MAK: Welcome back to Money with Mak & G. Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT.  The Olympics are in full swing, and the Superbowl just finished, what a game!! Congrats to:

           GRANT/MAK: The LA Rams…

GRANT: The Rams did it. Grandpa Harris would’ve been so excited to see his favorite team win. I bet he’s smiling down on us right now. The Rams have been to the Super Bowl 5 times but have only won it once before.  Now they have their second.  By the way, there are 12 teams who have NEVER won.

MAK:  That’s pretty awesome.  All I know is that the Colts and Bears have their Super Bowl rings. Even though we’re a split family, both our favorite teams have made it happen.

GRANT: Ok, are you ready to run down some money facts for the Super Bowl.  I know we did some last year, but the numbers keep changing and it’s always interesting.

MAK: Absolutely.  Last year’s bonus for winning the Super Bowl was $150,000 and even the losers got $75k.  What a way to go out. Last year was the first time they had a female referee, too. Sarah Thomas!

GRANT: Nice. This Super Bowl was the second time playing in a stadium that was a team’s home stadium. The Rams had the advantage. SoFi stadium was built in 2020 and was the most expensive.

MAK:  At $5.5 Billion. SoFi bought the naming rights for 20 years for $30 million. It’s in Englewood, CA and it will bring the city almost $40 million and LA County almost $500 million in benefits.

GRANT: With 70,000 people attending, that’s about 190,000 hotel room nights booked at around $340/night. The average price of a ticket is a whopping $6,200 over the last 5 Super Bowls.

MAK: The most expensive ticket ever was $30k. Americans go out of their mind. Even eating is nuts:

           GRANT: Over 8,000 calories per person is gobbled down at a Super Bowl Party 

           MAK: With over 1.4 Billion chicken wings

           GRANT: 10 Million ribs 

           MAK: 11 million pounds of chips and 8 million pounds of guac

GRANT: Those are huge numbers that all keep the economy going. Hey, I’d like to change the subject to the Olympics. A bit of a bummer with Shaun White coming in 4th in the halfpipe. Pretty emotional.

MAK: Yep, he retired. They call him the “Flying Tomato”. The first time he was at the Olympics was 2006, he was 19 and he had these long, bright red locks and he did these amazing high-flying tricks.

GRANT: So, it’s easy to see where he got the name. He is a killer skateboarder, had his first sponsor at 7, went to 5 Olympics, won 3 golds as well as 13 Winter X Games and 5 skateboard X Games. 

MAK: He can’t do anything normal.  He actually had 3 open-heart surgeries when a baby due to 4 different heart defects.  Plus, when younger he slept in his van with his family to go snowboarding.

GRANT:  And now, with endorsements, it appears he earns $10 million per year. He had to get good with money, as he’s believed to be worth about $65 million, with real estate and other investments.

MAK: One of which is Mammoth Resorts, which runs ski resorts.  So, great to see him doing well.

GRANT/MAK: Congrats on a fantastic career!!

GRANT:  There have been some interesting things happening at the Olympics for sure.

           MAK: Nathan Chen.  Amazing!

           GRANT: Kamila lands a quad.

           MAK: Hirano sets world record air in the ½ pipe

           GRANT: US Mixed team aerials.

MAK: It takes a lot of money. The International Olympic Committee, or IOC, gets most of the money from selling TV the rights to broadcast the events. About $5 billion or 90% goes to the sport and athletes.

GRANT: So much to watch, loving it all. Speaking of love, the podcast comes out on Valentine’s Day.

MAK: Dad already got mom flowers.  It’s big business and men spend about twice as much as women around $235. I’m sure dad bought it at a discount store like about 25% of all Americans.

GRANT:  Hey, we ARE here to talk about money. And, we should be careful about what we spend, because around $9.5 Billion gifts over Vday are unwanted, that’s about one-third.

MAK: Sounds like money right down the drain. Do you know what the least desired gifts are:

GRANT: Tools

MAK: Memberships to the gym. OUCH

GRANT: Sporting equipment

MAK: Kitchen appliances, Double OUCH

GRANT: Cheesy stuffed animals.

MAK: I saw that 1 million Facebook users change their “relationship” status within 4 days of Valentine’s. I thought that was interesting, even though only mom and dad’s friends use Facebook.

GRANT:  Hey, we haven’t done Mak and the Markets in a while.  Are you ready?

MAK: Ok, the markets took a turn at the end of last week.  Do you know one thing the markets hate?

           GRANT/MAK: Uncertainty

GRANT: Yep, when things aren’t clear, or there are fears out there, some investors don’t want to leave money in the stock market. They want to protect themselves. If you have a good plan.

           GRANT/MAK: You hold on.

MAK: Some investors will sell stocks and move that money into investments that are considered a bit safer, like bonds.  So, where is this uncertainty coming from?  It’s really two places.

GRANT: The US is unsure if Russia will invade Ukraine.  If it happens, who knows if the Russian supply of oil and natural gas to Europe is affected. If there is less energy, then less economic activity.

MAK: Russia supplies a lot, so there is a concern.  But, in the longer term, things normally come back.  The 2nd is inflation. When prices rise, interest rates go up, and it’s harder for companies to make money.

GRANT: Good point.  But, the brighter side is that products are being manufacture and aren’t badly backed up like before.  We saw factories shut down due to COVID. A cell phone couldn’t be built.. 

MAK: Because some parts weren’t being supplied due to COVID. That’s part of the supply chain issue.  Once things are smooth again, Supply and Demand will come into better balance.  

GRANT: That means better prices, which means lower inflation. Yahoo! But the Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ are all down for the year.

MAK: Yep, about 5, 8, and 13 percent.  We talked how the year following a great year usually has some bumps.  I kind of feel like a fortune teller.  The key is to remain calm and…

GRANT: And evaluate your portfolio.

MAK: You got it.  Ok, we covered a lot quickly today, since it’s been a busy week.  As always.  Thanks for being here. 

           GRANT/MAK: We love you!! Happy Valentine’s Day.

GRANT: Time to say goodbye, and we’ll see you next week for more…..

GRANT/MAK: Money with Mak & G.  Bye!!