Investing Daily: Investing in America’s Credit Addiction — Breaking Down FICO

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

0:32I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Joel. and Matt from HowToMoney. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress.

1:15That's right. Yeah, each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to HowToMoney on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us anymore. Great, great, great way to start. Maybe you will cry. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl?

1:48Oh my God. All the time. That's so funny. I know. So I try to butch it up for kids so they're not confused. Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Doris Day. No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

2:29I just, damn, that f***er got swag. Listen to the Questlove Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This episode is brought to you by PNC Bank. A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring. And sure, they definitely can be. But understanding a professional's routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, day after day. It's like banking with PNC Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan, and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life. PNC Bank, brilliantly boring since 1865.

3:13Brilliantly boring since 1865 is a service mark of the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. PNC Bank, National Association, member FDIC. so let's start with um building block corner um maybe we could start that like a new segment of like you know things that you just need to know whether you're just starting out on your financial journey rebuilding or just trying to figure out and it's something that um my son had asked me a while ago as far as like credit like what is FICO and um I thought that you know what I described it a while back was that I feel like FICO is your transcript as an adult. So like, you know, as a child, you have a transcript in high school, right?

3:58And that transcript is vitally important because what that transcript says pretty much determines where you're going to go to college, right? So they're making decisions based off of your grades, nine times out of 10, extracurricular activities, stuff like that, but they're making decisions based off of your grades and your report card for four years to determine what type of student you're going to be. Sometimes they're wrong, sometimes they're right, but that's what they're going to do, right? As an adult, your report card doesn't really matter, but what does matter is your credit score. So your credit score, they're making, a bank is going to make a decision whether you're worthy enough to get a loan to buy a home, whether you can live in this apartment, sometimes whether you can get a job, whether you can get a car, whether you're going to pay an extra$200 a month for the car, because they're seeing if you're a responsible person or not.

4:49And how they're determining your responsibility is based off of your FICO score. The interesting thing about FICO was like most people hear about it. They don't even know it's a publicly traded company. One of the best in the market. One of my favorites. If you look at his charts over the past five years, you've seen how crazy it's going, but most people realize when it's too late, right? They'll figure out, I got to figure out my credit score. Who is FICO? And so the idea of bureaus coming together to give you a score that are really pretty much going to determine, like you said, that transcript of how trustworthy you're going to be, right?

5:25Like, can we loan to you, whether that's for a car, whether that's for a home, or whether that's for trying to get a job, like that score is so important. And so when I'm looking at them, I'm like, how do they actually make money? right so they don't actually sell credit scores they actually license the algorithm for the credit scores and if you're in any financial institution people are going to track your credit scores so they get to sell that over and over again when do they make the most money well when you see people actually trying to buy homes and so when interest rates are low when people are refinancing you should watch fico's chart that's one of those tidbits that most people don't think about but everybody has to use especially if you're in america right if you're trying to invest, especially in real estate, or like I said, trying to get a vehicle, you're going to need that.

6:11What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. NLP, aka Neuro Linguistic Programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology. Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.

6:47It's about engineering consciousness. Mind Games is the story of NLP. It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all? NLP might actually work. This is wild. Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad-supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined.

7:26So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Call 844-844-IHEART to get started. That's 844-844-IHEART. New year, new goals, and in this economy, a better money plan is more necessary than ever. I am Matt. And I'm Joel. We are from the How to Money podcast. and every week we help you to spend smarter, save more, and make sense of what's going on out there. If you want 2026 to be the year you finally feel in control of your money, we're here to give you the tools and advice to help you make it happen.

8:06Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us in. Okay, great, great, great way to start. So this is a great beginning and hopefully you'll be able to, I don't know, maybe you will cry. Amanda Seyfried. Life is so short. If you feel something like that, you have that fire in you for this experience. It's not for a guy. It's for the experience of being in love and like it's bigger than a guy.

8:42Elizabeth Olsen. I love swimming naked so much. And I know you love taking pictures of yourself naked. I love to be naked. I just want to be in my brown underwear all the time. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl? Oh, my God. All the time. That's so funny. I know. So I'm always like, hi. I try to butch it up for kids, you know, so they're not confused. Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Dora's Day. No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

9:18Hey, what's up, y 'all? this is Questlove. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with A$AP Rocky ahead of his album release, Don't Be Dumb. He reflects on his journey from his Harlem roots to global icon status, discovering the hip-hop origin of his name. The ledge was on the TV. Rakim had the bucket hat Kangol during the podcast. Like, that's Rakim. That's who you named after. I just was like, damn, that f***er got swag. Rocky offers a window into not only a boundary-breaking artist, but as a man committed to fusing creative ideas, community, and remaining unapologetically himself. Have you ever gotten roasted for any of your outfits?

9:55For sure. Some people don't be getting the vision. Look, they can roast me, they can cook me, they can deep fry me, they can saute whatever they want. It's nobody who can with my fashion sense and my taste is impeccable. I'm just like I impress myself a lot. It's an amazing conversation. One you definitely don't want to miss, so listen to The Questlove Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

10:47been told to think of your FICO scores, your financial trust score. And I think you guys both touched on it, but it's a lot of people who have been turned away from amazing careers because that score wasn't high. So it's really important. Kudos to Edwin. Edwin broadcasts it all the time. It's about his 850. So kudos to my brother. Hello, my brother. MVP in all areas of life, yo. and and i think the last thing that um is interesting about this is like you know fico as you said is a is a traded stock on on the stock market right so what happened is that when it it ipo'd in 19 it ipo'd in 1987 1947 Well at a one dollar and and 46 1947 one dollar and forty cents is currently trading at $1 ,700 and 30 cents But if you really look at the chart It really starts to go crazy It really started to go crazy around 2014 2012 20 let's just say 2010 20 after 2010 it started to take off tremendously right if you look at the financial markets right especially after the great recession dodd frank all this and it says a lot about the economy that we're in right now the importance of credit scores if you look at how the world was shaped in 1988 your credit score was a completely different metric of meaning as far as your life importance than it is in 2025.

12:36You can't even really live without credit score right now. It says a lot about the times that we're in, but to put it in perspective, the stock is up 85 ,000%. Power of long-term holding. Yep. It's up 85 ,000%. And the importance of intellectual property that others cannot easily recreate. Yeah. I mean, you're talking about a stock that was up at$2 ,400. and so if you look at that peak look at look at that pandemic run right from like 2019 where it's trading under 630 to that 2400 run that's an incredible run and now it's pulled back a little bit right there's some uncertainty right we've seen it over the past three years we saw the market pull back in 2023 and so there's still some uncertainty but here's one thing that's gonna until america changes the credit system right this is a company that's not going anywhere and this is one of those companies and you're gonna need you know you're absolutely gonna need I mean, it's like, you know, once again, Wu-Tang, when they said in 96, cash rules everything around me.

13:36And then we actually made that T-shirt when we first started that cream. Yeah. Credit rules everything around me. And you've seen it happen in real time right now, how the monetary system has changed to become a pretty much cashless society at this point in time. And everything is run on credit. So understanding the credit, credit, credit rules. It's like the clip song, FICO. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shout out to them. Shout out to them, man. go grammy nominated i know that they talked about how important the grammys were to them and going to one they got nominated for five grammys i see them winning at least three or four of them and honestly one of the greatest campaigns of the last 10 years just like one long rollout of quality and video music and fashion oh my it's been a master class marketing standpoint they had the best rollout that I've seen in years.

14:29Easily. So to them, Rock Nation, their whole team, because I've never seen somebody that, man, they would think that they was Michael Jackson as far as how many articles that they had written about him and then, you know, interview. The Vatican. They've performed at the Vatican. That's 100%. And just good people, man. Like, you know, Mal is somebody that's been highly respected for a very long period of time. See him step away and then step back like he never left. Pusha T is somebody that we've run into a few times at our spot in Paris. Yeah, yeah. We interviewed him for Essence of Liabilities.

14:59You know what I mean? He's a super smart dude as far as getting money on the medical side. Yes. With medical transportation companies. And he got a bunch of stuff from the McDonald's licensing deal. He talked about that before. So, you know, these guys are not just successful for no reason. Like, they're really smart. Like, I think hustling, because the last thing I'll say about this is I think the clips, they've solidified hustling, right? But hustling is not just a matter of, you know, just hustling on a street corner. Like, you really got to stay up to the times. You got to be in tune with what's going on and you got to actually have a sharp mind.

15:32So even for them to like, you know, that FICO, you're talking about the stock FICO, like that's like, you know, you got to understand what's going on right now because the world is moving so quickly that if you pay attention to trends, you can make money. Yeah. And the best teacher has always been music, especially for us. Like we grew up just listening to music and trying to learn things. So when I looked at the track list, I said FICO. I said, all right, this is something we got to tap into, man. Ernest, what's up? You ever walk into a small business and everything just works? Like the checkout is fast, the receipts are digital, tipping is a breeze, and you're out the door before the line even builds.

16:04Odds are they're using Square. We love supporting businesses that run on Square because it just feels seamless. Whether it's a local coffee shop, a vendor at a pop-up market, or even one of our merch partners. Square makes it easy for them to take payments, manage inventory, and run their business with confidence. all from one simple system. One of the things we love most is seeing neighborhood businesses level up. There's this West Indian spot right in our community that started with a small takeout counter. Now with Square, they've been able to expand into a full sit-down restaurant and even started catering events across the city.

16:41That's the kind of growth that inspires us and it's powered by Square. Square is built for all types of businesses from the corner bagel shop that turned into a local chain to the specialty market with thousands of unique items to the stylist who's been holding you down for years if you're a business owner or even just thinking about launching something soon square is hands down one of the best tools out there to help you start run and grow it's not just about payments it's about giving you time back so you can focus on what matters most ready to see how square can transform your business visit square.com backslash go backslash eyl to learn more.

17:20That's square.com backslash go backslash E-Y-L. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Let Square handle the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a.

17:59neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Joel. And Matt from HowToMoney. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Each week, we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference.

18:34Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, hello, all my people. What's up? It's Questlove. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with the one and only A$AP Rocky. He reflects on his journey from Harlem roots to global icon status and discovering the hip-hop origin of his name. The ledge was on the TV. Rakim had the Buckethead Kangol join on. I'm possibly like, that's Rakim. That's who you named after. I just, damn the f***, I swear. Listen to The Questlove Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

19:17This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us anymore. Okay, great, great, great way to start. Maybe you will cry. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl? Oh my God. All the time. That's so funny. I know. So I try to butch it up for kids so they're not confused. Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Doris Day. No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

20:15Stay in it or move forward. Our two-part conversation is available now. Listen to The Mailroom on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.