Smart Money Podcast — From Eggflation to Ghost Jobs: Roasting 2024’s Biggest Financial Turkeys – NerdWallet

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

Have fun 2024’s Monetary Turkeys as we highlight the yr’s greatest 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 most important 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 snort or sigh of aid.

Try this episode in your favourite podcast platform, together with:

NerdWallet tales associated to this episode:

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

Welcome to NerdWallet’s Sensible 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, completely satisfied Thanksgiving.

Oh, and a cheerful Thanksgiving to you too, Sara. On this present day of thanks, I want to thank all of our listeners for collaborating within the grand Sensible Cash experiment. We love getting and answering your questions, and we recognize 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 get pleasure from listening to about folks’s lives and the monetary choices that they are hoping to get assist with. And never simply because I’m a nosy individual, but additionally as a result of I similar to to know what’s on folks’s minds.

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

So do I. And in addition to, listeners be part of us at totally different factors, at totally different episodes. So it’s useful to repeat matters every so often. And if you happen to’re making a extremely robust monetary choice, generally you must hear about it just a few instances earlier than you are feeling snug truly taking any form of motion. We’re right here to look at all types of cash stuff from a number of angles.

We’re all about knowledgeable choices, and it is our job to present you that info. For all of these nice and great episodes, at this time, 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 inform you, there have been a lot of turkeys this yr.

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

A damaged wishbone and unsalted gravy.

Yuck. No one desires these. That is like getting socks—

Yeah. Effectively, in a second, we bestow honors on the monetary turkeys of 2024. However when 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 electronic mail us at [email protected].

And if you wish to nominate your individual Monetary Turkey of the 12 months 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 Sensible Cash 2024 Monetary Turkeys of the 12 months. Sara, what’s your first candidate?

If we’ll speak turkey, let’s talk about grocery inflation. Keep in mind eggflation? That was truly a 2023 drawback. That peaked in January of that yr, nevertheless it’s nonetheless actually onerous to get out of the shop generally with out spending 50 bucks on just some objects. And meals costs are up considerably since 2019, because of all the things from provide chain points to chook flu to the warfare in Ukraine. And in line with the USDA, as US family incomes rise, these households truly spend more cash on meals, however their meals spending represents a smaller share of revenue.

So have a look at it this fashion. knowledge from 2022, households within the lowest revenue quintile spent 31.3% of their revenue on meals. That is practically a 3rd of their family revenue. On the opposite facet of the coin, households within the highest revenue quintile spent simply 8% of their revenue on meals. So this can be a drawback that impacts US households throughout the board, nevertheless it’s affecting particular kinds of households rather more significantly. So we’ll need to see how this continues to play out. Excessive meals costs might be onerous 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 cannot 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 effective. I really like a great 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 fully actual, however the position both would not truly exist or it is already been crammed and the corporate’s nonetheless promoting it as in the event that they’re nonetheless searching for candidates.

In accordance with a Could 2024 survey by Resume Builder, 40% of firms posted a pretend job itemizing this yr, and three in 10 firms at the moment have lively pretend listings. So why the heck do firms 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 skin viewers that the corporate is rising. Typically they similar to seeing what expertise is on the market to allow them to have a group of potential future workers.

They may even be doing this to trick current 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 current workers that they are replaceable. I imply, hear, all of us already know that AI is coming for us all, so we do not should be reminded of that yr spherical. what I imply?

Anyway, what actually is horrible about that is that some firms will go so far as truly interviewing job candidates with zero intention of transferring ahead with them in any means. And I do know a lot of people who find themselves job searching 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 might truly result in actual job presents.

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

I’ve acquired to go along with ghost jobs. And such as you mentioned, it’s merciless to toy with people who find themselves simply looking for a option to assist themselves and their households. Yeah, do not mess with compensation, firms.

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

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

Oh, sure. I might love that.

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

First up, I want to nominate one of the grotesque turkeys within the monetary world, scams and scammers. We did a particular collection about scams earlier this yr and heard from folks, together with my very own dad, who’ve been put by means of every kind of hell making an attempt to reclaim their cash and their lives after they have been financially assaulted by scammers. And it looks like each week there may be one more report a few huge knowledge breach, which implies that we’re all uncovered but once more to scammers who’re making an attempt to make a buck off of our private info.

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 frequently monitor your accounts for any humorous enterprise. You possibly can join your free credit score rating and get credit-building insights personalised to you whenever you register at nerdwallet.com. So we are going to put a hyperlink to that in at this time’s present notes.

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

Sure. I am simply making an attempt to present 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 have been saying earlier, Sara, grocery procuring will not be an pleasing expertise. It is painful. And there is some knowledge to again this up too. Bank card delinquency charges are as excessive as they have been since 2011, in line with the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis. The economic system simply continues to really feel actually bizarre, bizarre type of like how a turkey appears to be like bizarre. It is each majestic and lumpy on the similar time.

Actually, I do not assume 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 acquired to be scams and scammers, the individuals who perpetrate these scams. And that is one thing that we’re all susceptible to on a regular basis. It is tremendous scary and never sufficient is being performed 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 convey it again.

And do what you’ll be able to to guard your private info. Don’t go giving out your Social Safety quantity willy-nilly, even when it is likely to be already on the market.

Yeah. Actually, it in all probability is.

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

I do know. It’s unhappy and scary. Effectively, Sara, now that we’ve got handed out some turkeys, how about we go eat a few of our personal, or I assume in my quasi-vegetarian family, I am going to go eat some nut loaf.

What the hell is a nut loaf?

It is precisely what it seems like. It is a huge mush of nuts and mushrooms and it is actually good. Numerous 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 acquired to rename it. They should… Oh, oh, nut loaf.

Yeah. The branding round nut loaf may very well be improved, I am going to give them that. However I swear, it is actually, actually good. Anyway, that is all we’ve got for this episode. We right here at Sensible Cash want you and yours a really completely satisfied Thanksgiving and a beautiful vacation season to return. And bear in mind, in fact, that we’re right here for you and your cash questions, so ship them our means. Name or textual content us on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. You may also electronic mail us at [email protected]. Go to nerdwallet.com/podcast for more information on this episode. And bear in mind, you’ll be able to observe the present in your favourite podcast app, together with Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to robotically obtain new episodes.

At present’s episode was produced by Tess Vigeland and edited by Sean. Megan Maurer combined our audio. And this is our transient disclaimer. We’re not monetary or funding advisors. This nerdy data is supplied for common instructional and leisure functions and should not apply to your particular circumstances.

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

It is good. I swear it’s.

It is acquired the worst title. No, it simply sounds so bland. It is like…

It is not bland. It is stuffed with umami taste.

It is mushrooms and cashews, walnuts. I feel there’s some almonds in there. Numerous cheese. It is like 50% cheese.

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

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