Check Your $2 Bills: These Features Could Make Them Worth More Than Face Value
When was the last time you’ve held a two dollar bill? While $2 bills are legal currency, they’re pretty rare… unless you’re a grandparent looking for something to put in a birthday card. Most businesses won’t give $2 back as change meaning that you typically need to go to a bank to request a $2 bill. And since $2 bills are unusual, they tend not to circulate as people hold them in a piggy bank or other part of their home. My neighbor is doing an experiment where he frequently gets stacks of $2 bills from a bank and makes a small mark on them to see if he will ever get another $2 bill he marked. But then I learned that at the coffee shop around the corner, one of the baristas loves $2 bills and hoards them every time they wind up in the tip jar and even has a $2 bill collection. It makes me wonder how many of those bills that my neighbor marked never made it past the coffee shop. One reason people hoard $2 bills is that they “feel” more valuable. However, most $2 bills are worth… $2. But did you know that some $2 bills are actually more valuable?
The serial number might provide the most entertaining part of the inspection because certain patterns can make an otherwise ordinary bill much more interesting.
~Brandon Marcus, Clever Dude
When was the last time you’ve held a two dollar bill? While $2 bills are legal currency, they’re pretty rare… unless you’re a grandparent looking for something to put in a birthday card. Most businesses won’t give $2 back as change meaning that you typically need to go to a bank to request a $2 bill. And since $2 bills are unusual, they tend not to circulate as people hold them in a piggy bank or other part of their home. My neighbor is doing an experiment where he frequently gets stacks of $2 bills from a bank and makes a small mark on them to see if he will ever get another $2 bill he marked. But then I learned that at the coffee shop around the corner, one of the baristas loves $2 bills and hoards them every time they wind up in the tip jar and even has a $2 bill collection. It makes me wonder how many of those bills that my neighbor marked never made it past the coffee shop. One reason people hoard $2 bills is that they “feel” more valuable. However, most $2 bills are worth… $2. But did you know that some $2 bills are actually more valuable?
Walmart Shoppers Cutting Back as Gas Stays Above $4 — Sales Growth Hits Slowest Pace in Over a Year
Corporate earnings reports can send the stock market soaring or cause a sharp crash. This is especially true for large companies, such as Walmart. Since Walmart is such a big company tied to consumer spending, Walmart’s earnings often send strong signals about the economy and American consumers. Recently, Walmart’s earnings call disappointed investors, resulting in a nearly instantaneous 10% drop in the share price. While you may not own stock in Walmart, the information shared on their shareholder call has big implications for the economy and potentially your day-to-day life.
Walmart’s results underscore a familiar pattern for households trying to stretch every dollar: when gas stays above $4, discretionary purchases and even some grocery trips get delayed.
~James Hendrickson, SavingAdvice.com
In this article James Hendrickson goes over what was said on the Walmart earnings call, why it disappointed investors, and what it means for the economy (and for you!). While Walmart beat their earnings expectations, they did not beat their expectations by as much as Wall Street had predicted they would, resulting in the sell-off. Walmart’s CFO said that with gas prices over $4 a gallon, consumers were making trade-offs between fuel and other purchases within their store. It appears that the high gas prices as a result of the Iran war are creating a drag on Walmart’s bottom line. This pullback on consumer spending may have impacts across the broader economy as well. The article goes into more details on how this news might affect you moving forward.
Trust & Will Review: How We Finally Got Our Estate Plan Done
Do you have a will? What about a trust? Does estate planning make your eyes glaze over? While no one likes to think about their own demise, ignoring estate planning can leave your heirs in a messy situation if you were to pass away unexpectedly. Your assets may sit in probate for a long period of time which can prevent your loved ones from accessing much needed funds.
I regularly encourage families to build wealth, invest consistently, and protect what they’ve worked so hard to earn. Yet despite having wills in place for more than a decade, our estate plan hadn’t kept pace with our financial lives.
~Andy Hill, Marriage, Kids, and Money
In this article Andy Hill from Marriage, Kids, and Money talks about his experience working with an online program called “Trust & Will”. This only system works with attorneys to set up a revocable living trust and will for you at a fraction of cost of meeting with an actual attorney. Hill paid $599 for a package that included a trust and will. However, by the time he got documents notarized and paid for other aspects, he believes it cost him closer to $1,000. Hill reviews the pros and cons of the system. While Trust & Will was very efficient and he was happy with his package, he greatly underestimated the amount of work it took to transfer assets to the trust. If you’re thinking about setting up an estate plan, you’ll definitely want to check out this article!