Hey Future Funders family,

Happy Monday.

Last week we talked about how the American taxpayer would be picking up the tab for another $1.2 billion in student loan debt… and many of you wrote in agreeing that schools need to start giving students a better ROI for their degrees.

So if you had the opportunity to… would you?

Well that’s exactly what Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a long time professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (and widow of Warren Buffet’s top investor), did with her several billion in net worth by announcing that the students at this Bronx medical school will never have to pay tuition again.

Start your day off right by watching their reaction.

Ok, let’s get to it.

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Headlines That Matter

🩺 Watch your health data. America’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealth, has had to disconnect some prescription drug services amid an ongoing cyberattack. Patients who can’t verify their insurance have been forced to pay in cash— which can be a major challenge with expensive medications.

Our take: There is still no exact date to when this will be resolved, but everyone needs to be on high alert because cybercrimes and scams are only getting more prevalent. We plan to focus on this more in the coming weeks so we can show you how to avoid financial scams, but when it comes to this latest attack, we would suggest flagging this to your insurer and asking them what they are doing differently to protect your information.

📅 Beware the Ides of March. Manufacturing data out last week signaled the sector remains weak but prices showed little sign of coming down (manufacturing is about 10-15% of the U.S. economy— so not of dramatic importance— but worth paying attention too).

In addition, inflation readings from around the world did not come down as fast as people expected for February.

These data points place even more importance on two reports coming up in the next two weeks: the February Jobs Report on March 8th (experts predict the U.S. added 353,000 new jobs in February with wages growing 4.5% from last year) and the February Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on March 12th.

Our take: We are in a strange time where bad results over the next couple weeks would be taken positively because it would mean that the economy is slowing and inflation can continue to come down (so for next week if the U.S. added less than 353,000 jobs, we would bet people take that favorably).

Unfortunately, our view is that inflation may be sticking around longer than people expect, so with the stock market on it’s highs we would be careful investing new money over the next few weeks.

That said, even though we think a 1-4% pullback in the market could be coming, we are medium term positive still and would point out that 26 of the past 28 times the market was up in both January and February (like this year), it has gone on to finish higher the rest of the year too.

Risky Business

🚀 What’s happening: Ever have a family member or friend approach you for an investment?

When most people start a business or make an investment, they typically look to raise capital first from “friends and family.” But does this mean you should do it? How can you assess your risks? Will this change your relationship for the better or worse?

There are lots of questions to consider when something like this happens, which is why we put together 5 steps you should take + 10 important questions that you should ask before investing.

Dinner Discussion ❓

See last week’s poll results below.

Deals, Reads, and Other Finds…

✈️ Warm weather travel hacks. For everyone tired of the cold weather we came across an interesting travel hack piece that helps you save big on a warm weather trip to Florida or California.

🎤 Marriot + Taylor Swift. If you are a Marriot member and like Taylor Swift your day just got better. The company recently announced a sweepstakes for members to be able to book concert tickets around the globe.

🏠 Where to buy a home. Being a first time homebuyer in 2024 is brutal. Realtor.com just released a list of the 10 best markets. Do you agree?

🏎️ Best cars of the year. If you are in the market for a new car like us, consumer reports just released their top 10 picks of 2024.

📜 Quote Of The Week

“They say it takes a village. Where can I get directions to this village?”

-Rookiemoms.com

Dinner Discussion ❓

Last week’s question: Should social media be banned for kids under a certain age?

Results: 84% of you said that social media should be banned for kids under a certain age.

And to add some context to the dissenters, most of those who voted against the ban did so because they didn’t feel it would be right for the government to mandate a ban (not because they were fans of social media for kids).

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