Mini-retirements, financial health misconceptions, upcoming Detroit fintech event

It's the end of the month and I've had better ones. Things were just a bit off (canceled travel, sickness, blah, blah blah). But it's ending on a fun note -- watching "A Nightmare Before Christmas" outside, joining a reading club where we all read different books at an after-hours coffee shop and skating down Hollywood Blvd. Also, my parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary.

In fintech, here's what caught my eye this month:

• Buy now, pay later for healthcare: This has been a thing and one of the fintech startups offering the payment option to patients closed a $32 million Series B round in August. PayZen, the name of the fintech company, splits healthcare?payments into installments without charging fees or interest. It’s BNPL, or as the startup calls the product, “care now, pay later.” TechCrunch reports on the fintech company here. I see a need for such an option on bills that always feel like mysteries until they arrive. I just got a larger healthcare bill myself (but luckily doable). Still, I would have used something like this if it had been a payment option. Separately (but interestingly), Bilt -- which lets people earn rewards when they pay their rent -- expanded its reward program with Walgreens. Now, consumers can automatically use Health Savings Account and Flexible Savings Account funds when shopping at the pharmacy.
• Adult gap years are a thing (on purpose): Among the ideas that sound really great are mini-retirements and it’s what some 20-somethings are doing. Essentially, it’s a rebrand of the sabbatical. Instead of staying on with the current employer, people are quitting so that they can travel or linger on their creative passions or something else. Crucial to making something like this work is to save up enough money. From the New York Magazine?story reporting on the trend:

“‘I’ve recently decided that working for three years and then taking a year off is how it’s going to be for me,’ said a teacher who has started setting aside money for her mini-retirement in a high-yield savings account, in addition to contributing to her regular retirement plan. ‘I did this. It changed my life. I’ve decided that I will take a year off work every fifth year (4 years working/1 year off) for the rest of my life,’ posted another.

While you might be thinking about the risks – including healthcare – I’ve been hearing about workarounds. This essay found me a while back and I really like the healthcare patch the writer did (or continues to do) after quitting a corporate job.?

For companies, this approach just feels like another thing to expect: Not only do people want to work from home, they may treat your corporate job as seasonal work.

• The neobank with a physical footprint: More than two years ago, H&R Block launched a digital brand called Spruce. One perk the newer brand has that other neobank brands often don’t have: Access to a physical footprint. On Money isn’t Everything, H&R’s John Thompson chats about the way Spruce gets visibility in the company’s? physical footprint – and, of course, in other channels – in pursuit of customers. We also explore the tension caused by letting people get their tax refunds early but still encountering lags when they try to send the money to other accounts at times because of fraud flags and so on. Catch the full episode here.
• Also on the pod: Kelly Fryer, executive director at the Fintech Sandbox, and I chat about career pathing, what data sources fintech entrepreneurs are seeking out right now and some of the top challenges community banks are up against.
• Also, also: We run all the episodes as video episodes, too.

Other things that happened this month:

?? Mystery box of intriguing links, articles and other stuff that may interest you as it did me.

• When the issue is you’re too scared to spend the money you have.
• A look at why these ladies don’t have savings (and the reasons wildly vary).
• This digital banking app for immigrants has raised $21.5 million in a Series A funding round.
• Klarna is letting consumers keep a balance (but it's not a bank account). One possibility from the expansion: The idea of save now, pay later will become more of a thing.
• That pop-up dating app for people with high credit scores shut down (as it was supposed to).
• When the hot ticket in town is from your credit card company.
• Yes, the price of a wedding is mighty. But the idea of people charging guests to attend their weddings feels bonkers.
• Ally Financial is hosting virtual workshops for the public to explore their feelings about money (American Banker; subscription required).
• I'm delighted to say I'll be emceeing The Reseda Summit in Detroit this Sept. Come say hi. I grew up in Michigan and I am so happy to be going to a work event there.
• Missed the 'Z Hits Different' webinar by Cornerstone Advisors and Frich Money ? How dare you. ; ) Catch the replay here.

Let's get where we ain't,

Mary

- If you want to keep up with my fintech interviews, subscribe to my pod: Money isn't Everything. Cornerstone and I drop episodes every other Thursday and explore thinking with flair in banking.

- This entry below made me laugh hard. The troubleshooting tip made its way into the worst-case scenario calendar (including other entries for dealing with shark bites and living with your ex).

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