enRICHed: volume 121

st paddy’s slay 🍀

Mar 16, 2025

Volume 121

Hey besties!

While I like to think I’m good (or at least decent) at most things, I must confess that I am not the most coordinated gal. I have two left feet, and can be tripped up by the wind. Needless to say, the Olympics are not in my future. Fortunately for me, I had 3x Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas on Networth and Chill this week! We chatted all about the financial realities of being an athlete and how Olympians are actually getting paid wayyyy less than you would think! Plus, she walked me through how she’s preparing for her financial future and how sports sponsorships actually work! 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.

Defining The Recessionship 💸💰

It seems that financial institutions are beginning to get more grim about their outlook on the future: the probability of a US recession has risen in the last two weeks, according to major US banks, with JPMorgan Chase raising the risk of a recession this year to 40% (up from 30% in January), while Goldman Sachs raised its probability from 15% to 20% last week.
A lot of this spookiness is because of the new economic policies coming out of the White House. According to an estimate from the Peterson Institute, if Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada are fully implemented, they would cost the typical US household $1,200 a year, which will only hurt less wealthy families more, given that it’ll take a bigger bite out of their income.
Regardless, it doesn’t seem like anyone is keen to back down from the direction we’re heading in. Trump told Fox News last Sunday that he didn’t like to “predict things like that” but confirmed “there is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big.”
HYCU; Yes, the word recession is being thrown around a lot, but I want to clarify that the word itself is not necessarily a bad thing. Recessions are entirely normal, and often the best time to get rich—on average, you’ll see probably 5 to 7 periods of economic downturn in your lifetime. When the market goes down like this, it’s a great time to start investing. That’s when rich people put hella money into the stock market while everyone else is freaking out. For people living paycheck to paycheck, I don’t want to sound tone deaf—this period in time is going to be HARD. And it’s going to be incredibly stressful because everyone’s budget is getting tighter, but if do have discretionary income, I strongly urge you to put whatever you can in a target date retirement fund or use a robo advisor to help figure out your best investment split, because you’ll thank yourself later when you can ride the upswing.

Sparks Are Flying 🧨⚡️

This week, an explosive fight happened: Ontario Premier (head of government of Ontario), Doug Ford announced that the province was imposing a 25% surcharge on electricity exported to Michigan, Minnesota and New York, as a response to President Trump's new tariffs on Canada.
If you didn’t know, for over 100 years, the US and Canada have shared a power grid, selling each other electricity via criss-crossing power lines. It’s always been a fuzzy warm relationship because of the good vibes between these countries, and also because sharing a grid makes electricity cheaper for everyone—however, in light of Trump’s new nationalistic tariff moves, that has since changed.
After the electricity tariff announcement happened, Trump said he would double US tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel to 50%, but in the end, both sides backed down from their threats and agreed to meet to discuss trade issues.
HYCU; If you live in Michigan, Minnesota or New York, it’s important to stay watching your electricity bill, because if this fight does end up escalating, it could mean a heavy price increase in your monthly utilities (which would suck, because at least speaking for New Yorkers, these bills really put the Con in ConEd). For now, you can breathe easy, knowing that you’re not going to get hit with fees just yet. However these announcements move so quickly and change so fast, it’s important to stay on top of the news in order to figure out how it might end up impacting you and your wallet.

Blame It On The Alcohol

Meanwhile, in the drinks world, Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on alcoholic beverages from Europe unless the EU rescinds the 50% tariff on US whiskey that was imposed this week.
For context, France is the top wine exporter to the US, shipping $2.5 billion worth last year, according to US Commerce Department data, while Italy is a close second, sending $2.3 billion worth of wine in the same time frame.
Amidst the fighting, the industry is asking everybody to please stop: there’s been a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the two governments since 1997, and these new measures would greatly impact consumer prices.
HYCU; Alcohol has become one of the many things targeted in this whole mess, and it’s hard to know what will actually happen, since a lot of these executions are very stop-and-go. This probably means that domestically-grown wines and spirits might become the cheapest option for people in the US, but it’s still unclear what might happen next. Franzia, anyone?

Birthright On Blast 🇺🇸

In a series of emergency appeals made to the Supreme Court on Thursday, Trump also asked the court to allow him to continue his plans to end birthright citizenship, adding fuel to an already controversial fire.
This plan that Trump has been trying to enact would basically revoke the citizenship of anyone who was born in this country while their parents were still on visas or undocumented—which is many of us. It’s also a pretty obvious contradiction to the whole thing about America being a safe haven for immigrants, which is why a federal judge blocked it earlier this year and said it was “blatantly unconstitutional.” A judge in Maryland also said that the plan “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth.”
Supporters argued that these criticisms are wrong because the 14th Amendment includes a phrase that the benefit applies only to people who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US (so, basically, undocumented folks and visa holders should be subject to the jurisdiction of their homeland).
HYCU; This is not asking the Supreme Court to overhaul the Constitution—it’s asking to limit the scope of the injunctions, which means if SCOTUS agrees, it would allow the administration to enforce its executive order against people not covered by the pending litigation (translation: deport people and revoke their citizenship). If you are a child of immigrants and are not sure if this would impact you, you’ll have to ask your parents if they had you while they were on green cards, visas or after they received their naturalized citizenship.

Natalia asks, “Hi Vivian!!! love your account. As an immigrant first Gen myself, I lack the financial literacy I need to make my money grow for me. I work a 9-5 job and have a 401K in which my company matches me 4%. I want to know what to do with this 401K in terms of investing it. I don't want it to just sit there and slowly accumulate. How and where and what do I invest my 401K to make it grow faster?? thanks in advance!!!”

When it comes to your 401(k), here’s the lowdown on how it works and what you might consider:

1.Investment Options: Your 401(k) typically offers a range of investment choices, like a curated menu at a fancy restaurant. These might include:

Target-date funds: Automatically adjust your investment mix as you approach retirement. You’d just pick the one that most closely correlates to the year you’d turn 60 (if you wanna be less aggressive), or 65 (if you wanna be a bit more aggressive). This is one of the easiest strategies if you just want to buy one thing and then set it and forget it.
Index funds: Track a specific market index, like the S&P 500.
Bond funds: Focus on fixed-income securities.

2. Risk Tolerance: Think about how comfortable you are with risk. Stocks tend to offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility. Bonds are generally more stable but may offer lower returns.

3. Diversification: Many people don’t realize that spreading investments across different asset types can help manage risk. It’s like not putting all your eggs in one basket.

4. Regular Review: Keep an eye on your investments and adjust as needed. Life changes and so can your financial goals.

You’ve got this!

Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?

Drop a Question Here!

Rich Tip of the Week: Did you recently level up professionally? Or unfortunately, get laid off? Well MAKE SURE you’re not leaving your 401(k) behind! Lots of people don’t realize that their former employers are no longer responsible for maintaining their 401(k)s after they leave. Those fees? Your problem now! To make sure you keep that money and avoid excessive fees, rollover your 401(k) into an IRA with Capitalize! It’s 100% free to use and makes sure your money is only tied to you! Don’t forget your hard earned money! Check out Capitalize at THIS LINK and save your savings! #CapitalizePartner
A new book from an ex-Meta employee is causing a major stir.
Donatella Versace has stepped down from the creative director position at Versace.
John Mulaney is hosting a new Netflix late-night series, and I’m obsessed.

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES