“People get weird around money,” says Bobby Soler, a financial advisor with the firm Strategies for Wealth in New York City. “It can be really awkward with family members.”
He knows from firsthand experience. When it came to caring for his grandmother, his family avoided planning discussions, which led to stressful disagreements between siblings. He wants people to prevent that kind of situation by talking about money — even difficult topics like end-of-life planning — well in advance.
You want to know if your parents have enough money for retirement
Opening up the conversation by using a recent news article can be an easy way to start, says Dan Casey, founder of the financial firm Bridgeriver Advisors in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. You could mention that you read an article about the value of using a retirement calculator, for example, or how many people are concerned with having enough money.
That way, he says, “you’re just passing on knowledge,” and can avoid unintentionally seeming like you’re trying to find out what inheritance you might one day receive.
Try questions that evoke hopes and dreams, says Erika Wasserman, CEO of Your Financial Therapist based in the Miami, Florida area.
One question you can pose is, “Mom and Dad, what is retirement going to look like for you?” Then, you could follow up by asking about where they want to live or whether they plan to move.
“When you give people a chance to explain their vision, it gives you a different perspective and allows them to open up,” she says.
You want to make sure your parents or grandparents have end-of-life paperwork in place
“Focus on the fact that you really care about them,” says Annie Cole, a Vancouver, Washington-based money coach and author of the book “101 Ways to Earn More, Build Wealth, and Live Rich in Your 30s.”
She recently asked her dad if he had a will.
“We called out the elephant in the room and just said, ‘This might feel a little awkward,’” she says. That comment broke the ice and made everyone laugh, and then they had a productive conversation about his retirement plans.
Try giving siblings and other involved family members a heads up before broaching a heavy topic together, says Elaine Swann, a San Diego, California-based etiquette expert and author of the etiquette guide “Let Crazy Be Crazy.”
She warns against springing a conversation about estate planning on siblings or family members.
“If you have a group family text, bring up the fact that you want to have a conversation,” she says, then pick a mutually-convenient time. That way, they can be physically and mentally prepared.
You’re going on vacation together as an extended family
Have a conversation about vacation cost-sharing during the planning process of the trip, Casey says. If you are offering to host and pay for one element but not another, spell that out, he adds. And if you know a financially-strained family member can contribute in another way, such as cooking, discuss those contributions in advance, too.
Similarly, at a group dinner, it’s helpful to talk about splitting the bill before placing orders, Swann says.
“There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘Hey, how would you like to split the bill?’ Have the conversation beforehand so it’s less awkward and you can sit back and enjoy the meal,” she says.
You’re going through a difficult financial period
“It’s OK to put a boundary in place,” says Wasserman. “You can say, ‘Right now I’m working through financial issues and I have the support I need, but I appreciate your love and support.'”
Family members often want to make sure you’re OK or at least have a plan in place. “They want to see you are handling it. That is just reassuring to people who love you.”
If you don’t want to talk about your situation, Swann suggests being blunt.
“That’s not something I want to talk about. So anyway, how was your vacation this year?” is a script that helps you firmly pivot to another topic. “Be prepared to shift the conversation,” she says.
Your family members keep asking you for money
If you agree to loan family members money, it should always be in writing, Casey says, including any agreement around when it will be repaid.
If you don’t want to loan family members money, then Cole suggests offering to help in non-financial ways, such as by preparing meals or caring for any pets. You can also be honest about why you’re declining to provide financial assistance.
“We say, ‘We don’t mix family and money in that way,’” Cole says. “That’s our saying, and people understand.”
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
Pittsburgh, PA is a city with a fascinating industrial history and a breathtaking skyline, but it’s also full of unique experiences just waiting to be explored. Beyond the usual tourist spots, this lively city has a wealth of activities that highlight its eclectic culture and creative energy. Whether you’re wandering through hidden art installations, checking out quirky museums, or enjoying delicious bites at local favorites, the Steel City invites visitors and locals alike to dive into its dynamic neighborhoods.
Whether you’re looking to rent a house in Pittsburgh, looking for an apartment in the area, or buying your first home in the city, read on to uncover some of the most unique things to do in Pittsburgh, ensuring your time here is anything but ordinary.
1. Go on a Mac Miller self-guided tour
Pay tribute to the legendary Pittsburgh-born rapper Mac Miller by touring some of the locations that inspired many of the musician’s lyrics and albums. Mac Miller’s legacy continues to thrive through his music and the many tributes and landmarks around Pittsburgh that honor his influence.
Blue Slide Park
Located in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Blue Slide Park is infamous as the inspiration for Miller’s independently distributed debut album of the same name. The album is laced with reflections of Miller’s experience as a youth in Pittsburgh, and Blue Slide Park serves as place of tribute for the late rapper, reflecting themes of nostalgia and home – plus, it actually has a blue slide.
Frick Park Market
The title of a popular song from Miller’s first album, Frick Park Market is where the rapper worked once upon a time in Pittsburgh. The neighborhood deli is still around today, and the owners have taken great care to keep the energy of Miller alive in the shop. Stop by for a story while enjoying delicious fresh sandwiches for a fan experience you won’t forget.
Mac Miller murals
Serving as vibrant tributes to the beloved rapper, you can find notable murals memorializing the artist throughout the city. One of the most famous murals resides along the wall of ID Labs, the recording studio Mac Miller often recorded at. You can find other murals celebrating the life of Miller in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, inside the Monroeville Mall, and in East Liberty.
2. Quench your thirst at some of the best breweries in the country
“Pittsburgh has some of the best beer in the country – so much so that it is difficult to find a bad local craft beer,” confides Eric Truscott, co-founder of Acrospire Brewing Co, a much-loved Pittsburgh establishment. “They all have their own specialty and personality, but are welcoming and excited to show off their best brews.”
Eric’s hot tip for getting the most out of your Pittsburgh brewery experience? “Try something new and take a recommendation from the beertender. It may open you up to a whole new world of flavor. Beertenders are also a great resource for finding things to do in the ‘Burgh that are off the beaten path.”
If you’re still having a hard time deciding on which spots to try in the area, make sure you add these unique Pittsburgh breweries to your list.
Pittsburgh Brewing
“Exploring all that Pittsburgh has to offer wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the hometown brewery, Pittsburgh Brewing,” shares Rachel Semelbaur of the historical venue.
The brewery has been in the community for 160 years, and its new location on the Allegheny River boasts state-of-the-art brewing facilities amongst the bones of an old factory. Exposed steel beams and old red brick nod to the Iron City’s industrial history.
To top it off, the grounds double as an event venue, so you can grab a cold Iron City Beer and see your favorite artist perform in the fresh air. Make sure you catch a tour of the facility to really get a feel for the brewing process and glean more into Pittsburgh’s infamous distilling history.
Velum Fermentation
If you’re looking for a unique brewery experience in Pittsburgh, look no further than Velum Fermentation. More than just one of the newest breweries on the block, Velum Fermentation is also a bustling community hub. Their Southside Pils boasts 100% Pennsylvania-grown ingredients, and is just the icing on the cake. While you enjoy your beer, immerse yourself in the adult playground that is the Velum taproom.
Indoor/outdoor seating frame pickleball courts, event spaces, lawn games, and a pinball arcade, making Velum the perfect neighborhood brewery spot for your midweek brewski. Grab some friends and a beer to make the most of all the activities Velum has for you to enjoy.
The Church Brew Works
“And on the eighth day, man created beer,” exclaims the coasters at this unique Pittsburgh spot for beer. Housed inside the glorious walls of a former church resides The Church Brew Works, an award-winning restaurant and microbrewery. With remnants of church history scattered throughout, you likely haven’t enjoyed a cold one in a place quite like this. Nestled amongst stained glass and worn wooden pews, enjoy a holy experience of wood-fired pizza, an eclectic food menu, and fresh craft beers, brewed right on the altar.
3. Stay active with fitness with a twist
While Pittsburgh is known for its industrial history, intricate architecture, and vibrant cultural scene, there’s even more to do in the city than wander amongst the bridges, nature, and food and beverage scene. Try these unique ways to stay active while living in Pittsburgh.
FireWALL Dance
Why not spice up your time in Pittsburgh with a drop-in dance class? At FireWALL Dance Theater, you can choose from a wide variety of dance styles as a fun way to move your body. From contemporary to ballet to jazz to hip hop, even twerking, there’s something for everyone. You can even get a group together for a Sip N Get Sexy night, where you and your pals can knock back a bev to a themed dance class.
“Nestled in the vibrant heart of the city, our inclusive studio fosters a warm and supportive atmosphere that keeps you coming back for more,” describes FireWALL Dance Studio manager Hanna Rubin. “Whether you’re a local resident or just visiting for the weekend, you’ll be embraced with open arms and encouraged to express yourself through movement.”
ASCEND Climbing
If you’re looking for an active challenge, add ASCEND Climbing to your list. This indoor climbing gym offers routes for all skill levels, whether you’re a seasoned climber or just starting out. With towering walls, bouldering areas, and friendly staff ready to help you out, climbing at ASCEND is a fun way to move your body and experience local community events. Plus, it’s a great place to meet other climbers and maybe even make some new friends. Bring your own gear or rent some on-site, and after, grab a beer from Velum Fermentation, located beneath the Southside location.
Level Up Studios
Unleash your creativity through movement and community through this hip-hop inspired studio in Pittsburgh. “Level Up Studios offers a range of dance and creative arts experiences,” shares the Level Up team. “Our space also doubles as a community hub, where local artists, musicians, and cultural enthusiasts come together to learn, grow, and express themselves.”
From K-Pop to hip-hop to even Bollywood dancing, Level Up brings a diverse range of dance options. If you can’t catch a class, make sure to check out one of the frequent community events that feature live music, art exhibitions, dancing, and their annual Level Up Block Party to get creatively inspired.
4. Explore some of the coolest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh
Another unique thing to do in Pittsburgh is explore the many neighborhoods. Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods each possess a distinct personality that reflects the city’s rich history and cultural diversity. From the hustle and bustle of the Strip District to the independent vibe of Lawrenceville, here are three of Pittsburgh’s hot spots you should be exploring.
The Strip
“Once the center for the region’s wholesale produce industry, this now restored historic landmark offers a curated collection of retail, fitness, entertainment, and restaurant options,” shares Megan Warmouth, representing the Terminal in the Strip District neighborhood. “Start your day with a workout class or brush up on your golf game then treat yourself to a facial before doing some shopping. Afterwards, stop by one of The Terminal’s ten eateries for a taste of the city’s best culinary offerings.”
“As a new resident of Pittsburgh, exploring the historic Strip District neighborhood is a must, with wholesale ethnic grocers, gourmet food shops, and delicious restaurants,” agrees Gina Vensel, owner of Easy Street Promotions. “Explore the independent businesses located at The Pennsylvania Market, and new shops and restaurants at The Strip District Terminal including City Winery and Pitt Shack. The Strip has something for everyone.”
Despite all of the amazing places to explore in this iconic neighborhood, what are Vensel’s can’t-miss spots in The Strip? “Get a taste of Italy at La Prima Espresso Co. and Colangelo’s Pizza,” she shares. “Catch elders sitting al fresco playing cards and eating cannolis. The Strip exudes the vibrant mix of Pittsburgh‘s culture — a city blended with rich history and hip new development.”
Bloomfield
Initially settled by Italian immigrants, Bloomfield is Pittsburgh’s version of Little Italy. “A visit to Pittsburgh isn’t complete without exploring the Bloomfield neighborhood,” says Juan from P*Town Bar, a premiere destination bar and community hub for the LGBTQ+ community. “Dive into the rich blend of traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine and the vibrant bar scene that the city has to offer.”
Make sure you come hungry – in Bloomfield, you can shop at authentic Italian grocers, sample delicious Italian cuisine, and explore a wide variety of eclectic spots that have popped up over the years. Grab a bite at D’s Six Pax & Dogz, an award-winning hot dog eatery in the area, or browse for your next favorite book with a beer in hand at the independently-owned White Whale Bookstore. Catch a drag show, karaoke night, or themed party at the welcoming P*Town Bar, or just spend the day wandering the streets of Bloomfield, enjoying the variety of local shops and businesses in the area.
Lawrenceville
If you’re after Pittsburgh’s hippest art district, look no further than Lawrenceville. Old-world charm meets modern flair in a mish-mash of historic row houses interspersed with new urban dwellings. Home to artists, entrepreneurs, and one-of-a-kind businesses, Lawrenceville encapsulates a neighborhood feel with its emphasis on supporting small and local.
Stop by the many galleries, dining options, and boutiques, but make sure you don’t miss this Pittsburgh hidden gem in Lawrenceville: The Confidant Speakeasy. Only open Friday and Saturday nights, the tropical-themed bar is found down an alleyway known as Eden Way off Butler Street. You know you’re there when you see the green light illuminating the doorway. Small and intimate, The Confidant is the perfect date night or after-dinner spot for a clever cocktail or rotating pint.
5. Try wine tasting at these unique Pittsburgh vineyards
Pittsburgh hasn’t always had a flourishing wine scene – it’s only in recent years that the Steel City has begun to grow its appreciation for both local and international wines. Vineyards local to the western Pennsylvania region give you the chance to indulge in homegrown vino, while increasing urban wineries are focusing on intimate environments and global offerings. Here are two unique Pittsburgh wineries that give you the chance to try the local harvest and wines from afar.
Deer Creek Winery
If you’re on the hunt for unique experiences in Pittsburgh, Deer Creek Winery is a gem that deserves a spot on your itinerary. Nestled in the scenic countryside, this winery offers a relaxing escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. With a diverse selection of wines crafted from locally sourced grapes, you’ll find everything from crisp whites to rich reds to adventurous options that are released every few weeks.
“There are a lot of fun wineries to explore while in the Pittsburgh area, but only one that brings out different flavors every couple of weeks; at Deer Creek Winery, we call these our FUNTIME wines,” raves Rhonda Brooks, owner of Deer Creek Winery.
Brooks continues, “If you go a little further from the city, you can visit the historic winery and B&B at the Watson Estate in Uniontown, PA where you can not only taste wine, but have lunch or dinner, host a party or wedding or even just spend the night in the 1800s farmhouse.”
The inviting tasting room of the winery features a cozy atmosphere, perfect for sipping and savoring each pour. Plus, the outdoor patio provides stunning views of the surrounding landscape, ideal for a leisurely afternoon. Keep an eye out for special events, like live music and seasonal festivals, or extend your experience by treating yourself to a room at the scenic inn on site.
Refucilo Winery
At Refucilo Winery, you have the unique chance to experience high-quality Argentinian wine right in Pittsburgh. The Northside hidden gem is Dr. Juan Lora and his wife Cecilia Lora’s passion project, inspired by days in the Dominican Republic sailing on his uncle’s boat, Refucilo. Longtime home winemakers, the couple eventually decided to purchase a vineyard in the Uco Valley of Argentina to bring their passion to their current home of Pittsburgh.
“The Malbec and Torrontes grapes are meticulously harvested by hand, transformed into award-winning wines, and transported to the intimate tasting room where specialists pair the wine with tapas,” confirms Christine Whispell of Refucilo Winery. “We suggest finishing the night with a unique malbec sorbet. But whether you’re looking for herbal, light and refreshing; plum, velvet and chocolate; or rich, ripe, tobacco, and spice, all of the wines at Refucilio are fermented dry and will leave you wanting more.”
6. Check out the unique Pittsburgh art scene
Another unique thing to do in Pittsburgh is explore the diverse art scene. From iconic establishments like the Andy Warhol museum to lesser-known finds amongst the city, Pittsburgh offers something for everyone. Tours, murals, neighborhood art crawls, and festivals are just the tip of the emerging Pittsburgh art scene.
The Mattress Factory
Despite its name, the Mattress Factory now resembles nothing of the sort; rather, the old factory building houses both permanent and rotating contemporary art over three city blocks. Featuring works by both established and emerging artists, the museum focuses on site-specific installations that engage with the unique spaces of the museum. You won’t find walls of paintings here. Instead, you’ll find yourself immersed in sound baths, reflecting in rooms of mirrors, and wandering decrepit grounds, thoroughly expanding the bounds of avant-garde.
Monthly art crawls
Otherwise known as “Unblurred,” wander the streets of the Arts and Commercial District in Garfield the first Friday of every month to explore art galleries, pop-up shops, live music, and more. Unblurred grew out of the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative, which was an effort to revitalize the street with art galleries and studios. Though it’s evolved over the years, Unblurred has been around since 1998, one of the longest-running art initiatives in the state. The summer months are the best time to experience the event, where you can wander the lively streets, duck in and out of galleries, and partake in the Garfield Night Market, which runs adjacent to Unblurred and features a variety of local vendors and artists.
Yearly events
Be sure to make room in your schedule for these unique art experiences in Pittsburgh. From live music, glowing exhibits, and interactive hobby classes, here are a few must-try events that only happen once a year.
Art All Night
Art All Night is a 22-hour grassroots art festival, featuring live performances, films, community-submitted works of art, and lots of food. Hosted throughout different buildings in Pittsburgh April each year, you can expect anything from drum circles to fiery tubas to provocative sculptures; everything and everyone is represented in this one-day arts festival. Submissions range from drawings by children to professional artists, an art show that is truly for the people, by the people.
Creative Arts Festival
Don’t just admire the local craft, but learn a new hobby if you happen to be in town during Pittsburgh’s yearly Creative Arts Festival, which is often hosted each year at the end of August. Focusing on textile experiences such as knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, and many others, the Creative Arts Festival celebrates the long-standing art of handmade crafts.
“Be sure to add the Pittsburgh Creative Arts Festival to your agenda!” raves Laura Regan, a longtime participant of the festival and now heads the initiative. “We are a 3-day festival with a vibrant marketplace and 70 classes in many creative arts: knitting, crochet, sewing/quilting, polymer clay, weaving and much more. We look forward to getting your creative juices flowing while having lots of fun.”
7. Visit an array of weird local spots
These unique local spots in Pittsburgh embody funky, making them a must-do if you’re after a one-of-a-kind, unusual experience in the city.
The Zenith
Vegetarian cuisine meets art gallery meets antique shop at this eclectic Pittsburgh restaurant. At the Zenith, shop vintage wares while enjoying an affordable meal in the city that focuses on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, and stay for the variety of events the space hosts, from music and poetry to art shows.
Bayernhof Museum
Located inside a historic mansion, the Bayernhof Museum showcases the elaborate music collection of its former long-term resident, Charles B. Brown III. These aren’t just any instruments, however; the collection consists of a large amount of functional, self-playing instruments. Besides housing historic musical machines, the mansion itself features ancient stone walls and a feature wall of windows, providing sweeping views of the river below. Interspersed throughout are numerous wet bars and secret passageways that you’ll encounter throughout your time in the museum, reflecting the eccentric nature of its former owner.
Trundle Manor
A self-proclaimed tourist trap, Trundle Manor is probably one of the most unique places to visit in Pittsburgh. The manor is actually the residence of artist couple Anton and Rachel Miriello, who acquired the home over 15 years ago and have since filled the space with their private collection of oddities. Inside, you’ll find all things creepy and ghoulish, from vintage taxidermy to smiling knick-knacks, to a singing tumor in a jar (yep, you heard that right).
8. Unique things to do in Pittsburgh for all ages
From educational experiences to outdoor adventures to local attractions, Pittsburgh has plenty to explore that caters to a variety of interests and ensures that everyone can find something unique to do in the area.
Get out on the trails
If you’re looking for a unique summer activity in Pittsburgh that gets the kids immersed in nature, why not try mountain biking?
“Trail Adventures offers exciting and engaging youth mountain biking clinics and summer camps for interests and abilities from mild to wild,” shares the outdoor adventure founder Cody Pletz. Classes take kids through the trails of North Park and Hartwood Acres, all while developing necessary skills like trail etiquette and bike technique in the great outdoors.
“Our goal is to spark passion for a wonderful sport that will keep kids exploring, active, and healthy for life,” promises Pletz.
Shop for a new book – for free
Give the kids an experience they won’t forget by taking them to B is for Books, a free children’s bookshop. Located right beside Pittsburgh’s waterfront shopping complex, the Ready Ready Pittsburgh initiative opened the bookstore in early 2024 as a way to give high quality reading materials back to the community.
“Every child ages birth to 18 that comes through our door can choose three free books to take home and keep – we aren’t a library.” says Mark Sepe from Reading Ready Pittsburgh. “There are no income requirements, and you can come as many times as you please. The bookstore also offers helpful resources, a reading nook, and plenty of activities to enjoy.”
A weekend itinerary for Pittsburgh with kids
“As a mother of two, these are some of our favorite things to do in Pittsburgh,” reveals Emily Papa, a publisher for the event calendar Macaroni KID.
Papa recommends: “Spend a day at Kennywood Amusement Park, enjoy an afternoon on one of our three rivers (whether it be kayaking or on a Gateway Clipper Cruise), explore our incredible local parks (Mingo Creek Park is a favorite), grab a slice of pizza from Fiori’s Pizza, and sweeten the day with a $5 box of candy from Grandpa Joe’s. There are always so many events happening, so we always check the Macaroni KID event calendar to help find fun!”
9. One day in the Steel City
If you just have one day in Pittsburgh, why not see the best views and make the most of your time sampling the local cuisine? For a jam-packed day full of nature, make sure you check out these Pittsburgh bucket list spots.
“When you’re in Pittsburgh, our two must-do experiences are the National Aviary and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, where you can spend a whole day wandering the gardens,” suggest Scott and Melissa Barronton of the travel blog Sunshine Travelers. “Since these spots are both indoors, you don’t have to worry about the weather.”
Must-visit food spots for your day in Pittsburgh come highly recommended from the Sunshine Travelers as well. “Get lunch at The Porch at Schenley, located between the Aviary and Gardens. After, ride the Duquesne Incline and have dinner at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, but be sure to get reservations ahead of time. For a treat, don’t miss brunch or cocktails at The Speckled Egg in the beautifully renovated Union Trust Building.”
Unique things to do in Pittsburgh, PA: Final thoughts
Pittsburgh is brimming with unique experiences that go beyond the typical itinerary, offering an eclectic mix of art, adventure, places to explore, and is also a great place to live. Whether you’re a longtime resident or a first-time visitor, there’s always something new to discover in this historic city. From hidden art gems to Pittsburgh’s vibrant neighborhoods, the Steel City invites you to explore and connect with its local spirit.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode:
Learn expert tips and tricks for saving money on holiday travel booking, from the best time to book to when you should use rewards points.
When should you book your holiday travel? How can you save money on travel during the busiest travel season? Hosts Sean Pyles and Meghan Coyle talk to travel rewards Nerd Sam Kemmis about how to save money when booking holiday travel, with tips and tricks on using companion fares, the optimal time to book holiday flights, and understanding the fine print of airline programs. They also discuss the challenges and benefits of standby flights, the value of subscribing to flight deal newsletters, and the advantages of using credit card points and transferring them to partner airlines. By exploring these topics, the hosts aim to provide listeners with actionable advice to make holiday travel more affordable and less stressful.
Check out this episode on your favorite podcast platform, including:
NerdWallet stories related to this episode:
Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go. And if you don’t want that to break the bank, have we got an episode for you — and Grandma. Today, tips and tricks for saving money on holiday travel booking.
Sam Kemmis:
Because changing and canceling flights for most airlines is a lot easier now than it used to be, and there aren’t as many change and cancellation fees, that actually is a pretty good strategy.
Sean Pyles:
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast. I’m Sean Pyles.
Meghan Coyle:
And I’m Meghan Coyle.
Sean Pyles:
And this is episode two of our Nerdy deep dive into holiday travel and the costs therein. And Meghan, I know you and I are both in the camp of avoiding holiday travel if at all possible. As much as we love our families, sometimes the hassle of getting to them just isn’t worth a wing and a leg of, you know… turkey.
Meghan Coyle:
Yeah. I heard what you did there, Sean. As we know, plenty of people do brave the crowds and the lines and the delays to see their loved ones over the holidays, so we are here to help smooth that process as best we can, especially when it comes to what you’re spending on that travel.
Sean Pyles:
The holidays are infamous for higher prices, especially on airfares, and there are definitely ways to save money if you’re willing to be a little flexible.
Meghan Coyle:
Sean Pyles:
Ooh, I love secrets, and we’re going to share lots of them today. So listener, perk up your ears like you’re listening for sleigh bells in the distance because we’re going to drop a lot of insider knowledge on you today. It’s our holiday gift to you.
Meghan Coyle:
That’s right, wrapped up all pretty and nice.
Sean Pyles:
We want to hear what you think too, listeners. To share your ideas and experiences around holiday travel with us—the good, the bad, and the insanity—leave us a voicemail or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373, that’s 901-730-NERD, or email a voice memo to [email protected]. So Meghan, who are we hearing from today?
Meghan Coyle:
Today, our guest is our Nerdy colleague, Sam Kemmis, and we’re going to explore all the ways you can save yourself some cash when you’re booking holiday travel, and you don’t necessarily need to redeem your points to do it.
Sean Pyles:
That’s coming up in a moment. Stay with us.
Meghan Coyle:
Hey, Sam. So great to have you back on the show.
Sam Kemmis:
It’s so great to be here.
Meghan Coyle:
What are your travel plans for the holidays?
Sam Kemmis:
They’re not the most exciting, but I’m going to go home to Montana, where I’m from, with my kids to see family.
Meghan Coyle:
Aw, that sounds really sweet.
Sam Kemmis:
Meghan Coyle:
Is it going to be cold there?
Sam Kemmis:
Oh, yeah. It’s always cold. I always go for the cold snap. It always gets into the negative temperatures while we’re there.
Meghan Coyle:
Sam Kemmis:
This is always the question, and I wish I had that silver bullet where I’m like, “Here’s the one weird trick to saving money on holiday travel,” but the truth is it’s hard to do. But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. So one of them is using companion fares. My partner and I both have the Alaska companion fare, which is great because we have two kids, and it lets us book a second ticket for just a little over $100 no matter how much the first ticket costs. Because you’re spending the same amount on that second ticket no matter what, the more expensive your first ticket is, the more value you’re getting from it. Holiday travel tends to be pretty expensive, so I usually save that companion fare for the holiday so I can kind of maximize that difference between the $100 and whatever I end up paying for the actual fare.
Meghan Coyle:
So it’s kind of like you’re almost using your companion fare as a kid discount, a child discount on your airfare for the holidays.
Sam Kemmis:
I wish my oldest was still young enough that I could put her on my lap. That’s the real discount for the holidays. In a pinch, I use companion fares. Alaska has a great one, but there’s also one from Delta. Southwest has its sort of famous one. There are some companion fare options out there.
Meghan Coyle:
And tell us how Alaska’s companion fare works. I believe you get that through a credit card, is that right?
Sam Kemmis:
Yes. You get it through its co-branded credit card and you get one of them to use every year.
Meghan Coyle:
Is this an annual tradition of yours to use the companion fare on the holidays?
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah, I guess it is becoming one as my kids get older. It used to be I would try to just book the most ludicrous flight that would still qualify with stopovers and multi-cities and going to Costa Rica and whatever I could do. But for one thing, Alaska has sort of changed the terms of it so it’s not so easy to do that. And now, yeah, not as exciting and my most expensive trip is usually home for the holidays.
Meghan Coyle:
Makes sense. Yeah. And I know some of the other companion fares have different terms and things like that, but Southwest’s companion pass lets you get flights for a discount for the entire year, so the holidays are also a great time to use that for a really high value.
Sam Kemmis:
Just no blackout dates on those, as far as I know.
Meghan Coyle:
That’s what we’re looking for for holiday travel because the travel companies know that these are such high demand times. You have to be really careful with the deals. Let’s talk about when you book your holiday travel. Have you done that already?
Sam Kemmis:
I have not. I have learned from covering this beat for so long that it’s actually usually better to wait until the fall to book, and maybe even a little later in the fall. So that’s easy for me because I’m a procrastinator, but I know there are a lot of people who want to book as early as possible. But the data show that booking months in advance doesn’t actually save you money. One piece of data I got from Google Flights that they shared with me showed that the lowest prices for the holidays usually happen between 80 and 20 days before departure, so about one to two months before departure, and that’s true for both Thanksgiving and the December holidays. If I’m booking for Christmas, that will put it somewhere in October, likely, that I’m booking. That’s a rule of thumb, but every year is different. It could be that if you wait until that 20-day cutoff that prices will actually go up, or that may be when prices are actually lowest. Just like anything that revolves around supply and demand, there’s no way to really play the market. Booking way in advance is usually not a great idea.
Meghan Coyle:
Okay, that makes me feel a lot better because I haven’t even started thinking about it yet.
Sam Kemmis:
I know. It’s like 95 degrees here. It’s hard to imagine.
Meghan Coyle:
I know we’re talking a bit early about holiday plans, and one thing I wanted to float out there is that you could book something now and kind of lock in a lower rate, and then you might be able to rebook it or change it or cancel it if something happens, your travel plans change, or even the price goes down. Can you talk a little bit about that and why that might be a good option for the holiday travel?
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah, because changing and canceling flights for most airlines is a lot easier now than it used to be, and there aren’t as many change and cancellation fees, that actually is a pretty good strategy. If you’re just one of those people that doesn’t want to wait and you see a decent price right now, you can always book it now and, like you said, either change the ticket when you see a better price and you might get a refund on that difference, or just cancel your ticket outright and rebook the lower price. So that’s not a bad idea.
You want to be a little careful, though, to make sure that you’re actually booking a refundable flight. And that doesn’t mean a fully refundable fare, but usually basic economy flights and flights with budget airlines like Spirit and Frontier do not have full cancelability. They won’t offer a full refund, especially those basic economy tickets. You want to watch out booking those. You probably won’t be able to get your money back. The same thing applies for hotels. Hotels are usually a lot easier. They’re usually much more flexible in terms of letting you rebook and even cancel last-minute. You can always book some hotel rooms in advance as long as you’re checking that fine print and making sure that you can cancel it later.
Meghan Coyle:
Something I used to do in college as well was I would take advantage of same-day changes and standby to help save a bit of money on holiday travel. I’ll tell you how this worked and then you can tell me if that was a good strategy or not to use.
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah, I want to hear about this.
Meghan Coyle:
I went to school out of state, so I had to fly home for the holidays. The cheapest flights were usually these super early morning, 6:00 AM flights, or maybe they would have some stops or I would take the red eye. I mean, these were just awful flights I was booking. But if you look into some of the same-day change policies and standby policies, you might actually be able to sometimes call your airline ahead of time, like the day before, or even look in the app and see if there was any availability on a better flight. As long as your departure airport and your arrival airport didn’t change and you were still taking off on the same calendar day, you can save a lot of money by just taking any of those extra seats on a better-timed flight. Something I would do is I would book maybe the earliest flight back on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and then I wouldn’t actually get up at 6:00 AM after eating tons of turkey the day before. I would just check on Thanksgiving and change it, sometimes for free if you have elite status, or there’s some type of policy that’ll let you change for free, or I would pay a pretty nominal fee, like $75, and fly back at a much more normal time. What did you think about that strategy?
Sam Kemmis:
That’s not bad, and I’ve definitely done things like that. I think it’s for sure a good college student strategy because it works as long as you’re pretty flexible on what actually ends up happening. You can have this great plan and, “Oh, I’m going to change it to a better flight,” and there may just not be better flights available. Or you could sort of go on standby, that fills up, and then you’ve got to get over to your actual flight or onto another standby. You could kind of end up in this purgatory where you’re not on any flight.
Meghan Coyle:
Sam Kemmis:
Obviously, I’m speaking in generalities because every airline is going to have different policies for this.
Meghan Coyle:
Sam Kemmis:
I love it. I love that kind of thing. I’ve done that with red eyes where I’ve booked a red eye that’s way cheaper and then just said, “Oh. Actually, could I just fly a normal flight?” and it works out. Totally a possibility if you’re willing to put in a little extra uncertainty work.
Meghan Coyle:
That’s a good call out. And probably wouldn’t work if you have multiple people traveling, like your family, so that would make it a bit more difficult.
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah, I think my kids would break up with me.
Meghan Coyle:
So where should people look for deals, whether on hotels or airlines, for holiday travel?
Sam Kemmis:
Airline deals themselves can be tough for the holidays. You might see airlines promote different sales, but usually those have blackout dates that are actually around the holidays. And so unless you’re willing to fly quite far off from the holiday itself, that’s probably not going to apply. That said, it might be worth subscribing to some flight deal newsletters or social media accounts. You can find those on Instagram or TikTok, and email newsletters are all over the place. And every once in a while, those will have deals around the holidays, especially internationally, especially around Thanksgiving. Because other places don’t celebrate our Thanksgiving, you can find deals around then for sure. Hotels also might have some deals around the holidays depending on how popular that particular property is around that particular holiday, so it’s worth going to the hotel’s website to see if they have any packages that might be a good deal.
Meghan Coyle:
I know we talked about this earlier in the episode—your credit card can come in handy for saving cash on travel purchases. Yours was through a companion fare through your Alaska co-branded card. What are some other situations where you should maybe look at your credit card and see how it can save you cash for holiday travel?
Sam Kemmis:
There’s a few options. One is using your credit card points. The most obvious way to do that is through the booking portal that the credit card has, so Chase Travel or AmEx Travel, whatever it is. Then you’re basically using the points for a fixed value, so you’re essentially buying cash tickets and using the points to pay for those cash tickets. If you’ve got a big pile of points and you want to use them up and you’re going to book a flight anyway, that’s not a bad way to do it. But there is another way to do it, which is to transfer those credit card points to a partner airline, and then book award travel through the partner airline. For instance, you might transfer them to American Airlines and then book using miles through American. So I say that’s another option. We’ve looked into the data and have seen that those bookings don’t usually offer a better cent-per-point value than booking at any other time, but they’re also not much worse. If a flight is twice as expensive as it normally is around the holidays, it will probably be about twice as expensive using miles. So again, there’s no free lunch here, there’s no way to game the system, but you might be able to find a little bit more value by transferring those credit card points to an airline and then booking through the airline.
Meghan Coyle:
Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. And you could also do half points, half cash in a lot of cases if you’re booking through the portal, right? So that might be a way to save some cash as well.
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah, it’s all relative. Do we call our credit card points cash? Are they their own thing? What is it?
Meghan Coyle:
Now we’re getting super nerdy. Are they cash?
Sam Kemmis:
Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes, also, your credit card might have cash back offers on certain hotels or other travel opportunities. Chase offers or AmEx offers might give you 10% back on a statement credit, so you could add that offer to your travel card before you book. Some travel credit cards offer statement credits on travel purchases either booked through the issuer’s travel portal or booked directly with a certain airline or a hotel. That’s a way to offset both the airline cost and the hotel cost.
Meghan Coyle:
Okay. Now let’s make it a little bit spicy. Let’s say you don’t have to go home for the holidays. You want to use that time off to go somewhere else. What are some good ways to save money on this type of holiday travel that’s more like a vacation?
Sam Kemmis:
One option is to go international. Like I said, other countries aren’t necessarily celebrating Thanksgiving. Some don’t celebrate Christmas or the same holidays in December. It might be worth looking at some of those countries to see if there’s some cheaper flight options. And then you can always check out Google Flights or Skyscanner search tools and put in “Anywhere” for the destination. Just be like, “Surprise me,” and just see what’s cheap.
Meghan Coyle:
I love that. You could end up literally anywhere for the holidays. Any other tips for saving on holiday travel without using your points?
Sam Kemmis:
I plug this all the time. I’m always promoting selling your family on doing Thanksgiving the week before or after actual Thanksgiving because…
Meghan Coyle:
Oh, yeah. I remember you wrote an article about this.
Sam Kemmis:
I did, and nobody ever cares and nobody ever bites, but I’m going to say it again. If you just convince your family to do it the week after, airfare will be half as expensive. There will be so much availability for vacation rentals, anything you need, and it still feels like the holiday. It doesn’t really matter as long as you all agree. Then you could extend that out to anything and be like, “Is anything real? Is everything arbitrary? Is it all just in our minds?”
Meghan Coyle:
And with that, we’ll leave everyone with a lot of existential questions.
Sam Kemmis:
That’s right.
Meghan Coyle:
Well, Sam, I know it’s a couple of months away, but I hope you have a great holiday season, or let’s just say a great fall/autumn season, and thanks so much for helping us out today.
Sam Kemmis:
My pleasure.
Sean Pyles:
As ever, I am impressed by how far a little flexibility can go when it comes to saving money on travel. And I say that as someone who is totally inflexible with my travel plans and therefore will never save money like you described doing in college, Meghan. That might be another reason why traveling around the holidays is not my thing.
Meghan Coyle:
I’ll say I did a lot of crazy things as a college student to save money. I remember going to these hour-long talks about the economy so I could get a free Chipotle burrito, and then it turned out it wasn’t even a whole burrito. That tells you how much my time was worth back then. One hour equals half a Chipotle burrito. But back to holiday travel, flexibility is really the key to getting deals on travel at any time of the year.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. This is really something that I’ve taken to heart, which is that if you’re going to travel for the holidays, try to do it on the days when other people don’t. I mean, if you travel on the holiday itself, sure, you might miss out on some meal prep and maybe some games in the backyard if it’s not snowing where you are, but the hassles you’ll avoid just might be worth it. Now of course, that might not work if you have to deal with layovers or you’re going, say, from the West Coast to the East Coast and the time change makes it untenable. But if you don’t have those factors, why not? I’m sure the captains and flight attendants would love to have your company on the actual holidays.
Meghan Coyle:
Yes. And a hearty, “happy Thanksgiving” is always welcome when you have to work the holiday. And just think of the money and potential annoyances you’re saving by traveling the day of. If you can swing it, why not?
Sean Pyles:
All right. Well, our series continues next week. Meghan, what have you got in store for episode three?
Meghan Coyle:
Well, Sean, I would venture a guess that the biggest worry people have about traveling for the holidays is probably a flight getting canceled or maybe a road getting iced over so you can’t get somewhere. But a close second would be your luggage, all your stuff, the stuff you’d need to look and feel great at your destination, not to mention the presents. You lose that and, well, sad face. We’re going to have some tips and advice for getting your stuff from one place to another without losing your mind or your money.
Jessie Beck:
Once you add on the cost of paying to have a carry-on bag on that basic economy ticket, you might as well just get an economy ticket and be able to be a little bit more flexible. I think that’s the most important thing for me. If I did have to make a last-minute change, I can do that penalty-free.
Sean Pyles:
For now, that’s all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected]. And remember, you can follow the show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes.
Meghan Coyle:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland, Sean helped with editing, Claire Tsosie helped with fact-checking, and a big thank you to NerdWallet’s editors for all their help.
Sean Pyles:
Here’s our brief disclaimer: We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Meghan Coyle:
And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode:
Learn how to make compassionate, informed decisions for your pet’s end-of-life care, balancing costs, emotions, and love.
How can you plan for end of life care for your pet? Hosts Sean Pyles and Ronita Choudhuri-Wade discuss the emotional and financial challenges of pet end-of-life care and the importance of early decision-making to help you understand how to make compassionate and practical choices that are realistic for your financial situation. They begin with a discussion of the gut-wrenching reality of limited pet lifespans, with tips and tricks on preparing for end-of-life care, weighing treatment costs against quality of life, and ensuring pets do not suffer needlessly.
Dr. Fiona McCord, founder of Compassionate Care Vet Services, then joins Ronita to discuss the complexities of end-of-life care decision-making. They discuss the importance of early planning, balancing love and practicality in pet care, and resources for grief support. Through touching stories and practical advice, Dr. McCord emphasizes the necessity of preparing for the financial and emotional aspects of pet end-of-life care, helping pet owners navigate these challenging times with compassion and foresight.
Check out this episode on your favorite podcast platform, including:
NerdWallet stories related to this episode:
Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
It’s inevitable. We know it’s coming. Our pets are only with us for what seems like a short period of time, then they go off across the Rainbow Bridge. And one of the hardest decisions that we have to make is how to put a price on keeping them alive for even just one more day.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
What I want and what I want a client to see is that they have a pet who experiences the best possible quality of life for as long as possible. But when that quality falls lower, or we know that that quality is going to slip, or a crisis may occur, then that we make the right decisions to make sure they get to leave this earth, as I said, no stress, no discomfort, no pain, in the arms of their owner, or eating a cheeseburger.
Sean Pyles:
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast. I’m Sean Pyles.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And I’m Ronita Choudhuri-Wade.
Sean Pyles:
This is the final episode of our Nerdy deep dive into the cost of pet care. Ronita, this is such a hard topic, I almost don’t want to deal with it. I know I have limited years with Ozzy and Argus and Pepper, although I’m pretty sure Ozzy, the gecko, is going to live to 100 in human years, only 88 more years to go. But in all seriousness, I know at some point I’m going to have to make these decisions about helping them into the great animal hereafter, and I know it’s very likely that money will have to factor into that decision.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Yeah. When I think about Moe and how vibrant he is now, just a few years old, it’s hard to imagine that moment, that time when we have to consider letting him go, either because of old age or infirmity or some sort of health issue. He still acts like such a happy little puppy dude, but I know it’s coming. I just hope it’s way, way far away, and that we have a chance to do a proper goodbye when the time comes.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. When I see older dogs out on the street with great whiskers and wizened with age, taking a slow easy walk with their pet parents, I wonder what it’s going to be like with Pepper. But it’s not something that I dwell on all the time, nor should it be, but it is a good idea to have some sort of sense of what you’ll be willing to do for them when they reach the end of their lifespan.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Yeah. And you just don’t know when those kinds of decisions are going to knock on your door. If they’re in an accident, you might have to make them at an early age. If they get cancer, same, or any illness. We talked in the last episode about how to prepare for the financial aspects of a trip to the emergency vet. Today, we’re going on to the next step of preparing for the eventuality of a pet’s death.
Sean Pyles:
Because depending on the circumstance, you could be faced with a decision over how much money you’re willing to spend to extend that life, and how much pain and suffering you’re willing to ask of them so they can keep you company a few months, weeks, days, or even hours more. It’s a wrenching dilemma and one that is almost impossible to predict, but that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to plan for.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Yes, and that’s what we’re exploring today. As you’ve said, how do we put a price on the life of our pets? What are we willing to spend to keep them alive? Are we willing to pay for modern surgeries? Do we pay for chemotherapy and other medicines? How do we know when paying to extend their lives is more for us than it is for them? It’s a lot of questions. How do we set limits, if at all? We’ll try to get some answers.
Sean Pyles:
All right. Well, listeners, we’ve been talking about our pets for the past four episodes, and now we want to hear your stories about your pets and what it takes to keep them in kibble. What are you sacrificing in your budget to have an animal? Have you had a household discussion about what you’re willing to spend on their end-of-life care? Leave us a voicemail or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD, or email a voice memo to [email protected]. All right, Ronita, who are we hearing from today?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So today’s guest is Dr. Fiona McCord. She’s been practicing veterinary medicine in the Dallas area for more than 30 years. She’s also the founder of Compassionate Care Vet Services, which provides end-of-life coaching and in-home euthanasia. We’re going to have the tough talk in the hopes that it provides some comfort and direction for pet owners out there.
Sean Pyles:
That’s coming up in a moment. Stay with us.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Hi, Dr. McCord. Thanks for joining us today on Smart Money.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
Well, you’re very welcome. I am more than happy to talk about this subject. I love it, and we don’t talk about it nearly enough.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I absolutely agree. Do you have any pets?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
I do, but I currently have one dog. Two weeks ago, I had two dogs. So this conversation is very personal as well as professional, because I lost my wonderful lady on the 4th of July, which is Independence Day, which is kind of perfect, because she was Miss Independence. Her name was Dixie Belle, but we called her Dixie Hell. So that should tell you everything you need to know.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Oh, but I’m so sorry. Such a loss.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
It is. It’s an absolute life changer and a heartbreaker every time.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Yeah. And, I mean, when I think about my dog Moe and him not being around, I mean, I feel like I mentally can’t even get there, let alone attach a price tag to the whole process of losing a pet. Many of our listeners would have maybe been through this process, as you’re going through it too. But for those who haven’t, what are some of the issues that come up for pet parents?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
Well, let me say one thing first, and that is simply because I know the subject matter here has dollar signs, and I just want to make sure everybody understands that do not ever equate those dollars that you have the ability to spend with your ability to give your pet the very best, most awesome life and end of life. That’s just a given. There are so many things that play into this.
But, I mean, our pets become such an integral part of our lives, and the bond that we develop with them is something that you truly cannot explain to someone who has not experienced it. And having created that bond, when we get to that stage in their lives that we are facing the end, it overloads very often. It’s an area of time in their lives where we have opportunities to stand up and do things for them, but it’s a heartbreaker at the same time, and dollars do play into it.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
The kind of love that human beings can share with animals is really something else, and they provide so much joy. No matter what kind of day you’re having, they’re always so happy to see you. But when we’re talking about end-of-life issues, and while finances aren’t all important, where do finances come into that discussion? I wonder if you might have some stories about people who have had to decide not to spend, say, thousands of dollars to keep their pet alive just to have a few more weeks with them.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
One of the things I would say in any of this decision-making that we find ourselves in is to start early, which I know sounds kind of weird. But as soon as you start realizing that you’re getting to that end-of-life phase, then it’s getting all that information and making decisions before you’re overwhelmed with emotion, because sometimes once we get sucked into this end of life, we tend to just feel like we’re on a train and you can’t get off it and you can’t change it.
I had a lady who called me on a Friday, and we were talking about in-home euthanasia and letting her kitty leave this earth in the most gentle way we possibly could. But she was scheduled on the Monday for a scan. I think it was an MRI. I can’t remember exactly what it was. But her kitty was scheduled for a $3,000 procedure on Monday morning, and she was stressed, not necessarily about the money, but about the stress for the cat, what was this going to feel like, and all of that.
So when I talked her through this, and this was a kitty who had a neurological issue, and so the question was kind of, “Do we have a brain tumor? Do we have some other kind of brain lesion?” And this test was going to maybe give us an answer. But as I talked with her, I said, “You know what? So we do this test, and this kitty has a brain tumor. What are we going to do?” And the answer was euthanasia.
If we do this test and this kitty doesn’t have a brain tumor, it’s an old cat, by the way, what are we going to do? Euthanasia. Then why are we dragging a kitty into a vet to go through a test and spend $3,000 if what you’re going to ultimately do and what the cat is going to experience may actually be worse going down the spend $3,000 route than the other?
So I think all of our decisions coming down through this have to be, what do we want for this pet? What can we fix? What can we not fix? What can we control? What can we not control? Now, how do we, within our resources, money included, give this animal the very best life, but also, and this may sound like a weird thing to say, but given that I do this, a beautiful death?
And that’s what I want for my animals. I don’t believe with my pets, it’s my job to give them the longest possible life. I believe it is my job to give them the best possible life. And when that body fails, whether it is disease or it is age decline, whatever it is, is to make sure that they get to leave this earth in the gentlest, most loving manner within, again, the resources I have and what I believe is okay for my pet and my worldview. And that’s where the decision process takes us.
So that’s just an example of, we could have spent $3,000, it wasn’t going to impact anything, but why? What was the kitty going to get out of it? What were we going to get out of it? And was that really the most rational, reasonable, and loving choice?
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So you do end-of-life consulting for pet parents, as you’ve mentioned. What do those conversations sound like? How do you start those conversations?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
Well, these conversations start with listening and asking, because a lot of these decisions are very personal. We have to figure out what is going on with that pet. What does a client understand or know about what is going on with the pet? But then also, what do we anticipate and expect to happen down this path if we do something, if we don’t do something? What does that client want for this pet? What matters the most to this client for this pet?
Well, what I want and what I want a client to see is that they have a pet who experiences the best possible quality of life for as long as possible. But when that quality falls lower, or we know that that quality is going to slip, or a crisis may occur, then that we make the right decisions to make sure they get to leave this earth, as I said, no stress, no discomfort, no pain, in the arms of their owner, or eating a cheeseburger.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
This conversation has me thinking about when my childhood dog passed away. And I look back, I was maybe in my late teens, when Snowy did pass away, and I saw that one thing that my family struggled with is knowing when the pet’s reached a stage to start thinking about these things. I would just like to get your take on, how do you know when your pets reach the stage?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
So I would say that you start thinking about it and addressing it as soon as you start seeing some signs. And the two classic places, one is when a client gets a terminal diagnosis, which is a very sudden onset, and that should be the start to think about it regardless of where we go down that path. But some people, that’s where this will start, terminal diagnosis.
For others, it’s a much more gradual awareness as either aging or chronic disease starts causing a decline that we start recognizing in our pets. So either of those places, it’s time to start thinking. If I have an animal that has a diagnosis that I know I can’t fix, I know all I can do is manage it. I might be able to make this animal feel a little bit better for a little bit longer. As soon as I’m in there, I’m in that window.
And that is where it becomes that very personal one of how far down this path do we go and what is okay down this path for my pet in my home, because the competing piece here is that while I want as long as possible, provided quality is good, what I also don’t want is the crisis last day. I don’t want ever anybody picking their dog up and going to an emergency room in the middle of the night. I don’t want anybody with me on one end of the phone hearing the dog screaming in the back, saying, “I need to euthanize my dog now.”
So sometimes the balance becomes, “I will trade off a little bit of time, maybe, to make sure that this dog never hits that point, and that this dog’s last day really is at home, being loved on, eating a burger, if that makes them happy.” Whatever it takes to have made decisions that when you look back, you have the fewest possible regrets is a goal in everything that we do as end-of-life providers.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Right. And if we look specifically at that planning side of it, could you share some advice on financial considerations that pet owners would have to consider?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
The use of dollars for medical care for your pet or end of life is like any other use of dollars. It’s, “What do I have? What are my priorities? And how do I do what I want to do?” So other than insurance, which is certainly going to cover some, everything else is still your dollars, and it’s just how do those dollars flow from you to the provider of care?
So part of that is, that decision-making is huge. What do I want? How do I get this best? And maybe I can’t do all of these things, but what can I do? Because sometimes we think that if we are sitting in a vet’s office and they tell us it’s going to be X, Y, or Z, to do chemo or do whatever, we go, “Oh, well, we can’t afford it,” or maybe we’ve done all that and we make a statement like, “There’s nothing else we can do.”
I would argue that there is something else you can do. You can make that animal as comfortable as possible. So that ahead-of-time thinking about what matters to me at the end of my pet’s life, so now I can decide how do I distribute my resources to make sure I get them that. It may not be chemo and surgery and $50,000. I have a person I’m talking to right now who is afraid to get a pet, because she’s afraid she won’t have enough money for all the medical care she’ll need to get that pet.
That is awful. It’s not about dollars in medical care. There is a certain amount we have to do, but we’ve got to pull back and understand what we really want to give this pet, and that it’s okay not to have the $50,000 to do the surgery and the chemo and whatever else.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So what are some options that pet owners might have for end-of-life care? Can you walk us through that? And then we can also look into how does hospice care work, et cetera.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
You’re likely to have a regular vet. So you’re likely to have gone through general medical care through the course of this dog’s life. At some point, you get your diagnosis or you have an issue that you need to look at. Anywhere down this path, it is almost always okay to say, “I don’t want my pet to experience this negative” whatever it is. And euthanasia is the thing that we have that allows us to prevent any discomfort whatsoever.
So that is there, but we’re still coming into it with, “I want as long as possible, provided quality is best.” And really, the regular vet can provide almost everything, because I used to… When I started this practice, I did actual hospice, which is going to be where I’m going to come into this situation with a client and a pet, and all of them are my focus of care.
I’m looking now at the family, at the environment. I’m going into the home. So I’m able to go in and say, “Well, I know what’s going to make things harder for this pet or not,” because a lot of end-of-life stuff is not dollars. It’s managing the situation. So our dogs that are… mobility issues, can’t get up anymore. Well, you know what? We’ve put some runners down. This dog will be able to get up, but he can’t get up on the wood floor. “He can’t go where he wants. He can’t get to his bed anymore.” Well, if you brought it downstairs, he would.
So a lot of the hospice and the ability to go into a home and look at how the family runs, what the relationships are there, what the environment is, is huge. And that is not a big dollar thing. When I consider dying, there’s three biggies for me that I don’t want at the end of my life. I don’t want physical pain I cannot control. I do not want the inability to breathe, and I do not want panic and anxiety. So when I come to this in the hospice setting for what we’re going to keep our animals going down this path, I have those same three things for them.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
When you get to that inevitable time where it’s clear your pet is near the end, what are some considerations for deciding between euthanasia and a natural death?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
That is very, very dependent on the situation. The process of death can be a fairly gentle, nontraumatic one. So if I have a really old, the 22-year-old cat who is dying, but overall, all the organs of the body are aging and wearing down, and everything kind of slows together, including the mental acuity.
So if a body is doing that, then you could actually have a death that you would support it maybe with pain med or, comfortably, things like keeping the lips and the tongue wet, a warm, comfortable position, the presence of someone who loves them. Those kinds of things can make a natural death maybe be okay, and it can take a long time. So if that is what someone wants to do and they’re able to manage that with the pain meds, whatever, that’s fine.
But most of our pets end up with conditions where the death process is not going to be gentle. There’s no reason to go down the natural death path unless you know that the trajectory of what is likely to happen in this body is something gentle, that I can medicate appropriately to control any discomfort and, again, that I don’t have a condition that is going to leave a last experience for a pet very unpleasant.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So when you have these options, how do you balance what you want for your pet with what it’s going to cost between sedation, euthanasia?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
Our way to control dollars is to do all the things that we can do within our home to manage and maximize comfort, to use a regular veterinarian to get the drugs I need. But you should be able to manage with a combination of your regular veterinarian, maybe an end-of-life vet, if you can find someone who will take that role, and then who is there for you at the very end.
Some of the cost relates to aftercare of that body. Now it is about the client, whose heart is broken, and there’s nothing we can do about that. So now it is what all can be done in order to minimize that pain and support that client through this piece until life starts to look a little bit normal again.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I wonder if you could recommend any resources or support groups for pet owners dealing with grief.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
The sources, obviously, naturally, they’re going to be different depending on where you are. There are a number of online grief groups. So if you want to do that virtual thing, lots out there. A lot of the cremation companies, if you find out who does this in your area, several of them have virtual groups that they support, and even phone lines that you can call about grief. Some of the rescue groups may have one. Some of the emergency clinics in your area may have one.
And then the other thing is actual true counseling. The group that I do, I actually co-facilitate with a counselor, and there’s going to be an occasional person that needs more than just a support group. If the family already has someone that they’ve used for other issues, then that might work, as long as that counselor gets it. This is one of those where you have got to be around people that get it.
And the other thing that happens with loss is that losses tend to pile up. And sometimes the loss of a pet, devastating, but it will open up all the other losses that have not yet been dealt with in that person’s life. It can be a floodgate. So everything from, “Oh, I just need to chat with somebody,” all the way up to, “I need real help here.” It can be a loss of identity, “Who am I? I’m Foo-Foo’s mother, but I’m not anymore.” So, so many situations and such a level of devastation that a person who has not experienced it really can’t wrap their brain around it, and we can’t expect them to.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
So to wrap up, when you are counseling pet parents who are dealing with a pending loss of their beloved furry family member, what would you say are the most important takeaways for our listeners to think about, especially financially, but as well as emotionally, at the end of their pet’s life?
Dr. Fiona McCord:
I think it is back to what we kind of said at the beginning, is sit down, see what do you want for your pet, what matters to you at the end. What if you’ve already got a situation that you kind of know what you’re going to be dealing with? What do you think that situation is going to look like? Find someone or get the information, enough information, that you have a sense of what’s coming so that you can make some of those tough decisions before you’re in it. How are you going to want to do that? What do you think of this? Before those emotions and all you can feel is the pain and the panic of what’s coming.
It is the getting ahead. It is planning, having time to think through it, to let your brain and your heart wrap around what this is that’s coming, and just make the best decisions you can. But the more you do on the front end to know that you have made those rational, good decisions for you and your pet, the better it will be on that back end. When you look back on the awesomeness of that life, no matter how painful the loss at the end, they are absolutely worth every bit of pain we suffer at the loss.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Dr. Fiona McCord, thank you so much for talking with us today about this difficult topic and covering it with such depth and insight and warmth. We’re also so sorry for the loss of your dog as well, but thank you so much for coming on Smart Money.
Dr. Fiona McCord:
You are so welcome. Happy to do it.
Sean Pyles:
Ronita, I am trying to not fall down a hole of imagining my dear pets’ last moments. But there are a lot of valuable lessons in your conversation with Dr. McCord. First and foremost, do not equate your ability to spend with your ability to give your pet a good life. In fact, sometimes spending more money on a pet’s care can actually leave them feeling worse and suffering for longer. And what I’m personally going to be focusing on is the idea of giving my pets beautiful deaths. I want to honor their lives and our relationships in their final moments, and that’s kind of the best you can hope for.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
I couldn’t agree more. And one thing I did want to add in, just so our listeners are prepared, are the costs after your pet has passed. A pet cremation can cost between $30 to $250, depending on the size of the pet, and whether it’s communal or private cremation, while a burial can cost between $300 to $2,000.
And like everything we’ve spoken about before, it’s good to have a plan, to know what to do when the moment comes, especially when it can get so emotional and difficult, and to prepare yourself and your family for the hole that appears in the pet’s absence. I will say, just to lighten things, I am considering getting one of those dog portraits done for Moe. You know where they put your dog’s face on a distinguished general or an old-timey king’s body? It is how I would like to remember Moe as a little doggy emperor.
Sean Pyles:
That is so sweet. Well, Ronita, when I think about why we did this series, it really is in the spirit of education and getting folks to think ahead. As we said in the first episode, this is like any other financial consideration, whether it’s retirement or paying for school or having kids. This isn’t meant to be a downer, but actually the opposite, to save folks from having to make surprise decisions in the moment.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Yeah. It’s a reality check, right? Puppies and kittens and goldfish and geckos and hamsters and horses, they’re all such wonderful additions to our lives. But as we’ve said, they’re not free. While you might get them for free, their existence in your household isn’t. It’s really worth taking the time to budget for them, to think about what your limits will be for their healthcare, and what your endpoint will be when they reach the end. And then from there on out, all you have to do is love them.
Sean Pyles:
That is the easiest part, and my favorite.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
Sean Pyles:
Well, Ronita, this has been such a great series. Thank you for bringing it to us.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
My pleasure, Sean. Woof, woof.
Sean Pyles:
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And that’s the end of that.
Sean Pyles:
For now, that’s all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected]. And remember, you can follow the show on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to automatically download new episodes.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland. Sean helped with editing. Kim Lowe helped with fact-checking. And a big thank you to the NerdWallet editors for all their help.
Sean Pyles:
Here’s our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Ronita Choudhuri-Wade:
And with that, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
At the risk of jinxing it, things are looking up for home buyers.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped for three consecutive months (and counting). Competition has calmed down a bit — and inflation has, too. And while we’re still technically in a sellers’ market, the inventory of homes for sale in June reached its highest level in more than four years.
Hoping to buy in 2024? If you’re well prepared with a budget and a mortgage preapproval, you might not even need to knock on wood. Let’s look at the good news, the challenges and the wild cards that remain for home buyers this year.
Good news: Mortgage rates drop to a one-year low
Finally, some relief: In the week ending Aug. 15, 30-year mortgage rates dropped to an average 6.28%, their lowest weekly average since February 2023. That’s welcome news for shoppers who have felt burned by high rates — or maybe even put their house hunt on ice until the cost of borrowing cooled down.
Over the past two years, buyers have been at the mercy of mortgage rates’ meteoric rise, holding on as the average 30-year fixed rate climbed from 3% to nearly 7% in 2022. In October 2023, rates topped 8% for the first time since 2000 — a surprise even many top economists didn’t predict. Higher interest rates make it more expensive to get a mortgage.
To put that in perspective: Let’s say you can afford $1,800 per month in principal and interest. At a 7% interest rate, you could afford to borrow $270,600. But at a 6% interest rate, you could afford to borrow $300,200 — nearly $30,000 more — for the same amount per month. When interest rates go down, home shoppers’ purchasing power goes up.
For now, economic signals suggest more positive news for buyers in the latter half of 2024. Dan Moralez, regional vice president at Dart Bank in Holland, Michigan, points to a cooling economy and a potential cut to the federal funds rate. “All of that stuff really lends itself to mortgage rates getting better and the cost to borrow getting cheaper, which is really good for those people who have maybe sat on the sidelines hoping to see rates get better,” Moralez says.
More good news: It’s nearly certain the Federal Reserve will cut the federal funds rate by at least 25 basis points at its next meeting Sept. 17-18, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. (A basis point is one one-hundredth of one percent.) While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates directly, the federal funds rate influences the cost of long-term loans, including mortgages.
Your strategy: If you’re ready to buy, jump in now
A potential Fed rate cut is welcome news, but in the meantime, it’s not a reason to put off your search. Changes take time to trickle down, so avoid the self-induced pressure of timing the market perfectly. Instead, focus on shopping within your budget right now.
Also: When rates go down, competition goes up — another reason there’s no time like the present to start house hunting.
Whichever way rates move in the remainder of 2024, you’ll save money if you shop around. Aim to get an estimate from at least three mortgage lenders. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates borrowers can save $100 per month (or more) this way. And look at the annual percentage rate, or APR, to understand the total cost of the loan, which includes fees and other charges.
One final tip about rates: Do your research before picking a mortgage lender with the flashiest discount. This year, some lenders have been advertising “buy now, refinance later” offers. Others are offering temporary buydowns, where the buyer’s effective monthly payment is reduced for a year (or a few). Each option could potentially save money, but Moralez says it could also be “smoke and mirrors” if the deal is offset by higher fees.
“It’s one of those things where I tell folks, ‘There’s no free lunch, OK?’” he says. “You know, somebody is paying for it somewhere.”
Good news: More inventory, less intense competition
Recently, the supply of homes for sale could be summed up in two words: Slim pickings.
But in June, shoppers got some good news: The number of existing homes for sale reached a four-year high, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Nationwide, there was a 4.1-month supply of homes for sale, meaning it would take just over four months at the current pace for all properties to sell. The U.S. market hasn’t seen that much housing inventory since May 2020, when the supply was 4.5 months.
Demand still outpaces supply, but with more homes to choose from, buyers are less likely to encounter intense bidding wars reminiscent of the pandemic years. Houses for sale are getting fewer offers compared to last year, according to the NAR’s June 2024 Realtors Confidence Index, a survey of its members. In June, a home listed for sale received an average 2.9 offers, compared to 3.5 offers in June 2023.
Another sign of cooling competition: Houses are staying on the market longer. In June, 65% of homes sold in less than a month, compared to 75% at the same time last year. The median time on the market in June was 22 days, a full four days longer than June 2023, when the median time on the market was 18 days.
With pending home sales also on the rise in June, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun says he expects to see even more houses getting listed ahead of typical seasonal declines in winter. “The rise in housing inventory is beginning to lead to more contract signings,” Yun said in a news release. “Multiple offers are less intense, and buyers are in a more favorable position.”
Your strategy: Cast a wide net
While an improvement from recent years, a 4.1-month supply of homes for sale is still technically a seller’s market. A balanced market has about a six-month supply of homes for sale; a buyer’s market has more than six months’ worth.
You can’t control who puts their house on the market, so in the meantime, focus on the options available now. Let go of the fantasy of finding the perfect home when a “good enough” home can get your foot in the door sooner. That’s especially true for first-time home buyers who are eager to build equity.
“Last year, we certainly didn’t have enough houses — and we still don’t,” says Ellie Kowalchik, a real estate agent who leads the Move2Team with Keller Williams Pinnacle Group in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Don’t wait until the spring to start looking.”
For now, maybe you expand your search to include condos or townhouses. Maybe you settle for fewer bathrooms or a dated interior. Keep your chin up — even if you have to tolerate less square footage or weird linoleum floors for a while, you’ll have equity to remodel or sell in a few years.
Still challenging: Home prices climb to record highs
While some aspects of homebuying have gotten easier as 2024 rolls on, one challenge remains: home prices. The sales price of existing homes has risen for 12 straight months, according to the NAR. In June, the national median sales price hit a record high of $426,900.
As more inventory hits the market, though, the degree of home price growth has slowed somewhat over the summer, according to an August 2024 report from ICE Mortgage Technology. Still, if you compare the cost of buying a house to the median household income, July 2024 was one of the least affordable months to buy a home in more than three decades. Why? Home prices are growing faster than wages, and on top of that, high mortgage rates increase the cost of borrowing.
Until supply catches up to demand, prices are unlikely to fall. Realtor.com estimates prices will fall less than 2% by the end of 2024. No one can predict exactly what the market will do, but if you’re an optimist, there’s reason to be hopeful that prices are reaching a plateau.
“Even as the median home price reached a new record high, further large accelerations are unlikely,” Yun said in a press release. “Supply and demand dynamics are nearing a balanced market condition.”
That’s another reason to jump in now: A big drop in prices could trigger more competition.
Your strategy: Make a budget and stick to it
If you’re Zillow-stalking houses you can’t afford, stop. Instead, channel that energy toward your plan to shop for a house in real life — starting with setting a realistic budget.
First, talk to a financial advisor or use an online calculator to see how much house you can afford. Understand how mortgage lenders will determine your eligibility, including analyzing your credit score, cash savings and monthly debt payments.
Next, find a buyer’s agent who knows how far your budget can go in your local market. An experienced agent can advocate for you and help you snag a good deal.
Wild card: Changes to real estate commissions
One of the year’s biggest shakeups has been a major legal settlement with the NAR, which changes the way your buyer’s agent gets paid. While the NAR admitted to no wrongdoing, it will pay $418 million to settle more than a dozen antitrust lawsuits accusing the organization of enforcing rules that inflated real estate commissions. These changes take effect Aug. 17.
Previously, home sellers generally set the agents’ commission — typically 5% to 6% of the home sale price that was then split between the buyer’s and seller’s agent. Now, a new system is in place: You’ll have to sign a contract with your buyer’s agent, which spells out the terms of how they get paid.
For now, many real estate brokerages will likely stick with the familiar commission structure of a percentage of the sales price. But the settlement opens the door for new ways for agents to get paid, such as a flat fee or an hourly rate. Time will tell what becomes the new standard.
Your strategy: Brush up on your negotiating skills
When hiring a buyer’s agent, be polite but firm when negotiating. If the commission is more than you want to spend, ask if the agent would be willing to lower it. Point out any fees you don’t understand. And if you still aren’t comfortable with the terms, it’s OK to shop around or walk away.
While the new rules are more complex, they also give you, the buyer, more leverage in negotiating for your best interests. Buying a home is a big journey, and when you sign that contract with a buyer’s agent, you should feel supported and empowered about the business relationship that lies ahead.
The bottom line: Set realistic expectations
Things are looking better compared to the beginning of this year, but if you haven’t found a house yet, it’s fair to feel bummed out about high costs and complexity.
The solution: Think long-term. Holding out for lower rates or “perfect” buying conditions likely means you’ll face steeper prices and more competition. So if you’re determined to buy, find a place that suits your needs and budget as-is. Expecting perfection often means setting yourself up for disappointment.
“Sometimes I have clients that think they’re going to hit a home run the very first house they buy,” Moralez says. “And a lot of times I tell clients, well, sometimes it’s OK to be happy just getting on base.”
Remember those old internet ads promising one “weird trick” to improve your fitness forever? I never clicked on those, but I wonder if the trick was “exercise often.” Because that would work.
Similarly, I’m asked all the time about the best way to use credit card reward points — specifically, points issued by banks designed to cover a variety of travel expenses. Three-quarters of credit card accounts offered rewards in 2022, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and many come with flexible redemption options. The answer is surprisingly simple: Learn how to transfer those points to travel loyalty programs.
Transferring points isn’t a particularly easy or obvious option. But the value of the points from popular issuer loyalty programs — such as Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One miles — can vary dramatically depending on how they’re used. That’s why NerdWallet offers both a “baseline value” and “maximized value” in our point valuations.
The baseline value is how valuable points are when used for booking travel directly through the issuer’s rewards portal, such as Chase Travel℠ or Capital One Travel. The maximized value relates to how much these points are worth when transferred to their best partner program. For example, the baseline value of American Express Membership Rewards is 1 cent, while the maximized value (when transferred to the best partners) is 2 cents.
$99 for a $6,205 luxury resort?!
See how this family saved $$$$ thanks to 1 credit card and how you could, too. (Limited time bonus now!)
Don’t be deterred
Most credit card reward programs make it easy to use your points for their baseline value. They usually show the cost of using points right next to the cash price when searching for travel on their booking platforms.
To be clear: There’s nothing wrong with using your points this way. Sometimes it’s actually the most valuable redemption option. And you generally get benefits like earning miles on flights booked this way. But there is another way.
American Express puts the “transfer points” option at the bottom of a hard-to-find menu on its account page. Don’t be deterred.
Figuring out how to actually transfer your points is one thing. Then comes the real challenge: Which partner program should you transfer them to?
This is the step where most people — including me — are most likely to get deterred. Each credit card program has a long list of transfer partnerships ranging from well-known U.S. brands like Delta Air Lines to international airlines like EVA Air. Which transfer partner is “best”?
Be clear about your goals
Many articles about maximizing points focus on redemptions that yield the best dollar-per-point value, which are almost always business and first class awards. But it’s worth asking: Is that what you want?
If you were planning to fly in a premium cabin already these articles can be helpful. But there are many problems with trying to book these awards, including restricted availability, complex booking processes, large fuel surcharges and other fees.
Flying economy might give you a worse dollar-per-point value than flying first class, but you might be able to squeeze more trips out of your points. And transferring points to loyalty programs for economy flights could still give you an edge over booking directly through an issuer. Don’t suddenly turn into a champagne-swilling points maximizer just because some article told you to.
Also important: Don’t transfer your points until you know the redemption you want to book is actually available. Otherwise you’ll be stuck with a bunch of points in random programs, and this one trick will turn into a big hassle.
Stick with it
The thing about this one weird trick — just like exercise — is that it requires persistence. It’s not a magic bullet.
Credit card holders earn $40 billion worth of rewards each year, according to a 2022 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. And most of those rewards won’t be used to maximum effect.
By simply considering transfer partnerships as an option when using your credit card points, you’ve already put yourself 10 steps ahead of most people.
Austin, Texas, is a city that captures the hearts of many with its unique blend of creativity, innovation, and southern charm. Known for its legendary music scene, vibrant tech industry, and welcoming community, Austin offers a lifestyle that is both dynamic and laid-back. Not sure if the city is for you? Read on to find out what to expect if you’re considering a move to the Austin area in 2024.
You know it from: Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Zombieland
Average 1 bedroom rent: $1,445 | Austin apartments for rent, Austin houses for rent
Average home price: $565,000 | Austin homes for sale
Average cost of full-service moving services: $126/hr for 2 movers
Average cost to rent a moving truck: $19 – $39/day
Top industries: Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing
Move here for: Live music, the food, the nightlife
Be sure to bring: A bathing suit and an instrument
The heat can be oppressive and it will wear on you over time
Summers in Austin are brutal. There’s just no way around it. From late May through September, temperatures hover around 100°F. If you are moving from a cooler area such as New England or the West Coast, expect this to be an adjustment. Air conditioning is an absolute necessity here. While the intense heat can be daunting, the rest of the year is typically mild, with short, cool winters.
Moving Tip:Austin is the 2nd hottest big city in Texas, second only to El Paso. The city’s numerous swimming holes, like Barton Springs Pool and Deep Eddy Pool, provide popular escapes from the heat.
The music scene is legendary
Austin is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World” for good reason. The city hosts numerous music festivals, including the famous Austin City Limits (ACL) and South by Southwest (SXSW). The Old Settler’s Music Festival just outside of town is another highlight. On any given night, dozens of venues along Sixth Street and the Red River Cultural District are buzzing with live performances. Music lovers will appreciate the variety and frequency of shows, from local indie bands to international superstars. The city’s commitment to music extends to free outdoor concerts at places like Zilker Park and Auditorium Shores.
The cost of living is rising
While Austin had a long standing reputation for affordability. Whether you’re hoping to rent or buy in Austin, the influx of tech companies and new residents has driven up housing prices significantly. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now just under $1,500, and home prices have seen double-digit increases year over year. Despite this, many still find Austin’s cost of living manageable compared to other tech hubs. However, potential movers should budget accordingly and consider exploring neighborhoods further from the city center for more affordable options.
Tech industry boom
Austin has become a major tech hub, earning the nickname “Silicon Hills.” Major companies like Apple and Google have established significant presences here, bringing high-paying jobs and economic growth. The job market is robust, particularly in tech and innovation sectors. For tech professionals, Austin offers exciting career opportunities without the astronomical cost of living found in Silicon Valley. Additionally, the city’s supportive startup ecosystem encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.
Community spirit
Austin prides itself on its community spirit and welcoming atmosphere. The city’s motto, “Keep Austin Weird,” reflects its embrace of individuality and creativity. Local events, such as the Pecan Street Festival and the ABC Kite Festival, foster a sense of togetherness. Neighborhoods like South Congress and East Austin are known for their eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and street art. This strong sense of community is evident in the numerous local initiatives and volunteer opportunities available to residents.
Dogs are welcome here
Austin is known for being exceptionally pet-friendly. Many restaurants, bars, and even shops welcome pets, and there are numerous dog parks around the city. Red Bud Isle and Auditorium Shores are popular spots for off-leash play. Additionally, the annual Austin Pet Expo and events like Barks for Beers showcase the city’s love for pets. Pet owners will find a welcoming environment and plenty of activities to enjoy with their furry friends.
Beer, Tacos, and BBQ
The food scene in Austin is dynamic and diverse. The city is famous for its barbecue, with Franklin Barbecue often cited as the best in the country. Tacos are a staple, and places like Torchy’s Tacos and Veracruz All Natural are local favorites. Beyond barbecue and tacos, Austin boasts an excellent craft beer scene. A plethora of food trucks serve up a variety of cuisines, from Thai to vegan fare. Food festivals, such as the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest and the Austin Food + Wine Festival, further highlight the city’s culinary prowess.
Lakes, parks, and trails
Austin offers abundant outdoor activities, thanks to its numerous parks, lakes, and trails. Lady Bird Lake is a hotspot for kayaking, paddleboarding, and hiking along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail. Zilker Park, home to the annual Austin City Limits Festival, provides green space for picnics, sports, and the Barton Springs Pool. The nearby Hill Country offers additional opportunities for hiking, camping, and wine tasting. Nature enthusiasts will find plenty to explore in and around the city.
You will probably need a car so be prepared for rush hour traffic
Austin’s rapid growth has led to significant traffic congestion. The city’s infrastructure struggles to keep up with the increasing population, especially during rush hour on highways like I-35 and MoPac. Public transportation options include buses and a limited light rail service, but many residents still rely on cars. Recent initiatives aim to improve the situation, including expansions to the light rail system and increased bike lane networks. However, you should be prepared for commute times that can rival larger cities.
Cultural diversity
Austin is a melting pot of cultures, which is reflected in its food, music, and festivals. The city’s diverse population includes significant Hispanic and Asian communities, contributing to a rich tapestry of cultural experiences. Festivals like the Austin Asian American Film Festival and the Texas Book Festival celebrate this diversity. This cultural blend makes Austin a vibrant place to live, offering residents a chance to experience a wide range of traditions and cuisines.
Growing bike-friendly options
Austin is increasingly becoming bike-friendly city with an extensive network of bike lanes and trails. The city’s B-cycle bike-sharing program makes it easy to get around without a car. The Veloway and the Southern Walnut Creek Trail are popular routes for both casual riders and serious cyclists. The city also hosts events like the annual Austin Bike Fest, promoting cycling as a sustainable and enjoyable mode of transportation. For those moving to Austin, investing in a good bike can enhance the living experience.
Creative and artistic vibes
Austin’s artistic community is thriving, with countless galleries, theaters, and street art installations. The East Austin Studio Tour and the Blanton Museum of Art are just a couple of highlights. The city also hosts various film festivals, including the Austin Film Festival, which attracts filmmakers and cinephiles from around the world. Street art, particularly in neighborhoods like the HOPE Outdoor Gallery, adds to the city’s creative atmosphere, making it an inspiring place to live.
Higher ed excellence
Austin is home to several highly regarded educational institutions, most notably the University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin is a major research university with a diverse range of programs and a vibrant campus life. The presence of such a large university contributes to the city’s youthful energy and provides ample opportunities for continuing education and professional development. Additionally, the city has strong public and private school systems.
Active nightlife
The nightlife in Austin is energetic and varied, catering to a wide range of tastes. Sixth Street is famous for its bars and live music venues, while the Warehouse District offers a more upscale experience. Rainey Street, known for its bungalow-style bars and food trucks, is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. Whether you’re into dancing, live music, or a quiet drink at a speakeasy, Austin’s nightlife scene has something for everyone.
A commitment to sustainability
Austin is dedicated to environmental sustainability, with numerous initiatives aimed at reducing the city’s carbon footprint. The city has a robust recycling program and incentives for using renewable energy sources. Community gardens, farmers’ markets, and composting programs are also prevalent. The Sustainable Food Center and the Austin Zero Waste Alliance are just two organizations working towards a greener Austin. Residents who prioritize eco-friendly living will find plenty of support and resources in the city.
Methodology: Average rent prices sourced from Rent.com July 2024. Home prices sourced from Redfin July 2024. Average moving costs sourced from MoveBuddha. Employment data sourced from Gravity USA.
“Until he got all rich and fancy so that he no longer understands the common person’s plight.
Stash probably doesn’t even practice any of these money-saving things he preaches any more!”
When I read things like this, I can’t help but laugh. Because on the one hand, when you put a bunch of personal life details online like this, being misunderstood is just part of the package. But on the other hand, if the critics could peek in and see our real lives – not just mine but those of all the Mustachians – they would have to give up their conspiracy theories and accept the fact that this stuff just works.
Because really, not much has changed when it comes to the basics. Like many MMM readers over the past twelve years, my total wealth level has increased pretty regularly. But also like many of us, I haven’t felt the need to change very much about my spending because I was doing my best to live an enjoyable life in the first place.
How have so many people found such great success? I think we Mustachians have something that’s a bit more rare and special than standard financial advice, which is what makes it work so well:
Standard Advice: Slash your spending and make sacrifices until you reach a certain savings percentage, and beyond that it doesn’t matter, it’s all personal choice. More income? Great, that means you don’t have to sacrifice as much! FatFIRE for everyone!
Mustachianism: Cultivate a love of efficiency, creativity, self awareness, and self improvement. Use this knowledge to improve your life in all ways, including those which help you live better even as your monthly expense rate drops over time.
So what does this mean in practice?
Well, I’ll give you some examples from my own present-day life. Things I do because I happen to enjoy them, which also happen to save a lot of money. Some of these are normal, some are silly and may end up in some future gossip magazine hit piece, but all of them happen to work for me, so the critics can be damned.
As I list each item, I’ll include an estimate of how much the activity saves me per decade, because you should always think at least in terms of decades.
To make that calculation yourself, just use the “rule of 172” – take a monthly expense and multiply it by 172 to estimate how much it would compound into over ten years, if invested.
1) Fixing my own House (and everybody else’s too)
I’m a big believer in self-sufficiency, and working to build up the skills to manage the most important parts of your own life without depending on too many things (or people) that are outside of your control. In other words, one giant recipe for a happy life is simply to Become a Producer of the Things You Most Enjoy Consuming.
And in my case, I happen to love houses. I like living in beautiful, functional spaces and sharing them with friends. But most houses are ugly and poorly designed when you buy them, so I realized that I also love solving problems and redesigning old buildings to become new again. I enjoy this process so much that I spend most of my free time doing it – on both my own properties and the homes of friends.
And I love teaching other people to gain power over their own houses too. It’s amazing how great people feel as they lose their fear and dependence on outside contractors, and gain the ability to fix and maintain things with their own two hands.
Savings: An average of $20,000 per year = $287,000 per decade
2) Craigslist and Community
You know what’s great? Having so much money that you can buy whatever you want – high quality things which get delivered to your front door the very next day.
You know what’s even better? Not buying some of those new things, and instead finding ways to share, repurpose and buy equally high quality items from other people who don’t need them any more. All while building up your own community and creating new friendships in the process.
Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and even NextDoor all have Buy Nothing groups for most areas. In the MMM-HQ community, we run a Discord server with about 200 local people, who chat around the clock on a wide range of subjects. They help each other with major projects in one channel called #diyhowto, and give away and sell things on #forsale and #buynothing.
Although our private Discord group is my favorite, I also use Craigslist regularly, and probably save (and earn) a few thousand every year thanks to the habit:
Savings: About $42,000 per decade
3) Bikes over Cars
We all know that Mr. Money Mustache’s biggest contribution to personal finance is to insist that bike transportation is the best way to get around. And I still feel this way. As we learned in The True Cost of Commuting, cars cost at least 50 cents per mile to operate, while bikes are much cheaper, mainly due to reduced depreciation and maintenance costs (which are even bigger than the gas savings).
I do still use bikes (or walking) for at least 95% of my local trips these days, but because I live in the center of a small city, my life is pretty local. So this still only adds up to about 2000 miles per year, a savings of “only” $14,000 per decade.
But when you choose active transportation, there’s much more to the picture than just cutting your car expenses. You’re changing everything about your physical and mental health picture for the better, which brings us to the next point of…
4) Muscle over Motor
Although I’m no competitive athlete, whenever I see an option to make my body work a bit harder, I usually take it. Stairs instead of elevators, running the golf course instead of using a golf cart, moving my own furniture and appliances instead of calling a mover, shoveling snow and raking leaves instead of using a machine.
When I face a decision like this, I simply ask myself the question:
“Well, Mustache. Do you want MORE health and fitness, or LESS?”
Putting it in that context makes the answer obvious. Every bit helps, because when it comes to your body, the rule is pretty much use it or lose it.
But how much money does this save? There’s no real way to calculate it exactly, but I like to think of it this way: The US average health care spending is about $13,000 per person per year. My lifetime costs due to illness or medication so far have been just about zero, plus I know I’ve had more energy and greater productivity due to being healthy. Let’s just put it very conservatively and set the estimated savings and benefits at $10k per year which means
Estimated Savings: $140,000 per decade.
5) Saving Energy by Running my home like a Glamping Retreat
Here’s where things get a bit silly, but my level of joy is actually at its greatest.
My personality type is probably a weird combination of an engineer, a carpenter, an artsy hippie, and a mad scientist. Oh, and a devoted homebody too. Because of this, my favorite activity most days is to just run around my house taking care of things and trying new little experiments and improvements.
Sometimes I’ll cut a few big holes on on the South side of the house and install sliding doors and big windows to allow nice sunbeams and passive solar energy to get into my house and give me free heat in the winters. Other times it’s just smaller things to save energy and live more at at one with the seasons of my area:
optimizing the use of air conditioning by running fans at night and building heat tolerance during the days (we set the A/C to only kick on at about 80F)
Enjoying most of my showers outside, with free hot water from the 100 foot garden hose that happens to be coiled in a sunny spot
Cooling myself and get free energy boosts by jumping in the “cold plunge”, which is simply an unheated hot tub I have set up in my back yard
Doing most of my cooking and dining outdoors with an induction cooktop, gas grill, espresso machine, and mini convection toaster oven deal that I keep set up outside during the warmer months of the year
Drying 99% of my loads of laundry out on the line instead of using the clothes dryer
I even charge my car with a little off-grid array of solar panels set up in the driveway (from Craisglist, of course!), which gives me free electricity for driving without going through the permit-hell hassle of a full grid-tied system in my city’s currently solar unfriendly environment.
Even taken all together, these things are pretty small – the average combined gas and electric bill for my area is about $250 per month, while my usage adds up to about $75. So while we’re only saving about $30,000 per decade for what sounds like a lot of work to most people, I consider this to be the biggest win because I enjoy living in “MMM’s Energy Efficiency Playground” so much.
6) Local Living over Constant Travel
“Hey, we’re having a big back yard pool party next weekend to celebrate Amy’s graduation from kindergarten, can you make it?”
“OH NOOOO!!! We will be off in at Disneyland that whole week! We planned the trip months ago, I wish we could make it!
As I type this in the height of the summer season, I really feel this effect at its fullest: almost all of my friends are off on trips, and my guest suite here at home is almost constantly full. People are traveling a lot, and many of them sound like they wish they could spend a few more of their precious summer weeks and weekends at home.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can! The trick is saying, “no thanks” more often to plans that involve you being away, and “yes please” to things that let you stay at home. The benefits are numerous:
You nurture your local friendships more and meet new people who live nearby
You spend way less money on plane tickets, hotels, restaurants gasoline, and car repairs
Your levels of health and fitness can go way up because you aren’t missing workouts and spending hours sitting in plane and car and bus seats. And you can better control your meals – more salads with grilled salmon, less McDonald’s and Pizza Hut
You sleep better
And you have more time to take care of projects around your house where you learn more skills which compound for life
Estimated Savings: Even if you replace just two weeks of travel for a family of four, with equivalent time at home you might save $5,000 per year in direct costs and a further $5,000 per year in incidental benefits like the health and local friendships. This would work out to a shocking $143,000 per decade of wealth increase!
Of course, travel is generally a good thing for broadening the life experience of you and your kids. It’s worth spending on, lavishly at times. But the key is to balance it out and be discerning, keeping the most enriching trips and pruning a few off the bottom of the list. And remembering that home time is valuable and healthy too.
And Whoa! We’ve already built up a huge list and I feel like I was just getting started.
Taken all together, we’ve already detailed things that compound to $656,000 every decade, which already more than double the median wealth that most American seniors have as they cruise nervously into their retirement years – after over 40 years of work!
And now that I’ve been writing this blog for over ten years myself, I can safely say that over $656,000 of even my most recent worth increases are directly attributable to these simple habits. The same ones many of us have been enjoying and preaching about all along, both before and after our retirement dates.
If money is in genuinely short supply, you could go a lot further than the examples in this article. And indeed, there’s a lot more laid out in this blog or the MMM Boot Camp email series.
But one of the points of Mustachianism is that you usually don’t have to try all that hard. Just tweaking your lifestyle to be slightly less ridiculous and more efficient than average is usually all it takes.
—
In the comments: what are your quirks and frugal indulgences? The things you do now to save money, or things you still do even after it’s no longer about the money? I often wonder how widespread this frugality-just-for-fun is. But since we Humans are a naturally curious and problem solving species in our natural state, I suspect there are many more of us out there.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money podcast, where we answer your real-world money questions. In this episode:
Learn why estate planning is important even if you don’t own a lot of assets, along with when to ask for professional help.
Why is estate planning important? What happens to your assets when you die without an estate plan? Hosts Sean Pyles and Dalia Ramirez discuss the essential aspects of estate planning and the common misconceptions that often deter people from creating an estate plan. They begin with a discussion of the critical importance of having a will, with tips and tricks on keeping updated records, managing assets, and understanding the role of a will in preventing lengthy probate processes.
Then, RK Law PC Managing Attorney Regina Kiperman joins Dalia to discuss various tools and strategies available for effective estate planning. They discuss the importance of clearly identifying witnesses in a will, the scenarios where hiring an attorney is essential, and the necessity of advance directives, power of attorney and healthcare proxies. The conversation features actionable advice on managing your will and advance directives, highlights the emotional and financial relief that estate planning can offer surviving family members, and encourages proactive steps to ensure peace of mind for loved ones.
Check out this episode on your favorite podcast platform, including:
NerdWallet stories related to this episode:
Episode transcript
This transcript was generated from podcast audio by an AI tool.
Sean Pyles:
Nobody wants to think about the worst case scenario. To put it more bluntly, nobody wants to think about dying, but if you don’t think about it at all and don’t plan for it, your entire financial life could end up in someone else’s hands, from a distant family member to your state’s court making decisions about your money. Today, what to do to keep that from happening.
Welcome to NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast. I’m Sean Pyles.
Dalia Ramirez:
And I’m Dalia Ramirez.
Sean Pyles:
Dalia Ramirez:
Doesn’t get more exciting than this, Sean.
Sean Pyles:
Well, Dalia, welcome to the host chair here at Smart Money.
Dalia Ramirez:
Thanks. I’m really glad we’re tackling this topic.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah, it’s something we talk about every so often on the show, sometimes in response to listener questions, but in this episode we’re going to go through why it’s so important to have an estate plan, who needs one and what happens if you don’t have one.
Dalia Ramirez:
Yeah, that’s really the key here. I think a lot of people don’t realize what happens to their money and belongings, their estate, if they don’t have a plan. And there are a lot of misconceptions about estate planning, that it only matters if you’re rich, that you don’t need one if you don’t have kids, that it’s expensive and takes a lot of time to do this kind of planning, and that’s not all true.
Sean Pyles:
And when we take a look at the numbers we definitely see some concerning trends. Caring.com does an annual wills and estate planning survey, and in 2024 they found that only 32% of Americans even have a will, and that’s down 6% from 2023.
Dalia Ramirez:
Yeah, for the first time since 2020, the number of Americans with a will declined. And this is despite the fact that 64% say having a will is important. So we kind of know that this is something we should do, but then we don’t do it.
Sean Pyles:
And I think some of what we’ve already cited makes sense. People are worried about cost, they think it’s just for rich people, and I would imagine that in some cases folks just don’t want to think about their own death.
Dalia Ramirez:
But here’s the thing, the consequences of not doing any planning will fall on your surviving family members. If you don’t have a plan, your family can end up having to deal with a long, expensive probate and all kinds of other legal issues all while they’re mourning your death, which is hard enough on its own.
Sean Pyles:
Yeah. Dalia, this is not fun to talk about.
Dalia Ramirez:
No, it’s not. But we’re going to forge through anyway.
Sean Pyles:
Okay, so is there a specific reason that you wanted to come on and do an episode with us about this?
Dalia Ramirez:
I think in a weird way it’s comforting to make peace with things like death. It’s a part of life, it happens to everyone, and there are some surprisingly simple ways to make it easier on your loved ones when it does happen. A document or two, which you can make inexpensively or even for free, can really spare your family from having to make painful decisions during an already difficult time.
Sean Pyles:
Well, I’m glad to know that I’m not the only person with somewhat morbid proclivities at NerdWallet. While thinking about death can be scary and grim, there is something about planning for the inevitable that makes this part of our lives a little easier to grapple with. Well, we want to hear what you think too, listeners. Do you have an estate plan in place? If not, why not? If so, what prompted you to do it? Share your stories with us by leaving us a voicemail or texting the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. Or email a voice memo to [email protected]. So Dalia, who are we hearing from today?
Dalia Ramirez:
Today we’re talking with Regina Kiperman. Regina is a managing attorney with the estate planning firm RK Law PC in New York.
Sean Pyles:
All right, we’ll hear from Dalia and Regina in just a moment. Stay with us.
Dalia Ramirez:
Regina Kiperman, nice to have you on Smart Money. Let’s start with what might seem like an obvious question, but we’re going to ask it anyway. Why is it important to have a will?
Regina Kiperman:
It’s important to have a will because a will acts as an instruction manual to set forth your wishes in the event that you pass away. All states have typically provisions for what happens to your assets if you pass away. For example, New Jersey says if you pass away married, everything goes to your spouse, and if there’s no spouse, then to your kids. New York, on the other hand, says if you pass away and you have a spouse and kids, $50,000 plus the first one half goes to your spouse and the rest goes to your kids. Some people want to deviate from the basic rules that are put forth by these different states and they might want to create a will so that they can have their proposed and desired way of distributing the estate assets. Sometimes you need to do it for tax planning, sometimes you want to do it because you want to give to a friend or a charity or a different person than you would have to give if you just followed the strict laws of the state.
Dalia Ramirez:
So what are some of the things that can happen if you don’t have an estate plan? Where could your estate end up?
Regina Kiperman:
If your next of kin are your parents and they are on government benefits, not having a will could lead to those parents inheriting the estate assets and being kicked off their benefits. Actually, I have a case in point. One of my clients, his dad, is his next of kin, and his dad is a Russian immigrant, and his dad is on all sorts of government benefits, but because the person who passed away didn’t have a will, now all the assets passed to dad and now dad is in danger of losing all of his benefits because he’s now going to inherit this amount of money. And had the person who passed away actually had a will, then the dad could have had the benefits and been able to use the money to supplement his care, which could have benefited him more.
I have another client whose aunt passed away, and at the time she passed away, she had nine siblings, and some of the siblings had died before her. And because it took so long to administer the estate, some have now died after her. And when someone dies after and they have children or even the ones that died before, they also had children, so now the court will require jurisdiction over all these different people, making the administration process a complete nightmare. And in that case, the person has a house, that house has tax liens and other problems associated with it. And so if there was a will, even though there’s all this different family over whom we have to get jurisdiction, it’s easier to get something called preliminary letters to at least temporarily administer the estate, and it’s easier to get that than temporary letters.
Dalia Ramirez:
What are the other tools that might be needed for these circumstances?
Regina Kiperman:
Okay, so a will is fine. You can have trusts inside of wills. Trusts by themselves, they’re just contracts. And a revocable trust is often perceived of as a will substitute. And for basic estate planning purposes, a will is perfectly fine, and even sometimes for tax planning a will is perfectly fine. The creation of the sub trust could be done under the will, which is just another trust that’s formed under the will with the spouse who had no will. Even if he had just said “everything to my spouse,” that is not the best tax planning, but that’s something, because that then defers all of the tax until the death of the second spouse and creates more flexibility and does not cause difficulty for the family, who now has to raise money to pay the estate tax.
Dalia Ramirez:
Is it fair to say that in most circumstances or even all that something is better than nothing? Or are there any types of people who really need something specific or nothing is better? How do you know which tools are necessary?
Regina Kiperman:
So typically when a family calls and they say, oh, we’re newlyweds, we want to make sure everything goes to each other. If that’s their only thinking, I’ll say, well, you don’t really need a will, because if you die, everything will go to the survivor anyway. So that’s an example where you don’t necessarily need one. Although if they think three steps ahead and they say, well, what happens if we both die and we want to give everything to, again, a charity or our cousin or our friend, then you would need a will. So anytime you want to override the default state law, you need a will. Anytime you’re just thinking, I just want it to go to my spouse, you don’t necessarily need a will. Anytime you have two children or one child and that’s your only child and you don’t have a spouse, you don’t need a will because everything’s going to go to that person anyway.
If you want to build in more foresight and more planning… So for example, I have only one child, but they’re not super trustworthy. I have only one child, but they have creditors. I have only one child, but I don’t trust their spouse. Then you want to do planning. But if it’s like, I have one child, they get everything and I don’t care what happens when I pass away, you don’t really need a will in that situation.
Dalia Ramirez:
Okay. That helps. I mean, people have a lot of different circumstances, so there would be different tools that fit. Could you, again for us, name the most common estate planning tools? We don’t have to go into far detail, but maybe the top five.
Regina Kiperman:
Okay, so estate planning, there’s only a finite number of permutations, right? There’s a will, which basically overrides state law of what happens upon your death. And then there’s a trust. And then a trust is a contract between “parties” and sometimes if it’s a revocable trust, it could be a contract between yourself and yourself because in a revocable trust typically you’re the one that creates the trust and you’re the manager of the trust, also known as the trustee. There’s various types of irrevocable trusts which are trusts that you set up with a different type of purpose. Like for a revocable trust, you usually set it up for privacy or because your heirs are unknown or because you want to treat people differently or because your assets are volatile, it’s a different type of planning. It’s like probate avoidance planning. That’s a revocable trust.
An irrevocable trust, which is another estate planning tool, is where you’re starting to think more about not just probate avoidance but specific purpose. So there’s a qualified personal residence trust where you’re gifting your property away, but being able to take advantage of the present value of it. There is a Medicaid trust where you are giving away your assets in order to qualify for Medicaid. There’s a credit shelter trust where you’re essentially trying to figure out what goes into the trust to reduce your taxable estate. So the irrevocable trusts get broken down into a number of different trusts that depend on what your purposes are and what your facts and circumstances are.
And then another estate planning tool is advanced directives, which is power of attorney, healthcare proxy, living will, HIPAA, appointment of agent to control remains, and that is, in my opinion, everybody needs those documents. Those are the most basic documents you can get and everybody needs them because everybody is going to go through a process where they become sick and where they need help and where they need someone to make decisions for them. And in the absence of these types of documents, which are very simple and easy to get, people find themselves in guardianship or more complex processes that then require a lot of time to have someone appointed to make the right decision for you on a medical or a financial level.
Dalia Ramirez:
So these medical estate planning tools are fairly straightforward, right?
Regina Kiperman:
They’re extremely straightforward. For the most part, you can get them online. Like a healthcare proxy, you can just download it online, every state has its own form. A HIPAA, download it online, every state, it has its own form and also federal has its own form. A power of attorney can be more complex, but the most basic version is typically available online. An appointment of agent to control remains, also available online. A living will, and most people think a living will is a will, it’s actually not. A living will is the document that says we authorize our agent to pull the plug and it’s not a will. And that living will is not really available online, it’s not just a statutory formula. But you could have somebody create for you or if you go to I think CaringKind or one of these kind of organizations, they usually have some version of a living will.
Dalia Ramirez:
So most people can pretty easily get the medical estate planning together. The financial stuff could be a little more complicated, right? Do you have to change the name on your accounts? Your bank accounts become accounts under the trust? Do you need new checks? What are the steps after you create something like a trust on the financial side?
Regina Kiperman:
Okay, so for a will, obviously you don’t have to retitle anything. For a trust, after you create the trust, you have to fund the trust. I have countless examples of people who created the trust, not me, not me, we fund all of our trusts. But they’ve come to me because they’ve created a trust and I say, “Okay, what’s in it?” And they blank stare at me, like “What do you mean what’s in it? I have a trust.” And I’m like, “That’s great. What’d you put inside?” And then there’s silence, just absolute silence.
For a trust to have any… I don’t want to use the word legitimacy, that’s not right. For a trust to have value and make any sense, you should fund it. Here’s how you fund the trust. The statute requires you to fund the trust by re-registering assets into the trust. If you have a deed, you need to do a new deed to transfer ownership of the property into the trust. If you have retirement accounts, you can either transfer ownership, just get the forms to either transfer ownership or transfer the beneficiary designation. For a retirement account, you don’t have to necessarily say, oh, the trust is the owner. In fact, because it’s a retirement account, you may not even be able to do that. But you can designate the trust potentially as a beneficiary. If you have stocks, you might want to re-register those stocks. If you have life insurance, you might, depending on the type of trust, either transfer ownership of the life insurance or change beneficiaries on the life insurance to be the trust. And there’s always forms that every financial institution has to help you re-register the asset into the trust.
And I always tell people, you should have the spreadsheet and then you should continue to update it as you get new assets because everything you put into the trust you should have a record of. I actually have stories where people have put almost everything into the trust and then they left out an account. Otherwise, if you have everything in the trust and you’ve left an asset out, when you pass away, now you have to probate your will, which might not have been your goal in the first place. If you were trying to avoid probate, you just failed.
Dalia Ramirez:
Right. And some of this sounds like it’s for people with a lot of money, a lot of assets, and I think a lot of people assume that you need to be really wealthy to need an estate plan. Is that true?
Regina Kiperman:
It’s more about tax planning if you have a lot of assets. Estate planning is just an orderly way to distribute what you do have. So some people just have maybe a house and maybe some cash in the bank and maybe some retirement accounts. You just want to make sure that when something happens to you, those assets are distributed in the way that you want them to be.
Here, I have a great example. A woman recently came to my office with her niece and she actually does not have a lot of assets. She has a co-op in New York City and one bank account. And really she was older and needed care and she was struggling with how to finance that care. And she has a son. When I asked about the son, she said, “I don’t have a relationship with my son.”
So in her case, she wanted to make sure that she gave everything that’s left to her niece, and also they wanted to make sure that there was a way to finance her cost of care. So we talked about setting up maybe a reverse mortgage, which by the way is also an estate planning technique. We talked about transferring the co-op into a Medicaid trust. And then we talked about just doing a will, leaving her whole asset to her niece, because that was the one person who took care of her during her lifetime and that’s the one person she wanted to make sure everything went to. So she doesn’t have a lot of assets, but she just wants to make sure it doesn’t go to her son, who she hadn’t seen in like 20 years.
Dalia Ramirez:
I have a sort of separate question now on a different note. What kind of life events should trigger people to think about their estate plan? Anything that could happen in someone’s life where you would say, now is the time?
Regina Kiperman:
People call us for the following. We just had a baby, and if they just had a baby, they want to make sure that there’s a guardian who could be charged with taking care of the baby in the event something happens to them. People call us because they want to potentially shift their assets because they are afraid of creditors. People call us because they want to pass their businesses down to their children and they’re ready to retire. People call for retirement planning. People call because they’ve bought property in multiple states and they want to avoid probate in multiple states. And then people call because a family member has fallen or the spouse has fallen and they’re in rehab and they need to figure out what to do to shift assets for government benefits.
Dalia Ramirez:
Gotcha. Once you get married, would you want to create estate planning documents together? A joint will, a trust together?
Regina Kiperman:
That one’s a little different because if you’re just married, you don’t necessarily need the type of basic estate planning because everything goes to that spouse anyway. But if you are married and have a lot of assets or if you’re married and have disparate assets and you want tax planning or you want to deviate, again, you don’t want everything to go to the spouse, then you would want estate planning. So it really depends on the facts and circumstances. But just being married by itself isn’t necessarily enough reason.
Dalia Ramirez:
I was wondering how people can make sure their wills, trusts, any estate planning document is valid. Because having a will is one thing, but having a will that actually passes through probate court successfully and quickly is another thing. And I know this might vary by state, but what can we tell people to make sure they know what they need to do to get their will certified?
Regina Kiperman:
In most places, to have a will, you need a person, two witnesses and a document, and the person can say, this is my will, this is what I wanted. Will you guys be my witnesses? Yes. Yes. Okay. Everyone sign. And for the most part, most wills are not contested. There are nuances and some specific requirements that people need to meet in order for their will to be admitted to probate. So the names of the witnesses should be really clearly spelled out. I have now a case where I cannot for the life of me figure out the name of the second witness and the law firm where the person had the will done is now closed. It’s literally a squiggle. The signature is a squiggle. It could be like John Doe and I don’t know what to write. And so I actually called the court and I’m trying to figure it out. But that’s a really very small thing that could turn into a big thing. Just legibly write very neatly the names of the witnesses.
Dalia Ramirez:
I’m wondering on that note when is it necessary to hire an attorney for estate planning? Who is in a position to DIY it and who really needs the professional help?
Regina Kiperman:
Again, this is personal. Because the law is some part art, part science. And so I think that if you have a house, a couple of bucks, a retirement account and you’ve got a wife and a couple of kids and there’s nothing, you’re not setting up any trust, it’s just a will that says to my spouse, and if not, to my children, you can DIY it. You don’t need a fancy lawyer. You don’t even need a lawyer at all. You can go on LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, Trust.com, whatever site you want. And if that’s your specific situation, you do not need a lawyer.
If your situation is more substantive and it’s not necessarily that you have more assets, it’s more substantive. So for example, your wife is sick, you don’t trust one of your children, you’re going to treat your children unequally. You need to create a sub-trust. You want to do Medicaid planning. You want to do tax planning. You want to do business succession planning. If you want something more substantive, you want to give to a charity because there’s different rules on charity, then you might want to speak with an attorney because they can help guide you on the nuances.
If you believe your will will be contested, you should go see an attorney. Not only that, you should do 10 versions of your will. Not 10 of the same, you might strategically want to execute multiple wills saying the same thing, because if you set aside one, you haven’t set aside the other. Those are probably some times where you DIY versus not.
Some more examples. You should staple your will. And once you’ve stapled your will, if you want probate to go simple, don’t unstaple the will. You should not keep your will in a safe deposit box because if you do, then someone’s got to go search the box, because the bank will seal the box. So don’t keep your will in the box, don’t unstaple your will. And even by the way, staple it. Don’t leave it unbound because then the court wants to know why is it unbound? Make your witnesses really clear. Have a self-proving affidavit. A lot of wills from these other like online DIY, the thing is they don’t always have a proper self-proving affidavit. And if they don’t have a proper self-proving affidavit, you have to hunt down the witnesses, which sometimes is a problem.
Dalia Ramirez:
I’m sure for some people cost is a factor here, they’re going the DIY route because it might be cheaper. Could you ballpark estimate how much an estate plan would cost people with an attorney?
Regina Kiperman:
People ask me all the time when right before they hire me, how much I’m going to charge them. And it’s hard to quantify. It really depends on your facts and circumstances. It could be anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000, depending on the complexity. If it’s a basic will with some trusts for the minors and some powers of attorney, all that stuff, it might be $2,500. If you’re getting into trusts, trust funding, deeds, transfers of assets, re-registration of assets or transferring your co-op into a trust, that becomes a pricier venture.
Dalia Ramirez:
So cost can be a factor depending on your circumstances. I also read a survey by Caring.com that found that only 32% of Americans have an estate plan. So what do you think are the other factors that keep people from doing estate planning?
Regina Kiperman:
The fact that people think, “Okay, well I don’t have a lot of money, therefore I don’t need it.” That people say, “Okay, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.” And then they don’t get around to doing it because it’s just not a priority. Some people are superstitious about doing it. They think that if they’re going to do it, that means they’re going to die. For some people, they can’t even talk about it, again because it’s superstition. And some people start the process and don’t finish it. And then there’s the people who don’t have anyone to leave it to and they say, “Well, whatever, the state will figure it out.”
Dalia Ramirez:
Are there any warnings that you would say to encourage someone who you think really could benefit from estate planning but is hesitant for any number of reasons?
Regina Kiperman:
So again, in my opinion, the most important thing that you absolutely 100% need to do is advance directives. Everyone hears me say this, power of attorney, healthcare proxy, the most, most, most important thing, because I am telling you, these documents are extremely cheap to do, and if you don’t do them and if something happens to you, there’s going to be 100 times more dollars spent on reacting to the consequences of not having a simple power of attorney.
As for a will, I personally think that it’s important to do it to set forth your wishes, but the will is just one piece. The thing that I think is the most important is to have a conversation about what do I want to happen if I’m sick or if I pass away. Where do I want my stuff to go? That conversation is the most important one to have. Even if you’re superstitious, you have to face it. You have to face that conversation. And if you don’t, unfortunately you’ll wind up with a mess, and it’ll be a bigger mess if it happens while you’re alive. Because if you’ve passed away, the mess is on your kids. But if you haven’t taken care of estate planning while you’re alive, then the mess is on you.
And I’ve got countless examples of that where the person’s alive, got sick, is incapacitated, can’t sign a power of attorney, and their kids are both grieving, dealing with the mental difficulties and anxiety of their sick parent and scrambling to try to figure out where everything is and properly structure a plan where their parents can be taken care of. I have those and I have countless examples of the same set of facts, but the parent has now passed away and the kids have property, but no way to pay the estate tax. That’s a big problem as well, and that leads to fighting. And the thing that most parents don’t want is they don’t want their kids to fight. Or, here’s a great one, a person passes away, they have three kids, they have a house, they didn’t do a plan. One kid lives in the house. What’s going to happen now? The parent should have been more proactive to think about, what will I really do with my house? Who do I really want it to go to so that my children don’t fight? Which by the way, as a parent, I hate when my children fight. I will do anything for them not to fight.
Dalia Ramirez:
And that should be motivation enough to call up a lawyer. Those are such great examples. Thank you and thank you for helping us out today with all of these questions. I really appreciate it.
Regina Kiperman:
No problem.
Sean Pyles:
Anyone who knows me knows that estate planning is my favorite morbid hobbyhorse. People really don’t want to think about or engage with this stuff, and I get it, it can be scary. But I think about it a little bit differently. I see estate planning as an act of love and generosity. Spending a few hours sorting out how you want to be cared for when you get sick or injured, and what you want done with your stuff after you die, can bring tremendous peace of mind and solace to your family in the middle of a very stressful time. So please give this gift to your loved ones.
Dalia Ramirez:
Absolutely, Sean. And I think it’s important to remember that no one can read your mind about what you want the end of your life to look like. Taking the time in advance to reflect on what matters to you and get it into writing makes it a lot more likely that your wishes will be respected and that your family might even have the pleasure of fulfilling them instead of the burden of guessing.
Sean Pyles:
Well, I hope our listeners have a better feel now for why it’s important to do this even if you don’t think you want to or you don’t want to think about your own demise. If you’re having trouble with that, just remember the aftermath is hardest on the people that you leave behind. So if nothing else, think about them.
Dalia Ramirez:
And I really hope listeners come away with the knowledge that this doesn’t have to be complicated or complex and it doesn’t have to cost much money. In fact, you can DIY it if you want to. But if you don’t want people who aren’t you to decide where all of your money and belongings end up, it’s really important to get this done. Do you have one, Sean?
Sean Pyles:
I do. My partner and I both have our estate plans and advance directive sorted. We did this a few years back after we got engaged because we knew it would be a number of years until we got married, but we wanted to ensure that we were taking care of each other now before we were legally bound together. What about you, Dalia?
Dalia Ramirez:
Well, it feels silly because I don’t have a spouse or kids or much in the way of property, but I spend a lot of time reviewing estate planning software, so I’ve helped my whole family draft wills and I did mine for good measure. Hopefully at some point I’ll have some more things to put on there.
Sean Pyles:
I like that. You are practicing what you preach. Well, Dalia, thanks for coming on Smart Money and doing this episode with us.
Dalia Ramirez:
Thank you, Sean.
Sean Pyles:
For now, that’s all we have for this episode. Do you have a money question of your own? Turn to the Nerds and call or text us your questions at 901-730-6373. That’s 901-730-NERD. You can also email us at [email protected]. Visit Nerdwallet.com for more info on this episode. And remember to follow, rate and review us wherever you’re getting this podcast.
Dalia Ramirez:
This episode was produced by Tess Vigeland. Sean helped with editing. Claire Tsosie helped with fact checking. Sara Brink mixed our audio. And a big thank you to NerdWallet’s editors for all their help.
Sean Pyles:
Here’s our brief disclaimer. We are not financial or investment advisors. This nerdy info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes and may not apply to your specific circumstances.
Dalia Ramirez:
And with that said, until next time, turn to the Nerds.
A cloudy mortgage outlook might cause consternation among lenders, but it is opening the door a bit wider for growth in home equity investments.
A confluence of events over the past few years, including rising interest rates, a dearth of refinances and surging property values are driving some consumers to borrow against home equity. With a spate of securitizations and new issuers recently entering the market, investors are seeing a range of opportunities on offer as a result, coming from both established home equity lines of credit or loans and new alternative credit platforms.
“It will take years and years for the market to recover. And our thought is that even if interest rates were to fall 100 basis points, you’re still not going to see a refi boom,” said Bill Banfield, chief business officer at Rocket Cos.
Rocket Mortgage introduced a closed-end home equity loan in 2022 and has since issued three securitizations backed by its originations, with hopes to at least double that total for the remainder of 2024. The Detroit-based lender rolled out the lien in the same period several other nonbanks launched similar products.
Since that upswing in product offerings, the secondary market has seen a wave of aggregators or originators offering HELOC-backed residential mortgage-backed securities, including Figure, Achieve, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs all with issuances over the past 12 months. As the number of securitizations increase, it brings with it better pricing.
“In 2022, there was really no liquidity. There was not a secondary market for HELOC or home equity loans. Now that’s materially changed,” Banfield said.
“We’ve gone from taking the leap of faith that we’re going to use portfolio money to do proper risk management around that, to building out a buyer base, to then ramping up our securitization platform,” he said about Rocket’s strategy.
Huge potential — on a theoretical basis While growing, numbers today just represent a tiny slice of the total addressable second-lien market that totals into trillions. In May, ICE Mortgage Technology reported home equity rising to a record $17 trillion in the first quarter this year, but other reports estimate it to be as high as $35 trillion. Home equity totals hit a record high in 2017 and the amount only increased in the years since, according to Vadim Verkhoglyad, vice president and head of research at dv01, a Fitch Rating subsidiary.
“This is a real market, massive, huge,” he said. “It’s a borrower-demand question much more than a supply question at this point.”
According to Clayton, a due diligence solutions provider and reviewer of MBS pools prior to issuance, $12 to $14 billion worth of second-lien products are expected to be securitized in 2024 based on current trends. Volumes have grown by at least threefold in the past three years, the company said.
The rate of growth the market sees depends on what the consumer decides to do. “Borrowers in general, homeowners in America — are just not using that much debt,” Verkhoglyad said.
Although home equity securitizations have existed for years, the growth in issuances coming to market over the past several months may seem like a new development to some in the investment community, leading to hesitation. But the sentiment is largely shifting, as issuers have addressed some of the initial reasons driving investor wariness.
Concerns emerged in some industry offerings that included both closed-end junior loans and HELOCs, according to Banfield. “It made it more difficult to be transparent.”
“The investor has to understand what they’re investing in,” he said.
Rebuilding a market framework and investor confidence With home equity originations languishing for a prolonged period when mortgage rates were at historically low levels, the financial structure supporting the secondary market also had to be created.
“The correspondent relationship had to get redeveloped around second liens,” said Pete Pannes, chief business officer at Covius, parent company of Clayton.
“It was something that had to re-emerge from the credit crisis,” but as those issues have resolved, “I think the market became very efficient,” Pannes said.
“There were entities that came to the table, like our clients, to regenerate capital to put back into the market and go upstream to the originators,” he said, referring to independent mortgage banks and other nonbalance sheet lenders.
Meanwhile, borrower performance also eased worries, according to Kyle Enright, Achieve’s president of lending. Since late 2022, the personal finance company has issued four rated securitizations backed by HELOCs from its home loan unit. Target customers for the HELOCs are concentrated among consumers with credit scores under 700, below the average of American homeowners.
For Achieve’s first securitization, “Nobody really looked at it seriously,” Enright said.
“We basically didn’t talk to almost anybody who was a traditional RMBS buyer because it was just too weird,” he added. But sentiment has shifted as some of the first originations reach their five-year point.
“I think a lot of the questions that investors had back early in the day have been answered for the most part. Other people joining the party has helped us,” Enright added.
HEIs bring something new to the table The growth in home equity is also driving an influx of alternative credit platforms entering the field in recent years, including companies such as Aspire, Button Finance and Easyknock. Through equity sharing agreements with originators, homeowners tap into their appreciating property values for financing needs.
Home equity investment, or HEI, products represent a new frontier for the secondary markets, though, as they are based on what seems like an unfamiliar business model. “It’s not a loan. It’s junior, and you’re living in equity appreciation,” Verkhoglyad said.
HEIs’ recent arrival means much of the industry will be learning about product performance and possible risk in real time, particularly if homeowners end up struggling or face foreclosure.
With the first lien prioritized, “There’s not going to be equity appreciation because you’re taking sales proceeds,” according to Verkhoglyad.
“The servicer is going to advance; they are going to be recouped. Legal fees, they’re going to be recouped. All those things are kind of going into the fold.”
A more significant question in the short-term might be whether HEI volume can build to a point to sustain demand in secondary market trading.
“Where do you consistently find these borrowers?” said Pannes, whose company also provides originations services for companies in the home equity investment community.
“There’s certainly enough equity out there. Can you find those borrowers? Can those borrowers find you to create substantial, substantially sized securities consistently enough, so it’s not a flash in the pan?” he asked.
Still, despite the unanswered questions, HEI securitizations are hitting the market, recently coming from the likes of Unison and Point, which issued its third in mid 2024. Other platforms have publicly announced intentions to issue transactions later this year.
The aggregators and investors drawn to the newer HEI products thus far appear to fit a different profile than purchasers of more established loans.
“We’ve got a set of clients that are your more traditional securitizers and investors that are dealing in closed-end seconds and HELOCs. We’ve got some of the newer folks in the niche for HEI. There is a little bit of crossover but not much to speak of at all,” Pannes said.
Recognition by stakeholders A potentially pivotal point for HEI development in the investment community came with the addition of a ratings methodology by Morningstar DBRS a year ago. Kroll Bond Rating Agency followed with its own in early 2024.
“Based on the feedback we have received from the issuers, rated transactions allow for expanded investor base (and consequently better pricing) as certain investors are mandated to invest only in rated securities,” Morningstar’s leaders and researchers said in a comment.
In an April 2024 primer, the ratings service said it “anticipates continued interest in the features of the HEI product as it is a diversified source of funds for homeowners, as well as an attractive source of returns and diversification for investors.”
The value of a rating assigned to any type of home equity loan pool can be significant, making some attractive to a set of investors who might look for long-term returns based on creditworthiness, Enright said.
“These folks have been there since day one, participating in the AA tranche, buying that AAA slice, and they continue to do so,” he said of Achieve’s issuance history. “I think that appetite is also growing quite substantially,” he said.
Recent developments shone a spotlight on the role home equity liens might end up having in the home finance system, with Freddie Mac’s proposal to potentially purchase some closed-end home equity loans. The controversial plan garnered a range of reactions, with concerns raised that the government-sponsored enterprises might displace current issuers. Some leaders, though, welcomed the likelihood of additional liquidity it would bring should the proposal come to pass.
No resolution appears to currently exist that the entire industry would likely find agreement. Freddie Mac said it intends to make a decision on the proposal in June.
But the suggestion of GSEs participating in the second-lien market points to how recent trends have shifted the conversation within the home finance system, as mortgage originations return at a slower pace than what many lenders would prefer.
The future of the market, though, is not entirely in lenders’ hands.
“We’re still talking about a space that is largely very nascent, and the question of how much it’s going to grow is far more a question of what borrowers want to do than lenders,” said Verkhoglyad.