Good morning, HTM Family!

“The flower does not dream of the bee. The flower just blossoms, then the bee comes” – Mark Nepo

A quick reminder for today…

Just focus on being the best version of yourself, and you’ll naturally attract the good stuff in life. You do you.

🌸🐝🌸🐝🌸

Okie dokie, onto the money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

30 Days, No Amazon… 🙅‍♂️

For the next month, before clicking that “Buy Now” button on Amazon, take a moment to price-check other retailers like Target and Walmart. You might be surprised to find the exact same items area available at lower prices, usually with fast and free shipping!

My buddy has been buying baby formula on Amazon, because he’s a Prime member thinking it’s the best deal by default. But he just price-checked at Target and found the exact same formula was $9 less per can! (and still with free shipping). That’s a huge savings — enough to actually cover his Prime membership cost!

If you’re a Prime member, it can be easy to fall into the habit of defaulting to Amazon without thinking twice. But practicing a bit more mindful spending can save you a lot of money. Take the No Amazon challenge!

SAVING

FOMO vs. JOMO Mindset

JOMO = Joy of Missing Out.

It’s the opposite of FOMO. And having a JOMO mindset is an absolute game changer when it comes to making money decisions in life.

Some examples…

FOMO thinking: “All my friends have a limited edition Stanley mug, so I better buy one too ASAP” 🥤

—> JOMO thinking: “Trends come and go. I’ll happily sit this one out because I love my current water bottle”

FOMO thinking: “If I don’t attend my college friend’s birthday weekend, all the girls will think I’m poor and might gossip about me” 😤

—> JOMO thinking: “Having a quiet weekend at home while all my friends are away would actually be really nice! It’d give me a chance to recharge, plus I’d save that $500 I can’t really afford to spend anyway”

FOMO thinking: “I heard Tesla is releasing a new model soon. I better get on the waiting list so I can be driving a car that nobody else has” 🏎️

—> JOMO thinking: “I own some Tesla stock inside my index funds. This means that every person out there who buys a Tesla is supporting a company I own shares of which puts a tiny bit of money into my pocket!”

All in all, the more you can eradicate FOMO from your life, the better off your finances will be.

Rather than looking outward and seeking external validation through material possessions, look inwards and work on finding peace with who you are and what you already have. Cheers to a happier, healthier, and wealthier YOU!

Keep reading: FOMO might be wrecking your finances. 7 tips to help!

TOGETHER WITH BETTERMENT*

Ease into investing

Ease being the key word. With automated tool like portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment, Betterment makes investing easy for you, and a total grind for your money. Get started.

CARS

Best Used Cars of 2024 🚘

Consumer Reports just released two new studies we wanted to share with y’all…

First, a Brand Reliability Report for *Used* Vehicles. This report is different from previous car brand studies, because it specifically focuses on ownership years 5 —> 10. (So it only includes data from models built between 2014 to 2019)

Here are the rankings at a glance 👇👇👇

There were ~150,000 vehicles in this study.

Looking at the raw data, if you’re buying a used car between 5-10 years old, you will greatly limit your risk of problems, costly repairs, and get more life out of a vehicles over the long term by focusing on the top brand names over others.

As for specific models, their next report shows the Top 10 Used Cars Under $20k, broken into categories 👇👇👇

Depending on whether you’re looking at a hybrid, SUV, truck, or something compact under $10k, the make/models above have the best ratings overall.

And if you really want to get into the weeds of comparison, Consumer Reports has a TON of other used car studies and data. But to unlock these reports you need to become a member ($39 for a 1-year membership) or gain access via your local library.

Honestly, if you’re in the market for a used car (or any costly consumer appliance), paying a few dollars for thorough unbiased reviews from Consumer Reports might save you a bunch of headaches and money in the long run!

Related stuff:

• 🚙 HTM Blog: How much should I spend on a used car?

• 🤷‍♂️ Buying Process: How to buy a used car

• 💸 Financing: We almost always recommend saving and paying cash for cars! But if you do need to get a loan, here’s how to do it and tips to get the best type of loan/rates.

ICYMI

In other news…

Returns Fraud 🛒
Retailers are in a bind as “fraudulent returns” have become their biggest headache, costing them a ton of money and time to manage. Kind of sad, because this might lead to the end of generous return policies as we know it 😬

Shrinkflation 🧻
A very funny and well written post from The Hustle: Why toilet paper keeps getting smaller and smaller. Gives a great explanation of shrinkflation and why packages are smaller these days, yet cost more.

Gifting Houses 🏡
Crazy headline from Sherwood Media: Why your parents should buy you a house. Our view is —> it’s great when family helps out financially (if they can afford to). But there’s a big difference between something being offered and something expected.

Community College 👨‍🎓
Interesting article form NPR about the drawbacks of community college, the main one being that most folks who opt to take that route don’t end up fully completing their degree.

“Title Lock” 🙅‍♀️
If you see any ads for “Home Title Lock Insurance”, steer clear. The FTC warns these programs are not title insurance and can’t protect you from ID fraud!

FRIENDS OF HTM

Jocelyn Pearson - Scholarship Guru 🎓

Jocelyn is the founder of The Scholarship System. It’s an online treasure trove of courses and training sessions that teach folks how to find, apply for, and win valuable scholarships!

If you or someone you know is entering college — check out this free webinar, Jocelyn’s YouTube videos, and join the Debt-free Degrees Facebook group.

We also interviewed Jocelyn a few weeks back on Episode #860 if you missed it!

Welp, that’s it for now. Have an awesome week ahead, being your awesome self and doing what you do best! 🌸🐝

Best friends out! 🍻