Good morning, beautiful people!

Life is like a mirror.
If you smile at it…
It will smile at you.

Reminder for this week: The more goodness you put out into the world, the more goodness you get in return.

OK onto the money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

Request a Free Energy Audit… 💡

Did you know some utility providers offer free energy audits!? They can help review your bill and usage, or even send a technician out for a home assessment to tell you how to improve efficiency.

It’s worth a quick call to find out!

Another option is a Do-It-Youself energy checklist. It might not be as thorough as a professional audit, but it’ll help identify weak spots in your home that might be hiding in plain sight.

Saving energy = saving dollars. 💸

SAVING

Enter Your “Lazy Money Saving Era” 🌴

Today, we’re giving you permission to embrace your laziness…

Because saving money doesn’t have to take maximum willpower or motivation (though that certainly helps). Sometimes, all it takes is tweaking a few daily habits to keep more cash in your pocket — without even breaking a sweat.

A few lazy money hacks to try out:

🚰 Drink Water – Fancy beverages are proliferating like wildfire these days, enticing you to spend more! Swap sodas and fancy drinks for good old H2O. Pocket that extra $50 a month instead.

🫙 Use a Cash Jar – Whenever you have spare change, birthday money, or small bills in your wallet… Toss it in a jar and put it out of sight. You can’t spend it if you don’t carry it around with you.

💰 The Frozen Pizza Hack – Keep quick, cheap meals on hand so you’re not tempted to drop $50 on takeout at the last minute on a random Tuesday. Having a plan for hectic days is a money lifesaver.

📺 Downgrade Streaming – Ads aren’t fun, but neither is overpaying for a handful of apps that rot your brain. Try out the cheaper plan and see if it’s really that bad (it’s probably not! 😉)

🛍 Thrift Online – No good thrift stores nearby? Sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace let you score secondhand steals from the comfort of your couch. It’s better than turning to Amazon for everything!

💳 Use a “Super Chill” Credit Card Strategy — No need to juggle 15 different rewards cards when 1 or 2 “catch-all” cards work really well. Just a couple of intentionally chosen cards will work well for most folks.

Full article here! 👉 11 Lazy Money Hacks to Mindlessly Save More

TOGETHER WITH US MOBILE*

Try It, Love It 📲

US Mobile lets you try out their coverage and service for free for 30 days to see if they’re a good fit for you…

If not, no worries! They have no contracts, so you can switch back to your old carrier any time you want.

US Mobile is well worth considering. They have the cheapest unlimited plans available, starting at $17.50 a month.

If you own your device and want to lower your bill, check out US Mobile. 💪

HOUSING

40 Is The New 30 🏡

First-time homebuyers keep getting older.

The median age for someone buying their first home in 1991 was 28. Now, it’s 38!

Here’s the trend over time via ResiClub. 👇👇👇

Now before you start complaining and blaming the skyrocketing housing prices, lack of supply, high interest rates, etc. let’s take a step back and think about this differently…

Is this trend such a bad thing?

For decades, young people have rushed into homeownership — being pressured by elders who say things like “buying a home is the most important money decision you’ll ever make!”

But this advice can lead many young people to become house-poor and buy before they’re ready. They jump in too soon before thinking it through.

Personally, I see a handful of positives to delaying your first house purchase:

👨‍💻 Invest more, earlier - Instead of dumping everything into a mortgage, young renters can get a jump start on investing, and grow their wealth with more flexibility. It’s still meaningfully cheaper to rent than it is to buy in almost all US cities!

🏘️ Finding the right place – Buying at 25 often means outgrowing your home quickly because your life situation changes more quickly at that phase. And we all know the transaction costs of buying and selling real estate are steep. So maybe waiting until 40+ can mean making a smarter, long-term decision about where to put down roots.

🤷‍♂️ Living longer, deciding later – Let’s be honest, 40 is the new 30. Many folks are living longer thanks to living health and advances in medicine, so there’s no rush to lock in a mortgage and buy a property before you're ready.

While fewer young people are buying homes today, it might not be as horrible as we assume at first glance. There can be positive benefits to renting in those early years. Delaying that first home purchase might be a sneaky smart financial choice.

Related stuff:

• 📊 RE Stats: Feb 2025 US Housing Market Report, via Zillow 

ICYMI

Newsy news news…

Fun Charts 🎮
Sherwood Media put out this cool and interactive post: Visualizing every day of the US stock market for the last 10 years. Zooming out puts into perspective how “bad” days in the market really aren’t that bad.

Infinite Loops 🔄
Here are 10 quick highlights from various money experts on the Infinite Loops show. “I think money is the best video game ever designed because it's multiplayer, it's a single number going up and going down. And you can contrast yourself constantly to where it was last year. It is the single best video game ever. (#5, George Mack)“

Windfalls 🙌
Can you guess the #1 response to this survey question: What would Americans do with a windfall? —> Surprise, surprise… 65% of people said they would prioritize saving and investing. The second top answer was paying off debt (52%). These are stats we love to see!

Price Hikes 📲
T-Mobile announced that it is raising prices starting in early April, increasing rates by as much as $5 a line. It’s never a bad time to reassess your choice of cell carrier and lower the cost of that monthly line item in your budget.

Friendship 👯‍♀️
A good read: Friendship in the age of politics, by Adam Singer. “Legitimate friends stand by you when things are rough, when you say something they disagree with, when you are at your best or worst. This is what real friendship is. There is no imaginary points system.“

ASK HTM

“Should I drop full coverage on my 2016 car that’s fully paid off (worth ~$6k)?”

The short answer: That’s probably a good move! Dropping full coverage lets you lower your premiums —> and save that money for repairs, car sinking funds, or extra investing!

That being said, it’s crucial to have a beefed-up e-fund to go this route. Because if you get in a crash and it’s your fault, you’ll be on the hook for replacing your car.

Here’s the longer answer!

Welp, that’s it for now! Wishing you a great week, spreading smiles, positivity and goodness to everyone around you 😎

Best friends out 🍻