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Plus: How too-personal TikTok videos could damage your career options.
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HerMoney Podcast Episode 359: Resilience, Determination, and Grit
HerMoney is made possible by Edelman Financial Engines
 
This Week in Your Wallet:
FOMO No More And Strategies For The Bumped


Every day it seems, there’s another headline about how fast debt levels are rising — the WSJ reported that in the fourth quarter of 2022, millennials saw their debt balances climb to $3.8 trillion — up 27% from the end of 2019. CNBC noted that consumer debt overall rose to a record of $16.9 trillion by year-end 2022, as late payments and delinquencies continued to rise. And all of this happened before the Supreme Court started to hear arguments on whether President Biden has the right to eliminate up to $20,000 per borrower in student loan debt.

There are some things in this equation that are not at all in our control (interest rates, inflation, The Supremes). But for those that are, it seemed to be a good time to take a look at FOMO. What is it? Why does it drives us? “FOMO is “primal” and “hardwired into our brain,” Mindy Weinstein, founder and CEO of the digital marketing firm Market MindShift, told me on the HerMoney podcast. But there are strategies for unpacking our emotions and pulling ourselves back from the spending edge. Understanding the concept of loss aversion is a great place to start. Notes Weinstein: “If you’ve ever been in a parking lot and found money on the ground, that feels pretty good…” But you’ve probably also been in a situation where you’ve misplaced money. “If you can’t find that $20 bill that you thought you put in your pocket, that feeling you start to get about that loss is actually stronger.” It’s great to think about getting a grip on this when your financial life is going well. Because f it takes a turn for the worse, it’s crucial…

Make These Money Moves After a Layoff

Losing a job, even when it’s anticipated, can shake you to the core. Understandably, we aren’t always thinking clearly in the weeks that follow. That’s why it’s critical to know the options regarding your benefits and financial package you may have to consider. While you can take a few days to pull yourself together, don’t wait too long, instruct New York Times reporters Tara Siegel Bernard and Ron Lieber. As layoffs continue in the tech sector and beyond, the journalists created a financial guide for those who lost their jobs.

Your first move? Try to negotiate the terms of your separation and/or severance. Specifically, you’ll want to try and remove (or at least revise) any non-compete clauses, the NYT explains. Then it’s time to review or create a budget so you’ll know exactly how much you have to live on. Among the advice: If you have a partner or spouse (and no emergency fund), consider pausing their retirement contributions to increase cash flow during your job search, and apply for unemployment promptly because it could take a few weeks for payments to start.

Can You Trust a Four-Star Rating on Your Airbnb?

Often, we spend months saving and planning for a trip to another part of the country or world, trying to ensure every detail will be as perfect as possible before our arrival. That can mean scouring sites such as Airbnb, and reading reviews for clues of what to really expect of the host and accommodations. Unfortunately, what you see is not always what you get. Wall Street Journal reporter Allison Pohle explores why we may not be able to trust a 4-star review – or even a 4.5 star review – because of the pressure travelers feel to help hosts earn a living and to maintain their own guest ratings.

Reviews not based in reality don’t seem to be a short-term trend. Research firm AirDNA shows the average rating for homes in the U.S. on Airbnb was 4.74 stars out of five in 2022. They had nearly identical ratings in 2021 and 2019, she reports. One former guest told her they gave a good review even after being locked in a room and leaving after one night. How can you make sure your next rental is as nice as it seems? First, understand there may be some grade inflation underway — so don’t just look at the numbers, actually read the reviews and try to parse what they say between the lines.  Next, be wary of pictures of very small details that have the ability to camouflage the big picture.  Finally, get in touch with the host and ask questions.  

Bumped From a Flight? Know Your Rights

And speaking of unexpected – and annoying – travel outcomes, few things are more maddening than booking a flight in advance, showing up in plenty of time and then being unceremoniously bumped from said flight because the airline overbooked. When this happens, you need to know your rights. The Department of Transportation, as reported by USA Today, offers a lengthy list of the situations in which travelers do and do not qualify for compensation for being bumped. If you meet certain requirements for domestic flights in the U.S., explains the paper, airlines have to “pay you 200% of the value of your one-way ticket up to $775 if you arrive at your destination one to two hours past your originally scheduled itinerary, or 400% of the one-way ticket price, up to $1,550 if your arrival delay is longer than two hours.” The list is extensive, but worth a read if you find yourself in this situation with a few hours to burn in an airport.

TikTok confessionals could hurt college and career options

By now, it’s likely not a secret that sharing your soul with people on social media can come back to bite you. While career coaches and school counselors advise cleaning up your social media accounts before applying for jobs and colleges, here’s a story that shows even some university sports programs are looking at a student's social media profiles – and watching their videos – before extending scholarship offers. The Washington Post’s Tatum Hunter dives into the complicated issue of how a teen can be their true self on social media and still be aware that what they say and post can have far-reaching negative impacts. Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of the Princeton Review, told Hunter “an authentic social media profile can give an applicant an edge. ‘If you and I went to the same high school and got the same grades with the same activities, there are going to be points of differentiation between you and I from an admission perspective. Social [media] might lend a lot of light to what that might be.” He tells applicants to post as if their grandparents were watching. We couldn’t agree more.

Have a great week,

Jean

 
 
 
 
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