Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - How Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill Could Affect Your Wallet

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

Elon Musk called it “a disgusting abomination.” Trump calls it “The Big, Beautiful Bill.” Either way, Washington is on fire with debate over the latest federal budget proposal—clocking in at over 1,000 pages, with a July 4th deadline and trillions of dollars on the line. Today, Nicole breaks down what’s actually in the bill, what it would mean for your money, and why it’s facing backlash from both sides of the aisle. From deep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, to the expansion of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, to that new “Trump Account” baby savings plan—this episode is your primer on the bill that could reshape the economy.

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little help hosting while you're away, you can hire a co-host to do the work for you. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. I'm Nicole Lapin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. Elon Musk basically says the bill sucks. And while that's not usually how I open a budget breakdown, it is a pretty good place to start because honestly he is not alone in his findings. Today we are talking about the big, beautiful bill. At least that's what Trump is calling it.

And it's not just a name, it's a strategy. This bill is massive, over a thousand pages, and it's trying to do everything at once. Cut taxes, cut spending, reshape benefits, and supposedly reduce the debt. Spoiler alert, it does not, but we will get there. The House passed the bill on May 22nd by a single vote, 215 to 214. It now heads to the Senate with the Trump administration hoping to get it on the president's desk by July 4th. That's a very patriotic deadline but it's also a pretty tight one. Originally I thought this would be one episode and then I realized that is adorable. This bill is actually like a financial nesting doll. Every time you open one piece there's

another policy inside that deserves its own deep dive. So today, I'm just going to give you a big picture primer of the big beautiful bill, what's inside the bill, who it helps, who it hurts, and whether or not it has any shot of actually becoming law. Let's start with the number that is haunting everyone in Washington, the national debt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the bill will add $3 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years. That's right, add. And interest payments on the debt expected to hit $13.8 trillion. The White House says no, no, no, it is actually going to save $1.6 trillion. Some Republicans say it will actually add $20 trillion. But here's the thing, both Republicans

and Democrats are citing the CBO numbers, and that almost never happens, so I'm inclined to trust them. Here's why this matters. Rising debt isn't just a theoretical problem. It means the government spends more on interest payments and less on things that actually help people. Schools, roads, healthcare. It makes borrowing much more expensive, which affects everything from mortgages to student loans. And it weakens global confidence in the U.S. economy. Ray Dalio put it very bluntly on our show,

if we don't get the debt under control, we risk more than just inflation. We risk collapse of confidence in the dollar itself. And that's when you start talking about recessions and start worrying about depressions. He's not being dramatic, although this is dramatic. He has seen a pattern globally. When countries owe more money than they can pay and they don't have a clear plan, they resort to printing money. And that has a very short runway. So here's what's actually in the bill on the spending side. The biggest cuts come from Medicaid and SNAP, those are food stamps, to the tune of $1.1 trillion.

Medicaid enrollment would happen every six months instead of annually, and people without kids or disabilities would have to work 80 hours a month to qualify. The idea is fewer people get benefits, so there's less spending. But it also means millions could get kicked off programs that they rely on. There are also cuts to housing and education, including reductions to school funding and affordable housing subsidies. That's how this bill saves money by giving fewer people access to services. On the tax side, the bill extends and expands President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. And that includes no federal tax on tips and overtime pay from 2026 to 2028, no tax on social security benefits,

a $2,500 child tax credit through 2028 for families with social security numbers, interest on U.S.-made car loans become tax deductible, and the standard deduction goes up through 2028. These all sound great, and to be honest, many are, but together they massively reduce government revenue. And remember, you can't just cut taxes and also claim to reduce debt unless you've got a replacement income stream. This bill does not. One new addition that's catching a lot of headlines is the Trump account, also known

as the baby Savings Account. Every American baby born between January 1, 2025 and January 1, 2029 would get a $1,000 federal deposit into a tax-advantaged investment account. My baby missed this by about 10 days. Anyway, families can contribute up to $5,000 a year for this account. The account grows in a government-managed stock index fund. At 18, the kid can use 50% for qualified expenses like college or starting a business. At 25, they can use the rest for the same purposes. By 30, the money is fully accessible for anything. It's being pitched as a way to build generational wealth and encourage saving early. But critics say it benefits families who already have money to contribute and doesn't go far enough to close wealth gaps. Also in the bill, $50 billion in new spending for border protection. That's one of the few areas where spending

increases not shrinks. And it's one of the reasons Elon Musk on CBS called the bill a quote disgusting abomination. He says it increases the deficit and undermines his broader vision for economic reform. Agree with him or not, he is not alone in his concerns. So where does the bill go from here? Well, the Senate is now reviewing it under budget reconciliation rules. That means it only needs 51 votes, no filibuster. But it also means everything in the bill has to be tied directly to spending revenue or the debt ceiling. Anything else like immigration laws or social policy writers get stripped out by the Senate parliamentarian. And here is where the math is not math-ing.

Republicans can only afford to lose three votes. But already, four GOP senators have said they will not support the bill without changes. So either they have to amend it and send it back to the House for another tight vote or the bill without changes. So either they have to amend it and send it back to the House for another tight vote, or the bill stalls out. Either way, that July 4th deadline is looking like a long shot. Even if it makes it through, the core tension in this bill remains. You cannot cut taxes and also cut the debt without either slashing services even deeper or finding new sources of revenue. And this bill does neither.

For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. If you've been thinking about installing solar panels or making your home more energy efficient, please do it soon. This bill does roll back a lot of the clean energy credits from 2022. Most of them expire at the end of the year, so if you want to take advantage of those savings, please do so soon because the window is closing. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lapin. 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 MoneyNews and TikTok at MoneyNewsNetwork 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.