Good morning HTM family! ☕️
If you’re new around here, welcome! This is our 3rd weekly newsletter, sharing quick money news, fun stories, and tips to help along your journey to financial freedom.
To kick things off we’ve got a cool story for all you beer lovers out there 🙋♀️ (who also like supporting good causes!)… 👇👇👇
CHARITY
Grab a cold one, it’s for charity!
via Lorraine in New Jersey…
“I work for a company in NJ that has employees in Lviv, Ukraine (all of them are safe for now).
Anyway, a local brewery here in NJ called Icarus teamed up with a local brewery from Lviv to recreate this Ukrainian beer. They just released it for sale and I was able to bring some into the office for my Ukrainian boss and a Ukrainian employee. They were both smiling so hard, like children. It made them feel so happy to have a piece of home with them here in US, and it made me so happy to provide that for them.”
Way to go, Lorraine! Great way to support your coworkers, people overseas enduring horrible times, as well as back your local brewery. 💪
After researching a bit more (tryna get our hands on some Ukrainian beer to sample on the podcast) we actually found a handful of craft breweries across the US that are doing similar things — partnering with Ukrainian Breweries to replicate their local beer recipes, then donating profits to humanitarian aid groups.
To name a few we found: Midwest Coast Brewing in Chicago, 26 Degree Brewing in Pompano Beach FL, Torchlight Brewing in Nelson, BC (Canada), Bare Bones Brewery in Oshkosh, WI. And even big beer company Anheuser-Busch is joining the party to brew support for Ukraine.
Anyway, something to keep an eye out for if your local brewery gets involved. Grabs a few drinks, while helping charity! 🍻🤗
**Speaking of charity, check out our full review of Daffy! Setting up your own donor advised fund has many benefits, and Daffy is a cheap way to do it!
INVESTING
“Woodstock for Capitalists”
10 days ago was probably the largest gathering of private wealth all in one location — It was at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder convention!
It’s not like we live or die by everything Warren Buffet says, but as one of the richest dudes in the world; when he talks — we listen!
Here are 2 cool takeaways from the 2022 BH shareholder meeting:
- Buffett plays the loooong game. He’s 91 years old, but still thinks and forecasts with 20+ year timelines. It’s a refreshing reminder that consuming yourself with only short term goals may lead to missing the forrest for the trees.
- Buffett ignores all the “noise” out there, sticking to his strategy regardless. The old man has been criticized the past couple years because BH stock has lagged behind the overall market. But, since the start of 2022 while the overall market is down ~15%, Berkshire stock has risen ~6%! Critics are now singing a new tune, praising Buffett again.
These aren’t mind-blowing new ideas btw — thinking long term and staying consistent — in fact, that’s the beauty of it! ANYONE can adopt these character traits and be successful in their own investing.
If a 91 year old Coke drinking, McDonalds eating, bespectacled fella can do it, then so can you. 👊👊👊
CREDIT REPORTS
Medical debt may no longer hurt your credit score…
A change is coming on how credit bureaus assess your credit score. Here’s the low down… 👇
What’s changing?
Starting this summer, TransUnion, Equifax and Experian (the 3 largest credit bureaus) are removing cleared medical debts from consumers credit reports. And, if you have *current* medical debt that’s less than $500, this will be cleared from credit reporting. Sa-weeet! 🥳
Why are they doing this?
Because medical debt is “complex and messy” and in a lot of cases it’s unfairly impacting many people’s credit scores. With rising fraudulent claims and an overload of complaints about inaccurate debt amounts, it’s time to fix the system a bit.
Specifically, does this affect me?
👉 If you’ve fully paid off your medical debt (but it’s still lingering and affecting your credit score) this will now be cleared from your credit report. Woohoo! 🙌
👉 If you accumulate *new* medical debt and get sent to collections, you’ll have 12 months before anything is recorded on your credit report. Gives you more time to negotiate and pay off bills. 👍
More awesome resources:
- FairHealthConsumer — An awesome *free* website to compare the costs of medical procedures. Great negotiation tool!
- GreenImaging — Affordable medical imaging (why pay $7k for an MRI at a hospital when you could get one for a few hundred bucks!)
- Episode 406 — If you want to know how to fight back against a ridiculous medical bill, then this is your episode! Listen as we chat with investigative journalist Marshall Allen.
ICYMI
Supplementary news bites…
Money Secrets 💔
Apparently 2 out of every 5 people admit to financial infidelity (hiding or lying to their partner about spending shared money). But it’s never too late to repair or rebuild relationship trust, says this financial divorce analyst.
Technology 📲
Sad news to those still clinging to their old iPhone 5… Cell networks have begun the rapid shut down of their 3G networks. If you’re using an old phone on 3G, it’s time to upgrade! (Psst! Check out the wicked deals at Mint Mobile)
Shopping 🛍
20,000+ small Etsy sellers are on strike, protesting against increasing seller fees and accusing Etsy of turning all “Amazon-y”. (Meanwhile, Amazon are also increasing seller fees). Sadly, it’s likely that any increased fees will trickle down, forcing consumers to pay more. 😔
Tax ⚖️
Intuit Inc. (parent of TurboTax) screwed up and “accidentally” charged people instead of giving them free tax filings as promised. They’ve agreed to pay a $141 million settlement to refund everyone affected. (They will reach out to you, no action needed on your part)
Money Mindset 🧠
Here’s our full write-up on tips for mindful spending. These will help yu life a more frugal and sustainable lifestyle!
COMMUNITY
It’s wedding season! Fun, but 🤑
H/t to Brooke K. for sharing this friendly reminder in our Facebook Group this week 👇. Wedding costs can be crazy for guests, not just for hosts (especially travel related events). If attending a wedding will put you into serious debt, it’s OK to RSVP No.
Wishing you an awesome week ahead! Catch y’all next Tuesday!
Best friends out! 🍻
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* 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.
