00:00:00
If tensions escalate with Iran, what
00:00:02
happens? Your gas and oil might get way
00:00:04
more expensive. The world's most
00:00:06
strategically important waterways, the
00:00:08
strait of Hormuz, it's partially
00:00:10
controlled by Iran. And maybe you're
00:00:12
thinking, "Who cares? I don't even have
00:00:14
a car. This won't affect me." Wrong. If
00:00:16
oil and gas prices go up, the price of
00:00:18
everything is going up.
00:00:28
What's up, rich friends? Welcome back to
00:00:29
another episode of Net Worth and Chill.
00:00:32
I'm your host Vivian 2 aka your rich BFF
00:00:34
and your favorite Wall Street girly. If
00:00:37
you've watched the news or been on the
00:00:38
internet in the past week, you've
00:00:40
probably heard the words war and Middle
00:00:42
East all over. I think it's pretty
00:00:44
obvious that the impetus for this
00:00:46
episode was the fact that we were once
00:00:48
again getting into a dicey position with
00:00:51
military intervention with the Middle
00:00:53
East. However, I want to say that this
00:00:56
is an episode that really applies to any
00:00:59
past war and or any future wars that may
00:01:02
occur because the financials and the
00:01:05
ways that you can still be smart with
00:01:07
your money are going to stay the same.
00:01:09
Last weekend, the US launched targeted
00:01:11
strikes at three Iranian nuclear
00:01:13
development sites at Fordo, Natans, and
00:01:16
Isvahan. As of this recording, there is
00:01:18
now a shaky ceasefire and highlevel
00:01:20
political leaders are trying to come up
00:01:22
with diplomatic solutions. But here's
00:01:24
what nobody's breaking down for you. The
00:01:26
real cost of these operations and what
00:01:29
they mean for your wallet. Also, since
00:01:31
today's episode is very news and
00:01:33
headlineheavy, I want to make sure that
00:01:35
you know the date in which this is being
00:01:37
recorded, so it's timestamped. Today is
00:01:39
Friday, June 27th, so any information
00:01:42
that comes out after today won't be
00:01:44
included in this episode, unfortunately.
00:01:47
But I just want to make sure that you
00:01:48
know that so you have a full picture of
00:01:50
what's going on. Here's a quick recap of
00:01:51
what's been going on and where we're at
00:01:53
now. On June 22nd, 2025, US B2 bombers
00:01:58
targeted three Iranian nuclear
00:01:59
facilities. On June 23rd, 2025, Iran
00:02:03
retaliated against the US bases in Qatar
00:02:06
and Iraq. Currently, there is a tense
00:02:09
ceasefire with potential for escalation.
00:02:11
Both Israel and Iran have said they'll
00:02:14
respect the ceasefire if the other does.
00:02:16
It's kind of like when you and your
00:02:18
little brother were poking each other in
00:02:19
the back of the family minivan and you
00:02:22
said you would stop when he stopped, but
00:02:24
then we didn't know if anybody was
00:02:26
actually going to stop. With the rising
00:02:29
tensions and US military intervention in
00:02:31
the Middle East, people are now more
00:02:33
than ever concerned about war and if the
00:02:36
ceasefire will even hold. Now, I'm not
00:02:38
here to debate foreign policy or play
00:02:40
armchair general. That's not my lane.
00:02:42
And frankly, there are way smarter
00:02:43
people than me making those calls. But
00:02:45
what I am here for is to break down
00:02:47
exactly how geopolitical tensions
00:02:49
translate into dollars and cents and
00:02:51
what it means for you and for America's
00:02:54
economic outlook. So, let's get into it.
00:02:55
The biggest question on everyone's mind
00:02:57
is if tensions escalate with Iran, then
00:02:59
what happens? The biggest and most
00:03:01
likely economic impact we could see if
00:03:03
these tensions continue to escalate are
00:03:05
increased oil and gas prices. Because it
00:03:08
wouldn't be a US intervention in the
00:03:10
Middle East without the word oil. But
00:03:12
why could the US bombing Iran cause an
00:03:15
increase in oil and gas prices? Because
00:03:17
of the Strait of Hormuz. The Straight of
00:03:19
Hormuz is a 21-m wide choke point
00:03:22
controlling access to the Persian Gulf
00:03:24
and one of the world's most
00:03:25
strategically important waterways for
00:03:27
global energy supplies. It's partially
00:03:30
controlled by Iran. It's essentially the
00:03:32
most important oil highway in the world
00:03:34
with the US Energy Information
00:03:35
Administration finding that a quarter of
00:03:37
the world's oil and 20% of the world's
00:03:40
natural gas all pass through the
00:03:42
straight. In 2024, Reuters found that
00:03:44
average daily exports stood at 20.3
00:03:47
million barrels of crude oil passing
00:03:49
through the straight. Since roughly 20%
00:03:52
of global oil has to move through this
00:03:53
waterway, any blockade would trigger
00:03:56
worldwide energy price spikes, which
00:03:58
would literally affect everything. So,
00:04:00
what does this mean for you? Your gas
00:04:02
and oil might get way more expensive.
00:04:05
And maybe you're thinking, "Who cares? I
00:04:07
don't even have a car. This won't affect
00:04:08
me." Wrong. You know what else depends
00:04:11
on oil and gas? Planes, trains, cars,
00:04:14
buses, and so much more. Were you
00:04:16
looking forward to traveling this
00:04:17
upcoming holiday season for Thanksgiving
00:04:19
or Christmas? Forget about that. With
00:04:22
increased oil prices, fuel for planes,
00:04:24
trains, and even cruises are going to
00:04:26
get more expensive, too, which means you
00:04:28
can expect those ticket prices to go up
00:04:30
as well. Here's something else to
00:04:31
consider, too. AI is now the greatest
00:04:34
thing since sliced bread, and everyone
00:04:36
is using it. AI requires a pretty
00:04:38
significant amount of electricity to
00:04:40
power it. So where does some of that
00:04:41
electricity come from? Fossil fuels, aka
00:04:45
oil and gas. And where does oil have to
00:04:48
pass through? The straight of hormuz or
00:04:51
let's take hospitals for instance. A lot
00:04:53
of hospital backup generator systems are
00:04:55
dependent on diesel fuel. Ultimately,
00:04:57
oil powers almost everything. We
00:04:59
literally use about 20 million barrels
00:05:01
of oil daily in this country alone
00:05:04
according to the US Energy Information
00:05:06
Administration. And that doesn't include
00:05:08
any of our other global counterparts.
00:05:10
And we know how much of a global economy
00:05:12
we have because we're consuming things
00:05:14
that are made in other countries as
00:05:15
well. So if oil and gas prices go up,
00:05:18
the price of everything is going up. If
00:05:20
tensions are to escalate, we could be
00:05:22
facing some serious risk to the oil and
00:05:24
gas industry that'll affect much more
00:05:26
than just your gas prices. Now, on to
00:05:29
the question of if we do go to war, how
00:05:32
much will it cost? Well, let's look at
00:05:33
history. Aside from being destructive
00:05:35
and harmful to civilians and decimating
00:05:40
populations, the one thing we can
00:05:42
guarantee every single war to be is
00:05:44
seriously expensive. It's at this point
00:05:47
in the episode where I feel it's
00:05:49
important to remind you that according
00:05:50
to the Department of the Treasury, the
00:05:53
US is currently $36.1 trillion in debt
00:05:58
already. The US government is in fact
00:06:01
the brokest you know. So keep that
00:06:03
number in your head as we go through
00:06:04
these facts and figures. When it comes
00:06:06
to paying for war, we usually do one of
00:06:09
four things. One, surprise surprise,
00:06:12
increase taxes. Two, we can reduce
00:06:15
non-military spending to pay for
00:06:16
military expenses. Three, the government
00:06:19
borrows from the public through issuance
00:06:22
of war bonds or issuance of US Treasury
00:06:24
securities. So, aka more debt. And four,
00:06:28
money creation. Basically, we just print
00:06:31
more money. But we all know what that
00:06:33
ends up leading to inflation. So, let's
00:06:35
look at some historical spending on war
00:06:37
and what our most recent intervention in
00:06:39
Iran might have cost. According to Brown
00:06:42
University's Watson Institute for
00:06:44
International and Public Affairs, the US
00:06:46
committed over 2.89 trillion to its
00:06:50
military engagements in Iraq and Syria
00:06:53
during the 20ear span from 2003 to 2023.
00:06:57
And this number doesn't even account for
00:06:59
future obligations for veterans care.
00:07:01
Additionally, Brown University also
00:07:02
found that between 2001 and 2019, the US
00:07:06
spent over $2 trillion on the war in
00:07:08
Afghanistan. Again, I do in fact keep
00:07:12
saying trillion with a T. This is some
00:07:16
really costly spending here. Just
00:07:18
looking at recent military action, the
00:07:19
US mission to bomb the Iranian nuclear
00:07:22
enrichment facilities used B2 stealth
00:07:24
bombers valued at about $2.1 billion
00:07:27
each. And sure, they weren't made for
00:07:30
this purpose, and they'll probably be
00:07:31
used again, but that's still a ton of
00:07:33
money and bunker buster bombs worth
00:07:36
millions. So, this was a pretty costly
00:07:38
intervention to say the least. While I
00:07:40
don't have a crystal ball and I can't
00:07:41
give you an exact number of how much
00:07:43
this will cost us if we were to have
00:07:45
further intervention in Iran, it's fair
00:07:47
to assume if tensions were to escalate,
00:07:49
we would be spending a pretty penny. You
00:07:51
might be thinking, "Okay, yes, war is
00:07:53
expensive, but Vivian, isn't war good
00:07:54
for the economy?" Contrary to what you
00:07:57
might have been taught or what you might
00:07:59
have heard on social media, not all wars
00:08:02
are going to benefit the economy.
00:08:03
Short-term economic effects often do
00:08:06
include increased government spending on
00:08:08
defense which can stimulate certain
00:08:10
sectors like manufacturing and
00:08:12
technology. This can help boost
00:08:14
employment in some of these defense
00:08:15
related industries. World War II is a
00:08:18
great example of this as it helped pull
00:08:20
us out of the Great Depression. But the
00:08:22
longer term effects of war can be more
00:08:24
negative. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars
00:08:26
cost trillions of dollars funded largely
00:08:28
through borrowing that increase national
00:08:30
debt. And as I said previously in this
00:08:33
episode, we currently have a lot of
00:08:35
debt. I cannot stress this enough.
00:08:37
Resources diverted to military spending
00:08:40
all have an opportunity cost. That is
00:08:43
money that could have gone to
00:08:45
infrastructure, education, healthcare,
00:08:48
or other productive investments that
00:08:50
could have generated better long-term
00:08:52
economic returns. We need to ask the
00:08:55
question, what is the ROI? Return on
00:08:58
investment. The broader economic
00:09:00
disruption depends on the war's scope.
00:09:03
Large conflicts can strain supply
00:09:05
chains, increase commodity prices, like
00:09:08
we mentioned, oil, and create market
00:09:11
uncertainty that affects investment and
00:09:13
consumer confidence. Essentially, the
00:09:15
takeaway here is that wars can help
00:09:17
stimulate the economy and defense
00:09:18
related industries, but peaceful
00:09:21
economic development generally offers
00:09:23
better prospects for sustained, that's
00:09:25
important, sustained economic prosperity
00:09:28
in the long run. So, don't plan on a war
00:09:31
to get us out of any homegrown financial
00:09:34
issues. Now, outside of the risk of war
00:09:36
and further military action, just at a
00:09:38
baseline, the US spends a lot, like a
00:09:41
lot, a lot on its military. And we can
00:09:44
probably assume that increased military
00:09:47
tensions translate into even more
00:09:48
defense spending. So, what else could
00:09:50
that money do? And listen, defense
00:09:52
spending has made us the world's
00:09:54
superpower. I don't deny that. But it's
00:09:56
important to understand that there are
00:09:58
other things that some of that money
00:09:59
could have gone towards. This isn't to
00:10:02
say we should stop spending on defense
00:10:03
entirely because we shouldn't. But it's
00:10:06
helpful to understand the real numbers
00:10:08
behind the US military. The US spends
00:10:10
close to 1 trillion, yes 1 trillion with
00:10:13
a t dollars per year, which is more than
00:10:16
what the next nine countries spend on
00:10:19
defense combined. According to the Peter
00:10:22
G. Peterson Foundation. The budget that
00:10:24
flows annually through defense spending
00:10:26
could alternatively fund transformative
00:10:29
domestic investments to help improve our
00:10:31
lives as people who actually live in the
00:10:33
US.
00:10:34
The same amount could build miles of new
00:10:37
highways, construct bridges,
00:10:39
fundamentally upgrading America's
00:10:41
crumbling infrastructure. I mean, the
00:10:42
American Society of Civil Engineers
00:10:44
gives US infrastructure a C minus grade,
00:10:46
so we could certainly use an upgrade
00:10:49
here. In terms of education, the Wharton
00:10:51
School of Business estimates that just a
00:10:54
fraction of this funding, 351 billion,
00:10:57
could provide universal prek programs
00:11:00
for children for the next 10 years,
00:11:03
creating long-term economic benefits
00:11:05
through improved educational outcomes.
00:11:08
Efforts to reverse climate change could
00:11:10
receive the massive funding needed for
00:11:11
the renewable energy transition,
00:11:14
according to research conducted by Wood
00:11:16
McKenzie.
00:11:17
Or we could actually provide meaningful
00:11:20
and expanded support to our veterans and
00:11:23
their families rather than slashing
00:11:25
veterans benefits. I'm looking at you,
00:11:28
big, beautiful bill. But seriously,
00:11:30
Brown University estimates that to
00:11:32
support veterans from post 911 wars,
00:11:34
it'll cost us between 2.2 and $2.5
00:11:37
billion by 2050. And let me be clear, we
00:11:41
should be supporting our veterans. This
00:11:43
isn't to say we should stop spending on
00:11:45
defense itself. I just want to
00:11:47
illustrate how much money we are
00:11:48
spending on defense and how more
00:11:50
military action means we'll have to
00:11:52
continue to spend more as a nation. And
00:11:55
let's be real, that seems these days to
00:11:57
be the only thing we're good at.
00:11:58
Spending, spending, spending. But as
00:12:01
your rich BFF and your favorite Wall
00:12:03
Street girly, I got to remind you,
00:12:04
saving, investing, and preparing for our
00:12:08
nation's future is also equally as
00:12:10
important. Now, moving into the Q&A
00:12:13
portion of today, I asked you guys for
00:12:15
some of your questions on war and how
00:12:17
increased actions between the US and
00:12:19
Iran could translate into actual dollars
00:12:22
in or out of your wallet for both you
00:12:24
and for the US as a whole. Hundreds of
00:12:27
people sent in questions, and while I'm
00:12:29
going to try to get to as many as
00:12:30
possible, we obviously don't have time
00:12:32
for all of them. But for folks who are
00:12:34
looking for more financial information
00:12:36
from understanding the aspects of war to
00:12:38
knowing what they should be investing
00:12:40
in, check out my new tech platform. It's
00:12:42
called askdally.com.
00:12:44
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00:12:48
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00:12:52
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00:12:54
finances. Plus, it's different than all
00:12:57
of the other AI tools because you will
00:12:59
be assigned a live human certified
00:13:02
financial planner who can help make sure
00:13:04
that the information is catered to you
00:13:07
and you will be scraping from reputable
00:13:10
data. So, you don't have to be sifting
00:13:11
through hours and hours of different
00:13:13
search results and not even sure what
00:13:15
actually makes sense. So, head to
00:13:18
askdy.com to sign up. And now, let's get
00:13:21
into the Q&A section. So our very first
00:13:23
question, why do we have money for
00:13:25
endless war but none for social
00:13:27
services? O starting with a tough one.
00:13:31
Okay, so I think in part we as a society
00:13:35
and we as humans have a stronger
00:13:37
negative emotional reaction to bad
00:13:39
things happening versus a positive
00:13:42
emotional reaction to good things
00:13:44
happening. We are biologically motivated
00:13:47
by fear. But the idea of incremental
00:13:50
benefit doesn't necessarily act as a
00:13:53
strong driver for change or motion.
00:13:56
Right? So think about it. Money put
00:13:58
towards defense is in theory protecting
00:14:00
us from being attacked, keeping us safe
00:14:03
from harm, and helping us avoid a
00:14:06
negative thing. However, putting money
00:14:08
towards public and social services helps
00:14:11
to improve educational outcomes,
00:14:14
provides resources to our lesser
00:14:16
advantaged and helps us to improve upon
00:14:19
the existing status quo. One of these is
00:14:23
a very strong motivator and the other
00:14:25
for many people and many lawmakers is
00:14:27
not. I'm not saying it's right, but from
00:14:32
a psychological perspective, the idea of
00:14:35
a major city being attacked or bombed or
00:14:38
harmed is a much stronger motivator than
00:14:41
the idea of a few school kids getting a
00:14:45
free lunch or having slightly better VA
00:14:48
benefits or even having community
00:14:50
centers that can help provide care and
00:14:53
resources. It's not fair. It's not
00:14:55
great. Okay, on to question number two.
00:14:58
What should we do in this scenario? Keep
00:15:00
cash, buy gold stocks. Is that a thing?
00:15:03
So, when it comes to periods of
00:15:06
financial uncertainty, I think it's
00:15:08
really important that we all adopt a
00:15:10
defensive financial strategy. First and
00:15:13
foremost, continue investing. Try to
00:15:16
continue putting money into your
00:15:18
investment accounts. Keep buying
00:15:19
investments that are diversified, um,
00:15:22
that track the track the broader market.
00:15:24
Don't pull your money all at once when
00:15:26
you get scared because you'll lock in
00:15:27
any sort of losses. But I do encourage
00:15:30
you to make sure you have a bigger
00:15:32
emergency fund on hand. Um, normally I
00:15:36
recommend 3 to 6 months of living
00:15:38
expenses put into a high savings
00:15:40
account. However, during times like
00:15:42
this, if you can get closer to 6 to 12
00:15:44
months, that puts you in a stronger
00:15:46
position. Uh, I wouldn't necessarily say
00:15:49
change anything drastically from your
00:15:51
financial situation. However, it's just
00:15:54
an important time to be a little bit
00:15:56
more wary, a little bit more cautious. I
00:15:58
wouldn't necessarily make any monstrous
00:16:01
purchases or big life changes when there
00:16:04
is this much economic uncertainty. Okay,
00:16:06
next up question. Who profits?
00:16:09
Especially what are sectors or places we
00:16:11
wouldn't think are connected? So, let's
00:16:14
state the obvious. Our good friends at
00:16:15
Lheed Martin, Rathon, Boeing, North of
00:16:18
Grumman, and other defense contractors
00:16:20
will profit as expected. In the roughly
00:16:22
$14 trillion that the US spent on wars
00:16:25
in Afghanistan, Brown University
00:16:27
estimated that 1/3 to 1 half of that
00:16:29
money went to defense contractors. I
00:16:32
mean, just in 2020, Loheed Martin
00:16:34
received 75 billion in government
00:16:36
contracts. Um, the usual suspects are
00:16:40
the ones to largely profit. However,
00:16:42
anyone or any company specifically could
00:16:45
receive a government contract. So, for
00:16:46
example, sometimes,
00:16:49
you know, packaged food manufacturers
00:16:51
are producing food to be shipped out to
00:16:53
the armed forces, they can see increased
00:16:55
profits from government contracts or
00:16:57
even people who may be creating
00:16:59
uniforms. So, clothing retailers that
00:17:01
create those uniforms, they could be
00:17:03
seeing increased government contracts.
00:17:04
Even the vehicle manufacturers, uh,
00:17:07
transportation, things like that. Um but
00:17:09
essentially if it can be given a
00:17:11
government contract to transport
00:17:14
soldiers, be used for intelligence, um
00:17:18
necessary for these folks to be doing
00:17:21
their jobs, you could get a government
00:17:23
contract and profit from war. Next
00:17:25
question up, where does the government
00:17:27
get the funds when we are already
00:17:28
trillions in deficit? I'm glad this
00:17:30
person was already stealing from my uh
00:17:33
crib sheet of, hey guys, we have a lot
00:17:35
of debt. Um, but like I mentioned
00:17:37
earlier, there are four main ways that
00:17:39
we are getting the funds for war. One,
00:17:42
increasing taxes. This isn't great for
00:17:44
most of us at home because we probably
00:17:46
already feel like we pay a lot in taxes.
00:17:48
Two, the reduction in non-military
00:17:51
spending to pay for military expenses.
00:17:53
Again, not great for average everyday
00:17:55
people because these are likely benefits
00:17:57
that you may enjoy. things like
00:18:00
community resources or uh national parks
00:18:05
or even just maintenance of our highways
00:18:07
like you're probably going to drive into
00:18:08
a pothole. Um so, you know, we'll reduce
00:18:11
non-m non-military spending to pay for
00:18:14
these military expenditures. Um three,
00:18:17
you've got government borrowing. They
00:18:18
really said we don't have enough debt.
00:18:20
Let's take on more. People are actually
00:18:21
surprised to find that largely the US
00:18:24
government is in debt to us the people.
00:18:28
um because the government will borrow
00:18:29
from the public through war bonds or
00:18:32
issuance of US treasuries. So again, a
00:18:35
lot of this money is us funding our
00:18:39
government and you know they're also
00:18:41
getting money from foreign allies which
00:18:43
are buying our debt. But we have to
00:18:45
remember this isn't just a gift. This
00:18:47
isn't you know an interest free loan
00:18:48
like we have to then pay interest on
00:18:50
that debt which can in the future become
00:18:53
a financial burden which it is currently
00:18:55
becoming. And last but not least, money
00:18:56
creation. basically just printing more
00:18:58
money. But again, like I mentioned, this
00:19:01
does have, you know, side effects,
00:19:04
negative outcomes that could potentially
00:19:06
then impact the financial future of your
00:19:09
children. And unfortunately, often times
00:19:12
when it comes to large expenses like
00:19:15
war, we are borrowing from our kids. We
00:19:18
will be spending money today that our
00:19:20
kids pay for in the future. Next
00:19:22
question, how does this impact mortgage
00:19:24
rates? So less to do specifically with
00:19:28
like any sort of war, but more to do
00:19:30
with the interesting position we're in
00:19:33
right now because of the economic
00:19:35
uncertainty. Listen, while it's below
00:19:37
the initial expectations, right now we
00:19:40
are still at the highest level of
00:19:42
tariffs the US has had in nearly nine
00:19:45
decades. And if they stay like this,
00:19:47
they're going to have an impact on the
00:19:49
US and global economy. Um, tariff hikes
00:19:51
typically simultaneously increase the
00:19:53
probability of an economic slowdown
00:19:55
while causing prices to typically move
00:19:57
upward. So, e economy slows down, prices
00:20:00
move upwards. And as a result, interest
00:20:03
rates will likely stay higher for longer
00:20:06
because Fed Daddy Jerome Pal will be
00:20:08
hesitant to lower rates aggressively
00:20:10
because he wants to avoid any sort of
00:20:12
runaway inflation. Right now we have
00:20:14
inflation relatively under control, but
00:20:16
you guys remember when it was 8 9%,
00:20:19
things were crazy. So this is all to say
00:20:21
mortgage rates, which are based off of
00:20:24
the Fed funds rate that the Fed sets,
00:20:27
they may stay higher. They are
00:20:28
determined in relation to that number.
00:20:30
When the Fed sets rates, that is the
00:20:33
cost of borrowing in between banks. And
00:20:35
then other sort of lending between banks
00:20:37
and you. So, car loans, mortgage loans,
00:20:40
personal loans, student loans, all of
00:20:42
that is based off of that number and you
00:20:45
typically pay a little bit more than
00:20:46
what that rate is set by the Fed. Um, so
00:20:50
mortgage rates might stay a little bit
00:20:52
higher for a little bit longer. Next
00:20:53
question. Please tell us how much it
00:20:56
costs to drop these bombs and equate to
00:20:58
Doge cuts. Doge claimed they were able
00:21:01
to save the government about $ 160
00:21:03
billion, but that's debatable as
00:21:05
nonpartisan research groups have found
00:21:07
that Doge could actually be costing
00:21:09
taxpayers 135 billion. So just one B2
00:21:13
stealth bomber costs about 2.1 billion
00:21:15
to create and we utilized seven of them.
00:21:18
Listen, these these B2 fighter like
00:21:22
planes aren't only used for this one
00:21:25
mission. So, I don't want to necessarily
00:21:27
equate it as like we made these planes
00:21:29
for this moment, but Doge basically
00:21:33
didn't do that much in terms of our
00:21:36
country's bottom line. The savings that
00:21:39
they were able to squeeze out actually
00:21:42
likely were eaten up by all of the
00:21:46
incremental charges that they ran into.
00:21:49
So, I would just say that I feel like
00:21:51
Doge was a very poorly executed exercise
00:21:55
with a bad mission statement, a bad
00:21:58
thesis and even worse, you know, actual
00:22:02
implementation. All right, next
00:22:03
question. Are my savings safe in times
00:22:05
of war, or can the country just take
00:22:07
money from us to cover the cost of it?
00:22:10
So, the government can't directly take
00:22:12
or freeze your assets just willy-nilly.
00:22:15
um they can't just like show up at your
00:22:17
bank and be like, "Money, please." Um
00:22:19
there are instances when your bank
00:22:21
accounts can be frozen, but typically
00:22:23
you have to commit a financial crime and
00:22:25
there has to be an investigation. But
00:22:27
what the government can do, however, is
00:22:30
increase taxes, which means more money
00:22:32
from you to the government to help them
00:22:34
cover the costs of increased military
00:22:36
spending during times of war or
00:22:37
uncertainty. War can also increase
00:22:40
inflation. So, your money, if not
00:22:41
properly invested, would lose purchasing
00:22:43
power over time. So, yes, your dollar
00:22:47
could feel like it's shriveling up and
00:22:49
worthless or there might just be fewer
00:22:51
dollars in your bank account because
00:22:52
you're paying more in taxes, but it
00:22:54
isn't like a all of a sudden they're
00:22:56
allowed to just commandeer your cash.
00:22:58
While I certainly hope this ceasefire
00:23:00
holds as geopolitical tensions rise,
00:23:02
it's important to examine the money
00:23:03
behind the actions and how it could
00:23:06
affect you at home. In any scenario,
00:23:09
being prepared is the most successful
00:23:11
way to navigate both political and
00:23:13
economic twists and turns. I hope you
00:23:15
found this episode helpful and maybe
00:23:17
even learned a thing or two. And I will
00:23:19
leave you with a song lyric from the
00:23:21
wise Edwin Star. War, what is it good
00:23:24
for? Absolutely nothing. See you next
00:23:27
week. Thanks for tuning in to this
00:23:29
week's episode of Net and Chill, part of
00:23:31
the Vox Media Podcast Network. If you
00:23:33
like the episode, make sure to leave a
00:23:35
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00:23:37
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00:23:39
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00:23:40
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00:23:42
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00:23:45
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00:23:46
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00:23:48
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00:23:50
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00:23:53
knowhow. See you next week. Bye.
