You're listening to KFI AM six forty wake Up Call with me Amy King on demand on the iHeartRadio.
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It's time for your morning wake up call.
Here's Amy King.
Good morning. It's five o'clock, straight up. This is your wake up call for Tuesday, September tenth. I'm Amy King. So much going on, so let's get to it. Here's what's ahead on wake Up Call. And here's the latest on the fires burning in southern California. A fire that started in Trebuco Canyon has exploded to eighty nine hundred acres. Officials say they believe the fire that started just yesterday afternoon was sparked by a public works crew using heavy
equipment in the area. Several school districts in San Bernardino County are closed, at least for today because of the nearly twenty six thousand acre fire burning near Highland. The California National Guard is deploying firefighting resources to help the fire, including both troops and black Hawk helicopters. Debate day is here. Former President Trump and Vice President Harris are in a statistical dead heat in a new York Times Siena College
poll headed into tonight's debate. It's posted by ABC, but it's going to be carried by all the networks, and of course you can hear it right here on KFI. No audience, no notes allowed, and microphones will be turned off while the other candidate is speaking. We're going to be talking with ABC Stephen Portnoy about the debate and
how the candidates are getting ready for it. In less than five minutes, Joel Larsgard says, you too can be a millionaire, and with just the holidays just around the corner, it's time to plan now for gift giving. You know, you never know what people have gone through in their lives. We're going to have part two of Deborah Mark's own experience with suicide that's coming up at the bottom of the hour, and you don't want to miss it. Let's get started with some of the stories coming out of
the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Fire Crews in Orange County have been battling a fire and Tribuco Canyon that's burned almost nine thousand acres and is still zero percent surrounded.
Firefighters attacked the fire overnight, where earlier planes dropped flame retardanted helicopters dropped thousands of gallons of water. OHC Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi says portions of the canyon are inaccessible to ground crews.
We're using aircraft and helicopters to knock this fire down to keep it as narrow as as we can. We'd like to keep it like a cigar, basically narrow and straight.
He says. The fire broke out yesterday afternoon near an airport in the canyon where people fly remote controlled airplanes. Homes and other structures have not been threatened by the fire.
Chris Adler KFI News a fire above Glendora in the Angelus National Forest has burned close to three thousand acres. Evacuation orders now include the area of Baldy Village from north of the San Antonio Dam up to the Mount Baldy Resort. An earlier order was issued for the East Fort communities of Camp Williams Resort in the neighboring river. Community officials say the fire activity increased yesterday and burned in an easterly direction, creating large columns of smoke that
could be seen throughout the San Gabriel Valley. More mountain communities in San Bernardino County are under evacuation orders as a fire that started in Highland has grown to more than twenty five thousand acres. It's just five percent surrounded. The fire started Thursday and exploded over the weekend in size. The California National Guard has been sent in to help. Fire officials say stronger winds are predicted today, which could help spread the fire and contribute to longer range spotting.
They say cooler weather this week could moderate the fire activity and increase fuel moistures. The San Bernardino County sheriffs as hundreds of law enforcement officers could soon be outscouring evacuation areas for looters. Homes are homes sure, sand and Dyke says.
Multiple surrounding agencies and the National Guard have sent officers to help.
We've only had.
One case of a potential book burglary or looter, and those subjects have been arrested.
Says He's got no indication of coordinated looting, but we're going.
To be out there in force making sure that happens, including undercover units that may look like a normal.
Person bea says even a guy with a warrant was caught riding a stolen motorcycle into an evacuation area and was arrested at the base of the fire in San Bernardino County.
Corbin Carson k if I knew it's five oh six on your wake up call, let's say good morning now to ABC's Steven portnoy So Stephen. Yesterday we talked with Karen Travers about Vice President Harris's debate prep. So today let's talk Trump. What are his people saying his goal is for the debate tonight.
Well, look, the primary goal, according to trump aids, is to have him focusing on what they call the disasters of the Biden era, tying Kama Harris to things such as inflation, immigration, the Israel Hamas war, and other things. And the idea being that if Harris is now talking about all the things she would change if she were elected president, why hasn't she done them in the three and a half years that she has been the last
person in the room by Joe Biden's side. And you hate to listen to Republicans talk the ideas that now they're arguing that she's truly been in charge all this time because Biden clearly doesn't have the faculties to be president. That's the argument we heard yesterday from the Trump campaign. The two candidates will be six feet apart on a stage. The rules have it that only the candidate who's recognized
to speak will have his or her microphone on. The moderators are Lindsay Davis and David Muir of ABC News. Donald Trump is an experienced debater. He has, as you know, taken part in a wide array of primary debates in twenty sixteen and six general election debates as a candidate for the presidency. Kamala Harris has taken part in just one general election debate as a vice presidential contender, and that was against Mike Pence in twenty twenty. The two
have never met before. Trump broke with tradition and skipped the inauguration in twenty twenty one. He declined the opportunity to congratulate Kamala Harris and Joe Biden on their victory and see to a peaceful transfer of power. So tonight they'll be face to face in the same room for the very first time.
I think it's going to be interesting because you, like you were talking about how Trump has a lot more debate experience, but I don't remember anything specific from his debates. What I remember from hers were when she was going against Mike Pence and it was the excuse me, I'm speaking, And it's probably because they've brought it up a lot recently, but also her comment in the presidential debate when she called out Biden and was saying, I was that little
girl on the bus. I mean, so she might not have the experience, but she's she can be very quick on her feet.
Well, I think you make a good point, Amy, and that is the idea that these debates are often not just about sitting and watching the engagement for ninety straight minutes, but the flashpoints, the takeaways, the moments that live on they almost become caricatures, and look they'll be you know, the takeaway for Joe Biden, for example, from two months ago, was he just couldn't hack it. He couldn't give straightforward answers to these questions, and that becomes sort of the
narrative out of these things. So what will the narrative be tonight. Well we could talk about it at this time tomorrow morning, but for now, all we can do is say that Kamala Harris has been preparing for several days. She was hunkered down in Pittsburgh with her own aids. They set up a full stage with Cleague lights to get her used to the intense white light in her eyes.
She was faced off against Philippe Ryans, who was a senior aide to Hillary Clinton and played the role of Donald Trump in Clinton's debate prep in twenty sixteen, so
he's reprised that role in Harris's debate prep. According to Lara Trump, the former president's daughter in law and the co chair of the Republican National Committee, Trump has been engaging in some limited amount teams of traditional debate preparation, but Trump himself has kind of sort of brushed off that notion, saying that he's preparing for the debate all his life, and particularly the engagements that he's had with reporters prepares him to answer their questions, and he basically
the idea is he's going to wing it because he is so comfortable and has such a command of the material the policy issues. It'll be really interesting tonight. And this is why these debates really are valuable. Beyond the flashpoints, beyond the narrative beyond the caricatures and the sound bites, Kamala Harris has not had many opportunities, well, the country does not have many opportunities to hear from Kamala Harris about specifically what she would do if she were elected president.
And that is the charge of the moderators to tease it out and the challenge for viewers listeners to peak close attention to what these candidates have to say tonight as they weigh their choices.
Absolutely, and we will be watching and hopefully we get to talk to you and rehash it all very very soon. You back, Thank you, Steven. Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour news room. Police in Culver City or warning renters about online apartment scams. Pio Jennifer Atenza says the department has already gotten four reports between just July and August.
Do not agree to exchange cash until you have seen the property in person. You want to ask questions about the property in person. You want to see it for yourself.
Attenza says three people scammed Spanish speaking residents out of sixteen hundred dollars to twenty three hundred dollars in cash they were supposed to be used for deposits. She says, once renters are suspicious, it's too late because the scammers have the money and can't be reached. Police across southern California have made more than two hundred arrests for alleged child sex abuse.
The charges include sodomy, meeting a miner for lewd purposes, and possession and distribution of child sex abuse material. Glendale Police Chief Manny sid says Operation Online Guardian involved dozens of local agencies over two weeks in August.
Each of these arrests don't just represent a statistic, but really represent young lives impacted.
The sting operation was executed by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force across five counties La Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. In downtown La Michael Monks KFI News.
So many people have phones in the Southland, We're running out of numbers. That's the reason behind a new area code. Anyone with a two one three or three two three number, and those who get a new number maybe assigned seven to three to eight as their area code. Starting November first, twenty one cities are affected.
Cocolo.
SpaceX has sent a billionaire and three others into space on a trip to conduct the first private spacewalk. The Vlaris Don mission got off the ground overnight after being delayed several times because of a helium leak and bad weather. The trip is expected to last five days. So, as you may have heard or may not have heard yet, James Earl Jones has died. He died at his home in New York on Monday, and just one of the most prolific voices that many of us have ever heard.
And the tributes are coming in from all over the place from people who've worked with him over the years. So I wanted to share just a few of them, because he was one of a kind. So Star Wars creator George Lucas says, James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice, both in art and in spirit. For nearly half a century, he was Darth Vader. But the secret to it at all, it all is that he
was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, verity, and meaning to all of his roles, amongst the most important being devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us friends and fans alike, and how do we forget this y un one of the most shocking moments in movie history, from the gentle wisdom of Mufasa to the menacing threat of Darth Vader. James Earl Jones gave voice to some
of the greatest characters in cinematic history. A celebrated stage actor with nearly two hundred film and TV credits to his name, the stories he brought to life with a uniquely commanding presence and a true richness of spirits have left an indelible mark on generations of audiences. That was from Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, my son and the one, and of course he was also the voice of CNN.
The CNN tweeted on or tweeted or said on X that he was our brand for many decades, uniquely conveying through speech, instant authority, grace and decorum.
This is CNN.
And I love this. That booming voice, that quiet strength, the kindness he radiated. So much can be said about his legacy, so I'll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams. If you've seen it, you know this movie wouldn't be the same with anyone else in this role. Only he could bring that kind of magic to a movie about baseball and a cornfield in Iowa. That's from Kevin Costner, who starred with James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams.
The one constant through all the years Ray has been baseball America is ruled by like an army of steam rulers. He has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and raced again in baseball. Has marked the time to this field, Chris Game, there's a part of our past thread. It reminds us all that once was good.
A cookie can James Earl Jones was ninety three. The fire in the San Bernardino Mountains near Highland is five percent surrounded. It's grown to almost twenty six thousand acres. Thousands of homes in Highland, Running Springs, Redlands, and other communities are under evacuation orders and warnings. Slightly cooler temperatures are expected today, but winds are also expected to pick up. The fire burning north of Glendora and Azuza has grown
to three thousand acres. Residents north of the San Antonio Dam up to Mount Baldy resort were ordered to leave yesterday. That fire is zero percent surrounded. LEDWP crews have been working around the clock to get the power back on to thousands of residents during the worst heat wave of the year. As of last night, ten five hundred and ninety three customers, mostly in the Lincoln Heights, Arlington Heights, Highland Park and Pacoima are is, did not have any electricity.
At six oh five, it's handle on the news. We're talking debates. Harris and Trump go face to face. They've never met before. Isn't that interesting. Let's say good morning now to ABC's Jordana Miller in Jerusalem. Jordana, I know we're talking about a two state solution in just a second, but wanted to get the latest because there was an Israeli strike on a tent camp housing Palestinians overnight. Do we have new information about that?
That's right. The Israeli armies says it struck part of the declared humanitarian zone. It's basically the western edge of Communis in southern Gaza, and Israel says it targeted this area where there are thousands of Palestinians who are displaced
their sheltering there. That they hit it because there was a Hamas control and command center being operated out of the humanitarian zone, and they named at least two top Hamas leaders killed in the strike, which came at about a little after midnight, but local health officials say at least forty house commans have been killed there sixty injured. Huge craters left in this part of the tent city
from the missile strikes and various fires. Some of the tents were set on fire, and it, you know, just underscores that civilians are paying really the heaviest price here for the way Hamas operates and for the heavy munitions that Israel is using in this war. This is not the first strike in the humanitarian zone. We've seen several of them in the last couple of months, and more proved sadly that Hamas is operating in the humanitarian zone.
For example, six bodies of hostages, not the six that were just found, including the American, but a few weeks before six hostage bodies were found, mostly elderly hostages, and they were being hidden in this exact part of the humanitarian zone. So Hamas had currently put them there, thinking that you know, Israel wouldn't operate there.
All right, Okay, so thank you for that update on that. Now let's let's move on to what we planned on talking about, and that was that the UN Secretary General is saying that a two state solution is a must for peace. I'm guessing that Benjamin Natanielle, who's not too happy to hear that.
No.
I mean, you know, the Israeli Prime Minister is leading Israel's most far right government in its history. He already has, you know, from his own long record in public office, has a very ambivalent relationship with a Palestinian state. He's declared it, he's denied it, but at this moment, his government would fall if he really pursued a two state solution.
But you know, there are plenty of people here in Israel, in the center and left wing camps, more than half the country, that do believe that Israel has to get back to a two state solution in order to get extremist groups like Hamas off the map of the Palestinian
Israeli conflict. They're much like Isis. They're extremists and their ideology, they're violent in their resistance, and they really have no place at the table, nor do they want a place at the table for real coexistence and peace talks with Israel. They just want to get rid of Israel. So I think that the Sectuary General, you know, he's hitting on a very central issue that even many Israeli leaders say, which is that we've got to get back to a two state solutions.
And how would a two state solution work though if the if Hamas and other extremist groups still want Israel wiped off the face of the map.
Well, this is something that I think, you know, really all our listeners need to understand, and that is that Hamas has actually set back the Palestinian hopes for their own independent state because now whereas before Hamas and the and the West Bank we're seen as two parts of a of a future house and in state, now Gaza is in rubble. There's nobody who's going to be able to govern it if Hamas doesn't just come back in
after this war and take it over again. H getting Hamas and getting Gaza in a position where it can participate in peace talks and be part of a Palestinian state that is years away, and it wasn't the case just you know, less than a year ago before this war So for all those young students on the streets or marching or holding Hama's flags, Hamas is not a group that is going to bring a Palestini, an independent Palestinian state. They've just set the cause back.
Yeah, that's a really good point. And like we've talked about so many times, a lot of the people marching don't really understand the complexities of what's going on and you know, the true motivations and that kind of thing, which is which is too bad. I'm hoping that people will educate themselves in As, always hoping that somehow or another they're going to figure out how to get these hostages released and get the fighting stopped. But we will
continue to follow it and appreciate your input and your information. Jordan. We'll talk to you.
Soon, so much. All right, talk soon, Yeah, okay, Coppy debate.
Day, Yes, absolutely, something to take our minds off fighting. And the latest on the fires burning in southern California. Thousands of residents are either under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders near the fire burning in the Tribuco Canyon that has quickly grown to eighty nine hundred acres. There are also evacuation orderings orders in place for Riverside County on
the other side of the Santa Ana Mountains. Other fires burning in the area include the three thousand acre fire burning north of Glendora that has closed parts of Highway thirty nine and the fire in the San Bernardino Mountains that's grown to almost twenty six thousand acres. It's five percent surrounded. The Culver City Police Department is investigating an online rental scam where people end up renting apartments that are either unavailable or don't exist. Police they would be
renters are responding to apartment for rent ads. They meet up with somebody, pay cash for a down payment or a deposit, get a rental agreement, and even get keys, but then when they show up to their new home, the keys don't work and the person who took the money ghosts them. At six oh five, it's handle on the news. Former President Trump and Vice President Harris appear to agree on one thing weed At five point fifty.
Christmas is just three months away. Time to plan now so you don't end up with a pile of depth this holiday season. It's out of money with Joel Larscard. September is National suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, and as kfi's Deborah Mark explains, it's okay to admit your loved one took their own life.
Even if it was more than two decades ago.
It's been a secret. It's been a secret that I've held on to for twenty two years. So the longer you hold on to a secret, right, the harder it.
Is to share.
August twentieth, two thousand and two. I got up early, as I normally do. I think it was about six o'clock and the first thing I always did was check my email, and.
I saw there was an email from my mom and it was a it's so crazy to say this, but it was a suicide note.
And I'm reading this and I remember it said, please forgive me.
You're better off without me.
So I remember driving like a crazy person to my mom's house and I'm banging on.
The door and my stepfather opens the door and he.
Say, what are you doing.
It's six point fifteen in the morning, and I said, my mom, my mom, she wrote me a note and I.
Think she killed herself. And he said, what are you talking about.
Your mom is sleeping, and I said, oh, I remember, I remember this sense of relief. When he said that, I thought, Okay, I knew this was just too crazy.
And then I said, okay, you've seen her. And then he said, well.
We did get into an argument last night. We slept in separate bedrooms, and I remember just barreling past him, running down the hallway to her bedroom, and there was my mom in her bed. I've never seen somebody dead before. And I looked at her and I just knew, and I was shaking her. And I remember calling nine one one and they're telling me to do compressions and mouth to mouth and I did all that. My stepfather and I they said, you need to get her off the
bed and get her on to the ground. Was pretty devastated for lots of reasons.
I was angry.
I couldn't believe that my mom would leave me a suicide note in an email. I mean even now, I still can't believe that. And I thought, Wow, the rest of my life, I'm going to have to say that my mom killed herself. I was on this mission to figure out why my mom would do that, and I think that literally was driving me crazy.
So I did go to a suicide support group.
I think maybe i've told one.
Or two people since then.
You know, when you fill out those questionnaires and they ask you are your parents alive? And you say yes or no anyway, so I said, my dad's alive, my mom's deceased.
How old was your mom?
Fifty seven? How did your mom die? And I remember writing complications of diabetes and the doctor questioned me about that. I couldn't the words that my mom killed herself, died by suicide. Those words could not come out of my mouth. I have felt embarrassed to talk about it. I have felt that there's this stigma. I have felt this shame. I have felt that I would be judged. I've worried that people would think, wow, if her mom did it, well, would she do that if something went wrong in her life.
I don't think people really understand that those that are left behind are left with a really big burden. I hope that people that are listening are able to talk about it, and whether you go to a support group where you talk to family and friends or even a therapist, that you'll know that you're not alone, and that just because somebody in your family killed themselves, it doesn't it has nothing to do with you as i've started talking about this, I've kind of felt this sense of relief.
I feel more at peace, and I think I'll be able to I'll be able to share more.
This is the first time I've ever talked about my mom's suicide outside of my close circle of friends and family. So you might be asking yourself, why now, why, after all these years, did I finally decide to tell the most personal, traumatic story of my life.
Well?
It did.
It hit me one day that my.
Mother was fifty seven when she took her own life, and this November I turn fifty seven. It's a reminder of just how precious life really is. If you are someone you know has suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, dial nine.
Eight eight for wake up call. I'm Deborah Mark.
Wow. Thank you, Deborah. Not a fun story, but an important story. I think it was very brave of Deborah to share it, and thank you for listening to it again. If you or someone you know is in crisis, there is someone you can reach out to at any time. It's a suicide in Crisis liveline nine eight eight. And to hear more about this series, you can go to the John Cobalt Show page at KFI AM six forty dot com. The fire burning near Highland has grown to
almost twenty six thousand acres. It's five percent surrounded, and National Guard troops and helicopters have arrived to help firefighters. The fire Intribuco Canyon that just started yesterday afternoon has exploded to eighty nine hundred acres and is zero percent surrounded. Also burning out of control is the three thousand acre fire north of Glendora. Southern California's heat wave is moving out,
but not quite yet. Temperatures today are going to be five to ten degrees cooler than over the weekend in most places, but the National Weather Service did still extend an excessive heat warning for another day. It'll expire at eight tonight. The Greater Los Angeles area is expected to return to normal or even below normal temperatures by the end of the week. Tropical Storm Francene is gaining strength as she churns toward the Louisiana coasts. The storm's expected
to make landfall tomorrow. The National Hurricane Center says the storm could bring life threatening storm surge to parts of the Upper Texas and Louisiana coastline, with flash and urban flooding possible in the mid South from tomorrow through Friday morning. We're just minutes away from Handle. On the news this morning, a tiger maybe the latest illegal immigrant trying to cross the border into the US. Right now, let's say good morning to the host of How to Money on KFI.
It's Joel lars Guard Morning. Joel, Morning Amy. So it might seem too early to talk about Christmas, but it's actually only three months and two weeks away. So let's start. But who's killing me out? I know, right? So let's talk about it? And why are we Why do you want to talk about it now?
So I don't, honestly, but what we should because last time I went to Costco, the Christmas trees are up, the Halloween stuff is gone, Like you can't sign costumes anymore. My son massively disappointed because he wanted the Ninja costume, but he can't be had at this point apparently. So because the Christmas stuff is out, I feel like it makes sense to at least talk about this. And I'm seeing like articles and the Hottest Toys for Christmas lists coming out already the beginning of September.
We're not even.
Technically in fall yet, So I think it just is a good time to say that Christmas is kind of sort of around the corner, and it's it's smart to start saving for the presence coming up with a budget. Now, Hey, who are we gonna who are we going to shop for?
And having those potentially awkward conversations if you don't have if you're not going to be able to come up with the money on the front end to buy for all the people in your life that you would love to buy for, kind of having some of those awkward conversations, say listen, hey, and people understand this, by the way, truly if you're honest and upfront with them. We've got some financial things we're trying to take care of. Can we keep the gift giving to a minimum in the
family this year? And and so now is the perfect time to start, you know, potentially even shopping ahead to find good deals for the people you do want to buy for. Start saving up in advance so you don't find yourself in credit card debt, and to start having those conversations with your loved ones so that you're not all overspending when nobody can afford to.
Those are tough conversations, though, I and even in my family, we do tend to overdo it bang here and we talk about it and we go, oh, well, let's cut back, let's not do it, and then we do it anyway. It's like we don't listen to ourselves even though we have the conversations. I don't know how to get that. I don't know how to break that cycle, Joel.
The worst time to have the conversation that was Christmas Eve, right, so it's okay, guess what not getting me anything tomorrow? That's the worst time to have it. So I'm just trying to say, there's like plenty of lead room to at least kind of talk about that and say, well, what are maybe we're just going to buy for kids this year and we're gonna do a wide elephant or a secret saying a sort of thing. That's I think those people understand that and are willing to kind of
pivot if they're given enough heads up. And so September is a good time to start having those chats. And you know, maybe you're gonna have some rogue family members who don't stick to it, but at least then you have an excuse and you can say, I'm sticking to what we agreed to.
I'm following the rules. Okay, so let's set some rules, like what are some good guidelines because even aside from these conversations, because I know that January hits and all of a sudden you've got thousands of dollars on your credit card and you're like, oh my god, So what are some realistic things that we should do that are that so we don't have that sticker shock in January.
Only spend money you actually have. There's a new banks It sounds wild amy I know, in the era of buy now, pay later, and you know credit card debt being completely normalized in our country only by the things that you can afford to buy. There was a recent bankery study found the twenty seven percent of people said, yeah, I plan I plan to go into debt for holiday spending. Not only is it a possibility, but I'm banking on it. And that that just shocks me. And well, I guess
it doesn't shock me. Nothing shocks me anymore. But it saddens me because what that means is I'm going to buy stuff I can't actually afford, and then would January February March come around, I'm going to be sweating bullets and I'm going to be trying to get back on track all for this one day to try to make people happy. And the true I don't know. My kids just got had birthdays, all three of them. It's in rapid succession, and there are some things, yes, they've enjoyed
and played with. But I also realized, like my wife and I keep having this debate, do we need to do more? And we kind of always come down on the side on the fact that no, we don't. Like there's so much already and so many toys that don't get played with. Let's air on the side of a light birthday and maybe just air on the side of a light Christmas. If you can't, if you don't have the money saved up, and now it's the perfect time
to start saving it. If it's ten bucks a week something like that, so you can afford to pay for that stuff on the front end, and if you don't have the cash to pay for it, I don't mind if you use a credit card as long as you can pay it off. But if you don't have the cash to actually pay for that gift, you can't afford that gift and you need to come up with something else. Maybe it's some sort of homespun etsy Christmas right where
you're knitting things for your loved ones. It doesn't matter to me, But just don't put yourself and your own financial future into question because you want to overdo it for Christmas.
Okay. And another way that we can overdo it, because I think I heard you mention it. But those buy now, pay later things that are all over the place.
Yeah, yeah, that's another thing. I mean people are doing that for when we're talking about Christmas shoppings. So much of what happens amy is we see these sales and we're saying, well, I can get some stuff from me too, and at a sweet discount. So oftentimes we're buying for other people, but we end up trying to fill our own Christmas list at the same time, and we put it on buy now and pay later. And if you're buying,
think about something like clothes. If you can't afford to buy the pair of jeans or the sweater, or the purse or the polo, whatever it is up front, all in one, all in one purchase, I don't want you buying it. And the truth is you'd be better off going to the Salvation Army, to the good Will to buy something. Then you would be putting something on buy now, pay later, just because you can't afford it right now. If you can't afford it, and you know at the time of purchase, then you can't afford it.
Okay. And I like the whole plan not to go into debt. I think I'm going to write that and put it up on my refrigerator. Okay, that's a that's a good point.
Any and if you put something in front of your face like that, you're gonna be reminded and it's going to let it hit you every day, on the refrigerator, on the bathroom mirror, whatever it is. Whatever you want to accomplish this holiday season, sure it's front and center in front of your face.
Okay, then let's shift gears to four oh one k millionaires. There's lots of I wouldn't say us. I'm going to say there's lots of them.
There are so Fidelity just released some stats and it's good news that there are more four to one k millionaires than ever before. And in some ways this isn't terribly surprising given what's happened with the stock market. If the stock market was down twenty percent, we would not be talking about more four oh one K millionaires, but we are because the market's been in fuego.
And so.
I think they had something like more than five hundred thousand and four to one K or almost five hundred thousand and four one K millionaires and that have millionaire four one K accounts at Fidelity. That's just Fidelity. So there are other people who have their four on and K with Vanguard or with a bank or an insurance
company that have more than a million dollars too. And I just think this is a good reminder people think of four to one K as this low and slow crock pot way to build wealth, which is exactly what it is in so many ways. But my buddy Sam ran some numbers about how long it will take you to become a four to one K millionaire if you max out your contributions to your four O one K each and every year and you get average annual annualized returns.
So if you invest in in all equities something like the S and P five hundred or a total stock market fund inside of your four to one K, and you max that out consistently every single year, you're going to be a millionaire in just eighteen years. So let's say you're twenty two and you start this from the get go, at your first job, you could be a four to one K millionaire by age forty, which is
just kind of crazy to think about. We think, I think so many times in this country we were wowed by the get rich quick, or man if I get if I make twenty grand and crypto over here, or selling meme stocks, that's going to help me get where I want to go. The unsexy thing is investing in the stock market regularly and consistently, with every paycheck into that four oh one k and the contribution limit this year twenty three thousand bucks. That's a lot of money
you can stick in. And if you're fifty or older, you can contribute an additional seventy five hundred bucks. And I just want to say too, I know it's tough to I remember when I was like twenty five and I heard people say that. I was like, that's cool. Those contributions are that high. I'm never going to get there. But over time, you know, if you remain frugal and you invest more of your income. As you get raises,
you can get there, and so just want to encourage people. Yeah, it might not be possible today, but it might be possible down the road, and so starting to contribute something now matters.
Start now. Yeah, Okay, so much great advice as always, Joel, And for more great advice on how to money, you can listen to Joel every Sunday from noon to two right here on KFI. You can also follow Joel at how to Money. Joel. Thanks Joel.
Thanks Amy.
All right, three months and fifteen days till Christmas. Tonight, the Dodgers take on the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. Pitch goes out at seven o'clock. Listen to every play of every game on AM five seventy LA Sports, and stream all the games n HD on the iHeartRadio app Keyword. AM five seventy LA Sports powered by LA Care for all of LA. This is KFI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County. We lead local live from the
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