enRICHed: volume 188
making the brave decision to start watching love island usa
Sunday June 28, 2026
Volume 188
Hey besties!
Somewhere along the way, getting dressed became a competitive sport. Between micro-trends that last approximately six business days and ads following us around the internet, it’s never been easier to convince yourself that a new outfit is the solution to all your problems.
This week on Networth & Chill, we’re talking about how to look expensive without actually spending a fortune. I’m breaking down why so many of us overspend on clothes in the first place, the mindset shifts that can help you shop more intentionally, and my favorite ways to refresh your wardrobe without draining your bank account. We also get into secondhand shopping, clothing rental services, cashback hacks, VAT refunds, and the strategies I use to save money while still building a wardrobe I genuinely love.
If you’ve ever spent an extra $200 just to get free shipping... this episode is for you.
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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.
Summer Inflatables ☀️🥵
This week, new data was released from the Fed that only shows inflation is our top concern right now: the core personal consumption expenditures price index was at a 3.4% annual rate — the highest in three years, a level we haven’t seen since October 2023.
The core personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) is basically a measure of the prices that Americans are paying for goods and services. It excludes food and energy costs, which are really volatile, to take a temperature check of how much more expensive our stuff is getting. The target is a 2% rate, so anything above that means there’s some overheating in the economy.
Still, even though things are getting more expensive, spending hasn’t slowed down. Even adjusting for inflation, overall spending in the U.S. still rose 0.3% after showing zero growth in April. Inflation-adjusted incomes also accelerated 0.3% after declining by 0.5% in April.
This likely means that people are still swiping their cards, choosing debt and smaller savings accounts, in order to pay for vacations, shopping, and other daily living costs. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a seasonally adjusted annualized pace of 2.1% in the first quarter, showing that goods are still being pumped out and sold to consumers.
HYCU; This is basically a confirmation of what we already know: people are spending more whether they’re getting more for it or not (most likely not). What does this mean next, though? With inflation at such a high, there’s going to be more pressure on new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to hike interest rates. Making it more expensive to borrow money will ideally slow down demand and give the economy time to let prices cool off. A rate hike is expected in the next few months, so if you’re looking to make a big-ticket purchase involving a loan (a house, a car, etc.), the interest rates you get now will *probably* be lower now than later in the year.
Auto-Pay Your Student Loans 📚✍️
This Thursday, the Education Department announced that all federal student loan borrowers who have auto-pay set up can pay 1% less in interest each month through 2028, offering some relief to borrowers as major changes to the student loan repayment process take effect.
Yes, you read that correctly: borrowers will be eligible to have their interest lowered by 1% on their monthly student loan payments starting July 1, if you’re already enrolled in auto-pay, it will just start automatically. If you’re not, you can enroll in it before Sept. 30 to take advantage of the deal.
The rate cut will last until June 30, 2028, and borrowers who have loans that originated after July 1, 2012, are eligible. But anyone who’s defaulted on their loans and are not in repayment, or are still on the defunct federal SAVE plan, will have to apply for a new repayment plan before they can enroll.
HYCU; A 1% deduction on your rate could help you save a lot of money — the average interest rate on federal student loans is currently 6.54%, and there’s a big difference between 5.5% and 6.5%. It’s a bummer that SAVE will no longer be an option, especially for low-income earners, but this should at least sweeten the blow. In order to pay down your student loans smarter, make sure you explicitly contact your lender and specify that you want your overpayments to go to your principal only (before outstanding fees and interest), so that you’re not overpaying thousands of dollars and barely making a dent in what you actually owe.
New York City’s Big Day 🏙️🗳️
First the Knicks championship, now a primary election sweep…it’s a big week to live in Zohran Mamdani’s New York City. Because the new mayor’s three endorsements all won their primary elections, and if they win the general election in November, it means huge changes will be coming to the city’s infrastructure.
Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, community activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Democratic Socialist state assemblywoman Claire Valdez all beat out opponents who were far older, had way deeper pockets, and more establishment backing. It even caught the attention of President Trump, who posted on Wednesday that “Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists,” and then separately also said that the mayor is “a nice guy, a charming guy, a good-looking guy.”
All three of these candidates ran on one common issue: affordability. Lander, Chevalier, and Valdez all agree on universal rent control (capping how much landlords can raise the rent each year), building more affordable homes, and reorganizing the city transportation budget to prioritize the subways first, since most of the transportation money is actually spent on highways, not trains. If elected, these policies would favor tenants, lower and middle-income households. It would also mean landlords, commuters and the wealthiest residents are getting a smaller slice of the pie.
HYCU; Even if you don’t live in New York City, this is a clear example of how important local elections are. Local elections are the ones that have the most impact on your life — the officials in your neighborhood have the highest likelihood in getting your utility bill down, helping you fight against your scummy landlord, and fixing that annoying pothole. It’s clear that the people living in New York City want city officials who care about how unaffordable their lives are. If these officials do deliver on their promises, we’re talking about massive changes like capped rent increases, better-maintained trains, and more housing options on the market. These are things that change your entire life. If you have local elections this year, research your candidates and see what they’re financially offering you — rent vouchers, childcare support, cracking down on utility giants. It could end up saving you a lot of money in the future.
Reowjo asks, “Any chance you can explain a bit about this ‘Buy Borrow Die’ I keep hearing about? And how we, not yet millionaires, can take advantage of that—if that’s even possible.”
Hey bestie, you’re asking the right questions! The Buy Borrow Die strategy is one of those “wait, wealthy people actually do this?!” concepts that sound wild at first but make total sense once you break it down. Let me walk you through it.
The core idea is a three-step wealth cycle that the ultra-rich use to build generational wealth while minimizing taxes. You buy appreciating assets (stocks, real estate, businesses), you borrow against those assets instead of selling them, and when you die, your heirs inherit the assets with what’s called a “stepped-up basis,” which can dramatically reduce or even eliminate the capital gains tax bill. The whole point is that you never have to sell your assets (and trigger a taxable event aka the sale) to access cash, because you’re borrowing against them instead.
Why borrowing beats selling is the key insight here. Let’s say you bought stock years ago that’s now worth $500,000. If you sell it, you owe capital gains taxes on the profit. But if you use it as collateral for a low-interest loan, you get the cash you need, your investment keeps growing, and you pay zero taxes on the loan proceeds because borrowed money, debt, isn’t considered income. It’s a genuinely elegant loophole that the tax code allows.
Now, can everyday people use this? Yes, in a limited but real way. You don’t need to be a billionaire to apply the underlying principles. A few accessible versions:
Securities-backed lines of credit exist at many brokerages (Fidelity, Schwab, and others offer them), where you can borrow against your investment portfolio at relatively low interest rates. This works best when your portfolio is substantial enough that the interest cost is worth it and your investments are expected to outpace that rate.
HELOCs (Home Equity Lines of Credit) are essentially the real estate version of this strategy. Homeowners borrow against their home’s equity without selling the property, keeping the asset intact and growing while accessing cash for other needs.
The “buy” part is where most people should start. Before worrying about the borrow and die steps, the foundational move is consistently acquiring appreciating assets, whether that’s owning a business, buying index funds, or even eventually acquiring a real estate portfolio. The strategy only works if you have assets worth borrowing against.
The honest caveat here is that borrowing against assets carries real risk — and admittedly, the wealthy typically can handle this risk better than the average person because… well, they’re rich and have more assets. For example: If you’re borrowing against your investments, but your portfolio value drops significantly, you could face a margin call (forced to deposit more money into the account, repay the loan, or sell assets at the worst time). So this isn’t a “set it and forget it” move, it requires financial discipline and a solid foundation first. Most financial experts suggest having your emergency fund locked in, high-interest debt paid off, and a meaningful investment base before exploring this kind of leverage.
The big takeaway? The mindset of Buy Borrow Die is available to anyone: stop thinking of debt as morally bad, start thinking about building assets that can work for you, and understand that the wealthy often use the tax code strategically to make their money go further, rather than just earning more. The mechanics scale up as your wealth grows. If you’re considering tapping into this strategy, I’d highly recommend chatting with a financial professional before diving in.
Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?
Rich Tip of the Week: How to use credit card points to travel for LESS!
Every day we get closer to a confirmation of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting married at Madison Square Garden on the Fourth of July…
They brought Love Island USA to the movie theaters this year! This is what the people want to see!
Here’s just a few more great moments of European tourists falling in love with American stuff — like Walmart and Taco Bell — during the World Cup.
SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES
I am very interested in the buy borrow die question. It was mentioned for everyday folks, if we have a good amount of investments, we can follow the same strategy. What's a good dollar amount of investments etc etc that will allow us to do that?