Good morning, HTM family!

3 quick reminders to start the day…

1. If you don’t go after what you want, chances are you’ll never get it. Today’s a great day to GO for it!

2. If you don’t ask, the answer will always be no. Today’s a great day to ASK for stuff!

3. If you don’t take any steps forward, you’ll always be stuck in the same place. Today is a great day to MOVE on!

Go for it. Ask for stuff. Keep moving.

That is all.

OK, onto the money stuff 👇👇👇

TO DO

Leave a Positive Review 📝

Positive reviews and encouraging feedback mean the world to small businesses and content creators. (Actually, they mean the world to anyone, anywhere!)

Today: Leave a note for someone who impressed you recently. It’s quick, free, and you’ll brighten their life. 💪

MONEY

Random Cash Facts 💵

If you’ve been listening to How To Money for a while, you probably know a thing or two about cash… but I bet you didn’t know at least one of these random money facts:

• There used to be a $10,000 bill — This gives a whole new meaning to “big bills.” Before 1969, the U.S. Government issued $500, $1,000, $5,000 and even $10,000 bank notes! They’re still considered legal tender, but most of them are held by collectors. 💰💰💰

• The oldest money still in use — The British Pound was originally called the “pound sterling”, and it’s been used since 775 AD. That’s over 1,200 years ago! 🤯 (The US Dollar was created around 1785)

• Your money’s dark secret — A study led by Yeugang Zuo, Ph.D of the University of Massachusetts found that between 85-90% of bank notes in the US & Canada had traces of cocaine on them! 🤫

• There are more $2 bills than you might think — Although thought to be rare, there are over a billion (1.4 billion to be exact) $2 bills in circulation today. But beware, some people consider them to be bad luck. 😱

• You can iron your money — Want nice, crisp bills? You can actually iron out crumpled US bills because they’re made of fabric and not paper (75% cotton, and 25% linen) 💵

• “Mind Your Business” — This was the first quote on the original US penny, believed to be designed by Benjamin Franklin. It changed over time and since 1864 has been “In God We Trust”.

So now you have a few random money facts to impress your friends and family or the next cashier you come across when making a purchase!

Related:

• 💸 More Facts: 21 Fun Facts About Money

• 📣 HTM Blog: Common money phrases, true or false?

TOGETHER WITH EMPOWER**

Automated (and free!) Net Worth Tracking

A few years back, Empower Retirement purchased Personal Capital, our favorite net worth tracking tool! The good news is all that changed was the name, not any of the free features or management tools.

While they do offer portfolio management and stuff for high net worth clients, the easy to use dashboard and expense tracking is the best part — and that’s free for everyone. All you need is to connect your bank accounts, credit cards, and brokerages. Then sit back as the software organizes your financial life into neat little summaries and charts.

If you don't track your net worth or are looking for a more automated approach, check out Empower! 💪

CREDIT CARDS

The 7 Golden Rules… 💳

Today’s chart is one of several we found nestled deep within a nerdy study about credit card rewards.

Overall, the study found that (surprise, surprise) “regardless of income, sophisticated individuals profit from reward credit cards at the expense of naive consumers”

Clearly, more people pay for rewards cards than benefit from them 👇👇👇

So what actually makes a “sophisticated” credit card user? Here are some golden rules of responsible usage:

• Pay the full balance, on time, every time. The moment you have an outstanding balance, you pay interest (compounded every. single. day.) Sophisticated users never pay interest.

• Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford! Save for things, then buy them. Not the other way around.

• Never take cash advances. Pulling money out at an ATM with your credit card has a special set of immediate fees. They really hurt.

• Always review statements/transactions. That’s how you catch fraud, fees, overspending, whether discounts/points have been applied, etc. Sophisticated users review everything.

• Monitor your utilization ratio. A best practice is to stay below 30% of your total available credit line.

• Watch out for annual fees! You can usually transfer your account to a no-fee card at the same bank or issuer. Don’t pay annual fees for cards you rarely use.

• Actually USE your rewards. Letting rewards expire is like saving up all your spare change throughout the year and then throwing it in the trash at the end. Take advantage of what is offered.

If you know deep down that you can’t stick to responsible usage, stay away from credit cards. It’s not worth it.

But if you’re open to learning and practicing the golden rules, credit cards can truly work in your favor.

Related stuff:

• 👨‍💻 HTM Blog: Credit Card Golden Rules

• 🎧 Pod Ep #629: Using Credit Cards as Nature Intended

• 💳️ Find the best card for you: The HTM credit card tool 

ICYMI

Recent Chitchat…

E-fund 🙅‍♂️
The CFPB warns you shouldn’t store loads of cash within apps like Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Apple Pay… They are not federally insured bank accounts like regular banks or credit unions. Right now *billions* of dollars are stored in these apps — if this is you, move your stash to a legit insured bank.

Average Savings 📊
According to Fidelity’s latest report, here are the average and median 401k balances for each generation. (keep in mind, 401k plans don’t paint a full picture of all retirement savings)

Money = Happiness? 🤷‍♀️
There have been conflicting studies on whether more money = more happiness in life. Researchers have now joined forces and in summary… “if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help. For everyone else, more money was associated with higher happiness to somewhat varying degrees.”

Real Time 🔁 
FedNow is set to launch next month… Bye-bye to 2-3 day ACH transfers and hello to instant —> bank money transfers. No matter when you want to move funds, it’ll happen in seconds (assuming your bank is part of the network).

Freelance Tips 👩‍💻
New HTM blog for all you side hustlers and self-employed peeps: 11 money tips for freelancers and gig workers.

FRIENDS OF HTM

Lauryn Williams @ Worth Winning

Before Lauryn was in finance, she was a medal-winning Olympian!! Not just that, she was the first American female to win medals in BOTH the summer and winter Olympics — in sprinting & bobsledding! (yep, real-life Cool Runnings 😉)

Lauryn founded Worth Winning to help young folks confidently plan their finances. She holds a CSLP (a whiz at student loans) — so if any of you are freaking out about the upcoming “payment unpause”, definitely check out Lauryn’s stuff.

We also interviewed Lauryn on Ep 397 a couple of years back talking about student loans. Check it out!

Cheers for reading, and have an awesome day ahead 💪

Best friends out 🍻