enRICHed: volume 135

it’s a beautiful day to get this money

Jun 22, 2025

Volume 135

Hi Besties!

Navigating finances in your friendships and relationships can be tricky! Do we split the bill evenly when I only ordered a salad and my friend got the lobster? How do we break up rent when my fiance makes 8x more than me? There are so many situations where talking about money can leave you feeling like jerk—that’s why on this week’s episode of Networth & Chill I answered some of the BFFs’ “Am I the Financial A**hole” questions! Like, who’s more inconsiderate: the friend who can’t afford the bachelorette dinner, or the bride who uninvited her from the whole thing? We’ll get into that and so much more on this special edition of the pod! New episodes of the podcast drop every single Wednesday so be sure to subscribe and watch at 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.

Use That Intelligence 🧠

Does using ChatGPT actually make you dumber? Well, yes, according to a new and rather concerning study from MIT’s Media Lab.
In this study, TIME Magazine reported that subjects aged 18 to 39 years old were divided into three groups and asked to write several SAT-style essays using ChatGPT, Google’s search engine, or nothing, respectively. Researchers then used an EEG (one of those hair net looking things that detects electric activity in the brain) to record any activity across 32 regions in the brain.
The results found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Not only that, but over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
HYCU; Now, keep in mind, this paper has not yet been peer reviewed, and its sample size is relatively small, but it is the start of an important debate that we’ve already been talking about: scientific evidence that shows relying on AI will make us lazier and less intelligent. MIT has also been putting out studies showing that the longer users spend talking to ChatGPT, the lonelier they feel. That’s why it’s just as important to work on developing your own mental acuity, for the sake of your own health and wellness—read a book, write things down into a notebook, and spend time talking about politics, current events, art and culture with your loved ones. Not to say it’s all bad, but like anything else, you need to be responsible for your own actions. It’s also important to learn when to use ChatGPT. For instance, a Google search uses 10 times less energy than AI, so if your question can be solved with just a simple search, it’s better to just do that, and hit “-ai” so you don’t get the AI overview. You can also look into different models to see which would be the best suited for your problems!

Unemployed at the Function 😀🎉

Despite the fact that the employment market looks okay on the surface, a growing number of Americans are “functionally unemployed,” according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Around 24.3% of Americans are functionally unemployed, which is a category of people who are not included in topline unemployment numbers, but are still struggling in the labor market. It includes people who are jobless but have stopped searching for work, as well as people who are employed but earning less than $25,000 per year.
Unfortunately, even though 139,000 roles were added to the overall job market in May, this trend shows little sign of letting up, according to reporting from Fortune. Dependable, decently-paying jobs are becoming harder and harder to find, and it’s killing morale among workers.
HYCU; Nearly 25% is basically one in four people, which is a lot of people who are struggling to make ends meet. I mean, it’s something that a lot of us probably already feel—the “your unemployed friend on a Tuesday afternoon” memes are super funny (but sting) for a reason. Everyone knows someone that’s gotten laid off and isn’t sure what the future holds for them career-wise. With issues like tariffs and AI hitting tons of industries hard, we are definitely in for some big changes around how we view work and career growth. It might shapeshift into something completely different from how we’ve been thinking about our jobs so far.

Butcher That Pig! 🐷

US law enforcement has seized over $225 million in cryptocurrency allegedly stolen from dozens of American victims as part of a massive and sophisticated scam, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The scam, which affected more than 400 people worldwide and caused millions of dollars in losses, was part of a “crypto confidence” scam (also known sometimes as “pig butchering”), which basically tricks people into investing into fake crypto schemes. The scammers conducted “hundreds of thousands” of transactions in an effort to launder the stolen cryptocurrency, CNN reported.
It’s the largest-ever seizure of funds stolen in a crypto confidence scam, the department said. That’s saying something for real: losses from crypto investment scams have spiked in recent years, with victims reporting almost $5.8 billion in crypto-related investment losses in 2024 (compared to $2.57 billion in 2022, per the FBI).
HYCU; Right now, the government currently has possession of the stolen crypto and will be working to return as much of it as possible to victims, so if you were one of the people affected by this scam, you could potentially be getting your stolen money back soon. And for the rest of us, let this be a warning for everyone who invests in crypto: crypto is largely still under-regulated, and with these scams often preying on trust, it can be incredibly difficult to get your money back if you end up losing money in a sketchy situation. Be careful of where you’re investing, and never invest money that you absolutely need! No more than five percent of your overall portfolio into crypto is the general rule of thumb.

Edith asks, “Thoughts on short term treasury bills? Good or bad idea?”

Hi Edith! Great question! Short-term Treasury bills (T-bills) are like the safe haven of the investment world. They’re government-backed securities with maturities ranging from a few days to one year, making them a low-risk option for investors who want to park their cash without too much worry.

Here's how they typically work:

Safety First: T-bills are backed by the U.S. government, which means they're considered one of the safest investments out there. You're essentially lending money to the government for a short period.
Interest Rates: The interest rates on T-bills can fluctuate based on market conditions. As of June 2025, one-month T-bills are yielding around 4.3% annually, which is pretty competitive for a low-risk investment. However, keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's potential interest rate cuts, as they can affect future yields.
Liquidity: T-bills are highly liquid, meaning you can easily buy and sell them without much hassle.

Here's something most people don't realize: while T-bills are low-risk, they might not keep pace with inflation, which could erode your purchasing power over time. So, if inflation rises significantly, the real return on your investment could be lower than you'd expect.

This matters because if you're considering T-bills as a part of your investment strategy, you'll want to think about how they fit into your overall financial goals. Balancing safety with growth is key—too much in T-bills could mean missing out on higher returns from stocks or other investments.

One thing to think about is your investment horizon. If you're looking for short-term safety, T-bills are a solid choice. But if you're in it for the long haul, diversifying into other assets might be more beneficial.

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