my house insurance is eighteen hundred. I have no idea what happened. I didn't file any claims, maybe because I live in Florida and we have hurricanes once in a while, but it used to be thousand dollars a year and it's eighteen hundreds.

I message my insurance company or group that manages insurance companies, ask them to find me a better rate, and they told me they can't find anything cheaper. Do you think it's because Florida is a hurricane state or you think I can still find a cheaper, better insurance at another places. Please let me know. Thanks love your show by Pablo. Thanks so much for your question, man, and thanks for being a police officer. It's really hard work right now, and so yeah, we just want to wish you luck

and please stay safe out there. Also, congrats, by the way, and getting a fifteen year moreach did you notice how he kind of snucked at it at the beginning of the question, Matt, he he has what nine years left, nine plus six fifteen years exactly, So that's huge. And Paul is going to have his home paid off a faster than most people are, that's for sure, and that's caused for celebrations. So yeah, before we get to your question, Pablo, just congrats on that man. That's a big time financial feat.

And so Pavla, let's go ahead and first and address you know, why you are seeing your rates increase Florida. It's a tricky beast when it comes to home insurance rates. They've been rising across the board in your state for years. You mentioned hurricanes, like, yeah, they definitely have something to do with that, but there are other reasons for increased

insurance costs as well. There has been a tidal wave of lawsuits against insurance companies as unscrupulous contractors have been combing neighborhoods, encouraging homeowners to fill out claims even you know, when they necessarily haven't been valid even and so because of this, some insurers are ceasing operations in the state um or at least in some specific counties. And then when that happens, there's a lack of competition, which only drives up rates. Yeah, so hurricanes part of the problem,

not the whole problem. And if you are a homeowner in the state of Florida, you have definitely noticed that your homeowners insurance that the premiums have gone up quite a bit. So in addition to that lack of competition map that you just mentioned, for the insurers who are still insuring homes in Florida, it just costs more to do business too, and they're having the rais rates in

order to remain profitable. The Tampa Bay Times actually reported that some insurance companies are requesting rate hikes ranging from twenty to sixty percent, and analysts say that basically everybody in the state it should expect at least a twenty increase in their homeowners insurance costs this year. So Pavlos, not just you, it's actually everybody. So talk to your neighbors.

You'll find out that they're having the same experience. Yeah. Unfortunately, in Pavlo's case, it sounds like he's maybe more on the sixty percent end of things, which totally sucks. Yeah. Yeah, and I don't know if that's comforting or that's just disconcerting that basically everybody in the state of Florida is going through this this same thing. But knowing the facts and knowing that that it's happening to everybody at least in part at least helps you make sense of the situation.

And then you know, you said you asked your insurance company for a better rate, Pavel, But the thing that you need to do is shop with multiple of insurers to to get a new quote. Rates can vary widely from insure to insure. So because of that, we like policy genius for shopping your homeowner's policy uh and also reaching out to a local independent agent who can quickly shop with multiple insurers as well. In addition to that too, you know, there might be some other creative ways that

you can reduce your premiums. UH. You can raise your deductible, you can kind of bundle your policy with your auto insurance as well, and really just see what other discounts there are available to you. May maybe even being a police officer, there might be some discounts available to you just because of your work. Yeah, I know, my insurance agent has gotten annoyed at me. Through the year, sometimes asking about what discounts are available, basically like harangked her,

what about where I went to college? What about this stuff? I mean, they are all sorts of discounts available, and so it's important to ask for them. And so much of the time the discounts go to the people who ask for it. And and this is definitely one of those cases where there are probably some discounts you're eligible before that you just haven't been notified of, and you know, all you gotta do is ask. But hopefully those tips for for shopping around, for asking about those discounts with

your current insurer can help you lower those costs. I know that's that's a pretty steep increase and that's a tough burden to bear financially. So best of luck to you and to all your neighbors and everybody in Florida there who's fighting these ridiculously high home insurance rates. All right, we got a couple more questions that we need to get to, including one listener who IT wants to know about getting a credit line increase and opening a new

credit card. And we'll take that question and one more right after this break. All right, Joe, we are back for the break. We're taking a listener questions, and before we get to that question about credit cards and credit scores, let's take one about an app that allows you to invest in new startups. Hey guys, this is Jeff from Augusta, Georgia.

First off, want to thank you all for all y'all have done and the advice y'all give people, and I just really appreciate, uh, what you'll do for everybody out there. I have a question about investing through a website called republic Dot. CEO camera Carl them Um, and I wanted to invest in a company called Wherewell who I was contacted by through a nonprofit called co Op for Education, who helps support Guatemalan kids get through school. And I was just, um curious if y'all think this is a

safe company because I've never heard of it. I've only seen six five star reviews on Google and one article on Forbes, and that's pretty much all the information I've been able to find. Uh. Where Will is a company that makes consciously made clothing and I would like to help support them or get in on an investment opportunity with them. Let me know why y'all think about this and have a good one. Jeff, thanks for your question, man, and and thanks for saying thanks. We love doing this.

It really is a whole lot of fun to get to talk about money with your best buddy. And also to Jeff sent us some beers recently, so Jeff big thanks for that too. Yeah, if only we had kind of been on our game a little bit, we could have enjoyed one of those beers while we answered his question. It would have been like he was sitting right here with us. We're so not thoughtful. Yeah. Well, actually we just couldn't wait to drink this beer, so we would

have made it happen. They were good. They were good. Years don't keep as well as questions do. That's right. You can put a question on the shelf for a few months, but beers you kind of need to get to him. So that's true. So Jeff, let's get to your question. Speaking of which, first, Man, I love your desire to invest in in companies that are doing good. But first let's talk about this kind of investing, specifically

start up investing. It's really really risky in most startups that are raising capital don't end up providing a big investor return, and startups overall, they end up failing. You would be lucky to even get your initial investment back years down the road. Also too, when it comes to investing in a startup, it's not some sort of liquid investment where you can always pull that money back, taking either a small loss or pulling some of that gain

off the table. It's it's one of those investments where your money is tied up for quite a bit of time, typically for quite an number of years. So you really have to be committed to it in order to look past those risks and still do it anyway. Yeah, So not only do we not recommend investing with a single company, we definitely don't recommend investing with a company that is just getting started. Uh. And so what do we recommend

and that is widely diversified index funds. Jeff, you probably have heard to say that before, but worth mentioning again. But Jeff, we wanted to specifically talk about Republic. There are other companies that have similar business models like we funder and seed invest. These different platforms allow you to even get started for as little as ten dollars, and there are a lot of new businesses and startups out there that you can invest in as a novice investor,

you know, through these sites, which is pretty cool. And the reason it is cool is because traditionally you wouldn't be able to invest in these startups unless you were an accredited investor, and that means that you would have to have over one million dollars of net worth. So that's you, right, right, Matt. Yeah, I was actually gonna say you you're at the accredited investor at this table.

Oh please, maybe in like a few decades. But even if I were an accredited investor in like a couple of decades, I would still be investing in widely diversified, low cost index funds. Yeah. No, I'm with you, And Matt, let's talk to about fees, because that's one of our reasons for talking about investing mostly in low cost mutual funds is not only the diversification, but it's the low fees.

And when you look into what fees are being charged on platforms like Republic, well they claim that investing is free for investors, but Republic is making a chunk of six percent of the total funds raised plus two percent of the securities offered in a successful financing deal. And that's a that's a huge chunk of change given the shaky nature of investing in startups generally, and then the increased disadvantage that you're at when you consider those fees

that are charged on the platform. It's just not how I would want to invest my money. Those fees make me weary, and I understand the need for them because Republic is essentially entering this new platform, this new way of investing. There there's a lot of risk involved, and they want a higher percentage commensurate with with the risk. But as an individual investor, I would just be hesitant

to to pay those fees and to invest in that way. Yeah. Well, Joel, speaking of risk, that's something else we need to consider here as well. You know, Republic they claim to vet the companies that are able to raise funding on their platform where they take only less than five percent of applicants, and Republic they actually do a pretty good job on their site warning potential investors of the risks that exists. You know when you are investing in startups. You know,

that's pretty impressive. They even specifically say on their site to quote unquote invest in a startup because you love their mission, product or service, not just for potential profit or return. And I love that they put that on there because that is truly the proper way to think about it. You know, this isn't a guaranteed slam dunk return on investment, you know, where you're gonna make a

lot of money. Uh, it's there's a lot of risk involved. Yeah, but you know what, Matt, that's actually exactly what Jeff wanted to do. It sounds like he just really wanted to support this company that he believes in through investing in them, and so I can understand why he's drawn to it. It doesn't sound Jeff thinks he's gonna get rich making this investment in this startup. It's just because he he loves the company and wants to support them

in what they're doing. And so I think that brings up the next point on how he should go about supporting a company that he actually believes in. Instead of investing in the startup you love, Matt, and Matt, you and I would say to support them as much as you can in other ways, like buying what they're selling and then giving those items that that company sells as gifts to your friends and family, and then let other people know about the crucial mission that this company is on.

Those are all ways that you can support a company that you believe in without investing in a high fee manner hoping for a potential return. So basically funding that mission from an investor standpoint, it's just not the best move. And but at the same time, considering you can get started for so little money, if you wanted to put a hundred bucks or two hundred bucks towards it, it

doesn't hurt to invest a little. I would just consider that more of a donation that has, you know, some extra potential at the same time, but the biggest way is just to to support that company in the traditional ways that you would support a company that you love. Nice man, those are some wise words. Totally agree with you there. Let's go ahead now and here our last question for the episode. This one has to do with credit cards. Hi, Joel him Matt, This is aoka from

Grand Rapids, Michigan. I'm twenty five and new to personal finance. So I'm trying to build my credit up by looking up my credit score. What's bringing it down is my high credit usage. I didn't even know until finding your podcast recently that it was bad to spun your limit. I only have one visa card and a store card that I opened a few months ago. I want to ask my bank for a raised credit, but how much

do I ask for I'm currently at one thousand. Also, I wanted to get two new credit card so I can have multiple lines of credit open, but when should I do that? Thanks for your help, Erica, A great question, and congrats on getting into personal finance. It's a it's an interesting world and you can go it's interesting, but it's fun, right, It's got like slightly higher stakes version

of maybe play Monopoly or something because real money. Yeah, yeah, no, And it's really I think as someone who nerds out on it, I'm interested in delving deeper, and I hope that Erica feels the same way as she learns a little bit more. I think sometimes it can be frustrating that we have to learn as much as we do in order to kind of survive in the modern world. But I kind of take it as a challenge to

learn more. But into Yeah, Erica, using most of your available credit does way negatively on your score in a big way. Most people don't know that, so especially now, definitely don't charge more than three a month on that card that you have, and consider paying the balance maybe

two or three times every month as well. I have a friend Matt, who is personally so concerned with her credit score that even I mean, even though she's in great shape, she pays off her credit card balance about once a week just to ensure that Yeah, exactly right. She just wants to do the most to make sure that her credit score isn't being negatively impacted by the spending that she's putting on her credit card, even though

she pays it off in full every month. Right, and considering the low limit that Erica has, that approach makes a lot of sense for her because we want to make sure she doesn't exceed that thirty percent utilization threshold, which won't be great for her score. Yeah, and so Erica, on asking for you know, that credit line increase, make sure that you have a multi year history of on time payments, you know, and if you've recently gotten a raise maybe I worked, that's a great reason that you

can easily justify your request as well. Also, you know, if you've been able to raise your credit score, uh, your credit card company will be more likely to respond favorably. And increase that limit. Um, you know, and the worst they can say is no, uh, that won't hurt you in any way. And so one other part two as far as how much like I would personally take as

much as they're willing to offer you. Essentially, the higher that you can get your credit line, the lower your utilization rate will typically be, and that's only a boon for your credit score. Yeah, I completely agree. The only thing you have to be wary of, Erica, is spending too much on that credit card if your limit gets massively increased, and it sounds like since you're getting into personal finance, that's something you're going to avoid. Let's also

talk about getting a new credit card. We think that's great as well. We think most people should have more than one card. They should probably have three or four. That's gonna be the best case scenario for you when it comes to credit card rewards and diversifying those rewards too so, but of course, again, that only makes sense if you're paying them off in full every month. If your score is pretty good, you'll want to apply for a card that offers those additional perks for spending in

specific ways. If your score is relatively low, though Erica, well, we would say consider going to your credit union to apply for a card. They're oftentimes they're more lenient and giving their members access to credit cards. You can also look into getting this card called the Pedal card, which doesn't check your credit score before approving. You will link to that one in the show notes. But it's by far the best credit card at this point for people

that do have lower credit scores. And of course that's assuming Erica that you have maybe a lower credit score. But if you have a pretty decent credit score, you by all means look to just a traditional credit card and get the good ones like City Double Cash or something like that. And when it comes to applying for for new cards Erica, you'll probably want to wait about six months or you know, maybe a year between each

credit card application. Every time you apply, you'll get a ding to your credit score that will take some time to recover, and applying, you know, for two or three cards in a short amount of time, that's gonna be a red flag. Something else to consider as well is that if you're planning to finance a bigger purchase like a car or a home, right, if you're looking at getting a new loan anytime soon, be sure to avoid opening up any new lines of credit, you know, within

the preceding year if possible. So you don't want to open any of these new lines of credits before any of these big purchases, because you want to make sure that your score is gonna be rock solid. That way, you get the best loan terms and the best interest

rate possible. Yeah. One more kind of outside the box way to to look at helping your credit score is if you have a family member, like a parent, who has great credit, you can ask them if they'd be willing to make you an authorized user on one of their credit cards, preferably one that has a long standing history that they've had for ten or twelve of twenty years. Even there are lots of credits. Have your parents out there who do this for their kids in order to

help them establish solid credit footing. This will quickly help your score rise, and it could be a great way to help your kids kind of get started on the right path when it comes to their credit standing. And Matt, we've talked about this so many times. Your credit score is one of those things that is so important in modern society. You need to pay special attention to it, because it impacts everything from the rate you're gonna pay on a mortgage or a car loan to the rate

you might pay for for homeowners insurance as well. I mean, there's so many impacts of that credit score on your finances, and so I'm glad that Eric is thinking about this because taking a long, hard look at your credit score and working to improve it is definitely one of those important things to do when you're kind of setting out on your personal finance journey. Ye. Man, it's implications are pretty far reaching. All right, let's go ahead and shift gears.

Now let's get back to the beer for this episode. Um, this is a beer, another one that Andy donated to the show. So Andy, thank you again for donating this one. He sent this one to us in a crawler, so that means he probably was there at the himself when they filled this one up, which is pretty cool. This one is called Berry Salty, and this is a lightly fruited goza and this one was brewed by Talisman Brewing Company. Do I'll let you take the first go at it.

What were your thoughts on this beer, buddy? So it's called berry Salty, so very salty, so very It really does kind of taste like eating a raspberry with a little bit of sea salt on it, which is kind of what I was expecting actually, based on the name and based on, you know, the initial look of the beer and the smell of it, and it was pretty spot on. I feel like they named it well, and I love raspberry beers, and in particular, with a little bit of that salt, it rounds it out and kind

of creates two different dynamics going on. I really enjoyed this one because it's like, right up my alley. Yeah, you also like putting salt on all of your fruit, don't you know? I wouldn't say necessarily that people do that, right, Some people don't salt on watermelon. Oh yeah, some people think that's an actual thing. I don't even eat watermelon, so what ever, ever, what's wrong with you? I don't know. I don't like watermelon. I like most fruits, but watermelon

just isn't out one of them. I don't. I don't think there's a single fruit that I don't like. All the fruits. Man in my six year old get along you get along so well. Her and I were actually both fighting over some chaerries the other day. So my thoughts, Man, I really like this beery it was. I felt it was lightly fruity. Sometimes I feel like raspberry beers can kind of overdo it. I do enjoy raspberries, but only in moderation, I'll say that. But this was a goza segment.

It had a slightly briny flavor to it. It almost makes this beer kind of savory. Uh, And then that mixed with with this light kind of berry flavor to it, it made me think of tomatoes. Plus the color it's kind of got got like this like light orange kind of color to it kind of makes me think of tomatoes as well. Plus it's in the middle of summer and we've had some fresh tomatoes from our garden. But because of that salt, it almost gives this beer and umm a kind of flavory. You know about ummy. I've

heard you use the term. I'm not educated in the ways of mom is terms. It's it's one of those terms where it's like salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and it's like tomatoes and steak like meat. Our supposed to have this additional flavor and they call it umm a because it doesn't really fall in any of the other categories on its own. Uh, it's like this sort of savory richness, and I feel like this beer totally has that, even

though we can probably easily call it salty. But I think my head is also thinking about tomatoes as well, because I know tonight that we're gonna have b l T s and those tomatoes are going to be from the garden as well, so it should be some particularly wonderful BLT s. Man. Yeah, and I actually probably will put a little bit of salt on my tomato, not on my raspberries, though I don't roll like that. Would

you ever drink a beer that had tomatoes in it? Like, do you think that would be a wise thing to brew a beer with tomatoes? Hey? I try it? I mean seriously, Like, this beer really does take my palette down that path of of savory and kind of umam a, you know, not to the point to where it feels like I'm like, you know, eating us a steak or eating a tomato. But it just kind of reminds me of that a little bit. So so I'm never gonna

knock anything until I try it. How about that? There you go, I'd give it a shot to all Right, Matt, that's gonna do it for for this episode. For anybody who wants show notes for this episode, well you can get to our website, how to Money dot com and you'll get those there. Yeah, and we would also love it if you were a subscriber to the show. So if you haven't already done that, make sure you hit

that button. And if you haven't left us a review over at Apple podcast we would be incredibly thankful if you were to do that. Just head over to Apple Podcasts and search how to Money, leave us a slid review over there, and thanks in advance. So Joel, that's going to be it, buddy. Until next time, Best Friends Out, Best Friends Out.