Happy Tuesday, happy people!!
Welcome to the HTM newsletter… where we try and stuff your inbox with paid advertisements, affiliate links, and get rich quick schemes! 🙅
Nah, just kidding… Our goal really is to just share simple and practical money advice, increasing your knowledge and helping you live richer. Oh yeah, and occasionally we give out free stuff!
On that note, CONGRATS to the winners of our book giveaway last week!…
Jason, Michelle, Jay, Wendy and Amalia — You’re all getting copies of Sam Dogen’s book, Buy This, Not That. Ships out in a couple weeks… we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
And for the rest of y’all, stay tuned! We’ve got a bunch more goodies and giveaways planned, including some sweet new HTM branded swag. More on that soon 😎
TO DO
Action of the week: Opt Out! 📫
Did you know, the 4 biggest credit reporting agencies are permitted by law to share your personal credit file with banks and insurance companies?…
That’s why you get “pre-qualified offers” in the mail for credit loans and insurance products that you never asked for. (a.k.a. financial junk mail)
Little do most people know, you can OPT OUT!
👉 How? Go to OptOutPrescreen.com and fill in the form.
👉 Time? It takes about 2 minutes to submit!
👉 Benefits of opt out? Reduce chances of identity theft, stop receiving credit/insurance offers that may not be good for you, reduce waste and save trees!! 🌲
*while you’re at it, add your number to the do not call registry for seller and telemarketer calls*
BUDGET
“Eat eggs. Save money.” 🍳
Finance legends Ben Carlson and Michael Batnick were talking about how awesome eggs 🥚 are on their show last week. And we couldn’t agree more!
Even with the recent uptick in prices, you can’t beat the value eggs provide. They’re a killer source of protein and offer a ton of flexibility as a meal ingredient.
Other egg fun facts:
- Eggs can be stored for up to a YEAR in the fridge! You just need to keep turning them over so the little air bubble inside doesn’t dry out the top of the egg. (Please please please don’t try this at home though, most eggs in the USA should be eaten within 3-5 weeks!! Still, that’s a long time.) 🥚
- A dude called Howard Helmer holds a guinness world record for fastest omelette maker. He made 427 x omelettes in 30 minutes!! 🍳
- The USA produces about 113 Billion eggs each year! That’s like 1 per person, per day, for every day of the year 😋
- The average hen lays 300 – 325 eggs per year 🐓
- Chickens can survive pretty much anywhere in the US, which makes them great backyard pets (if your city allows). ❄️☀️
Other resources:
- 16 x Egg Recipes: Budget friendly meal options
- BackyardChickens: A huge online forum for peeps that raise chickens at home (and eat free eggs!)
- Pod Episode 463: Other ways to cook affordable home-cooked meals with Leanne Brown
INVESTING
The Crypto Kerfuffle…
This chart caught our eye last week, from a post over at The Reformed Broker.
It shows the “cascade of crises” that have attributed to bitcoin’s massive fall in value 👇👇👇
We’re not sharing this to bash bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies (truth be told, both of us hold a very very small amount of crypto)…
Just wanted to share some thoughts and guidelines we’ve stuck to personally, and recommend others think about before buying crypto assets.
1️⃣ Crypto is still a “new” space. As such, more caution is needed because it’s more susceptible to unforeseen events, random new challenges and scams. Proceed with caution.
2️⃣ Soooo many coin types out there. Although the technology is awesome and might succeed, nobody can tell for certain which exact coins/blockchain will stay around for the long haul. (There are over 19,000 cryptocurrencies right now, and dozens of blockchain platforms on which they are built on). If you want to invest, diversify a bit!
3️⃣ Don’t invest money you can’t lose. Over the past month we’ve seen entire companies (and all their clients) go bankrupt and lose all their capital. We recommend only a small portion of your wealth being invested in extremely risky assets.
4️⃣ Don’t borrow money to invest. Leverage gets people into trouble real fast. Just last week a survey revealed that almost 1/4 of people used loans to buy crypto — Scary! 😳
Just curious… Anyone out there have more than 20-30% of their net worth in cryptocurrency? We’re always looking to learn more and hear new viewpoints. Please share if you want to!
ICYMI
Recent stuff circling the web…
Forex 💶
Good news for all you US travelers headed to Europe! The Euro is now *almost equal* to the US Dollar… The last time these currencies had a 1:1 exchange ratio was 20 years ago!
Economy 🙌
Think life is hard right now? Check out this really cool article —> 24 charts that show we’re (mostly) living better than our parents. Gives great perspective on the better living standards we have now vs. in the 80’s.
Gas ⛽️
Crude Oil has started to trade lower for the first time in a few months… This *might* mean a drop of 25-50 cents per gallon in the coming weeks, says GasBuddy. Not a massive savings, but any savings are welcome right now!!!
Jobs 👩🔬
We’re still in a killer job market… 372,000 new jobs were added to the economy in June says the latest data. Kind of weird, because aren’t we supposed to be in a recession? 🤷♂️
Wages 💰
Many cities across the US increased minimum wages in July. Here are all the deets and cities with wage increases.
Estate Planning 📝
Actor Chadwick Boseman’s estate finally got settled, after ~2 years in probate (he died without a will). A good reminder for everyone out there to a) update your account beneficiaries and b) write a basic will. It can shorten (or skip!) the long and expensive probate process when you 🪦.
FREE Covid Tests 🧪
It’s time for round 3!! Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order another 8 free at-home tests. Order yours here — delivers within a couple weeks.
COMMUNITY
Coach Carson drop in… 👋
Last week, this awesome dude stopped by the HTM office…
Chad “Coach” Carson is one of our fav people in the personal finance space. (Actually he’s one of our favorite humans in real life also!)
Chad is all about real estate investing as a means to achieving financial freedom. Check out his blog, podcast, and YouTube channel!
Wishing you all an awesome week, doing whatever you do best! Stay cool out there 😎
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.
