PennyWise: Personal Finance & Travel Tips

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona delves into the concept of financial self-care with Nerdwallet financial expert, Kim Palmer. Often, self-care is associated with relaxation activities like reading a book or taking a spa day, but financial self-care is about ensuring your financial practices contribute to your overall well-being.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The discussion begins with the importance of reflecting on your past financial habits and understanding how early money lessons impact your current financial behavior. Kim emphasizes the need to identify and change any negative patterns that may have been ingrained since childhood.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Next, they explore setting realistic and aspirational financial goals. Kim shares insights on how visualizing big dreams, like owning an expensive home, can motivate you to create actionable steps toward achieving those goals. This process involves regular check-ins and adjustments to your financial plans.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tracking spending is another crucial aspect of financial self-care. With the help of budgeting apps, you can monitor your expenditures, receive alerts when you exceed your spending limits, and make informed decisions about your purchases. This practice helps keep your finances in check and reduces unnecessary spending.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode also addresses the challenge of saving money and building an emergency fund. Kim offers practical tips on prioritizing savings by cutting back on non-essential expenses like subscriptions and takeout orders. Building up your savings can provide a sense of financial security and peace of mind.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Lastly, they discuss the importance of maximizing employee benefits. Many jobs offer benefits that can significantly impact your financial health, such as flexible spending accounts, disability and life insurance, and childcare expenses. Kim advises listeners to check with their HR departments to ensure they are taking full advantage of these benefits.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for expert advice on practicing financial self-care and making your money work for you. By implementing these tips, you can achieve a more relaxed and content financial life.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona dives into the critical topic of staying safe from third-party seller scams. Joined by Nerdwallet financial expert Kim Palmer, they explore the various ways consumers can protect themselves when shopping from third-party sellers on major marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">These scams often involve setting extremely low prices to lure in buyers, only for the purchased items to never arrive, arrive as something entirely different, or even come with bogus tracking numbers. Nat and Kim emphasize the importance of vigilance and the risks associated with these fraudulent schemes.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Listeners will learn practical tips for identifying and avoiding scams. Kim advises on the necessity of researching the seller before making a purchase, including checking the seller's history of sales and reading reviews from other buyers. Red flags such as limited sales history or poor reviews should prompt consumers to look elsewhere.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The conversation also covers the significance of understanding retailer policies. Major platforms like Amazon and Walmart often indicate whether an item is sold directly by them or by a third-party seller. Knowing this can help consumers understand the level of support and recourse available if something goes wrong with their purchase.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Another essential piece of advice is to always pay with a credit card when shopping online. Credit cards offer built-in fraud protection, making it easier to dispute charges and recover funds if a scam occurs. Nat and Kim stress the importance of regularly monitoring credit card statements and banking reports to quickly identify and address any fraudulent activity.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for expert advice on safeguarding your online shopping experiences and ensuring you don't fall victim to third-party seller scams.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">As summer travel heats up, it's crucial to ensure your credit cards are ready for the journey. In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona and financial expert Sally French from NerdWallet dive into a comprehensive credit card checklist to maximize your travel experience.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">They start by emphasizing the importance of bringing a credit card on your trip. Many aspects of travel, such as renting cars or purchasing in-flight amenities, often require a credit card. Sally explains the benefits of using travel credit cards, including earning higher rewards on dining and travel expenses, and the underrated perk of TSA Precheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement offered by many cards.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode also highlights the value of airport lounge access provided by certain credit cards. These lounges offer a range of amenities, from complimentary coffee to full buffets and showers, making your wait time at the airport more enjoyable and productive.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Another critical point discussed is notifying your credit card issuer of your travel plans, especially for international trips. This helps prevent your card from being frozen due to suspected fraudulent activity. Sally advises checking if your card requires this notification and how to easily set it up online.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Foreign transaction fees can add up quickly, so the duo recommends researching and applying for travel credit cards that waive these fees. Many cards offer this benefit, ensuring you don't pay extra for your international purchases.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Finally, they discuss the importance of using the most rewarding credit card for your purchases and taking advantage of money-saving offers. Whether it's earning extra points on hotel stays or getting cashback on rideshares, these rewards can significantly offset your travel costs.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode for essential tips to make your summer travel smoother and more rewarding. Start planning now to ensure your credit cards are ready for your adventures.</p> <p> </p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona discusses the much-anticipated Amazon Prime Day, happening on July 16 and 17. Joined by Nerdwallet expert Kim Palmer, they dive into the best strategies for making the most out of these two days of deals, highlighting what to buy and what to skip.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode kicks off with a focus on electronics, a category that often sees some of the lowest prices of the year during Prime Day, second only to Black Friday. From video game systems to laptops, listeners are advised to do their research and be ready to act quickly to snag the best deals. Nat shares personal anecdotes about scoring great deals on Apple products like AirPods Pro, emphasizing the potential savings on high-ticket items.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Next, the discussion shifts to essential items for parents, such as car seats and strollers. These bulky and expensive items often see significant price drops, making Prime Day an excellent opportunity for parents to save on necessary purchases.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Amazon devices are another hot topic. From Fire TV sticks to Echo devices and Ring doorbells, Prime Day is touted as a prime time to buy these items at reduced prices. However, Kim advises listeners to track prices throughout the year to ensure they are getting the best deal.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode also covers toys, a tricky category where prices can be unpredictable. Kim suggests keeping desired toys in your cart to monitor price drops and using tools like the Camelizer browser extension to track price history.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Small appliances, such as air fryers and handheld vacuums, are another category where Prime Day can offer great deals. Yet, listeners are reminded that pop-up sales occur throughout the year, so it's essential to stay vigilant and use price tracking tools like Camelizer or Honey.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">As the episode wraps up, Nat and Kim stress the importance of budgeting and avoiding impulse purchases. They recommend implementing a 48-hour rule to help make informed decisions, even starting this process a few days before Prime Day to be prepared. Inventory can be limited, so acting quickly on desired items is crucial.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for expert advice on navigating Amazon Prime Day, ensuring you make smart purchases and maximize your savings.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona dives into the essentials of creating a home gym without breaking the bank. Joined by Nerdwallet expert Sarah Rathner, they explore practical tips and financial strategies to help you set up your workout space efficiently.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode begins with a discussion on the rise of home gyms during the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued trend of working out at home for convenience and cost-saving reasons. </p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Listeners will learn the importance of identifying the types of workouts they enjoy before investing in expensive equipment. Nat and Sarah suggest trying out different fitness classes or gym memberships on a trial basis to determine what equipment will be most beneficial for your home setup.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Budgeting is a key focus of this episode. They emphasize the importance of comparing prices and considering secondhand options for equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells, treadmills, and spin bikes. Platforms such as Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor can be great resources for finding quality used fitness gear at a fraction of the cost.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The conversation also covers strategic financial planning for major purchases. Sarah advises on the benefits of saving up for equipment and using credit cards with rewards or 0% APR promotions to spread out payments without incurring interest. They also discuss the pros and cons of buy now, pay later plans, which can help manage cash flow but require careful monitoring to avoid overspending.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Finally, Nat and Sarah stress the importance of commitment to your fitness goals to ensure that your investment pays off. They encourage listeners to start with basic equipment and gradually add more as needed, always keeping an eye on their budget and financial health.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for actionable advice on building a cost-effective home gym that supports your fitness journey and financial well-being.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona dives deep into the pros and cons of credit limit increases with Wallethub financial expert, Cassandra Happe. Whether you're considering requesting a credit limit increase or have recently received one automatically, this episode offers valuable insights to help you make informed decisions.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Nat and Cassandra explain the two main ways to increase your credit limit: requesting an increase from your credit card issuer or receiving an automatic increase. They highlight the benefits and potential drawbacks of each method, emphasizing the impact on your credit score.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">One of the key advantages of a higher credit limit is the added spending power, providing a financial cushion for emergencies and unexpected expenses. Cassandra explains how responsible credit card users who pay their balances on time can benefit from this increased limit without the stress of hitting their credit ceiling.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Another significant benefit is the potential for lower credit utilization, which can positively impact your credit score. Cassandra discusses how maintaining a low balance relative to your credit limit is crucial for a healthy credit score, both for individual cards and across all your credit accounts.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode also explores the greater rewards potential that comes with a higher credit limit. By using your credit card for more day-to-day purchases, you can maximize rewards and enjoy perks like cashback, travel points, and more. Cassandra shares tips on how to strategically use your credit card to earn these rewards without falling into debt.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In terms of the cons of credit limit increases, Cassandra warns about the risk of accumulating more debt and the potential difficulty in obtaining other lines of credit. She emphasizes the importance of using credit responsibly and being mindful of your spending habits.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Finally, they discuss the impact on your credit score when you request a credit limit increase. While an automatic increase often involves only a soft credit pull, a requested increase usually results in a hard pull, causing a slight dip in your credit score. Cassandra offers a pro tip: ask your lender if they're willing to increase your limit without a hard pull, as some may accommodate this request.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for practical advice and essential tips to help your college-bound child navigate the world of credit cards responsibly and build a strong financial foundation for their future.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Hosted by Nat Cardona and speaking with Wallethub expert Cassandra Happe, this episode is designed to help parents make informed decisions about their child's financial independence and responsibility.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">They emphasize the importance of having a credit card for emergencies, especially when your child is far from home. A credit card can provide a safety net in unexpected situations, ensuring your child has access to funds when needed.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">They also cover the significance of building credit history early. By becoming an authorized user on a parent's account, students can start establishing their credit without being legally liable for the charges. This sets a foundation for good financial habits and a strong credit score, which will benefit them in their adult life.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Nat and Cassandra also discuss the benefits of secured credit cards and student credit cards. These options provide a controlled environment for young adults to learn about credit management. With secured cards requiring a security deposit, students gain a sense of accountability and the importance of spending within their means.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">A key point is the recommendation to limit the number of credit cards a student holds. Starting with just one card helps prevent overspending and simplifies financial management. Cassandra warns about the negative impact of multiple credit card applications in a short period, which can harm a young person's credit score. </p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Teaching students about on-time payments and keeping credit utilization below 30% are essential lessons for building good credit. While rewards cards can be tempting, the focus should be on responsible spending and timely payments rather than accumulating points.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Cassandra also advises against using credit cards for friends or family members, stressing the risk involved if they fail to repay. This lesson is crucial for young adults who may still be financially dependent and working part-time jobs.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Finally, the episode addresses the pitfalls of cash advances on credit cards. While they can be a quick solution in dire situations, the high fees and interest rates make them a costly option. Cassandra recommends having a debit or ATM card linked to a checking or savings account for cash needs, as these typically incur lower fees and no interest charges.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with Cassandra Happe, Consumer Finance Expert for WalletHub.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">They dive into the art of the staycation, exploring how to make the most out of your time off without the hassle and expense of traveling. Whether you're looking to save money or simply prefer the comfort of your own home, this episode is packed with tips to help you create a memorable and relaxing staycation.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Key points discussed include the importance of planning ahead, creating an itinerary, and setting a budget to ensure you don't overspend. Cassandra also shares creative ways to transform your home into a peaceful oasis, from decluttering and lighting candles to indulging in at-home spa treatments. The episode highlights the benefits of disconnecting from work and social media to fully immerse yourself in relaxation.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Listeners will learn about exploring local attractions, such as museums, parks, and downtown areas, as well as the joys of trying new activities like picnics, hiking, and visiting nearby towns. The conversation also covers the value of learning new skills or hobbies during your staycation, utilizing free resources like YouTube, TikTok, and local libraries.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Nat and Cassandra emphasize the importance of attending local events, whether they are free community gatherings or special events at local breweries and wineries. For those who enjoy socializing, hosting a budget-friendly event like a backyard barbecue or a virtual hangout with friends and family is also suggested.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode wraps up with a reminder to capture staycation memories through photos and notes, making it easier to look back and appreciate the experience. Nat also recommends WalletHub as a valuable resource for finding the best cities for staycations, travel credit cards, and road trip ideas.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in to this episode of PennyWise for actionable tips and creative ideas to make your staycation truly special, no matter where you live.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by financial expert Christie Matherne to discuss the crucial steps to rebuild your credit. As many have faced financial challenges in recent years, this episode provides a comprehensive guide to getting back on track.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Christie shares practical advice on how to review your credit report, catch up on past due bills, and deal with debt collection agencies. She emphasizes the importance of starting a budget and building an emergency fund to avoid falling into the same pitfalls again.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode also explores the benefits of becoming an authorized user on a credit card and the strategic use of secured credit cards to rebuild your credit. Christie highlights the significance of checking your credit score regularly and staying patient as you work towards improving it.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Finally, the discussion wraps up with an advanced strategy known as the "island approach," where you use multiple credit cards for specific purchases to maximize rewards and further boost your credit score.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Whether you're struggling with debt or looking to improve your financial health, this episode of PennyWise offers valuable insights and actionable steps to help you rebuild your credit and secure a better financial future.</p>

<p class="sc-eoeFZW FJjmH">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona dives into dynamic pricing with a focus on recent announcements from fast food giant Wendy's. As we navigate 2024, the concept of fluctuating prices has many consumers on edge, but is there really a reason to worry?</p> <p class="sc-eoeFZW FJjmH">Join us as we clarify what dynamic pricing actually means. We'll explore how prices adjust in real time to supply and demand, and why this pricing strategy is more common than you might think, with examples from the travel industry to your local movie theater.</p> <p class="sc-eoeFZW FJjmH">Discover how technology, particularly digital menu boards and AI, is paving the way for more dynamic pricing in the retail space. We'll also tackle the fears consumers have about potentially uncontrollable price changes and discuss the balance retailers must strike to avoid alienating their customers.</p> <p class="sc-eoeFZW FJjmH">Whether you're a savvy shopper or just curious about the future of pricing, this episode of PennyWise with Elizabeth Renters offers valuable insights into how dynamic pricing affects both retailers and consumers, and how you can potentially benefit from it. So tune in and learn how to navigate this evolving pricing landscape, because understanding dynamic pricing could save you more than just pennies.</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona sits down with NerdWallet's senior writer Holden Lewis to discuss the strategic move of selling your home to boost your retirement savings. As many Americans consider downsizing for their golden years, we delve into the critical factors that should guide this life-changing decision.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Holden brings a personal touch to the conversation, sharing his own considerations as he plans to transition from the sunny coasts of Florida to the mountains of North Carolina or Tennessee. With his house's value quintupling over 25 years, he exemplifies the potential financial windfall and the importance of researching the cost of living, property taxes, and medical care in your desired retirement location.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">The episode covers practical advice on timing your home sale, navigating mortgage challenges post-retirement, and the wisdom of 'test driving' a new location in all seasons. Whether you're dreaming of a quiet mountain retreat or a bustling city condo, PennyWise is here to help you retire in style without sacrificing financial security.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode References:</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">NerdWallet | https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Zillow | https://www.zillow.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by NerdWallet's personal finance writer Elizabeth Ayoola to unpack the concept of generational wealth and guide you on starting your own legacy of financial prosperity. From defining what generational wealth means to you, to taking the first steps towards investing, this episode is a resource for actionable advice.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Elizabeth clarifies the process of wealth-building, emphasizing the importance of education, setting clear goals, and developing a tailored strategy. Whether you're a passive investor who prefers to 'set it and forget it' or someone looking for more active engagement, this episode covers various investment avenues, including the convenience and innovation of robo-advisors.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Consistency is key, and despite the challenges of the current economy, Elizabeth highlights the power of compound interest and the need for time to let your investments flourish. Moreover, the discussion delves into the critical role of estate planning to ensure your hard-earned wealth serves your intended purpose for future generations.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">PennyWise is here to remind you that creating generational wealth is a marathon, not a sprint, and every small step is a stride towards financial freedom for your descendants. Tune in for an episode that could mark the beginning of your family's financial legacy.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode References:</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">NerdWallet | https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p class="sc-joTjNa HviRv">Show notes created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">As we navigate the world of interior design trends, PennyWise invites you to embrace the bold and eclectic with maximalist decor. Host Nat Cardona is joined by NerdWallet's senior writer Sara Rathner to discuss how to infuse your living space with personality, without emptying your wallet.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode, we're ditching the stark minimalism of the past decade and saying hello to a world where more is definitely more. Learn how to mix and match colors, textures, and unique pieces to create a space that's unmistakably you. From thrifting to DIY projects, Sara shares tips for finding or creating eye-catching decor on a dime.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">We also delve into the art of curating meaningful pieces that tell a story, rather than rushing to fill spaces with forgettable items. Discover the joy of building a home that reflects your journey, with treasures that may take years to collect but offer a lifetime of satisfaction. Whether you're a homeowner or a renter, this episode is your guide to personalizing your habitat in a way that's both financially smart and stylishly stunning.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode References:</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">NerdWallet | https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Buy Nothing Project | https://buynothingproject.org/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona teams up with NerdWallet's personal finance writer Kim Palmer to give you the latest on getting the best incentives when buying a new car in 2024. As the auto market recovers from its pandemic-induced slump, buyers are once again finding themselves in the driver's seat with a variety of enticing deals.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Discover what auto incentives entail, from rebates to low-interest financing, and learn why flexibility and research are important when it comes to car shopping. We'll go through the ins and outs of navigating dealership offers, regional rebate variations, and being armed with information before you step foot on the lot.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Charge up your knowledge on electric vehicles (EVs) as well, as we discuss how to combine manufacturer incentives with federal tax credits for savings. Whether you're buying or leasing, PennyWise is here to ensure you're geared up for negotiation and ready to secure the best possible deal on your next ride.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode References:</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Nerdwallet | https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Kelley Blue Book | https://www.kbb.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p> <p class="sc-eoeFZW FJjmH">Show notes created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona takes off with NerdWallet's travel expert Sally French to explore the surprising trend of dropping airfares in 2024. Despite the inflation affecting almost every corner of the economy, travelers are seeing a welcome decrease in ticket prices, especially for international flights. From a nearly 12% drop for South America-bound flights to a 7.5% dip for Asia, the reasons behind these savings are just as intriguing as the destinations themselves.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in as Sally explains how increased competition, new routes, and the resurgence of budget airlines contribute to these cost cuts. Learn why now might be the ideal time to embark on an international adventure and how strategic booking can maximize your savings. But it's not all clear skies – the episode also touches on the rise in baggage fees, a balancing act airlines are performing to keep base fares low. Whether you're a seasoned globetrotter or a first-time flyer, this episode is your boarding pass to understanding the current air travel landscape and how to navigate it penny-wise.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Remember, while airfares may be falling, don't wait to book your flight – planning ahead is key to keeping your travel budget grounded. So fasten your seatbelt and get ready for takeoff with PennyWise, where we help you fly smart without breaking the bank.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh"> </p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode References:</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Nerdwallet | https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Delta Airlines | https://www.delta.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Norse Atlantic Airways | https://flynorse.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">American Airlines | https://www.aa.com/</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh"> </p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">In a world where the cost of living is constantly on the rise, millennials are facing a unique financial dilemma: to have or not to have children.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">This week on PennyWise, Nat Cardona is joined by NerdWallet's personal finance writer Kim Palmer to unpack the economic factors influencing family planning decisions. With childcare expenses skyrocketing and the median household income struggling to keep pace, many are choosing to delay or forego parenthood altogether.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Tune in as we delve into the NerdWallet survey's findings, explore the cost of raising a child today, and discuss the creative ways parents are navigating this financial frontier. Whether you're considering starting a family or looking for ways to manage the costs, this episode offers insights that hit close to home. Don't miss this candid conversation on the financial realities shaping a generation's approach to family life.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh"><em>"It is so expensive now to have children, to pay for their childcare, to pay for all of their other costs, that people are actually deciding not to have kids." </em>-  Kim Palmer</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh"> </p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh"> </p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p>Credit card late fees can be the bane of any budget, but a new rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau might just be the relief many users need.</p> <p>In this episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona delves into the details with NerdWallet's credit card expert Sara Rathner. They break down the significant drop from $32 to $8 in maximum late fees and what this means for your wallet.</p> <p>Discover the implications for your financial health, the rationale behind this substantial reduction, and the anticipated timeline for its implementation. Plus, get expert tips on how to avoid late payments altogether and protect your credit score. </p> <p>"Don't ruin the hard work that you've put in to raising your credit score over a long period of time in a flash, just by missing a payment. Really focus on ways you can meet those deadlines."</p> <p>Episode References</p> <p>Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | https://www.consumerfinance.gov/</p> <p>Nerdwallet |  https://www.nerdwallet.com/</p> <p>Card Act of 2009 | https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/627</p> <p>Federal Reserve | https://www.federalreserve.gov/</p> <p>Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Pet owners know that their cuddly companions can rack up quite the bill, especially when accidents happen. Join us on Pennywise as Nat Cardona chats with Kim Palmer from Nerdwallet about the financial cushion pet insurance can provide. They discuss the potential benefits and pitfalls, including how pre-existing conditions and age affect coverage. This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering pet insurance for their beloved animal.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p>

<p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Are you feeling the crunch of the current housing market? Dive into the illuminating insights of the 2024 Homebuyer Report with NerdWallet's senior writer Elizabeth Renter on the latest episode of Pennywise. Discover why 77% of Americans couldn't secure a home last year, the unique challenges facing first-time buyers, and whether renting might just be the smarter choice in today's economy. Join host Nat Cardona for a candid conversation that could redefine your idea of the American Dream.</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">Episode summary created by https://headliner.app</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">📋 Episode Chapters</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(00:00) Lee Enterprises podcast features latest M 2024 Homebuyer Report</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(01:34) 77% of Americans who began last year with intention to buy a home were unsuccessful</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(03:56) Supply was already hurting pre COVID, right</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(04:25) The rate of people planning to buy is higher among younger generations</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(05:30) A lot of people view the down payment as holding them back from buying homes</p> <p class="sc-fHNsXG cHRSoh">(08:04) Some people may go from buying a house to renting, according to survey</p>

<p>Big fans of Costco will tell you that good buys justify the cost of membership. However, Costco knows what it's doing.  Host Nat Cardona is joined by Kim Palmer, a personal finance writer with NerdWallet, who points us down the right aisles.</p>

<p>Self-checkouts aren't the only things becoming more and more common for shoppers. Now the option to donate money as shoppers pay at the checkout has become a common occurrence, but should you use the opportunity to share the wealth? On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by NerdWallet's <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sara-rathner">Sara Rathner</a> who weighs in on when it's a good idea to skip the charitable donation at the checkout and when it might be a good idea.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/charitable-donations-data">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of Pennywise as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast Late Edition: Crime Beat Chrionicle.  Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. </p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created automatically and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies.</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. </p> <p>When it comes to supporting a charity, it doesn't get much more easy than donating at that card reader in the checkout line. But depending on your motivations and your financial situation, it might not be the best approach, really. NerdWallet Travel and credit card expert Sara Rathner joins us to help you decide whether you should give to charity on your next shopping trip or you're checking out a cash register at any given store.</p> <p>And oftentimes you'll be greeted with that little donation. QUESTION Would you like to donate $1 or $3, $5 to whatever charity? So today we're focusing on if you should skip or give to a donation, whatever it may be. So let's just go right into it. We're going to play a little game of skip a bit. So let's say you want to have a significant impact and you want to give maybe a little bit more than a dollar.</p> <p>When you head into Walgreens, what's your suggestion there? Should you skip the cash register then or give at that time?</p> <p>In that case, skip the cash register and donate directly to the cause, either the one that's being offered to you at the register or another cause that's really meaningful to you?</p> <p>And kind of what I just mentioned, a lot of times those questions that you'll be greeted with at the cash register are, Hey, do you want to make a small donation? So if that suits you, is this the time to give or a time to skip?</p> <p>Yes. And it could suit you for a couple of reasons. One, you're giving budget might be a little bit low this year if you've had a tough year financially, but you still want to give money to causes, it could be meaningful for you and impactful to give a couple dollars here and there to different causes as you shop for the holidays, or if it just makes you feel good to spread your donation dollars around to a number of different causes rather than concentrate them all in one place, then in that case, giving at the register could be not just a useful way to do that, but also a convenient way to do that because it's something you can do while you're already completing other tasks in your life.</p> <p>Okay. And this is maybe trying to get one of those tasks off your list, talking about tax breaks. So if you're hoping for an easy task, break. My guess is probably skip in this.</p> <p>Year for a couple of reasons. First of all, in order to get a tax deduction for charitable donations, one, you'd actually need to itemize your deductions, which many taxpayers don't do. Many opt to take the standard deduction. So if you take the standard deduction, you're don't count on your charitable donations being a tax deduction you can still give, of course, is just not something that you're going to have to submit proof of when you do your taxes later on in a couple of months.</p> <p>You also need to make sure that the charity in question is recognized by the IRS so that you could get that itemized deduction for it. And so you'll want to look into that before you give. And then the third thing is you need to be able to provide proof in the form of some sort of receipt that you've made this charitable deduction.</p> <p>And so if you're spreading your charitable dollars around across multiple retailers at these, you want to keep receipts of everything so that if you do itemize your tax deductions, you'll have receipts available to provide proof of that. And that's just a little bit of an administrative lift. But honestly, so

<p>Are you a Disney fan, but weary of the prices and endless lines at the theme parks? Or perhaps you have a large family and taking a trip to Orlando, Florida or Anaheim, California isn't in the budget. In this week's episode, host Nat Cardona is joined by NerdWallet's <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french">Sally French</a> who has 5 U.S. destinations for Disney fans that aren't Disneyland or Disney World.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/5-u-s-destinations-for-disney-fans-that-arent-anaheim-or-orlando">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of PennyWise as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicals. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona.</p> <p>Calling all Disney fans! Orlando, Florida and Anaheim, California. Been there, done that, right? Are you looking for a new adventure to express your love for Disney? We have NerdWallet travel rewards expert Sally French with us today, ready to share five alternative Disney inspired destinations. All right, Sally, we've got a fun topic today, as you know.</p> <p>I know pretty much anyone in the living world knows Disney fans are big fans. They're just all hyped up for all things Disney. The two destinations we have in the US are the one in Anaheim, Disneyland and then Disney World in Orlando and all the things that come with it. But you've recently written an article about five US destinations that Disney fans may not know of that are maybe some hot places for them to go.</p> <p>So let's just jump right into it. I looked at this list and was pretty surprised by every single one. First one being New York City. </p> <p>Yes. You know, this is a major tourist destination for anyone, Disney fan or not. But there are some good reasons for Disney fans to skip the Disneyland and Disney World vacation in 2024 and maybe head to New York City instead. So, for starters, Disney's official stuff is the two musicals that it's got running Aladdin and Lion King. Lion King is an absolute classic, really stunning art.</p> <p>And then Aladdin is just so much fun. The genie is hilarious. It's just great energy. So if you want to see a Broadway musical, those are two good ones to see. And not far from Broadway is the Times Square Disney Store. Unlike your usual mall Disney store, this one's two stories. It's got the usual Disney merch, but it's also got cool, unique, unique New York merchandise.</p> <p>And then finally, my best free to visit option and doesn't require, you know, that $100 plus Broadway ticket or buying stuff at the Disney store. This one's free You can head to the New York Public Library. What's really cool is they have the actual original plush versions of Stuffed Winnie the Pooh and all his friends. So little stuff, Tigger, Piglet, all those guys.</p> <p>So I think that's a pretty cool historical thing to see that Disney fans in the plaza.</p> <p>Who do guess it's super awesome. Very, very cool. The next saw an even less of what I expected. Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. What's Disney related We're.</p> <p>We're heading south to Hilton head get a little more warmth from New York and this is home to a really interesting Disney owned resort. It's called Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. And it's part of the Disney Vacation Club. And this is a sort of timeshare like program. And to be honest, Nerdwallet does not recommend that most people join this unless you're the most ardent Disney fan who spends a lot of money as it is.</p> <p>In fact, the baseline cost to join it now is more than $30,000. And then there are annual resort fees or sorry, sorry annual annual dues for DDC. But what's interesting is you don't necessarily need to be a DVC member to stay at this resort. You can pay cash rates when available. And another thing that people do is they rent DVC points from existing members who just aren't vacationing that year.</p> <p>00:03:27:18 - 00:03:52:13<br>Speaker 2<br>And so I will pay you to use your points instead. And it's interesting, unlike the resorts that are, you know, super high energy, you have a ton going on. Hilton Head is more leisurely. This is good for the Disne

<p>Unexpected expenses can cause a lot of stress-- emotional and financial. On the latest episode of PennyWise, producer/editor Ambre Moton is joined by NerdWallet's <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> who has six key tips for recovering from financial surprises and how to prepare for the next one.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/ways-to-recover-from-a-financial-shock-and-be-prepared-next-time">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to PennyWise and the Enterprises podcast. I'm Ambre Moton, the producer and editor of the show, filling in for Nat Cardona. Today we're talking about ways to recover from a financial shock and how to prepare for the next time. Being faced with unplanned expenses is a challenge that can feel overwhelming in the moment and for longer for managing a sudden loss to emergency house repairs to an unexpected medical bill.</p> <p>The reasons may be common, but that doesn't lessen the shock or lasting impact on your finances. Joining me today from NerdWallet is personal finance expert Kimberly Palmer to discuss how to recover from these shocking expenses and what to do to prepare for next time. Generally, thanks again for joining us. So you have some guidelines for our listeners. What is the number one tip to help in situations when you suffer a big financial shock?</p> <p>The most powerful tool you can have for yourself to help you get through a financial shock is to have an emergency fund, because basically that is your insurance policy. If you suddenly lose your job or have a huge house repair that you didn't expect any kind of big expense, you can turn to that emergency fund. And of course, not everyone has that all set, but that is the goal is to have an emergency fund, you know, ideally of 3 to 6 months worth of expenses.</p> <p>But even having a smaller amount can really go a long way toward insulating us from financial shocks, which really are inevitable to experience at some point.</p> <p>And I read the article that you should tailor your savings to a type of emergency. What does that mean and how can people do it?</p> <p>I really like this idea of having separate emergency the savings account, so it's not all lumped into one because really there's all kinds of different emergencies we could face. I mean, something really catastrophic, like a job loss or, you know, a death, Something really horrible is a different kind of situation than if there is a sudden house repair or, you know, a bigger than expected tax bill or something like that that's a bit more manageable.</p> <p>So actually having separate accounts that are tailored towards these different types of situations can just kind of help us be prepared and help that mental accounting of knowing where our money is. So you might have one account that's for catastrophic things that you are putting money into over time, and then you might have another account that's for unexpected bills that pop up.</p> <p>And it can just give you that peace of mind to know you have some money tucked away for those different kinds of financial stocks.</p> <p>Okay, so as an elder millennial, I can say that Treat yourself was the refrain the past several years. But just do things that people might seem is a little unnecessary, but that can be something that we probably should stop in order to help these situations, right?</p> <p>That's right. If you notice that your emergency fund is nonexistent or, you know, it should be much bigger than it is, then you really want to think about maybe cutting back on some unnecessary expenses. So instead of going out to eat at restaurants, instead of making those retail purchases, you can put that money into your emergency savings instead, and it gives you that protection.</p> <p>So you're more prepared if something does happen that you really weren't expecting and you suddenly have to pay out more money.</p> <p>Okay. So we are

<p>Gen Z and Millennials stand to inherit a significant amount of money and propert in the future as family members age. On the latest episode of PennyWise, producer/editor Ambre Moton is joined by NerdWallet's <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> shares tips on how to ensure you're well-prepared for any future inheritance.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-plan-for-a-potential-inheritance">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to PettyWise, A Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm Ambre Moton, the producer and editor filling in for Nat Cardona, surreally associate, a Boston based research and consulting firm, so that over $80 trillion in wealth will be passed to millennials and Gen Xers via inheritance from parents and grandparents between 2021 and 2045. That is a pretty mind boggling amount, particularly when you consider that they anticipate that less than half of that volume is expected to come from high net worth households to discuss how to prepare for potential inheritance.</p> <p>NerdWallet personal finance expert Kimberly Palmer's joining me. Kimberly, let's talk about potential inheritance. If someone knows they're going to leave anything to their kids, grandkids, just any relatives or friends, what's the first step that everyone needs to take to get ready?</p> <p>The first step is to talk openly about it. The last thing anyone wants is surprises or unexpected things to come up later when you no longer have the chance of talking about it. So basically, even though it can be kind of an awkward topic, talking about inheritance, you want to discuss that with your parents, your grandparents, and just talking about money generally can help make everyone feel more comfortable.</p> <p>And I think it's important to note that this isn't just a conversation for the super wealthy, and that's because there is a massive transfer of wealth between the baby boomers, older generations, and then the younger generations over the coming 20, 30 years or so. And so it's something we can all be mindful of. It's not that everyone is going to inherit a ton of money, but it might be something like $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, any amount is worth talking about because what you do with it then is up to you.</p> <p>Gotcha. When it comes to money, I know some families do find it difficult to have conversations about it, especially, you know, certain cultures. Is that something that can be kind of navigated?</p> <p>Absolutely. One thing I heard over and over again from financial advisors who work with clients on this topic is that basically every family is different and you want to be really sensitive, especially if you're, say, your parents or grandparents are just resistant to talking about this topic of money. You don't want to ambush some or make them feel uncomfortable, but you want to set aside a time in advance, say, hey, we're all going to be together for the holidays.</p> <p>For example, why don't we talk about money? Talk about your expectations, the future, what the future holds. If you need any help managing your money. If there's something I can do to be of assistance to you, all of those conversations can be difficult. But if you set aside a time so everyone knows to be prepared to talk about it, that can really help.</p> <p>And the article said that you should make sure that the money is safe. What does that mean?</p> <p>Well, unfortunately, among older adults, we see a lot of fraud and scam artists actually targeting older adults. And that's for the simple reason that older adults hold so much wealth. So from a scam artist perspective, they make a really good potential victim. And so we want to help protect our parents and grandparents from all of that. And even just talking about the risk of scams and being open about it can help everyone protect themselves.</p> <p>Now, my grandfather there has definitely a few years ago started getting a

<p>While it's best to refrain from going into debt, sometimes incurring debt can be unavoidable. Attempts to pay off the debt can be difficult. On the latest episode of PennyWise, producer/editor Ambre Moton is joined by WalletHub's Jill Gonzalez shares tips on the best ways to pay off debt.</p> <p>Read more on WalletHub <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/d/best-way-to-pay-off-debt/24477">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p>Jill Gonzalez is the spokesperson for WalletHub. Her appearances as a Wallet Guru include Wall Street Journal Live, Yahoo Finance Live and ABC News New York. Her take on consumer finance issues has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, CNBC Online and Kiplinger.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Sometimes incurring debt just can't be avoided. It can, however, be a struggle trying to figure out how to pay it off. Welcome to Pennywise, the Enterprise Enterprises podcast. I am Ambre Moton, producer and editor of the show filling in for Nat Cardona. Jill Gonzales from Wallethub is joining me today to talk about the best ways to pay off debt.</p> <p>Jill, thank you so much for being here for the podcast.</p> <p>Thanks for having me.</p> <p>We going to be talking about the five best ways to pay off debt. So I guess overall, like what's the first step that people should take towards paying off debt?</p> <p>So the best way to really pay off debt is definitely a multi-pronged approach so that you're ready for your future once you don't have this debt anymore. So look at your spending patterns. Get current on your payments, lower your interest rates. All of that starts with stopping the bleeding by making a budget.</p> <p>We definitely hear about that a lot. You mentioned lowering interest rates and I know I hear about that all the time, but how can that actually be done?</p> <p>Right. So lowering your interest rates on your debts is going to lower your costs overall. So the first step here is trying to lower your interest rates by consolidating your debt or by negotiating with lenders. You know, if you actually call up your lenders or sometimes you can use the chat little feature on, you know, their website or app.</p> <p>I think calling is probably still the best way. A little more time consuming, but worth it 80% of the time. If you ask your lender, hey, I want a lower interest rate or I'm considering, you know, opening up a new card, jumping ship, something like that, then they'll negotiate with you and you should be able to get that interest rate lowered.</p> <p>That won't decrease your balance, but it can at least slow it or even stop it from increasing.</p> <p>That's really good. You know, I've heard that you can do it. And I fully admit I have never attempted, but to hear that statistic about how many, you know, the chances of it actually happening, that is going to motivate me, I think, to actually do it my own life.</p> <p>Exactly. Yeah. Take take the risk. Women, what have you got to lose?</p> <p>Right. Worst case, they say no. And I'm still making my regular payments with my regular APR. Right. But I feel like I've always been told to have an emergency fund. But, you know, how can someone do that if they're also struggling with debt?</p> <p>Yeah. So when we talked about budgeting, so part of your budget and, you know, our first step here is going to be budgeting for saving. So that's going to become your emergency fund. So that's something that we need. You know, setbacks happen all the time. We just came off of a huge pandemic. A lot of people lost jobs.</p> <p>There were a lot of emergency health issues. So, you know, there are setbacks that happen all the time that even if you pay your debt off, can send you right back to it. So any safety net that you have can keep you afloat just enough to avoid erasing all your debt. Pay off progress that you made. So ideally, one day you'll be able to have six months to a year's worth of income as

<p>Inflation is up, interest rates are high and Americans' budgets are getting tighter. The balance transfer offers on credit cards can look like an attractive option for those carrying balances on their cards. On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/melissa-lambarena">Melissa Lambarena,</a> credit card expert at NerdWallet, shares tips on how to avoid common pitfalls with credit card balance transfers.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/balance-transfer-credit-card-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to PennyWise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host Nat Cardona. Times are tough for many American households right now. High interest rates, inflation, tight budgets, debt piling up. For all of these reasons. Balance transfer credit cards may be a helpful option for zapping that debt, but they aren't a cure all. Nerdwallet Credit Card Team senior writer Melissa Lambarena is here with us with some ways to avoid balance transfer credit card mistakes.</p> <p>Everyone knows that we've got high inflation, high interest rates. People are really hitting up their credit cards because times are tough for a lot of households. And something appealing may be moving your high interest from one credit card to another that has maybe zero APR. You can run into some trouble with some of these things, though. So we want to kind of go over some of the mistakes to avoid.</p> <p>The first being, this one that I see right here is trying to transfer a balance between cards with the same issuer. Let's just go into that. That's something you probably want to avoid. Yes. You actually even transfer a balance with the same credit card issuer. So this is when it might make sense to open a balance transfer credit card with the new issuer.</p> <p>Sometimes if you have a different credit card with another issuer, they might send you offers via email or in your email inbox. And this might be helpful in letting you use an existing line of credit to take advantage of a 0% balance transfer offer. Okay, that makes sense. And sometimes you might be missing the balance transfer deadline. Let's get into that.</p> <p>That might be something that people aren't aware of. When you're trying to transfer a balance, you typically have somewhere between 30 and 120 days to complete that transfer. So if that's your main goal, you want to make sure to act quickly so that you can take advantage of all of the benefits and make sure that you still qualify and are able to complete that transfer.</p> <p>Sure. And just like anything else, there are hidden fees left and right, and you could miss the fact that you're not taking into account that there is a balance transfer fee, right? Yes. The balance transfer fee is one thing that people sometimes fail to consider and it can be a little bit tricky. You have to compare that costs with the amount of interest that you're already paying and projected to pay over time.</p> <p>So you want to factor in the transfer fee that might be 3% or 5% of the total amount transferred. And compare if it's going to save you money compared to the amount of interest you'll pay over several months. And Nerdwallet has a calculator that can help you weigh these costs. Okay. Thank you for bringing that up, because that's very important, because a lot of this stuff can be overwhelming for sure.</p> <p>This is one that I have heard of people encountering in the past, overestimating how much debt that can be transferred. Let's get into that. Yes, a balance transfer limits is very different from your cards credit limit. It's significantly lower where you can only transfer as much as that balance transfer limit permits. So you want to be mindful of that.</p> <p>This means that you might not get to transfer all of the debt that you were hoping to do, do so, and you might have to come up with another plan, a different pl

<p>As of 2023 Americans owe more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, but being proactive and completing four key steps can help consumers avoid credit card debt. Joining PennyWise this week is personal finance writer at WalletHub, Chip Lupo, to describe in detail how to accomplish the four steps.</p> <p>Read more on WalletHub <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/d/how-to-stay-out-of-debt/25855">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p>Chip Lupo is a personal finance writer for WalletHub.com, specializing in credit cards, credit reports and scores, and debt management, and has worked remotely from the Columbia, SC area since joining the WalletHub team in 2018. Chip manages all the finances in his household and has become adept at employing strategies to minimize the family’s debt.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to PennyWise, a Lee Enterprises Podcast. I'm Ambre Moton the producer and editor of the show, filling in for Nat Cardona. Americans collectively owe more than $1 trillion in just credit card debt as of 2023. So it's fair to say that staying out of debt is a challenge for many people. Luckily today, our friends at Wallet Hub published a story called How to Stay Out of Debt, Tips, Strategies and more.</p> <p>To help with that, I'm being joined by Chip Lupo of Wallet Hub to go over some tips for staying out of debt. Chip, according to this article, there are four main steps to staying out of debt. The first step is to cover all of your bases. What exactly does that mean? Well, it's a tiered process here. And start off.</p> <p>It's important to note that these rules are these tips. While they primarily apply to people who have spent months or years trying to get out of debt, they're also very helpful to someone starting out managing finances for the first time to avoid getting into debt in the first place. So there's just four basic steps and we'll expand on these as we go.</p> <p>You want to build an emergency fund? That's that's the first step. You want to set a budget very important and stick to it. What you set your budget develop a routine which involves checking your finances to make sure you're staying on budget. And then finally, most important, avoid repeating any past mistakes that got you into debt. That's definitely a good one.</p> <p>And then you said developing a routine. What can you. Can you just kind of explain that a little bit more? Well, developing a routine is just basic habits. Once you once you set a budget, you want to make savings, a recurring expense. Most people put savings on the back end when it comes to prioritizing. You want to make that part of your part of your budget the same as your mortgage, the car payments, utility bills, a certain amount every week, every month, according to your finances.</p> <p>But make sure that's built into your budget. That's part of the one step of the routine. You also want to review your monthly bills regularly, particularly those that fluctuate power bills, utility bills. Check your cable bills regularly or phone bills for any, you know, rates go up, things like that. So if you want to stay on top of that, because sometimes price hikes can make a major change to your budget, you also want to keep track of any savings investment accounts, review your bank statements regularly, check for fees, check for anything, any hidden costs.</p> <p>Look for any any types of frauds or any errors in your account. So you want to stay on top of that. You also want to employ what we call the island approach to credit card spending, which means using different credit cards for specific expenses. If you have a gas credit card, you want to use that to track you fuel purchases every month.</p> <p>That way, they're isolated. They're itemized on one statement. And then you can adjust your budget accordingly. Now, of course, that approach works best if you plan on paying your credit card bill in full every month, which is something you should be doing anyway in order to stay at it. You also. Okay, so the next thing in this article, it says that

<p>Text messages warning of financial concerns will prompt users to click on a link or call a number to resolve an urgent matter. But that message is very likely an attempt to extract sensitive information. On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/elizabeth-ayoola">Elizabeth Ayoola</a> of NerdWallet to share tips on how to avoid a common text messaging scam.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/text-message-scam">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, the Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. Today, we're talking scams. There are a million types of scams to choose from, but our focus today are those sneaky little text message scams that find their way to your phone. We have NerdWallet personal finance writer Elizabeth Ayoola with us today, ready to share a few basic but important precautions you can take to ensure that you don't fall prey to a bank impersonation tax scam.</p> <p>Scams are here. They're everywhere. They come in a million shapes and sizes and formats. Today we're talking about the top tax message scam that's putting your cash at risk. And I was really shocked to find it's under the guise of being your banking institution. So the first thing I want to get into is can you call to lay out what this could look like when it comes to your phone?</p> <p>Yes. So you may get a text message and someone a strange phone number may send you a link or tell you, hey, you have to call me right away, because if you don't, you're going to lose money or you're going to be locked out of your account. I personally have gotten those messages before. And when it comes to your money, that can create a lot of urgency or fear within yourself because you're like, my God, you know what's going to happen to my money?</p> <p>And I want to protect my stuff? So sometimes that allows people judgment and the first thing that they do is click on the link or call the number and what the scammer might do on that and is now try to extract sensitive information from you. So it could be your account number, your source code, your Social security number, your address.</p> <p>And unfortunately what they could do with that information is an array of things they can set up auto pays with your information and deduct money from your account that way. And also in some cases as well, they can actually use your information to get credit cards out or take out loans, which can be terrible for people, which is why it's so important as well to check your credit report regularly, to check your bank information regularly and flag any suspicious information that you see on there.</p> <p>Right. I've had this actually happen to me personally, but it was under the guise of of what do you call it, a masked phone number. It was the exact same number as my banking institution. I mean, it said the name everything and yeah, and it was the phone number and it was I mean, it's just insane. But the text message I haven't personally seen, so it'll probably pop up with urgency.</p> <p>But then going off of what you just said is never makamu under pressure like Hastings. Always.</p> <p>Now I have personally an email. I've actually email scam. I've fallen prey to. And again, it was that urgency. And they said that actually I was getting overpaid in taxes. So my first instinct was really, I'm getting money back. But then I was just like, okay, so they take me to some forum. And again, these things are really sophisticated.</p> <p>They really mimic the institutions they say they are. And I filled out my account number, my shortcode and everything, and after I did it, I was like, Ooh, this probably was a bad idea. So it's very, very easy to fall prey to that. But just be sure, take a pause, no matter how urgent it is, and call your financial institution to confirm first.</p> <p>Sure. Which leads me to my next point here. But don&#

<p>Carrying a balance on your credit card from one month to the next may not be recommended but for many Americans it’s unavoidable. On the latest episode of PennyWise, show producer Ambre Moton is joined by <a href="https://wallethub.com/profile/john-s-kiernan-13301077i">John Kiernan</a>, managing editor of WalletHub, who shares the the top credit card mistakes to avoid. </p> <p>Read more on WalletHub <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/cc/credit-card-mistakes/25859">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p>John Kiernan is the managing editor at WalletHub. He oversees WalletHub’s content strategy and helps produce product reviews, educational guides, and other content to help answer people’s financial questions and help them save money.</p> <p>John joined WalletHub’s parent company as a writer in 2010. Since then, he’s helped build WalletHub from the ground up, becoming one of the most senior members of the team. His previous work experience includes USA TODAY, US News and The Washington Post.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>It's been hammered into our heads to not carry a balance on our credit card from month to month and to live within our means. And yet Americans are notorious for being fairly deep in credit card debt. Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm Ambre Moton, the producer and editor of the show filling in for Nat Cardona. WalletHub managing editor John Kiernan is joining me to talk about credit card mistakes to avoid.</p> <p>Based on the article, it looks like there's eight common mistakes that people make in regards to credit cards. So let's start with that. There are so many options for credit cards right now. What should people be taking into account when selecting cards? What are the most common credit card selection mistakes?</p> <p>Sure, the first one right off the bat is not having a credit card. Some people kind of think it's dangerous to have one, but really not having one is is dangerous, especially for your credit, regardless of what card you pick. If you have a major credit card, it's going to be reporting information to the major credit bureaus monthly.</p> <p>And so you could have a card with no annual fee that you lock in a drawer and still benefit. So kind of the fear of credit cards that some people have is one thing you immediately need to get over. Beyond that, as you mentioned, there are tons of options. We track more than 1500 cards in our database at WalletHub.</p> <p>And so it really what you focus on really depends on who you are as a consumer and what you're looking for from your card. And that might seem obvious, but it can be more difficult in practice. The first thing we recommend people doing is checking their credit score. This will immediately kind of focus you on a segment of the market.</p> <p>You have a pretty good idea that you'll be approved. So if I check my credit score and say that it's 700, I say, okay, maybe I have a pretty good chance of getting a credit card that requires good credit and I can kind of rule out the ones that are have lower requirements that are very attractive or the ones that require excellent credit outright.</p> <p>And beyond that, just kind of the main rules of thumb are if you're going to pay in full monthly, you should focus on rewards because interest rates don't matter in that scenario. So you can kind of a card that has excellent rewards and a really high interest rate, that's fine. The interest rate won't affect you. Conversely, if you're going to carry a balance, we recommend trying to get a card with a 0% introductory rate to really kind of be able to finance whatever big ticket purchases or balance transfers you need to do in the short term and then get out of debt before the high regular rate takes effect.</p> <p>Pretty much no credit cards at the moment have very low regular, ongoing APR. So you kind of have to take advantage of limited time deals.</p> <p>I know I'm constantly getting all the offers where it's like, Hey, here's this, here are all the

<p>Travel booms during the holiday season and between winter weather and large crowds, delays and cancelations are to be expected. U.S. airlines are not required by law to compensate passengers for flight delays, and refunds are only guaranteed for flights that are canceled. There are, however, things you can do to get some compensation for travel disruptions. On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1699316256817099&usg=AOvVaw34vuBfUeztXIu0bSxwgIyd">Sally French</a> of NerdWallet who shares the script that worked for her to get compensation from airlines for cancelations and delays. </p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/flight-compensation?trk_location=ssrp&trk_query=compensation%20for%20flight%20delays&trk_page=1&trk_position=4">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host Nat Cardona.</p> <p>Ah, air travel. It's stressful at times, especially when you're hit with seemingly endless delays or a cancellation that will leave you sitting in an airport chair staring at that God awful carpet pattern while you wait. Nerdwallet Traveler Awards expert Sally French joins us today with two personal flight anecdotes that prove maybe, just maybe, you can be compensated for your time in trouble through your airline if you follow her script.</p> <p>Sally we're talking about flight delays and two experiences that you had going off of a script to get compensation because of those two flights. So flight delays and cancellations happen. They seem like they're happening more and more often or more. Maybe people on social media are complaining about it. Whatever. Have you. So you're in the airport, your flight's delayed and delayed or delayed.</p> <p>Let's talk about your anecdotes first and we can just pop in tips along the way. So just go for it.</p> <p>Yes. So I've been caught up in two fairly significant flight delays this year. The first one happened because I was trying to fly from my home in Oakland, California, to Saint Louis, and I had a layover in Denver. So what happened is the flight departing from Oakland departed late, and it turned out that it ended up being so late that we missed the connecting flight to Saint Louis.</p> <p>We missed it by just barely. In fact, 20 of my now closest friends who were also trying to make that connection. We ran off the first plane and we saw the plane taking off from the jet bridge and rolling on to the tarmac just there, and they couldn't wait for us. So what ended up happening is we got rebooked on the next departing flight.</p> <p>But that meant an irritatingly long layover, many hours in the Denver airport, plus a 2 a.m. arrival time in Saint Louis was not ideal. So my question was, what can I do? What can I get out of this other? The flight was on Southwest and they did automatically rebook me to my next flight, but it was still pretty annoying.</p> <p>So I headed to the customer service desk and I basically said, Hey, it's because this flight is leaning so late, my ride isn't going to be able to pick me up. Do you offer any sort of compensation? And they said, No, we can't get you a ride to your next destination, but how about we offer you an $100 voucher?</p> <p>And I was like, You know what? I'll take it. I'm rebooked. Anyway, this sounds like a good deal as they're printing out the voucher. I said. Can you offer any food as well? And they also sent me a voucher so I could get dinner up to $14 in the airport to tide me over until the flight. So that was my first.</p> <p>That Southwest experience. It ended up being not too bad. I got $100 out of it and I had to stay at the airport for like a bonus for hours. But it seemed to work. My second situation was the United flight melt down during 4th of July weekend. I was

<p>'Tis the season — the season for shopping and massive sales. With the holiday season in full swing, many people are counting down and plotting their plan of attack for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On the latest episode of PennyWise, show producer Ambre Moton is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> of NerdWallet who shares the top items to buy, what to skip and a few other tips for navigating two of the biggest shopping days of the year. </p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/what-to-buy-skip-black-friday-2023">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm Ambre Moton, the producer and editor of the show filling in for Nat Cardona.</p> <p>'Tis the season, the season for shopping in big deals anyway. While shoppers have already seen early Black Friday deals in October from retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart, a survey reported that only a quarter of verified buyers during Amazon Prime Big Deal days purchased holiday gifts waiting for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, maybe.</p> <p>And are those deals even really worth it? Joining me today from NerdWallet is personal finance expert Kimberly Palmer to go over what to buy and what to avoid on two of the biggest shopping days of the year.</p> <p>Kimberly, thank you so much for joining. Let's just go ahead and dive in. My mom mentioned that she's had a TV every year that isn't working properly. Should I plan on waiting for Black Friday to get her a new one?</p> <p>Yes, Black Friday is actually a great time to buy big electronics like televisions. You have another opportunity in February or on the Super Bowl. So if you missed a chance, it's okay. You have another chance to get great TV deals. But it sounds like your mom might need it sooner. And Black Friday is such a good time because we see those prices on big electronics, including televisions, drop on Black Friday and the days surrounding Black Friday.</p> <p>So it's the perfect time to buy.</p> <p>What are some of the other good things to buy during those post-Thanksgiving sales?</p> <p>Definitely. Anything in the electronics category, which includes appliances, both large and small appliances. So if you are in the market for anything like a vacuum, a coffeemaker, anything like that around your house. Black Friday is when we see the lowest prices on those items. So it's the perfect time to pick those up. And then if you need to stock up on any winter clothing, winter jackets, any of that winter gear, it's also a great time to buy on Black Friday.</p> <p>So basically, those are the highlights. You want to think electronics, big electronics, small appliances, large appliances and then winter clothing.</p> <p>Awesome. I am definitely in the market for a new winter coat, so I will hold off until Black Friday to go looking for a new one.</p> <p>Yeah, you'll see some great deals.</p> <p>Okay, so how about what do you think should be avoided?</p> <p>The biggest category to avoid on Black Friday is toys and holiday decor. And that is because the prices on those items keep dropping as we get closer to the holidays. And so you don't want to make the mistake of buying them too early because you will pay more. However, you do want to keep in mind that if your child or the children in your life want a specific toy, we do start to see inventory really drop as we get closer to the holidays too.</p> <p>So it might be worth paying a little extra just to make sure you get that one item they really have their eye on. But in general, you want to wait on toys and holiday decor and then also sporting goods. So we do see lower prices for sporting goods as we get closer to Christmas as well. So if you can you want to wait on that.</p> <p>And then tools and home improvement items is another category that we tend to see lower prices hit as we get closer to the end of the year

<p>Disaster strikes — your washer is making a weird noise and won't drain. Do you fix it or replace it? On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> of NerdWallet with tips when to repair and when to replace your large appliances.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/when-to-repair-or-replace-your-appliances">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host Nat Cardona.</p> <p>A disaster strikes. Your large home appliance is making a funny noise and not working how it should. Maybe even water is involved. Choosing whether to repair or replace major appliances can be more complex than you would expect. Nerdwallet personal finance writer Kimberly Palmer joins us today as a living, breathing financial guide to paying out your appliance repair or replace options when to repair or replace your appliances.</p> <p>I just went through this myself and the picking and choosing of what you're going to do and what's most cost effective. Talk about really having to work really hard to figure things out. So let's go into this. I mean, where should we start?</p> <p>Well, the interesting thing about appliances is that sometimes when you actually buy a new one and replace one, even though it's so expensive, you can save money in the long run. And that's because these newer appliances are so sophisticated, energy efficient. You know, if you have a 15 year old fridge, it might be taking up more energy than a newer model.</p> <p>And the same is true for other big appliances. And so that is a way of kind of, you know, justifying that shopping spree. If you do need a new appliance.</p> <p>Or the one thing that's mentioned in this article, let's talk about those smarter appliances that they've got fancy buttons and they hook up to I and this and that, but maybe that's not always necessarily the route you want to go.</p> <p>Exactly. These new appliances are I mean, they're really amazing. They look like, you know, what we would have thought of as the future years ago. You can have a TV screen on while you are on the front of your fridge, while you're making dinner. You can have a camera inside your fridge that you know, when you're at the grocery store and you're not sure if you're out of milk, you can just log in and have an inside look at your fridge.</p> <p>So it's really incredible the directions of all these new appliances. The downside, like you alluded to, is the fact that first of all, they're more expensive and then also they're harder to fix. So if something does break down, you might need to hire someone with really specialized knowledge of your specific appliance for them to fix it. And those the cost to fix it can actually be a lot higher than you might be anticipating.</p> <p>So it's something to keep in mind if you do buy one of the more complicated appliances, you always want to ask about those repair costs because sometimes they can be really steep.</p> <p>Yeah, like I mentioned at the top, this there's literally three of our appliances went in two months ago. They all went in within the hour. Now, it was insane. And so we had a lot of the decisions to make and that between research and talking to store specialists, I found out there's a couple brands that they can't just be you can't call your local handyman to do and fix in, you know, five years if something happens that, yeah, the more specialized that you need, that specialized scalp.</p> <p>So there is it was interesting and kind of sad or I was like, okay, maybe I'm not going to get the most fancy one because of that. You know, you have to think ahead and actually the another interesting thing that was mentioned here are, yeah, we know that these are all going to be big ticket purchases, you know, in the hundreds or thousands of dollars range.&

<p>While it may still be early fall, the time to figure out your holiday travel is here. From flights to hotel stays to finally taking that trip to Europe to visit the Christmas markets, travel costs can add up.</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french">Sally French</a> of NerdWallet with tips when to start booking your travel for the holidays.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/the-best-time-to-book-holiday-travel-is-very-soon">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. </p> <p>It may be the very start of fall, but if you plan to travel for the holidays, now is the time to do your research and pull out your wallet. We have Nerdwallet travel rewards expert Sally French here with some tips to save on holiday travel this year. Okay, so talking about holiday travel, you know, as people look towards the next couple of months, you've got Thanksgiving and then it seems around Christmas, people are flying here, they're everywhere. Is there any advantage to last minute flights? I know that last year that was a big thing.</p> <p>Yes. In general, booking last minute flights is not something you should bank on. We typically see last minute hotel deals because hotels just want to fill up whatever available rooms that they have. But that's not really the case with airfares because people would be desperate to book a last minute flight. We actually see airfares get more expensive last minute.</p> <p>So I don't want to completely write off the idea that you won't find a great last minute airfare. But the reality is you should plan to book your airfare now, especially for holiday travel there.</p> <p>So a lot of that would entail tracking prices. So let's go into that.</p> <p>Yes. So there are a number of apps that make it pretty easy to track your prices. One of the great ones is Google flights. And Google flights has a bunch of individual features that can make this helpful. So Google flights has a calendar display that will show the flight prices across all the airlines for any day of that month.</p> <p>This is great for people who want to fly, let's say, for the holidays, but are flexible. If they fly out on Tuesday or Thursday, they don't really care. Google Flights Calendar View makes this really easy. Another thing that you can do is if you know you want to fly a specific airport, which is pretty common. If you're going to visit family for the holidays, you can enter in that airport versus your home airport.</p> <p>And Google flights will send you an alert when it sees that airfares are cheaper than usual to that destination.</p> <p>I am a huge believer in that calendar layout that you just mentioned. There's nothing more beautiful in my like, planning mind when it's you know, this says 380 on Tuesday and then a week later on a Friday, it's whatever, 300. I just love the breakdown. It's just all it's so neat how they do it right.</p> <p>And, you know, you would be so surprised at how much the price is different just by adjusting your flight by a couple of days. And there are just a lot of people who automatically assume they're going to fly out one day because they think that's most convenient for them. But when you realize maybe extending by one day could save you $200 times all for people in your family, then this can be a huge savings.</p> <p>So don't overlook that calendar view and see if you can change your trip gates by just one or two days to possibly save money.</p> <p>Sure. And I just kind of want a ground back here. So for Thanksgiving, when would be a good time to book for that long weekend?</p> <p>Yes. So definitely I would recommend booking that Thanksgiving travel by mid-October at the latest. However, Nerdwallet in general recommends booking travel 1 to 3 months out, and the

<p>It seems like every day there's a new warning about financial scams circulating, with the scammers getting more and more creative. Many people think that it could never happen to them, and then they find themselves on the phone with their bank trying to recoup their losses.</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> of NerdWallet with tips on how to avoid falling for common scams and what to do in case you do.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-stay-safe-from-financial-scams">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. <br>One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to protecting yourself from financial scams is thinking you're too smart to be duped by one. It can literally happen to anyone, regardless of age or circumstance. I mean, come on. There are a lot of sophisticated scams out there. But thankfully, Nerdwallet personal finance writer Kimberly Palmer joins us today with a few key strategies to help keep you safe.</p> <p>Man, those scammers are really sneaky out there. Let's talk about that. If you get a call from your bank, probably not legit. Let's go into that.</p> <p>Exactly. One of the most common scams out there is your bank or some kind of financial institution calling you. But it's not really your bank. It's someone. It's a scam artist, essentially impersonating your bank. And because they can be so convincing, they actually convince people who have picked up the phone to share their personal information, share things like passwords, Social Security numbers, all kinds of personal details that they then use to steal your money or steal your identity.</p> <p>And so you want to be so careful whenever you get a phone call from anyone or a text message or an email you want to verify who it is. So actually, even though it feels rude, you want to say, I'm going to hang up and call my bank myself, and then you get the verified number on the back of your bank card or wherever you have it and call yourself.</p> <p>And that's the only way to really know who you're talking to.</p> <p>Right. And just for clarity sake. Scammers can spoof numbers. I've had this happen personally where it says your banking institution, it's the exact same number, whatever, one 800 number calling you. But again, it's you should call that not the other way around.</p> <p>Exactly. I'm so glad you mentioned that, because it can be so convincing. And also, when you get that call, they are often the most pleasant kind of sounding customer service reps you've ever spoken to. But it's all a scam. Just trying to get to trying to trick you.</p> <p>Right. Right. And a lot of that comes back to general security practices, especially when you're banking online and on your phone and all of that jazz. Any tips there?</p> <p>The most important thing is just to make sure that you are constantly monitoring your own accounts, because often the first sign of a scam is even a really small deduction, like a $5 deduction that you don't recognize. And it's a way for the scam artists to really test if they can go bigger and subtract more money from your account.</p> <p>So you want to be regularly reviewing your credit card statements, your banking statements, most importantly, to look for anything you don't recognize. And if there is something that seems out of place, you want to call and investigate because then you can shut down. If there is a scam starting to take place, you can shut that down. And then also you want to just be sure that you have strong passwords across all your accounts.</p> <p>Set up two factor authentication so a person can't log in with only the password but needs to get that code. Also texted or emailed to you as well just to make sure all those accounts are safe.</p

<p>Want to travel around but don't have a travel buddy? Traveling alone can come with single surcharges and not having someone to share costs with can make solo travelers blow through their budgets quickly. </p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joined by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french">Sally French</a> of NerdWallet with tips for solo travelers who want to be fiscally responsible while exploring the globe.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/ask-a-travel-nerd-how-can-i-make-solo-travel-affordable-and-fun">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona</p> <p>Today we're talking solo travel. It's getting more and more popular these days, but let's face it- Traveling by yourself can get really pricey. Thankfully, we have NerdWallet travel expert Sally French here with us to give us tips on how to make the most of it all. </p> <p>Today we're talking about the topic of solo travel, keeping it fun and I guess financially friendly, you could say. </p> <p>Okay, I love it. First things first. From the Nerdwallet article, I read the amount of people opting for solo travel has gone up as compared to past years. Is that correct?</p> <p>That is correct. So what Nerdwallet has found is actually based on Google searches for solo travel, they have increased 59% in the first half of this year versus the same period in 2019. More people now are interested in solo travel travel than they were pre-pandemic.</p> <p>No, that's what they say. So what's the big difference that I guess people are just eager to get out there, huh?</p> <p>Yeah, You know, I think there is definitely this uptake since the pandemic of people being okay out there, being solo. We spent so much time alone and now people are spread out. People have moved away, but people still want to go on trips. People especially want to take those bucket list trips. So sometimes the best way to take that bucket list trip might just be by yourself.</p> <p>Yeah, there's a few steps you got to take first. Let's talk about the travel in itself, that airplane ticket. Any advantages to flying solo?</p> <p>Well, this is actually an area where you can save money. So one of the challenges with flying solo or traveling solo is that it can be more expensive. You're not able to split the cost of that rental car, of that ride, share of that hotel room. But with airfare, in some ways, you can find a better deal. You might just be able to get that last available flight if seats are sold out for two.</p> <p>That's not going to work If you're traveling with someone else. If you're by yourself, that can be better. Another thing is you might be more inclined to be okay with that middle seat. What we've seen is that airfare prices are actually down this year versus last year. They're down this year versus 2019. They're down this year versus what they were ten years ago.</p> <p>And a big reason for that is because airfares have engaged in this practice called unbundling or bundling, where they'll charge a lower base airfare, and then they'll add all these extra costs, extra cost check bags, extra cost to board early. And one of those extra costs is to pick your seat, especially with families. People want to sit together.</p> <p>And so we see a lot of air. Airlines will pay. A lot of travelers will pay extra to be able to take their seat to travel with their family members. But if you're traveling solo, you don't have any family members to travel with. And so you can probably skip that expense. The reality is you're probably going to end up in the middle seat, but maybe not a huge deal if you're a solo traveler looking to save money.</p> <p>Seriously, at the end of the day, it's just tapping the person next to your shoulder. Got to get up quick. It's never a big deal.</p> &

<p>Are you struggling with the cost for tickets to see The Eras Tour? Still trying to decide if you need every variant of "1989 (Taylor's Version)" on vinyl or CD? </p> <p>The costs of being a Taylor Swift fan are high, but there are ways to manage your spending to keep from blowing your budget. </p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona is joibed by <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/elizabeth-ayoola">Elizabeth Ayoola</a> of NerdWallet to guide Swifties through getting the full Taylor experience without blowing swiftly though your bank account.</p> <p>Read more on NerdWallet <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/taylor-swift-eras-tour-cost">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona</p> <p>Today's finance-ocused topic is Taylor Swift. Ah, yes, you heard that right. As of this recording, her mega-popular Eras tour is on the road and fans have shelled out unfathomable amounts of money to sit in seats worse than in the nosebleeds to dress like her while they attend and to collect every item under the sun that has Taylor's name stamped or attached to it.</p> <p>Let's think beyond the life of her tour is chasing her ongoing music merchandizing a financial-friendly decision or more of a burden on your financial well-being. Thankfully, Nerdwallet personal finance writer Elizabeth Ayoola is here to help guide Swifties in the right direction. </p> <p>I am not a Taylor Swift fan. I don't get what is going on with this. I mean, I can understand fandom and stuff like that, so you're going to really have to help guide through the logic behind some of these purchases that people decide to make. Yeah. So today we're talking about Taylor Swift and the good old business woman that she is and her entertainment. Oh, my God. Mega stardom, whatever you want to call it that she has. Though the Eras tour is going on right now, very cutthroat market out there for those tickets and all of that jazz.</p> <p>Whether you buy them directly from Ticketmaster, you're getting them at resale value. People are going insane and spending tons of money. Really, the first thing that came to my mind is when people are making these big purchases for a ticket for themselves for a Taylor Swift concert. What would be your suggestion in way of funding it? Like, should you really should you shop that much money from your checking account, or is this an appropriate time for a credit card purchase? </p> <p>Well, you got it. So I would say the latter. Credit cards can be very helpful when it comes to credit card rewards. Right. So people can take advantage of credit card rewards, which usually basically give you money for spending money. And yes, it's free money. So if you get the right card, specifically a cashback card and you use that card to buy your ticket, then at least, you know, you get some money back after spending all that money on the ticket. You know, assuming that it's expensive and even if it's inexpensive, you still get some money back. So you can be a Swifty and also get paid for being one. </p> <p>Mm hmm. Is there any element of restraint that you would suggest one would have? I mean, these people are really big fans and it is that big ticket purchase. I mean, I know you keep you're not in everyone's minds telling them what to do. But is is it okay to splurge sometimes like that? </p> <p>Well, it's such a sentimental thing. I wouldn't say there's a right or wrong to splurge like that, but I think the primary thing is planning, budgeting, saving. Right. So one thing that people could do, especially the diehard fans, is create a Taylor Swift budget. Right. So you could open yourself maybe a high yield savings account and dedicate that literally towards all of your merch, concert tickets and everything else and just pop money in there every month. It may be five or $10. It could be more depending on how crazy you go. But I think another key thing

<p>From curated ads to influencers showcasing the newest, hottest items it is impossible to escape ads on social media, and it's never been easier to purchase these items. But how can you stay on top of trends without overspending on things you, frankly, don't need?</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> of NerdWallet about how to keep social media from helping you overspend.</p> <p>Read the NerdWallet article <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/5-tips-to-keep-social-media-from-spurring-you-to-overspend">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona</p> <p>We're all guilty of it sucked into buying a gadget you saw in a Facebook ad or late night scrolling that turns into a whole shopping spree because of all those hard to miss deals. Personal finance expert Kimberly Palmer joins us today on how to curb your social media spending. I'm actually kind of excited to talk about this topic.</p> <p>We're looking at five tips to keep you from overspending on the things that you see on social media. A lot of people are guilty of it, myself included. The first one is just an oldie but goodie. Making that wish list and waiting.</p> <p>Yes, I actually use this myself all the time because it's such a helpful way just to not buy everything you want right away. So if you see something online, maybe on social media or anywhere, instead of clicking purchase, you just click to put it in your cart or add it to your wish list and then you can circle back to it later. You can wait a day or a week or a month, and it just gives you that extra chance to think about if you really want it.</p> <p>Definitely my go to approach with Amazon. Yeah, this is the cart. It kind of lives there. Gets stores on it, and then I'm like, Oh, you know, why did I even think I wanted that?</p> <p>Exactly. And the secret that a lot of people don't know is that retailers, online retailers, notice when you put it in your cart and then they might even send you a follow up coupon to apply. So it's extra It's actually an extra way to save money, too.</p> <p>Oh, I like that. Next thing here: Evaluate the item without thinking about the sale price attached to it. Too much. Let's go into that.</p> <p>It is so easy to see something that's on sale and just let that excitement get the better of you. And then you think that item is actually better than it really is. And so you want to take a minute and think, Would I actually want this even if it wasn't on sale? Just to consider take that the sale price out of the equation.</p> <p>Because the fact is, even though there's so much messaging around, you need to buy this now, the sale is only coming once. The fact is sales definitely do reoccur and it's not your only chance to get it. And so if you do actually want it, you can just get it next time it goes on sale too.</p> <p>I know that around prime days or that Nordstrom's sale that happens, is it just it's going on in the mom influencer world. It kind of feels like you're in competition with other people trying to buy the same kid's gadgets. And I know what I've seen that 30% off price tag. I'm like, I need to get it before that mom over there does so.</p> <p>Exactly.</p> <p>Yeah. And then it never turns out well with a huge pack and play like I do that I'm trying to get rid of. Oh, no. This one's an important one for us. All that late night scrolling.</p> <p>This is such a challenging time of day. When it's late at night, you're exhausted. You've had a long day, you're stressed out, you're trying to unwind. And basically it's so easy to make those purchases that you don't really need when you're doing that late night scrolling because all of your defenses are down. And so if possible, you want t

<p>With record-setting temperatures across the United States, home energy bills are skyrocketing. </p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/elizabeth-ayoola">Elizabeth Ayoola</a> of NerdWallet about changes people can make to reduce their energy bills.</p> <p>Read the NerdWallet article <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/creative-ways-to-cut-your-energy-costs-this-summer">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona</p> <p>It's summer, and pretty much anywhere you go in the US it is hot, just like with anything at this time in the economy. Energy costs are way up, but fear not. We have some steps to share with you to check that your house is working efficiently and ways to take control of your energy bill. Personal finance expert Elizabeth Ayoola joins us today with more on that.</p> <p>Today we're talking about energy costs and cutting them during the summer. That dreaded bill comes every month. I literally hate seeing the number that pops up. I am very pro air conditioning and I think a lot of Americans feel the same way, especially in these summer months. So we've got about five tips to help us cut our energy costs this summer.</p> <p>The first one, based off this article was really interesting to me, the idea of your electronics leaking because you obviously wouldn't think of that naturally, you think of pipes bursting and leaking and then that's a real problem. So let's let's jump into that. Taking a baseline of the electronics in your home.</p> <p>So it is possible for your electronics to leak, Of course. And I am definitely a culprit of leaving everything plugged in and not unplugging things or turning switches off. So it just sometimes requires a change in your daily routine. So if you're used to, again, leaving things plugged in overnight, then you can maybe try before bed, unplugging things and taking things out, turning off all the switches.</p> <p>And if you have kids at home, of course they could be culprits for that as well, with kids using so much technology. So just have them add that to their nighttime routine in terms of unplugging things and taking them out of the walls as well.</p> <p>All right. And that just is a perfect segue right into establishing efficient habits. So let's talk about that, especially with your thermostat.</p> <p>Again, you may want to during the winter months, obviously, you may be using air conditioning as an example. You may tend to use less air conditioning during the winter months. So maybe just consider adjusting for the temperature or the climates that you're in for whatever season you're in so that you can cut costs that way. You can also try to measure how long you have your air conditioning on and compare your bills or whether that be heating in the winter months to see basically how much you can cost by maybe reducing it by 2 hours or, you know, switching between the fan and the air conditioning or the heating at night just to kind of<br>see what works so well and save dimension to going right off of that is maybe upgrading to a safe thermostats. I still have an old school one in my house so it's it seems to be that's the better way to go though, to save some money.</p> <p>Yes. So people might be scared by the upfront cost of that at first. But one of the things that you can do is budget for it. So you can go around and do some comparison shopping and see if there are cheaper alternatives that you can do and then save towards it. If it's not a cost that you can kind of do right away.<br>But remember that you're offsetting the cost long term. So it may seem like, you know, expensive upfront cost, but the change might help you save money long term.</p> <p>And another thing I wanted to mention is actually I think it depends on what state and what county you're in. At least where I live in Wisconsin, there i

<p>Things are tight right now for many Americans. If you find yourself among the growing number of car owners unable to make a car payment on time, there are steps you can take to get back on track and minimize any financial damage for the future.</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a> of NerdWallet about how borrowers can mange the car payments they can't make.</p> <p>Nerdwallet explains tips for booking domestic and international flights as well as how to use travel rewards to your benefit.</p> <p>Read the NerdWallet article <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/auto-loans/late-delinquent-car-payment">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona</p> <p>Let's be real here for a second. Times are tough. High car prices and rising interest rates are squeezing people's budgets. If you find yourself among the growing number of car owners unable to make a car payment on time, there are steps you can take to get back on track and minimize any financial damage for the future.</p> <p>Nerdwallet personal finance expert Kimberly Palmer joins us today with more on that.</p> <p>Are people seeing more of that these days? Right. And let's be honest here, regardless of what your car maker model you're buying, it's usually going to be at least a few hundred dollars.</p> <p>And it's that's not chump change. Right. So if you are experiencing that financial strain, that hardship, what do you do when you know, if you look at the 15th on the calendar and you're like, oh, no, that payment's coming up. I'm not going to be able to make it. That sets in a lot of panic for a lot of people.</p> <p>So what would be the first step to take? Right. And I'm thinking back to my younger years and when unfortunately, Financial Times were not the best in my life and really strapped for cash with that first job out of college, that kind of thing and needing to make payments. I can only attest to my story when I've heard from other people.</p> <p>There's some shame or embarrassment when you aren't able to make those important payments that come every month. Surely I'm guessing your advice would be don't ignore the problem. You have to call that lender because what what's what happens if you don't?</p> <p>When we're talking about making car payments on a car you own versus leasing, is it kind of the same thing, same process?</p> <p>Yeah, sure. All good things to keep in mind. Anything else on car financing, car loans at this tough time with inflation going on.</p> <p>Amen to that and can really ruin you in the future. So great advice. Great advice to live by literally day to day.</p> <p> </p><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>Who knew that summer vacations could be so much work?</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french">Sally French</a> of NerdWallet about her top 6 tips for summer travel.</p> <p>Nerdwallet explains tips for booking domestic and international flights as well as how to use travel rewards to your benefit.</p> <p>Get more travel tips from Sally French <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/sally-french">here</a>!</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. Summer is in full swing. But it's not too late to plan your summer vacation and save some money while you're at it. Here's travel expert Sally French. All right. So today's topic, we're talking about six tips for traveling this summer. Where do you want to begin? </p> <p>I think we should start by talking about how early in advance you should book on. Unfortunately, it is already this summer, so this advice might come a little bit late. But the bad news is it it can be really difficult to find. Last minute flight deals. A lot of people are used to last minute deals when it comes to hotels and rental cars in shows. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. So the sooner you can book, the better.</p> <p>For domestic flights, the best deals are usually found 1 to 3 months out for international flights. The best deals are 2 to 8 months out. So, you know, maybe you just start planning ahead for summer of next year. That or the very tail end, right as it's about to hit September. Throw it in there that could be summer, too.</p> <p>Aside from that, what else do you have for me? Yeah. You know, the next thing is to choose the right location. We saw in the early years of the COVID pandemic, borders were closed. So often domestic airfare prices got really, really high because the people who otherwise would have done international travel might just instead do domestic travel. That sort of actually flipped.</p> <p>In fact, domestic airfare prices overall have actually dropped in summer 2023 versus summer 2022. So that's really good news. If you are a domestic traveler, you might pay less this year than you did last year. But the reality is international flights are much more expensive. Most people haven't taken international trips in a while. So this is a summer.</p> <p>They're making it happen. According to Hopper data, the average flight between the U.S. and Asia this summer costs more than 1800 dollars for economy class. And it makes sense. Demand is high. The number of passengers leaving for Asia is about four times what it was this year versus last year. Okay. I may be jumping ahead and one of your tips that you have coming up, but when we talk about flights versus driving, do you have any tips on that?</p> <p>Yeah, you know, it's hard to say whether driving or flying is a better deal because often it depends on your own individual circumstances. How many people can you fit in that car? Also, what are the things that you typically pay for when you travel? So something to consider when it comes to airfare is often you're not paying for the airfare alone.</p> <p>You're also paying for checked bags. If you're someone who needs to board early, then you're also often paying for priority boarding. And the nice thing about a rental car or your own car is that you can pack as many people into the car as you can fit. You can pack as much stuff as you can fit. So often, if you're someone who packs heavy, who has a big family or other travel companions, that car can be worth it.</p> <p>Another thing to consider this year is that luckily gas prices are down from what they were last summer. So you do get that reprieve when it comes to the cost of your road trip. Yeah, thank God for that, because that was a little intense last year. What do we have for number four? Yeah, well, I you know, sort of in that vein is a lot of people think about airfar

<p>Did your grandparents give you savings bonds for high school graduation and you don't know what to do with them?</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with Chanelle Bessette of NerdWallet about the article: Ask a Nerd: <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/ask-a-nerd-how-do-i-cash-a-savings-bond">How do I cash in a savings bond?</a> </p> <p>Nerdwallet explains how and where to cash in a savings bond, what documents you need to do so and how to check the value and see if it's worth it.</p> <p>Before you run to the bank, make sure you do your homework. </p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of PennyWise as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host, Nat Cardona. Dust off your old savings bonds. It might just be time to give them another look. We have Nerdwallet personal finance writer Chanel Bessette with us today to guide us through the process of cashing in, saving smart, talking about the world of cashing savings bonds. It's usually one of those things you have a stack of.</p> <p>If you're lucky enough, they're in an envelope. They're in a box and probably haven't been dusted off in a very long time. So what's the first thing you want to know when you grab them? Look at them and say, Hey, they're ready to be cashed? What do you do first?</p> <p>The age of them definitely matters because once they're past a certain age, they've stopped earning interest. So you are potentially facing that opportunity cost of losing money by keeping them as paper. Paper bonds instead of cashing them. So looking at the age first and foremost is great. If you haven't looked at them in a long time, if you've had them for a long time, it is likely that you're not facing any kind of penalty by withdrawing early.</p> <p>But that is something to consider if you did get a savings bond recently. So so let's say it's the former and that you do have that old savings bond. Cashing it out is going to be a great opportunity for you to have a little windfall or a big windfall, depending on how much the bond was. And then you can take that money and reinvested.</p> <p>Use it for a purchase that you want to make or just use it to beef up your emergency bond and have it as liquid cash so that you can use it for more day to day conveniences and needs.</p> <p>All right. And physically, when you're like, okay, this is good to go, these guys are ready to be cash. Do you go to your bank? Where do you go for this?</p> <p>So it's important to reach out to the bank in advance to make sure that they can, in fact, cash it. Not all major banks do. So you want to maybe call around at first and make sure that you know which bank is actually going be able to accept it. If you have an electronic savings bond, then you'll go to the U.S. Treasury website and cash it there.</p> <p>Okay. Quick question about the physical savings bonds. Ironically or coincidentally enough, my husband had found a stack of them literally a week ago. They were good to go. So we were like, okay. And didn't realize it kind of looks like a check on the back that you would endorse, fill in that kind of thing. I did read something on one of these Nerdwallet articles that you actually aren't supposed to fill that out before heading to the bank, correct?</p> <p>Correct. Do you want to wait until you are at that moment of reimbursement? You probably want to follow along with whatever banker is working with you, whatever customer service rep is working with you to make sure that you are doing everything at the right time, at the right moment, because you don't want to accidentally create more problems for yourself with the with the process.</p> <p>That'd be a big bummer. After waiting so damn long. Yes, exactly. So speaking of that, going into the physical bank branch, let's say you have your I.D. Do you need any other forms of I.D. to fear this is you on these savings bonds?</p> <p>Yes. When you do go in, you need usually at least a couple of forms of ID. It's a good idea maybe to have your

<p>Flying isn't always the most enjoyable part of a vacation and some of the biggest airports in America can challenge even the most patient traveler. </p> <p>But not every airport has to cause frustration. There are a lot of smaller airports, even ones near big cities like Los Angeles or major vacation destinations such as Yellowstone National Park, that offer a charming experience.</p> <p>On the latest episode of PennyWise, host Nat Cardona talks with Sally French of NerdWallet about her article: <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/chaming-airports">9 of America’s Most Charming Airports</a></p> <p>French's list highlights airports that offer unbeatable views, unique amenities and a great atmosphere. To qualify for this list, airports also had to have fewer than 1.5 million arriving passengers in 2022. By comparison, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International had more than 37 million arriving passengers in 2022.</p> <p>Before you book your next trip, give these airports your consideration.</p> <p><strong>About this program</strong></p> <p>Nat Cardona is host of PennyWise as well as Lee Enterprise's true-crime podcast <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/late-edition-crime-beat-chronicles">Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles</a>. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. <a href="https://linktr.ee/leepodcasts">Learn more here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Episode transcript</strong></p> <p><em>Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:</em></p> <p>Welcome to Pennywise, a Lee Enterprises podcast. I'm your host Nat Cardona. Believe it or not, not every airport will leave you stressed out as you travel. NerdWallet has rounded up a collection of nine U.S. airports that are enjoyable to spend time in. We have travel expert Sally French joining us today with more. We will start at the beginning of the list with number nine.</p> <p>Hit me with it. One of the airports that NerdWallet loves is Long Beach Airport. It's in southern California and it is not too far from LAX, which is one of the largest airports in America. And that airport is wild to navigate. You have to take shuttles everywhere, even just to get to your Uber or Lyft. But another alternative airport that might be really compelling is Long Beach.</p> <p>So it is on the larger end of all the airports that NerdWallet analyzed, about 1.3 million passengers arriving each year in 2022 at least. But this airport is absolutely charming. It really has that sort of art deco style. It was built in 1941. The architecture just makes you feel like you're traveling back in that golden age of air travel.</p> <p>And what's really great about the airport now is that they've taken advantage of southern California's beautiful weather and a huge portion of the airport is entirely outdoors. So as you're waiting for your flight, you can sit and enjoy. And it's not just any old outdoors. It's beautifully landscaped, a really nice. And that you can take advantage of getting that last dose of Southern California sun before you jump on your flight.</p> <p>I never would have known that. Thanks for sharing. Very cool. Very definitely. If you can get out of the flying into LAX and instead fly in to Long Beach for your Southern California vacations, Absolutely. Do it. Noted. Next up, we have number eight. Bozeman at Yellowstone International Airport is number eight. And these airports are all ranked by the number of passengers arriving or departing from them.</p> <p>So so this isn't necessarily a ranking of how much we like them, but just their size. But Bozeman, Yellowstone has become especially compelling in pandemic era travel, when everyone wanted to go to national parks. What better National Park to go to than Bozeman, Yellowstone, and chose Yellowstone to be the national park and in most people would fly into Bozeman, which puts you pretty close to the west entrance of Yellowstone.</p> <p>And this airport, just like the rest of your Yellowstone experience, is probably going to be has really nice cozy mountain vibes. There's a fireplace inside so you can sit by that fire, warm up, feel like you're in the mountains when you're really just in the airport and then eventually go off to your Yellowstone vacation. Yeah, that's a beautiful little addition to your already cozy trip.</p> <p>Who knew your stay at the airport, whether you're landing or go. And that's great. Number seven. Looks like we have the Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina. Yes. So Asheville is already a city known

<p>Travel is the fastest growing segment of the "buy now, pay later" purchasing trend. It may work for some, but there are some big pitfalls, too.</p> <p>Helping us navigate the scenarios with host <a href="https://twitter.com/TeriBarrMedia">Teri Barr</a> is <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/author/sfrench/">Sally French</a>, a travel expert with NerdWallet, to help explain the pros and cons.</p><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>Is there any new information about the student loan debt cancellation plan from the President?</p> <p>Host <a href="https://twitter.com/teribarrmedia">Teri Barr</a> is finding out by talking with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/cecilia-clark">Cecilia Clark</a>, a student loan specialist with NerdWallet.</p> <p>Clark also answers the five biggest and most confusing questions about student debt cancellation, including if the lawsuits filed against the President's plan are going to the Supreme Court anytime soon, plus two new parts of the plan to consider if you are already thinking about bankruptcy.</p> <p>Also, the income-driven repayment plan hasn't received a whole lot of attention, but could be important for many borrowers:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/the-new-idr-plan">How the New Income-Driven Repayment Plan Works</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>More from Cecilia at NerdWallet:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/debt-relief-lawsuits-qa">Is $20K Student Debt Forgiveness Still Going to Happen?</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/what-to-do-with-your-remaining-student-loan-debt">What to Do With Your Remaining Student Loan Debt</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/2023-24-fafsa-opens">Unlock the College Financial Aid You Need Starting Oct. 1</a></li> </ul><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>If you have one checking and one savings account, you have what's considered, the typical accounts. But could you — and your money — be doing better?</p> <p>PennyWise host <a href="https://twitter.com/teribarrmedia">Teri Barr</a> is talking with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/chanelle-bessette">Chanelle Bessette</a>, a personal finance expert with NerdWallet, to learn why it pays to do an annual review of your bank accounts.</p> <p>Chanelle also shares the five questions to ask yourself to understand if your current set up is working best for you or if it's time to consider some other options.</p> <p><strong>Past Pennywise episodes with Chanelle Bessette as the guest:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise/4-things-to-consider-before-changing-banks">4 things to consider before changing banks</a></li> <li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise/four-of-five-americans-are-choosing-to-reallocate">Four of five Americans are choosing to reallocate their savings</a></li> <li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise/looking-for-a-different-way-to-save-money-4-rules">Looking for a different way to save money? 4 rules for starting your own savings circle</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>More from Chanelle on NerdWallet:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/banking/carver-bank?trk_channel=web&trk_copy=Carver%20Federal%20Savings%20Bank%20Review%3A%20Checking%2C%20Savings%20and%20CDs&trk_element=hyperlink&trk_elementPosition=0&trk_location=PostList&trk_subLocation=tiles">Carver Federal Savings Bank Review: Checking, Savings and CDs</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/overdraft-protection-what-it-is-and-different-types">Overdraft Protection: What It Is and Different Types</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/ask-a-nerd-will-interest-rates-continue-to-rise">Ask a Nerd: Will Interest Rates Continue to Rise?</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/banking/4-bank-app-features-you-might-be-missing-out-on">4 Bank App Features You Might Be Missing Out On</a></li> </ul><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>A new survey shows one in three Americans say their resolution for 2023 will focus on finances.</p> <p>PennyWise Host Teri Barr is talking with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillrgonzalez">Jill Gonzalez</a>, a Spokesperson for <a href="https://wallethub.com/">WalletHub</a>, to learn why the number of Americans making a money-related resolution is higher than in the past. Jill also shares four ways to make your resolution stick throughout the year.</p><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>If you are still searching for a one-of-a-kind last minute present, here's a unique idea for your holiday shopping -- check out a thrift store!</p> <p>PennyWise Host <a href="https://twitter.com/teribarrmedia">Teri Barr</a> is talking with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a>, a Personal Finance Expert with NerdWallet, to learn why the idea of thrifting for gifts is trending right now. Kimberly also shares five benefits you'll enjoy when spending your hard-earned-money at a resale store.</p><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>Planning carefully now can help you before it's time to file your 2022 taxes next year.</p> <p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise">PennyWise</a> host <a href="https://twitter.com/teribarrmedia">Teri Barr</a> talks with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/andy-rosen">Andy Rosen</a>, investing and tax spokesperson for <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/">NerdWallet</a>, to learn why — even though the holiday season is busy — it's also important to think about your taxes before the end of the year. Andy also shares five things to consider to support your planning efforts.</p><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>Winter travel, especially during the holidays, can be trying on both your patience and your pocketbook.</p> <p>PennyWise host <a href="https://twitter.com/teribarrmedia">Teri Barr</a> is talking with <a href="https://wallethub.com/profile/13301077i">John Kiernan</a>, managing editor at <a href="https://wallethub.com/">WalletHub</a>, to learn why it's especially important to plan ahead for your travels. Kiernan also shares five important tips to make your travels, smooth sailing.</p> <p><strong>Helpful links from WalletHub:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://wallethub.com/best-travel-credit-cards__;!!LvYzicI!lZR8BEuVWF1texyXY5fzuXSsnxSjeTlBSlfDgIK5WtLRFB_ii20qhVbsAfeaoETqb8zUBgfs4H5DJtI$">Best Travel Credit Cards</a></li> <li><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://wallethub.com/blog/winter-travel-survey/54756__;!!LvYzicI!lZR8BEuVWF1texyXY5fzuXSsnxSjeTlBSlfDgIK5WtLRFB_ii20qhVbsAfeaoETqb8zUBgfsCEUQR5U$">2022 Winter Travel Survey</a></li> <li><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/no-foreign-transaction-fee/__;!!LvYzicI!lZR8BEuVWF1texyXY5fzuXSsnxSjeTlBSlfDgIK5WtLRFB_ii20qhVbsAfeaoETqb8zUBgfs1b5jLFA$">Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards</a></li> </ul><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

<p>Could more disruptions in the supply chain lead to new shortages on store shelves?</p> <p>Host Teri Barr is talking with <a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/author/kimberly-palmer">Kimberly Palmer</a>, a Personal Finance Expert with Nerd Wallet, to learn if supply chain issues are expected to derail the holidays. Kimberly also shares four things to consider right now -- from retailers overstocking to weather and strikes impacting items you may have on your shopping list.</p> <p><strong>More from Kimberly on NerdWallet:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/holiday-survival-strategies-from-5-financial-educators">Holiday Survival Strategies From 5 Financial Educators</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/5-ways-to-save-money-on-holiday-shopping-this-season">5 Ways to Save Money on Holiday Shopping This Season</a></li> </ul><p><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise" rel="payment">Support the show: https://omny.fm/shows/pennywise</a></p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>