enRICHed: volume 105
turkey lurkey
Sunday November 17, 2024
Volume 105
Hey besties!
People always ask me about money and dating. How do I talk to my partner about money? How much should my partner be making? What kind of accounts should we have? I learned how to talk to my now husband about money, out of necessity. I moved into a roach-infested apartment with my roomie at the time, and we had to hightail it out of there ASAP. That means I spent all of my savings breaking the lease and luckily, he let me live with him until I got back on my feet. But I had to be honest with him and tell him what I made, how much it cost to break the lease and how much I had left over. Hopefully you don’t have a story as gross as that, but it is important to talk about money early in your relationship. If you are still confused or have no idea where to start, check out the latest Networth and Chill podcast episode HERE with dating expert and the internet big sister, Anna Kai!
Check out Anna HERE and be sure to keep up with the podcast on IG HERE!
As a reminder:
HYCU, pronounced haiku: how the news impacts you and your wallet, aka How You Can Use
The Prosperitea: think discount codes, non-boring finance articles, sales, and personal links from the week. The fun stuff 😉
We love your comments, but please remember to keep it positive! And don’t take investing advice from anyone who isn’t your registered financial advisor!
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s get you enRICHed.
Tariff Talks 🛍🛒
Obviously, everyone is talking about Donald Trump’s incoming tariff plan, where a 20% tariff will be imposed on all imported goods while 60% will be placed on Chinese goods; now, companies are scrambling to figure out what this possibly means for our shopping future.
The goal of this was to try and force companies to move away from Chinese manufacturers back to the US, but the problem is that with certain skill specializations, resource availability, and cheaper costs overseas, it's not really possible for some companies to move back.
Companies are moving out of China at the moment, which is a win if that was what you voted for, but it’s mostly to other foreign countries like Vietnam and Mexico, which are also reliant on China in trade. So not a full win, I fear.
HYCU; Experts expect the incoming administration to impose some proposed tariffs quickly, while phasing in or threatening to apply other levies over time to try and gain trade concessions—so it means some things will begin jumping in price come next year, while others will likely rise later down the road. According to Quartz, products like a $40 toaster could increase to $52, while sneakers may go from $90 to $116. If you have any major purchases on the horizon, especially ones that may rely on foreign manufacturing, this Black Friday/Cyber Monday may not be a bad time to finally click “BUY” ahead of major price spikes.
Inflation Patience 💸
Jerome Powell said it’s time we take it slow. The Federal Reserve Chair said this week that the economy has been getting healthy again, which would allow the central bank to take its sweet time to decide how to continue reducing interest rates.
Even though there are still price pressures, The Fed seems to be trying to walk the tightrope of keeping interest rates high enough to keep inflation in check but not so high as to weaken the job market.
That being said, the bank still lowered interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, in line with what was expected.
HYCU; All this means that cuts for things might come a little slower, but they’re fighting a fine balance. The Reserve wants to get inflation down to 2%, but their plan to cut rates was drafted before the election, which means they could encounter some speed bumps under the new administration. As rates come down, you’ll see high yield savings account APYs lower (boo! hiss!), but mortgage, car loan, and personal lending rates will come down too (woo! yay!).
A New Temu In Town 🧐
A new shopping service has entered the chat—Amazon’s newest platform Haul plans to cap the price of products on sale at $20 in an effort to face off with major low-cost retailers like Temu and Shein.
On Wednesday, Amazon announced the mobile-only experience available in its Shopping app for US customers, selling products like razor sets and jewelry pieces.
In addition to the low costs, free delivery will also be available for orders of $25 or over with one to two week delivery
HYCU; If you are into bargain hunting, this could be an interesting new service for you. But of course, Haul faces the same criticisms of harmful environmental impact, cheap quality and questionable labor practices that Temu and Shein do, so please take that into account when shopping, as it seems like you’ll definitely get what you pay for. Sometimes technology advances so far, it comes all the way back around to the good ole’ fashioned dollar store.
Opening The Cabinet 🇺🇸
Trump has begun announcing his Cabinet nominations this past week, with many familiar names and faces joining him to run major departments in the country.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was selected as Trump’s pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services—Trump has said he will let RFK Jr. “go wild” with health and food policy (which is a promise, as RFK Jr. has famously said he dumped a dead bear in Central Park and that doctors found a worm in his brain).
Notably, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were picked to run a new department called the Department of Government Efficiency, otherwise known as DOGE, referencing the 2013 viral meme of a Shiba Inu. It has already had impacts on Tesla stock.
Matt Gaetz has been named as Attorney General, in charge of proposing legislation and supervising divisions; Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, in charge of international affairs and foreign policy decisions; Tulsi Gabbard, national intelligence director; Susie Wiles, chief of staff. See the full list of names here, as well as their bios, here.
HYCU; It’s important to keep up to date with these appointments, as these people will be in charge of everything that will affect our lives—from nationwide health measures like water filtration to the number of soldiers deployed overseas. That being said, these positions are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate, so they aren’t final yet, but given how Senate seats have shaken out, it’s likely it’ll look something like this.
Commonly asked question: Montavis asks, “Should I build up my Emergency savings before paying off anymore debt?”
Hi Montavis! Building an emergency fund before aggressively paying off debt is a smart move. Here's why:
Safety Net: An emergency fund acts as a financial safety net. If life throws you a curveball, like a job loss or unexpected medical bills, you'll have a cushion to land on without having to rely on more debt.
Stress Reduction: Knowing you have money set aside for emergencies can reduce financial stress and anxiety.
Avoiding More Debt: Without an emergency fund, you might have to take on more debt to cover unexpected expenses, which can put you in a deeper hole.
The general recommendation is to save:
3-6 months of living expenses if you're single.
6-12 months if you're the head of household or have dependents.
Once you've got your emergency fund in place, you can then focus on paying off debt, especially high-interest debt (anything above 7% interest). Remember the avalanche method: prioritize debts with the highest interest rates first while making minimum payments on the rest.
Good luck!
Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?
Rich Tip of the Week: What’s an FU number?
John Krasinski is People’s Sexiest Man Alive. Congratulations to both John Krasinski and Randall Park for their achievement.
A bear attack on a Rolls-Royce was actually a human in a bear suit…
The Onion bought Alex Jones’ InfoWars with the help of Sandy Hook families—if you didn’t know the lore behind all this, read the background here.
Products that saved my life this week:
MiraLAX please sponsor me (I am a lil’ backed up post-egg retrieval)
My super techy trashcan that I love! (sleek but also really practical)
I love this reusable water bottle that adds just a hint of fruit flavor (this bottle helps me drink like 2-3x as much water as normal bc I am chasing the apple flavor lol)
SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES
I get it, you dislike Trump but why must you add comments to his appointees? Why can't you just state that RFK was named to such and such department by President Elect Trump and leave it at that? I guess I don't understand why your comments have to lean left when they can be generic.
A roach-infested apartment likely broke the lease already and you probably didn’t need to pay anything as it very likely violated the warrant of habitability. I wouldn’t have paid a landlord who did that.