Good morning, HTM family!
BIG newsā¦ Today is our 1 year newsletteraversary! š„³ Woohoo!!
Our mission in sending these emails is to help more folks strengthen their money situation (and live the happiest life they can, no matter where they are financially). And just by being on the list, YOU are helping with this mission. So, THANK YOU!!!
To celebrate, weāre giving away 5 pairs of the worldās most comfortable socks! š
Want to win a pair?Ā Hereās howā¦ You just need toĀ refer 1 new friendĀ to this newsletter, and youāll be entered into the drawing.Ā (for any of you with past referrals ā youāre automatically enteredĀ š)
Click this fancy referral hub link, then copy and share your unique code with your buddies or on social media. Weāll announce the 5 winners in next weekās email!
Itās been a fun year. Cheers, and hereās to another awesome one ahead! š»
TO DO
Schedule a āNoise Freeā Day
Ever heard of an āinformation dietā? Itās when you limit news and social media consumption to reach a healthier and more balanced mindset. Itās no secret that some (or a LOT) of the news we consume is spun negatively or sensationalized.
This week: Pick just one day to be completely noise free. Donāt check the news, donāt open social media, just go into hermit mode. Other peopleās stuff can wait, itās time to focus on your mission.
FAMILY
Gifting Money to Babiesā¦
OK, so you want to give your newborn baby a financial head start? Here is the second best way to make your baby a millionaire in lifeā¦
Just set aside $7,000 the day they are born, invest it in the S&P 500, and wait 65 years. Theyāll have a cool $1 million at retirement.
What about the first best way to give your kid a financial head start in life? ā> Teach them to earn, save, and invest their own money. Encourage them to work and allow them to solve their own money challenges.
Monetary gifts are nice (if you can afford that), but financial literacy trumps an inheritance any day of the week.
Related stuff:
š»Ā HTM Blogs:Ā Teaching kids about money. AndĀ about investing.
- š¤·āāļø Practical Steps: How to become a millionaire in life
šĀ Book Rec:Ā Beyond Piggy Banks and Lemonade Stands, by Liz Frazier. (kids are never too young to learn about personal finance)
TOGETHER WITH CIT**
Got Over $5k in Savings?
CIT Bank now offers a Platinum Savings account with a whopping 4.75% APY* on balances of $5,000 or more!!! Booyah!
Not only thatā¦ There are no opening or monthly account fees, savings accounts are FDIC insured (up to $250k), and you can manage everything through an easy to use mobile app!
If youāve got over $5k in your emergency fund, check out theĀ CIT Platinum Savings accountĀ and put those dollars to work. šŖ
Platinum Savings is a tiered interest rate account. Interest is paid on the entire account balance based on the interest rate and APY in effect that day for the balance tier associated with the end-of-day account balance. APYs ā Annual Percentage Yields are accurate as of March 31, 2023: 0.25% APY on balances of $0.01 to $4,999.99; 4.75% APY on balances of $5,000.00 or more. Interest Rates for the Platinum Savings account are variable and may change at any time without notice. The minimum to open a Platinum Savings account is $100. See site for details.
SAVING
Early Retirement GRID
This weekās chart is an oldie but goodie, from our buddy Zach over atĀ FourPillarFreedom.
It shows roughly how many years itāll take for you to reach financial independence, based on your annual income vs. annual spendingššš
What we love about this chart is it visualizes how detrimental lifestyle inflation actually is regarding your ability to retire.
If youāre earning $100k per year and spending $90k of it (a 10% savings rate), youāre actually on a longer wealth building journey than someone earning $50k and spending $40k of it (20% savings rate).
Main takeaway: No matter how big or small your salary is, the most important factor in determining your timeline to retire is your savings rate.
More resources:
š¢Ā Calculator:Ā Hereās anĀ interactive version of the retirement grid, for higher income earners. It lets you plug in your own numbers and growth assumptions.
š§Ā Listen:Ā But do you evenĀ need to be a millionaireĀ to retire? Maybe not!
ICYMI
News and Updates
Loan Level PricingĀ š”
You may have heard, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing changes to fees known asĀ loan-level price adjustments. Kind of good news for borrowers with low credit scores and bad news for those with higher scores. *Note: overall, having a good credit score still gets you a cheaper overall interest rate. Donāt go trashing your score just to get a small discount on a higher rate.
Old TechĀ š¼
Walmart has launched aĀ Gadget to Gift Cards ProgramĀ – they want to buy your old tech and give you store credit in exchange. Clean out your old technology drawers, people!
Job Satisfaction š¤·āāļø
Pretty interesting study via Pew Research aboutĀ How Americanās View Their Jobs. Most people seem happy with their co-workers & bosses. But theyāre not so stoked about their current pay or promotion opportunities.
Facebook Class ActionĀ šŖ
Anyone who used Facebook in the last 16 years can submit a claim and be part of their latest class action suit. Submit theĀ claim form hereĀ before August 25th and youāll get a tiny portion of the $540 million that FB will be paying out. Yay.
Mothers DayĀ š
Just a reminder yāall that Mothers Day is coming up ā Sunday May 14th ā so pick out your gifts early to avoid the last minute āconvenience feesā for late planning!
FRIENDS OF HTM
Nick Maggiulli, Of Dollars and Data
Nick is the COO of Ritholtz Wealth Management. And when heās not kicking butt making his clients richer, heās writing killer blog posts on his site,Ā Of Dollars And DataĀ so thatĀ all peopleĀ can learn to be better with money.
Nick also wrote one of our fave personal finance booksĀ Just Keep Buying. We also had a great chat with him onĀ Ep 499 of the podcast, which youāll really enjoy.
Thatās it for now. Donāt forget to enter the sock giveaway!! š§¦
Best friends out š»
