Dear Plenty Community,

In the Plenty world, we opened our doors to more Plenty members a few short weeks ago. We launched our new website, got featured by Fortune, won Fintech product of the week, and just began building our mobile app.

In the financial world, the regulators at the CFPB are stepping in to look at buy-now-pay-later providers after loan volume grew 12x to $24B in 2 short years (source: CBS). They’ve mandated that shoppers get similar protections that they’ve required of credit card companies including the ability to dispute transactions, and to receive account statements detailing any money owed.

Federal Reserve governor said he does not believe additional interest rate hikes will be necessary but would like to see several months of inflation improvement before lowering rates. This will give borrowers some needed relief and likely begin pushing savers to start thinking about other investments that can give them a higher return in the face of dropping APYs.

In this week’s newsletter, we go back in history to discover the changing norms that shaped access to financial products going back as far as the 1700’s. We’ve come a long way. The norms have continued changing and financial institutions haven’t modernized quickly. There’s the saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Well…. it’s broken. And so we’re fixing it.

We’re building an institution for today’s norms. If you want to try it out, sign up for your free trial today.

Cheers,

Emily

The new norms

In the 1700’s, women did not have the ability to legally own property (and in fact, were considered property). In the 1800’s, states incrementally began granting women the ability to own their own land.

In the 1960’s, depending on the state + financial institution, a women still needed to bring a male to the bank to authorize actions like opening an account, or withdrawing money that belonged to them. This might entail bringing in a father, husband, or brother. If a woman’s father wasn’t alive and she hadn’t married yet, she could even be turned away from opening a bank account.

50 years ago, the Equal Opportunity Act ensured that banks and financial institutions could no longer discriminate on the basis of gender or marital status.

We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a way to go. As roles within partnerships are increasingly becoming equal, the financial products and tools haven’t caught up.

Couples who work together say they’re less stressed, more confident in the future, and less likely to make mistakes. But with a quick look back at history, it’s not surprising that this approach is still “new” in the world of legacy financial institutions.

Understanding financial tension in relationships

Relationship therapist, Esther Perel, shares some tips to understand the why of financial tension. Among her key takeaways, she highlights: “Money is never just about the money. Money is about status, access, comfort, freedom, interdependence, trust, loyalty, betrayal, fairness, and more.” In this great blog post, she shares the questions to ask your partner today, including:

• What does it mean to be good with money?

• Did your family talk about money growing up?

• Do you think your parents were good with money?

• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate how we spend our money?

Plenty is a wealth platform helping modern couples invest and plan for their future together. We bring the investment strategies and products of the wealthy to the everyday household. For more information, visit withplenty.com. If you ever have any feedback or questions, please do reach out to us at [email protected].

At Plenty, no financial topic is off-limits for modern couples. We offer straight talk and judgment-free guidance to help modern couples navigate the tricky and important intersection of money and relationships. Join thousands of couples who’ve signed up for our free newsletter today.

Plenty Financial RIA, LLC is an SEC-Registered Investment Advisor. All investments made are legally owned by you. Investing is inherently risky and Plenty does not guarantee positive performance. Investments are held in accounts at BNY Mellon | Pershings, the world’s largest securities servicing company and are SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, and there is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over any period of time. Please see Plenty Financial’s general disclosures. Brokerage services are provided by Atomic Brokerage LLC "Atomic Brokerage", member FINRA and SIPC. Clearing and custody services are provided by Brokerage firm BNY Mellon Pershing, member SIPC. Plenty Financial RIA, LLC has a relationship with Atomic Brokerage to manage and execute investments on behalf of customers. Subadvisory services are offered through Atomic Invest LLC ("Atomic Invest"), an SEC-registered investment advisor, member SIPC. Atomic Invest was formerly known as Helium Advisors LLC. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a particular level of skill or training.