enRICHed: volume 111

another day, another slay

Dec 29, 2024

Volume 111

Hey besties!

In honor of the holidays and all the parties, gift giving, and money spent, I thought it was about time I did a deep dive on money and friendship. Especially with New Years Eve coming up, there’s a lot to think about in terms of spending and what you feel comfortable shelling out for this big night out. Last week, I invited my IRL bestie of over 20 years (I’m not even exaggerating) Carol to the podcast to talk all things money and friendship. Carol is truly my best and also my wisest friend, so she gives me her best advice (yes, even I need money advice). Listen to me and Carol yap HERE or watch us yap 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.

Egg-streme Prices And Recalls 🍳

The accelerating spread of bird flu through US poultry flocks is causing the price of eggs to rocket to new highs, even surpassing the previous peak cost in December 2022, when we all had that post-pandemic inflation scare.
It’s coming at a time when many families are stocking up on groceries for the holidays, which means higher demand with lower supply—flocks of egg-laying hens are smaller because producers haven’t recovered from losses to bird flu over the past two years.
At the same time, eggs are also being recalled in wide batches after the Food and Drug Administration also detected a deadly strain of salmonella. It even hit several Costco locations this week, when salmonella was found in some distributions of the Kirkland Signature brand of Organic Pasture Raised 24-Count Eggs.
The rapid escalation of H5N1 is why many experts are calling this an incoming pandemic, and why California has declared a state of emergency this week: of the 35 million egg-laying hens killed by bird flu this year, nearly half contracted the virus in the past three months.
HYCU; The best way to figure out if your local products are being affected is by following your local public news stations, where journalists are focused on the updates within your community. This virus has begun to mutate as it severely infects humans, so it’s really important to stay up-to-date on what you can and can’t eat. Not all locations of specific products will be impacted, so do your research! It’ll save you a lot of money and headaches if you know your stuff.

Two Workers’ Rights Movements…And A Partridge In A Pear Tree 🎄🚐

Amazon and Starbucks workers across the country announced that they would be going on strike ahead of the holidays; and while Amazon’s strike came to a close on Thursday, Starbucks announced that it would be spreading to more locations.
Basically, both Amazon and Starbucks workers were asking for higher wages and better benefits like health insurance and safe working environments, as both companies have made hefty profits while refusing wage increases for their workers. They’re also fighting to have the companies recognize their labor contracts, which would put all of these asks into effect.
The Amazon strike ended with no visible movement yet, but the union said there will be more to come. Meanwhile, the Starbucks strikes are spreading to Denver, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Columbus, Ohio, as the company said it could negotiate a contract by the end of the year (which is in about, um, thirty minutes).
HYCU; We’ve had a pretty major year for worker’s strikes, and it’s led to better conditions and contracts for workers nationwide: Boeing factory workers, dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports, video game performers, and hotel and casino workers on the Las Vegas Strip all got raises and stronger benefit guarantees after their strikes. If you want to support the Starbucks workers, you can answer their request to buy your drinks elsewhere until the strike is over—and as we head into a new year, it might be a good time to think about what you want out of your employment contracts, too.

Home Alone 2: Lost In The Airport ✈️

Holiday travelers are facing even more flight cancellations as a severe round of storms rolls its way through the South.
More than 700 flights within, into or out of the US have been cancelled on Thursday as parts of Louisiana and southeastern Texas are currently under tornado watch, as people prepare for severe thunderstorms and strong wind.
The Northwest and parts of the West Coast are also getting some alerts for high surf and coastal flood conditions, which could possibly affect upcoming flights.
HYCU; At this point, getting stuck in the airport is one of the oldest holiday traditions we have, but it feels like someone is just putting coal in your stocking for fun. Make sure you know your flying rights—you can get a full automatic refund on your ticket if your flight is cancelled or “significantly delayed,” which is three hours domestic or six hours international. Not to mention, passengers who are involuntarily bumped are entitled to compensation up to $1,550, depending on the length of the delay. Check the Transportation.gov dashboard for what you could be owed for controllable delays and cancellations as well. But if you’re committed to flying at the time you booked (fair enough), make sure to get to the airport early to account for long wait times in traffic or at security. Safe travels, besties!

Commonly asked question: Ashley asks, “Hi Vivian, I’m a government employee contributing to a pension plan, but I also participate in my employer sponsored 401k, 457 pre-tax, and 457 post-tax plans. I’m also planning to open an employer sponsored HSA plan after I learned about them from your book. My question is—is all this too excessive? 😅 I figured since it’s employer sponsored, and I make enough monthly income to spread it out like this, that it’s beneficial, but I thought I’d pose this question. Thanks, bestie! Ashley”

Hi Ashley! It sounds like you’re doing a fantastic job of taking advantage of the various retirement and savings options available to you. Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ve got going on:

Pension Plan: This is a great foundation for your retirement savings, especially since it’s typically managed by your employer and provides a steady income in retirement.
401(k): This is another excellent retirement savings vehicle, especially if your employer offers matching contributions. That’s free money, and who doesn’t love that?
457 Plans (Pre-tax and Post-tax): These are similar to 401(k) plans but are available to government employees. They offer additional opportunities to save for retirement, and having both pre-tax and post-tax options gives you flexibility in managing your tax liabilities.
HSA: Health Savings Accounts are fantastic because they offer triple tax advantages: contributions are tax-deductible, the money grows tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. Plus, after age 65, you can use the funds for non-medical expenses without penalty (though you’ll pay income tax on those withdrawals).

Given that you make enough monthly income to spread it out across these accounts, it doesn’t seem excessive at all. Sadly, most people UNDERsave for retirement vs. OVERsave, and frankly, you’d be better off in the OVERsave category anyway. In fact, you’re diversifying your retirement savings and taking advantage of different tax benefits, which is a smart strategy. Given that you make enough to do this, my only flag would be to 1) just make sure you’re not stretching yourself too thin and that you still have enough liquidity for your day-to-day expenses and an emergency fund and 2) given that you’re able to participate in all of these plans, there’s a non-zero chance you’re making enough to retire earlier than 59.5, which means many of these accounts might still be under lock and key. As you do your financial planning for the future, make sure if you do plan to retire earlier than is “standard” you have access to money that isn’t locked up by threat of penalty that you can access to support your retired life! Keep up the great work, bestie! You’re on the right track to a secure financial future. 🚀

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