#120 Trills and Trivia

Welcoming you back with May’s Money Edition. 

This is one of my favorite editions in a long time. Let me explain why:

Every edition has multiple goals: to give you actionable advice, to inspire you, and to teach you. But I’m not sure that every edition teaches something brand new to every single reader. For some, the content may simply serve as reminders or reinforcements.

Today, though?

I’m certain that every single reader will learn something they didn’t know before.

Let’s jump right in!

“Money, Money, Money Can’t You See…”

FATTENING THE WALLET 💰️ 

• Stop Sweating The Small Stuff in Making Cents

ELEVATING YOUR BRAND 📈 

• Hustle Hub, featuring: A Resume Addition That Earns 15% Higher Salary?
  

• A Did You Know? All About MONEY
  

• OTF TRIVIA: Let’s See What You’re Made Of

BOOSTING YOUR PRODUCTIVITY🚀 

• Expert Advice That Makes Your SAVINGS More Productive

MAKING CENTS 💰️ 

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Stop me if you’ve heard this before:

The key to saving money and building wealth is cutting out your daily coffee.That $5 per day adds up!

Heck, I’ve probably written that in this very section, and I’m sure we’ve featured articles about that in Hustle Hub or elsewhere.

Buying lunch on a workday? Nope - make it at home and heat it up in the office.

Morning coffee? Same.

Going out to dinner? Instead, cook at home - it’s healthier and cheaper.

This is objectively good advice, but even good advice can be taken too far. I’ve realized this over the past several months as my fiancée and I save for our wedding - those little things are worth more than just caffeine and calories; they can put a smile on your face and give you the positivity boost you need to keep moving forward.

So my new perspective is this: as long as it’s in moderation, don’t sweat the small expenses!

• Coffee: I’m back to buying it on the weekends. My fiancée and I have loved starting our Saturdays with a drive with our dog to pick up coffee. $5 is nothing when it puts a smile on a loved one’s face and gives you a weekend tradition to look forward to. Every day? Too much. But once in a while? Go do it.
  

• Lunch: Gotta be honest - making it every morning before work sounds like a chore. That time saved not making it can be used productively elsewhere, and grabbing lunch with a co-worker is an underrated networking opportunity. If you bring lunch, yes, you save money, but you also miss out on the chance to build working relationships, break up your day, and reset yourself to peak efficiency for the afternoon.
  
  This is one expense I’m willing to swallow most days, because the pros simply outweigh the cons.

• Dinner: Is anyone here really cooking 6-7x per week? Is this even possible anymore? Work days are long and difficult, and by the time you’ve gone through five of ‘em, you just want to enjoy your weekend. So order DoorDash once during the week when you just wanna relax after work, and make time for date nights or dinner with friends on the weekend.
  
  Of course, dinner can get expensive, so if you’re able to cut it out completely, the savings could be strong. But the point here is, don’t feel locked in. If you really want to go out for a nice meal, don’t deny yourself just to save, especially if it comes at the expense of your happiness. It’s good to leave the house; it’s good to support local small businesses; it’s good to be out with people; and sometimes, you just need food that’s better than what you can make at home.

O.T.F
O.F.T: One Final Thought

Real quick: that “support local businesses” point is important. For me, it’s the best way to give back to your community.

Don’t always rely on Starbucks for that coffee pick-me-up; go to the spot that just opened around the corner.

Instead of hitting Chipotle every time you buy lunch (even though it always hits), find a local deli and support them.

That pricey Saturday night dinner? It helps keep that restaurant in business and its workers employed.

Everybody wins. You get that joy, that socializing, that de-stressor, and the community benefits.

Frame it that way in your mind, and maybe you too can sweat the small stuff less.

🔥 OTF TRIVIA 🔥

You might know a thing or two about making money, but what do you know about making money? Scroll to test your knowledge ⬇️

Click your choice, and the correct answer will be revealed in a new tab.

EXPERT ADVICE 💭

A Teaser, With Substance

I can’t wait for this Interview Series to launch next week! The first person kicking it off is a successful finance professional I know personally. We met through my older brother, and now he’s both my friend and my go-to for tons of financial advice. I trust his opinions and expertise, and I’m excited to share his wisdom with all of you.

In fact, I’m so excited that I’m going to give you a taste right now! Here’s one Q&A from the interview, coming to you a week early!

Q: What's a money concept you know and love that others should know more about? Can you give us a quick breakdown?

A: Never let your savings sit in a bank’s savings account where they pay you zero yield. Chase, Bank of America, and Citi accounts, for example, pay 0 yield. Instead, you should have a high-yield savings account (like Marcus / SoFi / AmEx), or buy short term government trills through Treasury Direct, which give you some tax savings and are liquid, so your money isn’t tied up.

What is a “Government Trill?”

Not gonna lie, I had to Google this. And here’s what I found, courtesy of Gemini:

A short-term government "trill" is a proposed type of financial instrument where a government would issue debt (like a bond) that pays a dividend equal to one trillionth of the nation's quarterly GDP. These trills are designed to be perpetual bonds, meaning they don't have a fixed maturity date and the principal is never repaid. 

• How it works:

  A trill would be similar to a stock, where the holder receives a dividend based on the government's economic performance (GDP). The dividend would be a fixed percentage of the government's GDP. 
  

• Purpose:

  The idea is that trills could provide a new source of government funding, potentially assuaging concerns about government debt and inflation. 
  

• Benefits:

  Trills could help demonstrate a government's ability to sustain deficit spending, protect against inflation, and eliminate the risk of default on debt. 
  

• Market Price:

  The market price of a trill would fluctuate based on investor expectations about future GDP growth. 
  

• Economic Impact:

  The sale of trills could be a way for governments to raise large amounts of capital, potentially allowing them to fund infrastructure projects, reduce debt, or address other economic challenges. 
  

• Origin:

  The concept of a trill was initially proposed by Yale economics professor Robert Shiller in his 1993 book, Macro Markets. 

It's important to note that trills are a relatively new and unconventional idea in government finance, and their actual implementation and effectiveness would depend on various factors, including investor appetite and the specific economic conditions of the issuing country. 

HUSTLE HUB 📈

YOUR SUCCESS:

Be A Problem-Solver - Solve any work problem with these three questions.

THEIR SUCCESS:

Be Inspired - If you’ve ever dreamed about starting a multi-million dollar business with your BFF, let these two inspire you!

YOUR SUCCESS:

Be WORTH MORE - Putting this on my resume can net a higher salary? Brb…

DID YOU KNOW - MONEY, MONEY, MONEY 🤔 

• There’s a reason why US Dollars are green. “Dollar bills weren’t always green. Colonial money for example, was tan with black or red ink. It wasn’t until the Civil War the government started using green ink to print paper money where it got the name greenbacks. The color was selected because the ink didn’t fade or easily decompose, which protected against counterfeiting.”

• The Dollar Sign ($) was first used in 1785.The official adoption of the dollar sign in the U.S. can be traced back to 1785, when it evolved from the Spanish symbol for pesos. It’s believed the $ originated from the abbreviation PS, which was used to indicate Spanish pesos in the Americas. Gradually the “S” came to be written over the “P,” eventually morphing into the dollar sign we know today.

• The First Universal Credit Card Was Introduced in 1950: Credit cards originated in the U.S. back in the 1920s, but were issued by individual firms, such as oil companies and hotel chains, to their customers, specifically for purchases made at company outlets. It wasn’t until 1950 when Diners Club founders Ralph Schneider and Frank McNamara issued a card that could be used at a variety of establishments. The Diners Club card sparked the modern credit card era. Others soon followed, such as American Express, which debuted their card of this type in 1958.

Source — Sofi.com 

Before You Go!

Thank you again for joining us for another edition of OTF! Next week, we’re launching our first-ever INTERVIEW EDITION. Stay tuned!

Last Week’s Trivia Results:

“OpenAI is the parent company behind the infamous ChatGPT. What type of company is it?

• PRIVATE COMPANY

• NON-PROFIT ✔️ 

• PUBLIC COMPANY

As always, see you next Tuesday 🤝 

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