We Are Back!
Welcome to 2025! I am looking forward to sending you all more newsletters!
If you are hoping to learn/do something specific this year with you finances, let me know by responding to this email. I would love to make the content as useful for you as possible.
For now the newsletter will proceed at one email a week, and I may reduce that to biweekly later.
Otherwise, thank you for joining me, and happy 2025!
Live: 2025 World Economic Forum
Starting Monday (yesterday), the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) is kicking off.
While this event primarily caters towards wealthy people (costs of attendance are many thousands), here are some takeaways from the event that are useful to everyone:
The concentration of wealth in the upper 1% is increasing, and at a faster rate. This may indirectly lead to increases in costs of living which you should be aware of.
The technology in focus is AI, blockchain, and quantum computing. Learning more about these topics will make you a stronger applicant to jobs, and set you up for greater success in your career.
Climate Change remains in focus. Jobs in the environmental sector have grown substantially and high population coastal cities will face growing risk from flooding and natural disaster. Choose where you live accordingly, as Climate Change response has been slow.
If you aren’t excited about an economic forum, join the club! That said, keeping an eye on what’s in store for the future will better prepare your finances for stability and strength.
Learn: Climate Change and Your Wallet
There are a few ways climate change may affect your finances:
Supply chain interruptions (perhaps for increasing natural disasters) may make normal products more expensive. When prices rise, they tend not to come down. Any long term planning should be thought out knowing that costs will rise.
Climate Change is leading to incredible innovation in the sustainability and renewable energy space, which will drive the price of environmentally friendly goods down. Keep an eye on reusable and recyclable products that can actually save you money, such as single-use plastic alternatives and menstrual products.
In the LA fires currently raging it is reported that insurance will not cover fire damage. As Climate Change becomes more intense, your insurance and healthcare will become more expensive and cover fewer damages, which will increase your expenses.
So What?
While Climate Change may lead to innovation, it will also probably make life more expensive.
Plan around this. Have an emergency fund. Invest early!
You are armed with knowledge, now you need to act.
Launch!
Where do you want to live on the long term?
Do some research on the climate risks involved with living in that place.
For example, if I were interested in living in Boston for the rest of my life, I’d look into what the city may look like in the next 10-20 years.
Boston’s sea level is expected to rise by 50 inches by 2050, putting many neighborhoods at significant flood risk. So maybe I’d avoid getting a house in those spots.
Check it out! Think ahead about where your life may be, and how that will impact your financial planning.
The world will have to adapt to Climate Change one way or another. If you think proactively, you will probably be in a better spot than those who act reactively ;).
—Ben Brosnahan
