enRICHed: volume 191
reporting from a city that looks like dune right now
Sunday July 19, 2026
Volume 191
Hey besties!
We all know about “pretty privilege” by now... but what if I told you that your weight could actually weigh down your paycheck? It sounds harsh, but the research is real. And now, with GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy becoming more popular than ever, it raises a complicated question: if being thinner can have financial benefits, are these medications becoming an investment... or just another expense society has convinced us we need?
This week on Networth & Chill, we’re diving into the economics behind beauty standards and the very real financial impact of weight bias. I’m breaking down the research on how body size affects income, why GLP-1 drugs have become such a massive business, and what happens when health, money, and social pressure all collide. We also get into who can actually afford these medications, why insurance coverage is so inconsistent, and how our obsession with thinness is reshaping everything from grocery stores to the fashion industry.
If you’ve ever wondered how beauty standards influence your wallet just as much as your self-esteem... this episode is for you.
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!
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.
Don’t Eat Your Greens 🥬
Between the heat, air quality, and the World Cup traffic, there’s one more thing we now need to worry about: the poo parasite, a.k.a. cyclosporiasis. This diarrhea-inducing parasite is currently attacking bowels all over the country.
As of this week, there have been 7,000 cases so far, which makes this the largest cyclospora outbreak in US history (shattering that glass ceiling). It’s currently being traced back to the shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell, which is supplied by Taylor Farms.
Most of the cases are being reported in the Midwest: Michigan makes up more than half the reported cases, with 4,300 reports of cyclospora during this particular outbreak investigation, since the infected Taco Bell lettuce was primarily being served at Midwestern locations. However, Taylor Farms does supply to grocery stores around the country (officials are reporting outbreaks in 34 states), so just be sure to check the label of your lettuce before you buy it.
The reason that this outbreak feels like it came out of nowhere is because there’s so little federal funding at the CDC right now, they downgraded active surveillance of cyclosporiasis last year, and we are now paying dearly for it. Not to mention, Taco Bell has never been super friendly to sensitive tummies to begin with, so I can understand why it was already hard to track, even with a fully-funded government program.
HYCU; In order to avoid weeks of cramping, bloating, and being hunched over the toilet, make sure to follow all the safety guidelines that experts recommend: thoroughly washing your fruits and vegetables, avoiding bagged salads, peeling fruits and vegetables that have a skin, and cooking produce whenever you can. Take a break from your lunchtime slop bowls, too, or just opt for cooked rice instead of leafy greens for your base. If you’re looking for some easy in-office lunches that don’t involve Sweetgreen or a bagged salad, may I suggest a sweet potato bowl?
Smokin’ Out the Window 🌆
We can’t forget to talk about the second most-pressing issue going on this week: over 800 Canadian wildfires are burning right now, and it’s sending thick plumes of smoke south into the US, causing the air quality to reach hazardous levels in many cities.
Air quality in Detroit was the worst in the world this week, followed by Minneapolis, Chicago and Toronto, according to the BBC. New York City has activated its air quality emergency protocols — you can’t even see the Statue of Liberty with the amount of smoke covering the city. More than 120 million people are living in dangerous air quality levels right now, though the rain is expected to lighten up the smoke a bit this weekend.
If you’re living in an area that is being affected by the smoke, be sure to stay at home as much as possible and wear a KN95 mask whenever you’re outside. Wildfire smoke contains teeny pollutants which travel into the lungs or enter the bloodstream when inhaled. This can lead to breathing problems like bronchitis and cause inflammation that aggravates diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.
HYCU; Make sure to check if your employer has issued a work-from-home mandate for now, especially if you’re on an in-office or hybrid schedule usually. It’s more than likely that as states announce emergency situations, companies will have to follow suit. Activities, from farmer’s markets to school sports events, are being cancelled or moved indoors across several states, so as the smoke continues, you should always first check online to see if the details have changed in order to avoid exposure as much as possible.
Saving For Summer 💰
Gas prices went down again when there was hope of an end to the Iran war, and now they’re creeping back up. But even between inflation, spikes in prices, and a general rise in cost of living, consumers are still spending the same amount, proving how Americans still have a willingness to spend, even on non-necessities.
Credit card data from the Bank of America shows that spending in recent weeks has risen faster for lower-income households than for higher earners. The highest-spend categories, outside of essentials, included furniture stores, electronics retailers and restaurants, which all saw growth.
Maintaining your standard of living during this time of rising prices and slowing wage growth has not been easy, and lower-income households have been hit the hardest — debt levels have grown in recent years, and saving rates have tumbled. We saw the worst of it when gas prices surged this spring, causing inflation to outpace wage growth.
HYCU; Lifestyle creep is so real and it is insidious. When you start making more money, you start spending more, but if the price of everything is on the rise, all of a sudden, you’re spending every dollar you don’t even have to buy stuff you don’t need, to impress people you don’t even like. Social media makes everything ten times worse, given you can now peer into the private lives of your friends, but also rich celebs and influencers you see online. If you’re struggling with bringing down your discretionary spending, I would take inventory of what you own and what actually brings you joy, and then set budgets based on what is most important to you. If you have a lot of credit card debt, I would consider getting a personal loan, which often has lower interest rates than the 20-30% APR on your credit card (usually somewhere between 7-15%), and can help you pay down debt faster while you limit your credit card spending.
Amanda asks:
“My financial advisor recommended that I get a Critical Illness insurance to pay me a lump sum in case I fall ill. But there are a lot of conditions in this policy for me to be able to make a valid claim, leaving a possible bad scenario open of me getting sick and not being able to qualify for this lump sum. But I’m also afraid that, if I don’t have an insurance like that, I could get sick and really need this money. Would you get this insurance if you were in my shoes?”
Hi bestie!! Here’s the deal on critical illness insurance, because this is one of those products where the answer isn’t one size fits all.
The core value proposition is real. When a serious diagnosis hits, your regular health insurance might cover the medical bills, but it doesn’t cover the life falling apart around you: the months you can’t work, the travel to specialists, the childcare gaps, the mortgage that doesn’t pause because you’re in chemo. A lump sum that goes directly to you, no strings attached, fills that gap in a way nothing else does.
But your instinct about the fine print is exactly right, and it’s the biggest knock against these policies. Critical illness insurance is notoriously definition-dependent. “Heart attack” in your policy might require a specific level of cardiac enzyme elevation. “Cancer” might exclude certain early-stage diagnoses. “Stroke” might have neurological deficit requirements. You can absolutely have a real, serious, life-disrupting illness and still not meet the policy’s technical definition of a covered event. The specific way these contracts are written is often the most common source of claim denials.
The honest framework for deciding comes down to two questions. First, do you have a robust
emergency fund and disability insurance? If yes, a critical illness policy becomes much less necessary, because those two things together already cover the financial disruption of a serious illness. If no, critical illness insurance is trying to patch a gap that might be better filled by building savings or getting disability coverage first. Second, is there a meaningful family history of the specific conditions the policy covers well? If heart disease or cancer runs in your family, the probability math shifts in favor of the policy being useful.
One thing worth knowing: disability insurance is statistically more likely to be used by working-age adults than critical illness insurance, and it covers a much broader range of scenarios, including illnesses that don’t meet a critical illness policy’s narrow definitions. If you’re comparing where to put your insurance dollars, disability coverage often wins on pure probability.
The bottom line on your specific concern is that it’s valid. The risk of paying premiums for years and then having a claim denied on a technicality is real (and kind of wack if we’re being blunt). Before buying anything, ask for the exact policy definitions of every covered condition in writing, and ideally have someone walk you through real claim denial scenarios for that specific policy. If the definitions feel too narrow to be useful, trust that instinct.
Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?
Rich Tip of the Week: Is the Fyre Fest Founder planning another SCAM?!
Wait, several states aren’t sure if they’re going to profit from the World Cup or not?!
Someone just bought a T-rex named “Gus” for $50 million, making Gus the world’s most expensive T-rex.
It’s just like in Avengers: Endgame — scientists found another Earth-like planet.
SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES
This week’s prosperitea just gave me so many rabbit holes to go down haha
I was in my early 30's when I had a life changing event. My insurance agent sold us on the idea of a disability policy. Once I needed the policy, that money was used for the unforeseen expenses. It was the biggest blessing.