Master Your Investments Once and For All

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.

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 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, QIIME 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 Bank Bank NA or Stripe Bank NA.
Members, FDIC.

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, QIIME 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 2 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 So, tomorrow, my fifth book, The Money School, comes out. How crazy is that? And I don't write books just to write them, I promise.

Speaker 1 I keep writing them because the rules of the financial game keep changing. And I want you to not only be able to play, but to win.

Speaker 1 So this week, I'm going to share some financial strategies that I break down in the book. But first, let's talk about why I have to write all of these dang books in the first place.

Speaker 1 Like I said, it is the financial game that keeps changing. And it's all because of one key player.
interest rates.

Speaker 1 When I wrote Rich Bitch and then Miss Independent, two of my previous books that talk about financial markets, interest rates were super low, like unnaturally low.

Speaker 1 Changing interest rates by small percentages or fractions of a percent might not feel like a big deal, but it is the biggest of big deals in the financial world.

Speaker 1 To give you some context on this, interest rates were set to nearly zero after the housing crisis of 2008. This was done to try and prop up the economy because it was completely in the dumps.

Speaker 1 And then during the pandemic, when the dump caught fire, interest rates plummeted again.

Speaker 1 Once things stabilized, as we all remember, the Fed then started picking interest rates up off the floor and interest rates got quote high. I put that in air quotes right now.

Speaker 1 I know you can't see that, but that's what people were saying. Interest rates are so high.
And while they were high relative to COVID doomsday times of zero, I mean, the Fed got up to around 5.3%,

Speaker 1 it was nowhere near all-time highs. In the 1990s, interest rates were hovering around 5% too, but got as high as 10%.

Speaker 1 Then a decade before that, in the 80s, interest rates flirted with 20%.

Speaker 1 I mean, I'll say it again, 20 freaking percent. So if you got used to a world of rock bottom interest rates, it's time to snap out of it.

Speaker 1 It was a decision made by the Federal Reserve to keep us from financial Armageddon. Lowering interest rates is an emergency move, not the norm.

Speaker 1 The narrative generally is that higher interest rates are bad, but that's an oversimplification.

Speaker 1 Sure, if you're a borrower looking to buy a home or to get a business loan, higher higher rates are not ideal because you'll be paying more on your loan in interest over time.

Speaker 1 But if you're an investor in high interest bearing vehicles or a savvy saver, this is excellent news for you because you will be earning more over time.

Speaker 1 Interest rates are the heartbeat of the financial world and help us put our finger on the pulse of the best place for us to put our money.

Speaker 1 When rates are low, traditional savings accounts and fixed income investments offer modest returns, nudging us toward finding our higher yields in the stock market.

Speaker 1 This shift has led to a surge in stock market investments over the last 10 years, with average returns hovering around 9% after adjusting for inflation.

Speaker 1 But when interest rates rise, the allure of investments like bonds and CDs increases. So higher interest rates aren't better than lower interest rates.
They're just different.

Speaker 1 I know that sounds simple, because it is. What's a little more complex is understanding that in different interest rate environments, you should be making different investing decisions.

Speaker 1 Or if that sounds too overwhelming, you should implement a strategy that can hold steady in different economic climates. That is what I'll teach you how to do in my new book.

Speaker 1 In the money school, I'll help you understand how the changing interest rates, well, change the game because rates will shift again.

Speaker 1 The only constant in life and on Wall Street is exactly that, change. So when, not if it happens again, you'll be ready.

Speaker 1 While the economy has and will evolve, solid investing principles haven't and won't.

Speaker 1 And no matter who you are or where you are in your investment journey, success starts with mastering those fundamentals. As you know, I didn't learn this stuff at home.
I didn't learn it at school.

Speaker 1 And I don't say this to brag because this and $5 will get me an oat milk latte, but I did really well in actual school, like really, really well.

Speaker 1 Like I was the valedictorian of my high school and my college will. But throughout my schooling and all of the excelling that I did in it, I never ever learned any basic financial lessons.
Any.

Speaker 1 I mean, I got a freaking college diploma with all the bells and whistles without ever learning what a stock or a bond is. That should be illegal.

Speaker 1 The schools I went to didn't teach me anything like what you'll find in this book, and I doubt the schools you went to did either. I had to learn this stuff in the illustrious School of Hard Knocks.

Speaker 1 And during my deepest, darkest days when I was elbow deep in credit card debt or depressed in eating brown rice and beans because it felt a little fancier than ramen, but was the same price, I desperately wanted to find a crash course to learn the practical money lessons to help me, but there wasn't one in plain English sans jargon.

Speaker 1 So I vowed that if I ever figured out how to get to the other side of my own financial fire, I would do everything I could to bring back buckets of water for those still caught in the flames.

Speaker 1 The money school is just that.

Speaker 1 It is packed with all of the information I wish someone had taught me when I was taking my first steps toward long-lasting financial freedom by investing in the financial markets.

Speaker 1 In this book, book, I will be the professor that you never had, and honestly, I never expected to be, but always needed.

Speaker 1 The Money School is divided into courses, four of them, with three lessons each totaling 12 lessons altogether. And if you've read my other books, you know that this is my MO.

Speaker 1 In the Money School, the first course focuses on the stock market. That's where you'll learn about one of the most potent but also accessible forces in our financial system.

Speaker 1 The second one zooms into debt, the good kind, where you own the debt, not owe it, via CDs and bonds.

Speaker 1 The third course steps it up with more exotic or advanced securities like commodities, currencies, and derivatives.

Speaker 1 And the final part wraps it all up with how you can make a portfolio to help you reach your own financial success as you define it.

Speaker 1 There is absolutely zero reason not to succeed in the money school, whether you were a good student in actual school or not.

Speaker 1 There are no tests that will require you to memorize gratuitous information or facts. There are no grades to stress your ego out over.

Speaker 1 You're just doing this for yourself, the smart, whole, extraordinary version that you are now and your even richer future self.

Speaker 1 You can shout from the social media rooftops that you're doing this, or you can keep it all to yourself, millionaire next door style. However you do it, it's totally up to you.

Speaker 1 It's all on the honor system anyway. If you cheat, you're only cheating on that really important person who really doesn't deserve that anymore.
That's you.

Speaker 1 I wrote this book to help you avoid the money mistakes I made, and Lord knows I have made a lot by not knowing how the stock market worked earlier.

Speaker 1 I wrote wrote this book to show you that investing can give you the feeling of always having your own back. I hope this book helps you forgive your former self for not knowing this stuff before.

Speaker 1 And I also hope that it helps you give your future self some tough love knowing that past behaviors that didn't serve you are no longer acceptable.

Speaker 1 So with that, enjoy the next few episodes where I'll be sharing excerpts from my book that deep dive into these best practice financial strategies.

Speaker 1 If you want more of these strategies, you can of course order my book. It is out tomorrow at the link in the episode description.

Speaker 1 And let me just say, if you buy my book, you are really supporting me and everything I'm building here. I know you might think, with five books out, how much does my purchase actually matter?

Speaker 1 But let me tell you, it does. It really, truly does.
It supports me and my team that helped me launch this thing. It builds my publisher's faith in me.

Speaker 1 And honestly, it just means a lot to me right now when my whole world has, you know, kind of fallen apart. So with that, Lass is in session on mastering financial markets and investing.

Speaker 2 Hey, money rehabbers, aren't you crushing it with your savings goals? Of course you are. But did you know that you can make your money work as hard as you do with U.S.

Speaker 2 Bank Smartly checking and savings?

Speaker 2 From tracking your spending to growing your savings, Bank Smartly can help you reach your goals faster with higher savings rates and waived monthly fees on eligible accounts.

Speaker 2 Because when your bank believes in your potential as much as you do, that's when real progress happens. That's the power of us.
Visit usbank.com today.

Speaker 2 Interest rates and annual percentage yields for variable accounts are determined by the bank's discretion and can change at any time. Deposit products are offered by U.S.

Speaker 2 Bank National Association, member FDIC.

Speaker 2 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 2 And let's be honest, we all do.

Speaker 2 So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me.

Speaker 2 And follow us on Instagram at MoneyNews and TikTok at MoneyNews Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you.
No, seriously, thank you.

Speaker 2 Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.