How Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill Could Affect Your Wallet

Speaker 1 I live in LA now, but lately I have been craving the seasons. Snow, hot cocoa, the whole thing.

Speaker 1 I don't even ski, but I have been daydreaming about working remotely from somewhere really cozy on the East Coast, like a cute little ski town for a little bit.

Speaker 1 And whenever I know I'm going to be gone for a while, I always remind myself that my home can actually be working for me while I'm away because I host my space on Airbnb.

Speaker 1 It is one of the easiest ways to earn passive income from something you already have, and that extra income feels particularly helpful this time of year as we approach the holidays. holidays.

Speaker 1 A lot of my friends say that sounds amazing, but where do you find the time to manage guests and bookings? And that's when I tell them about Airbnb's co-host network.

Speaker 1 Through Airbnb, you can find a local co-host who can help you set up your listing, handle reservations, communicate with guests, provide on-site support, even help with design and styling.

Speaker 1 I like to give a personal touch when I'm hosting on Airbnb. So I make a list of my favorite restaurants in the area and I hand write a note welcoming my guests to the property.

Speaker 1 My guests love it, but I also know that some of those little personal touches can take a lot of extra time. So this is the exact kind of thing that you would want your co-host to help you with.

Speaker 1 Whether you're traveling for work or chasing the snow or escaping it, or you've got a second place that just sits there empty more often than you'd like, your home doesn't have to just sit there.

Speaker 1 You can make extra money from it without taking on extra work. Find a co-host at airbnb.com slash host.

Speaker 2 Here's one piece of advice that I've given for years. Build an emergency fund.
Aim to stash away enough to cover at least three months of expenses in case your income suddenly drops.

Speaker 2 Sounds simple, right? But let's be honest, it's not. Saving even one month's worth of living costs can feel impossible.

Speaker 2 Just when you're making progress, that check engine light blinks on and derails your plans. Life already throws enough curveballs.
You don't need your bank adding to the chaos.

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Speaker 2 Work on your financial goals through QIIME today. Open an account in just two minutes at chime.com/slash MNN.
That's chime.com/slash MNN. Chime feels like progress.

Speaker 3 Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank Bank NA or Stripe Bank NA.
Members of DIC.

Speaker 3 Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file.

Speaker 3 Fees apply at out-of-network ATMs, bank ranking, and number of ATMs, according to US News and World Report 2023. Chime, checking account required.

Speaker 2 Here's one piece of advice that I've given for years: build an emergency fund. Aim to stash away enough to cover at least three months of expenses in case your income suddenly drops.

Speaker 2 Sounds simple, right? But let's be honest, it's not. Saving even one month's worth of living costs can feel impossible.

Speaker 2 Just when you're making progress, that check engine light blinks on and derails your plans. Life already throws enough curveballs.
You don't need your bank adding to the chaos.

Speaker 2 That's why it's so important to choose one that makes savings easy and doesn't nibble away at your hard-earned money with ridiculous fees. QIIME understands that every dollar counts.

Speaker 2 That's why when you set up direct deposit through QIIME, you get access to fee-free features like free overdraft coverage, getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit, and more.

Speaker 2 With qualifying direct deposits, you're eligible for free overdraft up to $200 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. To date, CHIME has spotted members over $30 billion.

Speaker 2 Work on your financial goals through QIIME today. Open an account in just two minutes at chime.com/slash MNN.
That's chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress.

Speaker 3 Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bankor Bank NA or Stripe Bank NA.

Speaker 3 Members, FDIC, spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Timing depends on submission of payment file.

Speaker 3 Fees apply at out-of-network ATMs, bank ranking, and number of ATMs according to US News and World Report 2023. Chime checking account required.

Speaker 4 I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand.

Speaker 1 It's time for some money rehab.

Speaker 1 Elon Musk basically says the bill sucks. And while that's not usually how I open a budget breakdown, it is a pretty good place to start because honestly, he is not alone in his findings.

Speaker 1 Today we are talking about the Big Beautiful Bill. At least that's what Trump is calling it.
And it's not just a name, it's a strategy.

Speaker 1 This bill is massive, over a thousand pages, and it's trying to do everything at once. Cut taxes, cut spending, reshape benefits, and supposedly reduce the debt.

Speaker 1 Spoiler alert, it does not, but we will get there.

Speaker 1 The House passed the bill on May 22nd by a single vote, 215 to 214. It now heads to the Senate, with the Trump administration hoping to get it on the president's desk by July 4th.

Speaker 1 That's a very patriotic deadline, but it's also a pretty tight one. Originally, I thought this would be one episode, and then I realized that is adorable.

Speaker 1 This bill is actually like a financial nesting doll. Every time you open one piece, there's another policy inside that deserves its own deep dive.

Speaker 1 So today, I'm just going to give you a big picture primer of the Big Beautiful bill, what's inside the bill, who it helps, who it hurts, and whether or not it has any shot of actually becoming law.

Speaker 1 Let's start with the number that is haunting everyone in Washington, the national debt.

Speaker 1 The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill will add $3 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. That's right, add.
And interest payments on the debt expected to hit $13.8 trillion.

Speaker 1 The White House says, no, no, no, it is actually going to save $1.6 trillion. Some Republicans say it will actually add $20 trillion.

Speaker 1 But here's the thing, both Republicans and Democrats are citing the CBO numbers, and that almost never happens. happens, so I'm inclined to trust them.
Here's why this matters.

Speaker 1 Rising debt isn't just a theoretical problem. It means the government spends more on interest payments and less on things that actually help people.
Schools, roads, healthcare.

Speaker 1 It makes borrowing much more expensive, which affects everything from mortgages to student loans, and it weakens global confidence in the U.S. economy.
Ray Dalio put it very bluntly on our show.

Speaker 1 If we don't get the debt under control, we risk more than just inflation. We risk collapse of confidence in the dollar itself.

Speaker 1 And that's when you stop talking about recessions and start worrying about depressions. He's not being dramatic, although this is dramatic.
He has seen a pattern globally.

Speaker 1 When countries owe more money than they can pay and they don't have a clear plan, they resort to printing money. And that has a very short runway.

Speaker 1 So here's what's actually in the bill on the spending side. The biggest cuts come from Medicaid and Snap, those are food stamps, to the tune of 1.1 trillion.

Speaker 1 Medicaid enrollment would happen every six months instead of annually, and people without kids or disabilities would have to work 80 hours a month to qualify.

Speaker 1 The idea is fewer people get benefits, so there's less spending, but it also means millions could get kicked off programs that they rely on.

Speaker 1 There are also cuts to housing and education, including reductions to school funding and affordable housing subsidies. That's how this bill saves money by giving fewer people access to services.

Speaker 1 On the tax side, the bill extends and expands President Trump's 2017 tax cuts.

Speaker 1 And that includes no federal tax on tips and overtime pay from 2026 to 2028, no tax on Social Security benefits, a $2,500 child tax credit through 2028 for families with Social Security numbers, interest on U.S.-made car loans become tax-deductible, and the standard deduction goes up through 2028.

Speaker 1 These all sound great, and to be honest, many are. But together, they massively reduce government revenue.

Speaker 1 And remember, you can't just cut taxes and also claim to reduce debt unless you've got a replacement income stream. This bill does not.

Speaker 1 One new addition that's catching a lot of headlines is the Trump account, also known as the baby savings account.

Speaker 1 Every American baby born between January 1st, 2025 and January 1st, 2029 would get a $1,000 federal deposit into a tax-advantaged investment account. My baby missed this by about 10 days.

Speaker 1 Anyway, families can contribute up to $5,000 a year for this account. The account grows in a government-managed stock index fund.

Speaker 1 At 18, the kid can use 50% for qualified expenses like college or starting a business. At 25, they can use the rest for the same purposes.
By 30, the money is fully accessible for anything.

Speaker 1 It's being pitched as a way to build generational wealth and encourage saving early, but critics say it benefits families who already have money to contribute and doesn't go far enough to close wealth gaps.

Speaker 1 Also in the bill, $50 billion in new spending for border protection. That's one of the few areas where spending increases, not shrinks.

Speaker 1 And it's one of the reasons Elon Musk on CBS called the bill a, quote, disgusting abomination. He says it increases the deficit and undermines his broader vision for economic reform.

Speaker 1 Agree with him or not, he is not alone in his concerns. So where does the bill go from here? Well, the Senate is now reviewing it under budget reconciliation rules.

Speaker 1 That means it only needs 51 votes, no filibuster. But it also means everything in the bill has to be tied directly to spending, revenue, or the debt ceiling.

Speaker 1 Anything else like immigration laws or social policy writers get stripped out by the Senate parliamentarian. And here is where the math is not mathing.

Speaker 1 Republicans can only afford to lose three votes, but already four GOP senators have said they will not support the bill without changes.

Speaker 1 So either they have to amend it and send it back to the House for another tight vote, or the bill stalls out. Either way, that July 4th deadline is looking like a long shot.

Speaker 1 Even if it makes it through, the core tension in this bill remains. You cannot cut taxes and also cut the debt without either slashing services even deeper or finding new sources of revenue.

Speaker 1 And this bill does neither. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank.
If you've been thinking about installing solar panels or making your home more energy efficient, please do it soon.

Speaker 1 This bill does roll back a lot of the clean energy credits from 2022.

Speaker 1 Most of them expire at the end of the year, so if you want to take advantage of those savings, please do so soon because the window is closing.

Speaker 4 Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin.
Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Lavoie. Our researcher is Emily Holmes.
Do you need some money rehab?

Speaker 4 And let's be honest, we all do.

Speaker 4 So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com, to potentially have your your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me.

Speaker 4 And follow us on Instagram at MoneyNews and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you.

Speaker 1 No, seriously, thank you.

Speaker 4 Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.