Let's say good morning now to the host of How to Money on KFI, Joel Largsguard. So, Joel, I just mentioned tariffs and how Mexico and Canada get a pause, but I thought maybe we should talk about tariffs and you know, what do they mean to you and me on a daily basis?
Sure?
Yeah, from a personal finance perspective, there was there was like a lot up in the area yesterday. Right, it felt like some whiplash going on, some tariff whiplash, and you know, the over the weekend it was like, hey, yeah, it's it's going down. We're going to implement tariffs on China, Canada,
and Mexico. And this is just kind of a departure too from President Trump's tact in his first administration, where it was essentially kind of tariffs against adversaries, and now it's tariffs against nations bordering nations that we're friendly with in order to kind of get concessions. He got those concessions, and so the tariffs are at least punted for a month,
depending on what else he's trying to bargain for. But the truth is, if these tariffs went into effect, if they go into effect next month, the goods, price of goods and services will go up on a whole lot of things. And it really tariffs essentially, when you know, they boil down to attacks on consumers on everyday American So there's been a lot written about what would go up in price.
It's a lot of things. Avocado's maple syrup.
But then it's bigger things too, like the price of cars, because all of these components that go into making cars, well, they fly across the border, across Canada and Mexico and back again. And so the tariffs that would be instituted on some of these items is going to make a lot of things more expensive. I think lumber, concrete, like things are going to get more expensive. Renovating your house. The quote you got last week, it might not be good a month from now, it might have gone up
quite a bit. So these are the kind of things that people should at least notice and be aware of.
Okay, And when you said that the tariffs would kick in, you know, and again they're on pause right now, at least with Mexico and Canada. Would the effect be immediate or might it be like three months down the road or what kind of repercussions, are they there?
Yeah, that depends.
So some businesses have in expectation of these tariffs, they have stockpiled certain things, they have maybe pre bought in hopes to avoid paying extra for some of the supply chain goods and services that they're buying for whatever it is they're producing. So some people have kind of gotten out of ahead of it. It might be a slow trickle to implement these price increases as finally they have to make new orders and the tear increased prices of tariffs hit them. But one thing is for sure, those
tariffs do ultimately pass on to the consumer. So we've talked about, you know, inflation, and inflation has been you know, at least being curbed meaningfully since the you know, since a couple of years ago. But these tariffs could for sure impact inflation. So it's one of those things where you kind of can't have your cake and eat it too implement the tariffs as a geopolitical strategy and then also hope to take inflation at the same time.
That's just not how it works.
Okay. Now, the tariffs did go into effect with China, is it? Everything that comes over from China gets a ten percent tariff.
Yeah, that's what it's looking like.
So last time too, it was it was targeted tariffs, right, it was specific items. And it certainly seems like these these tariffs on China and these tariffs on mexic they're being less strategically implemented and it's more of a broad.
Based strategy as well.
So yeah, and there are certain exemptions, like, for instance, with Canada, there was going to be a smaller tariff on oil, but on oil imports. So yeah, it's again, this is a really scattershot strategy. It's quickly moving, as we saw yesterday, and where this ends up is anybody's guess. It certainly seems like it's more of a negotiating tactic than really this desire to make tariffs hurt and impact consumers.
At the end of the day, you know that Trump likes to make a deal. Okay, so let's move on really quick. I know we don't have a lot of time, but I want to touch on this. You said that parents are basically gaming the system to improve their kids' credit stores, and I'm wondering if first explain that and then whether it's a bad thing that they're doing.
Yeah, So there was this article in the Atlantic and it was kind of actually lamenting the fact that some parents are gaming the system and they're helping their kids. Well, okay, so mostly one of the best ways to do this is to add your child as an authorized user to
your credit card. If you handle your credit card responsibly, so if you pay your balance off on time and in full, and let's say you have a high credit limit and you only use a small fraction of the overall limit that you have been given by the credit card companies, well, if you add your child as an authorized user. And every credit card issuer has kind of different standards for this. Some will say, oh, you can
only do it if your child is over thirteen. Others you can add them as a newborn, and so it's kind of cool. You can have a baby on Tuesday and on Wednesday Adam as an author user and they're building a healthy credit score, so by the time they leave the nest, it looks like they have this immaculate credit history. And so sav savvy parents are saying, let me help my kid out in this way, because credit scores impact almost everything we do in our daily lives.
Okay, but isn't that sort of like doing your kids homework for them. Like I had to build my credit, and I have great credit now, but I learned about it early and I started building it early, you know, I mean, like it's something that I accomplished.
Yeah.
Well, I do think this is one of those gaming like incentives matter, and people are going to do whatever they can to give their kids a lagup. Think about what parents do to try to get their kids into the right college, all the extra tutoring and the testing and stuff like that, and so I don't see it. I don't necessarily want my kids to learn the hard way on everything, although certainly I do want them to
learn the hard way on some stuff. But I do think that adding your kid as an authorized user while you're teaching them all the important stuff about how to handle credit, well, I just think that that can be savvy.
I think it could be smart.
So as long as you're teaching the kids as you go and not just handing them something.
Yeah, And I think it's really different.
I think very differently about kind of setting them up from a financial perspective and stocking away tons of your own money for their future. Sometimes that can lead to entitlement, but the credit thing is a little bit different and just being a little savvy around the system because it is so impactful to almost every financial decision we make, even like renting an apartment, and in not in California,
but in many states, getting insurance for your car. You're going to pay more if you have a bad credit score. So yeah, help your kid get a good credit score and then talk to them about the importance of keeping it good.
Okay, so you're helping them start out on the right foot. Okay, I can get on board with.
Them, Okay. Joel Larsgard the host.
Of how to Money on KFI and for some more great advice on how to handle your money. You can listen to Joel noon to two on Sundays right here on KFI. Can also follow them at how to Money. Joel, thank you so much. We'll talk to you next week.
All right, sounds good. Thanks Amy,