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Hey Reader,

I'm writing this from Nashville!

I'm here for a few days for a friend's wedding and I can't believe how much Nashville has changed since I went to college here.

Around 10 years ago, it still had that small-city feel with bad Asian food.

But now, it's gotten A LOT more built out, food halls, and much better Asian food. I also think Hattie-B's (Nashville hot chicken) got a bit tastier.

I know the OG hot chicken spot is Prince's but I honestly prefer Hattie-B's more cause of how they season the spices e.g. dry rub vs something more balanced.

Now that you're up to speed, let's go build some wealth.

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👀 What I'm Watching

Here's a stat that will make you say, "wait… what?"

84% of S&P 500 companies just CRUSHED their Q1 earnings. Profits are at record levels and the stock market is at all-time highs.

Yet… companies keep laying people off.

In the past 30 days, 4 major US companies (Coinbase, Snap, Block, and Salesforce) cut thousands of jobs.

And every single one of them blamed AI.

Coinbase's CEO even floated the idea of "one-person teams" which is basically where ONE employee uses AI to do the work of an engineer, a designer, AND a product manager.

What's happening?

Companies have figured out they can blame AI for cuts they were already going to make anyway.

The ironic part is that even Sam Altman (yes, the guy behind ChatGPT) is calling these companies out.

The term is called "AI washing."

Companies are basically dressing up regular old layoffs as "efficiency innovations."

And remember, these companies aren't struggling… Coinbase, Snap, Block, Salesforce. Every single one beat expectations last quarter.

They're cutting because it allows them to cut costs and Wall Street likes the higher profit margins.

📝 The Breakdown

Here's how this impacts your money and wallet:

This isn't just a tech job story. The job market is getting harder for everyone (even though the headlines say things are fine).

Here's the proof:

• In 2022: there were 2 open jobs for every unemployed person.
• Today: there are now slightly more job seekers than open jobs (the official ratio is 0.9)

Here are the roles that are likely to get impacted first:

• Customer service reps (Klarna replaced 700 with AI agents and hasn't re-hired them yet.)
• Junior software engineers (Cursor + Copilot now let 1 senior dev do what used to take a team of 3.)
• Copywriters and content marketers
• Paralegals and legal research roles (AI does case lookup in seconds although idk about the accuracy)
• Junior designers, data entry, bookkeeping (anything where the deliverable looks the same every time.)

If your job has a lot of repeatable stuff, AI could potentially get involved (if it hasn't already).

If your job is more of the relationship-building kind then you're probably a bit safer.

Some of y'all might be reading this and thinking "oh shoot, my job IS on that list… what do I do?"

Take a breath.

I'll share things you should start doing today.

✍️ Your Next Move

Here's what you need to do today:

1) Start documenting your wins, with NUMBERS

The first people getting "AI-washed" are the ones who can't prove their impact and value to their company.

This week, write down 3 impactful things you've done in the last 90 days and make sure it's quantifiable. For example:

• Not quantifiable: "I worked on the Q3 product launch"
• Quantifiable: "I cut customer churn by 14% on the Q3 product launch, saving the team ~$280K"

Keep a running list of this in a document and start updating it every week or month.

Share this with manager in your next 1:1 AND add it to your resume in case things go sideways.

2) Top off your 6-month emergency fund, and move it somewhere that pays you

In a 'low-hire' job market, your emergency fund is more important than ever.

The rule of thumb: 3-6 months of essential expenses

If you spend $4,000/month on rent, food, utilities, and paying off your debt, you need ~$24,000 sitting somewhere safe and accessible.

And don't let it sit at your regular bank earning $1/year because you're LOSING money to inflation.

Move it to ANY High-Yield Savings Account (HYSA) earning ~4% so it actually EARNS you money.

​Click here for a list of my favorite HYSAs​

Most are paying 3.5%–4% right now.

If you kept $24,000 in a HYSA, you'd earn ~$960/year. Compared this to earning just $1/year at a regular bank.

3) Spend 30 minutes this week actually using an AI tool

I might get a lot of hate for this but you need to learn how to use AI.

At this point, it's unavoidable. The reality is, you either adapt or fall behind.

So pick ONE: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot and play around with it this week.

🗓️ Behind The Scenes

Here's a quick recap of what I was up to this past week:

• Quick update on my free "Make Your Cash Work" workshop. I'm almost done putting the presentations together and wanted to share a few more details. It's going to be a free 4-Day virtual workshop where I teach (step by step) you my strategy on how I put my 'lazy cash' to work (without touching the stock market). I'll share the link to join the waitlist with you next week :).
• I bought my house a little less than a year ago and yesterday marks the official day ALL our old appliances died. We've already replaced the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher because they all stopped working. And now… the fridge doesn't get as cold anymore (yes, I've cleaned the compressor, fans and defrosted it multiple times already). Problem is, we were thinking of doing a bigger kitchen renovation in the next year or two but we need a new fridge now… So I'm considering getting a cheap to use in the meantime. Good or bad idea?

✅ Cool Things From This Week

• Money Tip of the Week: Why buying the cheap version is secretly making you broke​
• Apple just agreed to pay iPhone owners up to $95 each. Here's how to check if you're owed a check.​
• Rakuten just bumped their cash back to 15% at hundreds of stores (Adidas, Expedia, KitchenAid, LEGO, and more) for "Big Give Week." This deal ends tomorrow (Monday). Here's the link (plus a $50 bonus for new members)​