Good morning Reader!

Another beautiful week, people!

Today's run down includes: green...Green...GREEN in the market this past week, the Mega Millions lottery hits a staggering amount, people going through retirement worries on Reddit, sky-high car insurance rates, and common credit card mistakes.

Get financially LIT with me🔥👇

Market Update Since Last Week's Newsletter

Dow Jones

39,475.90 (+1.61%)

S&P 500

5,234.18 (+1.27%)

Nasdaq

16,428.82 (+1.38%)

Bitcoin

66,353.834 (+6.86%)

​

• GREEN GREEN GREEN - all three larger indexes are up at least 1% this past week
• Bitcoin's weekly volatility is really something to behold this past week - posting a high of almost 68k and a low of under 61k...in just a week
• $FDX (Fedex) leading the S&P 500 with an impressive 11.79% weekly gain

Visual of the Week

Is retirement out of the question for this person...?👇

Went down a Reddit rabbithole, as one does, and found this post doing numbers. And it got me thinking...is this person "too late" or will they be fine for retirement? And do I really believe in such a thing as starting "too late?"

Well...there's a few questions here that need answered for me at least - What is their monthly contribution is dollars to their 401k? What age are they wanting to retire? Do they have existing savings? (Although it sounds like a no) What are their 401k investment selections? What is their existing salary? What are their existing expenses?

So let's just do some real quick calculations here right? Let's say they make $70k so a 9% contribution would be $6,300 per year, or $525 per month. Company matches dollar per dollar up to 6% so that's $4,200 from their employer per year or an extra $350 per month. All in all, that's $875 per month in contributions. With an average annual return in a broad S&P fund like 7% and a retirement at 65 - this would give them about $875k in retirement (given NOTHING changes). At 8%, it's $1m, and at 9% it's $1.2m.

Now this assumes they NEVER get any more raises or promotions or new jobs or never increase their retirement contributions in 28 years...also assumes based on their salary that I made up lol - could be more or less than $70k, this just for examples sake.

Is it too late for them? And do I believe there is such a thing as "too late" for anyone? I really don't think it's ever "too late" to start investing and planning for a future. Something is always better than nothing and while $875k may not be 'enough' for a fully comfortable retirement, it sure as heck is much better than $0.

And all in all, it just goes to show how starting as early as possible is the best way to plan for retirement, no matter how much. Better late than never as the old saying goes.

Deep Dive of the Week

The 3 Most Common Credit Card Mistakes 💳

Uh oh, time to get uncomfortable. Let's talk credit cards. Recent stats show almost half of Americans carry some form of credit card debt.

Well, I'm here to help you not become part of that population. So let's dive in with some of the most common credit card mistakes I see 👇

1. Waaaay to high of credit utilization - AKA the percentage of your total credit used from the total credit available to you is higher than it should be. It's recommended keep it to 30% or under. Meaning if you have a $5,000 credit limit, use no more than $1,500 of that on a month to month basis. If you REALLY want to keep that score healthy, keep it under 10%.
2. Closing a credit card - Now this isn't an end all be all. And is more targeted towards closing reaaally old credit cards that would affect your credit history and age. 15% of your score is your credit history length...so if you decide "hey I never use my first credit card anymore" and decide to close it, expect a drop to your score. So just be careful.
3. Carrying a balance month to month - now of course this goes back to the statistic above and logically, is a big no-no. But apparently there's a notion out there that some people think "You have to carry a balance to increase your score." NO IDEA where this misconception came from but I've heard it too often. People...you DO NOT have to subject yourself to 20%+ interest rates on debt to have a good credit score. Pay your full statement balance every month and avoid minimum payments.

These are just 3 of the common ones I see. And this isn't to say I don't realize what life is like these days - high cost-of-living prices, families being squeezed to the edge, turning to credit cards in times of desperation.

This is for those people looking to get a little more educated on proper card use. Be well out there!

News Roundup

News of the Week That'll Impact Your Wallet💸

🚘 Car insurance rates - YIKES

The past year or so can absolutely be summed up with just sky high prices. Food, rent, cars, and more. Well... car insurance was not immune to the rise either.

Here are the states with the highest annual premiums for car insurance:

• Florida - $3,945 per year
• New York - $3,840 per year
• Louisiana - $3,618

Here are the states where people are spending the largest percentage of their income on car insurance:

• Louisiana - 6.53%
• Florida - 5.69%
• Michigan - 5.01%

But why? Why are car insurance rates just skyrocketing right now? Well...here's what Allstate had to say: "Our payments to help customers recover from accidents and disasters have increased significantly over the last few years and we need to adjust rates to reflect the cost of providing the protection our customers depend on."

Don't you just love it...😅

🎟️ Mega millions jackpot - what happens if you win?​

The Mega Millions prize is at a staggering $875 million. Now of course your odds are 1 in 302.6 million of winning...but that's not zero, I guess.🤣

So what do you do if you happen to beat all the odds and pull the winning ticket? Well, plenty of people have their own opinions but it seems like a few trends arise from most people:

1. Don't tell people - you open yourself up to all sorts of scams, family issues, and even physical danger
2. Safeguard the ticket - fireproof and waterproof safe is likely the best bet
3. Build a team - financial advisors, lawyers, whoever; make sure you got professionals backing you for when that cash comes through
4. Lump sum or annuity? - lump sum is mathematically the better choice if you're responsible with your money, however most people receiving hundreds of millions of dollars likely wouldn't be; an argument could be made for either but have a plan
5. Pay your taxes - you'll be in the highest tax bracket with winnings like that, and the government (both state & federal) are going to want their cut; all in all, expect about half of those earnings to be paid to taxes

It's always such a crazy thought to think someone is getting all that money in a payout. How on earth do you manage that kind of money? Who do you know to trust? Mo money mo problems, I guess lol.

Action of the Week

Add $50 to your high yield savings 🏦

You. Yes YOU. $50. HYSA. Put it there. Right now.

​High yield savings accounts are a fantastic way to save for emergency funds, or a house fund, or vacations, or any type of sinking fund. With most being at around 4-5% these days, it's a hard option to beat for any near-term saving goals!

If you haven't set one up yet, click HERE to get that started with SOFI. 2024 is the year where we prioritize our savings, people!

Finance Term of the Week

Annuity 📈

In tandem with one of the stories this week about the Mega Millions lottery, thought it'd be a good opportunity for this term. An annuity, in short, is a fixed amount of money paid to someone each year. Meaning instead of taking the giant payout of millions of dollars, you'd get that total amount spread out between 30 payments over 29 years.

Disclaimers:

Nicholas Meyer is the owner and operator of NICKTALKSMONEY LLC, which creates content under the social media handle @nicktalksmoney. NICKTALKSMONEY LLC does not render, or offer to render, personalized investment or tax advice through content posted by @nicktalksmoney on any social media platform, any email newsletter, or any other vertical.

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