enRICHed: volume 64

the comments section is our happy place 🤗

Jan 21, 2024

Volume 64

1-800-Accountability

Okay so LOTS of people loved talking about their outside winter hobbies last Sunday, which made me so excited - check out the comments from last Sunday’s post to see for yourself!

It’s funny, Vivian did this whole accountability thing last year about “touching grass” and I laughed a little at the touch-grass part, but the concept itself is real. For the past week I’ve said to myself that even though it’s cold outside, I told the besties that going outside in the cold was good for the soul and now I must practice what I preach. With that, I have been suiting up to work out and walk outside and it feels invigorating. Shoutout to this community for keeping me honest. Whether we are helping each other out with financial decisions, hyping each other up for that year-end conversation at work, or encouraging each other to find affordable, healthy hobbies that fill our cups - the BFF community effect here is thriving. Happy Sunday everyone!

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

Tweens take Sephora 💄🛍️

TikTok has been flooded by videos of girls ages 10-13 taking over Sephora, but they aren’t just there for the testers - they are there to spend.
- In 2023, teenagers spent 33% more on cosmetics and 19% more on skin care than in 2022, showing that the category is on the rise.
Traditionally, this demographic has shopped at pharmacies, and other low-cost retailers. But social media has changed that landscape, and now higher quality and higher priced items are making their way into tweens’ daily routines.
- Sephora sells labels like Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, Laneige and more - all of which have been reported to be filling the carts of “Sephora 10-year-olds”
- Consultants in the space have noticed packaging changing to neon colors and floral smells, anything to attract a younger audience.
A mother who was interviewed on the topic said, “I have mixed emotions about it. I feel like this younger generation, they learn faster, they get information faster, and it allows them to be little experts in big spaces. I don’t want to limit my kids’ creativity, but there is a very fine line between maturing them before their lime and investing in their interest.”
HYCU; social media is turning younger generations into consumers earlier and faster than ever. Places like Sephora are capitalizing on influencers pushing girls toward skincare and makeup routines when they are the age of wanting to look and act older. Would love to hear from parents out there who have girls this age - how do you handle this type of spending? Do you draw lines on where your children can spend their allowance?

Mastercard AI 🤝 Small Business Owners

This week, Mastercard announced a new business venture for small business partners called Mastercard Small Business AI
- “Operating a small business is a point of immense passion and pride for entrepreneurs, but it’s certainly not easy. We are working closely with small business owners at all stages of development and seeing the myriad of challenges they face and the critical importance of mentorship to their success” - Raja Rajamannar, CCO/CMO Mastercard
In an act to show support, mentorship, and to recognize the importance of the small business economy, Mastercard’s tool hopes to provide real-time, customized guidance.
Mastercard is partnering with Create Labs, Blavity Media Group, Group Black, Newsweek, and TelevisaUnivision to train the AI tool. The partnerships will bring diverse content to Mastercard’s existing repositories of data and information.
HYCU; most small business operate without employees and 88% say they need mentors. Mastercard is hoping to use Gen AI to close this gap. The tool, which will launch later this year, will be trained to give insights on business planning, raising capital, managing technology, loans, and other materials specific to their industry and the challenges they face.

93 or 40? 💪🧓

Richard Morgan is 93 years old, and is a 4x indoor rowing world champion. The Journal of Applied Psychology decided to study him, because at age 93, he has the health of a 40 year old.
Richard Morgan did not begin sports or training until age 73, making him a unique subject for the Journal’s study. During retirement, he found rowing through one of his grandsons, and “he never looked back.”
During a 2000 meter row, Morgan’s heart rate peaked at 153 bpm, one of the highest peaks ever recorded for someone in their 90s - showcasing his strong heart and cardiovascular health. Researchers said it was one of their most inspiring days of work ever.
So what did they find? Morgan exercises every day for around 40 minutes, mixing easy (70%), moderate (20%) and intense (10%) training. 2-3x a week he includes weights and he eats a high protein diet. He is proof that we don’t have to lose muscle as we age, but can maintain strength through exercise. He is also proof that it is never too late to start.
HYCU; why does this matter financially? Americans spend billions of dollars a year on chronic disease and as they age, the probability and cost of injury goes up. If small changes like exercise can keep your body up and running, your quality of life doesn’t just improve but the amount of you can save by avoiding medication, hospital visits, in home care, and more can change as well. Obviously healthcare related expenses are not entirely avoidable, but this inspiring research shows that the excuse of “never having worked out before” should not be enough to keep us on the sidelines! And you don’t need $40 fancy workout classes to do it!

The Train Fare Conundrum in England 🚂🎟️

Englanders are being charged 2x as much for buying physical tickets at the station vs. e-tickets online.
A study done in the UK showed that online tickets are cheaper 75% of the time. On average, the station tickets were 52% more expensive!
Which? the consumer group that ran the study, found some crazy differences. One same-day, one-way ticket was £66 at the machine vs. £26 online.
The machines don’t usually have flexibility for “advance tickets” which can often be cheaper, a reward for planning in advance. Which? also found that that machines lack necessary information, and if you are in a hurry, you could be subject to a more expensive ticket just because you were confused or missed the fine print.
HYCU; I say this all the time to my husband now that we are driving more for errands. Everywhere we go, the meters ask you to text a number and pay for parking via Apple Pay or an app - what happens if you don’t have a smart phone? Why can’t we just use quarters if we have them? This is a great example of those without internet access or smartphone access being penalized via higher fares. Sometimes the transition to more online options are not better for our wallets or our sanity.
- The Know Daily found this website that can help our UK besties find the best ticket prices