enRICHed: volume 92

getting post-wedding blues all over again 🤍

Aug 18, 2024

Volume 92

Hey besties!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your incredible patience and understanding as Boo and I kept the details of our wedding under wraps for a little while. It meant the world to us to have that private time to truly soak in the joy of being newlyweds, surrounded by the love of our closest friends and family. We really wanted to savor those moments together before sharing them with the world.

Now that we've had that special time to reflect and enjoy our first days as a married couple, we're so excited to finally give you a glimpse into our celebration! I hope you're loving the look into our three-day Italian wedding extravaganza. It was such a magical experience, and we’re thrilled to share it with you all. Thank you again for your love and support, it means the world to us!

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.

Social Security Numbers Hacked…Again

As you might already know, this week The Los Angeles Times broke the news that a massive security breach at National Public Data exposed every American’s Social Security number—and said hackers obtained even more sensitive information than they previously said.
So this actually happened back in April, which we know because the hackers posted in a popular hacker forum, offering to sell the data for $3.5 million dollars.
Last week, a supposed member of USDoD identified as “Felice” (which means “happy”...sure) told the forum that they were offering “the full NPD database,” with stolen records of 2.9 billion people, according to a screenshot. The stolen information also includes names, addresses, birth dates, and phone numbers.
HYCU; Even though it’s unclear how many times this database has actually been hacked, it’s important to protect yourselves when you can. Make sure to request a free credit freeze through the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to make sure no one can open up a line of credit in your name. I have an explainer and how-to steps on my Instagram, in case you need more tips!

Kamala’s Big Housing Idea

Vice President Kamala “Coconut Tree” Harris has announced her first economic plan, which among ideas for groceries and healthcare costs, also established her stance on housing.
Everyone agrees that rent is too high and there aren’t enough places to live. Here’s some of Harris’ points so you can get the facts!
- Up to $25,000 in down-payment support and a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers
- Tax incentives for builders that build starter homes sold to first-time buyers,
- A new $40 billion innovation fund to spur innovative housing construction
- To repurpose some federal land for affordable housing,
- And removing tax benefits for investors who buy large numbers of single-family rental homes.
Harris is also building on many of the policies that Biden proposed earlier this year, including placing a cap on rent increases to 5% and offering tax incentives to build affordable rental housing.
Across the board, housing will be a big issue for many voters. Trump has also talked about using federal land to blunt the pain of the housing shortage, though admittedly, even though the race between parties seems quite close, neither have really given a clear outline on what their economic policy would be, if elected.
HYCU; Alright, besties, it is a presidential election year, and the most important thing now means doing your research and finding out if a candidate in the race supports your needs! As this race heats up, it’s more important than ever to ask yourselves the question, do I think this candidate can solve the problems in my life? Do I think their plan makes sense? I’m here to help you understand the complicated nature and terms of these things, but ultimately, the decision is yours. The whole point of an elected official is supposed to be someone who can make your life easier, because life really shouldn’t be this hard! And obviously - if you haven’t yet, REGISTER TO VOTE! It is your civic duty!

Shrinkflation ➡️ Streamflation

New data from USA Today is showing that shrinkflation is even hitting your Netflix account.
According to the report, prices for individual streaming services have only climbed higher, but the number of new shows a year has fallen since peak streaming in 2019 and 2020.
Yes, it’s true, we’re all victims of streamflation. In the olden days, Netflix was first presented as a cheaper option to cable, but in 2022, they lost a ton of subscribers that sent the entire industry into a tailspin resulting in layoffs, price increases, bundling and ad-supported tiers when they used to promise they’d ne-e-ever have commercial breaks.
HYCU; The whole point of up-charging the premium tier isn’t really to get you to pay for ad-free versions; it’s to get you to watch the ads; the more eyeballs a streamer gets on their content, the more they can charge the advertiser. Unfortunately for us users, it means that we need to make the hard decision of what will save us the most money. Take a look at what you really pay for, and compare it to a bundle, or even cable!

Commonly asked question: Tyler asks, “Vivian! I recently got over the fear of using my credit card for all purchases and I felt/still feel pretty good about it. However, my great credit score went down 10 points for higher than normal credit utilization even though I paid my statement in full. Can you explain why that happened and should I be a little nervous? Is it going to continue to go down? I have two credit cards... my very first one with a $2,500 credit limit and a second one with a $3,500 credit limit. Thank you!!!!!!!!!”

Hi Tyler! Unfortunately, when it comes to credit—it’s not about how rich or responsible you are. It’s all about how well you play their game!!!

In particular, credit utilization is a big factor. Making up 30% of your FICO score, so it doesn’t matter if you paid off your credit cards in full, your “percentage used” can still bring your score down. Utilization is the amount of credit you’re using divided by the credit you are given access to. We don’t talk about this nearly enough, but using more than 30% of your credit limit from any one line of credit can result in a score drop. In your case, I would not ever have a balance of more than $750 for your first card, or $1,050 on your second.

As for what else makes up your credit score?

It’s as follows:

Payment history - pretty self explanatory - pay your debts on time. (35%)
Amounts owed aka credit utilization - how much you’re using vs how much you have access to (30%)
Length of credit history - how long have you been a responsible credit user (15%)
New credit inquiries - how many times have you recently done hard credit pulls for loans, new apt, etc (10%)
Credit mix - is your credit access diversified aka you get bonus points for having different types of debt (student loan, mortgage, credit card, etc vs. just having one type) (10%)

Want to be featured in our Question Bank section?

Drop a Question Here!

Rich Tip of the Week: Did you know recessions are the best time to become rich?
Very demure, very cutesy, very mindful. If you were as confused about this trend as I was - read all about this new gen-z slang popularized by Jools Lebron.
The Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun is being accused of allegedly manipulating her way onto the team. You ever dance so badly they do an investigation on you?
People are not hopping off the *private* plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan anymore.

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES