enRICHed: volume 87

mamma mia! ✨here we go again✨

Jul 14, 2024

Volume 87

Hey besties!

Your girl is back from Italy and back in business! My Italian summer of love has come to an official end (I’m SO sad). My husby (YES, husby) and I went from our beautiful Lake Como wedding (more details and photos soon, I promise) to Positano for our mini-moon. We aren’t going on our full honeymoon until later in the year, but since we were already in Italy, we wanted to take advantage. This trip was so special for us, because it is also where we took our very first vacation together when we started dating.

The first time we went was seven years ago, and let me tell you, it was quite different. We were so much younger and were not in the place we are financially right now. I’ll never forget us eating granola bars for breakfast and lunch so we could ball out on a nice dinner. We had a fisherman take us on an unlicensed tour for 200 euros in cash and a handshake. And we took public ferries, even at the risk of me puking off of the back of the boats. It felt like a full circle moment to be able to do this trip again in style. All the saving, all the work, felt so worth it this past week. But the ultimate takeaway? Whether you’re bootstrapping a vacay as a 22-year-old or riding off into the sunset after your wedding, as long as you’re with the right company, you’ll feel richer than ever.

If you are still working on saving up for that dream vacation, check out my New York Times bestselling book, RICH AF. I teach you everything from budgeting, saving, investing to make sure you can hit these major financial goals!

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.

The Not-So-Funemployment Era 😔

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stressed on Wednesday that the Fed is paying attention to the cooling job market and not just to taming inflation—which signals that they might begin cutting interest rates soon.
In a two-day hearing with various Congress and Senate finance committees, Powell was given two mandates by Congress: To keep prices stable and to promote maximum employment. Jerome Powell, who is disappointingly not related to Glen Powell, told the House that the Fed probably won’t wait for inflation to reach its 2% target before it would start cutting rates.
Many have been keeping their eye on the plan to get us out of this mess. Business Insider published a piece Friday titled “We’re on the brink of an unemployment fiasco,” emphasizing that unless the Federal Reserve begins to cut interest rates, the recent increase in unemployment is only going to get worse. CNN also said Friday that the biggest threat on the horizon right now is the impending unemployment crisis.
HYCU; You’re feeling it, I’m feeling it. It’s all we ever talk about here. Everyone’s getting laid off, no one can find a new job, everything is too expensive, and it’s way too hot outside. The good news is, most economists have said they expect the Fed’s first rate cut to occur in September, according to the Associated Press, which would at least ease up on the crushing cost of living prices. Powell declined to confirm or deny when that would be, but he said the three main financial bodies are in near agreement on the plan. If a rate cut does come, interest rates on car/home loans will come down, but it could also mean you’ll earn less interest in your High Yield Savings Account.

Texas Outta Power ⚡️

1.4 million people in Houston still have no electricity after Hurricane Beryl uprooted power lines earlier this week—which means as the temperatures climb hotter and hotter, many are going without AC.
Many residents are putting pressure on city government and Houston-based electricity giant CenterPoint Energy to explain why a city that so frequently experiences destructive weather events is unable to withstand a Category 1 storm (read: the most chill kind), and why it’s taking so long to turn the lights back on.
CenterPoint Energy said on Wednesday that it “restored more than 1 million of the 2.26 million customers impacted by Hurricane Beryl,” but that still means millions are going up against blazing and humid days that the National Weather Service is calling potentially dangerous.
Hospitals are sending patients whose homes are still without power to a sports and event complex since they can’t go back home. As of late Wednesday afternoon, about 40 patients had arrived and about 70 to 75 others were on their way, according to the Office of Emergency Management.
HYCU; This is the second time in two months that Houston has experienced natural disaster-related power outages, and mind you, it’s the fourth-largest city in the US. A lot of scientists have already been predicting that as we continue to barrel towards irreversible levels of carbon emissions, more dangerous natural disasters will happen—which means it’s super important to have a rainy day fund if you are impacted by such an event, and it’s also crucial to keep badgering your local government so they use your tax money to create better infrastructure for these Unprecedented Times™. Sending love to my Houston besties, I hope you’re finding a place to cool off & make sure to contact your local government demanding better weather-catastrophe protocols, because you deserve AC!

More Packages, More Problems 💌

USPS will be raising postage stamp prices starting today (July 14, 2024) — the second price increase of the year and the biggest price hike ever.
Here’s the tea: First-Class Mail Forever stamps will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents; Postcards sent domestically will be 56 cents, up from 53 cents; International postcards and 1-ounce letters will see a 10-cent increase to $1.65.
Stampflation has been absolutely tearing up stamp prices over the last couple of years as Americans send out less snail mail. Between the 1970s and 2000, rates increased three to four times a decade, according to USPS data.
HYCU; If you’re an avid letter sender (I’m talking to you, Lara Jean Covey of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before), this might be annoying for you, as sending out mail just got a bit more expensive. The Postal Service projected a $6.5 billion loss for its fiscal year back in November, which means that inevitably, prices will increase. But at least now you know that if someone sends you a letter, they really, really love you.

Commonly asked question: Elainers asks, “Hello Viv! Thanks for always sharing your knowledge and uplifting us all. I've come into some funds that will help pay off my college credit card debt. My question is should I pay off my debt all at once or slowly over the next few months! Which is best to help my credit score? Thanks for reading!!!”

Credit and credit scores are just a game that you have to know how to play. In this case, if you can fully pay off your college credit card debt all at once (or a large chunk of it), you should absolutely do so. Yes, your credit score is important to think about but you cannot forget about interest either. Credit cards have some of the highest interest rates, sometimes up to 30% APR! The faster you can pay off your credit card debt, the less interest you will pay, not to mention you’ll be able to sleep easier without that high interest rate debt looming over your head.

My only recommendation however, is not to CLOSE the card once you’ve fully paid it off. THIS is what would ding your credit score. This is because since it’s your COLLEGE credit card, my guess is it’s also probably your oldest line of credit. Keeping it open will help to keep your history nice and long. What I recommend is paying off the balance in full, then just putting one of your subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, etc) on the card every month and just setting it to autopay. This way you keep the card open and never pay a cent in interest on this card again!

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Rich Tip of the Week: How Kendrick Lamar (and you) can set your kids up for life!
Arsenic, lead and other toxic metals have been detected inside tampons, according to a new study published by TIME. I sure would love to know WTF is going on.
Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Rachel Dratch and Seth Meyers did the “boots and a slick back bun” TikTok trend, and I think it healed something inside me.
The new Bachelorette is Asian American, shoutout to Jenn Tran! Good luck bestie!
Is Substack becoming the new hotspot for shopping vintage?

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES