Dear Plenty Community,

It’s a new year and I’m excited to welcome back the ~5,000+ couples who are dreaming up a wealthier year. It’s been a privilege growing alongside all of you in 2024, and I couldn’t be more excited to welcome the 1,500+ couples who recently joined to start 2025 strong! 💪

For those who are new, I’m Emily - CEO of Plenty and a CPA + CFA who loves calculators and hates math. Each week, I’ll break down 2 things in the news that may impact your wallet, 1 tip for your relationship, and last week’s product ships. 

This week, I’ll cover:

• Why it’s time to travel: the US dollar is at a 55 year high

• Why that dream home might cost you more for longer

• How to run your relationship like a startup

As always, if you have ideas or questions you’d like us to answer, write in to [email protected] - I’d love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Emily

PS. Get on track this year, for free. Try Plenty today

Why it’s time to travel: the US dollar is at a 55 year high

The US dollar is ✨priced to perfection✨, according to a Bank of America analyst. And as someone with perpetual wanderlust ✈️, that's music to my ears. Over the past 3 months, the US Dollar Index has climbed by 10%. This index measures the US dollar's strength against the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc.

A strong US dollar means your travel budget can stretch further abroad. That €300 hotel in Paris last year now costs ~$30 less. Dreams of sushi in Tokyo? 🍣 That same meal you enjoyed for ¥10,000 two years ago is now nearly 20% cheaper. And for those eyeing a ski weekend in Whistler, tickets would be 11% cheaper now than in 2021 (and so would that stop at the outlet mall across the border).

The stronger US dollar has been driven by:

• ✅ US economy's doing the triple: ✅Low unemployment, ✅high consumer spending, and ✅ solid economic growth. That's made the dollar attractive to global investors.

• ⬇️ Weaker economies abroad: Slowdowns in the EU and China have led to reduced demand for their currencies. With the US economy outperforming, investors have moved investments to the US, boosting the dollar's value.

• 😐 Expectations for inflation under the Trump administration: For better-or-worse, most now believe inflation will continue, forcing the central bank to maintain higher interest rates. Higher rates attract more investments, further increasing demand for the dollar.

It's not just about travel or shopping... but silver linings are silver linings. So whether you're planning a European getaway, sushi in Japan, or hitting the slopes in Whistler, it's a good time to book that getaway and take advantage of that USD.

Why that dream home might cost you more for longer

Those lower mortgage (and broader loan) rates we’ve been hoping for will likely have to wait.

For those waiting to buy a house, inflation probably feels like that one guest who just won’t leave. The Federal Reserve had originally planned bigger rate cuts for 2025 (as much as a 1% drop by the summer), but they revised that plan today. The new strategy? Reduce interest rates more slowly, just in case tariffs are enacted.

🤔 Fed…who? The Federal Reserve has one job: keep prices in check. Think of inflation like an overinflated balloon—too much air, and it pops. To stop that, the Fed raises interest rates to make borrowing more expensive and slow down spending (a.k.a. letting some air out of the balloon).

What do tariffs have to do with this? Tariffs are essentially taxes paid by international companies to sell goods in the U.S. These costs usually get passed on to consumers as higher prices, making everyday items more expensive.he tariffs.

What does this mean for me? Mortgage rates could stay high, meaning that dream house might come with a steeper monthly payment. The same goes for car loans, credit card balances, or any other borrowing.

Slower borrowing often leads to slower growth in the stock market.... though the stock market did have a breakaway growth rate of 25% last year (the only thing that's predictable, is that the market's never predictable 🤦🏻‍♀️).

On the bright side, higher interest rates mean your savings account will continue to earn more for a while longer—an upside for savers. For those waiting for lower rates to buy that house, it may be time for a plan b (and remember, you can always refinance)!

“ Intentional ”

Each year, my husband and I set aside time to reflect on the past year, and plan/dream about the year ahead.

In thinking about 2024, a theme emerged: how can we be more intentional with our time together, especially as cofounders of Plenty?

As cofounders, we had regular retros and reflection together or as a team. We'd discuss what went well, what could be improved, and what we want to do differently. As a team, we had regular planned team retreats, escape room nights, and lunches.

But as partners-who-were-cofounders, our personal systems drifted.

So we put our 🧠 thinking hats on and dreamed up a new system for 2025, drawing from what was realistic for our lives today + what had worked previously + frankly, some startup best practices.

Have a system that works for you and your partner? I’d love to hear it (and feature it, if you’re open to it)!

🚢 Ship, ship, away! Over the past week, we’ve shipped across desktop + mobile:

• Upgraded account balance syncing

• Added ‘last updated’ for account syncs

• Delete accounts on mobile

• New search bar on mobile ‘transactions’ page

• Create account-specific rules on desktop and mobile

• Coming soon: enhanced budgeting on desktop + budgeting on mobile

As always, we take feature requests & post our daily ships in our reddit: r/plenty or at [email protected]

Plenty is a free money app helping modern couples budget, invest and plan for their future together. We bring the investment strategies and products of the wealthy to the everyday household. Plenty was started by a husband and wife team dedicated to growing together. 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 was founded to democratize access to financial products and tools that accelerate wealth building.  Plenty Financial and affiliated entities. (“Plenty Financial”) provide a web, mobile, personal financial management, and educational platform to consumers; some of these tools are freely accessible to all consumers, others require a fee-based subscription. Advisory services are provided in the form of software-first financial planning and investment advisory services for fee-based Subscribers. Plenty Financial RIA, LLC is an SEC-registered investment Advisor. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. All investments made are legally owned by you. Investment accounts are not bank guaranteed or FDIC insured. Investments are held in accounts at BNY Mellon - Pershing, one of the world’s largest securities servicing companies and are SIPC insured. Please see Plenty’s full general disclosures here.