It’s time for a Friday Flight! These episodes are all about the week’s financial news and the impact on your personal finances. There are a lot of headlines out there, but we distill it down to specific takeaways that will allow you to kick off the weekend informed and help you to continue to make smart money moves. In this episode we cover some interesting and helpful stories like: more state vax cash incentives, small businesses on Google, right to repair laws, planned obsolescence, Americans like filing their taxes, more millionaires than ever, turning a profit on your wedding, choosing between WFH or getting a raise, pandemic unemployment assistance is phasing out, & the worst way to travel.
Additional links from this episode:
- Right to repair bills becoming law aren’t necessary for you to start fixing your own electronics, check out the guides, tools, and parts over at iFixit.
- We’ve disparaged the long commute for years and it’s the top reason employees don’t want to give up WFH.
- If you happen to have a timeshare that you’re looking to unload, then head over to TUG or Vacatia, but don’t be surprised if you have to literally give that thing away.
And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money. Have an awesome weekend!
Best friends out!
Hi Matt and Joel,
I just listened to your most recent Friday flight where you both were very outspoken about how terrible timeshares are. I have stayed at timeshares where they forced me to sit in the sales pitch and it was terrible, however, that is not every timeshare.
I have a timeshare for a place in Aruba that was passed down to me from my parents. They purchased it in the 1990s and I have had it in my name since 2013. I’ve been fortunate to be able to afford the maintenance fees every year when they are due. When I am not able to use my rooms in a year, I am able to rent the rooms out and either break even or make a profit. Usually, if I rent the rooms to family, I just want to get the money I already paid back. But when I rent the rooms out to strangers, I am usually able to get more money per room by pricing them similarly to other hotel ratea. I just wanted to say, for me and my family, we love Aruba and specifically the timeshare hotel we stay at every year. Since we have been going for years, the place and people are like a second home to us. Also, they don’t try sell everyone who goes into buying a timeshare but do offer free breakfast if you want to learn more about them (they are a business after all). A new timeshare there can cost as little as $2,800, which is much less than I think most people would expect. Just wanted to say, they are not all bad!
Hey Alex,
Thanks for sharing your experience. For folks that love going back to the same place every year, a timeshare can provide some value. And it sounds like your timeshare is doing that for you. It’s especially helpful that you can even make money by renting out your week when you are unable to use it. Even though we think timeshares are almost always a bad purchase and aren’t not fans of how the industry operates in general, it is always good to hear from someone who has a different perspective.