00:02
Peter Dunn
I have friends again. Welcome back to the Pete the Planner show. Last week, the solo, I talked to random people on the Internet edition of the show. I have convinced my coworker return from vacation, and he joins me now. Hello? Damian dunn.
00:16
Damian Dunn
Hello. Peter Dunn.
00:18
Peter Dunn
No relation. Kristen is on vacation this week, and then I think I'm actually in Salt Lake City next Friday, so I don't think there's a show next week.
00:29
Damian Dunn
Okay, well, it's pretty great.
00:32
Peter Dunn
Yeah.
00:33
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
00:33
Peter Dunn
It's pretty spotty situation. Welcome, everybody. Thanks for being here today. Dame, some interesting topics today. The state of Indiana, as we will talk about, is refunding money to everybody tax revenue. That is a surplus. And so everyone gets $225. All right. Additional. And so there's a lot of confusion around this, and it's really weird because we're in the midst of a recession. We're in the midst of high inflationary periods. So it's like, is this a good idea? How's it work? Who's upset? We're actually going to talk about it from a lot of different sides. Jeremiah asked if we're doing Call Roulette again today. No. Did you guys like that, though? I'm curious. For those watching the live stream right now on Facebook live, YouTube Live, or Twitter, just let me know. Do you like the live stream? Was it a good thing? I didn't mind it.
01:32
Peter Dunn
Dame, did you catch any of it?
01:34
Damian Dunn
I caught about five minutes of it, and it gave know, throwback vibes of the way the show kind of used to be, but now with video. So I think you do a great job with situations like that. And frankly, if you want to kick me off the show more often, I'm okay with it.
01:51
Peter Dunn
Well, I really appreciate the kind words, Dan. We got to get together and play some top golf this week. Our full game, their scores were had. And how'd you do?
02:02
Damian Dunn
I hit some balls out in the right direction.
02:06
Peter Dunn
You fancy yourself a golfer?
02:09
Damian Dunn
I think you have to play more frequently than I do to fancy yourself a golfer.
02:13
Peter Dunn
Yeah. How'd third place taste?
02:17
Damian Dunn
I mean, as seeing as how I didn't pick any balls up off the mat and throw them at a target, I'm okay with third place because I think some people did that might have finished higher than me.
02:28
Peter Dunn
That was in a game that was abandoned. In the actual game I won. And I will also note, for a guy that practices Krav MAGA where it doesn't appear there's any rules, it's just about winning a little toss into a bucket. Who cares?
02:45
Damian Dunn
A bucket?
02:47
Peter Dunn
No one cares. All right, dame, you want to start the show or no? You have anything else you want to go? How was vacation? You've well rested? Blah, blah?
02:53
Damian Dunn
Yeah, it was great. Got to see some beach, got to see some mountains, and got to eat more than my fisher donuts. So it was a great vacation.
03:03
Peter Dunn
A little inside baseball behind the scenes action we'll share with people. Just prior to going to air this morning, your Mrs. Planner brought you a cinnamon roll out to your studio there.
03:18
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I devoured it if needed. We were going to delay the start of the show so I could enjoy every bite. 100% true.
03:26
Peter Dunn
My wife is in Orlando at a gymnastics meet with my daughter. But I do want to say my daughter got fifth at Nationals. Ollie got fifth at Nationals last night, which was ten years of hard work. She's 13. She started doing gymnastics when she was three. Has always wanted to go to Nationals. And so congrats to Ollie on a lot of hard work, and congrats to Mrs. Planner and I for funding that job, everyone. Yeah. Happy Friday. Andrea. Andrea. Andrea. Andy. Oh, it's Andy from last week on the yeah, we're best friends. Okay, so let's start the show. People love this part. Three, two, one. This week on The Pete the Planner Show, we answer your money questions. Here's how the show works. You email us, askpete@petetheplanner.com that's, askpete@petetheplanner.com. Then we'll answer your questions. Joining me fresh off vacation, Damian Dunn. Hello, Dame.
04:34
Damian Dunn
Hello, Pete.
04:35
Peter Dunn
Damian is the vice president of advice at Your Moneyline, yourmoneyline.com dame, you were on vacation, you were refreshed, you saw Top Gun. The people want a very quick review. What do you think?
04:49
Damian Dunn
Good movie. Thought it leaned really hard into some nostalgia stuff at but that's okay. I didn't mind it. And I really appreciated that you didn't have to see the first one to enjoy the second one. But if you have seen the first one, little bits and pieces will pop out that will catch your ears and just give you warm, fuzzy feelings.
05:09
Peter Dunn
Can I take a ten year old boy to it? I mean, my son not just some random ten year old boy.
05:17
Damian Dunn
I think so. There was the one scene that might have been a little questionable in the first movie to take a ten year old to. There is a similar scene, which involves people that are nearly 60 years old, but very more tastefully. Done.
05:35
Peter Dunn
Okay, great. Dame. So something interesting happened this week indiana where we host this show. The governor, Eric Holcomb, proud High School, pike High School grad, and Hanover College grad, just like yours truly, announced a plan to return $1 billion of state reserve taxpayer money back in an effort to make up for rising inflation. Under the current plan, each taxpayer would collect about $225, in addition to the 125 they are currently getting from the state's automatic taxpayer refund. So I had various news stations calling me this week to get my take on this. And so, Dame, at first glance, though, is this a stimulus payment? Are you viewing this as a stimulus payment? And even if it's not a stimulus payment, doesn't it have the same effect as a stimulus payment?
06:29
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I think a lot of people are going to view it as a stimulus payment. I think a lot of people are even going to promote it as a stimulus payment. In reality, it's just the state returning money that they don't need, which, frankly, I'm happy to live in a state that does that. And it's happened a handful of times over the last couple of decades where we've gotten some cash back. So is it a stimulus? No, I don't think so. Are some people going to tie it to the situation we're facing with inflation and costs kind of going crazy? Yeah, they're going to. So I think anybody's going to be able to view it basically whatever, that way they want and nobody's going to be wrong. It's the best of all situations.
07:10
Peter Dunn
Pete, I will say when the federal government had a stimulus program in the last two years, it was with money they didn't have. And so you could say, well, give us the stimulus money. It's our taxpayer money anyway. You could have said that in the last two years, but you would have been wrong because it was money that was being printed in this situation. It could be argued that it's a stimulus, but it is our money. It's taxpayer money that has been paid in they didn't need. They're giving back. And the justification here is they're saying, because inflation is so high and we don't want to lower the gas tax indiana, what we're choosing to do is to give you this money. So then it'll hopefully make up for the shortfall. So what was interesting is some of the news stations were asking me about this yesterday.
07:58
Peter Dunn
The question kept coming up, well, what should people do with this money? What's the best way to spend it? Or what's the best way to invest $225? Which is always an interesting question. But Dame, the bigger point is this if this really is for the inflationary times in which we live, the money is already spent. It's just replenishing what had already been absorbed. If you went to the grocery store the last five times, the $225 you're getting is making up for the gap in what your groceries should have cost and what they do cost. And I think that's the bigger issue. It's just really kind of a weird effort here.
08:46
Damian Dunn
It's effort. Yeah, thanks. It's an appreciated effort on the state's part, but how much of a difference this will make, a tangible difference this will make in people's lives? It'll be very short lived. If it lasts more than a week for most people, I would be surprised. But you're exactly right. The way that costs have increased over the last couple of months and will continue to increase for likely a few more months to go $225 is could you even call it a Band Aid at this point? Part of a Band Aid? Maybe one of those little tiny circle bandaids that you put on something not a full size one.
09:29
Peter Dunn
I will say it's $700 for a household of two, right? Joint filers. So $700. But there's a couple of things here. Number one, in some of these news stories they're asking taxpayers, do you think this $225 per adult, is it enough? Which is sort of a strange question, because if it's a tax refund, it's not a question of whether it's enough. It's what is there? This isn't printed money. We're not doing what the federal government did.
10:01
Damian Dunn
Right.
10:02
Peter Dunn
So I find that a very weird question. And the answer that it's not enough is both obvious and then also makes no sense.
10:12
Damian Dunn
Right. The purpose of this payment or refund isn't to fix everything. It's simply to return some cash to the people who live in the state, and hopefully it will assist them in covering whatever expenses they deem that they need to spend it on. You can't directly compare the two situations.
10:35
Peter Dunn
All right. I try to look at perceived political issues as agnostic as possible, so I'm going to try to do that here. There is complaints from Democrats indiana that this is just an effort to buy votes, and I disagree with that particular assessment in this situation. And sometimes the Republicans on a federal level are saying that the Biden administration is doing things in order to buy votes. And sometimes I agree, and a lot of times I disagree. There a tax refund in the midst of this economy. I don't see how that's buying votes, other than the argument is fix the roads, pay teachers more, which are very valid arguments. But I also don't view this as buying votes.
11:23
Damian Dunn
No, I don't either. When it comes down to arguments like that or complaints like that, either party is liable to make them depending on if they're the party in power or not. So when we see or hear complaints like that lobbed out there, take them not with just a grain of salt, but maybe two or three.
11:45
Peter Dunn
Yeah, I think ultimately with this thing here's what I want people to do with this money literally nothing. Put it in your account because inflation is bad and you were spending so much more. Dame I was on the south side of Indianapolis last weekend at a Costco getting gas, and a guy pulled up next to me in a BMW, and he fills up his gas tank and then starts screaming at the gas pump. Profanity this is true. And then also lobbying blame at the president. He basically did, like, an audio visual I did this Joe Biden sticker, which I've already said I don't like, although I think it's funny. I think it's vandalism. But he's, like, really upset. And I'm thinking there's a huge impact on all of our budgets right now, and I think not enough people are changing their habits. It's okay sometimes to absorb price increases, as we all do our entire adult lives.
12:50
Peter Dunn
This is not the time. This is the time to cut spending because we're going to be in this inflationary environment at least for another six months. And so that is to say, if you are not cutting spending no matter your income level, you are making a giant mistake.
13:08
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I totally agree. You need to make sure you've got these things reined in so you can control at least one aspect of your financial month to month dealing. So get things under control, guys.
13:23
Peter Dunn
Is that cinnamon roll like stuck in your mouth?
13:26
Damian Dunn
Yeah, it is. I'm sorry.
13:27
Peter Dunn
Coming up after the break, dame will clear his throat and we will clear up your financial life right here on the Pete the planner show. I'm Pete the planner.
13:39
Damian Dunn
It's really hard to talk when you're not sure if cinnamon roll is going to come flying out of your mouth.
13:45
Peter Dunn
Well, thanks to Cassie for making that happen by bringing you a cinnamon roll.
13:49
Damian Dunn
It was delicious and I regret nothing.
13:51
Peter Dunn
I also note, and this is probably sharing, when she left your studio there, she brought you a cinnamon roll. How long you guys been married?
14:00
Damian Dunn
19 years.
14:01
Peter Dunn
Dropped off a cinnamon roll, said hi to me and then on her way out said, I love you.
14:06
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
14:08
Peter Dunn
Now the question is, did she say.
14:09
Damian Dunn
To me, do you not do that?
14:11
Peter Dunn
Did she say it to me or did she say to you?
14:15
Damian Dunn
I'm pretty sure I know the answer. But if you need that question floating around your head to make your day a little bit better, go right ahead.
14:22
Peter Dunn
Boy, that cinnamon roll is hanging on for dear life.
14:26
Damian Dunn
I am in trouble.
14:28
Peter Dunn
Oh, my gosh.
14:29
Damian Dunn
Do you have any trying? I'm trying.
14:34
Peter Dunn
That's gross. Okay. You know, Dame, we're actually going to go to the retirement segment now.
14:43
Damian Dunn
Okay.
14:44
Peter Dunn
Jumping ahead. There it is. Okay.
14:51
Damian Dunn
I think people are pining for the days of the solopede the planner show right now listening to me choke on cinnamon roll.
14:58
Peter Dunn
FL says cringing at the price of international flights to visit family this summer, but we are determined to go trying to cut spending in other areas and earn more through side hustles. I know we've been talking about inflation a lot the last few weeks on the show when we've been able to broadcast Dame. I think people like to complain about it and then have it affect them, but they're not willing to change their behavior to try to lessen it. I guess people don't call our line and complain about inflation, but what do you think? You think I'm wrong in my assertion that people are actually not adjusting their behavior right now?
15:41
Damian Dunn
I don't think many people are doing anything different or at least significantly different. They may be cutting back in some areas, but they may be spending it in others. I think there was an article in the Wall Street Journal last week, maybe that said spending is either the same or maybe slightly up, but people are digging into savings and just depleting savings right now to maintain their lifestyle. And that's exactly what we can't do because I don't anticipate any more major stimulus benefits coming from the government from here on out. So it's on us now. We're going to have to figure out how to make sure we're maintaining a relatively sound financial household. And if that means cutting back spending and making changes, that's what it's going to take.
16:33
Peter Dunn
It sounds like a very critical statement I'm going to make here, and it arguably is, but I don't say it judgmentally. Not a lot of people paid attention in high school economics, and that's becoming abundantly clear right now.
16:46
Damian Dunn
Well, to be fair, high school economics is really boring for a lot of people, and I don't totally blame them. But, yeah, some very fundamental econ knowledge would go a long way.
17:00
Peter Dunn
I will say there's some incredibly good news in the last couple of days with the economy is that mortgage applications are like a 22 year low, which is great. That is good. I know if you're a realtor, it's not good, or if you're a mortgage broker, it's not good. But for our economy, it's fantastic. That means that the interest rate increases are starting to take effect, which is what we want, which is to the point of this. $700 from the state of Indiana. If people take that and go spend extra, if they try to go buy goods and services with it, inflation is just going to keep going up and supply chain issues are going to keep suffering. If you sit on the money, you are actually helping the economy, believe it or not.
17:50
Damian Dunn
Yeah. One day tell you the other day that the savings rate in 2020 was 15%, which is the highest it had been in forever. Then I think last year it was 8%, and this year it's tracking even lower. You and I both saw this coming. I think everybody knew it, that it was reasonable. Everybody was cooped up and trying to figure out what was going to happen next. And once we all got released back out into the wild, we started spending money and we haven't really slowed down since, even to our own detriment in many cases. So I think it's time to say that the fun party time is over and we need to get back to a reasonable budget in our own households.
18:37
Peter Dunn
I'm going to ask you a really loaded question, and so before I do that, I want to know from you. Do you want me to ask this to you blind on the air and have it become the next segment, or do you want me to ask it to you now and have a longer interlude between segments?
18:51
Damian Dunn
How long have you known me, Pete?
18:53
Peter Dunn
All right, so let's go on the air. Okay. Are you ready?
19:00
Damian Dunn
You knew what my answer was going to be. So if you wanted to do it blind on the air, you should have just done it.
19:05
Peter Dunn
I just want you to know that you're going to be so uncomfortable because not only you don't like doing this, but because it's a slightly controversial topic.
19:17
Damian Dunn
So you're going to love how do you feel about dead air, Pete?
19:21
Peter Dunn
Okay, if you had to hit a pickleball shot back to me, I'll take it because I'm willing to answer it.
19:27
Damian Dunn
Okay.
19:28
Peter Dunn
And by the way, I'm trying to say this. Be as honest as you want to be, but don't feel like you have to over share. Okay? I'm going to share how I feel. And if you're uncomfortable sharing your true feelings, if they're different, don't share them.
19:58
Damian Dunn
Are we really doing the retirement segment?
20:00
Peter Dunn
Nope. I'm calling an audible. Okay, we're doing it third. Hey, Brian pinkens. Welcome to the show. Brittany I could preface it some more. Dame here we go. Oh, my gosh. This is where it gets good.
20:16
Damian Dunn
Welcome back, everybody.
20:18
Peter Dunn
All right. Three, two, one. Back on the Pete the Planner show. Dame, were talking inflation. We were talking about how weird the economy is right now. And I have a question for you, but before I ask that question, I have to say, when everyone was terrified in 2020, spring, summer, fall of 2020, we knew personal finance habits were going to be amazing. People were so scared and the economy was closed. You made brilliant decisions. You said it at the break. 15% was the savings rate.
20:55
Damian Dunn
Yes.
20:56
Peter Dunn
Phenomenal. We knew when stimulus payments started and were let back into the wild. Those are your words that spending was going to go crazy in 2021. And it did. Right. We called this.
21:09
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
21:10
Peter Dunn
We also knew that estimlished dollars dried up, advanced child tax credits stopped, that 2022 was going to be one of the weirdest economic personal finance years ever. And six months into this thing, do you think we have it is weird. Do you think it's weird?
21:32
Damian Dunn
Oh, yeah. Totally.
21:34
Peter Dunn
Final qualifier question before I unleash the big one on you. Okay, you ready? Do you think it's going to get weirder in September if student loan payments become due once again?
21:50
Damian Dunn
Do you want a simple yes or no? Question or answer?
21:53
Peter Dunn
No. Go ahead. We got time, baby.
21:56
Damian Dunn
I think it's a really interesting question because depending on the amount that could be forgiven would impact a lot of the individuals or determine the socioeconomic I know the socioeconomic position of a lot of the individuals and how they might go out and use that money if it became suddenly available to them in their cash flow. So I would say that spending would pick up somewhat, but I don't know if it'll pick up as much as some people fear, especially if it goes with the smaller amount.
22:36
Peter Dunn
Okay, well, I was saying, like, with student, so we're talking about two different things. You're talking about forgiveness.
22:40
Damian Dunn
Sorry.
22:40
Peter Dunn
I'm talking about payments are going to be due again on student loans. The moratorium.
22:44
Damian Dunn
Sorry. Yeah. So I was thinking you're right.
22:48
Peter Dunn
Yeah.
22:49
Damian Dunn
I think we'll see some really crazy stuff and lots of calls for student loan forgiveness because people can't manage to work their student loan payment back into their budget and defaults will just go through the roof.
23:05
Peter Dunn
Yeah. I also want to say I don't think forgiving $10,000 of student loans is actually going to impact the economy in one way or the other because these are payments that aren't being made right now for the most part, anyway. You know what I mean?
23:19
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
23:20
Peter Dunn
Okay, so here's the big question, the one I've set up for now, three minutes of radio and four minutes between segments. Do you think the stimulus payments to Americans in 2020 that President Trump gave and in 2021 that President Biden gave, do you think they were a mistake?
23:46
Damian Dunn
No, I don't.
23:49
Peter Dunn
That's your real answer?
23:53
Damian Dunn
How about not all of them? I really wish it would have been more nuanced because you and I both know that was the only thing standing between keeping the head above water in some cases and just absolute ruin for individuals. I think there was some great work that was done trying to salvage businesses, small businesses particularly, but to be fair, there wasn't enough time for a well devised and thought out plan on how to really needs test a lot of this stuff and really target where those payments were going. So they did what they thought they could do, just carpet bomb the country with money. And now we are seeing the after effects of it.
24:40
Peter Dunn
Okay. So by the way, I think we mostly agree here. All right. And I also want to say we're not trying to be cynical, we're not trying to go it's obvious because I think sometimes with these problems, these big decisions that we ask our leaders to make, our government leaders, they're really hard decisions. It is a rock and a hard place, and when we're so divided, you just get on the other side of it, like, come on, it's obvious, like, no, this is hard. They either don't do it or they do it, and either one's a hard decision and they have to ride with it. So I'll say the first round of direct stimulus payments in April of 2020 I think was the right decision. Do you agree with that?
25:20
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
25:21
Peter Dunn
Okay. Then we get into the other rounds. Didn't the other rounds start, like, in December of 2020?
25:30
Damian Dunn
Seems right.
25:32
Peter Dunn
That one I don't think we should have done, but I understand why we did. Do you remember that one?
25:42
Damian Dunn
I'm trying to remember what each of the three rounds was because then you've got the child tax credit in there as well. I think every round of stimulus beyond the first one becomes more questionable and reasonably so.
26:01
Peter Dunn
Okay, I agree with you to a point here. I think the first round of stimulus made a lot of sense, and you could argue it led to some inflation. I will say the next round of stimulus, the next round of direct payments, I think was a mistake and we should not have done it. And I think it really has led to stoked consumer demand and an overheated economy. Now, here's the weirdest part for me, buddy. I am fully in support of the advanced child tax credit, but I think it had the biggest impact on inflation. I think it makes a lot of sense, but coming on the heels of those other two stimulus payments, I think maybe even three, because I feel like once Biden got in or something, there was like another one that popped through right at the beginning. I don't even remember there's people just getting sent money.
26:52
Peter Dunn
I love the advanced child tax credit, but I think it ended up making.
26:56
Damian Dunn
The economy overheat because the periodic nature of the payment where you could get some every month, is that what you're leaning on?
27:05
Peter Dunn
Yeah, exactly right. So you get trained to say on the 15th of the month, here comes some money, and then people, because it's an abundance and because there's not student loan payments and people have money to spend and so that they're blowing through it. And you can actually see consumer debt increase and you can see savings rates decrease on the back end of 2021 into 2022. And so not only are people spending what's getting sent their way because inflation is starting to take hold, they're spending even more. It's almost like The Pied Piper. It sort of like pulled people along in a really weird way. So I don't know, it's like I'm for the child tax credit, but I think it really led to a lot of this inflation.
27:57
Damian Dunn
It's going to be really hard to argue against you on that because anytime you get consistent additional money into your budget, yeah, the temptation to spend it is huge. Even if you don't have a glaring need. Now you've got this feeling of empowerment and ability to go out and use that money for whatever the heck you want, even though maybe you shouldn't. So I think you may be on to something. Pete, as much as it pains me to say that, I think you might be right.
28:27
Peter Dunn
Here's why I bring it up. Because the only thing that is going to solve this impending recession, the only thing is for people to stop spending money so aggressively. That's it. We don't realize that our personal economy often conflicts with the broader economy. We were forced to shut down our spending in the spring of 2020 because were terrified. The same thing is on the horizon. It's just sneaking up on us. And whoever reacts now and says, I'm going to change my habits is going to be fine, it's the people that say I am so glad the economy is back. I'm so glad I don't have to wear a mask. I think it's the people that are going to just say, I will not be held back by this inflation, that the people are going to get screwed. And by the way, masks really have nothing to do with it other than it feels like normal again.
29:24
Damian Dunn
Yeah. There's a lot of emotional territory that needs to be covered during this time period. And then lumping finances on top of it just conflates everything and makes everything that much more dangerous.
29:41
Peter Dunn
Coming up after the break, more danger here on The Pete the Planner Show.
29:47
Damian Dunn
I knew it was coming.
29:48
Peter Dunn
He just wanted to leave me 6 seconds. Yes, that's fair. That's fair. That's 100% fair. All right, Ollie is let's see. Do you have any videos of me dancing in front of the live oh, that sounds like a really weird text. Okay, so my daughter's at national, and there's live stream cameras that you can buy access to because they're not going to put everyone in a ballroom in Orlando. So there's all these different cameras. I bought access to this. So I'm watching the January 6 hearings last night one thing, and I'm watching the girls gymnastics over the Internet on another thing, and at one point, Ollie is waving to the camera and then dancing. And I'm, like, texting my wife, and I'm like, she's nuts. And then she asked me if I recorded her dancing live on camera, and then that's where it got weird.
30:50
Peter Dunn
Do you want to do a FaceTime with her live here on the air? Do you think it's a good idea?
30:57
Damian Dunn
That's your call. I'm sure she loves being on camera, so I think this would go great.
31:03
Peter Dunn
I think we're going to do this. Okay. I'm going to regret this.
31:06
Damian Dunn
She's going to say something, probably.
31:07
Peter Dunn
Here we go. She won't be able to hear you, though.
31:13
Damian Dunn
That's okay.
31:15
Peter Dunn
Hey, I'm live on the radio right now. How are you? Well, no, wait. Here's the thing. You're not on camera. Okay. We're just talking about your gymnastics meet on the radio.
31:28
Damian Dunn
You were?
31:29
Peter Dunn
Yeah. Dame. Can you hear her?
31:31
Damian Dunn
Yeah, I can hear.
31:32
Peter Dunn
Okay. We're talking about how good you did.
31:35
Damian Dunn
Oh, thank you.
31:37
Peter Dunn
You want to say hi to everybody? Don't show me. I won't.
31:40
Damian Dunn
I'll say hi.
31:41
Peter Dunn
Okay. Say hi. Hi. Okay. Have a fun day. Thank you. Wait.
31:46
Damian Dunn
What? Any videos of me dancing?
31:48
Peter Dunn
I don't have any videos of you dancing live streamed on the Internet. No. That's weird. Sorry, I need it. Okay, bye. All right. Could you hear her? Okay.
32:00
Damian Dunn
What does she need those videos for?
32:03
Peter Dunn
I didn't want to ask. All right. Retirement segment.
32:11
Damian Dunn
Yeah, folks, little behind the scenes information here. We had planned to do this next segment stretched out over three entire segments. So we're going to cram everything that was going to take originally, like, 25, 27 minutes. Into nine. So enjoy for the ride you're about to go on.
32:34
Peter Dunn
I enjoyed the other two segments, that stimulus conversation, as long as you don't politicize it. Right. Or during having that discussion. It's really interesting because you can say this hurt us, but it was the right thing to do. And I think ultimately, that's where I land with a lot of the stimulus, is like, it put us in the situation we're in now, but how much worse would it have been then? It would have been catastrophic.
33:05
Damian Dunn
Yeah. I don't even want to think about what it would have been for some families that desperately needed the help and couldn't have gotten it. It's really tough to think about what might have been had the powers that be chosen a different route.
33:26
Peter Dunn
And I think it's interesting. So you and I have a bit of a financial background, so I feel like everyone's entitled to their opinion about this topic and I enjoy talking about this with you. There's a topic that I won't really talk about too much publicly because I don't have any expertise on it and it's a lot more nuanced and I'm going to bring it up and then we're not going to talk about it. It's should we have shut everything down?
33:50
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
33:50
Peter Dunn
Right. That's one that will be debated for years. And then you get into, well, a million people died with a shutdown. What would have happened without a shutdown? I mean, you have to assume the same million, and I'm saying this with respect, I'm sorry for everyone who's lost. Do the same million people still die with a lockdown? Right. Or without a lockdown? Then the question becomes, well, is it twice that or is it 1.1 that? What is it? Is that worth the shutdown? This is why we're not talking about this, but interesting debate.
34:29
Damian Dunn
Totally. There's so many variables that you could throw into this discussion that are super interesting. Should we have shut? If you look at all the money that was spent in the different stimulus packages, could the government have just afford to shut everything down for three weeks, four weeks except for groceries and some transportation to get the things we desperately need to the places where we can go pick them up and buy them? I don't know.
35:00
Peter Dunn
Felt like we kind of did that, kind of but I did that.
35:08
Damian Dunn
Yeah, but I think there was varying levels of adherence to a lot of those rules that were in place across the country. Some places looked kind of the other way if you were out and about, and others were pretty darn strict on it. So I don't know, I just wonder how differently things could have been turned out if things were handled a little differently.
35:34
Peter Dunn
Yeah. It's funny because what you end up discussing, but I love this conversation, it's just so hard to have because it's politicized so quickly and it's not meant to be. Maybe you save the economy, but is that worth all the additional lives that theoretically would have been lost? Because you never can answer that. I can't go. Oh, well, naturally, it's not one X loss. It's 1.7 X loss. But no one will ever know the answer to this other than the next time we go through something like this, will we find ourselves in the exact same situation? Something tells me if we ever go through this again, and I dare I say when we go through this again, I don't think we will ever shut down again.
36:23
Damian Dunn
It'll be really tough to get the public to buy into it. And that's why I've already started a savings account for an island in the Caribbean, so I can just take a boat out there and camp.
36:33
Peter Dunn
You better have a hat, too, because you are bald, man. Many hats. You ready to talk about this segment that you spent this week working on?
36:45
Damian Dunn
Yeah.
36:46
Peter Dunn
Fantastic. In three, two, one. Back on the Pete the Planner show. Dame, interesting report came out this week from Merrill Lynch.
36:56
Damian Dunn
They put it JP.
36:57
Peter Dunn
Morgan. Sure. What am I going to do? Chase around the source? Thank you. So it was pretty interesting. It was sort of like the state of retirement or something like that. And one of the concepts within this was really well done. Kudos. As a content creator, I happen to think I do a pretty good job of making things easy to understand. I think what's strange sometimes is some of the largest financial institutions in the world do a horrible job of making things easily digestible. But this one's great. So the concept here is knowing what you can control in retirement and what you cannot as you try to achieve your goals. And they did a really good job. So let's walk us through, my man.
37:44
Damian Dunn
Yeah. So just as Pete said, there are any number of things that you can't or maybe have some control over in retirement. We've got a list of six to cover in that. And there are add your own it's your own story. You can figure it out. If you have questions about it, send us an email at ask Pete. Anyway, where do you want to start, Pete? Some control. All control or no control?
38:09
Peter Dunn
No control.
38:11
Damian Dunn
No control. All right. Market returns. Pete, we have seen very recently that you cannot control the market unless you are Elon Musk. I think you can control the market in that way, but no, you can't control if you're invested in the markets. You can control how your money is invested, but you can't control the markets themselves. Anything that you try to do to convince yourself otherwise is a fool's errand. Pete, how do you feel about market returns?
38:38
Peter Dunn
How do I feel about them?
38:40
Damian Dunn
Or do I feel about, within this context, can you control market?
38:45
Peter Dunn
And I think what the weird thing is, this is where people get themselves into a lot of trouble because they think by just changing their portfolio, they can control market returns. So it's the admission that you just can't, that you are better off choosing something balanced and smart and leaving it alone, as opposed to over petting the puppy. I am fully in support of the assertion that you cannot control market returns. No matter how much you think you can outsmart the market.
39:19
Damian Dunn
We will get to something you can control in that area. In another segment well, another segment of this discussion, something else we can't control policy, tax policy, stimulus payments. There's all sorts of things that we have no control over, and we just have to be okay with it.
39:38
Peter Dunn
Can I throw a slight wrench into that? I agree with you, but I think when you look at this is weird. I can't believe I'm going here. I don't really often talk about the billionaire class. I don't really get upset about billionaires. But I will note what they often try to do is control policy and lobbying and whatnot to affect that area of their financial life. But for the common man or woman, no, you can't do anything about that other than learn how to move with the tax code, the right deductions, the right loopholes.
40:13
Damian Dunn
And whatnot I think that was the smallest, most insignificant wrench you could have thrown into that point, Pete.
40:19
Peter Dunn
It was a small wrench.
40:22
Damian Dunn
1% of people that would apply to.
40:25
Peter Dunn
It was the sort of the wrench they give you at Ikea to put together a nine box piece of furniture. It's the smallest wrench in the yes. Yes.
40:33
Damian Dunn
All right. What you have some control over employment duration. How long are you going to work, Pete? You think we see things going sideways and economy is a little tough, markets are down. Hopefully you can continue working that can solve or at least help patch up a lot of issues that you may be facing when you're staring at retirement or even if you are in retirement. Right, Pete?
40:58
Peter Dunn
Yeah. You know what's interesting on this one so again, the list is what you can't control, what you have some control over, and what you can control. I think this one's where people mess up the most. I feel like the most unforced errors come in this category, and here's why people don't account for that. They only have some control over their employment duration. That's the mistake. Yeah, you have some control, but you don't have all the control. So you'll say, well, my plan is to keep working. That's not always up to you. And I think that's where the challenge happens. And I also have to note here, too, that sometimes people retire too soon, and so they punt on their ability to control their destiny by working longer.
41:48
Damian Dunn
Yeah, we've seen a number of articles in the last couple of months about people returning to the workforce after retiring in 2020 or 2021. But yeah, employment duration, you only have some control over it. It's weird to think about, but yeah, that's true. Employment earnings, very similar. How much you make during that time period that you are employed, only some control over that. Does that surprise you, Pete?
42:14
Peter Dunn
No. But I would note that what's missing that should be on this line as well is cost of goods and services. You can sometimes control what you earn and then you can sometimes control what you have to spend money on in these inflationary times. This is a perfect example of, like, sure, your wages might be going up 5% this year instead of 3%, but the cost of goods and services are going up 10%. So you have some control.
42:45
Damian Dunn
Correct.
42:46
Peter Dunn
What can we control?
42:47
Damian Dunn
Can we control asset allocation and location? So this ties back into the ones where we can't control when most people think market returns. Well, these are the things that you can do. You can have a well allocated and located portfolio. What's location? You're probably asking yourself, does it mean I've got it in a safe in my closet? No, what I mean by asset location is that you have a tax efficient portfolio structure. So things that have lower turnover, fewer capital gains or dividends, those are placed in taxable accounts because they're not going to have that drag on your taxes. Other things that bonds and high dividend stocks, maybe those are in tax deferred accounts. So that's what we mean by tax location.
43:35
Peter Dunn
I spoke at a women's conference this week, and a person asked me at that conference, by the way, why am I speaking at women's conference? I don't know, but I was glad to do it, but I don't know anyway. And the person asked me, well, how do you stay from getting upset when the market does poorly? Which I think is a really interesting and honest question. And I'll note I think it's just knowledge of how it's just knowledge. It's knowledge of how the market works. I can tell you what's going on right now with the market. I don't care at all. I'm not upset at all. I didn't think, oh, I have to work longer. I didn't think that once where the last big dump? 2007, 2008, or 2009, whatever, I was a little bit cared a little bit more. But now I don't care at all because I think it's just experience and knowledge that relates to that.
44:21
Peter Dunn
So I'm going too long because I know you've got one other thing to hit that I'm going to completely disagree with. What else can you control?
44:28
Damian Dunn
Yeah, but I'm going to go back and talk about what you just talked about for a minute, because I think part of your ability to get through times like this is you haven't picked out a date that you want to retire, and you don't have very firm, fixed goals that are super date dependent other than when your kids go to college. Those are probably the two things that are most time sensitive. So if the market goes down and it means that in the long run you end up working for a year or two extra, in your mind, it's okay because you hadn't planned on retiring when you were 50 anyway. You've got the flexibility already built into your perspective that times like these matter less and less. Now, as you get closer to that date when you think you might retire that allocation, start digging in.
45:12
Peter Dunn
But if you're knowledgeable and you're close to retirement date, then your asset allocation is different anyway, right? It should be, yeah. Worst case scenario, I've got 23 years until I retire. Worst case scenario. And so when I don't get upset about the market, it's through that lens. It's to say, I'm fine. I mean, I think I'm going to retire before that, but I don't know. Maybe we're making the same point. We have one less than a minute left. What's the last thing that JP. Morgan says you can control?
45:50
Damian Dunn
Savings versus investing versus debt reduction versus spending. And I threw an extra one of those categories in there. Debt reduction was the one that I.
46:02
Peter Dunn
Think this putting spending in there is a mistake. I think you have some control over spending. I think sometimes when you don't make a lot of money, you don't have a lot of choice. That's the living wage issue.
46:14
Damian Dunn
Sure.
46:15
Peter Dunn
Other than that, well done, JP. Morgan.
46:19
Damian Dunn
Yeah. I even came up with a really snappy little graphic. Nice job.
46:22
Peter Dunn
Oh, it looks good on the radio. Coming up after the break, biggest waste of money of the week and the news. I'm Pete the planner. Since Mrs. Planner is gone for four days this week and it's just Tito and I, within 24 hours, I realized how many thousands of small, otherwise unnoticeable things that Mrs. Planner happens to take care of at her house, that when they aren't taken care of, the whole thing falls apart. Everything's fine. But it's just like, it took 24 hours. I was like, I know she does those things, but then when they're not happening, it's like, oh, my gosh, we're falling apart at the seams.
47:18
Damian Dunn
But.
47:18
Peter Dunn
Then I texted her. I was like, acknowledged that and thanked her. But now I've got to probably start doing many of those things.
47:31
Damian Dunn
Yeah, sorry about that.
47:33
Peter Dunn
Yeah. But no, it's visceral.
47:36
Damian Dunn
No. Yeah, it makes a big difference. And I'm glad you said you acknowledged it, thanked her, hopefully told her that you left her.
47:45
Peter Dunn
Do you ever think you want to say one of those sorts? I mean, it I want to say it in a nice, genuine, appreciative way, but I'm always terrified of when I say things that they'll backfire and that it'll come out like I'll come out worse for having acknowledged it.
48:01
Damian Dunn
Oh, so you're just noticing after 20.
48:04
Peter Dunn
Why do you use that voice. Why are you using that voice, Dame? That's offensive.
48:08
Damian Dunn
Sorry.
48:09
Peter Dunn
Okay, let's go to the biggest waste of money of the week. All right. Okay, here we go. In three, two, one. This week's biggest waste of money of the week, right here on the Pete the Planner show is the Coleman One source travel vacuum. It's hard to keep a campsite free of dust, dirt, and leaves, but not impossible. The Coleman One Source travel vacuum can tidy up tents when the great outdoors gets in. Compact and lightweight, the cordless vacuum is easy to pack, and its bagless design with a reusable dust bowl and filter, provides convenient cleanup. Its rechargeable lithiumion battery has a 40 minutes runtime and works with the Coleman's One Source interchangeable battery system. Dame, how much do you think a camping vacuum costs?
49:09
Damian Dunn
Too much. There's zero point for this. Just for the sake of the game, I will say 79, 99.
49:20
Peter Dunn
It's $90. But your point is? My point there's no reason for a camping vac. You're camping.
49:32
Damian Dunn
Complete waste. This might be the biggest waste of money that you've ever put out there.
49:37
Peter Dunn
I agree. When I saw this, I was like, okay, who cares? And let's say you're gone for a week. How do you charge it? 40 minutes runtime.
49:53
Damian Dunn
How much of an area are you cleaning? It sounds like they want you to use it for a tent. How big is your tent that you can't just run it for five minutes and get everything you need?
50:03
Peter Dunn
I just don't understand. Okay, so I don't do a lot of camping. Probably need to get that out there. How much debris that can get sucked up by this thing? That looks like a hand drill. It looks like a very small makita drill.
50:18
Damian Dunn
When they threw leaves into that copy, I thought, it's not sucking up a leaf.
50:22
Peter Dunn
That can't suck up a leaf.
50:25
Damian Dunn
There's no way.
50:26
Peter Dunn
The dumbest use of money. Coleman, I think you're a great company. This is a solution to a problem that no one wants solved.
50:39
Damian Dunn
They're not making it. They're just slapping their name on somebody else's product and saying that it's their no, it's the truth.
50:46
Peter Dunn
What's in the news this week?
50:48
Damian Dunn
Every year, the not real wedings study reveals the average wedding cost and more official data per state about, can I guess? Thousand couples. Yeah, hold on.
50:57
Peter Dunn
I'm getting there.
50:58
Damian Dunn
15,000 couples across the country who married between January 1 and December 31 of 2021 participated in the study. While in 2020 we saw a major impact of COVID on weddings, 2021 was a different story. Weddings are indeed back. Get excited, Pete.
51:14
Peter Dunn
Okay.
51:16
Damian Dunn
Based on the respondents answers involving spend on ceremony and reception, the 2021 national average cost of a wedding is.
51:27
Peter Dunn
I'm nervous. I knew it was coming and I knew it was going to be time to guess, but I'm going to. Danza says 80,000. I think that's way too much. I feel like my guess is too much.
51:44
Damian Dunn
Okay.
51:45
Peter Dunn
I'm going 18,000. I was going to say 23 and then I changed my mind.
51:55
Damian Dunn
But if you want to include the cost of the engagement ring, $34,000.
52:01
Peter Dunn
So the average engagement ring is $6,000.
52:04
Damian Dunn
You're good at math, Pete.
52:06
Peter Dunn
That was a flex on a Friday.
52:12
Damian Dunn
For comparison, the average cost of a wedding in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, $19,000.
52:19
Peter Dunn
1St off. I thought it was going to be 1999 because that's one month subscription to Zoom.
52:26
Damian Dunn
Zoom?
52:26
Peter Dunn
Yeah. Wait, $19,000. Who's spending $19,000 during the pandemic on a wedding?
52:32
Damian Dunn
People? I don't know.
52:34
Peter Dunn
I got to be honest. I have no idea what our wedding costs. Not you and I, we haven't been married yet, but Mrs. Planner and It was in the year 2000. I have no earthly clue, but I.
52:48
Damian Dunn
Know how much mine cost.
52:49
Peter Dunn
Are you sharing that publicly?
52:51
Damian Dunn
Yeah. Do you want me to tell you?
52:53
Peter Dunn
Yeah, I want to guess. Can I ask a couple of questions?
52:56
Damian Dunn
Sure.
52:57
Peter Dunn
How many people?
52:59
Damian Dunn
Good question.
53:00
Peter Dunn
Yeah, you kind of got to know.
53:03
Damian Dunn
Let's say there were between probably around 250 people.
53:11
Peter Dunn
You know, 250 people?
53:12
Damian Dunn
No, my wife's family knows.
53:14
Peter Dunn
Okay, that's what I was thinking. I think your wedding cost $10,000.
53:20
Damian Dunn
We did it for five. Wow.
53:22
Peter Dunn
Was there food or did you just have Mickey Mouse show up?
53:26
Damian Dunn
Food, cake, had a DJ, had everything.
53:31
Peter Dunn
What was the food?
53:34
Damian Dunn
A lot of finger food stuff.
53:36
Peter Dunn
Okay. What else is in the news?
53:41
Damian Dunn
According to a survey of 5000 employees conducted by consulting firm Grant Thornton, 21% of American workers took a new gig in the last year. But 40% of that group is actively looking for another job, compared to 29% of all full time employees, revealing some significant buyers remorse among job jumpers.
54:00
Peter Dunn
Okay, so what we've got is we got 21% because we're going to do some math on the radio here. Let's say there's 100 people surveyed. 21 people got a new job. Okay.
54:10
Damian Dunn
Yes.
54:11
Peter Dunn
And then eight of those people, eight and a half, got another job.
54:19
Damian Dunn
They're actively looking for another job.
54:21
Peter Dunn
Actively looking for another job. So you see some regret.
54:24
Damian Dunn
Yeah, a lot of it. That's compared to just 29% of all full time employees.
54:34
Peter Dunn
Okay, got you.
54:35
Damian Dunn
So people who have shot Got, it always greener.
54:41
Peter Dunn
Yeah. You got to think, at any given time, a quarter of people have their ears and eyes peeled for other opportunities, right?
54:50
Damian Dunn
Oh, yeah. Sites like LinkedIn and it just makes it too easy anymore.
54:57
Peter Dunn
What else is the news?
55:00
Damian Dunn
Shrinkflation. Peter, are you familiar with shrink?
55:04
Peter Dunn
I because I read an article on it this week that I was hoping you'd bring to the show.
55:09
Damian Dunn
Okay. Shrinkflation. The phenomenon of companies shrinking the size of their products while keeping prices the same or even increasing them is on the rise worldwide. Items like toilet paper, gatorade, even serving sizes at restaurants are losing mass in waves due to inflation. For instance, Gatorade ditched the 32 ounce bottles for 28 ounce bottles. Kleenex shrunk the number of tissues in a small box from 65 to 60. Folgers downside from 51oz to 43 and a half ounce containers. The bet behind Shrinkflation is that consumers will prefer a slightly shrunken product over a slightly ambiguoned tab, or they won't notice altogether. So while the practice is a time tested method of dealing with the wholesale price shifts, the recent rapid, widespread increase in the cost of raw materials, shipping, and food has caused a tidal wave of shrinkflation to hit the shelves.
56:01
Peter Dunn
I'm going to lob a bomb here. I have on no authority other than own personal experience that Reese's cups have gotten markedly smaller over the last ten to 15 years.
56:18
Damian Dunn
Really?
56:19
Peter Dunn
I don't know whether that's true. Maybe as I've grown as an adult, I'm getting bigger, and it's staying the same size. But I'm pretty convinced. When you're a kid, I just feel like the Reese's cup had more surface area, and now it feels shrunk down. Do you consume a lot of Reese's cups?
56:38
Damian Dunn
No, we love the Reese's eggs around Easter. Everyone does. But I don't usually eat a lot of full size Reese's cups outside of the Easter egg season.
56:53
Peter Dunn
Is there anything else that you notice from a consumer standpoint that you've seen shrink that you've actually really noticed?
57:00
Damian Dunn
Nothing that I can put my finger on, but I will say that I have thought in the back of my mind that things seem smaller.
57:08
Peter Dunn
Recently, I noticed that bacon used to sell by the pound, but bacon always sells at 12oz now.
57:16
Damian Dunn
12Oz always.
57:18
Peter Dunn
And so that's shrink fllation.
57:20
Damian Dunn
Sure. Yeah. But it's delicious.
57:23
Peter Dunn
It's delicious. Dame I don't know if there'll be a show next week, because we could either record it early, or I could do it in my hotel room in Salt Lake City. I read an article this week that Salt Lake is evaporating, and there's arsenic in the air, so I may not even make it back. And I'm going to be with and he'll be fine because he's hydrated.
57:42
Damian Dunn
That's right. Yeah, he's great.
57:44
Peter Dunn
He's tall, too, so, I mean, that arsenic is going right down his pipes. All right. Dame good to be back with Was. This was a thing, so I'm really glad we did it. Everybody else, good vibes, because good vibes are all that's in the budget. I'm Pete the Planner, and this is the Pete the Planner show. You got to get a Greg reference in there because he listens to the podcast, and so he gets really excited when okay, let me tell you about this, though. You like a Philly cheesesteak. Dame okay. No judgment here on you. What are you putting on? A Philly cheesesteak. What is on it for you?
58:26
Damian Dunn
Beef, peppers, onions, provolone. Just the basic cheesesteak I love.
58:35
Peter Dunn
All right. I think mayo is acceptable. I think lettuce and tomato, maybe. Sure. Aqua greg puts mustard on his Philly cheesesteak, and I think that's just I mean, look, there's a lot of problems in this world, but that's near the top of the list.
58:51
Damian Dunn
Did he go to Philly one time and have some whiz and think it was mustard and just that's what he's going with now?
58:57
Peter Dunn
That's an interesting question. I'm going to have to ask him. But I know everyone's different, but that seems like a character flaw.
59:08
Damian Dunn
I think it ceases to be a Philly cheesesteak if you put mustard on it.
59:13
Peter Dunn
I don't know. I'm going to there's a place that we ordered cheesesteak from, which is why I probably am so unhealthy. I'm going to get mustard next time just so I can try it and see what happens. But it seems so just regular yellow mustard.
59:29
Damian Dunn
Does he go fancy?
59:31
Peter Dunn
No. Oh, that's a good question. I would assume just regular. I don't know. Anyway, Dame, anything else you want to offer us right now? I have to shoot a video on the teleprompter today, so I got know.
59:45
Damian Dunn
I will note that our friend of the show, Lisa, has family in Philly, and she absolutely states unequivocally that you do not put mayo or mustard on cheesesteaks.
01:00:00
Peter Dunn
That came through the slack.
01:00:01
Damian Dunn
Yeah, to me directly. Not to you.
01:00:04
Peter Dunn
All right. Yeah. I mean, what's the cuisine like in Salt Lake City? Have you been to Salt Lake City?
01:00:10
Damian Dunn
Never been.
01:00:11
Peter Dunn
I haven't either. I don't know what to expect.
01:00:16
Damian Dunn
Probably not much caffeine.
01:00:18
Peter Dunn
Not a lot of booze.
01:00:20
Damian Dunn
Not a lot of booze.
01:00:21
Peter Dunn
I don't want to be, like, give stereotypes, but I feel like I've heard there's not a lot of booze and there's not a lot of caffeine, but I don't know. Do they have, like, a local, like, indiana? Pork tenderloin sandwich is the jam.
01:00:33
Damian Dunn
There's got to be something. You'll find a way to make this a culinary delight. I just know you will.
01:00:41
Peter Dunn
Well, we'll see what happens. I feel like there's going to be like a thousand.
01:00:50
Damian Dunn
Maybe there are worse things, frankly. I mean, I'd go to Chick fil A. That was my only option multiple times a day.
01:00:58
Peter Dunn
Dama since the ladies are out of town tonight, I thought it'd be cool dad. So I'm taking Ted and one of his buddies to play laser tag tonight and then play video games at the laser tag place. And what occurred to me is that they'll be doing that, but there's not the parent that takes them. I'll just be a guy scrolling through my phone. I'm not playing laser tag with them.
01:01:20
Damian Dunn
You absolutely have to.
01:01:22
Peter Dunn
You think so?
01:01:24
Damian Dunn
Yes. You just said you want to try and be the cool dad. So you're going to go and just sit no. You scrap on a vest and pick up a rifle and go shoot those kids with a laser.
01:01:34
Peter Dunn
Oh, boy. I don't know if it's my jam. I don't want to spend $20 with a laser.
01:01:41
Damian Dunn
Let's say they just shoot you. They're going to love it.
01:01:46
Peter Dunn
Anyway, I'll be scrolling on my cool dad. I have my limits. Goodbye, everyone. Stay getting money. Bye.
