enRICHed: volume 98

we’re infomaxxing todayy

Sep 29, 2024

Volume 98

Hey besties!

In case you missed it this week, I’m going full on cyborg and uploading my consciousness to the web! Well, sort of. I get THOUSANDS of questions every single week and despite my best efforts, I can’t get to them all. So, to help combat this, I’m working on creating a Vivian chatbot! (Not the link in bio replacement DM robot that I already use—that robot is handy, but defo not smart lol). Think of this as a smart digital version of all my content that you can ask your burning financial questions to: How do I start investing? What budgeting strategy makes sense for me, when I have credit card debt and student loans? Is now a good time to buy a house?!

My hope is that my digital chatbot will be able to help answer these questions and so many more, so you can reach your financial goals faster. Now, all of this sounds super exciting right? I hope so! My team and I are currently working on version one and we need your help. If you want to help us test the chatbot, SIGN UP HERE! My mission is to help YOU get to your financial goals as fast as possible while having the best information easily accessible. Hopefully, this chatbot will help make this journey even easier!

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.

Hurricane Helene Is Here 🌊

Hurricane Helene has made landfall in Florida and is moving through Georgia and the Carolinas towards Tennessee and Kentucky, downgrading from a category four hurricane to a tropical storm as it continues to spread throughout the US.
Make no mistake—even with its slight categorical demotion, Helene is still one of the most powerful storms to hit the country, with wind gust speeds of 140 miles per hour. The storm has triggered flash flood emergencies across the Southeast, where some areas are bracing for up to 20 inches of rain.
Over 4 million people have been left without power as a result, and severe flooding has taken over towns and cities in the affected areas. The death count has reached over 22 as of Friday afternoon.
HYCU; Forecasters are expecting more storms in the weeks ahead, and everyone is going to be affected by Helene. It’s a terrifying thing, on a physical, emotional, and also financial level. As a Florida girly now myself, I hope you’re taking shelter and following evacuation orders where necessary, but as for the financial part, homeowners should protect their homes with cost-effective measures like boarding up windows and cleaning out rain gutters. Some states like Florida also have tax holidays for shopping hurricane supplies, so take advantage of those when you can. Unfortunately, as natural disasters become more common due to global climate change, areas that experience these types of catastrophes are becoming more and more un-insurable. Essentially, if you’re in a floodplain, coastal town, or live along a fault zone, insurance companies are saying “sorry, we don’t cover that.” While I get that they’re for-profit companies, it begs the question…wasn’t that the whole point of home insurance in the first place?? 😔

Election Law Switch-Up Scramble 🗳😱

Attention, attention: Several states are making some pretty last-minute changes to election rules, so let’s run through some of them so you are fully prepared for November!
In North Carolina, some (but not all) students and university staff can use their digital IDs to vote. A win for you if you are on a campus and eligible to use your ID! On the flip side, Arkansas reinstated a rule that bans electronic signatures for voter registration, so make sure you fill it out by hand if you want your vote to count.
Ballot drop boxes are legal again in Wisconsin, which will make it more convenient to vote as opposed to waiting in line to personally hand your ballot over. It’s a little confusing because not every voting jurisdiction will use them, so make sure you know if you are able to drop yours off. On the other hand, some counties in Ohio have been issued a directive by the Secretary of State that only a voter can drop their personal ballot in a drop box, which means your dad can't drop it off for you on his way to work.
In Pennsylvania, there’s a law that minor paperwork errors like a missing handwritten date can disqualify the entire ballot, and the Supreme Court just threw out the case to overturn it—so that means yes, all PA besties will have to make sure they dot their i’s and cross their t’s to make sure their vote goes through.
In Georgia and Arizona, election workers will have to hand count the number of ballots cast after voting is completed. Georgia just passed this rule on Friday, so for all the besties working the polls on election day, well, good luck, Charlie. This probably also means that results will be delayed, given that it’ll just take more time.
HYCU; It’s a really confusing time, because for those filling out ballots by mail or doing drop-off ballots, voting has already begun. It’s definitely really annoying and a little suspicious that all these changes are happening now. But a lot of economic issues like inflation, rent control and the job market are on the table this election, so make sure you do your research and make sure your voice is heard! For everything you need to know/have ready to vote, check out Vote.org!

Visa Verdict 🤔⚖️

The Justice Department sued Visa on Tuesday, accusing the company of illegally monopolizing the debit card market and driving up prices for businesses and consumers.
In the complaint, the DOJ said that Visa handles more than 60% of debit card transactions in the U.S. and collects more than $7 billion in annual processing fees. They say the company then used its market power to stifle competition and keep fees artificially high.
Merchants and retailers have been complaining about credit card companies like Visa charging major fees; a group of merchants settled with Visa and Mastercard in March for $30 billion after a decades-long antitrust battle in court.
HYCU; Visa has called the lawsuit “meritless” and is preparing to defend itself in court, but if the DOJ wins out, if you own a small business, it could possibly mean a drop in your annual debit card processing fees. Remember, this isn’t the first time these two divas have gone head to head: three years ago, the Justice Department sued to block Visa from merging with fintech startup Plaid, and the $5.3 billion-dollar merger agreement was scrapped.

Commonly asked question: John asks, “Hi Viv, love your advice and your online content. I have a question about retirement savings. If both my spouse and I MAX out our firm's 401k plans, where can we also put additional retirement funds? I’m 55, so I max both the “catch up and regular 401k” limits, and my spouse is a partner in her firm with a mandatory retirement minimum she has to contribute towards. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!”

Hi John! This is a great question. If you and your spouse are maxing out your retirement accounts, the first thing you two should look into is an IRA—an Individual Retirement Account!

You can contribute to traditional or Roth IRAs, depending on your income levels and what makes sense for your tax situation (they are tax efficient at different points, so how much money you make will determine which is better for you). One thing to keep in mind is that there are contribution limits here as well ($7,000 for everyone, but $8,000 if you're age 50 or older), and the deductibility of traditional IRA contributions may be affected by your participation in a workplace retirement plan.

Furthermore, if you make over a certain amount, you legally can’t contribute to a Roth IRA, even if it makes more sense for you. So you’ll have to do the work around: a backdoor Roth IRA. Rules were made to be broken, right? A backdoor Roth IRA is a 100% legal strategy that allows high income earners (people who make over $146,000 for single filers and $230,000 for joint) to roll money into a Roth IRA. You can make non-deductible contributions to a Traditional IRA because there’s no income limit. Then, initiate a rollover to roll that money into a Roth IRA (your brokerage will give you these options).

Second, you can open up a taxable brokerage account for traditional investing. Once you have this account, you can invest in stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, or other assets. I would recommend focusing mostly on ETFs and mutual funds! You'll pay taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains, but your money will be working for you and generating you additional income. While these accounts don't offer the same tax advantages as retirement accounts, they provide more flexibility in terms of investment options and access to your funds.

Third, if you and your partner have a High Deductible Health Plan, you could also open up a Health Savings Account through your employer if available to you. An HSA is an account that allows you to put money away to be invested and then used on qualified medical expenses. HOWEVER, after age 65, HSAs can also be used for non-medical expenses (similar to traditional IRAs) without penalty. You’ll just need to pay income taxes on the money you take out. While you are only 55 right now, you could be contributing to this account for a decade and reap the benefits later on! The contributions to an HSA are tax-deductible and grow tax-free.

Hope this helps!

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Rich Tip of the Week: Now that rates are coming down, when should I go car shopping?
Huge news on the medical front—the FDA has approved the first schizophrenia drug in decades!
TODAY Show host Hoda Kotb tearfully announced that she would be stepping down as co-anchor after five years, and people are already celebrating her iconic run on screen.
People paid up to $1,000 for a Bridgerton ball experience that ended up being, um…less Regency and more Scheme-gency in vibe. It’s giving Fyre Fest.

Products that saved my life this week:
- Crest Whitestrips - People always ask me how I get my teeth so white, well my secret is out!
- The greatest popcorn in the world - No, I’m not kidding.
- My running shoes - I hate waddling around with uncomfy cycling shoes, but these have hidden recessed clips, so even after your spin you can still run errands without looking like a penguin!

SEE YOU IN THE COMMENTS BESTIES