Shark Week Has It Backward: 6 Money Risks That’ll Actually Eat You Alive

Shark Week runs on Discovery through Saturday — 20 new specials, all built on the same promise. Something enormous is out there, and it would like to eat you.

I live in Florida. I’ve watched my share.

But here’s what the ominous music leaves out. In all of 2025, the International Shark Attack File confirmed 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide. Nine were fatal.

Nine people. On the entire planet. In a year.

Florida led the country with 11 bites and not a single death.

I’ve been a CPA since 1981, spent a decade as a Wall Street investment advisor, and have written about money for 35 years. In all that time, I’ve never seen a shark wreck anybody’s retirement.

Here’s what actually does it. Six predators, none of them photogenic, all of them feeding right now.

1. Fees you never see leave your account

A 1% annual fee sounds like a rounding error. It isn’t.

The SEC ran the numbers. Put $100,000 into an account returning 4% a year for 20 years. At a 0.25% annual fee, you’d end up with roughly $208,000. At 1%, you’d end up with about $179,000.

Same money. Same market. Same 20 years. You’re just $29,000 poorer.

Nobody mails you a bill. The money comes out before you ever see a statement, which is precisely why it works so well.

Go find out what you’re paying, then find out what the same fund costs somewhere else. Workplace plans hide charges too, including a little-known 401(k) fee that could cost you $18,000.

2. Credit card interest

The Federal Reserve says the average rate on card accounts actually being charged interest hit 22.15% in May 2026.

To come out ahead while carrying a balance, you’d need investments returning better than 22% a year, guaranteed, after taxes.

That investment doesn’t exist. Anybody who tells you it does is a different kind of predator.

Americans owe more than $1.2 trillion on cards, according to the New York Fed. It’s the most expensive money most households will ever borrow, and the easiest to stop feeding.

3. The ‘safe’ money losing ground

This one stings, because the people it happens to think they’re being careful.

As of June, the FDIC put the national average savings rate at 0.38%. Big banks are worse. Some pay 0.01%.

Meanwhile, federally insured online banks are paying closer to 4%.

On $25,000, that’s about $95 a year versus roughly $1,000. Same insurance. Same safety. One afternoon’s worth of paperwork.

Money that isn’t earning isn’t safe. It’s just losing slowly enough that you don’t notice. If your rate starts with a zero, it’s time to start shopping. For example, SoFi pays many times the national average interest. With eligible direct deposit, you can earn 3.10% APY on savings. New members may also qualify for a limited-time APY boost that lifts savings up to 3.80% APY for up to six months. (APYs are variable and can change at any time.)

New members who set up qualifying direct deposit may also be eligible for a cash bonus of up to $400, based on the amount deposited. Terms apply — see details.

Check out SoFi here.

Here are five things every smart saver should be doing today.

Quick gut-check — if your money advice is coming from random online influencers, you’re playing a dangerous game. I’ve been a CPA since 1981 and writing about money since before the internet existed. Sign up for the free Money Talks Newsletter and get expert advice that’s been tested by time.

4. Claiming Social Security at 62 out of fear

Fear drives this one, and the fear is pointed the wrong direction.

If your full retirement age is 67 and you file at 62, the Social Security Administration cuts your monthly check by 30%. Permanently. Every cost-of-living raise you ever get is calculated off that smaller number.

Wait past full retirement age instead and you gain 8% a year until 70.

I waited until 70 myself.

Filing early is right for plenty of people. If you need the money or your health is poor, take it. But “I read online that Social Security is going broke” isn’t a reason, and I walked through the whole decision in “Ask Stacy: When Should I Claim Social Security?”

5. The long-term care bill Medicare won’t touch

Someone turning 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing long-term care, according to the federal Administration for Community Living. Women average 3.7 years of it. Men average 2.2.

Roughly one in five will need care for more than five years.

Here’s the part that ambushes families. Medicare doesn’t cover custodial care — help with bathing, dressing and eating, which is most of what long-term care actually is.

It covers short skilled-nursing stays after a hospital admission. That’s about it.

Nursing home care runs six figures a year in much of the country. Most people learn this during a crisis, which is the worst possible time to learn anything.

One solution is long-term care insurance, covering services like home care, assisted living, and help with daily tasks. Rates are typically lowest if you buy in your 50s or early 60s, couples often qualify for discounts, and premiums may even be tax-deductible.

Here's a list of the best LTC insurance companies — takes 2 minutes.

6. Scammers who are better at this than you are

Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, an FTC official told Congress in March. That’s up from $12.5 billion the year before.

Investment scams took nearly half. Imposter scams — someone posing as your bank, the IRS, your grandson — accounted for $3.5 billion.

And those are only the reported losses. Most victims never tell a soul.

The stereotype says victims are gullible. Wrong. These crews are professional, scripted and increasingly running AI. They work by manufacturing urgency, and urgency switches off the part of your brain that asks questions.

One rule stops nearly all of them. Never move money because somebody contacted you. Hang up, look up the real number yourself, call back. The rest of my rules are in “Ask Stacy: How Do I Protect Myself From Scams and Fraud?”

The bottom line

Discovery has spent 38 years teaching us to fear something that killed nine people worldwide last year. It works because sharks are vivid, and vivid beats likely every single time.

Fee drag isn’t vivid. Neither is a 0.38% savings rate or a gap in Medicare coverage. None of it makes for good television.

All of it will take more from you than a shark ever will.

Enjoy Shark Week. Then go check your fees.