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Financial freedom – now that sounds great. But how do you get there?

The thing is, we’ve all got questions about money. We launched The Currency™ as a place for straight-up conversations that can help you make heads and tails of your finances. Tune in for the latest financial news and views shaping what’s next in life, work, and play – so you feel more confident when making money moves (and sound smarter at happy hour).

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The Editors

Heads Up

That’s above my paygrade: JobSage reports that 78% of Americans have received a “quiet promotion” – in other words, they’re given “Mo Responsibilities without Mo Money”. Here are a few tips if you find yourself in this boat.

A proposed law would abolish the IRS: Try to put aside your feelings about tax season and check out this overview of the pros and cons.

Unicorns and giants are coming back down to earth

Analysts expect at least two more interest rate hikes in 2023, but there are also signs that the predicted recession may end up blowing over after all  – unless, that is, you’re one of the more than 150,000 tech workers to be laid off since November (more than 65,000 this year alone).

After a 15-year Wall Street rally, it may be surprising to see that tech is the industry showing some of the biggest cracks. But as Derek Thompson wrote in The Atlantic, many companies subsidized the cost of their services with venture capital money which was cheap in a low-interest rate environment. This year Silicon Valley’s unicorns (such as Peloton and Uber) have to find a way to, well, actually become profitable. Industry giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon are far from startups, and have also announced layoffs.

Are you concerned about what the next year might have in store? Take a deep breath and check out this quick guide to building an emergency fund. 

People are buying Pokemon cards as an investment and it's proof we learned literally nothing from the Beanie Bubble 

Pokemon cards – the 1990s trading card game – have seen a resurgence, so much so that NFL linebacker Blake Martinez recently announced his retirement after selling a rare card for $672,000. He now plans to focus on buying and selling cards full time. But the ROI and future value of the cards is unpredictable.

Diversification, or buying assets across a variety of classes to hedge against the highs and lows of the market - can be an effective investment strategy. That may mean purchasing an alternative investment such as real estate, commodities, and yes - collectibles. But there are no guarantees in the world of investing. There are many things to consider when making an investment, and (as Beanie Baby aficionados can tell you) fads and FOMO are not some of them.

When you’re ready to save for the future, there are several steps you can take (besides opening an eBay store). Start by calculating what you may need to retire.

You oughta know... how tax-loss harvesting can reduce your tax bill

Yup, this tax season the proverbial American pie may include a piece of your investment portfolio. Life hack: if you’re looking to reduce your annual IOU to the IRS, tax-loss harvesting can be a helpful strategy to keep in mind.

You may be familiar with capital gains taxes, which is what you pay when you earn money from the sale of an asset. On the other side of the equation, the IRS also allows you to deduct up to $3,000 in capital losses from your income each year. Tax-loss harvesting is strategically selling certain assets at a loss to balance out gains, minimizing your overall tax bill.

Take an investor who owns two securities: Stock A is down 10%, and Stock B is up 15%. As long as the investor has held Stock A for more than one year, they could sell off the asset and claim the loss against their income – lowering their capital gains tax to 5%. And it doesn’t have to be a permanent sale. As long as the investor waits 30 days, they may be able to repurchase Stock A while still claiming the loss.

Get more details on tax loss harvesting here.