George Kamel - 4 Money Mistakes You Probably Made in 2023

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

Now’s a great time to reflect on the past year—the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the good choices and not-so-good choices. And based on the stats we’ve seen about things like student loans and credit cards, it seems like a lot of Americans made some not-so-good financial decisions in 2023. So, in today’s video, we’ll take a look at some of the biggest money mistakes people made this past year so you can steer clear of these financial fails in 2024.  Links:  Preorder George Kamel’s new book, Breaking Free From Broke, and get more than $100 in FREE bonus items. EveryDollar budget deal: I love a good deal, and when you sign up using this link, I’ll hook you up with a 14-day free trial and $15 off your first year of the premium version of EveryDollar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, it's that time of year again, where you gain a couple pounds, return a third of your gifts, and really phone it in at the office. He's on a sales call. It's also a great time to reflect on the past year, the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the good decisions and the not-so-good decisions. And based on the stats we've seen this year about things like student loans and credit cards, it seems like a lot of Americans made some not-so-good decisions in 2023 when it comes to their money. Maybe you're one of them, Steve?

Who drains their 401K to start a business breeding lizards. Anyway, the new year is upon us, and it's a great time for a fresh start. So in today's video, we'll take a look at some of the biggest money mistakes people made this year so you can steer clear of these financial fails in 2024.

But first, let's start off strong. Don't fail me now. Subscribe to this channel, like this video, and share it with your friends like Steve who are thinking about raising reptiles for fun and profit. Huge mistake. Although nukes are kind of cute. I could see that one working.

All right, let's get to our first. big money mistake. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans' credit card debt is the highest it's ever been. In fact, this year, it's surpassed $1 trillion. And for reference, that means that's $1,000 billions. And to make matters worse, that debt has become harder to pay off thanks to insane interest rates, which right now average around 22% APR. The only kind of debt with higher interest than that are those scum-of-the-earth payday loans, you know, the ones in the old Pizza Hut locations. And you know who benefits from all that credit card debt? You guessed it. The people handing out the credit cards. Now, we don't have numbers for this year, but we know in 2021,

banks made $106.7 billion off credit card interest and fees. So if your household is one of the $55 million with credit card debt, stop doing the banks a favor, and instead, do yourself a favor by quitting the game that's designed for them to win. Pay that junk off, cut up the cards, and never look back. Your future self will be glad you did. And while you're doing things for your future self, lay off the funions. Three packs of days, it's a little excessive. It's all I'm saying. It's a line you get that funyon breath. You know the one. Now because mangy and fulions? The next big money mistake people made last year was taking out student loans. Yep, even after seeing how so many people are struggling to pay their student loan debt

years and even decades after graduation, people continue to take out these bad boys. And according to federal student aid, the total number of people receiving federal student loans has reached almost 44 million. That's 44 million young adults entering the workforce with a 600 gorilla on their backs. And if you do the math, that's 26,400 million pounds of metaphorical monkey. And the worst part is, banks and colleges are still pushing student loans onto high schoolers and allowing them to borrow exorbitant amounts of money. How can they do this with a clean conscience? Who knows? Maybe it's dirty. There are some questions I don't have the answer to. Like, why was the show two and a half men so popular? Who's the target demo there? Charlie Sheen fans?

Do those exist? Look at what I do. Duh. And while we're talking student loans, Another mistake people made was waiting on student loan forgiveness from the government instead of making payments during the pause when they could have been shipping away at that loan balance interest-free. So if you're considering taking out student loans, don't do it. Not to do it. Despite what you may have heard, it really is possible to go to college debt-free. And if you already have student loans and you're struggling to pay, hang in there. You can pay them off, it will be worth it. And I cover just how scummy the student loan industry is, and I give you a plan to go to college debt-free in Chapter 4 of my new book,

breaking free from broke. It's available now for pre-sale, and you can get your copy with the link in the description below. All right, next money mistake people made last year was taking out car loans. According to the New York Fed, auto loan debt has surpassed student loan debt for the first time ever. There are currently 107.8 million auto loans in the U.S. right now. And the total debt amount for all of those loans adds up to $1.55 trillion. And get this, 1 in 5 Gen Zers says that an auto loan cost them over 20% of their after-tort tax income every month. So don't be surprised if your 22-year-old cousin Madison says she can't afford to contribute financially to Grandma's 99th birthday gift, but then rolls up to the party in her

Matt Space Gray Bronco. And what this means is 20% of Gen Z is squandering a massive chunk of their biggest wealth-building tool, their income, on assets that are actively going down in value, all during their most pivotal wealth-building years. Let me tell you, Gen Z, that do not be bussin. That's a big L from Lil G. How do you do, fellow kids? And guys, there's a rather simple solution to this that for some reason people think is impossible, but I assure you, it can't be done.

You ready for it? Buy an affordable used car that you can pay for in cash. And before you jump in the comments, going, George, have you seen the car prices? Yeah, I have at Skater Boy 24, so can it. Now, the days of the $1,000-beater car may be gone. But if you can save up $4, $5,000, $7,000,000, you can buy a solid, reliable used car

that gets you from A to B and play CDs. Digitially recorded, read by a laser, and it's called the Compact Disc. Okay, it's the moment you've been waiting for, the next money mistake, and it's Helox. That means home equity line of credit. And this is a type of home equity loan that allows you to borrow cash against the current value of your home. Basically, you take away money from the portion of your home you own outright and then use that money, kind of like a credit card. Now, a lot of people use Helox to pay for home renovations that they don't have enough cash for. Maybe a pool shaped like an ice cream cone?

You know, normal people think. And according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, originations of home equity lines of credit and home equity loans increased 50% in 2022 compared to two years earlier. But despite what the yuppies on Instagram make it sound like, a he lock is not the stress-free answer to your cash flow problem. Here's why. A he-lock is secured debt.

And that means the lender can use your home as collateral. So if you can't pay back the he-lock for some reason, your lender can foreclose on your home, which means you wouldn't even have a house, much less an ice cream cone-shaped pool. Now, helocks are good at making people think they've solved the problem when all they did was move debt from one pile to another and move backwards in their financial journey. And to add insult to ice cream injury, most helox have a variable interest rate,

which means the rate can go up over time, like it has been, making your payments even more unaffordable. So if you need some extra cash or you want to make renovations to your home, but you don't have enough cash to cover it, here's a wild idea. Wait until you have enough enough. money saved to pay cash for it. I know. I know. That's why they pay me the big bucks. Solutions like this. It's what America needs right now. Look, I know saving up and paying cash takes a little more time and a whole lot more discipline,

but it is way more peaceful and way smarter in the long run. So those are some of the big money mistakes Americans made last year. And did you notice something? They're all just different kinds of debt. And taking on debt of any kind robs you of options and robs you of true financial peace. You see, debt is not a tool to be leveraged, despite what you hear from social media and your broke friend Steve, who now raises lizards. Debt steals from your paycheck. Debt robs from your future by demanding that you pay for the past. Debt is a thief. Like Swiper to the Fox from Dora the Explorer. Swiper, no swiping. Don't you wish there was a book that could help you avoid all these debt traps and live a life without the stress of debt payments? Oh wait, there is.

It's my new book, Breaking Free from Broke, and it's available for pre-sale right now, and you get your copy with the link in the description below. Hope you guys enjoyed today's video. Don't forget to hit like on it, subscribe to the channel, and share this video with all of your friends who watch two and a half men, and ask them, why? Is it Charlie Sheen? Are they the target demo?

Did we find them? I don't understand. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.