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

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

Have fun 2024’s Monetary Turkeys as we highlight the 12 months’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 12 months’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 12 months’s monetary flops and invite listeners to mirror on how these points have affected their lives, turning monetary woes right into a shared giggle or sigh of aid.

Take a look at 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 software.

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, glad Thanksgiving.

Oh, and a contented Thanksgiving to you too, Sara. On at the present time of thanks, I want to thank all of our listeners for taking part within the grand Good Cash experiment. We love getting and answering your questions, and we respect 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 choices that they are hoping to get assist with. And never simply because I’m a nosy particular person, but in addition as a result of I identical to to know what’s on folks’s minds.

And the way we can assist folks. It truly is an honor. I have been answering the questions of Good Cash listeners for a number of 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 targets, and I simply discover that stuff endlessly fascinating.

So do I. And moreover, listeners be a part of us at completely different factors, at completely different episodes. So it’s useful to repeat matters now and again. And for those who’re making a very robust monetary resolution, generally you must hear about it a number of instances earlier than you’re feeling comfy truly 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 choices, and it is our job to present you that info. For all of these nice and fantastic episodes, in the present day, 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 numerous turkeys this 12 months.

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 you probably 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 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 12 months. Stick with us.

Okay, we’re again and prepared with our nominees and winners of the Good Cash 2024 Monetary Turkeys of the 12 months. Sara, what’s your first candidate?

If we’ll discuss turkey, let’s talk about grocery inflation. Keep in mind eggflation? That was truly a 2023 downside. That peaked in January of that 12 months, but it surely’s nonetheless actually arduous to get out of the shop generally with out spending 50 bucks on only a few objects. And meals costs are up considerably since 2019, because of all the pieces from provide chain points to chook flu to the warfare in Ukraine. And based on the USDA, as US family incomes rise, these households truly spend extra money on meals, however their meals spending represents a smaller share of revenue.

So take a look at it this fashion. Taking a look at information 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 aspect of the coin, households within the highest revenue quintile spent simply 8% of their revenue on meals. So this can be a downside that impacts US households throughout the board, but it surely’s affecting particular kinds of households way more significantly. So we’ll need to see how this continues to play out. Excessive meals costs could be arduous to abdomen…pun meant.

Good job, Sara. Love that pun. And a strong and on-theme nominee for the meals vacation. By the best way, I will say I am nonetheless upset about how a lot my cream cheese prices these days, though I cannot surrender my bagels. Okay, Sara, what’s your subsequent candidate?

That is a extremely particular meals merchandise to be upset about, however okay. That is fantastic. I really like 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 would not truly exist or it is already been stuffed and the corporate’s nonetheless promoting it as in the event that they’re nonetheless on the lookout for candidates.

Based on a Might 2024 survey by Resume Builder, 40% of firms posted a faux job itemizing this 12 months, and three in 10 firms at present have energetic faux 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. Generally they identical to seeing what expertise is on the market to allow them to have a set of potential future staff.

They could even be doing this to trick present staff 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 staff 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 12 months 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 shifting ahead with them in any method. And I do know numerous 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 might truly result in actual job affords.

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

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

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

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

Oh, sure. I’d love that.

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

First up, I want to nominate probably the most grotesque turkeys within the monetary world, scams and scammers. We did a particular sequence about scams earlier this 12 months 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 one more report a couple of huge 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 info.

This can be a strong 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 stories and recurrently monitor your accounts for any humorous enterprise. You’ll be able to join your free credit score rating and get credit-building insights personalised to you while you register at nerdwallet.com. So we’ll put a hyperlink to that in in the present day’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 instructed the financial system is doing and how we really feel concerning the financial system. We noticed a great deal of financial stories all through 2024 displaying that the job market continued to be resilient, even when it cooled a bit. And inflation definitely slowed. However issues nonetheless do not feel nice, proper? Such as you had been saying earlier, Sara, grocery procuring just isn’t an satisfying 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, based on the Federal Reserve Financial institution of St. Louis. The financial system simply continues to really feel actually bizarre, bizarre type of like how a turkey seems to be bizarre. It is each majestic and lumpy on the identical time.

Actually, 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 need to relive.

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

It is bought 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 completed 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 deliver it again.

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

Yeah. Actually, 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 we’ve handed out some turkeys, how about we go eat a few of our personal, or I assume 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 huge 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 these items style higher than they sound.

They bought 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 we’ve for this episode. We right here at Good Cash want you and yours a really glad 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 method. Name or textual content us on the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. You can even e mail us at [email protected]. Go to nerdwallet.com/podcast for more information on this episode. And keep in mind, you possibly can comply with the present in your favourite podcast app, together with Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to routinely obtain new episodes.

At present’s episode was produced by Tess Vigeland and edited by Sean. Megan Maurer combined our audio. And here is our temporary disclaimer. We’re not monetary or funding advisors. This nerdy information is offered for common instructional and leisure functions and should 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 bought the worst title. No, it simply sounds so bland. It is like…

It is not bland. It is filled 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 will need to have been an outdated Twitter account that did this. It was like bizarre recipes from mid-century.

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