Finance

Miami’s Gold Rush: Finance Firms and Crypto Move In, Bringing Strains

Published

2 years ago

July 9, 2022

Press Room

Miami’s Gold Rush: Finance Firms and Crypto Move In, Bringing Strains

From his new workplace in Miami Seaside, real-estate investor

Barry Sternlicht

is just steps from the ocean. His waterfront mansion is only a brief drive away. Chilly winters and state earnings taxes are a factor of the previous now that he has relocated right here from Connecticut.

Mr. Sternlicht, identified for launching the trendsetting W Lodge model, moved his Starwood Capital Group to the town in 2018. He’s a part of a booming migration of economic companies, expertise corporations and enterprise capitalists that has gained momentum within the years since then, as extra companies abandon the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast for the every day pleasures of South Florida life and its friendlier enterprise local weather.

Led by Mayor

Francis X. Suarez,

Miami is making an attempt one thing so formidable it has not often succeeded wherever earlier than—reworking a metropolis recognized with glitzy seashores and nightlife right into a world-class enterprise and monetary middle.

To date it appears to be working.

Ken Griffin,

who already lives primarily in Florida, stated in June that he’s shifting his big hedge fund Citadel from its Chicago headquarters to Miami. Financiers

Carl Icahn

and Orlando Bravo are among the many billionaires who relocated to the realm through the pandemic. The cryptocurrency change platform Blockchain.com moved its headquarters to Miami final 12 months. The Miami Warmth now play within the FTX Enviornment, named for the crypto change that paid $135 million for the rights.

Barry Sternlicht escaped chilly winters and state earnings taxes.

Picture:

Starwood Capital Group

However Miami is experiencing loads of rising pains alongside the best way. Rich tech and finance professionals are crowding out many lifelong residents. Residence rents are rising sooner within the Miami space than wherever else within the nation, by 58% over the previous two years via March, in line with Realtor.com. In some fascinating neighborhoods, landlords are doubling the lease after a lease expires as a result of they know transplants from the Northeast and West Coast are prepared to pay that rather more.

Starwood’s new headquarters have been speculated to be accomplished final 12 months, however a supply-chain crunch and allowing delays imply Mr. Sternlicht remains to be ready. Mr. Sternlicht would really like all his high executives to reside in Miami Seaside, however quite a lot of them have school-age youngsters and say they gained’t transfer as a result of the realm’s non-public colleges have lengthy ready lists.

State-to-state internet earnings migration from 2019 to 2020

For the highest 5 highest-gaining states:

For the underside 5 states:

And the way a lot of the highest-gaining states’

migrated earnings got here from N.Y. and Calif.:

For the highest 5 highest-gaining states:

For the underside 5 states:

And the way a lot of the highest-gaining states’

migrated earnings got here from N.Y. and Calif.:

For the highest 5 highest-gaining states:

For the underside 5 states:

And the way a lot of the highest-gaining states’

migrated earnings got here from N.Y. and Calif.:

Now he worries that Miami may be overextending itself simply as storm clouds collect over the nationwide economic system. When he appears at Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood—lengthy a mixture of warehouses and artwork galleries that’s now exploding with new workplace and residential buildings—the Starwood chief govt sees a thicket of cranes. As head of one of many world’s largest property house owners, he worries it’s harking back to different sizzling areas that ramped up earlier than experiencing busts.

“Everybody and their cousins want to construct a constructing right here,” he stated. “I’m getting nervous.”

Monetary corporations which have opened places of work within the metropolis over the previous 18 months signify round $2 trillion in belongings beneath administration, in line with the Metropolis of Miami. Hedge fund Elliott Administration Corp. moved its headquarters to West Palm Seaside, and loads of others are establishing or increasing their footholds within the space, together with Point72 Asset Administration, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and Millennium Administration.

The Starwood Capital Group headquarters in Miami Seaside.

New York real-estate builders have additionally flocked to the magic metropolis to accommodate all of the newcomers, scooping up land in what some have known as a frenzy.

Steve Witkoff moved his operations right here, Miki Naftali purchased prime area in downtown Miami and Harry Macklowe is growing residence buildings close to a mass-transit entry level. Billionaire developer Stephen Ross just lately introduced plans to redevelop the historic Deauville Seaside Resort in Miami Seaside and is becoming a member of with

Swire Properties Ltd.

on what they are saying would be the tallest workplace tower on Brickell Ave., Miami’s premier enterprise hall.

And now a number of massive legislation companies together with Winston & Strawn, King & Spalding and Sidley Austin have adopted the cash to Miami as nicely. All are searching for workplace area, and stock is tight.

On the tech facet, the Miami space is now residence to 10 “unicorns,” or startups valued at $1 billion or extra, together with the addition this 12 months of Yuga Labs, which owns the Bored Ape Yacht Membership and CryptoPunks NFT collections. It raised $450 million in seed funding again in March earlier than the crypto market turned. Enterprise-capital funding within the metropolis greater than doubled in 2021, to greater than $4.6 billion, in line with information agency CB Insights. Within the first quarter of this 12 months, Miami-area VC offers topped $1 billion.

Drawn to the motion, Andreessen Horowitz, a Bay Space-based venture-capital agency, is shifting its crypto workplace, a16z Crypto, to Mr. Sternlicht’s constructing, in line with individuals accustomed to the matter.

Miami’s 44-year-old Republican mayor will get a lot credit score for the town’s latest success in attracting new companies. Mr. Suarez, a lawyer who served as a metropolis commissioner for eight years, moved to Metropolis Corridor in 2017, pledging “to make Miami a metropolis the place everybody can have a possibility to succeed by gaining access to the roles of tomorrow.”

Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, left, poses in entrance of the Miami Bull on the Miami Seaside Conference Middle, unveiled to kick off the Bitcoin 2022 convention.

Picture:

Wilfredo Lee/Related Press

The U.S. Congress gave his efforts a lift that 12 months when the brand new federal tax legislation capped state and native tax deductions in locations like New York, New Jersey and California. With out that deduction, these states turned much more costly to reside and do enterprise in than Florida, which has no state earnings tax.

When Covid-19 erupted in 2020, New York Metropolis was an early epicenter. Droves of Wall Avenue executives decamped to South Florida, the place restrictions have been much less extreme and the temperate local weather meant individuals might meet exterior year-round. Miami additionally eased pandemic-related restrictions far sooner. Whereas New York Metropolis shuttered eating places for greater than 10 months, Miami reopened after two.

Mr. Suarez made nationwide headlines in December 2020, when somebody within the tech group recommended on Twitter that Silicon Valley ought to relocate to Miami. “How can I assist?” the mayor responded in a tweet that went viral and has come to epitomize a metropolis that pledged to do what it took to draw companies.

Annual earnings tiers for the roughly 850,000 individuals who migrated to Florida and New York in 2019 and 2020

Miami-Dade County skilled a larger inflow of recent companies through the pandemic than ever earlier than. A report from the U.S. Census Bureau cited 106,810 new enterprise functions in Miami-Dade throughout 2020. That was up greater than 24% from 2019, which was the document on the time. A brand new excessive of 135,710 enterprise functions have been made final 12 months, the bureau stated.

“New York was once the monetary middle of the world, it’s not for my part,” Mr. Suarez stated throughout an interview at Miami Metropolis Corridor, the odor of Cuban espresso within the air. “You not must be bodily current in New York to do offers.”

Whereas New York noticed an exodus of residents who reported $21 billion in whole earnings on their 2019 federal returns, in line with the IRS, Florida noticed an inflow of residents who reported $41 billion in earnings, probably the most any state obtained.

A view of the Paramount Miami Worldcenter rental tower from one of many property’s swimming pools.

Longtime Miami businessmen say they discover the distinction.

“We’ve been working at this for a really very long time,” stated Nitin Motwani, the lead developer of Miami World Middle, a multibillion-dollar mission with 27 acres of retail, residential, workplace and lodge amenities.

It took Mr. Motwani and his companions 5 years to boost the primary $1.5 billion for the mission, he stated, and fewer than 12 months to boost the following billion.

Whereas some Miamians are swimming within the spoils introduced by newcomers, others are getting worn out. Valerie Lopez moved together with her household from Colombia to Miami within the Eighties. In 2017, she co-founded Angle, a images market that connects individuals and companies with skilled photographers.

She did her firm’s fundraising in California. When enterprise capitalists requested why she was staying in Miami, her response was at all times: “As a result of it’s inexpensive and I find it irresistible.”

That’s modified dramatically over the previous two years. She and her husband have been paying $3,700 for a three-bedroom residence going through the bay in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood. In December their landlord wished to boost their lease to $5,000, after which somebody from New York provided $7,000. In March, the couple moved to a smaller residence within the Wynwood neighborhood.

James Curnin is a developer who moved to Miami in 2019 and is now constructing a multifamily property in Bay Harbor close to Miami Seaside. He loves the climate, the seaside, and says he’s by no means leaving.

Miami resident Valerie Lopez moved to a smaller residence after newcomers drove up rents.

Nonetheless, he has observed that enterprise doesn’t proceed as easily because it as soon as did.

Proper earlier than the pandemic, when he moved to Miami, he stated it took not more than 4 months from when he submitted improvement plans to when he bought metropolis approval. Now, with the variety of initiatives swamping Miami Seaside’s employees and assets, that very same course of takes almost a 12 months, Mr. Curnin stated.

Miami has largely been in a position to keep away from hot-button political points when interesting to companies, however that’s turning into extra difficult. Mr. Suarez has warned {that a} legislation championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banning the dialogue of gender identification in early college grades might feed into tradition wars that harm Miami’s capability to draw new companies and residents.

The Supreme Court docket ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade presents one other potential problem, enterprise executives say. The Florida governor signed a legislation in April that banned abortions after 15 weeks. A circuit court docket choose on June 30 struck it down, however the state filed an enchantment.

Janine Yorio, chief govt of the New York Metropolis startup Everyrealm, stated she and her greater than 60 staff final 12 months mentioned relocating to Miami. The agency, which develops actual property within the Metaverse, an immersive three-dimensional community of digital worlds, is an efficient match for Miami’s ambitions. Her staff additionally cherished the climate and visiting the town.

She finally determined to maintain the headquarters in New York, the place a core of staff reside close by. Now, the abortion subject provides her another excuse to not transfer there, she stated.

A waiter arms out menus on the Miami satellite tv for pc of the favored New York eatery Carbone.

“It’s clearly a setback for ladies,” Ms. Yorio stated, including that the court docket ruling might grow to be a recruitment dilemma for corporations based mostly in Miami.

And whereas the mayor likes to boast that Miami “went all in crypto,” it’s removed from clear whether or not this shall be a successful wager. Mr. Suarez introduced late final 12 months that he would settle for his wage in bitcoin and he aggressively pursued the sponsors of the bitcoin convention, persuading them to carry the marquee trade occasion in Miami as a substitute of Los Angeles, the place it was initially deliberate.

Nonetheless, bitcoin’s latest loss in worth has some fearful that the crypto affiliation is a dangerous one.

The MiamiCoin, the city-branded cryptocurrency created by a corporation known as CityCoins, has misplaced 98% of its worth from its peak in September. Whereas Miami was in a position to money out $5 million from it, traders have been left holding the bag.

Mr. Suarez stated MiamiCoin could not succeed, however his No. 1 objective continues to be bringing what he calls a “confluence of capital” into the town.

A method Miami hopes to draw that capital is by internet hosting splashy occasions, many with a global enchantment, constructing on its Artwork Basel franchise. The town just lately authorized a plan to construct a soccer stadium for the native Inter Miami CF group and Miami shall be one of many 11 U.S. host cities for the 2026 World Cup.

In Could, Miami Seaside hosted the primary annual Aspen Concepts: Local weather convention in Miami Seaside, attracting chief sustainability officers from corporations equivalent to Google,

Normal Motors Co.

and

BlackRock Inc.

“We’re a reasonably good canvas to speak about local weather change,” stated Miami Seaside Mayor

Dan Gelber.

Some areas of the Metropolis of Miami Seaside expertise common flooding throughout heavy rainfall and excessive tides. As an alternative of avoiding the subject, the town has embraced the climate-change dialog, and is engaged on elevating its roads to assist fight the issue.

ZZ’s is one in every of a couple of dozen new non-public golf equipment which have opened in Miami to cater to the brand new elite.

Later that month Miami hosted a Method One Grand Prix, attracting a world viewers. Quite a few Wall Avenue financiers flew down for the race, and resorts reported a rise in 25% income per obtainable room for that week in contrast with prepandemic years.

South Florida’s meals scene can also be booming, aided partly by New Yorkers who’ve made Miami their new residence. Jeff Zalaznick, a co-owner of Main Meals Group, fled to Miami to journey out the pandemic. Prior to now two years he and his companions have opened up 5 eating places within the metropolis, together with a satellite tv for pc of their well-liked New York eatery Carbone.

“I got here for per week and I by no means left,” stated Mr. Zalaznick, who had lived in New York his total life.

He and his companions additionally opened a non-public membership known as ZZ’s that they’re now planning to launch in New York. It’s one in every of a couple of dozen new non-public golf equipment which have opened in Miami to cater to this new elite. The companions are additionally codeveloping a luxurious condo-hotel in Miami’s monetary middle known as “Main” that they are saying would be the tallest tower within the metropolis.

The town’s culinary fame obtained a lift in June, when Miami eating places have been awarded 11 Michelin stars for the primary time, becoming a member of cities equivalent to Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Share your ideas

Do you assume Miami can reach pivoting its economic system? Why or why not? Be a part of the dialog under.

“We’re white sizzling,” stated Rolando Aedo, chief working officer of the Larger Miami Conference & Guests Bureau, who helped provoke the trouble to get Michelin all the way down to Florida.

But even the town’s expanded leisure choices are experiencing their very own rising pains. On the Method One race, company complained of the searing warmth on the stadium, which supplied little shade. A few of the stair lifts that have been used to get disabled company up and throughout the pedestrian bridges situated all through the venue misplaced energy, requiring employees to hold these company so they might attain their seats.

“Wonderful issues are occurring within the metropolis,” stated Ms. Lopez, the startup founder. “It’s a brand new period, which is nice. It brings plenty of advantages but in addition plenty of points.”

Write to Deborah Acosta at deborah.acosta@wsj.com

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Finance

The growing case to embed climate risk in finance teaching

Published

2 hours ago

June 16, 2024

Press Room

The growing case to embed climate risk in finance teaching

Stay informed with free updates

Chief financial officers, chief investment officers and their teams are in a prime position to help embed sustainability in their organisations — from strategy and operations to financing and reporting. Yet the change required for many finance teams is substantial.

A recent survey of senior finance professionals by the charity Accounting for Sustainability suggests that the profession is responding: 88 per cent agree that it is “very important” or “essential” to transform financial decision making to address the opportunities and risks posed by environmental and social issues.

Most organisations have developed at least some tools to integrate sustainability, alongside traditional financial data, into decision making.

But only 9 per cent reported they were able to do so in a fully comprehensive way. Fifteen per cent felt they had the tools and techniques in place that they needed, though 46 per cent said these were under development.

Those of us who teach and conduct research in finance and accounting have a role to play to meet this demand.

We took part in a recent discussion between finance and accounting —professors and the Financial Times about best practices, successful innovations, and important concepts and themes.

It is now relatively uncontroversial to argue that climate change and nature loss bring direct risks to the profitability and cash flows of companies.

Physical risks arise from direct manifestations of climate change and include risks to firm facilities, operations, and supply chains.

Transition risks and opportunities arise for business as regulatory incentives and consumer preferences push towards, for example, a lower emissions economy.

Mobilising private capital towards mitigation of, and adaptation to, environmental change is vital. The rules of the road, as defined in finance textbooks, must be refined to help understand and manage these risks.

But there are divergent views on how to respond. Some participants in the discussion felt a responsibility as professors to inspire a fundamental overhaul of finance and accounting pedagogy, and thought the fiduciary duty of financial officers must be redefined to view climate and social action through the lens of “citizen investors”, who consider many non-financial objectives.

For them, a core course in finance would seek to question the very purpose of finance. Ideally, it would pursue what appropriate actions financial officers could take to fulfil their more broadly defined duties, what powers they should exercise, what purpose they serve, and what evidence there is of what works.

Other finance professors — a larger group that includes the authors of this article — argue that a stronger focus on climate risks is justified within the existing frameworks we teach, and no big overhaul is needed. Students should consider new sources of extra-market risk, which require a multidisciplinary understanding and fall under the conventional responsibilities of both investment and corporate managers.

When we teach about the cost of capital, for example, we highlight that stocks exposed to risks require a higher expected rate of return to be attractive, thus reducing the attractiveness of certain investments. Replacing discussion of macroeconomic risks (beyond the standard market risk factors) with others focused on climate and nature would highlight factors managers should take into account.

Another dimension is cash flow. Investing in climate change and sustainability presents a range of opportunities to generate returns and make a positive impact on the environment. These include leveraging tax incentives to invest in renewable energy projects (a booming business for investment banks due to recent legislation in the US and Europe), green bonds, electric vehicles and infrastructure.

This less radical perspective does not mean that non-financial objectives should never be considered in decision making.

Rather, it highlights that climate and nature risk management is already required — even of those investors with a narrower fiduciary duty to maximise risk-adjusted returns.

Innovative teaching approaches on sustainability and finance through real-time case studies, industry speakers, data-driven exercises, out-of-the-box readings, and engaged, project-oriented learning experiences are welcome. The more creative, the better.

At our discussion with the FT, there was a shared belief that deans and other academic leaders in business schools should create more incentives for such forms of pedagogy.

We acknowledge that there is a still larger group of finance and accounting professors who are indifferent, opposed or of the view that sustainability has little or no place in core finance teaching and learning. We believe a broader debate will continue and welcome it.

This article is by Marcin Kacperczyk, a professor at Imperial College Business School; Andrew Karolyi, a professor and dean at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business, and an advisory councillor to King Charles’s Accounting for Sustainability project; Lin Peng, a professor at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business; and Johannes Stroebel, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. We are grateful to our colleagues David Pitt-Watson, Megan Kashner and John Tobin for helpful comments

Finance and climate: recommended reading from the authors

“Climate Finance,” by Harrison Hong, Andrew Karolyi, and José Scheinkman, Review of Financial Studies (Volume 33, Issue 3, March 2020)

“Climate Finance,” by Stefano Giglio, Bryan Kelly, and Johannes Stroebel, Annual Review of Financial Economics (Volume 13, November 2021)

Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry by JC de Swaan (Cambridge University Press, 2022)

What They Do With Your Money, How the Finance Industry Fails Us, and How to Fix It by Stephen Davis, Jon Lukomnik and David Pitt-Watson (Yale University Press, 2016)

The Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit Press, 2020)

“Sustainable Investing in Equilibrium,” by Lubos Pastor, Robert Stambaugh and Lucian Taylor, Journal of Financial Economics (Volume 142, Issue 2, November 2021)

“Responsible Investing: The ESG-Efficient Frontier,” by Lasse Heje Pedersen, Shaun Fitzgibbons and Lukasz Pomorski, Journal of Financial Economics (Volume 142, Issue 2, November 2021)

“Global Pricing of Carbon-Transition Risk,” Patrick Bolton and Marcin Kacperczyk, Journal of Finance (Volume 78, Issue 6, December 2023).

Recommendations from a wider group of finance professors:

Investments by Bodie, Kane and Marcus

Principles of Corporate Finance by Brealey, Myers, Allen, Edmans

Climate Finance by Giglio, Kelly and Stroebel

Managing Climate Risk in the US Financial System

Grow the Pie by Alex Edmans

Global Reporting Initiative “Double Materiality Concept – Application & Issues”

Woke Inc. by Vivek Ramaswamy

IPCC (2022) “Sixth Assessment Report”

Unsettled” by Steve Koonin BenBella Books

Net Zero Investing for Multi-Asset Portfolios by Hodges, Ren, Schwaiger and Ang Journal of Portfolio Management

Aggregate Confusion by Berg, Kolbel and Rigobon Review of Finance

Do ESG Factors Influence Firm Valuation? Evidence from the Field by Karolyi, Bancel and Glavas

Biodiversity Finance: A Call for Research into Financing Nature by Andrew Karolyi and John Tobin-de-la-Puente (2023) Financial Management

The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carn

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/317490/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-by-gates-bill/9780141993010

False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor and Fails to Fix the Planet by Bjorn Lomborg

Disagree or want to suggest others? Use the comments section below

Finance

I Saved $1,200 on NYC Rent by Negotiating With My Landlord

Published

9 hours ago

June 16, 2024

Press Room

I Saved $1,200 on NYC Rent by Negotiating With My Landlord

Though I write about the housing market and mortgages for a living, I’m a Gen Zer renting my first New York City apartment. I’m also new to the workforce and living in a Brooklyn neighborhood where the median rent is above $4,000.

Housing is unaffordable right now, for both renters and buyers. Personal finance experts often recommend that you avoid spending more than 30% of your pretax income on housing. But that’s usually out of our control. And when you don’t live in a rent-stabilized property in NYC, your housing expenses could increase hundreds of dollars with each lease renewal.

I learned that the hard way.

When our lease was up in April, my roommate and I saw that our landlord was proposing a 4.5% annual increase, raising our rent by $200 a month, and costing us each an additional $1,200 over the next year.

We could’ve easily accepted the increase, but all it took was a bit of research, a well-written email and a quick phone call to get our landlord to budge.

My easy strategy for negotiating rent

Since our apartment doesn’t have rent-stabilized protections, there’s no legal limit on how much our landlord can increase our rent. Still, the proposed 4.5% bump was much higher than we expected.

I knew we’d be leaving money on the table if we didn’t at least try to negotiate. Landlords can often appear superhuman, impervious to normal business haggling. But that’s not always true. Here’s what we did to negotiate our rent.

I did research on average rent increases

I started by researching how much average rents had increased in our Brooklyn neighborhood over the last year. I found that average rental prices went up by less than 3% during that time, giving us pretty good leverage to negotiate. I also noted in my email that a 4.5% increase was above the current pace of inflation, which was at 3.4%.

I built my case as a responsible tenant

In many cases, it’s more convenient for a landlord to renew a lease with a responsible tenant than to deal with a vacancy. My roommate and I always pay our rent on time and in full. We alert management to any issues, like a leaking faucet, to prevent further damage or costs to the building. So we had that going for us.

I figured it was also worth noting recent issues with the apartment. For instance, last fall, there was some pretty major flooding in our bathroom. We’d been disappointed by how long it took the building super to reply to our requests and follow through on the repairs.

I was prepared to make concessions

I knew we wouldn’t be able to avoid a rent increase entirely. So I suggested an increase that I felt was in line with the local rental market, the pace of inflation and our reliable rental history.

Instead of 4.5%, I proposed a 2% increase as our starting point. That left us with some wiggle room in our budgets in case our landlord came back with a higher number.

I wrote a professional email

After we sent the email, the building’s management took about a week to respond. They asked if we could hop on a brief phone call to discuss the terms of our renewal. Our landlord offered an increase of just above 2%, meaning our rent would be going up only $100 a month as opposed to $200.

AI can help you negotiate with your landlord

We didn’t use AI to draft the email to our landlord, but in hindsight, we definitely could have.

When putting together this article, I decided to give Gemini, Google’s AI service, a prompt to see if it could help someone write an email to negotiate rent. The result wasn’t too different from the actual email my roommate and I sent.

Here’s something you can use as a template to negotiate with your landlord if you’re in a similar situation.

Dear [landlord name],

I hope this email finds you well.

I am writing to you regarding the upcoming lease renewal for my apartment [your apartment number]. I have been a resident here for [number] years and have always enjoyed living in the building.

I received the notice of the proposed rent increase to [new rent amount]. Though I understand that rent increases are sometimes necessary, I was hoping we could discuss the possibility of a lower adjustment.

Here are a few reasons for my request:

[State your reason(s) for the negotiation. Here are some options:]

Market research: I have researched comparable apartments in the area and found that the average rent for similar units is [average rent amount].
Good tenant history: Throughout my tenancy, I have consistently paid rent on time and in full, taken good care of the apartment, and maintained a positive relationship with you and other residents.
Financial hardship: [optional — if applicable, you can briefly explain any financial hardship that makes the increase difficult]
Alternative: [optional] I would be happy to sign a longer lease term of [number] years in exchange for a smaller rent increase.

I am committed to staying here at [apartment complex name] and believe that a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached. I am open to discussing different options. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let me know your availability to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

[name]

You’ll still need to fill in some details, like information about your specific rental market as well as your experience as a tenant. But it’s a great starting point, especially if writing and sending emails gives you anxiety.

A little self-advocacy can go a long way

The rising cost of living — for housing, medical expenses and other essentials — isn’t something we can control. But there are small measures we can take to save money and make informed financial decisions that benefit us in the long run.

You’re allowed to ask questions about the bills you receive and advocate for yourself. It won’t eliminate high costs altogether, but it could help you keep more money in your pocket.

Here are some other costs that are worth negotiating:

Medical bills and health care costs

You can contact your health care provider, insurer or hospital to negotiate medical costs. Your provider may lower your bill, offer a payment plan or provide financial assistance if you’re a low-income patient or uninsured. Always carefully review your medical bills and look for mistakes, and if you have any questions about the charges, ask your provider.

Credit card fees and interest

You may be able to get a better interest rate or reduced fees by simply calling your credit card issuer. Before you hop on the phone, though, be sure to research your account’s history and terms, in addition to competing credit card offers, so you can make a strong argument.

Cable, internet and phone

Cable, internet and phone providers often lure you in with a low introductory rate. But after a year, your price goes up. You can either contact your provider to see if it has any deals available, or mention you’re considering canceling your service. Your provider would rather keep you as a customer for a lower price than lose your business altogether.

In my opinion, self-advocacy is an underrated personal finance tool. By speaking up for myself, I avoided spending an extra $1,200 this year. And I won’t be afraid to do it again when my internet provider’s promotional offer expires this summer.

Finance

Jane Young: Some farewell thoughts on navigating personal finances

Published

16 hours ago

June 16, 2024

Press Room

Jane Young: Some farewell thoughts on navigating personal finances

It is hard to believe that Linda Leitz and I have been writing this column for close to 12 years. It has been a tremendous honor to share personal finance information with you over this time.

I am incredibly grateful to the Colorado Springs Gazette and my amazing editors for giving me this opportunity. I have enjoyed writing the column and appreciate all the feedback I have received from you, my readers. I have learned so much over the years.

However, I have reached a point in my practice where I need to focus more time on providing excellent service to my clients.

This will be my last article, but most of my articles are available on my website at www.morethanyourmoney.com. I plan to continue doing some writing and speaking, but I no longer can devote the time to a regular column.

I have written countless articles on the technical aspects of personal finance, but I would like to end by highlighting some broader concepts and behaviors that I hope you will keep in mind as you navigate through your personal finances.

Below are some behaviors and habits that will help you achieve and maintain financial success:

• Live below your means: This is the single most important behavior to follow to achieve financial success. It is essential to create a plan to spend less than you earn so you can save and invest for the future. Ideally, you should save and invest 15% of your income.

• Practice gratitude: Gratitude improves your attitude, enabling you to maintain a positive mindset. A positive mindset results in reduced stress, better sleep, improved focus and increased emotional resiliency. Gratitude can transform your financial life. When you appreciate what you have, you can approach finances with greater confidence and less emotion. You are more likely to make financial decisions that align with your values and goals.

• Long-term perspective: Maintaining a long-term perspective is essential to effectively managing your portfolio. Create and stick to a plan that supports your long-term goals. A long-term perspective can help you avoid emotional reactions to short-term market fluctuations and the temptation to time the market. It can also help you save more for the future by understanding the importance of delayed gratification.

• Invest in yourself: Successful people are constantly learning. You do not need to be an expert, but a general understanding of personal finance will help you stick to your plan and avoid emotional decisions. A greater understanding of finance can also reduce anxiety and lead to greater patience during times of market turmoil.

Investing time to stay healthy also contributes to greater financial success. Good mental and physical health leads to a positive attitude, improved relationships and more enthusiasm to set and meet financial goals.

Jane Young is a business columnist and a fee-only, certified financial planner. She can be reached at jane@morethanyourmoney.com.