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The Economics of the NBA Draft

From overnight millionaire to overnight cautionary tale.

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With the 2022 NBA Draft in the rearview, a handful of teenage hoopers have become overnight millionaires. In recent years, the Association’s held mandatory financial literacy classes to give incoming rookies a crash course on everything from budgeting basics to spotting shady investments. But much like lottery winners, that hasn’t stopped NBA stars from blowing it all—and then some. 

We’ve mixed the cautionary and the heartwarming. 

Ben Simmons: Exotic pets

The 2016 1st overall pick banked $6 million before playing a single NBA game, then dropped $10K of that on a pair of Savannah cats. Simmons was forced to give up the designer pets after they became too much of a headache. Ironic, since Ben was “given up” a few years later when he proved too much of a headache for the Sixers!

Harrison Barnes: A “really nice bed”

You can’t put a price on a good night’s sleep. Barnes finally made his childhood dream of owning a “nice bed” come true after being drafted by the Warriors, saying that mattress shopping felt “like Christmas” after years of counting every penny. 

Jalen Rose: $15K on a phone

Yes, you read that right. The former lottery pick spent his entire rookie contract, including $15,000 on a sapphire crystal phone with 24/7 concierge service. It’s supposedly “the Rolls-Royce of phones” — but Rose never even used it. 

Shaquille O’Neal: Millionaire → $80K in debt 💸

Shaq signed a million-dollar endorsement deal leading up the ‘92 draft. By the time Orlando picked him #1 overall, it was all gone. So, where’d it go? 

  • 3 Mercedes-Benz (1 for him, dad, and a “little” Benz for mom) = $500K
  • Jewelry, clothes, pager (ask your parents) and cell phone = $100K
  • Taxes + agent fees = $400K+

Michael Carter-Williams: Nothing

On the advice of his mom/manager, the promising Philly point guard lived off endorsement deals while putting every cent of his rookie contract into a trust fund that he couldn’t touch for three years. It was a smart move, especially since the former Rookie of the Year wound up getting hurt and has bounced around on a series of smaller deals ever since. 

The takeaway? Always listen to your mom!

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The Cost of Building Jurassic Park

Crunching the numbers on the world’s most dangerous amusement park

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Jurassic World: Dominion has hit the theatres, and JP merch is flying (velociraptor-style) off the shelves. It’s got us curious about how much it would cost to bring Jurassic Park to life, IRL. Is this a decent investment opportunity?

The jury’s out, or eaten, so you be the judge:

$331.2 million: Cost to buy Isla Nublar

At 14,080 acres, Isla Nublar – home to the original JP and, later, Jurassic World – is roughly half the size of Disney World, giving dinos plenty of room to stretch their legs and wings. 

According to OfficialETA’s, “The Price of Paradise” tool, a similarly-sized private island off the coast of Costa Rica will run you $331.2 million. If you’re willing to downsize, the 800-acre “shovel-ready” Golfito Bay can be had for a bargain $17,500,000.

$1.2 billion: Construction costs

John Hammond (aka Richard Attenborough) spared no expense building the original JP. Neither did Jurassic World’s Simon Masrani (aka Irrfan Khan). The new InGen CEO spent an estimated $1.2 billion on concrete and materials alone to build his new-and-improved park — about what it cost Disney to complete Animal Kingdom.

$2 million (or more): Liability insurance

New Jersey’s fantastically dangerous Action Park is the stuff of legend. It got away without liability insurance. Gene Mulvihill, “The Walt Disney of New Jersey” figured it was cheaper to pay injury claims out of pocket — his own. That was the ’80s, and times have changed. In 2020, $100M-worth of coverage cost Six Flags $2 million in premiums. It’s safe to assume Jurassic Park’s payments would be higher, since the prior claims history is a determining factor for insurance premiums, and there are pretty hefty claims/eatings that date back to 1993.

$300+ million: Cost of dino food, annually

One area where you don’t want to scrimp. As one of the world’s largest zoos, the San Diego Zoo spent $281,273,000 in 2021 to feed and care for 12,000+ animals across 650+ species. The fictional Jurassic World only features 20 species of dinos (cloning isn’t cheap!), but we’re rounding up to be safe. A well-fed dino dines on fewer guests. 

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Age 0

In the beginning, there was a baby. And this made you realize…man, they’re expensive.

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You have a baby! Welcome to the greatest, most sleep-deprived club on the planet. So far, you’re doing everything right.

Start Here.

One of the most important things you can do as a parent is help to secure your child’s financial future. And, by opening a Wealthie account, you’ve just done that. 

Your work here is done! Take a nap. Wake up when your kid is 25. 

Oh, we kid, we kid. But for real, you’re accomplishing something rare. You’re giving your child a 30-year headstart on the average investor. Three decades of time and compounding will help to quietly grow a meaningful nest egg, ready for your little person when they need it and, (thanks to 20 years of wise words from Wealthie), when they’re ready for it. 

Yessss.

You’ve started early. Now, your job is to keep going. Work to make consistent, manageable payments a habit. $10 a week in a diversified portfolio (like your Wealthie account) at 6% a year, builds almost $60 000 by age 25. Pair that $60K with two decades of Wealthie’s smart financial education, and voila, the world’s in great hands, all thanks to you.  

So, Welcome to Wealthie. Celebrate yourself.

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Age 1

The financial literacy you need, in the 15 seconds you have.

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Here’s the secret it takes most people a lifetime to learn: when it comes to time and money, having one can make up for not having the other. 

Right now, your baby’s got a potent mix of time and a lot of admirers. Put both of these things to work.

Start Here.

Odds are, your baby’s still the only thing that your family and friends want to talk about. Cash in on this social currency while your kid’s still rolling into fam bbqs like some A-list celeb. In other words, while the people you love are up in your baby’s business, let them actually become your baby’s business.

Yes, some stuffies will stand the test of time, but odds are nothing will come close to the value of an investment made now for the long term. Need a story to illustrate the power of time and compounding? Try this anecdote, with thanks to Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money… 

Whoa.

If Warren Buffett had invested like many people do — started at 30 with $25 000, retired at 60, and still made his 22% annual Berkshire Hathaway returns — today, he’d be holding about $15 million. 

(We’d still take his investment advice.) 

BUT, because he started investing at 10 and kept going, Mr. B’s fortune has rocketed past $100 billion. 

Okay. A few takeaways. One, your offspring is currently 10 years ahead of Warren Buffett. And, while we’re not suggesting your child become a pint-sized tycoon, we are saying that the greatest commodity your baby has right now, (aside from good genes and heavy cuteness), is time. 

Sometimes, TIME = MONEY, but right now, TIME > MONEY. 

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Age 2

Toddle all the way to the bank.

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Your child is a toddler. As of today, they can reach everything, and go everywhere. What they can’t reach, they want, immediately. Anything on a shelf is a battleground. The grocery store is your new Waterloo. 

Start Here.

Life may not be a rehearsal, but life with a two-year-old should be. Grocery shopping with your little person? While you’re on your way, walk through everything you plan to buy, aloud, together. You’ve just turned the grocery store into a scavenger hunt. A small victory. Will this work? Momentarily, perhaps. And while it won’t stifle the occasional yelp for a unicorn cake or dinosaur confetti, it will instil in your child’s subconscious an early understanding of budgeting, financial planning, and patience.  

Get This. 

Studies show that delayed gratification is a lesson that can be learned at two. That lesson pays dividends for life — for you and your child. Have your unicorn cake, and eat it too. 

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Age 3

Money and your Threenager.

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Your threenager is watching you, like some kind of baby Netflix. When it comes to money, they’ve picked up a thing or two. They see that money and credit cards get “stuff”. They have neither. Major bummer. 

Start Here.

Counting and stacking coins to make dollars will give your toddler a felt sense of money and a subtle sense of agency and power. Welcome to Step One on the Path to Plutocracy. Kidding, kidding. 

Money may be virtual, but it’s helpful for your kids to see, touch, count, and understand it, before it disappears for them for life. If it’s already disappeared for you, no problem. You can talk about money in a way your kids will understand. Toys and tradeoffs. 

Use moments of decision making (this toy or that toy? This cereal or that one?) to help your toddler understand the concept of tradeoffs. Your kid may not be able to pronounce “resource allocation” but they get what it means, and what it really means is that that little mind is learning how to budget, and quickly becoming a financial genius. 

Get This. 

Studies show we’re willing to pay up to 100% more for something when we pay with a credit card. Learning to recognize money is an important part of building a relationship with value. Start this process now, to help lock in values around saving and sharing. 

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Age 4

Today, Paw Patrol. Tomorrow, College.

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Think it’s too early to talk about money? Actually, you’re late. Kidding! You’re doing everything right, but talking about money and value early can help form good money habits for life. (Also, since you’re already up for The Greatest Parent Of The Year Award, honestly, who are we to stand in your way?) 

Start Here.

Obviously your kid doesn’t need to know how much money you earn, or how to pay an electric bill (although… super handy), but it’s worth chatting about how people earn money. What would your four-year-old like to be when they grow up? A robot firefighting ballet dancer? Fabulous! Think of the pension! 

So, you’ve started a conversation about earning with your polymath. It’s a reasonable time to talk about saving and why it’s so important. Patience and persistence are healthy financial habits that improve every area of life long term.  Of course, patience + persistence may seem like impossible goals at four years old. So, we like this tip… 

Get This.

The “Batman Effect” suggests that kids will stay with a task longer when they imagine themselves as someone (or something) they believe is a hard worker, like Batman. We’re more of a Miles Morales type of outfit, but anyway, this is a simple way to connect your child’s favourite heroes with some wise financial habits.  

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Age 5

The one about allowance.

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A wise accountant once told us people spend 40% less when they buy with cash and not credit. Is this true? Maybe. What does it tell us? Your little person needs to see and understand money before they start spending it. The majority of us transact with plastic or phones, so kids don’t see money anywhere. It’s tough to value what you can’t see. Good news, your five-year-old will happily save for their goals or simply for saving’s sake, if you normalize and encourage it. 

Start here. 

One great way to make money visible… allowance. We get a lot of questions about allowance. 

Take this Advice.

It’s allowance, not bribery. Think of allowance as a fixed weekly or bi-weekly “salary” for being a kid. Chores? They’re part of being a good citizen. Don’t pay for them. Set an allowance, and keep it consistent. 

I haven’t carried money since the 90s. No problem. A mom we admire uses cotton balls as her in-home currency. Her kids’ allowance is paid in dollar balls. Cotton fills a jar fast, which may have your five-year-old feeling and acting like a plutocrat (all pretty harmless until they start asking about tax havens…)

Save Spend Share Shares. Sure, your kid can direct their allowance into separate “accounts”. 50% into saving, 25% into spending, 25% into sharing? Maybe. But while giving is important, don’t overlook the importance of giving time. Experiential giving makes kinesthetic memories. And putting that extra 25% into a “shares” jar to invest could mean your child has a meaningful nest egg to dip into for philanthropy once they’re older. 

BONUS. 

Don’t Create a Wage Gap. These are your child’s formative years. Champion equality. Remember that women still earn 82 cents or less on the dollar, and it might be a good time (and a great conversation) to make that up to the young girls, girl-identifying, and nonbinary kids in your home.

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Age 6

The one where we congratulate you.

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A Cambridge study says that by age seven, many of a kid’s “money habits” are set for life. Your kid’s only six! As of today, you are ahead of the game. Take a moment to really drink this in.

And we’re back.

Start Here.

Studies suggest that your child will adopt your money habits. Do not panic. We’re here for you. Take a moment to think, really think, about your money habits. How do you spend? How do you save? How do you think about money? Do you worry about not having enough of it? Do you worry about having too much of it?

Write down your thoughts, and write down your habits. Breathe. Scan what you’ve written. You’ll want to judge those habits. Don’t. Write down your parents’ money habits. Look familiar? 

Ferreal?

We pass money stories down for generations. If yours are serving you, great. If not, try this: write down the habits you’d like your child to have by age 25. How can you model those habits, even hint at them, starting now? 

Keep Going.

Start a conversation with your six-year-old. How do they feel about money? If money were a character or a famous person, who would it be? What can money be used for? Expand the answer beyond “it gets me toys” to a larger conversation about the future, about giving, growing, and, obviously, investing.

Why not into your kid’s Wealthie account and chat about why you and the people in your child’s life are putting money away for them, and actively investing in their future. What does the future look like for your six-year-old? What are they growing their Wealthie account for? Ask them for their thoughts, write down their answers, keep them safe, and repeat this every year.

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Age 7

Making money moves.

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For a kid, money is magic. It comes from a machine, it lives in plastic cards, it buys toys. We ❤️ magic, but not when it comes to money. It’s time to solve some mysteries. 

Start Here.

What IS money and how does it work? 

Your 7-year-old should know that money works as an exchange. Money makes it easier to trade for the things they’d like to do or buy. It can be earned, spent, borrowed, given, saved, and invested. 

If you plan to hold onto your $ for a while, it’s important to put it to work. $10 today is worth more than $10 tomorrow, because of inflation, yes, but *also* because of the MAGIC of compound interest. (Wait, money IS magic?? Mixed messages…) 

Get This.

Time = (actual) Money. Compound interest is as close to a money tree as your child will get without water or soil. 6% interest on their investment, year after year, means that each year, their principal and their interest are both making 6% interest. THEIR INTEREST IS MAKING INTEREST! 🤯 This is an important lesson about the power of patience… when it comes to money, invest wisely, leave it (mostly) alone to grow, and watch your kid’s savings speed up. 

Your Wealthie account is a great place to watch compound interest in action. You can also use Wealthie’s compounding calculator to look ahead to see what your 7-year-old’s account may look like with 25 years of compounding to help it along.

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The Business of Web3

News from the future of the Internet

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The heady days of Crypto are feeling more like a massive migraine in June 2022. Coins, such as Bitcoin and Ether, once thought to be the new oil, have been on a lurching decline in recent weeks. 

The dips keep on dipping.

The Damon/McGregor-fuelled ad campaigns, the arena naming, the requests by mayors to be paid in Bitcoin – are these now just quaint memories from a bygone era? More importantly, does the #Cryptocrash throw cold water on the future of Web3?

We feel you, and no. Crypto may be one part of the dream for a new, better internet, but it’s far from the only part. So, consider this a break from the doom and gloom. Here’s what else is making headlines in the wide world of Web3.

  • The Weeknd’s After Hours tour is finally happening, now brought to you by Binance
  • Web3’s Got Soul: Ethereum’s co-founder introduces the idea of “soulbound tokens”
  • Pride Month celebrations come to the metaverse, proving Web3’s not just for crypto bros

Read on…

***

The Weeknd became the latest chart-topping megastar to hop aboard the Web3 train after tapping Binance as the official sponsor for his After Hours Til Dawn tour. It’s the “first global concert tour to integrate Web 3.0 technology for an enhanced fan experience.” Okay, coolcoolcool, but what does that mean exactly?

A few highlights: The tour will collaborate with Toronto-based “creative incubator”, HXOUSE on an NFT collection, and virtual ticket stubs will grant attendees access to commemorative NFTs and other brag-worthy one-of-a-kind experiences. According to The Weeknd, “There are so many possibilities with crypto and I think this is just the beginning.” 

A little louder for Kanye in the back.

Complex | June 3, 2022

It’s the future of the Future of the Internet, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin: non-transferable NFTs, called “soulbound tokens” (or SBTs for short). You may know a version of these from WoW (World of Warcraft, mom and dad). Buterin believes SBTs could act as a sort of “extended resumé, issued by your university or your employer, or gifted to you at an event. SBTs would make it tougher for scammers and identity thieves to fake credentials. It’s all meant to give people ownership over their digital selves, while moving Web3 away from its current Gold Rush mentality of pump-and-dump crypto schemes and Bored Apes.

Insider | May 25, 2022

For the first time ever, Pride Month is coming to the metaverse, thanks to a limited-edition NFT avatar drop, and a weeklong celebration happening at The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual gaming platform that’s partnered with everyone from Snoop Dogg to The Smurfs. Called #MetaPride, the groundbreaking event was designed to combat the fact that an estimated 81% of Web3 participants are currently white men. “We believe that Web3 can only scale if diversity and inclusion are rooted in the foundation of what is being built,” explained People of Crypto Lab co-founder, Simone Berry.

A new online world that better reflects the diversity of our offline world? That’s definitely worth celebrating.

BusinessWire | May 31, 2022

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My kid wants $100K sneakers for the Metaverse. Is there a Universe where this makes sense? 

A perplexed parent’s guide to NFT footwear.

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Virtual sneakers with six figure price tags. Is this really a thing?

You bet your bottom Bitcoin it is. Not just a thing, but an exploding (and highly volatile) market. Nike recently sold a pair of NFT sneakers for $134,000. Nike’s move into the Metaverse was in collaboration with RTFKT (pronounced “Artifact” — we got you), a digital-only sneaker brand that’s pioneered the recent revolution. Asics, Gucci, and other big names are all dipping an 8-bit toe into this futuristic and, yes, super confusing new market. 

Still don’t get it. What’s the point of shoes that you can’t actually wear?

Maybe ask that question to thousands of sneakerheads who have been buying sneakers as a collectible commodity for more than a decade. Just like a limited edition pair of Yeezys, NFT shoes get their value based on hype and scarcity. Think of NFT technology as a way to certify uniqueness and ownership in the virtual world. So, you’re not buying an easily-duplicated image of a shoe, you’re buying a specific pair. This matters for bragging rights, and also for resale purposes. 

So this is about investment, not fashion? 

Actually, it’s about both. Kind of. You may think you can’t “wear” NFT sneakers, but companies like RTFKT are betting big on the fact that next gen consumers (ie, your kid) will care as much about their digital personas as their physical ones — and that they’ll suit them up accordingly. Going to a concert in The Metaverse? You’re not going to show up naked. Gamers already pay good money (estimated at about $40 billion a year, as of 2020) to outfit their in-game avatars. Now, future cross-pollination between fashion brands and video games will mean that your Grand Theft Auto avatar can escape the cops in the latest kicks.

So, back to your child, and their footwear demands. No problem. If your kid starts investing $10 a week now, at an expected annual rate of 6%, those shoes should be theirs in under 48 years!

#fashiongoals