When I'm not hosting this podcast, I am writing books, but it is really hard for me to write when I'm at home, so I like to find remote cabins in the middle of nowhere to just hang out and write. But I hate the idea of my house just sitting empty, doing nothing but collecting dust and definitely not collecting checks. And that's why I'm an Airbnb host. It's one of my all-time favorite side hustles. Other popular side hustles are awesome, too, don't get me wrong, but they often involve big startup costs. By hosting your space, you're monetizing what you already have access to. It It doesn't get easier than that. And if you're new to the side hustle game and you're anxious about getting started, don't worry, because you're not in this alone. Airbnb makes it super easy to host. I mean, if I could do it, you could do it. And your home might be worth a lot more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb. Com/host. Did you know that some travel credit cards offer 10X points on your spending? Don't miss out on big rewards for your next trip. Nerdwallet lets you compare smart travel credit cards side by side, curated by an expert team of finance nerds.

What could future you do with better travel rewards? A free flight? A room upgrade? Don't wait to make smart financial decisions. Compare and find smarter credit cards, savings accounts, and more today at nerdwallet. Com. Reminder, credit is subject to lender approval and terms apply. Nerdwallet, finance smarter. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. Well, the Berkshire Hathaway annual investor conference just happened, which founder and CEO, Warren Buffett, calls the Woodstock of Capitalism. But this is a big deal. This is a multi-day event where thousands of investors gather in Omaha, Nebraska, to hear Buffet speak about his company's investments, his predictions on the economic future and beyond. Buffett is one of the greatest investors of all time. So when he talks, we got to listen. When he spoke at the conference, there were two big takeaways that investors should factor into their investing strategy. Strategy. Number one, Buffett sold billions of dollars of his Apple stock, but he's still bullish. Buffett said at the conference that Apple is a better company than some of the other blue-chip companies that he's heavily invested in, including American Express and Coca-Cola.

This is a little backwards, right? Why would you sell a stock if you think it's going to continue to go up? Well, one word, taxes. Buffett expects that taxes are going to increase in the not-so-distant future, and that will include a bump in capital gains taxes, the tax that you pay when you sell a stock for more than what bought it for. If you hold on to a stock for longer than a year and you sell it at a profit, you could be taxed 0, 15, or 20 % of your return, depending on your income tax bracket. Buffett thinks that the government is going to do the latter, not reduce spending, but try to increase the money available to pay down that debt. And one of the sources of government funding is, yes, taxpayer dollars. Buffett thinks that in order to pay down the national debt, the levels at which we're going to get taxed will rise, so much so that it might wipe out the gains of some of his most promising investments, like Apple. Number two, Buffett gave an unexpected announcement on his investing in Paramount. Paramount is, of course, the parent company of a ton of beloved networks like MTV, Showtime, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BT, which are the home to fan favorite shows like the Colbert Rapport, Billions, Dexter, Yellow Jackets, Homeland, RuPaul's Drag Race, and The Daily Show.

The Daily Show, by the way, is averaging about 62 % higher viewership, thanks to Jon Stewart's return as a host on Monday nights, which is great news for Paramount. In recent years, Berkshire Hathaway had become the largest non-voting shareholder in Paramount, owning about 10 % of the company at 63.3 million shares. And at his investors' meeting, Buffett said that he sold his entire stake in Paramount, all 63 million shares, and at a loss. Because despite the catalog of critically acclaimed content, Paramount is struggling. Paramount, which trades under ticker symbol P-A-R-A, at the time I'm recording this, is trading below 13 a share. It is down 23% over the last year and down a staggering 73% over the past five years. I will say it wasn't an easy year for TV networks with the writer's strike, the actor's strike, eating into network profits, and the fierce competition between TV giants like Paramount, Warner Brothers Discovery, Disney, Netflix, Peacock, known as the Streaming Wars, has forced these big networks to try and outdo each other, which really means outspend each other. But not all streaming companies have suffered quite like Paramount. Netflix is up 82% over the last year and up 67% over the last five years.

You might remember in my episode with Scott Galloway, he said he was bullish on Warner Brothers Discovery, which I will say is down 41% over the last year and down 68% over the last five years. But Galloway said he's bullish on Warner Brothers Discovery, in part because it's an election year, and Discovery is the home to CNN, which is one of the go-to destinations for election coverage. Between The Daily Show and Colbert, Paramount will probably also to get a lift in viewership from the election cycle as well. But there are some issues that have been unique to Paramount that influenced Buffett's decision to sell. As recently as last week, there was a big C-suite shakeup, and the CEO, Bob Backish, resigned. And most notably, Paramount significantly decreased its dividend payment from $0.24 per share to just $0.05 per share. Paramount's leadership said that they were reducing the dividend payout so that they could reinvest in their streaming capabilities and boost profitability. But Buffett said that cutting dividends is never good news, and I do agree. If a company wants to reinvest in itself, you would hope that they'd have enough profit to do so without having to dip into investors' returns.

So net net, bullish on Apple, bearish on Paramount, and pricing for taxes. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Again, when Buffett talks, we got to listen. If he thinks taxes are going to go up, we should probably think about planning accordingly. One relatively easy way to hedge against rising taxes is to max out your Roth IRA or to open one if you don't have one. A Roth IRA is a type of retirement account where you contribute post-tax income, so that means when you take the money out in retirement, it is completely tax-free. For 2024, the Roth IRA contribution limit is $7,000 if you're under 50, and 8K if you're over 50. And you don't need to contribute all in one go, by the way. You have until you file your 2024 taxes in April of 2025 to max out your contributions for this year. Money rehabbers, you have money hidden in your house. Yeah, just hiding there in plain sight. Okay, so I don't mean you have gold bars hidden somewhere in walls, treasure map style. But you do have a money-making opportunity that you're just leaving on the table if you're not hosting on Airbnb.

It's one of my all-time favorite side hustles. By hosting your space, you are monetizing what you already own. It doesn't get easier than that. For me, hosting on Airbnb has always been a no-brainer. When I first signed up, I remember thinking to myself, Self, you pay a lot of money for your house. It is time that house returned the favor. And to get real with you for a sec, I felt so much guilt before treating myself on vacation because traveling can be so expensive. But since hosting on Airbnb, I feel zero stress for treating myself to a much-needed vacation because having Airbnb guests stay at my house when I'm traveling helps offset the cost of my travel. So it's such a win-win. I mean, if I could do it, you could do it. And your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb. Com/host. Do you ever Can you get FOMO, fear of missing out? Well, do you ever get FOMO-Tupita, fear of missing out on the perfect higher? If so, I have the antidote. It's LinkedIn jobs. Linkedin jobs helps you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else.

Even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role. In any given month, over 70 % of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites, and that adds up to a serious squad of awesome candidates. Linkedin has over a billion professionals on the platform, and these candidates are super qualified, so much so that 86 % of small businesses get a qualified candidate within just 24 hours. I work with LinkedIn jobs for all of my dream team needs, so they're hooking up money rehabbers at linkedin. Com/mnen. Go there and you can post your job for free. That's linkedin. Com/mnen, as in Money News Network. To post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan LaVoy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your moneyquestions, moneyrehab@moneynewsnetwork. Com, to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content.

And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make.