Good morning, wealth builders! ☕️
Someone wrote in recently…
“I’m new to investing and want to learn as much as possible so I don’t make any mistakes or waste any time”
Whilst we love hearing comments like this, we’ve got some bad news for newbie investors…
Bad news: Within your investing journey, you will almost certainly screw something up, accidentally lose money and time, miss opportunities and experience set backs. Nobody has a *perfect* track record and it’s unrealistic to think you can learn *everything*.
BUT, here’s the bright side…
Good news: Mistakes are the doorway to experience! Successful investing is about continuing to take action, regardless of setbacks and missed opportunities. Instead of trying to learn and master 5,000 new things, just find the 2-3 things that make the biggest financial impact for you and repeat them 5,000 times.
(Actually this is a great reminder for all investors, not just beginners)
Your path will not be a straight line, and thats totally OK! Just keep going, keep learning, keep failing… It’s all a part of the process. 💪
TO DO
Freeze your credit! 🥶 (It’s free + fast)
Action of the week = Put a freeze on your credit report!
It’s just like locking your house… But instead of protecting your personal stuff, it protects your financial identity! It’s free, takes ~5 mins to do, and can be “unfrozen” just as fast (if/when you actually want to apply for a loan).
The only small pain is you have to create a userID with each of these 3 credit bureaus. But once your account is established, freezing and thawing is a simple 1-click process. Here are the links…
👉 Experian
👉 Equifax
👉 TransUnion
**PS. You can freeze your kids’ credit profile too! Process is a little more complex (read more about freezing your credit here), but it might be worth it?.. Apparently 1M+ kids get their identity stolen each year! 🤮**
SAVING
Sales Tax Holiday?… Yes please!
🤷♂️ What is a “Sales Tax Holiday”? —> It’s a specified time window where select US states allow sales tax to be waved or reduced on specific items or purchase categories. Some tax holidays are 1 time events, but many others are reoccurring each year!
🙋♂️ Which states have holidays and when!?!? —> I’m so glad you asked!… Here’s a list of all the states with reoccurring holidays, and what items are covered in 2022!
💁♂️ Example of potential savings? —> Florida has a sales tax holiday from July 25th – Aug 7th each year, which covers buying computers up to $1,500. If someone purchases a computer in that timeframe (non-commercial use), they’ll avoid the 6% state sales tax = $90 savings!!
👨💻 Does online shopping count? —> Yep, most big retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target participate in tax holidays online (actually, they promote these sale times as “back to school” sales with limited or no tax on some items)
Pretty cool, huh? If you live in one of these states, maybe it’s worth delaying any planned purchases until the holiday window opens. Good luck and happy shopping!!
EMPLOYMENT
Retirees —> are coming back to work…
Since 2020, people have been retiring at a record rate.
But that trend seems to be reversing now, with ~1.5 million retirees going back to into the workforce.
The Washington Post had a great article with data and graphs 👇👇👇
Why are retirees going back to work? It’s a combination of a few things:
- There are so many jobs available, retired people are being recruited specifically because they have great experience and work ethic.
- Workplaces are now offering higher salaries and more flexible work arrangements (especially for specialized, experienced workers)
- Covid concerns are easing
- Living expenses are rising + nest eggs are shrinking
- Some retirees are getting antsy in their pantsy and are bored
- 65 is the new 55! 😉
Is this a good thing or bad thing? Well, here are a few things to consider:
- As older workers re-enter the workforce, they could be taking opportunities from young workers
- BUT, that doesn’t seem a huge threat right now, given the extremely hot job market and staffing gaps everywhere
- In general, more people in the workforce will help the economy bounce back + help older people retire (again) more financially secure
- Work can provide purpose and meaning, which some people need to live longer and happier!
Programs encouraging retirees find work again:
ICYMI
Extra, extra. Read all about it…
Inflation 📈
We hit another record, woohoo!! Oh wait… this one’s a bad thing 😞. Latest CPI data shows June inflation at 9.1%, the fastest annual rise since 1981. But don’t worry too much — oil and gas are already easing, “core” CPI is actually trending down, and medium-long term expectations is that inflation will settle as feds keep raising rates. Stay calm and think long term!
Real Estate 🏘
Airbnb is offering 100 people, $100k each to build whacky, eccentric, crazy rental properties around the world. If you’ve got an unconventional idea or strange design in mind, submit an application here — **entries close July 22**.
Electric Cars 🚙
The USA just crossed the “tipping point” for electric car adoption… According to Bloomberg, once a country passes a point where 5% of all new cars are fully electric, adoption expands from there. Check out this chart of predicted growth for the USA 👇👇👇
Stamps ✉️
The price of a postage stamp went up 2 cents last week! Holy moly, how are we going to survive? (Some good news though… There’s this new thing called “email” that is starting to catch on. It’s free, you just need to be tech savvy and have access to a computer in your town)
Free Mulch! 🪵
App of the week: ChipDrop! It’s a platform that matches arborists (tree cutters) with regular people who want FREE mulch. The only catch? You will receive a TRUCKLOAD of mulch on your front lawn, so you have to take a lot (or give a lot away to friends). Great resource for those of you tackling big gardening projects this summer!
Money Etiquette
Who pays for a first date? And how much do you tip a delivery person? We cover all this, and more, in our full post about common money etiquette!
Credit Cards 💳
New posts up on the HTM blog for those searching for a new rewards card right now…
COMMUNITY
Fun (and practical!) Birthday Idea… 👋
We got a great email from Nadia last week…
“So, my plan is to save $75+ this week by having my siblings pay a bill or 3 each as a bday present. There are 8 of us, so I’m hopeful that I’ll have some decent savings this week/month 💃🏾💃🏾.”
Very creative, Nadia! And a great way to make your birthday feeling last all month long. 🥳 We’re shipping you a pair of our comfy new HTM socks as a thanks for sharing!
More giveaways and swag opportunities coming soon!
Have a great rest of the week! Wishing you lots of skill! (because you don’t need luck) 😎
Best friends out 🍻
*****
* Advertiser Disclosure: How to Money has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. How to Money and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
* User Generated Content Disclosure: Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
COMMUNITY
Fun (and practical!) Birthday Idea… 👋
We got a great email from Nadia last week…
“So, my plan is to save $75+ this week by having my siblings pay a bill or 3 each as a bday present. There are 8 of us, so I’m hopeful that I’ll have some decent savings this week/month 💃🏾💃🏾.”
Very creative, Nadia! And a great way to make your birthday feeling last all month long. 🥳 We’re shipping you a pair of our comfy new HTM socks as a thanks for sharing!
More giveaways and swag opportunities coming soon!
Have a great rest of the week! Wishing you lots of skill! (because you don’t need luck) 😎
Best friends out 🍻
*****
* Advertiser Disclosure: How to Money has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. How to Money and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
* User Generated Content Disclosure: Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
