I’m taking a little bit of a different approach this week. Most weeks, I tend to focus Ask, Save, Earn on one major topic, but this week is much more of a grab bag.

However, what hasn’t changed (and won’t change) is the promise behind Ask, Save, Earn: Every edition of this newsletter will have some takeaway that you can use and apply to your own financial life.

Let’s get started.

I got a shoutout from The Purse

My friends, and , run The Purse, one of the smartest, best money sites on the planet. A week ago today, they posted a mid-year financial check-in roundup, and I was honored to be included.

Mine was about culling subscriptions, something I’ve written about here before after I found $432 in charges I’d forgotten I was even paying for.

There are nine other smart suggestions, too. One of my favorites came from Heather Boneparth, author of The Joint Account newsletter…

“Make sure your autopays are processing correctly; credit cards linked to recurring bills haven’t expired; your logins for all important accounts are still active (many have switched to 2FA); and your beneficiaries and trusted contacts are up to date. All of this will probably take you less than an hour, and it’s one of the easiest ways to prevent headaches down the road.”

Important stuff, but stuff that can be pretty easy to let fall through the cracks.

It’s also a good reminder of something that we talk a lot about here at Ask, Save, Earn: You can often do an awful lot of good in a very short time if you’re willing to put in the work.

I appeared on The Today Show!

Late last month, I did an interview with NBC News’ Emilie Ikeda that aired on The Today Show. I talked about “funflation,” or the fact that the cost of summer fun — think concerts, amusement parks, vacations, and pretty much everything else — keeps climbing faster and faster.

Here’s the segment, which includes some helpful tips for how to manage these higher prices:

I’m only in it briefly, and I’ve been on the show before, but it is always a big deal to me whenever it happens. (And maybe one day I’ll get to do an actual live segment in-studio. I can dream, right?)

Car payments just hit a record high

Holy moley! According to Experian data cited by LendingTree, the average new car payment in the first quarter of 2026 was a record $770 a month, up from $748 in Q1 2025. For used vehicles, the average is $531 a month. That’s a whole lot better than what new-car buyers face, but it is still a huge amount of money.

Before you go shopping for a new or used vehicle, I urge you to crunch the numbers to make sure you understand what you can really afford. I know that it is so easy to fall in love with that new car, truck or SUV and tell yourself, “I’m going to treat myself! I can afford it.” The person at the dealership's financing desk will probably tell you that you can afford it, too. However, unless you take the time to look at the numbers with an affordability calculator like this one from LendingTree, you just don’t know.

Buying a car is one of the most expensive things we do. It is important not to be done lightly or carelessly. If you do, you may end up regretting it for years.

Want to be the first to see some new features?

I’ve been building a couple of new features behind the scenes. I’m not going to say much about them yet because I’m just not quite ready.

However, what I will say is I need real people to test them, break them, and tell me what’s confusing or what’s missing. I’d love for you to be part of this — and maybe other tests in the future.

If you want in, reply to this email. Once the tools are ready to be looked at in the next few weeks, I’ll make sure to get you access before anyone else sees it.

Until next time!
Matt

I wanted to start this week with a sincere thank you for being part of the Ask, Save, Earn community. Whether this is the first post you’ve ever read here or you’ve been with me for years, I’m honored that you’re here.

And the community is growing! The list of free subscribers has grown 34% so far in 2026 and has more than doubled since June 1, 2025. That means the world to me, and I promise to keep bringing you meaningful content that can have a real impact on your financial life.

If you’re reading this and haven’t yet subscribed, enter your email below to do so. If you subscribe, you’ll get our free guide, “3 scripts to lower your bills today,” just for signing up.

Or if you are a subscriber and know anyone who could benefit from being part of the community, click the Share button below to share this post with them. The more, the merrier!

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Collecting incredible stories

Part of the beauty of a growing community is having more and more people’s wisdom to learn from. That includes you!

Little in my work inspires me more than talking to interesting people about cool things they did and then sharing what others can learn from their experience.

With that in mind, I’m working on a long-term project to collect stories from people who have learned something worth sharing.

I’m interested in the lessons people learned about money, work, risk, happiness, reinvention, relationships, resilience, and everything in between.

If you know someone whose story deserves to be told, I’d love an introduction.

And of course, if you have a story to share yourself, please reach out via this email, the Substack app or even in the comments below.

We all have far more wisdom than we realize. Help me share some of yours with others!

One of the most important pieces of wisdom from my book

My book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” touches on everything from mortgages and credit cards to garage sales and wedding parties. It is about helping people pay less, earn more and keep more of their hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations.

Nowhere is that more important than at the doctor’s office, and that’s the subject of one of my very favorite quotes from the book.

“Never, ever think that it’s not OK to negotiate a medical bill in the United States.”

Those are the wise words of the great Virgie Ellington, MD, the author of “What Your Doctor Wants You To Know To Crush Medical Debt.”

Read it again. Commit it to memory. Tell your friends about it, too.

It is that important.

Medical debt can be enormous, pervasive and can, in no uncertain terms, wreck people’s financial lives.

And here’s one more quote from Dr. Ellington:

“We assume that whatever bill we get is accurate, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

Don’t believe it? Consider this stat…

An estimated 80% of medical bills have errors. That’s a staggering number. It is absolute proof that you should never pay your first medical bill.

Mistakes aren’t always obvious

I did more than 110 interviews for my book, including plenty about medical billing. I heard multiple success stories about people negotiating their bills and saving significant money.

One of my favorite stories in the book came from my friend Kathryn Tuggle...

Tuggle, an award-winning journalist and cofounder and chief content officer of HerMoney Media, has danced for most of her life, resulting in chronic plantar fasciitis, which can cause excruciating pain. In 2019, she carefully selected a podiatrist in-network with her health insurance, meaning that the visit shouldn’t have cost more than a small co-pay. But she received a bill for $1,680. “So of course, I freak out,” she says, “thinking that maybe I got it wrong” She reviewed the bill, which indicated an out-of-network visit but no other specifics. She called the doctor’s office to request an itemized bill. “Everything the doctor had done was accurate on the itemized bill, so I’m sitting there thinking, Maybe I am going to have to pay this.*

Then she spotted the problem. The very bottom of the bill listed a different doctor than the one Tuggle had seen. Some podiatrists in that group accepted Tuggle’s insurance, but others didn’t, making them out-of-network — a common and often costly problem in hospitals and medical practices. She quickly contacted the practice to inform them of the clerical error, and after about two weeks of pushback the practice finally corrected the bill, leaving her owing nothing.

Tuggle understands why people sometimes hesitate to push back when they suspect billing mistakes. Correcting them can take a lot of time and prove frustrating. Ultimately, however, it’s well worth your time. “I probably spent four hours dealing with this problem to save close to $1,700. That’s a darn good hourly rate.”

I would say so.

What she did right

Tuggle did a lot of smart things in that situation, but the best thing she did was simply to not give up. Medical providers know full well that many people who try to lower their medical bills or to correct inaccurate bills will throw in the towel before the battle is won.

It is taking forever. It isn’t going to work. This is a waste of my time.

Medical providers are betting on you feeling that way. They’re playing the long game, doing everything they can to drag stuff out so you get so frustrated that you eventually give up.

Don’t do it.

“[People] throw their hands up because they assume there's nothing they can do, and the system seems so complicated. It seems like such a battle between David and Goliath, and they just don't realize that David can win."

The late journalist Marshall Allen, author of “Never Pay The First Bill (And Other Ways To Fight The Healthcare System And Win),” told me that in interviews for my book. Tuggle is further proof that he’s right.

Another of the most important things Tuggle did right was to ask for an itemized bill. Oftentimes, the first bill you receive will lack important details. It is crucial — whether you’re trying to negotiate a lower cost or just ensure that you’re getting charged for what you actually had done — to ask for an itemized bill with CPT codes.

CPT codes are standardized numeric or alphanumeric codes used by the healthcare industry to document and bill for medical, surgical, and diagnostic services. The first bill you get may not include them. If it doesn’t, you should ask.

When you get the bill, find the codes for the services you had done, then Google them to make sure you were billed for what you had done. If you were, then you can start thinking about negotiating that bill down. If you weren’t, contact the provider’s billing department to get it corrected, especially if you were billed for a more expensive service than you actually got.

For Tuggle, the issue was even simpler than that, though. They listed the wrong doctor on her bill, and that changed everything. But even then, with an obvious, provable mistake, it still took time to actually get it fixed. Tuggle was persistent, however, because she knew that it was worth her time.

She was right, and her efforts paid off in a big way. The next time you question a medical bill, something similar could happen to you, but only if you’re willing to put in the work.

More on medical debt

I’ll never stop talking about this topic because it's just that important.

Here’s more on Allen and his mission…

And here’s a previous story I wrote about managing medical debt…

There’s so much money involved, and people have so much more power than they realize. I’m on a mission to help them wield it, and I’m happy to have you along with me.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

More than a third of Americans say they don’t plan to travel for leisure this summer, according to a new LendingTree survey.

The biggest reason?

It is just too expensive.

Unfortunately, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Sure, gas prices have fallen significantly in the past month, but increased demand around the July 4th holiday could send them higher, as could a re-escalation of the war in Iran. However, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian told Fox Business that gas prices aren’t even the biggest driver of higher prices.

“People ask me all the time – what’s happening with prices?” Bastian told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “Prices will come down when we can fly more, when there’s more supply, it’s a supply and demand. Right now we’re kind of logjammed.”

“There’s not a lot of supply we can bring in because the air traffic control system is congested. As you open up the skies, and you bring more flow, that’s going to help bring pricing down and enable us to bring more people to more places,” he said.

That’s not great news. The shortage of air traffic controllers is not a new problem, has caused issues at major airports in the U.S. in recent weeks, and probably isn’t getting resolved anytime soon.

So what is a traveler supposed to do?

My best advice for managing travel costs

As I always say, you have more power over your money than you think you do, and the travel space is no exception. No, you can’t open up the Strait of Hormuz or immediately hire, train and put to work thousands of new air traffic controllers, but there are plenty of things that you can control.

My best advice is really simple: Be flexible.

Generally speaking, the more fixed your plans are, the more you’ll often pay. Flexibility gives you options, and options often save money.

Of course, you can’t always be flexible. For example, you’re probably not taking your school-age kids out of school for a week in October to take advantage of those amazing airfares for a family European vacation. Nor are you going to be super eager to have your elderly parents change planes multiple times with long layovers in between just to get a cheaper airfare.

The good news, however, is that there are plenty of ways that you can be flexible to potentially help reduce your travel costs:

• Fly a day or two earlier or later. Moving your trip by even 24 hours can sometimes save hundreds of dollars.

• Be flexible on airports. Flying into or out of a nearby airport can dramatically cut airfare. That doesn’t mean you need to drive for hours to save a few bucks, but if you’re open to looking at multiple airport options, you can sometimes find real savings.

• Travel at off-peak times. Early-morning flights and off-season trips are often cheaper and less crowded. That 4 am wakeup may not be fun, but it can help you save.

• Choose the destination after finding the deal. Instead of deciding where to go first, see where the bargains are and build from there.

• Take the route with a layover. If you’re willing to put up with it, a longer travel day can sometimes mean a much lower fare.

• Mix and match airlines. Booking separate outbound and return flights can sometimes be cheaper than a traditional round-trip ticket.

• Use public transit when practical. A train or bus from the airport can be far cheaper, and sometimes even faster, than a taxi, rental car or rideshare.

• Be willing to walk or ride a bit. Staying outside the main tourist area often costs less without being overly inconvenient, especially in a city with great public transit.

• Consider a vacation rental home or apartment. Having a kitchen can save a surprising amount on meals. My family has done this many, many times. A quick trip to the grocery store at the start of the trip can really keep costs down.

• Leave some room in the itinerary. Overplanning can lead to expensive bookings and missed opportunities. A little flexibility lets you take advantage of better deals and unexpected discoveries.

• Pack light. Traveling with only a carry-on gives you more flight options and helps you avoid baggage fees.

• Rent the car from somewhere other than the airport. Taking a short shuttle, train, or rideshare ride can help you avoid hefty airport surcharges. In my book, I mention a Nerdwallet report that says you can save about 25 percent by renting away from the airport.

That’s a lot, right? And it is far from an exhaustive list.

Perhaps above all, remember this: You don’t have to treat your original plan as sacred. Weather changes, attractions close, flights get delayed, and new opportunities pop up. Travelers who adapt tend to spend less time frustrated and more time enjoying themselves. Those changes might even lead to savings, and who couldn’t use more of those these days?

Ask yourself these questions

Every traveler is different. One person’s no-brainer compromise is another person’s line they’d never cross.

So how do you decide what you’re willing to do for lower travel costs? Ask yourself some of these questions…

• What parts of this trip do I care about most, and where am I willing to compromise? A travel budget and itinerary should be a reflection of what matters most to you. If you ruthlessly prioritize what matters and slash spending on stuff you don’t care much about, it can open up a lot of possibilities. Just make sure to communicate your thoughts with the other people you’re traveling with. Otherwise, feelings can get hurt and tensions can rise.

• How much uncertainty am I comfortable with? Some travelers love booking things at the last minute. Others sleep better with everything locked in months ahead.

• Would I rather spend more money or more time? This question comes up constantly with flights, transportation, accommodations, and activities. There’s no wrong answer to this question, but it is important to consider.

Again, this is far from an exhaustive list, but it can at least help you start a conversation with yourself and those you’re traveling with. That communication is crucial, especially when you’re traveling with a group. It may not be easy, but talking through what people want and expect from a trip well before you ever leave can help avoid headaches once you arrive at your destination.

Got any travel tips to share?

Let us know in the comments below.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

One year ago tomorrow, I posted this…

Spoiler alert: The big news was that Ask, Save, Earn was becoming a weekly publication. A year later, it is still going strong, despite life lifing so hard several times during that period.

The first weekly piece I did, posted the same day as the announcement, was this Q&A with author about procrastination.

If you missed it or are newer to Ask, Save, Earn, give it a read. The piece is full of practical advice and thoughtful insights, including this:

“The best way to beat the procrastination monkey is to be crystal clear and honest with yourself about your goals but also your demons, so that you know where resistance is coming from. Once you have full clarity, accountability is only between you and the person in the mirror.”

In retrospect, I love that this was the first weekly post because it touches on a fundamental theme that Ask, Save, Earn keeps coming back to:

Asking can be really hard and really scary, even if you know it works, but you can do it, and we’re here to help you.

Getting past the fear

A couple months later, I posted one of my favorite pieces of the year…

First of all, it is one of my favorite headlines of the year. But more importantly, provided real practical advice on how to get over the hump when it comes to speaking up. Not only is her book required reading at Stanford Business School — I hear that place is pretty good — but she has actually done these things herself, including getting a refund for something that she forgot to cancel.

One of my favorite quotes from Abby:

“The decision is just step one. Taking action is what actually moves the needle. My best tip? Treat yourself to some ice cream with the money you saved. That way, the victory is extra sweet (literally).”

Bribing yourself with a sweet treat? That’s something I can get behind.

You’re not alone in struggling with this

I talk to people for a living. I’ve done literally thousands of interviews with the biggest media outlets on the planet.

I still get nervous when I need to speak up. I’m still often really uncomfortable with raising my hand in a roomful of people. I shared my struggles here…

But I’m far from the only public figure who struggles with speaking up. I spoke with Chris Browning, whose Popcorn Finance podcast has been downloaded more than 2 million times, about his battles to overcome his fear of negotiating…

His primary advice:

“You have to do whatever you can to try to ground the situation and make it something less scary than your mind sometimes wants to make it be.”

That can be easier said than done, of course. However, in our Q&A, Browning lays out four tips that helped him and just might help you, too.

I won’t stop talking about this

My mission is to show everyone that they have more power over their money than they realize — and to help them wield it.

That last part is so important. Even if people know that they’ll probably get their way, they still need help knowing how to make the request.

That’s why I’m going to keep posting stories like the ones mentioned above. And I need your help to help the most people.

I always want to hear about what keeps you from taking action and what you’ve done to overcome those fears. We’re a community here at Ask, Save, Earn, and communities help each other.

I’ve said it many times…

Helping others succeed can feel every bit as good as succeeding yourself.

Here’s to another year of helping people succeed, and thank you for being a part of it.

Until next time!

Matt

Hi there, my friend.

My favorite report for LendingTree, which I put out every year, came out last week, and it has some much-needed good news for people struggling with high prices.

84% of credit cardholders who asked for a lower interest rate on one of their credit cards in the past year got one, and the average reduction was 6.3 percentage points.

That’s the highest success rate in the six years in which we’ve asked, which is saying something, given that the success rate has been lower than 76% just once — in 2022, when it was a still-sky-high 70%. It is further proof that it isn’t just people with 800 credit scores, long track records and a friend who works at the bank who get their way. Regular people who really need the help do, too.

It isn’t just interest rates that are getting lowered. Banks are waiving or reducing balance transfer fees, late fees and foreign transaction fees more often, too.

A pleasant surprise, though not all the news is good

I must confess that every year we do the survey, I get a little nervous that the success rate is going to fall off a cliff. This year was certainly no different.

Oh, man, is this the year that this stops working? There’s so much uncertainty around, well, most everything. Maybe banks will be a little less giving this year.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Banks are becoming even more willing to give a break to those who reach out, according to our data. Unfortunately, however, slightly fewer people are taking that step. Just 23% of cardholders asked, down from 25% last year.

To be clear, we’ll never have 100% of cardholders ask. About half of cardholders never carry a balance, so their interest rate doesn’t matter. (Typically, only those who carry a balance from month to month are ever charged interest, though there are some exceptions.) Many who do carry a balance don’t carry a big enough one to make it worth sweating over a few points on an interest rate. Still others don’t know they can make the call, don’t think they’ll be successful or just don’t want to try.

All that said, however, there is no question that there’s room to improve those numbers. Part of my mission is to ensure that happens.

Why this is such a big deal

My central message is that you have more power over your money than you realize, and that you can pay less, earn more and keep more of your hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations. It is what Ask, Save, Earn is all about. It is what my book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life” is all about. It is what my mission is all about.

There are few stronger examples of that power than asking for a lower interest rate on a credit card. That’s because the success rate is crazy-high, and the impact can be really significant.

Here’s what I wrote in the LendingTree post:

If you’re successful, it can save you $1,000 or more, depending on how much you owe.

Here’s how:

• The average APR reduction was 6.3 points. That’s like moving from 25.00% to less than 19.00%.

• If you have $7,000 in credit card debt, an APR of 25.00% and you pay $250 a month, you’ll pay $3,615 in interest and take 42 months to pay it off, according to LendingTree’s credit card interest calculator.

• Reduce that APR by 6.3 points to 18.7% while keeping everything else the same, and you’ll pay $2,269 in interest and take 37 months to pay it off.

That’s a savings of $1,346 from a single request — all from simply asking.

That’s a whole lot of money for a phone call. If $1,300 isn’t enough to get you to make a phone call, you’re living in a way-different tax bracket than I am.

How to do it

Not all requests you make of your credit card issuer are created equal. For example, if you want a late fee waived — and our survey showed that a record percentage of those requests were granted last year, too — chances are that all you need to do is call an 800 number and ask nicely. Sometimes it is even easier than that.

Getting an interest rate lowered may take a little bit of extra legwork, however. My book goes into great detail about what to say, including word-for-word scripts. (You can get a sample of those scripts in the free guide, “3 scripts to lower your bills today,” which goes out to all new Ask, Save, Earn subscribers.)

I also went into more detail about how to ask in the post I wrote about last year’s edition of this survey.

• It’s all about information. Got a credit card offer with a good interest rate in your email or snail mail lately? Remember it. Noticed when you look at your card issuer’s website that you aren’t getting the best rate that they’re offering? Make a note. (Here’s an example of a page where a giant bank lists all of their cards and the possible interest rates associated with those cards. Other banks and credit unions typically have something similar.) Know that your credit score has gone up recently but you haven’t told the bank? Change that. All of these things can help you frame the conversation.

  • “Hi, I have a card with a 25% interest rate, but I saw on your website that some people are being offered a rate as low as 18%. Who on your team can I talk to about getting my rate lowered?”

• Script it out. My book includes word-for-word scripts on how to ask for so many breaks from your credit card issuer, as well as other financial moves. However, if you haven’t gotten your copy yet, you can still write down what you’d like to say. Don’t worry about anticipating every single thing that could possibly happen, though. Thinking through how you’ll start the conversation, what personal details to add and how you might handle a few possible questions from the rep can go a long way to helping your confidence. You can even consider role-playing with a trusted friend to take that practice to the next level.

• Don’t be a jerk. People want to help people they like. It often really is as simple as that, so be nice. That doesn’t mean that you should be a pushover, but it does mean that you’re probably better off skipping the alpha-male BS bluster.

• Don’t be afraid to try again. The first answer isn’t always final. Sometimes you catch someone on a bad day, for example. Maybe you forgot to mention an important detail. Perhaps you didn’t think to ask to speak to the manager. Calling back and trying another time or two when you’re rejected probably won’t hurt. (After the third or fourth rejection, however, it may be time to take the hint.)

It won’t always work, but it likely can’t hurt to ask.

Even if you don’t need a lower interest rate, you could pay the knowledge forward by sharing it with a loved one who might be able to benefit from it. As good as helping yourself can feel, helping those closest to you save money can feel just as good or better.

Share your success stories

If you’ve ever done this successfully, I’d love to hear. How did you do it? What did you say? Were you scared? Was it easier, harder or about the same as you expected? Tell us in the comments below.

In other news… Happy World Cup kickoff day!

My family has been into soccer since my son started playing when he was little, so we’re all super-excited that the World Cup is here in the U.S.

We’re even going to go to a match in Dallas in a couple of weeks. We were fortunate enough to have matches that were just a short drive from Austin and to get tickets at face value early on, without having to use the secondary market.

Still, even with that, it ain’t cheap. We did a study at LendingTree that broke down the cost of going to an opening-round match in person in various parts of the country. (Spoiler alert: It is crazy high.)

Do you care about the World Cup? If so, share your predictions and hopes below.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

Many people dread buying a car. It takes forever. It can be confusing. It can be intimidating. For a lot of people, especially women, it feels even worse than that.

Scotty Reiss, a longtime automotive journalist and car-buying expert who founded A Girls Guide To Cars, put it plainly when I interviewed her for my book.

“The reason a woman takes a man with her to a car dealership is not because she thinks he’s more knowledgeable about the car or haggling,” Reiss told me. “It’s because she feels like she won’t be victimized. It’s kind of like walking down a dark street at night. If you have a 6-foot-tall man with you, you’re less likely to be mugged.”

That’s a striking way to put it, but she’s right. And the thing is, the fear isn’t irrational.

Dealerships are designed to move you through a process quickly, keep you off-balance, and extract as much money as possible before you leave. The average dealership visit runs close to three hours, and most of that time isn’t even spent shopping for the car. It’s spent on paperwork, financing, and being pitched add-ons you almost certainly don’t need.

The buyers who come out ahead aren’t necessarily tougher or more aggressive than everyone else. They just show up with better information and better questions.

The single biggest mistake car buyers make

Most people wait too long to start shopping for their next vehicle. They know for months, sometimes a year or more, that they’re going to need a new car, but they put off the research until they’re desperate. Then they walk into a dealership and wonder why they feel unprepared.

“Dealerships know when you walk in the door and you’re under pressure,” Reiss told me, “so they find those points where they can provide a solution that often is really the worst solution for that buyer.”

When you’re desperate, you lose leverage, and you lose the mental space to ask good questions and actually sit with the answers. If a salesperson quotes you a monthly payment that feels high, do you have time to ask how the loan is structured and what the total cost looks like over its lifetime? If you’re walking in with a lease expiring in two weeks, probably not. Starting your research early, even when you don’t technically need a car yet, buys you the most valuable thing you can have in a negotiation: the ability to slow down and ask.

The inventory trick most buyers don’t know

Before you go to a dealership, check their website to see how many of the cars you want they actually have on their lot. A dealer sitting on 10 of the same model has a problem, Reiss said. Those unsold cars are costing them money every day, which means they’re motivated to deal. A dealer with one or two of a popular model? Not so much.

“If the dealer has ten Blazers on the lot, those Blazers are costing him money because they’re not sold,” she explained, “and so he’s going to be more negotiable.”

Use that knowledge. It tells you, before you ever walk in the door, how much room you have to work with, and it gives you a concrete reason to ask for a discount rather than just hoping one will materialize.

“I noticed you have quite a few of these on the lot. Is there any flexibility on price?” is a completely reasonable question. Walking in knowing the inventory means you already know the answer before they give it to you.

Yes, you can use competing prices as leverage

Knowledge is absolutely power when it comes to shopping for a new vehicle. Reiss told me she knew someone who was buying a Mazda at a dealership in Austin, Texas, and discovered another dealer in San Marcos, Texas – just 30 minutes south of Austin – had a better price. He simply told his salesman what the other dealer was offering and asked if they’d match it.

They did. That’s it. That’s the whole move.

This works more often than people expect, and you don’t even have to physically visit another dealership to pull it off. Sites like Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds and JD Power will show you what fair market value looks like in your region. Walk in knowing that number, and don’t be shy about referencing it.

“I’ve seen this car priced at X at two other dealerships. Can you do better?” is a completely reasonable question, and asking it shifts the dynamic immediately. You’re no longer a buyer at the mercy of one dealer. You’re a buyer with options, and dealers respond to that differently.

On the extras: just say no

When it comes to extended warranties, theft protection, undercoating, paint protection packages and other such extras, Reiss’ advice was simple: Don’t buy any of it.

“You only pay for the things you have to pay for, and don’t pay anything else,” Reiss said. The non-negotiables are the car’s price, the destination fee, taxes, and usually a small documentation fee. Everything else is profit margin dressed up as protection, she said.

When the finance manager starts walking you through add-ons, the most useful question you can ask is also the simplest: “Is this required?” If the answer is no, and it almost always will be, you can decline.

Six things to do before you buy your next car:

1. Start early. It isn’t always possible, of course, but give yourself at least six months before you actually need the car. If you do your research when you’re not under pressure, you’ll have the time and headspace to ask good questions and actually think through the answers.

2. Check dealer inventory before you visit. Go to the dealership’s website and see how many of your target car they have in stock. A full lot is your friend. Walk in and ask, “I noticed you have quite a few of these. Is there any flexibility on the price?”

3. Know the market price before you walk in. Use Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, or JD Power to find fair market value, then ask to see the invoice price at the dealership. That’s your real baseline for negotiation, and most dealers will show it to you if you simply ask.

4. Shop around and say so. If another dealer has a better price, tell your salesperson. Ask “Can you match this?” It costs you nothing and works more often than you’d think.

5. Question every add-on. When the finance manager presents extras, ask “Is this required?” for each one. Extended warranties, protection packages, and similar products are almost always optional and almost always overpriced.

6. End every negotiation with this question. Before you sign anything, ask, “Is this the best you can do?” It’s a simple question that a surprising number of people never ask, and dealers will sometimes find more room when they think you’re about to walk out the door. It absolutely cannot hurt to ask.

Got a car shopping success story or horror story? Let us know

Not all car-buying experiences are awful, or so I hear. Tell us about your best or worst — or maybe just your most recent — experiences buying a new vehicle.

We’re all about paying it forward here, so please share in the comments below. Your experience may be able to help someone else.

So, how are you doing? Really, you can tell us…

Last week, I asked you to share your biggest financial worry right now.

Longtime Ask, Save, Earn follower Julie said this…

“I’m not even sure how to voice my biggest financial worry at the moment - because it feels like EVERYTHING…”

Can you relate? I’m sure a bunch of my readers can. If you can, share what you’re thinking in the comments below. You can also ask any questions you might have. I’m always happy to help.

Until next time,

Matt

Hi there, my friend.

As I’ve said many times here at Ask, Save, Earn, you have way more power over your money than you think you do.

Often when I talk about that power, I’m talking about the power to pay less and keep more of your hard-earned money. However, your power isn’t just about saving money. It is also about making more.

In this week’s Ask, Save, Earn, we focus on a key moment in your financial life when you have more leverage than you realize. Unfortunately, though, it’s also the moment when you’re most likely to stay quiet.

It’s when you get a job offer.

The most expensive “yes” you’ll ever say

I’ve spent years talking about how powerful it can be to ask the right questions, whether you’re negotiating a lower credit card interest rate, reducing a medical bill or doing countless other tasks.

Job offers are different, though. The stakes feel higher, and the risk feels bigger. For a lot of people, that fear leads them to do something costly: They accept the first offer.

In one of the interviews I did for my book, I spoke with Laura Adams, a financial expert, the host of the “Money Girl” podcast and the author of several books. She is someone who has worked in HR and seen the hiring process from the inside, and what she told me is something I wish everyone understood before they ever accepted a job offer.

“In a lot of cases,” Adams said, “the company would have paid higher salaries than what they were offering, but people would just immediately accept.”

The leverage you don’t realize you have

That’s the part most people never see. The number you’re given isn’t always the number they’re locked into. It’s often just the starting point.

“By the time they’ve made an offer, they’ve really chosen you,” Adams said. “That’s when you have the most leverage.”

Read that again.

They’ve really chosen you.

They’ve reviewed countless resumes, done bunches of interviews, compared you to other candidates, and they ultimately picked you to make an offer to.

That doesn’t mean you can demand anything you want, of course. It does mean that, at that point, the balance of power is tilted more in your direction than at any other point in the process. The problem is that most people feel the exact opposite in that moment.

Why people stay quiet anyway

Instead of feeling empowered, they feel scared. They worry that if they ask for more, the offer might disappear. They worry about seeming difficult or ungrateful. They worry about losing the opportunity altogether.

They worry too much, Adams said.

“In no case have I ever seen a company say, ‘You asked for more, never mind, we’re rescinding the offer’.”

Of course, it is possible to overplay your hand. If they offer $50,000 and you counter with $150,000, for example, it could leave a bad impression. In most cases, however, that fear that keeps people from asking just isn’t grounded in reality.

It is easy to give in to that fear, though. Believe me, I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. I absolutely, positively know that I’ve left money on the table over the years because I didn’t push. I also know, as a former manager, that the first offer is rarely final.

What is real is the money people leave on the table by staying silent. A few thousand dollars here or there might not feel life-changing in the moment, but over time, it compounds in a big way. Ideally, every new salary determines the floor for future salary negotiations. The higher you can make that floor, the better.

The “We’ll revisit this later” trap

There’s another trap that people fall into, too.

Sometimes companies will say something like, “We’ll revisit your salary in six months.” It sounds reassuring, but as Adams pointed out, that doesn’t always play out the way people expect.

“They’ll say, ‘We’ll have a review in six months,’ and then six months comes and goes, and it doesn’t happen,” she said.

Priorities change, budgets shift, managers move on. Suddenly, that future raise you were counting on vanishes, too.

“The only way to shortcut that,” Adams said, “is to ask for it upfront.”

What to do instead

The negotiations don’t need to be aggressive or turn into a big confrontation, but they do need to happen.

You’re not being difficult or needy. Instead, you’re stepping into a moment where you have more leverage than you think, and using it.

Here are a few simple ways to approach it:

1. Always counter politely and specifically. Even if the offer seems fair, it’s almost always worth asking if there’s flexibility. Something as simple as “Is there any room to move on the base salary?” can open the door.

2. Focus on your worth, not your feelings. Tie your request to your experience, skills, or market data rather than just what you want. This keeps the conversation professional and makes it easier for them to say yes. Plus, it has never been easier to find this information. Sites like GlassDoor can be incredibly helpful, but also, people are more willing than ever to share their salary information with their peers. That can be really useful in understanding what to ask for.

3. Don’t rely on future promises. If something matters to you, whether it is salary, title, remote flexibility, whatever, lock it in now. As Adams said, “We’ll revisit this later” is not a guarantee.

4. Focus on what you can gain rather than what you’re scared to lose. Again, in most cases, you’re not risking the offer by asking. However, you are risking leaving money on the table if you don’t.

What’s on your mind?

It’s a crazy time. What’s your biggest financial worry or goal right now? I’d love to hear what it is, what you’re doing about it and if I might be able to help. Share in the comments below or send me a message in the app. I’m always happy to listen and help.

Until next time!
Matt

When people think about preparing for retirement, they tend to focus on investments and savings. They’re aiming for magic-number dollar amounts and tinkering with their holdings to get themselves in the best position to reach their goals.

However, after talking with a retirement expert who’s spent years studying how Gen X approaches this phase of life, it’s clear that the risks go well beyond asset allocation or market returns.

What you don’t know, and the questions you don’t ask early enough, matter enormously, too.

Most people are guessing more than they realize

Ask someone how much they’ll need in retirement, and you’ll often get a confident answer.

Ask them how much they’re actually spending right now, and things get a lot less clear.

Janna Herron, co-author of “Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide To Securing Your Financial Future,” said, “I think it’s really hard for people to figure out how much they’re going to spend in retirement. I think there are a lot of people who actually have no idea how much money is going out the door.”

That’s a big problem.

A lot of retirement planning is built on rules of thumb. One of the most common is that you’ll need around 80% of your current spending in retirement. However, that only works if you know what your current spending actually is.

“If the rule of thumb is you’re going to spend about 80% of what you spend now,” Herron said, “you need to know what that 100% is.”

For many people – especially those in their 40s and 50s, often at peak earning years – that number is surprisingly fuzzy. Without a clear baseline, everything built on top of it becomes an estimate stacked on another estimate.

The biggest retirement expense isn’t what most people plan for

When people underestimate retirement costs, healthcare is often where the gap shows up, Herron said.

That’s not just because it’s expensive, but because it’s unpredictable, and because the most important decisions affecting those costs happen years before retirement actually begins.

“In your 40s and your 50s is the last time that you can make a change to your health where it will make a difference in your 60s, 70s and 80s,” Herron said.

That’s a narrow window with long-term consequences.

That viewpoint reframes midlife decisions in a way most financial advice doesn’t. The habits you build, the conditions you manage, and the level of engagement you have with your own care can directly influence what you’ll spend later.

In other words, your mental and physical health today plays a massive role in your financial health tomorrow.

The problem is that this is an area where people often get very passive. That’s a missed opportunity, Herron said.

“If you can be a little bit more involved in your own health, it can really make a big difference in retirement,” Herron says

It can be as simple as asking some basic questions of your doctor. For example, making sure you understand why you’re taking a specific medication. It is OK, Herron said, to ask about generics or other less expensive options.

Never be afraid to ask questions regarding your health

If the upside is so clear, why don’t more people do this?

They don’t, in part, because these situations feel high-stakes and unfamiliar. Talking to a doctor or specialist doesn’t feel the same as calling a cable company to dispute a bill. We often just don’t think we know enough to ask the right questions, and that can make us not want to do it.

Herron suggested a useful way to rethink that dynamic.

“You’re probably an expert in something,” Herron said. “If someone asks you questions, do you ever think, ‘Oh, this person’s so stupid?’ No. No question’s too dumb. That’s the exact same thing when you’re talking to your mechanic or your doctor. That’s what they’re there for.”

If they do push back, consider that a giant, waving red flag

“If they do think you’re dumb or make you feel like you’re dumb,” she said, “then you should take your business elsewhere.”

That principle applies broadly, but it’s especially important in areas that directly affect your long-term financial security.

More simple questions to impact your healthcare costs

This isn’t about becoming a medical expert overnight. It’s about getting a little more intentional with the questions you ask in moments that most people just move through on autopilot.

Those moments add up. They can mean the difference between manageable healthcare costs in retirement and something far more overwhelming.

So if you’re looking for a practical way to start, here are a few additional questions worth having in your back pocket the next time you’re dealing with a doctor, a specialist, a pharmacist or your insurance company:

• “Is this test or procedure actually necessary right now, or can we monitor and revisit later?” Not everything needs to happen immediately. In some cases, a watch-and-wait approach can be just as effective and far less expensive.

• “What happens if I don’t do this?” This helps you understand the real stakes. Sometimes the downside is significant, but it isn’t always. Knowing the difference matters.

• “Can I get an estimate of the total cost before we move forward?” Healthcare pricing isn’t always transparent, but asking upfront can help you avoid surprises and compare options.

• “Are there lifestyle changes that could reduce or eliminate the need for this over time?” Doctors sometimes default to medication, but it may not always be necessary. This brings the conversation back to what you can control and where you might be able to reduce long-term costs.

• “What’s the cash price on this prescription?” It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes it is cheaper to not use insurance when getting prescription medications. It certainly isn’t always the case, but it is certainly worth asking. Your pharmacist should be happy to tell you. If they’re not, it is probably time to look for a new place to fill your prescriptions.

None of these questions is complicated. None of them requires a medical degree, but they do require you to speak up.

I’ve said it a million times here, but I’m going to keep saying it. You have way more power over your money than you think you do. Control what you can control by asking the right questions in everyday situations, including when you’re visiting the doctor, and it can make a real difference in your financial life.

I’m featured at Travelling Lens Insider!

Super-excited to share this Q&A that I did with the amazing Janice Kho from Travelling Lens Insider. In the piece, I share some of my best travel recommendations and money hacks to help you travel more without breaking the bank.

Check it out below…

Travelling Lens Insider

TravelMates: Matt Schulz

This is part of my TravelMates guest interview series of some of my favourite travel writers and explorers here on Substack, where they share their travel tips, recommendations and mistakes to avoid…

Read more

2 months ago · 7 likes · Janice | Travel & Photography and Matt Schulz

If you’ve followed Ask, Save, Earn for a while, Janice’s name may seem familiar. I showcased her travel tips here last fall. She’s super savvy and has a lot to teach us about travel.

Come for the travel tips. Stay for her amazing travel pics!

Until next time!
Matt

I saw two newsletter posts this week that I knew I just had to share with you.

Both described everyday situations that turned sketchy through seemingly no fault of the victims.

In one post, someone was overcharged by a restaurant. In the other, someone was bumped involuntarily by an airline.

Let’s get it into it…

The case of the mysterious restaurant overcharge

My friend Bobbi, a certified financial planner, author of multiple books and creator of the “Financial Wellness by Bobbi Rebell” Substack, went to dinner with her husband and another couple the other night.

Lovely night. Good food. Good company. The kind of evening where you are absolutely not thinking about… math.

That’s where the problem came in. The two couples each handed over a credit card and asked the server to split the check evenly.

She did just that. However, as Bobbi says in the post, when the server handed each couple their bill, “the math was not mathing.” The two bills were for the same amount, but that amount on each bill was $20 more than it should have been.

I’ll let you click the link below to read the full post and see how the story ends, but as the link says, she was warned not to mention the restaurant by name in her post to avoid being sued…

Financial Wellness by Bobbi Rebell

I was warned not to use the restaurant's name because we could get sued

Dear Friends…

Read more

2 months ago · 25 likes · 5 comments · Bobbi Rebell

The big takeaways:

1. Trust, but verify. This story is just further proof of the importance of checking your bill before you pay it and asking questions about it if something doesn’t look right. Regardless of whether the overcharge was accidental or intentional, the last thing anyone needs to do these days is pay $20 more than necessary for anything.

2. Never be afraid to ask a question about a bill that doesn’t look quite right. You should always ask politely and nicely first — accidents do happen, after all — because you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, as the saying goes. If that doesn’t work, some additional firmness and persistence may be required, but it rarely goes beyond that. Just being willing to push back on their initial response to your question often gets you where you need to go. That was true for Bobbi and her friends, but she never would’ve gotten there if she hadn’t taken the time to check the bill in the first place.

The case of the not-so-voluntary bumping

The other post I read was far more concerning. It was written by Christopher Elliott, an author, consumer advocate and journalist with whom I’ve spoken many times over the years, and I first saw it promoted on LinkedIn with the headline: “American Airlines claimed I voluntarily gave up my seat, but that’s a lie.”

In the post, Elliott tells the story of Charles Shearer, a man attempting to fly with his wife and son to his mother-in-law’s funeral in Japan. However, before they could board the first leg of their journey from Cleveland to New York, he and his family were pulled out of line and told there was only one seat available for the three of them.

Things got really messy from there, with much of the discussion centering around whether Shearer had been bumped from his flight involuntarily or not. Shearer was adamant that he was. American Airlines, Elliott reports, saw it differently.

As Elliott wrote…

Welcome to the Orwellian world of airline bumping, where “involuntary” can magically transform into “voluntary” with a few keystrokes in an airline’s computer system. It’s a neat trick that saves airlines thousands of dollars per incident. And as Shearer discovered, it’s nearly impossible to prove otherwise after the fact.

I can’t recommend reading his post highly enough. After his wife took the last seat on the original flight, Shearer and his son did ultimately make it to Japan, though on a different flight that got them there seven hours after they had intended. However, the real journey happened after they got home: a months-long adventure in pursuit of the compensation they were owed for being bumped. (Spoiler alert: It is a lot more than they were originally offered.)

Elliott does a thorough job of laying out what happened, what rights people have and what people can do if they find themselves in a similar situation. It’s an important read because what happened to Shearer and his family could happen to anyone. Flights are regularly oversold, and people get bumped all the time, whether voluntarily or not, so knowing how to protect yourself if it happens to you is crucial.

The big takeaway: Document, document, document. Elliott lays out several important, practical tips in his report, but one stood out most to me.

Document everything immediately. Send yourself emails. Text family members describing what happened. Take video, if possible. The contemporaneous nature of these communications makes them powerful evidence later.

This is good advice most any time you’re negotiating. In my book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” I mention this many times. Good notes — who you spoke with, when you spoke with them, what they said and any other relevant details of a conversation — are protection. Whether intentionally or not, customer service reps can sometimes get their wires crossed, leading to you being told different things by different people on different days. Documenting your conversations can help you avoid that situation turning into a he-said/she-said debate that, honestly, you’re not very likely to win.

You don’t need to record audio or write down every word of every conversation. However, making note of key points is a very good idea. It can be hard to remember to do so in the heat of the moment, and few moments feel more heated than when you’re bumped from a flight against your will, but if you can keep your head as chaos unfolds around you, you’ll be glad you did.

Austin friends, see you on Saturday!

If you’ll be in the Austin area on Saturday, May 16, I’d love to see you at the Greater Austin Book Festival at the Central Library from 10 am to 5 pm.

I’m on a panel at 11 am, talking with several other authors about our publishing journeys. For the rest of the event, I’ll be signing books, telling people about Ask, Save, Earn, and generally spreading the word that you have far more power over your money than you think you do. Hope to see you there.

Until next time!

Matt

I’m keeping it quick this week because I’m in New York for another media tour, and it is a lot.

Here’s a picture from one of my interviews. This one was with ABC 7 New York. We talked about everything from balance transfer credit cards to mortgage rates to, of course, gas prices.

High gas prices have been a major theme throughout this trip, and it is easy to understand why. On Wednesday, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.53, according to AAA. That’s up 31 cents in just a week, 42 cents in a month and a wild $1.38 in a year. It’s all still well below the record of $5.02 set in June 2022, but it is rapidly closing the gap.

Around the country, some prices are downright obscene.

• California: $6.16 a gallon

• Washington state: $5.75

• Nevada: $5.23

Prices have even topped $4 in oil-rich Texas ($4.04). Those prices are enough to cause real hardship for consumers and businesses alike. So what should you do?

Control what you can control.

• Shop around. This doesn’t mean you need to drive across town to save a nickel on a gallon of gas. However, if you can find cheaper-priced gas just by going a little bit out of your way, it can make sense. Apps like GasBuddy and Waze can help.

• Adjust your work schedule. OK, in truth, you may not have that much control over this, but it may be worth asking about. Even coming into the office one fewer day each week can lead to real savings on gas. It could even help to adjust the time you begin and end your day. Driving in stop-and-start traffic can burn a lot more gas than a smooth, traffic-free trip can.

• Try carpooling. Sure, it may not be much fun to ride into work with Joe from Accounting, but sharing the commute with people who live near you and work similar schedules to you can definitely help save you money on gas. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find that you and Joe have more in common than you thought.

• Leverage credit card rewards. The right credit card, used wisely, can help you extend your budget. A simple cash-back rewards card that gives you 2% on everything you buy can be great if you’re looking for maximum returns with minimal effort. However, you can also find credit cards that give extra cash back for gas purchases and even knock a few cents per gallon off of the price at the pump. Just be cautious. Gas-station-branded credit cards can have sky-high interest rates even by credit card standards. For that reason, if you think you’re going to carry a balance, gas-station credit cards probably aren’t for you.

• Keep your tires properly inflated. Something as simple as underinflated tires can have a real impact on your car’s fuel efficiency.

And while it won’t reduce how much you spend on gas, updating your budget is a wise move right now, too. That extra cash to pay for those higher gas prices has to come from somewhere. A well-put-together budget makes it easier to find. That doesn’t mean that the choices will be easy — no one likes to have to slash their spending — but it will make it easier for you to make an informed decision. That matters a lot.

Hang in there. These gas prices won’t stay this high forever.

Hopefully.

Right?

Come see me at GAB Fest!

If you’ll be in Austin on Saturday, May 16, join me at GAB Fest, the Greater Austin Book Festival. I’m part of a panel with three other amazing writers, and we’ll be talking about our own book publishing journeys and what we learned in the process.

Our panel is at 11 am, but I’ll also spend the rest of the day at the festival — held at the beautiful Austin Central Library downtown — signing books, meeting people, signing folks up for my newsletter and more. It’ll be a lot of fun, and I’d be honored to see you there.

Want to improve your credit? This book is a must for you

While in New York, I found my LendingTree colleague Carol Pope’s incredible new book at the flagship Barnes and Noble on Fifth Street in Manhattan. It is called Credit 101, and it is exactly as it sounds. If you’re struggling with your credit or know someone who is, I can’t recommend it highly enough. (It could be a really great graduation gift, too.)

Until next time!

Matt

You’ve probably heard this advice before: Just ask. Negotiate everything. The worst that can happen is they say no.

Ask, Save, Earn readers know that I’ve said versions of that myself over the years. To be clear, I still believe that asking questions and advocating for yourself is one of the most powerful ways to pay less, earn more, and keep more of your hard-earned money.

However, the unfortunate truth is that “the worst that can happen is that they say no” isn’t always true. We don’t talk about that enough, and that needs to change.

In writing my book, I spoke about this with Stefanie O’Connell, author of “The Ambition Penalty: How Corporate Culture Tells Women To Step Up And Then Pushes Them Down.” (Preorder it now here!) She has spent years studying how people actually experience negotiation, especially when it comes to jobs, raises, and promotions, and one thing she told me really stuck:

“Everything people hear is that the worst they can say is no… but what I kept seeing was that there actually is downside risk.”

That’s a pretty big shift from the conventional wisdom, but it is incredibly important to recognize.

Understanding the risk

In real life, asking for more doesn’t always just get you a polite “no.” Sometimes, it gets you less. As O’Connell told me, people get labeled as difficult. They’re seen as too aggressive or pushy. In some cases, they miss out on opportunities they might have gotten if they’d stayed quiet.

That’s uncomfortable to hear. It runs counter to a lot of what we’ve been taught about negotiation. However, ignoring that reality doesn’t help anyone. We have to understand it to deal with it.

What makes this even more important is what happens next. O’Connell said that when people have one of these experiences, they don’t usually chalk it up to a flawed system or a bad environment. They internalize it.

“People think it is something wrong with them,” O’Connell said. “and that sticks with them for the rest of their careers.”

That’s the real cost. It is not just the missed raise or the lost opportunity. It is the hesitation that shows up the next time they should speak up and don’t.

So does that mean you should stop negotiating?

Of course not.

You should absolutely ask for more. You should question charges, negotiate bills, and advocate for yourself in your career. That never changes.

What should change, however, is how you think about risk, O’Connell said.

The people who benefit the most from asking aren’t just the ones who ask the most. They’re the ones who can afford the answer.

That’s a big distinction, and it leads to a smarter way of thinking about negotiation.

3 things to remember before you negotiate

First, lower the stakes before you ask. When everything is riding on a single outcome, every conversation feels high-pressure and high-risk. One job offer. One promotion. One client. If that’s your situation, even a small downside can hit hard.

When you have options, the entire dynamic shifts.

“If you have multiple opportunities… it lowers the stakes when things go awry,” O’Connell said.

This is why it pays to keep your LinkedIn updated, to have conversations even when you’re not desperate, and to stay open to new opportunities. It is not because you’re looking to jump ship tomorrow, but because having alternatives gives you leverage. It lets you ask without feeling like everything is on the line.

Second, pick your battles. Not every negotiation deserves the same level of effort or intensity, O’Connell said. Sometimes it makes perfect sense to push. Other times, it doesn’t.

If you’re dealing with a credit card company, a bank, or your cable provider, go ahead and ask. Those are the kinds of places where a simple question can save you real money.

“A big telecom company doesn’t need more of my money,” she said.

But if you’re dealing with a small business owner or someone providing a service where margins are tight, you might make a different choice. That’s not about being soft. It’s about being intentional. It’s about understanding when negotiating serves you and when it’s just about winning for the sake of winning.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, know the environment you’re in. Not every company, manager, or situation responds the same way to negotiation. Some places reward it, some tolerate it, and some quietly punish it.

You won’t always know which is which upfront, but there are clues if you’re paying attention, O’Connell said. Who gets promoted? Who’s in leadership? Do people like you advance there? Those signals can tell you a lot about how your ask is likely to be received.

Risk doesn’t mean that the ask isn’t worth it

At the end of the day, this article isn’t meant to scare you away from asking for more. It’s meant to help you do it more effectively.

You should absolutely ask questions. You should push for better deals and better opportunities. That’s how you save money and earn more over time.

Just don’t rely on the idea that there’s no downside. The unfortunate truth is that sometimes there is.

The goal isn’t just to ask. It is to ask in a way that protects you. You do that by building options, lowering your risk and picking your spots.

Now go out there and get what you deserve.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

Ever heard the metaphor of the boiling frog?

The idea is this: If you place a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out, for obvious reasons. However, if you set the frog in lukewarm water and very slowly raise the temperature to boiling, the frog won’t recognize the danger until it is too late and will end up cooked.

Turns out that it isn’t really true, and that frogs really are smart enough to realize that they need to get the heck out of that water when it gets too hot. Still, it remains a useful metaphor for something that happens all the time in the business world.

And yep, you guessed it. We’re all the frogs.

One of the best examples of this is streaming services. This FoxBusiness.com piece brings up the “boiled frog” metaphor when talking about rising streaming prices, and for good reason.

According to data from CableTV.com, the price of a standard Netflix subscription has gone up from $7.99 per month in 2011 to $19.99 per month in 2026. That means we’re paying $12 a month more than we did 15 years ago, an average increase of less than $1 per month each year.

No biggie, right? We frogs definitely aren’t jumping out of the water for that, are we?

Probably not for just that one subscription. However, when you consider that the average person has 4 to 5 subscription services — and some, like me, have many more than that — the math changes.

You’re not just paying an extra $144 per year for Netflix ($12 increase X 12 months = $144). You’re also dealing with similar increases from other services, and those add up in a hurry. Increases of $144 per year on five subscription services add up to $720 a year in extra costs.

Suddenly, things get a little toasty for us frogs.

(Note: When adjusted for inflation, that $7.99 price from 2011 becomes $11.98, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator. That’s a significant difference, but it still means that Netflix subscription prices have risen far faster than inflation in the last 15 years.)

And of course, we know that we’re not just getting boiled by streaming services.

“I called, and they didn’t have a reason.”

My book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” is filled with success stories from people who paid less, earned more and kept more of their hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations.

In this story, author Marcus Garrett talks about price creep with insurance and a perhaps surprising truth behind it:

Just like phone bills, insurance bills tend to creep steadily upward.

Marcus Garrett, author of Debt Free or Die Trying, spotted that his monthly insurance bill had increased by $6. It wasn’t a hardship, but he wanted to know why he had to pay more. After six months, he decided to act. “I called, and they didn’t have a reason” for the increase. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re right. “ They credited the $36 back to his account and, going forward, reduced the bill by $6.

For many folks, $6 a month might not be worth their time, but there’s always value in asking why a bill increased without an obvious reason. “A lot of times, people assume they raised it for a reason, Garrett says. “I might not understand the reason, but there’s a reason behind it. That’s optimistic because the reason may just be that they can.” Also, remember that small increases add up. That one call saved Garrett $72 that year. For a tight budget, that’s a meaningful chunk of money. You probably have at least five to ten monthly bills:. house, electricity, car or transit, insurance, phone, Internet, gym, and more. Now we’re talking serious money for anyone. If a couple of three-minute phone calls can stop increases on just a couple of those bills, that’s definitely worth your time.

In truth, that business really did have a reason for increasing your bill, but the customer service rep just didn’t want to come out and say it: Sometimes businesses just raise prices because they can.

Sure, when inflation is high, businesses’ costs rise, too, and sometimes price increases are necessary. That’s fine. However, there are also times when a business just decides to reach for a little bit of extra profit, knowing that many of its customers won’t even notice. If they do notice, many won’t care.

It’s just an extra dollar or two. Meh.

You don’t have to take it, though.

What you can do about it

When businesses raise prices, they understand that a certain percentage of their customers will be upset. That’s true even if they only raise the price by a few bucks. It may not be a big portion of their customer base, but some of those upset customers are going to make themselves known, via email, social media, phone or elsewhere.

Here’s something you might not realize, though… At least some of those upset customers will get their old prices restored.

Or, to use another classic metaphor, some of those squeaky wheels will get greased. As Garrett found in the story above, often it doesn’t take much more than a phone call. They’re often happy to waive that extra $6 a month because they’ll ultimately make way more money on you in the long run if you stick around.

And talking to customer service doesn’t have to sound confrontational. If your bill went up recently, consider starting your conversation like this:

“I’ve been a happy customer for a long time, and I’d really like to stay that way. Is there anything you can do on the price?”

That’s it. No threats, no ultimatums, and it works more often than you’d think.

If you’re really nervous about making the call, consider role-playing the conversation with a trusted relative or friend a few times. The first time, have everything go as smoothly as possible. The second time, have your partner push back a little bit. Then, the third time, tell your partner to really let you have it.

It may sound goofy, but it can really help. I’ve heard countless coaches talk about wanting to make practice harder than the game, and the same concept applies here. Chances are very, very low that you’ll end up in some heated confrontation with a customer service rep. Most likely, you’ll end up thinking, Wow, that wasn’t hard at all. What was I so nervous about?

As I always try to be clear about, this newsletter is about you.

It is about helping you understand that you have more power over your money than you realize. I’m committed to showing you how to pay less, earn more and keep more of your hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations. Every edition of this newsletter, every Thursday, will include some takeaway that you can use to better your financial life — and this one is no different.

However, sometimes in providing that information, I like to take you behind the scenes of my job.

I did that with my most recent media tour…

I did that when an announcement from the president threw a wrench into my Friday night…

I even did it a little less than a year ago when Jimmy Kimmel quoted (albeit inaccurately) a report I did in his late-night monologue…

That last one was particularly unique. I’ve been quoted and cited — or had something I wrote quoted or cited — by most any news and personal finance media outlet that you can name over the years. However, having a late-night talk-show host talk about something you write was something new for me.

To make something like that happen, you have to create content that gets people talking. Another report I wrote last week has certainly done that, too.

The number that got people talking

I recently wrote an article for LendingTree that stated that it would cost an average of more than $300,000 to raise a child over 18 years. That’s more than $17,000 per year.

Yeah, you read that right.

It’s an eye-opening report, with data put together by LendingTree’s brilliant research team, and it is absolutely worth a read. It also breaks down the costs for just the first five years, when daycare costs are brutal, as well as how costs vary by state. (For example, it can cost $400,000 to raise a kid for 18 years in Hawaii, but just slightly more than $200,000 in New Hampshire and a few Southern states. A massive difference, though also proof that parenting isn’t cheap anywhere in this country.)

The report has generated a massive amount of talk, including coverage from CBS News, Fortune, NewsNation, local TV and radio stations all over the country, and even Fox News’ morning show “Fox and Friends.”

They didn’t interview me or anyone else from LT for the segment, but that Fox & Friends conversation spurred even more coverage, including Huff Post and even TV Insider, which is not an outlet that typically picks up what I’m writing. Even IMDB (the Internet Movie Database) posted about it, linking back to TV Insider. Again, not my usual territory, but it is great to see people talking about what we wrote.

The biggest main reason why it is so great that this is being talked about is that this is a MASSIVE problem in our country.

Conversation raises awareness. Awareness, ideally, breeds action.

The takeaways from this report

As usual, I’m going to tell you that you have more power than you think you do. That doesn’t mean that everything’s going to be perfect or that managing these costs will be easy, but there are steps that you can take to help yourself.

Here’s my first recommendation from the LendingTree report…

“Start saving as soon as possible. Like today. If you’re thinking that you want to have a child in the next few years, it isn’t too early to start a fund devoted to the cost of raising a child. Put a few dollars from each paycheck into a high-yield savings account and let compounding interest work its magic. By the time your little one arrives, you’ll be glad you did.”

I know this is easier said than done, but it is absolutely essential. I always think about the old saying about the best time to plant a tree: “The best time was 20 years ago, but the next best time is today.” That is certainly the case with savings and investments, because no financial asset we have is more powerful than time. As silly as it may sound, if you know for certain that you want to have a family someday — even if it might not be for 5 or 10 years or more — start putting a little bit of money away for it. Call it your “Family Fund” and know that when your little one arrives, you’ll be thrilled that money is there.

And don’t worry that you’re not doing enough. Just get started. Start small, be consistent, and just let that money grow.

Here’s another recommendation from the report…

Take advantage of government and/or workplace benefits. Once you know your child is on the way, reach out to your company’s HR department to go over what benefits are offered for parents. If you don’t take the time to do that, you could leave money on the table, and that’s the last thing any parent should do. Also, use a dependent care flexible spending account (FSA) to pay for at least a portion of your child care costs with pretax dollars. Finally, make sure that when tax season arrives, you’re claiming all the credits you qualify for.

This stuff matters a lot. With costs as high as they are, parents need all the help they can get, so make sure to seek out as much of it as you can.

There are more recommendations in the report, as well as much more information on just what that $300,000 number includes. I highly recommend giving it a look.

Look what I found

So after finding the IMDb reference to our report, I had an idea.

I’m going to look up my name at IMDb.com.

There’s really no reason for me to be in there. I’ve never been involved in making a movie. I’ve never really been involved in making a TV show, outside of countless appearances on news shows.

Even knowing that, I looked myself up and, as it turns out, I do have an IMDb page…

At some point, someone created that page for me, with the only credit being an appearance I made on NBC Nightly News back in 2021. I have no idea who made it or why, but I think it is fun to know that I have one.

And it turns out I have Huff Post and Fox & Friends to thank for that knowledge. Who would’ve guessed?

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

This just in… Life’s expensive in 2026, and it isn’t likely to get much better anytime soon.

Thanks to the war with Iran, much of the talk has been about the crazy-high cost of gas — AAA says $4.16 a gallon, nationally, as I write this — but high gas prices don’t just hit us at the pump. They ripple across the entire global economy, raising the prices of most anything we buy. Pile those increases on top of the already stubbornly high prices Americans were facing for groceries, vehicles and, well, most anything else, and it just makes an already challenging situation that much worse.

It is easy to feel powerless amidst all of the chaos. However, if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll continue to say it…

You have more power over your money than you realize. It is often just about asking the right questions.

I’m not going to BS you and tell you that you can haggle down the price of a gallon of a gas or a loaf of bread. That’s likely not going to happen.

However, there are many, many other purchases that you can pay less for — potentially much less for — just by knowing what to ask.

Two simple, powerful questions

My book, “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” includes a section devoted to getting deals on shopping with retailers. I spoke with many of the most knowledgeable shopping experts in the business as I wrote it, and I heard the same thing over and over again in many of those conversations.

They all spoke about the power of two simple questions:

• Do you match your competitors’ prices?

• Are there any sales or discounts on this item right now or coming soon?

That’s it? Really? Price matching and sales?

Yes, really.

We often think negotiations over price are going to be terrifying, drawn-out and painful, but so many times, they’re just not. Often, you just need to be willing to ask.

To be clear, asking doesn’t always work. Nothing always works. However, it is usually worth trying.

By the way, the last part of the second question is key. The truth is that sometimes if an item is about to go on sale, a retailer will be willing to give you the future sales price anyway. Don’t expect them to do it if the sale is still a month away, but if you’re shopping on a Wednesday night and the sale starts on Friday, a retailer might be willing to work with you to keep you from walking out of that store.

Worst-case scenario: You still get a deal, but you have to wait a bit for it.

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be sure to come back on Friday when the sale starts.”

And the best news of all is that this works best on big-ticket items. Things like appliances and furniture. Things where you’re not just saving a buck or two, but potentially money that could have a real impact on your weekly budget.

Pro tip: Knowing who to talk to

As with any negotiation, it isn’t just about what or how you ask. It is also about who. For example, someone in a locally owned store may have more wiggle room on price than someone in a big corporate retailer.

Still, even in that small store, it matters who you choose. My friend, shopping expert and fellow Substacker Trae Bodge from TrueTrae.com, said it perfectly in my book:

“Read the room. If you see someone rushing, that’s not the person to ask. You want to ask the one moving slowly, stocking shelves, maybe dusting, someone who seems calm — especially if you’re shy. If someone’s dashing by, don’t expect them to stop and look in their computer for an extra sale.”

I’d love to hear your success stories. Share them in the comments below.

Until next time!
Matt

If this newsletter is about anything, it is about the power of asking.

Just ask. The worst thing that can happen is that they say no, but the chances that they say yes are likely better than you think.

It is such simple advice, yet it can be so hard to take. Believe me, I know. I’ve written about my struggles with following the example of my father, who could talk to anybody about anything at any time. I’m still wrestling with that.

There are as many reasons for not asking as there are sands on the beach, but one big one is simply that people don’t believe that it works.

“The chances that they say yes are likely better than you think? Suuuuure they are.”

I get the skepticism. It doesn’t always work. Anyone who tells you otherwise is ignorant, lying or trying to get you to sign up for their paid course. Still, I firmly believe that the underlying truth remains: You’re probably more likely to get a yes than you think you are

Of course, your chance of success can vary wildly, based on any number of reasons. However, there are some requests where the odds are so heavily in your favor that you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t try.

The fee that you should always try to get waived

89% of credit cardholders who asked to have a late fee waived in the past year were successful, according to a June 2025 LendingTree report.

Read that again.

Crazy, right?

And those aren’t just one-time numbers. The success rate for late fee waivers has been above 80% for at least five years, probably longer, and there’s little reason to think that will change anytime soon.

That’s why you should never pay a late fee on your credit card without first asking to have it waived.

And I know it works, from more first-hand experience than I’d like to admit. The last time I did it, I didn’t even have to speak to a real person to make it happen. I talked about it in this post…

Why you’re so likely to be successful

Here’s a secret that most credit card issuers won’t tell you: It is often their policy, written or otherwise, to waive your first late fee if you bother to ask. Often, you don’t need to do much more than ask politely.

Why on Earth would they do that?

Two big reasons:

1. The amount of money is so small that it doesn’t really matter to them. Your first late fee is typically about $30, potentially rising to $41 for subsequent late payments. That doesn’t even amount to a rounding error for giant card issuers.

2. Waiving the fee creates a ton of goodwill, and they know that happy customers spend more in the long run. Banks view customers in terms of lifetime value — the longer you stick around, the more money they make off of you. If they know that waiving a $30 late fee today will ensure that you’ll be a loyal customer for years to come, they’ll waive that fee 89 times out of 100.

So, just like in Vegas, the house pretty much always wins, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t walk away with a little bit of cash in your pocket from time to time.

It isn’t just about late fees

Credit card late fees are one of the most extreme examples of the odds being in your favor, but they’re hardly the only ones.

For example, 88% of buy now, pay later (BNPL) loan users who have asked to have a late fee waived on one of these loans got it either waived or reduced, according to a March 2026 LendingTree report. These fees usually aren’t as high as credit card late fees — usually not more than about $10 — but that doesn’t mean you should just pay them.

The same LendingTree report that talked about waiving late fees also said that 83% of those who asked for a lower interest rate on their credit card got one, and the average reduction was more than 6 percentage points. That’s a really big deal and can lead to far more savings than you’d get from a waived late fee. (In fact, that same stat a few years earlier inspired me to write the book that would later inspire me to start Ask, Save, Earn.)

How do you do it? I lay that out in my book, but also in my free guide called “3 scripts to lower your bills today,” which you can get for subscribing for free to Ask, Save, Earn. It includes scripts for asking for a lower APR as well as other requests that can save you real money.

If you subscribed before I offered the guide, reply to this email or drop me a note in the comments below and I’ll be sure to get you one.

If you’ve already seen the guide, consider telling a loved one about Ask, Save, Earn by clicking the button below.

If you’re not yet a subscriber, drop your email in the box below, and we’ll send you a copy.

Saturday evening with CNN

Part of my job as Chief Consumer Finance Analyst at LendingTree (AKA Personal Finance Expert Guy) is that I sometimes have to work funky hours. Early mornings, late nights, weekends, holidays, vacations — you never know when news will break or when a big media outlet will want to have you on.

CNN reached out to me last Thursday, asking if I was available to talk about reports that LendingTree had done on rising grocery prices and gas prices on “CNN Newsroom Primetime” live on either Saturday or Sunday evening.

Turns out, I was.

Honestly, there’s been so much news happening that I went through the day Saturday assuming that something would happen that would lead to my interview being bumped. I didn’t even tell my mom and sister about the interview because I figured it was a coin flip that it would actually happen.

Well, it did happen. I’m proud of how it went. Click here or on the image below to check it out.

I’ve been on all of the major cable news networks before, but the opportunity doesn’t come around all that often, so it is fun when it does. It’s another chance to spread my message that you have way more power over your money than you think you do.

They even gave my book some love, which always means the world to me.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

AAA says that the average price of a gallon of regular gas, as I write this, is $3.98 nationally. That’s 14 cents higher than a week ago and a dollar higher than a month ago.

Sure, we’re still miles from the record high of $5.02 seen in the summer of 2022, but the huge spike in prices has definitely caught Americans’ attention.

I wrote a report for LendingTree this week saying that 31% of Americans have changed their typical spending or savings habits as a result of rising gas prices, and another 35% said they would do it if prices remain high. We also found that 51% of people with gas vehicles said they had filled up their tank before they needed to in order to get ahead of rising gas costs.

Update: A guy in Florida rode his horse through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a because he couldn’t afford the gas prices anymore — and the story about that included a mention of the report I wrote.

I applaud people for taking action, even something as silly as riding a horse through a drive-thru. As I’ve said a million times here…

You have more power over your money than you realize. In challenging times, control what you can control.

That’s clearly what people are doing here, and that’s awesome. However, not all actions are created equal. In fact, there’s one step that may seem like a complete no-brainer when it comes to combatting high gas prices but can backfire in a big way if you’re not careful.

What not to do

I’m pretty sure you’ve seen them, those signs at the pump that advertise big savings per gallon if you sign up for the gas station’s branded credit card. Pretty tempting, right? Especially when gas prices are as high as they are today.

To be fair, these cards can be a great deal when used wisely. Just like with that credit card you’re offered at the checkout counter of your favorite retailers, the discounts are very real. However, also just like other retail credit cards, they have one massive problem that should never be overlooked: Their interest rates are often sky-high, even by typical credit card standards. (The average interest rate on a new store credit card in November was over 30%, while the average for all new credit cards today is about 24%.)

Because of that, my stance on these cards is clear…

No matter how big the discount or alluring the perks, you should never get a gas-station branded credit card if you expect to regularly carry a balance.

This isn’t just about gas-station cards. It applies to any retail credit card. I go into more here…

If you carry a balance, the math simply doesn’t work in your favor. When it comes to store credit cards, I’ve long said that you don’t need to be an accountant to know that paying 30% to save 15% on a purchase doesn’t make much sense. With gas-station cards, paying 30% to save 10 cents a gallon doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either.

There are plenty of credit cards out there that offer extra rewards on gas purchases but aren’t branded with a specific gas-station-chain’s logos. Those tend to come with lower APRs than gas-station-branded cards do and can be worth considering. However, if you carry a balance, any interest charges are still likely to outweigh any discounts or rewards you might receive.

So what should you do?

We’re all about asking the right questions here at Ask, Save, Earn, but sometimes the most important questions are the ones you ask yourself. That’s absolutely true when it comes to managing rising gas prices. Here are a few to consider…

• “Will I pay my balance off every single month?” This is the key question we raised earlier. If your answer is an unequivocal, 1000%, no-doubt yes, then using a credit card to save on gas could be helpful. If it is anything other than that, it probably isn’t the best choice for you.

• “Am I paying more for gas just out of habit or convenience?” We’re all creatures of habit. We tend to fill up our tank at the same place every time, much in the same way buy our groceries in the same place or take our dry cleaning to the same place. There’s comfort in the sameness. However, it can also come with a cost. If higher gas prices are putting a squeeze on you, consider using GasBuddy, Waze or other tools to seek out better deals near you. Doesn’t mean you need to drive across town to save 3 cents a gallon, but opening yourself up to more possibilities can be helpful.

• “Could I just use my vehicle less?” For many of us, the answer is almost certainly yes. Carpooling, with family, friends or coworkers, can be a low-cost alternative. Public transportation could be useful as well, though, of course, it is a far better option in some places than others. Even riding a bike could be worth considering, if you live relatively close to work.

• “Do I need to adjust my budget?” Unfortunately, for many Americans, the answer is likely yes. If you’ve got a lot of breathing room in your budget on a regular basis, maybe adjustments aren’t really necessary. However, if money is usually super-tight, it probably makes sense to review your budget to see where your shift your spending to allow for some extra spending on gas. Sure, it is possible that the conflict with Iran will end soon and that gas prices will plunge shortly thereafter. Still, when it comes to a budget, I’m always a fan of planning for the worst while hoping for the best.

Helping others pay less, earn more and keep more of their hard-earned money

The epilogue of “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” is about paying it forward.

In it, I wrote the following…

It’s amazing to save more or earn more for yourself, but it can prove even more rewarding to help your loved ones do the same.

That’s 1000% true. I’ve taken my own advice to save money and earn more, but few things match knowing that I was able to help others. These posts are examples of that…

Now I want to help more and more people — and I need your help to do it.

If you don’t already subscribe for free, I’d love for you to take the leap. If you do, you’ll get my free guide, “3 scripts to lower your bills today.” It’s a perfect introduction to my mission here at Ask, Save, Earn — and the scripts really work.

Here’s a sneak preview of it, if you haven’t seen it already…

Just enter your email in the box below and you’re on your way.

However, I have one more request: I’d love it if you’d consider telling your loved ones about Ask, Save, Earn. It is as easy as clicking the button below and following the prompts.

Refer a friend

If I get one single subscriber from your referral, I’ll be incredibly grateful. However, if you bring other sign-ups, there could be more tangible rewards heading your way. Check out the Leaderboard page for more details.

Thank you so much for considering this, and please let me know if you have any questions about all of it. I’m always happy to help.

Until next time!

Matt

Hi there, my friend.

Yesterday was a pretty exciting day in my world. I was quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, CNN and CNBC! Of course, I feel fortunate to say that I’ve been quoted in all of those media outlets many, many times over the years in my role as personal finance expert with LendingTree, but it isn’t often that it happens all in one day. It is always special when it does.

So why all the attention? It was all about the Federal Reserve, which announced at the end of its regular meeting yesterday that it chose not to make any changes to interest rates during this meeting, as most everyone expected.

Wait. They did nothing, which everyone already knew they would, and it was still a big deal? Whaaa?

Yeah, it is true. Even no news can be big news when it comes to the Fed. That’s because it has such a massive impact on Americans’ finances.

Why you should care that the Fed did nothing

If you want a full explanation of what the Fed does and why it matters so much, check out this more-or-less plain-English video from the Atlanta Fed. For this post, however, the most important thing to know is this…

The Fed has a huge influence on the interest rates people pay on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other types of loans, as well as the interest rates that people earn on savings accounts, CDs and other financial tools.

When the Fed raises or lowers rates, the interest rates people pay and earn tend to go up or down as well. For some types of loans, such as credit cards, it has a direct influence, pushing rates up or down quickly and relatively predictably. For other loans, such as mortgages, the influence is less direct and often less immediate, though rates tend to move in the same general direction as the Fed’s rates.

When rates go down, which happened several times late last year, it is good for borrowers (lower interest rates mean it is cheaper to borrow), but it isn’t so great for savers (lower rates mean smaller returns on savings). When they rise, which last happened in 2023, the reverse is generally true.

So what about days like yesterday, when nothing happens?

Again, it depends on whether you’re thinking as a borrower or a saver. Borrowers may not like the Fed standing pat, as it makes rates less likely to fall in the near future. However, savers might love it for the same reason.

For this post, I’m focusing primarily on savers. If you are one — or aspire to be one — there’s one move that you really need to make, and that move looks even smarter today than it did yesterday.

The move I can’t recommend highly enough, if you haven’t already done it

If you don’t already have one, it is time for you to look into an online high-yield savings account (HYSA). These accounts typically give significantly higher returns than you’ll find with traditional savings accounts from the big mega-banks — sometimes 4% or higher vs. just a fraction of a single percentage point — and they’re typically easy to set up.

These HYSAs had better returns a year or two ago, before the Fed started cutting rates, but they’re still leaps and bounds better than what you often find at traditional banks. They can absolutely turbocharge your emergency fund or savings for other goals. Consider this:

• If you deposit $5,000 in a HYSA and leave it alone for 5 years at a rate of 3.75% — a good rate, but hardly the best available — you’ll earn $1,010.50 in interest.

• Deposit that same $5,000 in a traditional savings account and leave it alone for 5 years at a rate of 0.5% — about the national average for a savings account, per DepositAccounts.com — you’ll take home just $126.26. (Note: These numbers were crunched using DepositAccounts.com’s simple savings calculator.)

That’s nearly an extra $900. Kind of a big deal.

I have a HYSA with Bask Bank and have been really pleased with my returns. However, they’re one of many, many HYSAs out there, and I strongly, strongly recommend you shop around for one if you haven’t already — or even if it has just been years since you last did. You can find rates and more information on countless savings accounts at DepositAccounts.com.

(Full disclosure: 1: I’m not getting paid by Bask Bank or anyone else to talk about them. I’m just honestly sharing the name of a company that I really do business with. 2: DepositAccounts.com is owned by LendingTree, the company I work for. )

In fact, getting a HYSA looks like a smarter move today than it was even a few days ago. That’s because the Fed is unlikely to reduce rates anytime soon, which means that HYSA rates are unlikely to fall much below today’s rates in the near future. That means better returns for longer, and who couldn’t benefit from that?

In case you missed them…

I’ve gotten wonderful feedback about the last two posts I’ve done, so I wanted to reshare them here, just in case you might’ve missed them.

The topics couldn’t be more different — the impact of war vs. cheesy lines to get hotel upgrades — but I think they both have something to offer.

Let me know what you think of them.

Lastly, happy birthday … to my book!

“Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life” turns two years old today!

I’ll never forget the day that it came out. I was in New York doing a media tour and going around to various bookstores in the city, signing copies of my book and just taking it all in. Here I am at the flagship Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in New York…

To say that the book changed my life is a massive understatement. I’m so incredibly proud of it and the fact that the message it contains — you have way more power over your money than you realize — has had a very real impact on people. That message is perhaps even more important today than it was two years ago.

Whenever I’m traveling, I look for bookstores in the area and sign copies of my book if they have it in stock. Honestly, it never gets old. I can’t count how many times I’ve been to the B&Ns in New York, for example, and it is an adrenaline rush every time.

Thank you for your support. It means the world to me, and it motivates me to keep spreading the message that you really can pay less, earn more and keep more of your hard-earned money by asking the right questions in various everyday situations. I’m never going to stop talking about it.

Until next time!
Matt

Hi there, my friend.

In writing “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More: How To Take Control Of Your Financial Life,” I did more than 100 interviews, and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

A huge part of what made these interviews so enjoyable was hearing people share stories of the successes they and their loved ones had in life. Some were big, some were small, but they all mattered.

One of my favorite stories in the book came courtesy of my friend, digital content strategist Christine Burke. (By the way, this is a different Christine than the one who told me how she saved $3,500 in this post.) It’s about a fun, sweet line that her late father would use to try to get upgrades at hotels and that Christine now uses herself.

[Christine] always asks for upgrades when staying at a hotel. She starts the conversation with a line from her father, Arthur McDevitt.

“He’d say, ‘Do you want to be a hero today? He used to say something like, ‘You can be a hero today if you help me, and then you can spend the rest of the day telling people you’re a hero.” She estimates that the line worked for her dad “about 50 percent of the time.” Now she uses it herself.

If that sounds too cheesy for you, that’s OK. Yes, it’s a little over-the-top, but it’s also a friendly, fun icebreaker. Say it to a hotel clerk with a genuine smile, and you may get an eye roll from time to time, but it can kickstart a conversation. Most importantly, it playfully makes your request not all about you. People are more likely to go out of their way to help if they stand to gain something.

With this tongue-in-cheek line, you’re giving people something positive, which they weren’t expecting, in return for helping you. It won’t work every time, but even if it doesn’t, you’ve given the person behind the desk something to smile about during a long shift.

This week, Christine told me that she recently used the line to get a discount at the rental car counter in Phoenix this past January:

In a direct message, she said, “We reserved a car with Budget, and the line was legit 2 hours long. I left [my husband] in line, dashed over to Alamo, and used ‘the line.’ Not only did she have a car for me, it was $200 cheaper. We were on the road in 20 minutes.”

“The woman at the counter was named Ariana… she chose heroism that day.”

I love this approach for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it works. I love that it is so simple. I love that it has a little fun with the idea of making a negotiation a win-win — people are more likely to help you if they get something out of it themselves, right? I also love that it could genuinely bring a smile to the face of the person behind the counter who has probably been yelled at a time or two that day.

But I think the reason why I like it most is that it reminds me of my dad. He was a huge inspiration for my book and for Ask, Save, Earn, and I’ve written about him a lot here, including this post:

I don’t think my dad ever did exactly what Christine’s dad did, but he TOTALLY would have. As I wrote in the post above, my dad never met a stranger. He could talk to anyone and loved to make people laugh. He was also an amazing negotiator, having spent three decades doing it for a living at State Farm Insurance.

This was about as up his alley as it could be. I wish I’d gotten the chance to share the story with him.

Would you ever try something like this? Or maybe you have your own approach? I’d love to hear about. Tell us in the comments.

More travel tips

I devoted a whole section of my book to travel, and it is a frequent topic here at Ask, Save, Earn as well. Here are a few travel-related posts from the past year or two:

And finally… The Not-So-New-Anymore-Year Challenge

I started the new year at Ask, Save, Earn by issuing you and my other subscribers a simple challenge:

“Sometime in January, contact a business you work with and ask them to change something.”

That’s it!

I called it The Ask Questions 2026 Challenge. You can learn more about it here…

Did you do it? If not, would you consider doing it now? It doesn’t take much time and can save you real money.

If you did do it, tell me how it went. There’s not much I love more than hearing people’s success stories of paying less, earning more or keeping more of their hard-earned money by asking the right questions.

Until next time!

Matt

Hi there, my friend.

Here at Ask, Save, Earn, there are two sayings I repeat over and over again. They’re also part of most everything I talk about in my book or in my role as Chief Consumer Finance Analyst (AKA Personal Finance Expert Guy) at LendingTree.

They were at the heart of what I wrote last spring when the implementation of tariffs sparked widespread fear of a recession.

Now, once again, they are at the core of my financial advice to those concerned about what this conflict with Iran may mean for their money.

Control what you can control.

and

You have more power over your money than you realize.

And, yes, of course, the potential ramifications of what’s happening in the Middle East obviously go way beyond just money. For this post, however, I’m focusing on your money and what you can do today to be better prepared financially for whatever economic impacts might come.

Possible steps to take today

So what does “controlling what you can control” look like in this context? How can I wield my power? Here are a few ideas:

• Budget for higher gas costs: No one knows how long this conflict will last. However, we’ve already seen gas prices rise sharply. According to AAA, the average price of gas on Wednesday was $3.20. That’s up 9 cents from the day before and 22 cents from a week before. That’s well below the peak from a few years ago, but it’s still a big jump in a short period of time. If you spend a lot of money on gas, it makes sense to adjust your budget to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

• Leave your 401(k) alone: At one point on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen more than 1,200 points. By the time the market closed on Wednesday, it had climbed back up to nearly the levels we saw before that drop. That’s a perfect example of why panic selling can be so devastating. Markets rise and fall constantly. If you always sell on the way down, you’ll miss out on the gains on the way back up. For most of us, the best move is to simply ride the waves, knowing that history shows that our patience will likely be rewarded with higher returns.

• Strengthen your cybersecurity: Cyberattacks are a powerful weapon of war today. While there’s so much that is unknown and out of our control, taking some steps to upgrade your digital security in the wake of recent events makes all the sense in the world. Those might include:

  • Strengthening your passwords

  • Implementing multi-factor authentication

  • Freezing your credit

  • Backing up important data

• Consider travel insurance if you’re traveling soon: The Middle East is an awful long way from American shores, but anyone who travels knows that disruption anywhere in the world can mean headaches for travelers everywhere. Consider contacting your credit card issuer to ask about travel insurance coverage you might have with your card or consider getting a new card that offers better coverage. If you’re looking for more complete coverage, consider purchasing travel insurance from a third party.

• Lower the interest that you’re paying: Interest paid to credit card companies and other lenders is money that can’t go toward building a financially stable foundation to help yourself and your family manage uncertainty more confidently. But the good news is that you have more control over your interest rates than you might think, especially if you have good credit. A 0% balance transfer card can be a game-changer. A low-interest personal loan isn’t quite as great as a 0% card, but it can save you money, too. And, of course, you can call your card issuer and ask them for a lower interest rate. It works way more often than you’d think, and I’m never going to stop talking about it.

• Stop doomscrolling and put the phone down: It is a scary time, y’all. There’s no way around that. However, mindlessly scrolling social media or sitting in front of the television and marinating in your outrage doesn’t help anything. It is vital to your own health to step away from it all sometimes. Read a novel. Take a hike or go for a run. Watch a ballgame. Listen to some music. Call up an old friend. Have a date night with your significant other or do something goofy with your kids. Whatever helps you decompress, do it.

Now, don’t misunderstand that last point. I’m not at all saying to entirely disconnect from what’s happening. That’s the last thing I’d suggest. There are too many important things right now that demand action and could benefit from your involvement. Just make sure that you’re considering your own health in the process.

Until next time!

Matt

Hi there, my friend.

As of February 13, the average tax return is up 14% compared to roughly the same period last year. IRS filing data shows that the average refund so far in 2026 is $2,476, up from $2,169 last year.

Great news, right?

Maybe.

What do you mean, ‘maybe’? How is getting more than $300 more back this year not an amazing thing?

I understand that response, but it is important to remember this about tax refunds: That was always your money. A tax refund just means that you lent that money, interest-free, to the government for a while. A bigger tax refund means that you let the government hold even more of your money than you did a year ago. That’s money that could have been working for you already.

I do get the psychology behind wanting a refund, however. Motivation matters. If you feel you’re more likely to put that money to good use when it comes once a year as a refund than when it comes in small doses every paycheck, that’s fine. There may be some opportunity cost there, but knowing yourself, what you’re comfortable with and what keeps you moving forward is one of the keys to successfully managing your money. You do you.

Still, if you’re looking to get the biggest bang for your buck, keeping that refund near $0 is the move.

Note: This information is for general educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal or tax advice. For assistance with your own specific tax situation, consider consulting a tax professional.

How do I work toward a smaller refund next year? And then what?

Simple. You can decrease your likelihood of getting a refund by reducing how much money is regularly withheld from your paycheck for taxes.

After all, a tax refund is just the government returning money that you overpaid. Reducing your withholdings can help fix that.

When you withhold less for taxes, it means a few extra dollars in each paycheck that can help you, slowly but surely, work toward financial goals such as building an emergency fund, paying down high-interest debt or saving for retirement. Or maybe it just helps make it a little easier to make ends meet. (A 2025 LendingTree survey found that 42% of tax filers rely on getting a refund.) Put those extra funds in a high-yield savings account, and they’ll grow even more quickly.

It can be confusing, for sure. It may take a few tries to get that tax refund down to around $0. (It’s even possible that you might overcorrect and end up owing the government a bit one year.) However, if you can work at it, you can reduce that refund and keep more of your money.

Here’s what I wrote in a previous post about tax refunds…

For many, all that will be required is contacting your employer’s HR department and adjusting the withholdings on your W4 form. (You can use this withholding estimator from the IRS to get a better feel for what to do.) For others, it may make sense to contact a tax professional to make sure you’re taking all of the deductions you should take and to ask any questions you might have.

The ideal goal? Getting your refund down to $0. You don’t want to overpay, give the government an interest-free loan and then get a big check, but you also don’t want to underpay and end up writing the government a big check either. However, the truth is that getting to $0 isn’t easy. The more realistic goal is to bring that refund number down as much as you can to keep more money in your pocket, but not so much that you end up owing.

Once you’ve adjusted the withholdings, you can plan how to use those extra funds. That will, of course, depend on just how much more money you’ll be getting in each paycheck and what your biggest financial priorities are, but figuring out what to do with extra cash from every paycheck is a pretty good problem to have.

At a minimum, consider opening a high-yield savings account and having the extra funds from each paycheck automatically deposited into that account. It may not seem like much, but done consistently throughout the year, those savings can add up.

What should I do with this year’s refund?

Well, as I laid out in that tax post a year ago, it depends...

As with most anything related to money, there’s no one-size-fits-all right answer about what to do in this case. It depends on how much and what types of debt you have, how much you have in your emergency savings, how secure you feel in your job, what your main financial goals for the short, medium and long-term are as well as countless other factors.

That said, here’s what I’d suggest for most people…

• Most of the refund goes to paying down high-interest debt

• The next biggest chunk goes to building an emergency fund

• If possible, another portion can go to your biggest long-term financial goal

• And a small part of it goes to treating yourself.

That last part may be surprising, but I feel strongly about it. Sometimes you just have to give yourself a break and do something nice for yourself, even if that money could be better used for other purposes. For some people, that might look like a family dinner at Olive Garden, while for others, it might be a vacation or some other splurge. As long as the treat isn’t done too extravagantly or too often, there’s nothing wrong with it. After all, when your life is consumed with paying down debt, even just a moment away can help boost your energy to continue the battle.

My views haven’t changed here. It’s totally OK to treat yourself just a little. Just make sure you’ve handled your business first by putting a substantial amount toward your credit card debt, emergency fund and another financial goal.

And yes, you absolutely should still be saving while you pay down your high-interest debt. A substantial emergency fund is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of debt. Too often, when someone pays off their card debt, the next unexpected expense just goes right back on the card. Having savings means that you don’t have to do that, and even a small amount of savings can make a big difference.

If I were to add a fifth bullet to the above list, it would be this: Giving some of your windfall to a charity that you’re passionate about. If you give, check with your employer to see if they match employee charitable contributions. It is more common than you might think. I wrote about my experience with these services here…

Billions — yes, billions with a b — of matching funds go unclaimed every year, and that’s an absolute tragedy, given how starved for funding most charities are and how much need is out there.

What do you think?

Coming soon…

Had a fascinating call today with a very, very smart person about an enormously important topic: medical billing. I spoke with this person for my book a couple of years back, but I approached her again a few days ago with a few questions around some of my own recent medical bills. I’m going to write up what we spoke about and share what you can learn from it in the next few weeks.

Until next time!
Matt