BONUS 💰 “The Money Pod” — Our Best Money stories from 2024

84.718 - 106.312 Jack

You got this, you got this, you got this. I'm looking for a man in finance, trust fund, six, five, blue eyes. And with a deep understanding of tax advantage, Roth IRAs. That is, in 2024, money was bigger than ever. Literally. Stock markets were at record highs. But value meals were also at record highs. In this economy, you want a discount on that double-digit latte.

106.372 - 126.259 Jack

But in this economy, you also wanted crypto in your portfolio. That's why this year we covered enough money stories to make Jerome Powell bust an interest rate. Yeah. Bagels get bonuses. Cupcakes get cash. That's what we said. We covered the rise of a brand new fee this year called the flake fee. If you cancel on a restaurant, they're going to charge you 50 bucks.

126.379 - 147.749 Jack

We found out that Warren Buffett, the best investor of all time, is holding a record amount of his money in cash. $300 billion. That's 50 lifts worth of cash. We also covered when Bitcoin hit its $100,000 milestone. It was Bitcoin's bit mitzvah. And when lab-grown diamonds passed natural diamonds in sales. That is a financial trick shot.

147.829 - 167.137 Jack

We discovered this year that Gen Z is running vending machines as a side hustle. And we figured out how Goldman Sachs promotes bankers to partners when they started as interns. Those stories were all fantastic, but these are our three best money stories of 2024. Jack and I whipped them up for you because you're a freak in the spreadsheets.

167.357 - 174.16 Jack

If you're still listening, Dave Ramsey, we hope you don't hate us. We won't take it personally, Dave. Jack, let's hit those three money stories.

406.518 - 425.611 Jack

Two of them were in business class on a new plane, and it didn't cost them a penny. Ipso facto, this new Wells Fargo credit card basically paid for their European vacation. And that's the problem here, Yetis, because all those points are free to you, but they're not free to the credit card company. Wells Fargo has to pay for all those points that you redeem, and that gets costly.

425.831 - 447.764 Jack

Now, Wells Fargo knows that points are costly, but they expected to make up for those points costs in other ways. According to Wall Street Journal reporting, Wells Fargo expected that 65% of your credit card spending would be on non-rent payments. restaurant payments, groceries, whatever. But instead, users did the opposite. They pretty much just used the card to pay for their rent.

447.944 - 464.568 Jack

According to Business Insider reporting, Wells Fargo expected dozens of purchases on this card every month. They'd hoped that this card would become your go-to. But instead, users only used the card for the bare minimum five purchases a month. So yetis, Wells Fargo got a million new credit card customers in record time,

465.208 - 487.093 Jack

But those credit card customers were savvy and they were taking advantage of the points on the rent. And then they'd use other credit cards that offer better points for everything else they spent money on. Great for the customer, bad for Wells Fargo. So add it all up, besties, and Wells Fargo is losing, get this, $10 million a month on this specific rent credit card.

487.153 - 505.681 Jack

Because of savvy millennial customers. And now Wells Fargo is trying to get out of the deal, but they can't for like another five years. It's called an early termination fee. Sorry, Wells Fargo. I'd like to speak to a representative, says Wells Fargo to themselves. So what's the takeaway for our buddies who are anyone with a credit card?

797.653 - 802.575 Jack

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone with the side hustle?

802.635 - 825.047 Jack

The secret to a successful side hustle isn't just communication, it's over communication. Now, when Jack and I started this company as a side hustle back in 2012, we were afraid to tell our work. Like, Jack, I thought UBS was going to straight up fire me and then call your boss and get you fired. I know, I know. But when we finally did tell our bosses, they were fine with it. It was relief, right?

825.067 - 841.496 Jack

It was such a relief for us. Instead of sneaking around, getting worried and like working on this podcast on the subway on the way home from work. We could be open and honest that we have a day job. We're doing a great job on our day job. Yeah. But we also have the side hustle we're passionate about. And here's the key Jack and I realized.

841.636 - 857.463 Jack

You don't just communicate to your boss that you have a side hustle. You need to over communicate. The cost of over communicating with your boss is it may become annoying to them. Your boss may be annoyed that you're sending them so many emails telling them what you're working on outside work. But the benefit is transparency and comfort.

857.703 - 875.188 Jack

Your boss knows exactly what you're working on, and they're less likely to try to shut down your side hustle. In fact, funny thing, but that rower, Justin Best, said that over-communication with his banker boss was the key to his side hustle success. Yetis, a majority of Olympians, and more than a third of Americans have a side hustle today.

922.116 - 944.166 Misha Brown

and the 2019 movie adaptation of Cats. Like, if I'm watching the dancing and I'm noticing the feet aren't touching the ground, there's something wrong with the movie. Find out what happens when massive hype turns into major fiasco. Enjoy The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+.

944.186 - 948.128 Misha Brown

Get started with your free trial at wondery.com slash plus.

952.867 - 977.222 Jack

Now, Yetis, let's go back to March 27th, 2024, when we covered millennial retirement. Because yeah, millennials got to start thinking about retirement. This story is about 401ks, IRAs, and what the haze. I don't know what that last one is, but I like the check. Let's see it. Let's jump in. For our third and final story, America's biggest money manager thinks that America faces a fiscal time bomb.

977.503 - 1001.727 Jack

So we're talking retirement, millennial retirement, and how saving money actually saves you in taxes too. Jack, let's kick it off with some trivia. Biggest investment company in the world. Who is it? Where is it? What are we talking about? It's BlackRock. Midtown Manhattan. It's run and it's founded by CEO Lawrence Fink, aka Larry Fink. BlackRock manages $10 trillion of assets for clients.

1001.767 - 1018.539 Jack

Jack, can you sprinkle on some context? We understand, man. That's enough money to acquire the company Lyft 2,000 times. It's 2,000 Lyfts. But yet he's Larry, the man who founded this company, says that he founded the company for two particular reasons. First reason was to get rich by building a big, successful company. Let's be honest.