enRICHed: volume 114
polar vortex incoming 🥶
Sunday January 19, 2025
Volume 114
Hey besties!
As many of you know, I got married last year. And like most brides before me, I had a bachelorette party, in Vegas of course, with all my best girlfriends. While none of us are gamblers, we were more so there to dance and eat good food, I couldn’t help but notice how few women were sitting at some of these poker tables. I recently learned that poker can actually help teach women important life skills, like negotiation. This week on the podcast, I was so happy to chat with Jenny Just, the co-founder of PEAK6 and a self made billionaire hedge-fund trader who is working to teach more women poker. She shares how poker can create transferable skills and confidence for regular people in their personal lives and careers. You can listen to us chat HERE or watch HERE! New episodes of the podcast drop every single Wednesday so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE or follow Networth and Chill wherever you get your podcasts!
Plus, keep up with the podcast on Instagram!
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.
Health Corporations Price Gouged Cancer Medication ⚖️
In the least shocking news ever, the FTC found that pharmacy benefit managers (the middlemen between drug makers, insurers and pharmacies) marked up the prices of dozens of specialty generic drugs between 2017 and 2022, raking in $7.3 billion in revenue just by price gouging.
The three biggest pharmacy benefit managers—CVS Health’s Caremark, Cigna’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx—inflated the prices of their affiliated pharmacy drugs by up to 1000%, including medications that were used to treat heart disease, cancer and HIV, among other conditions.
These companies are usually tasked with reducing the cost of drugs for their clients, but instead, they reimbursed their affiliated pharmacies at a higher rate than unaffiliated pharmacies on nearly every one of the 51 specialty general drugs the agency reviewed.
HYCU; If you are making a buck by inflating someone’s cancer treatment bills, there is a special seat in hell for you. We all knew we were paying too much for healthcare, and this is just even more proof of just how much we were being overcharged. The good news is that this is a pretty bipartisan issue in government, with Trump vowing to “knock out the middleman.” FTC chair Lina Khan has made plenty of enemies on Wall Street by sticking it to gigantic corporations like these ones, though Trump does plan to replace her with someone new. So far, the FTC has sued these corporations, so if this does win in court, it’s possible that you could be getting some money back on your pharmacy bills.
What’s In Capital One’s Wallet? 🤔
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday that it was suing Capital One for “cheating” customers out of more than $2 billion by misleading them about their savings account interest rates.
The CFPB claimed that Capital One promised consumers that its “360 Savings” account provided one of the country’s “best” and “highest” interest rates, but the bank froze the interest rate at a low level while nationwide rates rose.
Around the same time, the company created a nearly identical account, “360 Performance Savings,” that paid out way more in interest—more than 14 times the 360 Savings rate at one point. Then, the bank did not notify 360 Savings account holders about the new product, and instead worked to keep them in the dark about these better-paying accounts.
HYCU; If this situation applies to you, you might just be in for a payday. Agencies like the CFPB are so important because they work to make sure these corporations aren’t getting away with stealing out of your wallet (which is why it’s currently under attack right now). You can find out more about the agency’s victim relief fund to figure out how to get the money that the bank owes you, and if you have another complaint to share about a financial institution that’s screwing you over, you can submit complaints to the CFPB’s website or by calling 855-411-CFPB (2372).
StateFarm Renews Policyholders ‼️
State Farm announced Wednesday that it will offer renewals to residential policyholders affected by the Los Angeles fires that it had previously planned to drop.
The decision applies to State Farm-insured homeowners, owners of rental dwellings and residential community associations, which include condominium associations. It’ll affect thousands of people who have been affected, who are able to get some money back for the damage and destruction of their homes. The offer does not apply to policies that had already lapsed when the fire started on Jan. 7.
We spoke about insurance companies’ shady moves around covering natural disasters in the enRICHed members’ lounge, but specifically, State Farm announced in 2023 that it would stop accepting new homeowners’ insurance applications in California due to increased costs. In April 2024, they canceled 72,000 house and apartment policies in the state.
HYCU; The bar is on the floor, because you really shouldn’t have to fight with your insurer like this, but we’ll take the win where we can. If you were affected by the Los Angeles fires and recently dropped by State Farm, make sure you check your insurance policy to see if you can file a claim now! You might be able to recoup some of the costs and get a bit of your money back. For anyone else that is looking for insurance resources in light of this tragedy, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will host insurance workshops and one-on-one consultations in Santa Monica and Pasadena over the following weeks for people that have been affected by the fires.
No More Red Food Dye 🍭🍨
Red food dye No. 3 is now banned in food, beverages and ingested drugs, which means the number of popsicle-caused red tongues is about to plummet nationwide.
Basically, red food dye is made from petroleum, and is what gives everything from candies to sodas to cough syrup that bright, cherry-red color. 30 years ago, scientists discovered links to cancer in animals, and a group of people petitioned to have it banned beginning in 2022 (no, they haven’t found links to cancer in humans, but it’s definitely not great for kids).
It’s not super-widely used anymore, with most companies switching to the supposedly healthier red dye No. 40, but that is also banned in California public schools due to concerns over links to behavioral and attention difficulties in children.
This is also a matter of catching up to the rest of the world, as many other countries like Japan, Australia and nations in the European Union, have already banned the use of red dye No. 3 in food.
HYCU; If you want to cut food dyes out of your diet before the ban comes into place, the FDA requires all manufacturers to list red dye No. 3 on their ingredients list, so make sure you’re reading your labels. Here’s a list of common food items that are likely to incorporate the dye. You can also find out how much ultra-processed food you may be eating by taking this quiz! Health and wealth are intrinsically linked because the better you can eat and exercise today, realistically, the less expensive your medical bills may be as time goes out. So if you’re not willing to make smarter decisions in the name of feeling better, do it for your wallet!
Jen asks, “Hi! I was just laid off via “eliminating my role” I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone through it as well and have any tips they can provide. Can I extend the length of severance? Etc Thank you in advance!”
Hey Bestie! I'm really sorry to hear about your layoff. That can be such a tough situation to navigate. When it comes to severance, many people find that negotiation is key. It's common to start the conversation with a benchmark of about 3-4 weeks' pay for each year of service, but this can vary depending on the company and industry. (For context: average severance packages end up usually around 1-2 weeks but you want to start with wiggle room to negotiate.) Reaching out to HR for clarity on your severance package is a great first step. They can provide details on what's being offered and whether there's room for negotiation. It might also be helpful to gather any documentation or examples of industry standards to support your case. Some companies might be more generous, especially major banks and tech companies, which can offer 6 to 12 months of paid severance. Be sure to ask HR for a layoff letter. This is a document on company letterhead that states you were let go for reasons beyond your control, not because you were a bad employee. This can be very helpful during your job hunt. Also, don't forget to register for unemployment benefits as soon as possible. The process can differ based on where you live, so checking out your local Department of Labor website can be super helpful. And remember, it's totally okay to take some time to adjust emotionally. Losing a job can feel like a big part of your identity is shaken up. So be kind to yourself during this time. Best of luck!
Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?
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SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES
Thank you so much for talking about the corrupt PBMs!! I work at a local independent pharmacy. It drives me crazy everyday how we purchase a drug at the lowest price we can find, then when we bill the insurance who is controlled by the PBM, they pay us LESS THAN THE COST OF THE DRUG!!! Never mind the overhead, time, cap, vial, label, etc that goes into filling a prescription!! Crazy!! The losses we take are crazy and that’s why so many independent pharmacy’s are closing nationwide. I hope this is the year legislation gets passed to stop this corruption, it’s been a constant battle. Mark Cuban becoming a supplier for independent pharmacies with Cost Plus Drugs has been a great start!
As someone who has played poker professionally, including at major tournaments like the WSOP and WPT, I must strongly disagree with recommending poker to women. From firsthand experience, I've witnessed the predatory nature of the environment. Beyond the obvious safety concerns, the game itself is designed to be financially corrosive - it's inherently inflationary, steadily draining players' resources over time. Having seen its impact up close, I'm deeply troubled by any suggestion that would lead women into this environment.