Market Report: Inflation, Midterms and Hilary Swank's Message for Working Women

0:00Haley: Okay, so I just gave my apartment a major refresh and hands down, the hardest thing to get right was the rug. I just couldn't find one that fit right. And I really wanted something that pulled the room together because like a rug is a big deal. But then I found Ernesta and Ernesta is amazing, you guys. It makes designer quality rugs custom cut to the exact size of your space. So it actually fits instead of almost fits and looks great the first time. Like in the past, I've just defaulted to stock sizes when buying rugs. And also like when you're in a New York City apartment, that really just doesn't cut it, but they're all weirdly shaped.

0:36Haley: But with Ernesta, you can send photos and dimension to Ernesta's design team and they help you get the size exactly right, completely free of charge. Hand selected by design experts, Ernesta rugs are beautiful, they're durable, and they're made for the way you actually live. Cut, finish, and delivered in as little as two weeks. Visit Ernesta.com and order five samples for only$10 and you will get$50 toward any rug of your choice. That is E-R-N-E-S-T-A dot com. This is Financial Tea. Happy Tuesday, Sippers. If you want to see what a girl looks like 12 hours after getting microneedling, Please watch this episode on YouTube and of course subscribe because your girl Haley, of course, made the bold decision to go at 7pm on a Sunday while I've read the AirPods in to my lovely facialist for a little treatment.

1:36Haley: And now I am fully walking around looking like Samantha Jones from the Carrie's book launch episode, you know, when she gets the chemical peel and she goes to the party. That's sort of my energy today. and honestly I'm owning it because like the things that we do for collagen but obviously nothing was going to keep me from sharing these three stories on the market report actually the bonus one today too that's how much I was like foaming at the mouth to do this episode I'm really excited also I want to add that this is our third market report I feel like we're getting the hang of it and my goal for this is really for it to be the go-to place for you to get your financial news and just feel really smart and like you know what's going on in the world these days and so with that being said if there's anything that you want covered or interested in, drop it in the comments because we're in that cool place of like building it where it can be whatever we want it to be.

2:27Haley: So like let's co-produce it. I really want this to be helpful for you. I saw some comments that you want more like global news. We'll start adding that in. And please don't forget to subscribe because we're up for renewal for the podcast. So if you want us to keep doing the financial tea, we really need you to subscribe, rate, review. It makes a huge deal. Okay, let's jump in. So So the first story today is about the midterm elections, which, by the way, is basically about to be every story in the news because they're on November 3rd and they are a really big deal. I feel like we always focus on the presidential election, but these are really important because they mark the midterm of the president.

3:04Haley: Get it out of the well? The midterms. So basically signals that we are halfway through Trump Part 2. Every seat in the House and about a third of the Senate are up for election. and those two chambers make up Congress. If the president's party controls both, it's super easy for him to pass his agenda. But if the opposition takes either one, then there are going to be way more roadblocks. So this election could either end with like a check to Trump's power, hopefully, or just a way to fast track whatever he wants to do. And, you know, I used to really shy away from talking about politics because I didn't want to alienate everyone.

3:43Haley: But I really think it's important to talk about elections as sippers, because obviously we're all about the money, honey. Money is political. And I don't know if you've heard, but nothing is affordable anymore. Yes, the economy on paper is looking stronger than ever, but people's bank accounts are really suffering. I'd say that the biggest thing on the ballot for the midterms is just prices and people's ability to afford things. Like prices are still beating paychecks. inflation's super out of control prices rose 3.7 % this past year but wages only grew 3 % so basically Americans are actively getting poorer because the prices are beating paychecks for six straight months by the way if you feel like you're working just as hard but getting less for your money you are and then you know there's the whole gas thing which by the way from a personal perspective me and bae are about to get a car and I'm like wow the timing could not be worse because gas has been above$4 a gallon nationally for about six months.

4:44Haley: And obviously, this is from the Iran war. It's really pushed energy prices higher. And terrorists have raised the cost of imported goods. But that's why I'm saying it's like less so than like Republican versus Democrat. The reason that's important to talk about the midterms is because they really affect your wallet. Like it's less like which party you belong to and like more, how do you want your life to be? And, you know, of course, they run wars causing those high fuel prices and not even trickling into food and other products on the shelf. So it's just a hard time to hang on to your dollars.

5:15Haley: And I want to cover this because money and politics are so intertwined. You can't talk about personal finance without talking about politics, because even if you manage your finances perfectly, like you are obsessed with your budget, you automate everything like your individual actions cannot overcome broken systemic structures. Like, for example, advice that I always give people is to get raises and to negotiate raises. And like, if you can't increase your salary where you're at, look for another job. But right now, people are like, what do you mean get another job? In what job market? Like, unemployment right now is relatively low, but companies aren't hiring as much.

5:54Haley: So the average unemployed person has been looking for work for nearly six months. And even if you're at a job, you're sort of just stuck there because you don't know what's going to happen if you leave. You might be stuck in that purgatory, too. So the question with all these issues is what do you actually do? I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, but please check your voter registration and make a plan to vote. Put it in your calendar like an appointment. 7 p.m. on a Sunday for your microneedling, 8 a.m. for your voting. And then I would honestly pick the two costs that are squeezing you the most.

6:23Haley: Like, is it housing? Is it child care? Is it health care? Oh my gosh, I did like a full health care checkup last week. It was so expensive. And look up what the candidates on your ballot actually proposed to do about them. Because making life affordable is a great slogan, but you have to actually think what's the policy, who benefits and how is it paid for? And also don't skip those state and local races because your financial life is affected by way more than whoever's in the White House. And I just feel like even when I get my nails done, the amount of research that I do on what color I get, like it's insane.

7:00Haley: So I'm going to research my nail color that much. I should also be researching the people making decisions about my money that much too. That's my quick PSA. Make sure that you vote in the midterms. Okay. Our next story though is about Hilary Swank, who I was so excited. She announced her pregnancy this week at 52. And you guys, whenever I see someone older having a baby, a woman specifically, like not Jon Hamm. I'm not just like, ooh, celeb gossip tea. I'm like, oh, there goes the new economic playbook for women, baby. Because here's the deal. For decades, the unspoken deal for women was have your kids early, swallow the massive career penalty, and then try to build your financial life later if you can.

7:42Haley: And make no mistake, that motherhood penalty is brutally real. Studies show working mothers take an average wage cut of four to 7 % per child, and their long-term earnings often never fully catch up. And I know this with my mom, like this happened to her 100%. I'll tell you more about it in a second. But like, I just want to add that men, on the other hand, actually got a fatherhood bonus. So men's salaries often go up after having kids. and what we're seeing now with women like Swink is a complete flip of that script because here's a woman built her wealth earned two Oscars really secured her influence and laid this bulletproof foundation in her 20s her 30s her 40s and now she is using that accumulated power and stability to expand her family on her own terms and like my mom was woman of the year at IBM and had three kids in three years and obviously got taken out of the workforce, couldn't go back there and then had to went to social work school, became a social worker, has had a great second career.

8:50Haley: But like, it was not easy to go back to work. She had to really pivot. And what I like about what Hillary did specifically, though, is that she really front loaded her career capital so that like, she sort of did the heavy lifting early on. And so then she got to like build equity, gain all of this leverage, instead of taking a shift or having to like lose her focus, she could, you know, stay in the game. And we have to be real about the access gap here, though, because obviously, Hilary Swank, she had twins at 48 and expecting her third child at 52. Like that most certainly, I would say almost certainly involved advanced fertility care.

9:26Haley: Like that girl, I would take a bet was on IVF. She did egg freezing. And the out of pocket costs for these procedures can easily range from$20 ,000 to$100 ,000 even. And standard health insurance, by the way, rarely covers the full bill. So obviously having a select budget makes these choices seamless, but for most everyday workers, systemic issues like expensive child care or lack of paid parental leave or zero fertility coverage at their work remain huge hurdles regardless of their age. And then there's another massive double standard here at play that Swink herself has called out, which is like when men become fathers in their 50s and their 60s and their 70s, it's not that weird.

10:08Haley: Like it happens all the time. Society barely bats an eye. They rarely question their career trajectory. But then when a woman does it, she faces all of this biological and professional judgment. So what is the real takeaway here for us? Well, you definitely don't need a movie star bank account to borrow Paige from this playbook. Like all you really you to do is audit your benefits at work to see if they have fertility support, if they're flexible about parental leave. I would also really front load your wealth building and max out that 401k and Roth IRA ASAP. Like, I know it seems like a lot of money.

10:45Haley: But trust me, if you live smaller, but let your investments compound in your 20s and 30s, it is going to give you a huge cushion later in life. Like my biggest financial regret is literally just not investing earlier. And also build leverage just not on a salary. Like when you build a career that gives you negotiating power, that is super helpful when your life priorities shift. So yes, Hillary, we love you and can't wait to meet the twins. Oh, and by the way, you can't get microneedling when you're pregnant because you have to numb first and you can't like do the numbing cream when you're with child.

11:17Haley: But the woman doing my facial yesterday was like, no, I had a pregnant woman come in and she was like, just do it. Like, I just want to do it. Like, I don't care. I don't need the nothing. And she wouldn't do it to her because it's like, that's so savage. So yeah, women really are heroes. They can even do their microneedling raw dog while they're pregnant. Okay, sorry, that took a turn. But our last story here is really interesting. It's about Wall Street and how they are now monetizing those 2025 LA wildfires. So we all remember those fires. It was horrible. They They destroyed so many people's homes.

11:49Haley: And now hedge funds are buying the legal claims that came out of that disaster and basically hoping to turn them into a profit. When an insurance company pays someone further burned down house, it can either go after whoever was legally responsible for the fire to recover that money. But those lawsuits take years. So basically hedge funds are offering insurers cash now in exchange for the right to collect that money later. So they're basically buying those rights at a discount and betting that they're going to recover more than they paid. But what I was thinking that was so interesting about this is that the real financial lesson here, in my opinion, is that having cash is just so important and gives you options because the insurer is accepting less money just because they need the liquidity to get paid now.

12:41Haley: You know, the hedge fund can afford to wait and potentially get rewarded for taking that risk. But, you know, most people just want the cash right now because they don't have an emergency fund. So for me, this just seems like another great reason to have an emergency fund, because when you need money urgently, you might have to sell an investment at a loss or take on an expensive debt just to get it. And I have one bonus story before we go that I've been thinking about nonstop too, because you know, when you're at the gym and you see, or like you're at a Pilates class or something, and you see those girls working at 11am and you're just like, what do they do for a living?

13:16Haley: Like, I want to know, like, that's just a really nice life. I can't believe that they're just able to like have a life of leisure at 11am. How do they have so much free time? Well, there is now a term for this called conspicuous leisure. It's actually been around for many years, but now it's like there's been a lot of articles about it. And it's basically about how status symbols in 2026 have really changed from bags and from jewelry, which are super easily duped. You know, you can get lab diamonds, you can get fakes of bags from China. I mean, hello. I'm not saying you should, but you can. And now the new status symbol is just owning your freaking time.

13:51Haley: Like it's conspicuous leisure and then communicating that you have time. So like reading during the day and like being with your kids and just being unbothered and like not stressed, like really giving yourself time to just do anything. And that takes a lot of money, right? Like to be unbothered because that means someone else is cleaning, someone else is scheduling, someone else is handling all the annoying stuff. The responsibilities will never disappear, but they have been delegated. And so that's really what money can buy that I feel like people don't talk about is just that breathing room.

14:27Haley: So here is the financial question that I will leave you with. Are you saving for things you want to own or a life you want to live? Yes. Mic drop. Okay, wait, I have to go. But see you Thursday for one of my favorite episodes with Janice Mialek, who wrote that viral article. I don't know if you remember. It's called It Sucks to be 33. We talk about it. It's a lot about the economy. She has a super interesting new book out. and just what it means to be a millennial for your wealth. She's an expert, works at the New York Times, foreign correspondent, such a smart woman. So don't forget to rate and subscribe.

15:00Haley: It makes a huge difference. And most importantly, stay rich and pray that next week my face is not as red. Love you, Sippers.

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