enRICHed: volume 109

baby it’s cold outside

Dec 15, 2024

Volume 109

Hey besties!

What a week! Has anyone else been running at warp speed trying to get everything done ahead of the holidays? I feel like I’ve been here, there, and everywhere! Speaking of everywhere, for those of you who don’t know, I actually grew up in Maryland. The land of Vineyard Vines and Jack Rodgers. Recently, the “prep” aesthetic has been popping off on TikTok, and so has the "country club lifestyle.” But this lifestyle and aesthetic was historically reserved for incredibly wealthy individuals that came from generational wealth. It wasn’t really that inclusive. This week on the podcast, I spoke to Jackie Skye-Muller and Marlon Muller, the co-founders of Recreational Habits, a clothing brand redefining the modern prep look for people of color and everyone else. They are bringing some much needed diversity to the country club! Listen to the episode HERE or watch it on YouTube 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.

$5 Overdraft Fees? Maybe! 🫣💳

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized a rule that would cap overdraft fees at $5, dramatically curbing it from the $35 that customers are usually charged by large banks and credit unions.
It’s all part of this massive push from Biden’s administration to crack down on junk fees, whether it’s airline tickets, concert ticket markups, car rentals, hotels, retirement advice and credit cards.
This new rule is set to take effect on October 1, 2025 and could potentially save consumers as much as $5 billion a year, which is about $225 in annual savings per affected household, according to CFPB
HYCU; Overdraft fees are such a huge headache, and this could have major implications for working-class people with busy schedules. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee it will, given that the incoming Trump administration is expected to try and squash it. However, if you want to avoid them entirely, make sure to set up alerts for low balances so you never miss a payment, or put regular time in your calendar to make sure everything is paid off before the deadline. Banks like SoFi Bank and Ally Bank also don’t have overdraft fees at all, so you can also consider swapping banks to avoid it entirely.

Backup Bitcoin Bank 💰🚨

Legislation was introduced in the Texas House of Representatives on Thursday to officially establish a strategic bitcoin reserve, further snowballing what was promised to be a highly crypto-friendly incoming administration.
Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione announced during an X (formerly Twitter) Spaces event that the proposed bill would authorize the state to start building this reserve by accepting taxes, fees and donations in Bitcoin, held for a minimum of five years.
This bill was also created hand-in-hand with the Satoshi Action Fund, a Bitcoin advocacy group, founded by Dennis Porter. They have pushed lots of existing Bitcoin-related legislation and are currently working with several other states to get this initiative off the ground: Pennsylvania was the first state where a strategic Bitcoin reserve bill was introduced in November, and discussions are underway in as many as 10 more states and four countries to introduce similar legislation in the coming months.
HYCU; Texas is the second-largest economy in the U.S. and the eighth-largest in the world, in addition to having the highest concentration of Bitcoin miners in the country. There are a lot of important things happening here. First, it’s clear that Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) is likely going to become a key player in policymakers sharing political press briefings and updates, as Porter directly thanked Musk for the platform in a post. Second, while the initial proposal does not include a direct bitcoin purchasing strategy, the eventual hope seems to be getting people to pay taxes in cryptocurrency. If you already invest in crypto, this could be a game changer for you—but keep in mind, it’s not set in stone yet, and people aren’t sure how successful this will be, so more language in the legislation might be coming up to address these things.

Another Day, Another Tasteless CEO 🧐

After the killing of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson, Andrew Witty was placed in charge of the insurance giant, and he’s already made some pretty controversial comments about the entire situation.
In a leaked internal company call, journalist Ken Klippenstein shared a video where Witty gave his thoughts on the backlash the company is facing in light of the slaying. “We guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care to be delivered,” Witty said. “I encourage you to tune out that critical noise that we're hearing right now. It does not reflect reality.”
The “unnecessary care” comment sparked further criticism online, as they turned to share the times that they were denied coverage from UnitedHealthcare because it was deemed “unnecessary,” including a brain surgery, temporary blindness, and one user’s mother’s rotting gallbladder.
Americans spend more time living with diseases than the rest of the world, according to the American Medical Association, with the biggest contributors being mental and substance-use disorders as well as musculoskeletal diseases. Doctors have also reported that dealing with health insurance has been “getting worse,” which is um, concerning.
HYCU; We talked more about the predatory behaviors of the health insurance industry on the member’s lounge this week (and some ways to negotiate or waive your bills), but many of us have experienced the injustice of fighting our insurance to get treatment or medicine that is important to our health. It’s a process that I wouldn’t even want to wish on my worst enemies. We definitely need a longer-term solution to address just how awful the insurance industry is, but in the meantime, here’s a tip you can use to eliminate 100% of your hospital bill: most hospitals are nonprofits, which means that if you make below a certain amount, the hospital legally needs to waive your medical bill. Follow my instructions here on how to find out if you qualify and how to apply.

Commonly asked question: Tianna asks, “Hi! What do you think about using the Infinite Banking Concept (IBC) as part of a retirement plan?”

“Infinite Banking” as some financial “gurus” (read: life insurance salespeople) like to tout on social media involves using whole life insurance policies to create a personal banking system. While it sounds intriguing, there are some important things to consider:

High Initial Costs: Setting up whole life insurance requires significant upfront costs to pay premiums, which can be quite high.
Complexity: The concept can be complex and may not be suitable for everyone, especially if you don't already have a substantial amount of money.
Better Alternatives: For most people, traditional retirement accounts like 401(k)s, IRAs, or Roth IRAs are more straightforward and cost-effective ways to save for retirement.

In summary, while whole life insurance might work for some, it's generally better to stick with more conventional retirement savings options unless you have a lot of money and are comfortable with the complexities and costs involved. Always consider consulting a financial advisor for personalized advice.

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Rich Tip of the Week: Is your bank scamming you?
My former employer BuzzFeed just sold ‘Hot Ones,’ the YouTube show with hot questions and even hotter wings, in a $82.5 million deal to Soros Fund.
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that the Love is Blind contestants count as employees, which means that the production companies are legally required to give them worker’s rights now, after many spoke up to say they were put in dangerous environments (not allowed to sleep, drink water or eat) on the show. It seems that people do want to work these days, actually!
Timothée Chalamet spent six years learning to play the guitar and sing like Bob Dylan for the singer’s new biopic, A Complete Unknown. You could say he had his own lookalike contest.

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES