enRICHed: Volume 24
On A Boat
While our west coast BFFs are either excited or depressed about the freak-snowstorm on their side of the country, Vivian spent this weekend celebrating her friends’ bachelorette in Miami, and wearing some hilarious motion sickness glasses on a boat. I guess we can file those under the list of “random stuff Viv can’t live without.” Whether you have been keeping it cozy this weekend or enjoying the outdoors, we hope this week’s newsletter fills you in on the happenings from this past week!
A few administrative reminders below:
HYCU, pronounced ‘haiku’: how the news impacts you and your wallet, aka How You Can Use
Spilling the Prosperitea 🫖 : our hot tips for you on all things money. Think discount codes, hacks, non-boring finance articles, sales, etc.
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s get you enRICHed.
Disabled Employment Boosted by Pandemic
There haven’t been many positives to come out of the COVID pandemic, but Bloomberg reported some good numbers this week: the rise of remote work has made employment of disabled people reach an all time high.
The percentage of disabled people who were employed rose to 21.3% in 2022.
HYCU; commuting into an office restricted many people from having a corporate job, even if they were skilled enough for the position. The high adoption rate of hybrid and remote work has allowed disabled people to get their first job, in sometimes years, and work without the stress of navigating an office layout or extra time spent on getting to and from their workplace. However, this is not to say that remote work has created 100% inclusivity: disable workers are still less likely to be hired than their able-bodied colleagues, and they are twice as likely to work a part-time position.
Section 230
If you listen to the Daily podcast, you might be familiar with the Section 230 law up for debate in front of the Supreme Court. If not, we are here to get you up to speed.
Section 230 protects Internet companies from liability for content that is published by third-party users on their sites: think Youtube, Twitter, Instagram. The law has been in place for 30 years - you can read some background here.
Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing two cases that challenge these protections. The cases allege that YouTube and Twitter should be liable for aiding and abetting terrorism because they recommended or hosted terrorism-related content. Basically the argument is that because Youtube and Twitter built their own AI tools, if the tools recommend something bad, they should be liable.
HYCU; so what’s being decided? A lot actually, and the Supreme Court justices have admitted that they are not experts on this subject. The ruling could change how company’s set up their recommendation algorithms, and from a wider argument could affect how they censor users in a realm of the Internet that has mostly been covered by free speech rights.
Americans KEEP Spending
NPR reported this week that despite high inflation levels, Americans continue to spend on everything from cars to clothes to restaurant meals. Personal spending rose 1.8% in January.
The continued spending puts the US economy in a peculiar position. “A drop in consumer spending would help to cool inflation, but it would also raise concerns about a recession. On the other hand, if spending continues to grow at this pace, it could force the Fed to raise interest rates even more aggressively to bring prices under control.”
HYCU; can all of this spending last? No. Spending in January rose faster than income, which signals that Americans may need to slow down soon. But if you keep track of your own budget, you can hopefully avoid this fate.
Target Goes for Faster Shipping
Target is going big, announcing that they are planning to invest $100 million into its supply chain in order to expand next-day shipping options.
Currently, Target’s network contains only 9 sorting centers. The investment will go towards pushing that number up to 15.
It’s a big deal to offer this type of same-day or next-day shipping. “Target opened its first sortation center in 2020 and says there has been a 150% increase in the number of orders delivered to consumers the next day.”
HYCU; While people do love a trip to Target, there is seemingly always something that gets forgotten - and people tend to default to an Amazon Prime order to fill the need. In a world of instant gratification, capitalizing on a priority of fast shipping is a great way to keep customers loyal, and is an even better means of competing with the likes of Amazon.
The 30 Year Olds Are In Debt
The WSJ reported this week that, more than any other age group, Americans in their 30s have the biggest amount of debt. With debt balances for their generation hitting $3.8 trillion, they had the steepest increase in debt accumulation of any age group.
The article covers a few families and their spending, showing that most of the debt being built is via credit cards and personal loans, both of which get harder to pay off as interest rates rise.
HYCU; this type of situation crushes hopes of building generational wealth. When they are focused primarily on making enough for necessary spending, it makes it hard for individuals to start families, build wealth for their children and purchase homes.
Rich Tip of the Week: Millionaire Life Advice (video link w/ sound)
Ellevest: What’s Going on with Federal Interest Rates (and How Do They Work?) this is so informative
Ever gotten a gift card and never used it? You’re not alone!
RICH BFF WORD OF THE WEEK: ETFs
