Rich Habits Podcast - 174: Are These 3 Credit Myths Holding You Back?

Episode Date: June 15, 2026

Robert and Austin talked about three credit myths holding people back: you have to be rich to have great credit, carrying a balance helps your credit score, and closing old credit cards is a smart pla...y. ---🧠 Ready to build your own investable index using AI? Generated Assets on Public makes it easy. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to try Generated Assets!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---🌸 Join 500,000+ investors using Blossom to track portfolios, dividends, and see what real investors are buying -- all in one social investing app. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here!---🚀 Join 900+ other podcast listeners inside of the Rich Habits Network and invest alongside Robert and Austin, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---⚡️ Sign up for the Rich Habits Newsletter and never miss a market-moving headline again, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---⭐ Download our FREE Financial Planner –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐ Download our FREE Budgeting Template –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐ Protect your family with term life insurance from Suriance –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⭐ Optimize your portfolio with Seeking Alpha –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠---👤 Explore everything Austin does –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👤 Explore everything Robert does –⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠❓ Ask us questions for our Q&A episodes – @richhabitspodcast on Instagram📬 Inquire about working together – christian@witz.vc---Disclosure: Paid endorsement. Brokerage services provided by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Investing involves risk. Not investment advice. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠public.com/disclosures/ga⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and investment values may rise or fall. See terms of match program at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://public.com/disclosures/matchprogram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.*Rate as of 11/6/25. APY is variable and subject to change.This content is sponsored by NEOS Investments. The creator is compensated by NEOS to discuss NEOS ETFs. This content is for informational purposes only, and is not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice, and does not constitute an offer to buy or sell any security. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Before investing, carefully review the NEOS ETFs prospectus at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠neosfunds.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey everyone and welcome back to the rich habits podcast, a top 10 business podcast on Spotify, brought to you by public.com. By the end of this episode, you'll understand the three biggest myths about credit that are actively costing you money and what to do instead. My name's Austin Hankwitz. I'm joined by my co-host Robert Croke. Robert is a seasoned entrepreneur with lifetime revenues over 300 million, and I'm a multimillionaire in my early 30s with a background in finance and economics. As the show name might suggest, every episode of this podcast, we talk about rich habits as they relate to business, finance, and mindset. So Robert, what are we talking about in today's episode? I am so excited about this episode. We haven't done one of these in a very
Starting point is 00:00:44 long time. And in today's episode of the Rich Habits podcast, we're tackling something that affects literally every adult in America, but almost no one actually understands it. And that is credit, specifically the three myths about credit scores and credit cards that are holding people back from building real wealth. The average American has $6,580 in credit card debt, and total U.S. credit card balances just crossed $1.2 trillion, which is a record. And credit card interest rates are sitting in an average of 22.8% the highest they've ever been. And at the same time, the average American credit score is 715, which sounds fine until you realize that the difference between a 715 and a 780 credit score can save you over $100,000 on a 30-year mortgage.
Starting point is 00:01:38 That's right, $100,000 just based on the interest rate you qualify for. And yet, most people's understanding of how credit actually works comes from their parents, their friends, or some Reddit thread they saw 10 years ago. The result of that is that millions of people that are smart financially responsible people are making bad decisions based on these myths that are actively costing the money every single month. So in today's episode, we're going to bust these big three credit myths wide open with real numbers, real data, and real strategies that you can use immediately. So Robert, walk us through myth number one. Definitely buckle up and make sure you guys take notes because so many people
Starting point is 00:02:18 get all of this wrong. And starting with number one, you have to be really. rich to have great credit. This is a myth that stops people before they even start. The idea that great credit is something reserved for people who already have money, that you need a high income, a big savings account, or a certain net worth before you can build an 800 credit score. It's completely wrong. And it keeps people stuck in a cycle where they assume they can't access better financial tools
Starting point is 00:02:47 until they've already made it. Your income is not a factor in your credit. Let me say that again. Your income is not a factor in your credit score. The credit bureaus do not know how much money you make. They don't know your salary. They don't know your net worth. Your savings account balance are how much you have invested.
Starting point is 00:03:06 None of that information is part of the FICO or Vantage score models. That's a great segue into what is part of those models, Robert. So your credit score is based on entirely on how you manage the credit you already have. payment history, utilization, length of history, credit mix, and new inquiries. A teacher making $55,000 a year who pays their credit card in full every single month, keeping their utilization below maybe 10% or so, and has the same two cards that they've had for 12 years now, absolutely will have a higher credit score than a doctor making 10 times as much in income on an annualized basis, but they've maxed out their three credit cards and maybe they missed a payment a
Starting point is 00:03:52 couple years ago. A third of millionaires in America never made over six figures. Many of those people have exceptional credit scores, not because of the income, not because of the savings or their investments or anything like that, but because of their actual spending habits. They paid their credit cards off on time. They kept their balances low and they let their accounts age over time. I have seen this for decades, and I've known so many guys who've made millions of dollars and had 550 credit scores because they were sloppy. Late payments, maxed out cards, collections they forgot about. Meanwhile, I've met younger people just starting out in their careers with 780 credit scores because they were disciplined from the beginning. Wealth and credit are two completely different things.
Starting point is 00:04:39 You build wealth with your income and investments. You build credit with your habits. So when people believe that they need money to have good credit, they don't even bother trying if they've not yet hit those financial milestones that get them to feel that way. They don't open their first credit card. They don't set up auto pay. They don't monitor their score on a monthly and quarterly basis like I know a lot of you listening do. Then when they actually need the credit, buy a car, get the apartment, qualify for a mortgage, whatever you might need credit for, they're either starting from zero or they have a bad credit score and it's all bad news bears,
Starting point is 00:05:13 interest rates are high. No one wants that. The action step here, Austin, is you can start building credit today regardless of your income. If you don't have a credit card, get a starter card. Even a secured card where you put down a $200 deposit works. Use it for one or two small purchases a month, set up an auto pay to pay the full balance, and let time do the rest. Within 12 to 18 months of consistent on-time payments and low utilization, you'll have a credit score that opens doors. Within three to five years, you'll be in the mid to high seven hundreds and on your way with no six figure income required, just the consistency that we talk about. And if you already have credit, but haven't checked your score recently because you assume it wasn't great, go look, keep an eye on it.
Starting point is 00:05:59 Pull your credit report at annual credit report.com. It's totally free. It doesn't affect your score to check it. You might be surprised at where you stand. And if there are errors dragging you down, disputing them takes 15 minutes and could save you thousands. So Austin, take us into our second myth. Myth number two, carrying a balance helps your credit score. What a myth that one is. This is a myth that I think is costing Americans more money than any other single piece of financial misinformation that exists. The idea of if you go and you carry a small balance on your credit card month to month and you pay interest on that small little balance that that somehow is going to show the credit bureaus that you're a responsible borrower and that your score is going to go up false wrong do not pass go do not collect two hundred
Starting point is 00:06:50 dollars carrying a balance does nothing to help your credit score not even a little bit not any scenario all it does is it's cost you money here's what actually happens your credit score it's calculated based on those five factors that i had talked about payment history makes up 35 So are you paying on time? Credit utilization makes up 30% of your score. How much of your available credit are you actually using? Length of credit history makes up 15%. Credit mix makes up 10%. New credit inquiries makes up the other 10%. But Robert, tell us what's not on that list. What's not on that list, interest paid. The credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion do not know or care whether you're paying interest. They don't track it. It's not a factor in your score calculation. What they care
Starting point is 00:07:39 about is whether you use the card, whether you paid on time, and what percentage of your available credit you're using at any given time. That is it. So let me walk you through what actually optimizes your score. You're using the credit card during the month. Your statement closes. The balance on that statement date called your statement balance gets reported to the bureaus. That reported balance divided by your total credit limit is your utilization ratio. You want that number below the 30% at an absolute maximum and ideally below 10%. Then you pay that statement balance in full by the due date. No interest.
Starting point is 00:08:17 Payment history shows up on time. Utilization stays low. Your score benefits from both of those factors, which again makes up 65% of your entire score. If you instead carry a balance, you're paying on average 23% interest for absolutely no credit score benefit. I use my cards all the time. I genuinely don't even have a debit card is how often I use my credit cards, Robert, groceries, gas, subscriptions, travel, business, everything. I use my credit cards all the time, but I pay the full statement balance off every single month. I pay zero in interest. My credit score is 813. We checked it
Starting point is 00:08:53 right before this episode because I want to make sure I had an accurate number for y'all was 813 is my FICO score right now. I don't pay interest. I don't keep little balances here and there for fun. So you do not need to pay interest to prove that you have worthy credit. You need to use your credit. Pay it off. That's it. Yeah, Austin is definitely not one of these people that's out there helping these banks
Starting point is 00:09:14 build these big, massive, beautiful buildings. So let's get into credit myth number three. Closing old credit cards is a smart play. You get out of debt, you cut up the cards, you close the accounts, and you feel like you're making a fresh start. It feels responsible. It feels like you're clearing up your financial life. And in almost every case, it actually hurts your credit score.
Starting point is 00:09:37 And here's why. Remember those five factors. Two of them are directly impacted when you close a credit card. The first is credit utilization, that 30% factor we talked about. When you close a card, you're reducing your total available credit. And if you have three cards with, let's say, a $30,000 combined limit and you close one card with a $10,000 limit, your total available credit, drop to 20,000. So if you're carrying $3,000 in balances across your remaining cards, your utilization just jumped from 10 to 15 percent, and that's not what we want to see.
Starting point is 00:10:12 And to your point, Robert, that second factor, length of credit history. That's a 15% component into what makes up your credit score. Your credit score benefits from having a long average age of accounts. If your oldest card is 15 years old and you close it, your average age of accounts now drops lower significantly. The bureau wants to see long, stable history of responsible credit use. So closing your oldest account shortens that history. The card has a high annual fee. Now, this one's important. You got a card, it's got a high annual fee. You're not using the benefits. It might be worth closing. If you could take that money and do something smarter with it, if that card maybe is tied to a spending habit that you're trying to break, and it's really hard for you
Starting point is 00:10:57 to keep this card, right? The behavioral benefit of closing it could outweigh that score impact, right? Those are real considerations. Personal finance is personal. But the default advice here of I'm not using this card anymore, so I'm going to close it, is normally the wrong move. The better move is to keep the card open, use it for maybe one or two small recurring charges like a Netflix subscription or a Wall Street favorites subscription. Set it on auto pay. Make sure it gets paid off every month. put it in a drawer and forget about it. You get the utilization benefit, which is really important, and you get that credit history benefit as well, and that costs you nothing, especially if you're paying it off on time because you're not paying interest. So the rule of thumb here is really simple.
Starting point is 00:11:40 Unless there's a compelling financial reason to close a card, like a high annual fee you can't justify, keep it open. Low utilization and long credit history are two of the most powerful score builders, and old cards with no annual fees give you both. for free. So like Austin said, put it in the drawer, forget about it, but don't cancel it unless there's a really good reason. Now, Robert, before we wrap up this episode, sharing our credit playbook, pulling all of these myths together with real solutions, got to give a shout out to public.com, the investing platform for those who take investing as seriously as we do here on the Rich Habits podcast. On public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options,
Starting point is 00:12:23 cryptocurrency, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index using AI. And it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow, semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and even lets you back-test it against the S&P 500, all with just a few clicks.
Starting point is 00:12:51 Generated assets are like ETFs, but with infinite possibilities. They're completely customizable. They're based on your thesis, not someone else's. So go to public.com slash rich habits. That's public.com slash rich habits and transfer your portfolio to public. Again, public.com slash rich habits. Paid for by public investing, full disclosure in the podcast description. All right, Robert, we've busted the myths wide open.
Starting point is 00:13:18 Let's now give everyone a simple playbook they can execute upon. starting today as it relates to their credit. Step one, Robert, is to pay your statement balance in full every single month. Got to get this done. This is important. This keeps your utilization low. Your payment history perfect. Interest charges at zero. And if you can't pay the full balance, that is not a credit strategy problem. You have an actual spending problem. That has nothing to do with, oh, my credit this. No, it just means like you're spending too much money. You're not living below your means. You're not finding margin in your budget. You have to address the root cause and making sure that you are actually living within your budget, not overspending before you try and optimize
Starting point is 00:14:00 credit or whatever's going on. I just met with someone the other day and she asked me for help, got her set up on our simple budget, honest budget program, got her all dialed in three days later. She says to me, oh, I'm going to Italy for a wedding. I'm like, what? You don't have that in your budget. We just went through your money. You don't have it. Well, that's okay. I just paid off that one credit card. I'm just going to put the trip on that. And I'm like, no, that's not how this works. Just because they give you credit doesn't mean you should use it. You have to break the cycle. And that leads us to step two, keep your utilization below 10% of your total available credit. So if you have $20,000 in total credit limits across all cards, try to keep your reported balances below that $2,000 mark.
Starting point is 00:14:45 And if you need to make a large purchase that's going to spike your utilization temporarily, consider paying it down before the statement closes so the lower balance is what gets reported. Step number three here, Robert, is don't close old cards unless they carry an annual fee that you just can't justify. I know that MX platinum card I think is like $800 a year or $900 a year and you want to close that, I get it. That's very expensive. But if you've got a Discover It 5% cashback card that has no annual fee, maybe it's a good idea to keep it around. Put a small recurring charge on that card. Set up that auto pay and let them quietly boost your average age of accounts
Starting point is 00:15:24 in total available credit over time. Step number four, check your credit score monthly and pull your report from all three bureaus at least twice a year at annual credit report.com. Dispute any errors immediately. This is free and it doesn't hurt your score. And it's one of the highest return activities you can do with 15 minutes of your time. Let's just take a moment to think about how important this is.
Starting point is 00:15:47 A strong credit score gets you the best mortgage rates, the best auto loan rates, the best insurance premiums, the best credit card rewards. And in some states, it could even impact your apartment applications and maybe job applications. I don't know. People are weird. They pull credit before they hire people. Every point matters because it compounds across every financial transaction you make for the rest of your life, which means the difference between average credit and excellent credit over a lifetime of borrowing is easily six figures. Your credit score is one of the most powerful financial tools you have. And unlike your income, your net worth, or your investment returns, it's something you can directly control with simple, consistent behavior. The people who build wealth don't just invest well, they borrow well too.
Starting point is 00:16:33 And borrowing well starts with understanding how the system actually works, not how you think it works. And that's what this episode is all about. What an incredible episode, Robert. I'm so grateful that we're able to really open up. our own playbooks, my own credit score, what we're doing, what you're doing, how we built the credit over the years here and share it with people, unfiltered, leaving it all on the table. It's my favorite thing to do. And I'm so grateful so many people come back and listen to the show. Yeah, and credit is not easy. That's why I'm so excited about this episode. And I hope people
Starting point is 00:17:03 really dig in and digest all this because, especially for entrepreneurs like I've been for the last 35 years, there are times when money's tight and you're using your utilization in the cards and you have to max them out or maybe get a cash advance or something. But the goal here is to create really, really strong habits. And that's why we've laid out the playbook to help prevent you from using your credit poorly. So, Robert, let's now jump to our Q&A section of this episode. If you have a question to ask us, you can email us at Rich Habitspodcast at gmail.com or you can DM us on Instagram at Rich Habits Podcast. Our first question comes from Brian on Instagram. Brian says, Hi, Austin and Robert, my name's Brian. I'm a big fan of the show and I've been listening to you
Starting point is 00:17:46 for close to a year now and it has completely changed my financial situation. Truly, thank you so much. Let's go, Brian? Dude, I didn't change anything. Robert didn't change anything. You changed it. You took control of your life and we are so excited for you. So congratulations, Brian. You're crushing it, man. Brian says, when it comes to taking profits in our investments, do you worry about taking profits on your long-term positions or index funds like V-O-O-O? Or do you only apply profit-taking strategies to more niche investments? To me, it doesn't really make sense to take profits on the S&P or a V-O-O or a QQQ, just to reinvest the money back into V-O-O and QQQ-Q.
Starting point is 00:18:26 Is that the correct assumption, or am I missing something here? Is the absolute correct assumption, Brian? Let's walk through it just to make sure everyone's on the same page. We are deep believers, firm, firm believers. everyone should have the vast majority of their invested capital in index funds and blue chip ETFs like the S&P 500, the NASDAQ 100, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Russell 2000, international, like you should have exposure to these incredible index funds that go up by 8, 10, 12% over a long period of time. That is how compounding and wealth really begins to build
Starting point is 00:19:01 over time. When we say taking profits, we are more so talking about those opportunistic investments. So this might be, hey, my name's Austin. I really liked Amazon below $200 a share. I took a lot of money in my portfolio. I moved some things around and I bought a lot of Amazon stock below $200 a share. It was just trading at $250 or $260 the other day. That's a great opportunity to say, cool. I made $50 bucks a share. I've got $200 shares. That's $10,000. Maybe I want to take some profits there of that 10,000 and put it elsewhere in my portfolio. And so that's what we're talking about when it comes to taking profits. Robert has a wonderful profit-taking strategy and sort of a rule he follows that I'll let him chime in on here in a second. But when it comes to the index funds and these ETFs,
Starting point is 00:19:46 you want to hold those forever. There's no reason to sell those. Those just continue to compound over time. You want to be a net buyer of those, not a net seller, net buyer of the index funds we talk about. So, Robert, over to you for your awesome profit-taking strategy. Yeah, I actually love this. question and Brian you nailed it. I have not taken profits from VO-O-Q-Q-Q-Q-V-T-I-M-O-A-T. I can't even remember. It's been decades. I just let that money reinvest, reinvest, and compound over time. That is how you build wealth. And Austin spelled it out perfectly. When we're doing these high beta plays, maybe you like a space stock or you like something in the AI sector, some of these high conviction but high beta risky plays. When you make a bunch of money with those, we'd like to take
Starting point is 00:20:33 those profits and move those back into these long-term holds, preferably in your Roth IRA and your retirement accounts. And my rule of thumb for these high volatility plays when I'm taking these risks in these individual stocks is generally when I get up 50%, I pull out 25% of the profits there. When I get up 50% again, I pull out 25% again. And so on. until I'm totally playing out house's money. And then I move those funds, those profits, back into the V-O-O's and QQQs and VGTs of the world, because those are my forever holds. That's how I do it.
Starting point is 00:21:13 That's been my playbook for 30 years. And Austin follows it pretty closely as well. So you're spot on. That's how you do it. And that's how I would keep doing it if I were you. Robert, that was a great answer to Brian's question. Now before we jump to our next two questions, we are definitely in the second half of 2006.
Starting point is 00:21:32 We just saw a 4% decline in the NASDAQ just the other week. CPI came in. I think it was at 4.2%. The Fed was going to cut rates by three times. Now they might raise rates in 2006. I feel, Robert, as if uncertainty has never been higher. Which is why it has never been more important to have a plan and stick to it. And if you're a long-term investor like us, that plan has never been easier to come up with and implement dollar cost average and ride the wave.
Starting point is 00:22:03 We've been talking about how important it is to dollar cost average for years now. And when the market feels shaky, it's really hard to see the progress you're making, which is why we recommend being part of the social platform, Blossom Social. On Blossom, you're able to see your entire portfolio in a very clean and simple way, your holdings, your performance, your dividends, all of the good stuff that you care about. You're also able to follow other long-term investors on the platform, helping you stay motivated during uncertain times. Not to mention the portfolios on Blossom are all verified. So if you're seeing someone buy or sell a name, it's actually because they did it in their own brokerage account.
Starting point is 00:22:38 We're both on there. Robert's portfolio is on there. My portfolio is on there. We're having a good time. So if you want to join us, be sure to search Blossom Social in the app store. Head over to Blossomsocial.com on your phone or desktop and go check out their new AI agent, Bevis. You can ask it questions about your portfolio, like am I outperforming the S&P?
Starting point is 00:22:57 Do I have too much tech exposure? Do I need more this? What should I think about that? What's my dividends looking like? It's a cool AI built into Blossom. So go check out Blossomsocial.com. There's also going to be a link in the show notes below. So, Robert, let's now jump to our second question coming from Mark F.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Mark says, I want to thank you all so much for your podcast. I have been listening to it for under a year and I've just been catching up. I feel like I've learned so much from the both of you. it had made some really great gains toward financial freedom in the future. I'm in my late 30s for context. However, I don't think you need much personal information for this question. Mark says, I'm from Canada. So I was wondering if I should be buying American ETFs in my retirement accounts.
Starting point is 00:23:38 They do come with a significant fee, which is why I'm asking. I have a bunch of Neos funds in my RRSP, and I've got V-O-O-N-Q-Q-Q as well, thanks to you guys. Okay, so, Robert, it seems like Mark's questions like, listen, I want to do what you guys talk about. Own the S&P, own the NASDAQ, but when I buy these American ETFs, it's a lot more expensive to trade them on my platform. So, Mark, no, you don't need to buy the American ETFs,
Starting point is 00:24:08 but you need to buy some sort of ETF that is low cost, low, low, expense ratio that's going to mimic the total return of the underlying indices that these ETFs represent. So VOO represents the S&P 500. There's a ton of other ETFs that also represent the S&P 500. But like VOO is one of the most popular ones. QQQ represents the NASDAQ 100. There's also a ton more that do that. Right. But like the underlying indices, the NASDAQ and the S&P, that's what you are investing into. That's what you need to go find in the Canadian version. So Robert, did you find some of those? Yeah, I did. And basically from what I understand here, and I'm reading is it's about a 1.5%
Starting point is 00:24:52 version fee, but also if you can find the Canadian alternative, these would be what we're talking about here, but they're listed as ETFs on the Canada Exchange on CAD. Then you can avoid these external fees totally and keep the same fee structure that we pay here in the United States. So I hope that helps. That's a good call out, Robert. I'm looking at it right now here. There's two options. You can either do the unhedged version where your returns fluctuate depending on the Canadian dollar and the US dollar exchange rate. And then there's the hedged version, which neutralizes the currency fluctuations. Top Canadian S&P 500 ETFs include the Vanguard S&P 500 index ETF VFV traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. There's also the I shares core XUS. There's the BMOZP.
Starting point is 00:25:46 Like there's a ton. So like, no, you don't need V-O-O, you don't need QQQQ. What you need is is the S&P 500. What you need is the NASDAQ 100 and find out what that equivalent is for you and your money. Now, our final question comes from Michael on Instagram. Michael says, hey, Austin, Robert, my name's Michael. I'm 18 years old, turning 19 here pretty soon, and I want to invest, but I have a car loan of $17,000 at $410 a month at a 14% interest rate. I also have $4,000 of a car loan from my previous car that I wrecked, and I still have to pay on. I make $2,500 a month after budgeting. I still have about $1,200 left.
Starting point is 00:26:23 And since I don't have many bills because I live at home, my question is, should I invest this $1,200 in my Roth IRA into the index funds and ETFs you talk about? Or should I use it to pay off both of these car notes because you always say you can't out-invest high-interest debt? Robert, I love this question from Michael here. And I think we're catching him out of great age, 18, 19 years old, so I'll let you kick this one off.
Starting point is 00:26:45 Michael, I love this and you are spot on. You can't out-invest high-interest debt. I love that you're thinking about VEO and getting the Roth going and all that, but you have to get rid of this 14% interest rate. I don't even know how you have such a high interest rate. I'm assuming maybe you had bad credit at the time and that was the best rate you can get. But you have to either get your credit up and refinance that and get it down to a reasonable rate because we always want to see compounding work over time. but right now you're fighting an uphill battle because you have this high interest debt.
Starting point is 00:27:19 So I would start there. Is it a credit issue? And if it is, fix the credit. We just talked about it in this episode of how to do that so you can get a better rate on the car and maybe refinance it. Or keep chunking away to get it paid down or off and then get rid of the $4,000 from the other car. That would be my take. The only thing I would add is I would have some money for an emergency fund at public.com and a high, yield cash account just as an emergency while you're getting rid of this high interest debt.
Starting point is 00:27:50 That would be my take. I wouldn't even consider starting to invest until you knock this down as much as possible or get rid of it all together. I think that's a great breakdown. Robert, if you take $1,200 a month and you deploy it towards $17,000 car note and another $4,000 car note, it'll take you about 18 months to pay it all off. That's a cool place to be. You obviously owe $4,000 on a car that you wrecked and you like still have to pay it off which is tough so i'm sorry to hear that just pay that one off first i guess it'll take three or four months there but then the other you know 17 thousand that'll take another 14 months or so at this 1200 bucks a month but listen 18 months into the future you're out of high interest debt you've got a car that's probably worth 15 000 maybe 12
Starting point is 00:28:33 000 depending on what you're driving and you know whatever that looks like for you and you bought it and now you're coming from a place of no car payments so you're going to keep this car for as long as you can to keep it at no car payments. And now you've got, what is it here, Robert, about $1,600 that you can deploy into the markets. Oh my gosh, Robert, $1,600 a month to invest at the age of 19 or 20. That is a great place to be. I love it because even at 20 years old, all of this is gone. It's out of the picture. Credit score is up. You're still so far ahead of most Americans who kick the can down the road as it relates to their credit and getting started on their financial journeys, sometimes into their 30s and 40s. So I love this for Michael, and thanks for asking. Everybody, thanks so much for
Starting point is 00:29:18 tuning into this week's episode of the Rich Habits Podcast. Like we said earlier, we're so grateful you all come back every single week. There's over 100,000 of you that listen to these episodes on a weekly basis. If you learn something from this credit-focused episode, share it with a friend, share it with your spouse, share it with your siblings, share it with your children, share it with your neighbors or your coworkers. Credit impacts everyone, Robert. And our goal is to make sure that we are busting these credit myths wide open so everyone understands how to actually build credit, what matters and what does not matter. And we think this episode does a solid job of teaching people that. 100%. It just really is all about proper spending, proper habits, and understanding
Starting point is 00:30:02 the math of having that higher credit score is going to save you sometimes tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime or the lifetime of a 30-year mortgage. So, so important. We are here to provide you guys as much value and understanding on all of the hardest topics we all face every single day with our personal finances. And please consider leaving us a five-star review if you enjoy these episodes. We really, really appreciate it. Be sure to do that on Spotify or Apple or anywhere you listen to the podcast.
Starting point is 00:30:33 That said, Robert, we will see you all on Thursday.

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