enRICHed: Volume 29
It’s gargantuan.
Succession episode 2 airs tonight, which means HBO Sundays are back to really help with all of our scaries. Episode 1 brought us some killer lines, getting us excited for the final season to pick up steam. But if you’re not interested in watching fictional characters talk about fictional money - you could always tune into Vivian’s new podcast episode with Tinx! They talk all about Tinx’s journey with money, she discloses how much she was making out of college, lifestyle inflation, and what she likes to splurge on now that she has a steadier income. It’s the type of real conversation we have been waiting for, and love how open both of them were.
A few administrative reminders below:
HYCU, pronounced ‘haiku’: how the news impacts you and your wallet, aka How You Can Use
Spilling the Prosperitea 🫖 : our hot tips for you on all things money. Think discount codes, hacks, non-boring finance articles, sales, etc.
Now that you’re up to speed, let’s get you enRICHed.
March Madness Comes to a Close
The NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament comes to an end Monday night, but the records are really being set by the women’s tournament.
The women’s Elite Eight games had 2.2 million viewers, which was up 43% from 2022 and is also the most ever recorded by ESPN. This falls in line with average viewership of the entire tournament being up 42% since last year.
There is also at least one woman commentating, reffing and announcing each of the men’s games, which has been really exciting - Tracy Wolfson will be announcing the men’s championship and the women’s Final Four will have an all female officiating team.
HYCU; the push to highlight women’s basketball seems to finally be working this year. ESPN also announced that it had sold out its advertising inventory across the entire women’s tournament. With viewership up, ad dollars will continue to follow next year, hopefully encouraging the cycle of growth.
More Blue Check Mark News
Elon Musk has announced that starting April 1st, Twitter will remove “legacy” verifications. Going forward, in order to obtain verification, users will have to pay for their check mark badges.
Individuals will have to pay $8/month to keep their blue status. But Twitter will start charging a monthly fee of $1,000 to businesses and organizations to keep their gold check marks.
Musk has created exemptions: his 500 largest advertising clients will not have to pay, along with the 10,000 most-followed brands, companies and organizations. As you can imagine, lots of jokes are being made on Twitter to cope.
HYCU; apparently, if you aren’t verified, you won’t show up on Twitter’s new instance of the For You page, which isn’t great for visibility. But the biggest issue is misrepresentation of facts. In November, a fake account that had become verified tweeted as Eli Lilly, making its stock plunge. This type of instance could happen more often under this model, making fake news a continuous problem for the Internet and even your investment portfolio.
Where is the Job Market is Hot?
WSJ and Moody’s Analytics released a report which found that Nashville and Austin are currently the hottest job markets in the US. Does this make sense to you, have you had a lot of friends relocate to these trendy new hubs?
Nashville has added jobs in healthcare, technology and professional services; while Austin has added jobs in technology and other “high-skilled industries.”
The study suggests that strong and growing job markets may lead to higher wages and more competition for workers, as well as attract new businesses and investment to the areas, which can further boost the local economy and positively impact the workers in those areas.
HYCU; affordability is key here. Younger people and families who are looking for work are drawn towards these cities which are proving to be more affordable than those in the Northeast and Midwest. The nicer weather also doesn’t hurt!
FDA approves Narcan
The FDA announced this week that they have approved the selling of Narcan, the leading version of naloxone, without a prescription. This will make Narcan the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter.
Advocates believe that making naloxone readily available is one of the most important steps in combatting the overdose crisis. Over 100,000 deaths a year are tied to overdose, primarily opioids. The nasal spray is effective in reversing opioid overdoses of many kinds, including fentanyl.
HYCU; while selling Narcan over the counter will help with the stigma, officials are still unsure what this decision will mean for prices and availability. Stores will have to opt to carry it and coverage of the OTC naloxone will depend on insurance programs.
A Change in Medicaid
Since the pandemic, an emergency provision was in place that kept people enrolled in Medicaid even if they were no longer eligible. As a result, the uninsured rate in the US is ~8%. But this number will begin to change drastically this month.
Starting April 1, states will begin to check Medicaid members’ eligibility and can dis-enroll people if they no longer qualify. The Biden administration has said that 15 million Americans will lose access to Medicaid benefits.
HYCU; the emergency program has cost the US 15 billion dollars over the past 3 years. Experts acknowledge that it could not be a forever thing, that the Medicaid program was not built to support so many people. However, the government has a huge effort ahead of them, going through all 90 million Medicaid members and ensuring those who qualify stay enrolled, and helping those who no longer qualify find coverage elsewhere.
Rich Tip of the Week: Side Hustles for Anyone and Everyone (video link w/ sound)
Trump was indicted. Here’s what you need to know.
This week’s Nerdletter by the Hell Yeah Group features our very own Rich BFF!!!
The Internet’s favorite almond mom, Gwyneth Paltrow won her highly covered and movie-like lawsuit for $1.
“The Influencer Industry is Having an Existential Crisis” The Atlantic
GOOD NEWS OF THE WEEK: George The Red Wings Fan
