Well, I turned another year older at the start of the week and I’m very thankful to be here for another year to journey with you. And, I’m sending an early birthday shout-out to my hubby George, the love of my life, who turns another week older on Sunday. 

In celebration of my gratitude for life, I’m offering my e-book for $2.99 at a 70% discount on Amazon from now through Tuesday, 3/16 at 11:59pm CST. Buy a copy for a friend or family member given the special price and spread the wealth forward. Keep reading and see all details in ‘A Wealthy Girl Corner’ below.  

By now, I’m sure you had enough of Harry and Meaghan, and thus I’ll leave it to other voices to continue to have dialogue there. I have only one question - if the media spent as much time telling positive stories of how ordinary people are generating true wealth for their families and communities, do you think we’d be in a different place as a country and world? Think about this question over the weekend. 

What I will spend some time on is our $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, which is HUGE news for Americans. Whether it’s the extension of unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, the child tax credit, or new provisions on COBRA health care insurance, we are all directly or indirectly affected. And, if you’re a small business owner (including sole proprietor), please please please make sure you read the small business provisions of the bill, which also provided an additional $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). And, state and local governments will have more money to dedicate to recovery efforts so please be on the lookout for news in your local area for specific programs. If you are a sole proprietor, see this Bench article that provides a detailed account of how the recent changes to PPP will work for YOU specifically. 

My favorite line from President Biden’s speech last night was “there is light in the darkness.” We are crawling our way out of the mess, and let’s continue to hold each other up and ensure that we have the resources we need to come out on the other side better to live the wealthy lives we deserve. Remember, this is our year of renewal, and we’re getting there. 

I’ve rounded up a two good reads from the week:  

Roblox and SPACs. Video game maker Roblox had its stock market debut on Wednesday and is valued at close to $45 billion. 2021 is shaping up to be one of the hottest IPO years on record, and also a big one for SPACs, or special purpose acquisition vehicles. I’ve received a lot of questions about these vehicles, and my thoughts on them as an investment opportunity. Here’s a very brief video on how SPACs work. SPACs bypass the traditional IPO process, and the red tape associated with IPOs. With SPACs, private companies have greater price certainty and control while investors have the opportunity to get in early in an IPO, and are banking on the price to appreciate. While SPACs have been around for decades, and the SEC started regulating them more in the last 10 years and they have become an attractive vehicle during this COVID-19 time. I leave you with this: You need to do your due diligence and don’t follow the crowd for the next hot thing! 

How COVID-19 has changed spending habits. A new OnePoll survey examined pandemic-era spending and saving trends and revealed found that “over the course of the pandemic year, consumers spent much less money on things like movies (49%), luxury goods (46%), video games (42%), clothes (42%) and entertainment (41%). However, Americans increased their spending on groceries (41%), self-care products (23%), bills (22%), takeout (22%) and healthcare (20%).” Since this week marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. shutting down due to COVID-19, reflect on what has changed in your habits as well as how you will allocate your income (or stimulus check) in the coming months. Remember, I hate budgets and I’m more a fan of allocating your money to where you want to go! 

A Wealthy Girl Corner

Thanks for your continued support, reading, and sharing! 

BIG DEAL ALERT. I’m offering my e-book for $2.99 at a 70% discount on Amazon from now through Tuesday, 3/16 at 11:59pm CST. Buy a copy for a friend or family member given the special price. Part of providing the discount is to help you spread the wealth to others. One thing - you don’t need to have a Kindle device to read an e-book. On your iphone or Android, you can download a Kindle app for free! 

You can also buy more than one e-book that you might want to give as gifts to multiple people now or later. On Amazon, a person can only buy 4 copies at one time, but you can buy another 4 copies right after each purchase. If you do not add e-mail recipients right away, you will receive redemption links (or check your Amazon orders account) to send on your own. 

Otherwise, you can of course purchase the paperback as you see fit via Amazon too. Given COVID-19, shipping directly to the recipient will be the best bet via Amazon platform instead of mailing to yourself, and then having to pay for shipping.

You’ll also notice another version of the book on Amazon - that’s right, the Audible version! More on that soon! Yessss - happy birthday to me :)