enRICHed: volume 62

entering our substack era ✨

Jan 07, 2024

Volume 62

HELLO AND WELCOME TO 2024 BESTIES!

After hitting the maximum amount of emails per month with Squarespace (there are +56K of you WOW but also Squarespace do better), I finally succeeded in pitching the team on moving over to Substack. Mwahaha. It’s likely that you are familiar with the platform, as it has been a growing medium for a lot of writers and creators, but if you’re not - you’re in for a treat. Why?

Substack is going to enable us to turn on community features this year, like chat and comments, allowing you direct access to not only Vivian and me, but also each other.
We’ll still be bringing you the news every Sunday, but with access to Notes, we can send fun stuff through the week if there is something that just cannot wait.
enRICHed will still be sent via email (don’t worry!), but also via the Substack app, giving you a cleaner inbox and a more streamlined reading experience.

The community features will be free through the end of the month, before becoming available to paid subscribers only! The newsletter will remain free, as it always has.

Available for iOS and Android

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. — Meigs

Pinterest Predicts 🔮👖

At the beginning of the year, we start to see a lot of content about what’s going to be “on trend.” A lot of that is just gut intuition or flat out guesses, but Pinterest uses it’s proprietary data to make huge claims with it’s Pinterest Predicts report.
Pinterest has created a trendspotting model that analyzes searches made by +480 MILLION people globally. Machine learning identifies patterns and creates a “cheat sheet” to predict what’s about to take off.
- Pinterest’s model has had an 80% success rate over the past 4 years, predicting the 2023 Mushroom and 2022 Dopamine Dressing trends.
2024’s predictions include: Fabric Repurposing (I am going to straight up plug my sister who has her own company and has been doing this FOR YEARS - @denimbymurph_), Eclectic Grandpa, Cafecore, Kitchscens, Jellyfish, Blue beauty products, 70s-inspired weddings, Badminton, Bows, Inchstones, and more. You can read about them all here.
HYCU; if you are a content creator or small business owner, these reports can be integral in putting together your 2024 business plan. How can you monetize what the people are looking for? For the first time ever, Pinterest created a shopping pop-up to showcase items for sale that fell in line with the trends they’re seeing. Monetizing your own data = Genius.

Generation Alpha 📱👶🏽

Generation Alpha is made up entirely of kids born in the 21st century, and 2024 will mark the youngest members of the cohort. They are the first-ever truly online generation, and as the oldest reach 13, they are of extreme interest to brands.
Axios published an interview this week with MaryLeigh Bless, Chief Content Officer at YPulse, that focuses on Gen Alpha and their tendencies online.
TikTok is huge, allowing anyone to go viral at any moment, and making trends move faster than ever. These kids are getting smartphones at an average age of 9, Bliss says, “They’re having a media-centric childhood in a way that is different because of the kinds of media they’re interacting with from incredibly young ages.”
This generation also has access to payment apps, teen debit cards, and ride-sharing services that were not always available. This gives them a certain level of freedom that is new for teenagers.
HYCU; each generation has it’s quirks and stereotypes. I’ve never felt more millennial then when I’m coaching my 7th graders and can’t understand 30% of the words they’re saying. But with Gen Alpha, the world is seeing the impacts of technology play out in real time, and their preferences could change the brand playbook even more over the next few years.

Big Apple Real Estate Update 🏙️🍎

Jonathan Miller, of Miller Samuel Inc, along with brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate shared a market update that showed the share of all-cash buyers in Manhattan hitting a new high in 4Q23.
This stat, to a normal person like me, does not seem promising. Wealthy people paying all-cash for Manhattan real estate, big whoop. But Miller’s insight is that this is a bet on the market. “The surge in cash deals likely reflects the market’s anticipation that rates will be lower in the next few years and there will be an opportunity to obtain a lower rate mortgage.”
Miller’s bet could be rooted in the concept of delayed financing. Delayed financing is a method of getting a cash out refinance after you’ve purchased real estate with cash upfront. The refinance returns your cash investment to you without the typical fees of a normal cash out refinance. Instead of using a mortgage to buy the home, you essentially get the mortgage after you complete the purchase and recover most of the money you spent.
Miller’s report also shows that home sale prices increase in 4Q23, so just because he sees a light at the end of the tunnel for mortgage rates, doesn’t mean it’s right around the bend.
“Although the expected slide in mortgage rates will bring more listings into the market, that will be largely offset by the rise in sales,” Miller says. “Prices are expected to rise modestly in 2024 because of the underpinning of limited supply.”
HYCU; you know how Vivian always talks about rich people knowing all of the tricks? Well this is one of them. Delayed financing is a concept I had to research in order to bring this to the besties. Even if it isn’t the right option for you, what an interesting thing to learn about!

Starbucks Expands BYO(Cup) ☕🚗

Starbucks has a plan to reduce waste by 50% by 2030. It’s doing that with it’s new BYOC options. Previously, BYOC was only available in-store, though they will be rolling out in app and drive-thru options this year.
The cup doesn’t need to be Starbucks branded and can be any size. However, they will still honor the size drink you ordered.
For drive-thru it’s easy, you just say you brought a cup and hand it over when you get to the window. For in-app orders, customers will press the "customization" button and select "personal cup" and then continue ordering as normal. Once they get to the cafe, customers hand over their cup to baristas in the pick-up area (NBC News).
Mitch Louch had an interesting take on LinkedIn here - opining that this is not about sustainability, but cost-cutting and will have the biggest impact on baristas.
HYCU; if you are a rewards customer, this is good for the environment and your wallet. Use a clean reusable cup and receive a discount of 10 cents off a drink. If you’re part of the loyalty program, you’ll also earn 25 bonus stars (up to 3 times per day at participating locations).

Rich Tip of the Week: listen to the first 10 pages of RICH AF!!!
Something I downloaded this week: Whering, an app that catalogues my wardrobe and let’s me track my outfits to better shop my closet and ensure I’m making smart shopping decisions (save that $$$)
Something I listened to this week: Is There a Gen Z Happiness Crisis? The Happiness Lab with Laurie Santos
A New Year trend Katrina can get behind: If you’ve had trouble sticking to your resolutions, try taking this personality quiz to help find the accountability strategy that works for you!
A New Year trend I can get behind: Vision boards. As a girl who used to cut stuff out of magazines, this digital scrapbooking activity is a favorite. Who else did one? See mine below!

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES