Good morning everybody, this is Matt and Joel here with your Tuesday morning positive vibes forecast 👨‍🏫:

Today we're expecting mostly happiness, with a sprinkle of prosperity. There's a ~90% chance of passionate work this morning, bringing rich feelings of satisfaction, pride, and a wave of cheerfulness to your day.

Around midday a few new opportunities will roll in, along with some blessings in disguise. Be sure to pack your creative mindset today, as you'll need it to navigate these fun challenges and emerge a stronger and wealthier person.

The positive vibes will continue through the afternoon, mixed with some celebration (and maybe a couple sneaky beverages 😉). Sincere appreciation will influence most of your evening, urging you to be generous and help others in need.

All in all we have an awesome day in front of us. Thanks for tuning in... OK now here's the rest of your money news 👇👇👇

TO DO

Libraries are Community Hubs

This week: Check out your local library! (Or at least download one of the library apps like Libby or Hoopla onto your phone)

The library offers more than just books btw. You can rent movies, puzzles, games, they offer a ton of free activities and programs -- like passes to the zoo, museums, cultural events, etc. Not to mention, some libraries can be a great place for remote working 👨‍💻 with free wifi, silence, good people watching ;)

You've driven past it 100 times. Now it's time to go in and check it out. 😉

INVESTING

Ignore the Hype 🙉

Price predictions for 2023 are coming out in full force right now, and they are ALL OVER the map.

This was on CNBC last week and we had to laugh 👇👇👇

Gotta love contradicting headlines on the same page 🤣

As for the stock market, all the top banks and financial institutions are putting out their "expert analysis" of how things will perform in 2023. (Here are 16 big ones, all expecting returns ranging between -9.7% and +10.5%)

Who will be right and who will be wrong? Actually, a better question is ---> Are you going to change your investment decisions based on any of these reports?

We hope not!

As a reminder: Predicting the stock market is impossible. And all the headlines you read are mostly designed for clicks.

Instead of worrying about what markets are going to do in 2023, focus on your personal situation. Increasing the gap between your income and expenses is what's really in your control.

Also check out:

• 💻 NYT Article:Mutual Funds that Beat the Market?(Not a single 1 out of 2,132!)

• 🎙️ Pod Episode 175:Simple and Smart Investing(with JL Collins)

• 📕 Book Rec: Little Book of Common Sense Investing(ahem.. you should borrow it for free from library 😉)

TOGETHER WITH BILT

A Different Type of Credit Card...

We've mentioned this on the podcast a few times... Bilt is a credit card and rewards app that gives you points for paying your rent. These points later convert to travel rewards, or cash towards future rent payments!

Here's how it works...

• First, join Bilt Rewards and apply for the credit card

• Next, verify your account and bank info

• Click "Pay Rent by Check"

• The system will charge your new credit card, then they will physically mail a check out to your landlord.

• It can take 5-8 days in the mail so you have to remember to pay early each month!!!

(If you currently use Venmo/Paypal or an online portal to pay your landlord, Bilt does online payments for that stuff too!!)

Bilt is the only credit card that allows you to earn rewards for paying rent!

***Please please please DON'T get this card if you are currently in credit card debt or can't handle credit responsibly. This should be used only if you have the cash to cover rent each month, every month***

JOBS

Remote Opportunities are Drying Up...

There's an interesting trend going on in the labor market...

Out of all the jobs people applied for on LinkedIn in October, 50% of applications were for remote positions.

But, remote positions only make up about 15% of all the available postings.

Here is the trend over time (via Axios) 👇👇👇

Overall, technically we're still a job seeker's market (there's 1 job opening for every 1 active applicant in the US right now)

BUT, there's a clear mismatch in location expectations. More and more workers want remote work, but fewer employers are offering it.

A few thoughts come to mind:

1. For those job seeking right now, you could largely expand your opportunities if you focus on office based jobs. Less competition = more opportunities.

2. For those looking to hire, considering remote or hybrid workers would greatly increase your number of applicants. Give the people what they want!

3. All of this will probs level out eventually, but things could get worse before they better -- we're already seeing hiring declines and economic slowdowns.

Anyway, something to keep in mind if you're thinking about a career change in the near future!

• 💼 LinkedIn:December's Workforce Report

• 📊 BLS Report:Latest Employment data highlights

ICYMI

Hot Off the Presses...

Robinhood IRA 💰Our (former) least fav trading platform Robinhood is now offering IRA accounts... And they come with a 1% contribution match -- not bad! But before y'all flock over there and open up accounts, read the fine print. Not only is there a 5 year vesting period for matches, but a big transfer fee if you take your money elsewhere.

4-Day Work Week 🧑‍💼27 out of the 33 companies that tried a 4-day work week pilot program (with no reduction in pay) reported huge success! With increased performance and employee happiness, most have no plans to return to regular work schedules. Win, win! 🥳

Co-ownership 🏠With real estate so expensive right now, should you buy a house with a friend? Here are some things to consider before mixing your money, but if this sounds appealing to you please proceed with caution. Not only could it be a bad financial move but it could also wreck a friendship.

Mileage High Club 🚘How many miles can a car actually last? Here are the top 20 cars with greatest potential lifespan (**Spoiler alert: Toyota is crushing it, holding 10 of the top 20 spots)

College 🤷‍♂️New to the HTM Blog: Is College Worth It? Well, if you ask your grandpa he'd tell you YES. If you ask millennials you get like a 50/50 answer. This post covers pros/cons of college, as well as alternative routes to education.

Super-Rich 🛍️Just for funsies... Take this short spend like the super-rich survey to find out which celebrity your ridiculous lifestyle would be closest to.

HOW *YOU* MONEY

Andrew, 27y/o from Vancouver, WA 🌳

Occupation: Investment Data Analyst Salary: $65,000

Paycheck deductions: 401k = $700, Taxes = $550ishMortgage: We just bought our home and pay $1,870 for our mortgage (includes insurance), $42 monthly for HOA, Water is around $200, electricity is around $150Debt: None!Other expenses: -$1,200/m

Leftover savings each month: ~$650ish

How are you investing your excess savings each month? We try to keep around 10k in our high interest savings at all times. We received a small loan from my wife’s parents as a portion of our down payment to buy our home so we dedicate 5% every month to pay them back quickly as well. In addition, we have a rule for all bonuses or lump sums - 50% to my 401k, 20% to our IRA, 20% we give back to her parents, and 10% for us to spend how we’d like.

Biggest “craft beer equivalent” splurge:Getting massages!!!!!

Best savings hack/advice:Definitely not having a car payment. That has helped us make progress far more quickly. Also, switching to Mint Mobile a few years back (following HTM advice) has had an insane impact. We went from paying $200 monthly to $50 for both our cell service - that saves us nearly $2k a year!

What's your biggest money challenge right now?Child care, hands down!

Anything else you want to share?I have 2 young kids (both under 4), went through a career change less than a year ago and bought our home 7 months ago. it’s an insanely busy time in our lives but we try to pause and enjoy ourselves along the way as we make progress. We aren’t where we want to be quite yet, but we’re soaking in the process every day!

If you're up for being featured in a future newsletter, we'd love to hear from you --> fill out the How You Money form here (we only post if/when you give permission!!)**

Welp, that's it for now! Wherever you are and whatever you're getting up to this week... give it your all (and make sure you have a little fun along the way 😉).

Best friends out 🍻