| Bite-sized money insights across a broad range of topics—from budgeting, taxes, buying a car or home, to investing, equity comp, crypto and more. |
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| | Here's the Gist today Happy Tuesday Origin Member. About 53% of Americans say they've met with a certified financial planner before, but do you ever wonder how much they've paid for that service? A. $50-$150 per hour B. $150-$250 per hour or C. $200-$400 per hour Here are the topics for today: - Trending: How Will Capital One's Attempt to Buy Discover Impact Consumers?
- Now Is The Time to Check on Your Money Goals
- Maximize Your Meeting With a Financial Planner
- Why Most People Don't Manage Their Money
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| Trending: How Will Capital One's Attempt to Buy Discover Impact Consumers? |
Last Monday, Capital One made known its intentions to acquire Discover Financial Services. The proposition would include a $35B 100% stock transaction, and subsequently combine two of the U.S.'s largest credit card companies. The deal, if approved, is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025. But things are far from a done deal. Regulators will no doubt be taking a close look at the transaction before deciding on approval and determining whether or not the acquisition would have a negative impact on equitable competition. But if the deal does go through, how might it impact you? Consolidation is often viewed as a negative thing for consumers — less competition can sometimes mean higher costs for the average person. The power of a good network - Discover is known mostly for its credit cards, but it also boasts its own payment network behind the scenes, meaning they're not reliant on payment networks like MasterCard or Visa (Think Amex). They also provide comprehensive banking and lending services as well.
- Capital One's aim is obvious — this isn't an acquisition to take down a competitor, but a vertical integration to bring much more of the business in-house and under their own control. Capital One would undoubtedly become an industry behemoth.
- American Express is the only other all-in-one financial company like this in the U.S., and after absorbing Discover, Capital One would dwarf American Express.
Will you get a new card? Probably. - Capital One will transition all debit cards to the Discover payment network once the deal is approved. The migration of credit cards will occur gradually.
- While the change may not significantly impact U.S. shoppers, it could limit payment options abroad, where Mastercard and Visa are more widely accepted.
How will this impact credit card rewards? - The idea is that Capital One could save money by having its own payment network, enabling it to provide better rewards without paying external fees.
- Additionally, Discover's network could intensify competition, prompting Visa, Mastercard, or American Express to reduce the fees they charge businesses for accepting payments on their networks.
But no changes right now Experts suggest that a Capital One-Discover merger could offer better rewards but might come with higher APRs and fees, presenting a mixed scenario for consumers. For now? It's all a game of wait-and-see. |
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| Now Is The Time to Check on Your Money Goals |
Heading into the year, roughly one-third of Americans were planning to set some form of New Year's resolution, with younger adults (< 30) leading the way. Although we don't need data to know this, studies show that only about 9% of adults actually keep their resolutions for the entire year — yikes. We're here to keep you accountable. Believe it or not, we're already 2 months into 2024, and the year is about 15% completed already. If you made some financial resolutions to start the year, now is the time to circle back and see how you're doing with them. A few helpful approaches - Document your progress. If one of your 2024 money goals was to pay off $5,000 in credit card debt, you need to document that process. Keeping track of your progress helps keep you motivated by being able to see how far you've come.
- Prioritize the important things. If you haven't already, set goals on the most important aspect of your financial well-being — budgeting, saving, and investing; the essentials.
- If you've fallen off the wagon, get back on. Most people will forgive and forget their goals by this time of the year, but starting off on the wrong foot doesn't mean you have to give up. Goals aren't just something you start on January 1st, they can be begun all over again on February 27th. There is plenty of time left this year to make noticeable progress.
- Develop a plan to keep yourself accountable. If you're struggling to meet or maintain your goals, setting up a weekly self-check-in can help. Monitor your progress and ask yourself what you can change or do differently every week to help make strides towards the goal you have set.
- Make sure your goals are specific. It's easy to create broad-based resolutions that guide us in a general direction, but curating goals with specific outcomes is the most impactful and easiest to follow. For example — set forth a goal to save $5,000 this year, and $416 per month.
- If you didn't set any goals, it's not too late. Goal setting isn't just for January, you can start improving your finances at any time. Start setting your goals today, and place an emphasis on creating habits around them for the rest of 2024.
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| | Maximize Your Meeting With a Financial Planner |
According to the CFP Board, only about 53% of Americans have worked with a financial planner before. Sure, not everyone needs professional help to navigate their finances, but it's also undeniable that it can always help. What are a few reasons to meet with a financial planner? - To increase your confidence in your financial situation: Meeting with a financial planner provides a comprehensive review of your finances, offering insights and strategies that boost your understanding and confidence in managing your money.
- To make meeting your goals easier: A financial planner acts as a strategic ally in setting and achieving your financial goals. With personalized guidance and tailored plans, navigating the path to your aspirations becomes a smoother and more achievable journey.
- You want a deeper dive into your money: If you're eager to unravel the complexities of your financial landscape, a financial planner offers a deep dive into your money matters. Gain clarity on budgeting, investing, and overall financial health for a more informed and empowered financial future.
- You need specialized financial assistance: For intricate financial needs such as estate planning, tax optimization, or navigating the world of investments, a financial planner brings specialized knowledge and expertise to ensure you make informed decisions and maximize your outcomes.
How to maximize that meeting - Start with a deep dive Into your finances: Before your meeting, take a stroll through your financial world. Get a general idea of things like your net worth, income, debts, investment details, and any financial skeletons in the closet. The more your financial planner knows, the better they can tailor advice to fit your unique situation.
- Create a financial vision board: What does financial success look like for you? Figuring out your dreams and aspirations will help inform your meeting and the questions you can ask – whether it's buying a home, starting a business, or retiring on a tropical island. Your financial planner can help turn those dreams into actionable goals.
- Gather objective insight into your situation: Your financial planner brings a wealth of industry experience to the table. They'll provide a valuable benchmark, comparing your financial standing with others in a similar situation. It's not about competing; it's about understanding where you are on the map of financial growth.
- Ask your most pressing questions: Be sure to ask the most impactful, useful questions you may have. Say you have budgeting down to a science, but have some gray areas when it comes to investing and asset allocation. Use your financial planner's expertise to help fill in the gaps. Focus on areas where you need the most help, not just your strengths.
- Get some specifics: The main goal of your meeting should be not just to learn, but also to act. Dig into the details together and ask your planner for specific, actionable steps you can take to improve X, Y, or Z. Maybe it's to up your retirement contributions by 5%, maybe it's to save 5% less, or even a suggestion to adjust your insurance coverage.
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| Why Most People Don't Manage Their Money |
We've mentioned it many times now — the vast majority of Americans say they budget, but very few actually follow it. Similarly, a 2023 survey showed that more than half of Americans don't know how to calculate their net worth. What can we glean from insights like these? People are aware of the basic principles of money management, but when it comes down to the details — most aren't going very deep. The majority of Americans don't actually manage or know their money, not as much as they should anyway. But why is that? - Reason 1 – a lack of financial awareness: A lack of financial literacy and awareness is the root cause of our apathy towards money. The importance of financial knowledge and money management hasn't been impressed upon us culturally, and talking about money is often frowned upon. As a result, we create swaths of individuals who don't take care of themselves financially.
- Reason 2 — they don't know where to start: Even for those who are financially cognizant, it's difficult to know where to begin. Do I budget in my notes app, do I need a spreadsheet, where do I turn?
- Reason 3 — They're not motivated to do so. From the outside looking in, the benefits of actively managing your money may not always be that obvious. That makes sense, but the only way to truly learn is to find out for yourself. Whether it's taking a small step like starting a budget, or going all in from the jump — what's most important is that you do start.
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| By the way 👨🏻🏫 Answer: C. — The average cost is between $200 to $400 per hour. 🍟 Get ready to welcome AI in the drive through at Wendy's (USA Today) 💌 Gen Z couples are more likely to keep separate finances (CNBC) 🌕 America is back on the moon for the first time in 50 years (Vox) |
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Advisory services are offered through Origin Advisory Services LLC ("Origin RIA"), a Registered Investment Adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blend Financial Inc. DBA Origin Financial. Origin RIA's registration as a Registered Investment Adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information contained herein should in no way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell or offer to sell advisory services. All content is for information purposes only. It is not intended to provide any tax or legal advice or provide the basis for any financial decisions.
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