Happy Tuesday, HTM family!

Ever heard of “GETMO”?…

It stands for Good Enough To Move On.

Very effective workers have this skill — the ability to recognize a “sweet spot” in their projects. It’s not perfect, but also not too sloppy — just good enough to move on.

We all have 1000 things to do each day. And trying to be perfect at every single task is impossible. Instead, if we look for the GETMO point in our tasks, we can move quicker and cover more ground.

Just something to think about as you attack work week. The pursuit of “perfect” might be holding you back.

OK now let’s chat about money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

Spend Your 2024 FSA Dollars 💸

Just a friendly reminder that your FSA dollars might expire at the end of the year.

Unlike HSAs (where unused money is yours to keep forever), FSAs typically have a use-it-or-lose-it policy.

This week: Check your FSA balance and the deadlines your workplace has set. If you have excess funds, hit up your local CVS or online FSA store to make sure that your money gets spent and not lost!

INSURANCE

What is Life Insurance Laddering? 🪜

For those of you without life insurance currently (or if your policy is too small right now), you might be interested in this strategy called life insurance laddering.

It’s when you purchase multiple term life insurance policies, each with different coverage periods, benefit amounts, and expiration dates.

Why do this? Because sometimes purchasing just a single, large insurance policy might be overkill, costing you more than is necessary. Typically, as people get older and their net worth grows, the need for coverage dwindles.

By “stacking” a few smaller policies on top of each other and staggering their terms, you can tailor-make coverage that matches your financial journey more accurately.

Here’s a simplified example:

By being proactive in younger years, you can build coverage that gives you the highest benefit in the most critical financial times and then saves you money on premiums as your net worth grows and the need for coverage declines.

Another scenario (probably more common) is for middle-aged folks who realize they don’t have enough coverage right now. They can purchase a supplemental, shorter-term policy to cover their immediate needs, stacking it on top of whatever policy they have currently.

All in all, life insurance laddering might be worth considering if you need to shift your family’s coverage. You can choose the timeframes and amounts that match your financial trajectory, and possibly save money on policy premiums too!

Read the full article here: Life insurance laddering.

TOGETHER WITH DAFFY*

Join the $10M Gains for Good Charity Challenge 💪

This giving season, we're joining Daffy to encourage investors to turn their market gains into ‘Gains for Good’ by donating  appreciated stock, mutual funds, ETFs, or crypto, to avoid capital gains taxes and help raise $10 million for charity.

Joining is simple—every unique stock, ETF, mutual fund, or crypto donation per day earns you 1 entry for a chance to win big prizes including:

• 🎁 Daily Prize: $100 Daffy Gifts: Win a digital gift card for a charity of your choice.

• 💰 Grand Prize: $5,000 for charity: We'll drop the money in your Daffy fund, so you can distribute it to your favorite charities.

• 👕 A limited edition Daffy T-Shirt: If we hit our $10 million goal, everyone who participates receives this thank-you gift.

Ready to save significantly on your tax bill, maximize your impact, and get daily chances to win additional funds for your favorite causes? Join the Gains for Good challenge by December 17 at 11:59 PM PST.

INVESTING

Bitcoin’s “Beta” 📈

You might've noticed that when the S&P 500 moves, Bitcoin often follows suit in the same direction – but with extra oomph!..

The nerds on Wall Street call this amplified effect "beta." For example, if Bitcoin's beta to the S&P 500 is an estimated 1.5, this means if the S&P 500 goes up by 1%, the price of Bitcoin will typically jump 1.5% or more.

Here’s a chart from Bloomberg (paywalled article) showing Bitcoin’s relationship with the stock market.

Now, this might sound really exciting. After all, the stock market goes up over long periods of time, so Bitcoin should too, right?

Maybe.

While Bitcoin's potential is intriguing, it's crucial to remember that it's still a relatively new and volatile asset. It’s only been around ~15 years and the crypto world is still plagued by scams and wild price swings. It’s not a stable investment you can rely on.

Our 2 cents: Even with Bitcoin crushing it over the past couple of weeks, we still recommend keeping your crypto exposure to a maximum of 5% of your portfolio. Dabble, but don’t go all in. That’s enough to potentially benefit from the upside — while protecting yourself from losing the farm if things go south!

Related stuff:

• 🧑‍💻 HTM Blog: Should you buy alternative investments to build wealth?

• 🎙️ Podcast Ep #809: All about Bitcoin, w/ Marko from Whiteboard Finance

ICYMI

In other news…

Tuition Trends 👩‍🎓
We all complain about the costs of college... But new data shows that financial aid and scholarship programs have grown too, actually lowering the average net tuition and fees at public institutions. There are still cheap ways to get a degree, folks!

Streaming End Game 📺
Via the Honest Broker, here’s a quick rundown of why streaming services are getting more expensive (and why price hikes are likely to continue).

Lessons learned 🏝️
A great reflection post from our buddy Fritz at The Retirement Manifesto: What I’ve Learned Writing 400 Articles About Retirement. The “surprises along the way” are eye-opening… What you think retirement will be like isn’t what it’s actually like.

Travel Tuesday ✈️
Black Friday, Cyber Monday…there’s also “Travel Tuesday” coming up. Great for those who want to snag a quick travel deal. But beware: Don’t get tricked into spending money you never intended to!

Cap Gains Harvesting 💻
For those of you with low income in 2024, it might be a good year to do some capital gains harvesting. Check out this article from Wallet Hacks for all the deets.

Encouragement 🤩
A guest post on the ESI Money blog: Journey to Financial Independence as a Late Starting Single Parent. More proof that it’s never too late to change your financial trajectory. Is it hard? Yes! But it’s possible, and you’re not alone.

HOW *YOU* MONEY

Benjamin R, 34, Moreno Valley, CA 🌤️

Occupation: Project Management & Business Development
Salary: $81,000

Paycheck deductions: ~Taxes $1,000, Health Insurance $100, Simple IRA $250
Rent: $1,600/m
Other Debts: Student Loan $200, Car Payment $420
Living expenses: ~$2,100

Leftover savings each month: ~$1,100

How are you investing your excess savings each month?
I save this entire amount in a high yield savings account. A portion of the money is allocated for additional taxes as I have a side job that I file self employed for. Throughout the year it all makes just under 5% interest through Capital One!

Biggest “craft beer equivalent” splurge:
Bike parts and camera gear, I am a cyclist and photographer so new parts and accessories can get very pricey.

Best savings hack/advice:
I had 40k in credit card debt in my 20's and used the debt avalanche method to be debt free in under 2 years. I then saved 20k and have not misused credit cards since. Now focusing on fewer hobbies and being more intentional with those hobbies causes me to spend less on things I do not find meaning in, and save money on unnecessary purchases.

Biggest money challenge right now?
Saying no to outings around the holidays. Friendsgiving, holiday parties, all the additional expenses around the holidays does add up rather quickly. Of course I love to be in community and do things, but I still try my best to keep it within the budget and not overdo it!

Recent money win and how did you celebrate?
I created new income streams through photography, design, and my writing as all separate hobbies turned into side hustles. I bought a used car after driving my previous car for 11 years and 250k miles!

Anything else you want to share?
I just wrote a book that might be of interest to folks in your audience who struggle with anxiety. Here’s the link if you want to share.

**Editors note: Want to be featured in an upcoming newsletter? Fill out this HYM form and share your story! (Don’t worry, we won't publish anything without you approving it first)

Cheers for reading! Have an awesome week ahead, not letting perfect get in the way of good. 🤜 🤛

Best friends out! 🍻