AI Stocks May Be in a Bubble, and Car Prices Could Rise Soon — Here’s What to Know

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Investing, How To, Education, Business

4.3 • 895 Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Learn how to think about AI stocks and decide if now’s the time to buy a car, including how to choose between 48- and 60-month loans. Are AI stocks in a bubble? Should you buy a car now or wait? Hosts Sean Pyles and Elizabeth Ayoola discuss AI-driven market euphoria and today’s car-buying math to help you understand how to balance risk in your investments and make a cost-smart auto purchase. Joined by NerdWallet senior news writer Anna Helhoski and investing writer Sam Taube, they begin with a discussion of whether AI stock valuations resemble the late-’90s dot-com era, with tips and tricks on reading signals like index P/E ratios, building diversification beyond a single index fund, and using “lazy portfolios” or robo-advisors to stay balanced. Then, auto Nerd Shannon Bradley joins Sean and Elizabeth to discuss the 2025 car market and financing choices. They discuss what stable-but-high prices mean for timing a purchase (and how tariffs could push prices higher), how much to put down and when negotiation is realistic, and choosing between 48- vs 60-month terms if you expect to pay a loan off early. You’ll also hear practical pointers on pre-qualification vs. pre-approval, checking Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds pricing, avoiding prepayment penalty surprises, and a reminder to consider tax implications if you plan to clear an auto loan with pension income. Mentioned in this episode: Lazy Portfolios: How to Diversify with Just a Few Funds Best Robo-Advisors: Top Picks for 2025 Car Shopping? The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ May Change What You Pay Estimate your monthly car loan payment and total cost with NerdWallet’s auto loan calculator. Adjust car price, term, rate and down payment to find the best fit for your budget. https://www.nerdwallet.com/calculator/auto-loan-calculator Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScK53yAufsc4v5UpghhVfxtk2MoyooHzlSIRBnRxUPl3hKBig/viewform?usp=header In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: AI bubble, Nvidia market cap, are AI stocks overvalued, Nasdaq 100 PE ratio, S&P 500 concentration, diversification strategy, lazy portfolio, robo-advisor comparison, bond allocation, international index fund, how to invest during AI boom, dot-com bubble vs AI, used car prices 2025, average new car price KBB, car tariffs impact on prices, is now a good time to buy a car, negotiating car price, Kelley Blue Book vs Edmunds, 48 vs 60 month auto loan, auto loan interest cost, prequalification vs preapproval, hard credit inquiry car loan, prepayment penalty auto loan, auto loan calculator, refinance auto loan rules, when to buy previous model year car, dealer incentives low APR, end of month car deals, pension to pay off car, car loan term strategy, tariffs and carmakers losses, Edmunds used car average price, S&P 500 exposure to AI, best Robo advisors list, and lazy portfolio examples. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	To buy a car or not to buy a car. That is the question. Whether tis a better time now before a terrace kick in, or tis nobler to hang on to what you have and drive it into the ground.
0:11.7	With deepest apologies to Sir William, today we'll share some answers in non-Iambic pentameter.
0:22.6	Welcome to Nerd Wallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and
0:26.6	we answer them with the help of our genius nerds.
0:28.6	I'm Sean Piles.
0:29.6	And I'm Elizabeth Ayola.
0:31.6	Later this episode, we'll be looking at whether it's a good time to buy a car.
0:34.6	But first, our weekly money news round up, where we break down the latest in the world of finance to help you be smarter with your money.
0:41.3	Our news colleague, Anna Halhouski, is back. And Anna, we're bowing to our robot overlords today.
0:46.7	Let's talk AI and whether it's something that's worth investing in at this point in the revolution.
0:51.3	So AI technology has driven huge gains for companies like Nvidia, and there's a lot of
0:56.8	excitement out there among investors for all kinds of AI companies.
1:00.1	But there are some in the industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who are warning
1:05.4	that there could be a bubble forming.
1:07.9	So today we're talking about AI stocks, the possibility that we could be in a bubble and
1:11.9	how to navigate the hype.
1:13.4	So here to give us more insight is Sam Taub, investing writer here at NerdWallet.
1:17.5	Sam, welcome back to Smart Money.
1:18.9	Happy to be here.
1:19.9	So walk us through this AI bubble claim.
1:22.9	As you said, AI excitement has driven a number of tech stocks to really dizzying highs, perhaps none more so
1:29.9	than Nvidia.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NerdWallet Personal Finance, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NerdWallet Personal Finance and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.