enRICHed: volume 115

happy year of the snake 🐍🧧

Feb 02, 2025

Volume 115

Hey besties!

I, like a lot of the girlies out there, love makeup. In particular, I love being able to wear makeup that makes me feel good and doesn’t irritate my eczema, because what’s the point of feeling confident for a few hours if it’ll set your skin back weeks? This was why I was so excited to chat with my friend and the founder/CEO of Tower 28, Amy Liu, on the podcast this week! Amy has struggled with eczema and wanted to create products that would actually help your skin, not just cover it up. You can listen to our conversation HERE or watch us chat 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 and TikTok!

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.

New Pain Meds Just Dropped 💊

Finally, some good news! The US FDA signed off on the first new type of pain reliever to be approved in more than two decades.
The drug, suzetrigine, is a prescription pill that’s taken every 12 hours after a larger starter dose. It will be sold under the brand name Journavx.
Journavx, according to the news release, is a new non-opioid analgesic therapeutic class for acute pain which offers an opportunity to mitigate certain risks associated with using an opioid for pain and provides patients with another treatment option.
Opioids are hugely addictive and such a huge problem in this country, and it’s exciting that there could be a safer alternative to them. Doctors said it should reduce pain by about 50%, but the jury's still out on chronic pain. If you want to learn more about how the opioid epidemic really took hold in the US, check out this series on Netflix or this series on Hulu—10/10 watches!
HYCU; The only catch, of course, is money. New drugs are pricey, and one of the big alluring factors of opioids is that they’re cheap. Doctors and patients will have to wait to learn what insurance companies might do in terms of coverage. But if you have an opioid dependence and want to get off it, or don’t want to take them at all, this could be a great solution. We’ll have to see what the insurance companies say… oof.

The People Want DEI 🤝

Activists are calling for a nationwide boycott of Target stores following the company's decision to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The company announced on Jan. 24 that it would end its DEI goals that were previously set to increase Black employees' representation and advancement, improve Black shoppers' experiences and promote Black-owned businesses. They are also pulling back on efforts to include hiring and promoting women, minorities, LGBTQ+ people and veterans.
They’re not the only ones, either, as major corporations like Walmart, Ford, Disney and McDonald’s have all publicly announced rollbacks on diversity efforts.
HYCU; The good news is that there are a lot of companies still standing strong on their DEI policies, despite the federal government’s push against them: Costco, notably, was one of the first to announce that they would be standing by their diversity efforts, while companies like Microsoft, Pinterest and Apple also reaffirmed their commitment to inclusive practices. All I’ll say is, put your dollars where they matter to you!

The Kids Aren’t Alright 📚📝

US students had record-low reading comprehension scores last year, according to The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
The report said there was a historic number of 8th graders with “below basic” reading skills, and 40% of 4th graders also fell into that category. Fourth-graders hitting below the “basic” benchmark couldn’t describe the effects of a character’s actions or the sequence of events in a story, like, for instance, why the itsy-bitsy spider was washed out of the spout.
The US Department of Education noted that most students didn’t recover from pandemic-related setbacks, and those who were already behind slipped even further, while a lot of teachers have expressed frustration over inadequate funding and support at all government levels as they deal with larger class sizes and fewer resources.
HYCU; Much of the conversation around schools has become about masks, book bans and transgender rights, but critics argue that all these debates have distracted from the real threat—the kids can’t read, write, and think critically. If you are worried about your child’s proficiency levels, here are some tips. We could all use a little reminder to read more, from time to time.

Another Day, Another Recall 🥔😭

Yeah, you read that right: it’s not Groundhog Day, but another food item did get recalled. Lay’s potato chips had a voluntary recall in December that has now been increased to the FDA’s highest risk level classification.
On Monday, Jan. 27, the FDA classified the issue as a Class 1 recall, defined as “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The recalled chips are the classic flavor, have a “guaranteed fresh” date of Feb. 11, 2025, and also have manufacturing codes 6462307xx or 6463307xx. No other Lay’s flavors, sizes or products are included in the recall.
HYCU; Death in the potato chip bag! Nobody move. Check if your bags match the above details and throw away any you might have bought during this recall time period. If you’ve got barbecue or sour cream and onion chips in the pantry, you’re fine. No need to panic yet. Congratulations on surviving the hunger games this time.

Anna asks, “Hi All, new to the club here. I just rolled over previous employer 401k and 403B into a fidelity 401k and trying to decide on the investment approach: index funds, or based on risk preference or based on age. I always get overwhelmed by these decisions and usually let someone else manage my money, but want to get more confident! The balance is about $86k. I also have a separate managed investment account for reference. Would love advice”

Hi Anna! You are thinking and making all of the right financial decisions! Your mindset and future goals are the most important but it’s totally normal to feel overwhelmed by investment decisions, especially when you’re just starting out. Let’s break it down a bit!

When it comes to choosing an investment approach, many people find it helpful to understand a few key concepts:

1. Index Funds: These are like a buffet for your investments. They allow you to own a small piece of many companies at once, which helps spread out risk. This can be a good option if you’re looking for diversification without having to pick individual stocks. One thing to flag though, is that you’ll want to look at the asset class this index fund covers. In many cases, they’ll be 100% equity, or 100% fixed income (bonds). You want roughly your age rounded to the nearest 5 minus 10 as a percentage of your portfolio in bonds. (Ex: You are 32 - rounds to 30. Minus 10. Equals 20. Your portfolio should be 20% bonds, 80% equities.)

2. Risk Preference: This is all about how comfortable you are with the ups and downs of the market. If you’re chill with some volatility, have a good stack of cash, and have a long time horizon, you might lean towards more aggressive investments. On the flip side, if you prefer stability, have less free cash, and will need the money back sooner rather than later, you might go for more conservative options.

3. Age-Based Investing: Some folks use their age as a guide. The idea is that younger investors can take on more risk because they have time to recover from downturns. As you get closer to retirement, you might want to shift towards more conservative investments.

It’s also super important to consider your overall financial goals and how this new 401(k) fits into your bigger picture. Since you have a managed investment account already, it might be worth looking at how that aligns with your new 401(k). That all said, I can’t tell you what is the perfect portfolio for YOU, only you can do that. But I’d consider things like: how close you are to retirement, what percentage of your portfolio should be in equities vs. bonds, and how much you’d feel the hit if you took a loss (and how much cash you’d have to help keep you afloat).

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Rich Tip of the Week: Feeling lost because of your credit card debt?
Here are all the entertainers performing at the Grammys—I’m so sat.
The NFL set a record low this season for the number of concussions, at just 182. Just 182! Just one hundred and eighty two concussions.
You’ve tried 1.5x speed, you’ve tried 2x speed…now YouTube is rolling out 4x speed, for when you only kind of want to hear what’s going on.

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES