Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - DON’T Leave Money on the Table: How To Find The Right Credit Card (and Perks!) For You (Listener Intervention)

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

If you were leaving money on the table… wouldn’t you want to know? Today, Nicole speaks to a Money Rehabber who feels like she could level-up her credit card game and find the right card for the cash back perks she’s looking for. Join today’s Money Rehabber and find the right card for your financial life at creditkarma.com/moneyrehab. Credit Karma is a sponsor of this podcast episode. Credit Karma’s Approval Odds is not a guarantee. Credit Karma looks at how your credit profile compares to other Credit Karma members who were approved for the specific card shown or whether you meet certain criteria determined by the lender.

Hey, Money Rehabbers, I have a super short, totally anonymous survey about the pod, and I want to hear from you. After you listen to this episode, pretty please head over to moneynewsnetwork.com slash moneyrehab and fill out the survey. Thank you so much, fam. You are the absolute best. Okay, here's the pod. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. You work so hard for your money. If I told you it could work harder for you, you would want to know, right? Well, you're about to hear it's very possible that we all have an opportunity to do more with our money. And the answer is actually sitting in our wallets. It's our credit card. Today, I talked to a money rehabber who picked her credit card somewhat at random and isn't

sure if there's another card out there that could be earning her more cash back, or if all credit cards are the same. Spoiler alert, credit cards are not all the same. In our conversation, I teach her how to find the right credit card for her, and it's something anyone can try at home. So let's get into it. Anna, welcome to Money Rehab. Hi, thanks for having me here. So excited to have you here. I put a story out on Instagram asking people whether or not they felt like their credit card was working hard enough for them. And you said you thought it could be working harder. Why? Why didn't you say that? Well, I have like a few credit cards

at this point. And each one kind of gives me a little of something different. And I feel like all of them suck a little bit. I think that with, you know, my American Express cards, I get some really great perks for specific shops and restaurants. But if I don't shop there or go there, then I just am not really getting any perks. And, you know, my chase cards give me travel points, but not really much. And then anytime they have some kind of promotional, oh, you'll get four

times points, you have to go through and activate it, which I always forget to do. So, you know, it's just one of those things where I feel like none of my credit cards really gives me everything or really gives me specifically what I'm looking for in a card. Yeah. And you give them so much. So they should give something back to you. And I love this topic so much because I see people think that credit cards are a tool to buy things and they are, right? But credit cards can also and should also be much more. They should help us earn meaningful benefits that we can actually use, and we can actually redeem points toward our dream vacation if that's our thing, getting cash back.

So you're essentially earning money while you spend. They can help us get travel insurance, iPhone insurance, all sorts of stuff. But if we expect them to help us just buy things, we're missing this whole world of opportunities, right? Definitely. I mean, I know for me, my base level for each credit card is whatever I get back in points, miles, rewards should at least cover the cost that I'm paying yearly for the fee for the card. Oh, yeah. It really doesn't all the time. You know, it's frustrating. I love that rule of thumb because some of those annuals can get really high and you want to make sure that you're getting your money's worth. So before we get into more credit card stuff, let's talk about you for a second, Anna. Tell money rehabbers about yourself. What

do you do? How are you feeling about your money journey right now? Give us the tea. So I have had quite the money journey and it's really played a role into every aspect of my life. You know, I had a very bad relationship in my early twenties and we had a joint credit card. I didn't even know that he could do this, but he pulled his name off of the credit card after spending all kinds of money. So I was stuck with that debt and I didn't know anything whenever it came to financial aid or grants or things like that. So, you know, I had to drop out of school. I was really just working all the time to try to pay off this debt, but my APR was so ridiculous. I want to say it was like 28.99% or something like that. So it's like every small chunk I took out of it,

9% or something like that. So it's like every small chunk I took out of it, it kept building back up. And I'm so fortunate, you know, I ended up starting a small business. And I did that for quite a few years. And it helped me pay off my debt enough to save money and go back to school and really go back to square one. So now my financial health is medium. We're still rebuilding a lot, but my credit score is greatly improved, which I'm so grateful for. And I'm able to split putting money into savings as well as paying my regular expenses. And I mean, to this day, I'm still working on paying off of this debt. It was $25,000 over the last eight years. It's been a lot. I'm so sorry that you went through that.

And I'm so proud of the progress you're making and have made and will continue to make. It's no small feat at all. I've also been asking money rehabbers to rate how they feel about the financial system overall. You chose very frustrated. I get it, girl. What is making you frustrated right now with the system? You know, it just seems like there's no place to go to look for what it is that I specifically need. You know, it's like if I need help with credit cards, I go to my credit card company and they're always trying to really sell

me, but there's nowhere to just get some information that's helpful. That's not asking for anything from me. And then there's all kinds of other things like how do you even manage balancing? Should I even bother saving if I'm in debt? Does that have benefit to me? I had no idea that a student loan is actually a good debt to have for my credit. And I didn't know that that was a possibility. And it's because as much as I researched everywhere, it just says, yeah, it's your debt to income ratio. And, you know, I'm fortunate. I do have a decent income. I do still have a small business and all of that, but it's not comparable to the debt that you take out whenever you're a student. So I was like,

oh, well, it's not worth it. There's so many other ways for me to do this. And instead, I worked myself to the bone because there was just nowhere to find information. There was no one that wanted to help. It was more like, let me take from you and convince you and sell you on this thing. Yeah. The financial system is a game and no one teaches us the rules. So to your point, if you're earning 4% APY or annual percentage yield in a high yield savings account, but your APR or your annual percentage rate on your credit card is 28% and you have 25 grand in debt, no, it doesn't make sense to save because your debt is outpacing your savings. These are the types of considerations that we have to make to game the system, but we don't learn this stuff in school. How far do you think this frustration with money and the overall financial system goes back? What was your relationship with money growing

up? You know, my relationship with money was interesting. My parents are immigrants. They come from Iran, which doesn't have like a real traditional banking system. So my dad was a cash is king kind of person. He still is. And he's such a saver. But there was no conversation about money. There's no conversation about what things should cost, what they do cost, how you prioritize spending.

It was just kind of, you know, here's your cash. This is your need. So can't, do you have enough to do that? And if you don't, well, then you just never buy it and you never touch it. And it's not realistic. And then beyond that, like, I think to this day, my dad is not very interested in investing in the stock market. He thinks I'm such a gambler because I do it because for him, it's like, oh, well, you know, if you're not investing into something like, you know, Coca-Cola, that's just forever longevity, then, oh, you're, you're like a fool. I never had an understanding of it growing up and we never really had much.

I never had an understanding of it growing up and we never really had much. We were always kind of at the very tail end of having money. So there was just so much scarcity. And then going back to the place of being in debt very early in my 20s. And then I was like, I have no idea. I don't even know how to how a credit card works. Yeah, same. I mean, I grew up in an immigrant family too. And and thinking about cash is like the only way I remember having to pay, you know, with checks. That was like the only form of fancy payment that I had. And it was

so complicated getting my first credit card, I got into a boatload of debt, I didn't understand, like how compound interest can be used against you and how it can snowball out of control. And I needed to figure out the hard way because like this whole world is, you know, it's like learning a whole other language. Like if you went to Iran and you didn't speak Farsi, like you'd be confused, right? Like if you went to Wall Street and you didn't speak the language of money, you'd be confused too. And until you can speak it and then you're like, oh, duh, yeah, now I get it. And you figured out way harder things, Anna, in life than this, by the way. And so you're still figuring, we all are still figuring it out, but you're a woman in STEM, right?

Yeah, I'm an engineer. Amazing. So you would think that that would be the hard part, but no, I feel like the money thing has been a lot more difficult than me. I'm like, oh, kinematics, that's easy. I get that one. But no, I feel like the money thing has been a lot more difficult than me. I'm like, kinematics, that's easy. I get that one. But then what's a good investment? What does that even mean? Is like, I don't know. And thank you for sharing, you know, some of your story. I really appreciate you doing that. Because I think when when people start to open up, it gives others license to do the same thing. Because even though you're so accomplished, and you started this business,

and you're in engineering, and you know, all this you know all this, I don't even know what the word you said just now was. So you've done all of this, but you also have some of that trauma that creeps up from seeing your father or hearing those words of like, you're gambling, Anna, or whatever it is. And it never really goes away. You just kind of have to like figure out how to operate within all of that stuff that you had grown, like the scar tissue that you had growing up, the scar tissue from your relationship, you know, all of that stuff. I know in STEM, too, the wage gap, right, is intense, just like it is everywhere else. But an entry-level job in engineering tech pays $4,000 more for a man than a woman, according to recent

statistics. Have you had to deal with the wage gap? You know, I'm so grateful to anyone who has ever been willing to disclose their salary to me because a lot of modern companies now are going towards this pay scale thing, whereas entry level, you only get this amount. There's no negotiation, K scale thing, whereas entry level, you only get this amount. There's no negotiation, which isn't the worst. It does kind of create room for like data quality, but a lot of smaller companies still don't. That's who's hiring people at entry level. So I've always asked around like, hi, I'm just wondering what your salary is to any of my male counterparts. What was your offer that you got? So that way I can go back in and negotiate and be like, okay, well, what is this person's qualifications

that make them worth this much more than I am? If someone is getting paid more than I do for the same position, then clearly the salary is up for negotiation. And I'm not going to let that go, but it was something that took a lot of audacity for me to get comfortable doing, but it exists. And I have gotten quite a few offers that are less than the people around me. It's unfortunate, but you know,

you have to be aware that it exists and know how to combat it. And how did you combat it? Did you negotiate your salary based on the information that you were gathering? Yeah. So I started off by asking questions. I asked them questions as well. You know, how do you figure out what my salary is, what determines this worth and what would make me grow? What are my options? Okay. You're not willing to increase my salary, but what about stock options? What about better healthcare options and negotiating back and forth? And that's kind of how I've gotten to the place where I want to be whenever I'm signing up for these jobs.

I'm so fortunate that I have the time and space to say no to a job because they're not willing to pay me equal, but I just can't help a company grow that's not going to see me as an asset. Yeah, I mean, well, you're fortunate, but you also worked your ass off to get to a place where you could be the boss in every sense of the word. So let's try to find a credit card that

matches that boss mentality. How many credit cards do you have now? You mentioned an Amex, you mentioned a few others. I have four credit cards right now. I actually just canceled one. four credit cards right now. I actually just canceled one. I had to let go of my first baby credit card. So I'm down to three. I have a Chase card. I have two Amexes. So let's double click on the baby credit card for a second. That was your first credit card. How did you pick that one? I didn't really understand what a credit card was. And I was at Barnes and Noble. And they said if I signed up for the credit card, they would give me like some points towards my books that would turn into Barnes and Noble cash. And don't be wrong. I've used that Barnes and Noble cash very well, but the credit limit on it isn't good. And the

APR isn't good. And they really weren't negotiating with me. So I was like, I don't need it. You never forget your first. Never forget your first. How long ago was that? Or how long have you had it? I've had that credit card for almost 15 years. So we spent a lot of time together. And I canceled it about three months ago. And what's been keeping you from opening a new credit card? Just a lack of understanding. Honestly, I feel like I just don't really know what to look for. What is like a good thing in a credit card. I also feel very, since I'm still rebuilding my credit score and I'm just going to be honest, I have a 704 credit score right now, which is not horrible

or bad in any way. No, it's good. But I'm always scared I'm going to get rejected or a bad APR because I'm like, well, but to get rejected or a bad APR because I'm like, well, but I don't have that over 720 credit score that I've heard is the thing that you really need. And how do you think about like your credit score after it, you know, took a turn for the worst when all of the stuff with the X happened? I mean, some people could not possibly care less, but others feel as anxious about sharing the credit score as they do about their weight. You know, when it first happened and I looked at my credit karma, I saw the tank. I think my

score went down to like 590 something. And I quite literally threw up. Oh, my God. Hold on to your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. Okay, I get it. When it comes to pursuing your money goals, the financial system can feel complicated. With so many options out there, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.

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and requires a line of credit and savings account provided by Cross River Bank member FDIC. And now for some more money rehab. I saw the tank. I think my score went down to like 590 something. And I quite literally threw up. Oh my God. Because, you know, now like I'm going through this breakup, I need to find a place to live.

Who's going to rent to me right now? You know, I've got basically nothing in the bank and I have this awful credit score. And it was pretty bad at the beginning. And now I'm so obsessed with my credit score. I think it's probably a little unhealthy. I check it about once a week, even though it doesn't really change at all. But I'm always on on credit karma looking at that and making sure like are we making the right moves there have been moments where my credit has gone down since then um because it just it fluctuates and I have to be mindful and assess for myself did it go down for a good reason like did I need this money did I have to put this thing on my credit

card that I couldn't immediately pay off or was this this just a, you're on vacation, it's like a little bit too fun and you don't think about it thing that now you're plummeting yourself into debt. So I'm a little codependent with my credit score, I would say. We're very familiar with each other. I mean, that's better than being unfamiliar with each other. And it sounds like you already have the Intuit Credit Karma app, right? Yeah. Awesome.

So great news for you. The answer to all of these credit card questions is already there in your pocket. Your bestie for your new credit card adventure is going to be our sponsor for this podcast episode, Intuit Credit Karma and its credit card marketplace. Have you tried it yet? No. Okay. I like it because it's really,

really easy. You can start by browsing a goal. And I liked it so much that I wanted to work with them. So you can choose what you want to get out of this card. Like if you want an awesome bonus offer out of the gate, or if you want, you know, points for travel or cash back, like whatever your main goal is. And then from there, you can confirm which cards have that. So you can compare and contrast those perks that you're getting now versus what might be better out there. Because maybe a credit card that you have now is right for you. It does not sound like that. So if you're leaving money on the table, you'd want to know that, right? Yeah, definitely. I actually have not used that part of my Credit Karma app

before, but you might if I pull my phone out and I look at it. Let's do it. Totally. So on Credit Karma's credit card marketplace, you'll be able to compare offers with the best perks for each of those categories. So let's do a little brainstorming about what might be important for you so we can find the right one for you. Maybe make it a lightning round game. Ready? Okay. Okay. So would you rather go on a road trip or fly somewhere far away?

Road trip. Are you a homebody or a social butterfly? A homebody. Do you prefer to shop or eat out? Shop. I would ask you if you're an employee of a company or if you run your own business, but we already know the answer to this one. So based on your answers, especially that you're a homebody like I am, you want to check out cashback credit cards and like filter through there, I would assume, right? Yeah, I'm a big fan of the cashback. Awesome. And to nerd out

again, this is why I think Credit Karma is super helpful. Its recommendations are very personalized. Nothing about your financial life should be one size fits all. I'm also homebody. I like, you know, for me, a perfect day is never leaving the house and binging comedy specials. So if I had a gas rewards card, you know, I would not be racking up a lot of cash back. So when I personally shop for credit cards in the Credit Karma app, I am looking for credit cards that have stellar perks for entertainment, for all of my binge watching needs. But just because that one's, you know, right for me doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be right for you. So you should just try to, of course, find what's right for you. And Credit Karma helps you understand your approval odds,

which sounds like is like a little source of anxiety for you. Do you remember what it was like when you were applying for your first credit card? Yeah, I remember I was at the cash register and they had me like sign a few things and they were like, OK, well, you're approved. So here's your discount for today and we'll like send you the credit card. And I remember when I got the credit card, I didn't even know how to log into the account to like check what my balance was, what I was spending. It was a slow process. Do you remember if you were wondering like if you were going to get rejected or approved? I wasn't at all. In my head, you had to have such bad credit to get rejected for a

credit card, you know, because I was taught that credit card companies want had to have such bad credit to get rejected for a credit card, you know, because I was taught that credit card companies want you to have credit cards because you spend money, you pay interest and they get to pocket some of your money. So it's ideal for them to approve you. So I don't even think I thought about that at all. And then when my credit tanked, you know, I was 22. And again, it was like, your credit is your debt to income. So how do I raise that? Well, I need more credit cards. So then my debt on this card doesn't seem too bad.

But then I was getting rejected for credit cards. And that was when I learned like, oh, wow, no, they really do. They will tell you no. Right. Exactly. Okay. Okay. I'm glad you mentioned that. So it sounds like this anxiety of being rejected with a sub 720 score has happened more recently. Like you went into your credit card experience out of the gate at that Barnes and Noble, like blissfully unaware with how it happened. Then you kind of got screwed and the X thing happened and now you're nervous. It sounds like about getting rejected. Yeah. Yeah. I have a lot of credit anxiety in general. I don't like the idea of being rejected. So I haven't signed up for a new credit card in quite some time, actually. I feel like once my credit started to get above 650, I was

like, okay, we're finished. We're done. You're right. Credit score does factor into the likelihood of being approved for a credit card. It can be really stressful because it also, when you apply for that credit card, you're going to get that hard credit check, which probably contributes to some of that anxiety too. So if you get rejected for the card, then your credit score might just take a hit for nothing, which might have contributed or is contributing to some of this inertia. Oh yeah, definitely. Because then my credit is now even worse when I was trying to make it better. And I don't have the credit card for it. It's like a lose-lose. Well, we're going to make it a win-win, Anna, because the Credit Karma Marketplace shows you your approval odds. So instead of anxiously just guessing when you apply, you can apply for your next credit card with more certainty. So before you even apply, it can tell you the likelihood of whether or not you're going

to get approved. Does that help with feelings of anxiety and stress? That helps a lot. That eases a lot of the anxiety behind why am I going to ding my credit score to get nothing out of it? So now you can go find the card that makes sense for you with the perks, but also look before you leap. On the Credit Karma app, there is a cashback category where you can go directly because that sounds like the one that's right for you. If you see in your phone too, you can also compare and contrast those cashback card offers. But before we dig into the perfect, luckiest card that is going to find its way into your wallet next, I'll just pause. How are you feeling about all of this right now? I feel so oddly relieved. It's a really nice feeling to

know that there is an option where I can look at what's best for me and not just be sold on something for what's best for, you know, some credit card company. Yeah. Hopefully this takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. You know, there's so many different options and places you can go. And I think that that's contributing to some of these feelings of overwhelm and like this credit anxiety is real. You're definitely not alone out there, but it sounds like you have your phone open. So do you want to play around with it and let me know how it goes? Yeah, let's do it. So I see the ones that I'm getting recommended the most. There are a lot of Capital One. Well, there's three Capital One. I mean, it's interesting that you're specifically getting Capital One recommendations because when I look at mine, I get different ones and that could just be based on what your credit

score is right now. Yeah. Yeah. My top three are capital one. These actually look pretty good. But the marketplace is personalized for you and your credit score. Yeah. Well, it's nice too because a lot of these for the cash back ones have no annual fee on them. I'm noticing, which is really nice because that's for sure a pet peeve of mine with credit cards is you're charging the interest and you're taking a fee. This is very cool. Well, I think of it as like a credit card dating app because you can see a lot of different options. You can sort of know if you've matched with somebody before. It like lessens a lot of the anxiety for it. Credit card hinge. Yes. I mean, I love that you are obsessed with your credit karma app.

I feel like everyone else whenever they're in line waiting for something pulls out Instagram and I'm just like, let me check my credit karma before I actually buy this $8 coffee. I love that. That's who I want to go to coffee with. It's so important. These are great, great financial wellness and health habits. I'm so glad that you're doing this. You know, no one is going to care as much about your money as you do. So the fact that you're putting your research into it, spending the time doing it is only going to pay dividends later on. I'm doing is only going to pay dividends later on. Yeah. Honestly, I feel like a big thing that was helpful for me was actually learning about the different types of debt that I have and the

impact of my credit card. Like I more recently learned that as long as I keep my credit utilization under 30%, my credit stays in a very, very happy place. And 30% is quite a bit to be able to spend. So I'm like, that's wonderful. I also learned that I'm allowed to request for them to increase my credit limit. If you can do it responsibly, like it just helps that utilization. Cause like, if you have more allowable credit and you're spending less than your utilization score goes down, if you can be really diligent about it. Well, it's really interesting. Cause I feel like a lot of my credit cards, because they're older, you know, I had like a $1,500 spending limit and things like that, which doesn't exactly

fit my lifestyle now. You know, I have a very big car payment that just would take up that whole credit card in one swipe. So whenever I found out like, oh, I actually am supposed to tell these people that I'm making more money now and I'm supposed out like, oh, I actually am supposed to tell these people that I'm making more money now and I'm supposed to let them know. I had no idea. And no one teaches you. No one really sits you down and tells you. I'm trying. I'm trying, sister. I know. I just had this conversation with my card company for one of our business cards too. And I wanted an increase and you have to send like some banks, a few months of bank statements and things like that. Like there's

things that you can do if you're proactive, but yeah, I'm trying, I'm trying to spread the good word. It's honestly been very helpful. You had in your rich bitch book, I think like a template for spending. And that was actually very helpful for me because I took the money that should have been going to like life costs. Because at the time I just I was living with my sister and, you know, piecing everything back together. So I didn't have a rent or utilities. And I put all that into paying off my debt and kept the rest of this as my like spending money budget as my savings budget and that helped me pay off most of my debt was just having some set platform of like this is kind of around how you should be budgeting your money it's not just you know if you have the money you should put it all in one place because I was doing nothing going

nowhere enjoying none of the things because I was like, well, I have to put all of my money into paying off this debt. Like if I'm not doing that, then I'm just going to suffer forever. And it's like, no, no, no, no. Take a little bit for yourself. It's okay. I love that I can do some of this and be part of this journey with you. This stuff truly gets me so excited. I would truly like want to hang out with the girl in line at coffee who is checking their credit card map versus Instagram. So I love it. I'm super, super proud of you. I know this has been an area of anxiety for you. I'm really honored that we could take this jump together. And I hope you're proud of yourself too. I am super proud of myself.

And I appreciate it. You know, all of the different templates of like, this is how to make money easy thing have been so helpful for me. So I'm really grateful that it exists, especially being a woman in STEM where no one really wants to discuss their own finances with you because they're making a little bit more than you are. It's like, okay, how do we do this? We do it one step at a time. So we, we, we eat an elephant one bite at a time. I would love to

follow up and like how, how the cart is going and you know, what you ended up finding. And I think you can get like into a situation that you're really excited about. Yeah. I mean, I'm already feeling pretty excited right now, so I'm happy with that. And I think, you know, that's, it's a good start. It's a good step in the right direction of kind of easing the financial anxiety. We don't need any of that. We have like so much other kinds of anxiety, probably. Finance doesn't have to be one. We're like a woman in the modern world. I feel like between my cell phone, my air conditioning, my hair. It's a lot. How do we do it? How do we drink eight glasses of water?

Like, I never know. I don't know. I don't know. I balance it with my eight glasses of wine. Perfect. This is a calculus I can get behind. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. If you want to see if you're leaving money on the table,

check out Credit Karma's credit card marketplace at creditkarma.com slash moneyrehab. Your wallet will thank me. And again, special thanks to Credit Karma for sponsoring this podcast episode. Credit Karma's approval odds is not a guarantee. Credit Karma looks at how your credit profile compares to other Credit Karma members who were approved for the specific card shown or whether you meet certain criteria determined by the lender. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Levoy.

Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment

you can make.