Episode 120: Quitters Never Win or Do They?

DAD: Welcome back to Money with Mak &G.  Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT on the podcast.  This is for the week ending 07/16/21.  Hey Mak are you ready to cover the markets, since we haven’t done it in a while?

MAK: Sure thing dad.  The week before last, we saw some interesting stuff, as things ended on records. A trifecta.  The Dow, S&P and the Nasdaq all hit records but….

MAK/GRANT: Things go UP AND DOWN! 

GRANT: Yep, and things came down last week.  The up and down is just like riding the roller coaster.  But, you know what didn’t go down last week?  If you guessed Apple, you’d be right.  For the last couple weeks, it’s been on the way up, and we’re now up almost 10% for the year!!

MAK: Sorry to say that dad’s day trading account keeps dropping. We can’t even talk about it till we get some good news.  Day trading is tough, not recommended but it was a skills test.  It just goes to show, it’s something not even the professionals get right. 

GRANT: Ok, are you ready for this?  When looking at Bitcoin year to date, from the beginning of the year to now, Apple has gained more ground than Bitcoin, by 1.3%.  Yep, Bitcoin went up for a couple weeks, then dropped again.  When mose financial advisors talk to you about risk, it’s all about how much the price moves.  And, Bitcoin is VERY risky just like day trading.  It’s been up over 112% and now it’s right around 8% for the year.

DAD: Thanks guys, that’s great info on the markets.  I read about something I was wondering if you heard about.  There have been a lot of people that are quitting their jobs?  It’s really weird when you think about it.  The economy is all about how money moves around and jobs are a big deal because money goes to employees and then employees spend it.

MAK: I did see that.  It takes a while for the government to get all the data put together, but they found that in April of this year, there was a record number of people who just quit their jobs.  It was around 4 million people.  That’s pretty amazing, because it was a record.

GRANT: I saw there have been a lot of people talking about it.  When you “resign”, it means you voluntarily make the decision to leave your job.  You aren’t fired, but choose to quit.  So, you can read about the “Great Resignation” because so many people are doing it.

MAK: I read that about three-quarters of a million of the people who quit were in specific industries like leisure and hospitality.  If you want some leisure or if you want someone to be hospitable to you, that usually means you’re somewhere that people are being nice to you. That would include:
MAK: A hotel like when you’re on a vacation

GRANT: A bar or restaurant for a nice meal or drink

MAK: Let’s not forget a theme park like Universal or Disney

GRANT: Or other entertainment places like cinemas,

MAK: Theaters and live entertainment

GRANT: Mak, isn’t it dangerous to quit a job without another one. We still have to pay bills, right?

MAK: That’s right, but there are a lot of jobs available. The current environment is making it easier to make a change.  Remember all the stuff we talked about that was done to support those who didn’t have a job during COVID?

GRANT: Weren’t the unemployment benefits increased, so if you lost your job you got more money than before? If you lose your job, you’re getting a bit more money to live on.  Plus, landlords aren’t allowed to kick out people in apartments if they don’t pay.  If you get a bit of money from unemployment benefits, and if you’re not paying rent, you don’t have to be as stressed out about losing your home and having money.

MAK: Those things are all true, and it might make it a lot easier to change jobs if you don’t have an emergency fund.  But, it seems like it’s a little more complicated.  For hospitality workers, the average is about $35,000.  It doesn’t always require a college education.  WE can get a job next year at McDonald’s, when we’re just 14. It might be easier to get a job, but it’s low paying.  A bingo manager, yes someone who runs BINGO in a casino gets paid around $53,000.

GRANT: I got one for you.  A Hippo-therapist gets paid over $62,000.  And, it’s not a therapist for hippos.  I mean, what could a hippo have issues with anyway?  A crocodile stole my meal?  Nope, hippos are vegetarians.  It’s actually someone who is trained to give therapy to children and adults using horses.

MAK: That is a good one.  How about a Toy Maker?  That sounds like fun, right.  You get to design toys and make them fun and safe.  It says you get paid around $100,000 but you do need some skills.  Anyway, people in low paying leisure and hospitality  jobs find it stressful and hard.

GRANT: I could totally see that.  A server carries a lot of things, and I’d imagine you’d get the occasional meatloaf or strawberry shake spilled on you too.  Do you remember that guy who yelled at the server because of his pancakes? Or the lady who got two forks and lost it.

MAK: That was hard to believe. I’ve NEVER had a bad pancake at that place, and I can get over having two forks. It sounds like people are a little more agitated due to COVID.  Plus, we’ve all read stories of “incidents” when customers didn’t wear a mask. Did you see the article about the family kicked off the flight because their 2 year old didn’t wear a mask?

GRANT: Yeah, there are definitely some stressful situations.  Plus, people aren’t showing up for work, so those people who do show up have to do more with less people. Our Starbucks around the corner has closed several times WITHOUT warning, because they didn’t have enough people show up.  Some employees are still scared about getting COVID too.

MAK: There clearly seems to be more stress all over the place.  With less workers, some businesses are closing their doors a couple days a week. Others are trying to hire college students. And, still others are trying to bring in workers from other countries. 

GRANT: That’s not always easy because you can’t actually bring in anyone you want.  You have to get a visa. There are different types, like a J-1 or an H-2B.  It gives you the right to come into the country and work.  There is a lot of paperwork.  

MAK: Some visas were stopped a while ago. The process has restarted, but it takes a while to get back to the prior levels.  That means there are less workers coming in. This is a question of..

MAK/GRANT: SUPPLY and DEMAND

GRANT: If people are quitting jobs, and businesses can’t find a supply of workers with the same demand, that pushes prices up.  It sounds like businesses are paying more.

MAK:  That’s right.  Wages are increasing.  Some businesses are helping to pay for housing.  One hotel owner’s daughter, who is 14, is going to get a “crash course” in how to strip a bed and run the cash register.  

GRANT: We know higher wages push the cost of everything we buy higher, which is inflation.  Inflation has jumped up, as we discussed in our prior podcast.  It makes a lot of sense. I’ve seen that trucking companies can’t find enough drivers to move products. That will also push wages up.  I know we’ve talked about the hospitality industry, but other areas have seen many workers quit.  Even “essential” workers are quitting.

MAK: I saw that, and had to look up what an “essential” worker is.  It sounds like people who are essential, or necessary to keep life going.  The biggest areas are healthcare, which are people like doctors, nurses, paramedics and other support people.  Plus, we need food to keep us going. That would include the people that make and grow food.

GRANT: That’s about half of all essential workers.  It’s also making sure our infrastructure is working. That’s all the people that keep things running, like roads, transporting items from place to place, as well as electricity plants. Some financial jobs are super important too. There are more, but we can’t forget the water we need to live and sewer systems.  Yuck!  But, essential.

MAK: Agree. Since people have been working from home, many have found they don’t like going into work. Hey, the average commute before COIVID was 30 minutes each way.  That’s an extra hour in a car, traffic jams, unfriendly people, construction and other stuff.  People liked the additional flexibility too.  So, now that some employees are being asked to come back to the office, they just quit and look for a job that offers the ability to work from home.

GRANT: It’s called “remote” work, and some people love it. So, anyone that has been thinking of changing jobs, all decided now was the time.  COVID has made many people really look at their lives and ask whether they like their job, where they live, their commute and more.  Hey, if you could work remotely, and still get paid a good wage, where would YOU live Mak?

MAK: I would definitely live somewhere with less snow.  You can’t shovel sunshine, my friend. Plus, maybe a few more fun things to do like Orlando.  All these changes in the way people view work will have a continued effect on money and how things work going forward, so we’ll keep an eye on things. 

GRANT:  Sounds good. Thanks for being here, and don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT on the podcast.  And, we’ll see you next time for more…

MAK/GRANT: Money with Mak & G….. BYE!!