💄 4 Q’s to ask before you buy a new beauty product

Stat Of The Day

$80,610

Real median household income ticked up to $80,610 in 2023, an increase of 4.0% from 2022, according to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. Notably, the jump marks the first increase in household incomes since the start of the pandemic.

Four Questions To Ask Before You Buy A New Beauty Product

"If you're spending money on beauty, I'm not here to beat you up about it, but to help you figure out how to spend a little less."

From lip butter to Botox, people today are shelling out a lot of money on beauty products and services. One report shows the average American spends $1,754 annually, with younger generations budgeting even more for beauty (thanks, TikTok).

But do we really need to spend big bucks to look our best? Val Monroe, the former longtime beauty director at O Magazine and writer behind the popular Substack How Not To F*ck Up Your Face, says no. "If you're spending money on beauty, I'm not here to beat you up about it, but to help you figure out how to spend a little less," Monroe tells Jean Chatzky on the HerMoney Podcast*.

To resist impulse purchases, Monroe says there are four questions you should ask before you hand over your credit card. One of them: Who wants me to buy this?

As you ponder this question, Monroe says to be extra cautious about recommendations from medical professionals, especially online. "There are many doctors online who are selling stuff, so it's very difficult to differentiate between a doctor who has your best interest in mind and a doctor who has your wallet in mind." Instead, she suggests only getting skincare recommendations from your own doctor or dermatologist.

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Ask Jean

Today’s question comes from Marylee. She writes: I know you have to start taking RMDs when you turn 72 and they suggest 4%, but is there a percentage you have to take?

Thanks, Marylee for the question. It was one of a handful that members of the private HerMoney Facebook group shared when we asked them to weigh in with their biggest questions surrounding retirement. You can check out the rest, and ask yours, here.

Required minimum distributions, also known as RMDs, are the minimum amounts of money you must withdraw annually from your retirement accounts (traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts) once you reach a certain age.

In 2023, the age at which you must start taking RMDs went up to 73 as a result of the SECURE Act 2.0. According to the IRS, account holders in a workplace retirement plan (like a 401(k), for example) can delay taking RMDs until the year they retire, unless they're a 5% owner in the company sponsoring the plan.

To answer your question, no, there’s no set percentage everyone must take. Your RMD will be the value of your retirement account (as of December 31 of the previous year), divided by your life expectancy factor, which can be found on the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table.

Generally, your RMD starts lower and then increases as you get older. The 4% figure you mention is a suggested percentage for how much to withdraw annually throughout your retirement to make sure you don’t outlive your savings.

Known commonly as the "4% rule," experts are divided on whether you should be taking more, or less, each year in retirement. Today, some experts believe a safer withdrawal rate is 3% or 3.5%. Others say it’s okay to withdraw more unless you’re determined to leave money in the account to your heirs.

Submit your questions to Jean here.

This Week In Your Wallet

If your male colleagues are getting more praise for the work they do (even though yours is the same or heck, better) there could be a reason for it. According to Alison Fragale, a University of North Carolina business school professor, it has to do with confirmation bias. "The high status inherent in being a man, specifically a white man, leads to a default reputation that’s more favorable than either of the default reputations that befall lower-status individuals, like women: sweet and submissive, or dominant and bitchy," writes Fragale for Fast Company. "These reputations serve as the prior beliefs through which future behavior is viewed." One way to overcome confirmation bias in the workplace is to try and strike a balance between likeable and badass. "If you’re naturally very warm, commit to signaling more assertiveness by talking more in your next meeting, for example. If you’re naturally very assertive, look for an opportunity to showcase warmth, perhaps through a friendly greeting or offering some help."

Did you watch Tuesday’s Presidential debate? If so, you certainly weren’t alone in tuning in to see former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris each make their case for why they’re best for America’s top job. Google Trends is offering a peek behind the curtain at what people were thinking–and searching for–as the two went head to head. For example, in the first fifteen minutes of the debate, the top trending question was "What is a tariff?" When it came to specific issues people were looking for more info on, the economy, surprisingly, came in 5th. For more on what people are Googling as we head into the final stretch of the campaign season, click here.

Heck no, we won’t go. That’s the mantra for homeowners who are bound by "golden handcuffs," AKA, low-rate mortgages. "Close to 60 percent of homeowners have outstanding mortgages that are locked in at rates below 4 percent," reports The New York Times. "If a homeowner sold and bought a new home in a comparable neighborhood, they would forgo a low rate for another that is at least 2.5 percentage points higher. For many homeowners, that simply doesn’t make sense." In the meantime, as buyers wait for the market to improve, one analyst says the "five D’s" can still shake things up: "Diamonds (or marriage), diapers (or having children), divorce, downsizing — and death," or in other words, major life events. "Like you’re not going to live in your house with your ex-wife, right, and her new husband," says John Campbell, a research analyst with Stephens, Inc.

Things That Make You Money

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Out with the old, in with the new. Target’s popular car seat trade-in event kicks off on September 15. Bring in an old car seat and the store will give you 20% off the purchase of a new one, or other types of baby gear (strollers, etc.).

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McFlurry, but make it mini. For when you need just a taste of something sweet, indulge in the new–and cheaper–mini McFlurry (we’ll take one with M&Ms, please).

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Heading home for the holidays? The time to plan your travel is now. Here’s the best time to buy 2024 holiday flights, according to Google.

More For You To ♥

💛 Thank you to Gainbridge® for supporting the HerMoney podcast. Gainbridge® created ParityFlex™, a multi-year guaranteed annuity¹, to offer women security and flexibility at a time when they need it the most—retirement. Learn more about ParityFlex™ here.**

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¹ Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income and, if taken prior to age 59 1/2, there may be a 10% federal tax penalty. Withdrawals may result in a surrender charge or a market value adjustment (MVA) and excess withdrawals may result in a reduction of future payments under the guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit provided so long as your account value hasn’t gone to $0 due to excess withdrawals. Annual Percentage Yield (APY) rates are subject to change at any time, and the rate mentioned may no longer be current. Please visit Gainbridge.io for current rates, full product disclosures and disclaimer. ParityFlexTM, a multi-year guaranteed annuity, is issued by Gainbridge Life Insurance Company in Zionsville, Indiana.