enRICHed: volume 172
march madness đ”âđ«
Sunday March 08, 2026
Volume 172
Hey besties,
Itâs no surprise that social media has changed our lives, but how has it changed our finances? From targeted ads to comparison highlight reels, the prevalence of social media in our daily routine has completely altered the way we think about money and our lifestyles. I covered all of this while on tour for my book, Well Endowed, and thatâs why, this weekâs episode of Networth & Chill features a live conversation from my book tour with the lovely Heather McMahan! We discuss everything from financial intimacy with your partner to the impact of the digital age on our wallets. If youâve ever wondered how your feed controls your spending, how to chat finances in your relationship, or you just want an in-depth look at the themes covered in Well Endowed, this episode is a must-listen!
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 đ
We love your comments, but please remember to keep it positive! And donât take investing advice from anyone who isnât your registered financial advisor!
Now that youâre up to speed, letâs get you enRICHed.
WellâŠWeâre At War đ°đš
Obviously, the biggest news story this week is that President Trump has declared war on Iran. In coordinated attacks with Israel, the project theyâre calling âOperation Epic Furyâ is aimed at a regime change in the country. Trump has stated that the war will last four to five weeks, but the government also once said weâd be in Afghanistan for not that long, so I wouldnât take that estimate to heart. The conflict is also escalating as we speak, so if you want to keep up to date with the news, many news publications are offering live update threads, Iâve linked the BBCâs here.
So why did Trump seemingly decide to wake up one day and start bombing this country into the ground? Why did he assassinate the Supreme Ayatollah, and is now telling the Iranian people to rise up and âtake overâ their government? He lives in Washington D.C., which is famously not anywhere near Iran. Why are we suddenly doing this? The only reason we have ever gone to war is for one reason: control. Whether thatâs ideological control like our involvement in Korea and Vietnam, or resource control, like our previous invasions of Iraq and (more covertly) Congo, our national interest in attacking another country is never just for the love of the game. The US has a huge financial interest in Iran. The world is heavily dependent on Iran for oil â specifically, oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is basically blocked off right now. But turns out, if you kill the Supreme Ayatollah, that leaves a job opening, and now you can influence people to put someone in the seat who just might be friendlier to your policy preferences.
Thereâs also the fact that Iran is quite unpopular with the other Middle Eastern countries, specifically the Gulf states â Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But the Gulf states are really chill with Trump. You know, the same Qatar that just recently gifted Trump a $400 million plane. The same UAE that set up a gigantic crypto transaction that just so happened to put $2 billion into a newly-created Trump family company. And the same Saudi Arabia that very nicely gave another $2 billion to Jared Kushnerâs private equity firm. Randomly. Huh.
HYCU; Even if youâre not getting $2 billion in your account from Dubai, this will impact you. War always has major impacts on your wallet, and the two biggest areas are oil and stocks. This week, oil prices have jumped about 20%, with retail gas prices spiking almost 27 cents up since last week to $3.25 per gallon. Crude oil prices also spilled over $80 per barrel â this is important as we use crude oil to make plastic goods like plastic goods, polyester (yes, your SHEIN haul is made of crude oil), power electricity grids, and more. I personally donât see this lasting forever, since the US basically controls Venezuelaâs oil reserves right now, which is primarily crude oil. A little more expensive to refine it into gas for cars, but itâs still an option for our oil needs. The stock market also hates geopolitical conflict, so in the wake of the news, we saw some pretty volatile movement, but towards the end of the week, weâre seeing more upward swings, so I think this will also be fairly short-lived. The reality of this is that if you are investing in certain sectors like defense, you may even see upward swings in your investments, since unfortunately, war is really profitable for investors (another reason why we keep doing it). If youâre looking for a quick breakdown, I made a video last Sunday!
Is Help On the Way? đžđïž
Ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was dragged out of her job by her extensions over a policy she created that requires her personal approval for any FEMA spending over $100,000, because Congress found that it delayed tens of millions of dollars in disaster relief for states across the country.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said they found 1,034 FEMA contracts, grants, and disaster aid awards were delayed or pending since the policy took effect in June. It also found that most approvals took three weeks, with others taking longer. Weâre talking rental units for Hurricane Helene survivors in North Carolina, unemployment assistance after disasters in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, housing inspections, and crisis counseling.
According to a FEMA official, some states have dipped into their rainy-day funds just to cover unemployment benefits for disaster survivors while they wait for the money they were promised. This new data also raises questions about whether Noemâs rule is even legal, since after Hurricane Katrina, there were a bunch of laws passed to try and make sure FEMA spending could get out as quickly as possible.
HYCU; If youâre still waiting on your disaster assistance, stay in line. Noem is being replaced by Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, so there will be someone in charge (if you are curious, Trump has moved Noem to a position called the âSpecial Envoy for The Shield of the Americas,â a brand-new âSecurity Initiative in the Western Hemisphere,â which if you ask me, sounds like a fake AF job). Make sure you have everything documented just in case you get stuck in the paperwork purgatory, so you always have evidence of who you last spoke to, what you got covered, and whatâs still missing. You can also check the status of your grant online. Hopefully, if these hearings do anything, more funds will be released to help with the unprecedented costs of living through a disaster. Last week, FEMA said it was releasing more than $5 billion in disaster assistance, but more than $10 billion in public assistance funds are still awaiting approval.
Stream-lining đșđïž
They kissed. Thatâs right â the love triangle between Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance and Netflix has finally come to an end. Netflix wanted to be with Warner Bros., but Paramount CEO David Ellison came in with a profession of love in the form of $111 billion dollars. So Netflix backed out.
Well, to be specific, the deal was actually $31 per share, all cash, plus $45.7 billion in equity personally guaranteed by Davidâs daddy, Oracleâs co-founder Larry Ellison. Yes, some people can just ask their dad for $45.7 billion to buy the Harry Potter franchise. This is significant, not just because itâs a nepo baby deal â this now means that tech giant Oracle has a hand in Warner Bros. properties like CNN. As if having a stake in TikTok, CBS News, the marquee sports rights to the NFL, the NCAA and the Master golf tournament, and the biggest database in the world werenât enough. And yes, after the purchase, Oracle has announced impending layoffs. Go figure.
Thereâs also a concern that with tech billionaire involvement, we might start to see more projects centering AI instead of artists being pushed out onto screens. David told investors that both studios will put out 15 movies a year (which is a step up in terms of output), and now people are wondering how exactly theyâre going to make that work. They didnât make Lord of the Rings with iMovie and a dream, after all.
HYCU; You can count on Paramount+ and HBO Max merging into one platform, so your separate accounts will become one â though itâs not clear what the name or price for that subscription will be, when itâll happen, and how you can roll your info over. Itâs also probably a good time to brush up on your critical media literacy skills, since the Ellisons have close ties to President Trump. Whenever billionaires buy out news outlets like that, they always claim they will leave it independent, but the internal movement within the company always tells a different story (just look at the drama happening in the property they already own, CBS News). As for Netflix loyalists who were hoping for a different outcome, at least the stock shot up after the news broke, so you may see a little bump in your investments. At some point in the future, youâll be able to watch The Pitt and iCarly on the same platform.
Olivia asks, âLove your content! Iâve got a question regarding prenups! Iâve always been pro-prenup and with my wedding coming soon Iâm exploring what that will look like! What are your thoughts around prenups and some of the best ways to protect my assets and myself if there are changes to my financial earnings due to childcare or career changes to support a family?â
Hey Olivia, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I absolutely love that youâre thinking about this proactively; it shows youâre approaching marriage as the financial partnership it truly is. Here are a few things to keep in mind!
Prenups are actually about trust, not distrust, and hereâs why that matters. Even without a prenup, you already have one â itâs just written by the government instead of by you and your partner. And honestly? The government doesnât understand your specific wants, needs, or circumstances nearly as well as you do. A prenup lets you and your future spouse make those decisions together while youâre still madly in love and thinking clearly.
For protecting your current assets, a prenup can clearly define what youâre each bringing into the marriage. With your current savings, investments, and retirement accounts, you can specify that these remain separate property.
The career change piece is crucial â and this is where prenups get really strategic. You can include provisions that acknowledge if one partner steps back from their career for childcare, that sacrifice benefits both of you. Some couples include clauses about spousal support that scales with the length of marriage, or agreements about how to handle career interruptions. You might also consider provisions about maintaining retirement contributions for the partner who steps back, since thatâs often the biggest long-term financial hit.
Think about future earnings too. If your income grows significantly during marriage, you can outline how that gets treated. Some couples keep everything earned during marriage as marital property, while others maintain more separation.
The key is making sure both of you feel the agreement is fair and protects both your interests. This isnât about planning for failure â itâs about having honest conversations about money, career goals, and family plans while youâre both thinking clearly and lovingly about your future together.
A family law attorney who specializes in prenups can help you navigate your stateâs specific requirements and make sure everything is properly structured. Also make sure that both parties have independent representation, which strengthens the agreement. Congrats again!
Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?
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SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES
I love how you frame prenups - you already have one, it's just written by the government instead of you. Such a great take on this topic!