Financial wellness and apple pie

Do you know that today, January 23rd, 2023, is National Pie Day? Not to be confused with Pi Day (on March 14), the National Pie Day was something created in the 1970s by Charlie Papazian, and it is now a holiday sponsored by the American Pie Council.

But instead of apple pie à la mode, Pie Day reminds me of a video I came across two years ago. Spoiler alert: Picture (or in this case, video) says a thousand words.

As Tony Dokoupil illustrated in the video (with pies as the visual aid), the gap between the rich and poor is the worst it’s been in more than a half-century.

This is also confirmed by a recent report produced by Oxfam : Survival of the Richest

"American billionaires are 33% richer than they were at the start of the pandemic."

Depressing, isn't it? And it surely doesn't have to be this way.

"Economic inequality is a policy choice."

Perhaps it is no wonder that millennials are moving in with their parents in order to weather the toll from inflation. According to a recent survey, nearly 25% of millennials are living with their parents, and half of them have moved in over the last year.

While it's beyond time to consider policy changes to address wealth inequality, it is also a reminder for fintech innovators to leverage technology and the human touch, and find ways to help consumers. There is always more that can be done.

Here are a few interesting examples to consider.

Earn while you learn

What if we reward users for learning new skills that can help them build their personal finance awareness and savings? Plinquit recently announced a partnership with SUMA Federal Credit Union to help give the institution’s 7,000+ members the resources they need to become better savers.

Save before you buy

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has attracted a lot of attention from both VCs and consumers, especially when the economic conditions are challenging. Although it might be an easy way for consumers to get access to short-term financing for their purchases over a set period of time and interest-free, they can also cause consumers to overspend or lose track of their payments.

According to statistics from Bankrate :

• 57% of BNPL consumers reported regretting their purchase because “it was too expensive.”
• More than half of surveyed BNPL users have reported falling behind on payments.

While we patiently await for PFM tools to be updated to include the myriad of BNPL relationships that consumers have, why not go back to the basics and save before you buy?

Set it and forget

This is definitely one of the most well-known 'tried and true' tricks. Via banks or fintech apps, consumers can easily set up automated transfers on a recurring basis and build towards emergency funds or long term savings.

Staying on top of budget and saving are some of the items that are top of mind for consumers, according to Tearsheet .

There is simply no better time than the new year to set your plans in motion. Wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year of the rabbit.

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While we are on the topic of new year and making new plans ...

Join us on Tuesday Jan 24 as we explore ideas and real world examples on how we can innovate for our shared future, and create a more sustainable world that is better for business and for our planet.?As the year begins anew, there is no better time than now to set the plans in motion and create positive impact - together.

Mark your calendar and join Jessica Scott , Susan Shumway , Tom Raftery , and myself at 10 AM ET on Tuesday, January 24th, right here on LinkedIn Audio .

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In this week's One Vision episode ...

Trying to define the Metaverse is akin to trying to define the internet when the internet wasn’t there. While the technology components such as artificial intelligence and blockchain are not new, convergence of these technologies is novel and still evolving.

In this episode of One Vision, we chat with Dr. Martha Boeckenfeld , Dean and Partner of the Metaverse Academy and Strategic Metaverse & Web3 Advisor, on the challenges and opportunities of this future vision of the internet. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Dr. Martha predict the unpredictable future.

Hint: It’s all about the community.

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If it resonates, please leave us a review on Amazon or goodreads.com. Thank you!

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