Good Cash Podcast — From Eggflation to Ghost Jobs: Roasting 2024’s Largest Monetary Turkeys – NerdWallet

Welcome to NerdWallet’s Good Cash podcast, the place we reply your real-world cash questions. On this episode:

Rejoice 2024’s Monetary Turkeys as we highlight the yr’s largest cash blunders and share tricks to keep away from them your self.

Why are grocery costs so excessive in 2024? What are ghost jobs and the way do they have an effect on job seekers? Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner roast the yr’s “Monetary Turkeys” (pun meant), spotlighting the largest cash misfortunes of 2024 and providing listeners an opportunity to commiserate over shared monetary frustrations. They share their very own takes on this yr’s monetary flops and invite listeners to replicate on how these points have affected their lives, turning monetary woes right into a shared giggle or sigh of aid.

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This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI instrument.

Welcome to NerdWallet’s Good Cash podcast, the place you ship us your cash questions and we reply them with the assistance of our genius Nerds. I am Sean Pyles.

And I am Sara Rathner. Sean, blissful Thanksgiving.

Oh, and a contented Thanksgiving to you too, Sara. On today of thanks, I want to thank all of our listeners for collaborating within the grand Good Cash experiment. We love getting and answering your questions, and we admire all of you and your loyal listenership.

It truly is a privilege to be right here in entrance of the microphone interacting with of us, serving to them with their funds. I’ve to say, I actually take pleasure in listening to about folks’s lives and the monetary selections that they are hoping to get assist with. And never simply because I’m a nosy individual, but in addition as a result of I identical to to know what’s on folks’s minds.

And the way we might help folks. It truly is an honor. I have been answering the questions of Good Cash listeners for just a few years now, and generally folks ask if I become bored with answering comparable questions again and again. And I at all times say no as a result of in fact, every listener’s query is completely different. No matter somebody needs assist with is knowledgeable by their very own monetary background and experiences and their present monetary objectives, and I simply discover that stuff endlessly fascinating.

So do I. And apart from, listeners be a part of us at completely different factors, at completely different episodes. So it’s useful to repeat subjects every now and then. And if you happen to’re making a very robust monetary determination, generally it’s important to hear about it just a few instances earlier than you are feeling snug really taking any kind of motion. We’re right here to look at all kinds of cash stuff from a number of angles.

We’re all about knowledgeable selections, and it is our job to provide you that data. For all of these nice and fantastic episodes, right now, we’re handing out our 2024 Monetary Turkey Awards. And by turkeys, we imply issues that basically missed the mark within the monetary world. And let me let you know, there have been various turkeys this yr.

That is true. So Sean, what do winners get?

A damaged wishbone and unsalted gravy.

Yuck. No person needs these. That is like getting socks—

Yeah. Nicely, in a second, we bestow honors on the monetary turkeys of 2024. However in case you have a cash query for the Nerds, we invite you to name us or textual content us any time, together with holidays, on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That is 901-730-NERD. Or e mail us at [email protected].

And if you wish to nominate your personal Monetary Turkey of the Yr Award, we’re all ears, so tell us. We’ll be again in a second with our nominees and winners for monetary or financial turkeys of the yr. Stick with us.

Okay, we’re again and prepared with our nominees and winners of the Good Cash 2024 Monetary Turkeys of the Yr. Sara, what’s your first candidate?

If we’ll speak turkey, let’s focus on grocery inflation. Keep in mind eggflation? That was really a 2023 downside. That peaked in January of that yr, however it’s nonetheless actually laborious to get out of the shop generally with out spending 50 bucks on just some gadgets. And meals costs are up considerably since 2019, due to all the pieces from provide chain points to hen flu to the battle in Ukraine. And in keeping with the USDA, as US family incomes rise, these households really spend more cash on meals, however their meals spending represents a smaller share of earnings.

So take a look at it this manner. information from 2022, households within the lowest earnings quintile spent 31.3% of their earnings on meals. That is almost a 3rd of their family earnings. On the opposite facet of the coin, households within the highest earnings quintile spent simply 8% of their earnings on meals. So this can be a downside that impacts US households throughout the board, however it’s affecting particular sorts of households rather more critically. So we’ll must see how this continues to play out. Excessive meals costs may be laborious to abdomen…pun meant.

Good job, Sara. Love that pun. And a stable and on-theme nominee for the meals vacation. By the way in which, I’ll say I am nonetheless upset about how a lot my cream cheese prices these days, though I can’t quit my bagels. Okay, Sara, what’s your subsequent candidate?

That is a extremely particular meals merchandise to be upset about, however okay. That is nice. I like a very good bagel and cream cheese myself. All proper, so my subsequent candidate: ghost jobs, and I’m not speaking about seasonal work as an actor in a haunted home attraction. These are job listings on-line that look utterly actual, however the function both does not really exist or it is already been stuffed and the corporate’s nonetheless promoting it as in the event that they’re nonetheless in search of candidates.

In line with a Might 2024 survey by Resume Builder, 40% of corporations posted a pretend job itemizing this yr, and three in 10 corporations presently have lively pretend listings. So why the heck do corporations do that? As a result of that is actually annoying. A pair causes. One is to look open to new expertise or make it appear to the surface viewers that the corporate is rising. Typically they identical to seeing what expertise is on the market to allow them to have a set of potential future workers.

They could even be doing this to trick present workers into pondering they’re about to get some aid if the corporate’s been understaffed. And even worse, they’re doing this to remind their present workers that they are replaceable. I imply, hear, all of us already know that AI is coming for us all, so we do not must be reminded of that yr spherical. what I imply?

Anyway, what actually is horrible about that is that some corporations will go so far as really interviewing job candidates with zero intention of shifting ahead with them in any manner. And I do know various people who find themselves job looking proper now, and ghost jobs are an enormous waste of their time. That is time that they may very well be spending on interviews that would really result in actual job gives.

Wow. Sara, I’ve received to confess, I had not heard of the ghost job phenomenon, however it’s actually tousled. What a merciless strategy to play with people who find themselves determined for employment in some instances. Yikes. So Sara, you’ve got given us your nominees. Which one wins your 2024 Monetary Turkey Award?

I’ve received to go along with ghost jobs. And such as you stated, it’s merciless to toy with people who find themselves simply looking for a strategy to help themselves and their households. Yeah, do not mess with compensation, corporations.

A stable winner. Unsalted gravy for all of the ghost job posters.

Might these recruiters be coated in unsalted gravy the way in which folks will get slimed on Nickelodeon.

Oh, sure. I might love that.

All proper, Sean. So these had been my nominees. What are yours?

First up, I want to nominate some of the grotesque turkeys within the monetary world, scams and scammers. We did a particular sequence about scams earlier this yr and heard from folks, together with my very own dad, who’ve been put by way of all types of hell making an attempt to reclaim their cash and their lives after they had been financially assaulted by scammers. And it looks like each week there may be yet one more report a couple of massive information breach, which signifies that we’re all uncovered but once more to scammers who’re making an attempt to make a buck off of our private data.

It is a stable nomination, Sean. It is really easy to fall for a rip-off, and none of us are immune.

Yeah. In order we at all times say, of us, freeze your credit score experiences and commonly monitor your accounts for any humorous enterprise. You’ll be able to join your free credit score rating and get credit-building insights customized to you once you register at nerdwallet.com. So we are going to put a hyperlink to that in right now’s present notes.

Good plug, Sean. I see what you probably did there.

Sure. I am simply making an attempt to provide of us helpful sources, as at all times. Onto my second turkey. It is barely conceptual, so stick with me. It’s the hole between how we’re all informed the economic system is doing and how we really feel concerning the economic system. We noticed a great deal of financial experiences all through 2024 exhibiting that the job market continued to be resilient, even when it cooled a bit. And inflation actually slowed. However issues nonetheless do not feel nice, proper? Such as you had been saying earlier, Sara, grocery procuring just isn’t an fulfilling expertise. It is painful. And there is some information to again this up too. Bank card delinquency charges are as excessive as they have been since 2011, in keeping with the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis. The economic system simply continues to really feel actually bizarre, bizarre form of like how a turkey seems bizarre. It is each majestic and lumpy on the identical time.

Truthfully, I do not suppose I’ve ever heard majestic and lumpy in the identical sentence earlier than. And actually, I hope to by no means hear that once more, so thanks for that second I by no means wish to relive.

All proper, Sean, what’s your winner for the 2024 Monetary Turkey Award?

It is received to be scams and scammers, the individuals who perpetrate these scams. And that is one thing that we’re all weak to on a regular basis. It is tremendous scary and never sufficient is being carried out to guard us from these criminals, so everybody, keep vigilant.

Sure. Simply assume that everybody’s out to get you, and make them show they’re legit. Let all bizarre calls go to voicemail and solely name them again in the event that they’re actual. Screening your calls is a time-honored custom that goes again to the times of answering machines, and I say we carry it again.

And do what you possibly can to guard your private data. Don’t go giving out your Social Safety quantity willy-nilly, even when it could be already on the market.

Yeah. Truthfully, it most likely is.

I giggle, however actually, I cry on the within.

I do know. It’s unhappy and scary. Nicely, Sara, now that now we have handed out some turkeys, how about we go eat a few of our personal, or I suppose in my quasi-vegetarian family, I will go eat some nut loaf.

What the hell is a nut loaf?

It is precisely what it appears like. It is a massive mush of nuts and mushrooms and it is actually good. A number of cheese in it too.

Ew. Oh, no. Each time you point out one other ingredient, you make it worse.

I swear this stuff style higher than they sound.

They received to rename it. They should… Oh, oh, nut loaf.

Yeah. The branding round nut loaf may very well be improved, I will give them that. However I swear, it is actually, actually good. Anyway, that is all now we have for this episode. We right here at Good Cash want you and yours a really blissful Thanksgiving and an exquisite vacation season to return. And keep in mind, after all, that we’re right here for you and your cash questions, so ship them our manner. Name or textual content us on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. It’s also possible to e mail us at [email protected]. Go to nerdwallet.com/podcast for more information on this episode. And keep in mind, you possibly can observe the present in your favourite podcast app, together with Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to routinely obtain new episodes.

Immediately’s episode was produced by Tess Vigeland and edited by Sean. Megan Maurer combined our audio. And this is our transient disclaimer. We aren’t monetary or funding advisors. This nerdy information is supplied for normal instructional and leisure functions and will not apply to your particular circumstances.

And with that stated, till subsequent time, flip to the Nerds.

It is good. I swear it’s.

It is received the worst identify. No, it simply sounds so bland. It is like…

It isn’t bland. It is stuffed with umami taste.

It is mushrooms and cashews, walnuts. I believe there’s some almonds in there. A number of cheese. It is like 50% cheese.

I imply, I am down with 50% cheese. However there should have been an outdated Twitter account that did this. It was like bizarre recipes from mid-century.

And it form of appears like a type of issues that folks ate for dinner within the 60s.