Hey Rebels! Let's dive into this week's issue to help you become smarter about money, investing and business in less than 10 minutes.
Weekly Intel
Stay current with top news from the business, money, and investing world.
Top Stories
Full send: With their eyes on President Trump and the Federal Reserve Board, US stocks are climbing higher than your sister’s hippie boyfriend.
Hold on to your Jibbitz: The Crocs Brand sales are set to drop. Will this dip force the brand to design a shoe that isn’t hideous? Probably not.
Dr. ChatGPT, PhD?: OpenAI released its new GPT-5 model, which CEO Sam Altman says is like talking to a legitimate PhD-level expert…while users claim it still can’t spell or use a map.
By the numbers
Nvidia has the biggest weight in the S&P 500 of any individual stock or company in at least 44 years.
Apple announced a $600 billion commitment to US investments, presented by CEO Tim Cook to the president in the Oval Office, along with a cute glass and gold plaque. I think I would be fine with flowers.
The Financial Rebellion Way
Knowledge and action to help you achieve a life you desire.
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”
Ditch Your Savings Account
Wait, what? But seriously, to be financially rebellious, you need to stop following the herd and doing things the way they have always been done. Get rid of your single savings account called SAVINGS and begin to create MULTIPLE NAMED SAVINGS accounts for your needs and what you value for 6 months to 5 years from now. For example:
Clothes/shoes savings account
Travel savings account
New car or car repair savings account
Education savings account
House savings account (down payment)
Gifts for newsletter writer account
Automate Your Savings
Once you have created your new named savings accounts, then set up monthly automation.
Have $20, $30, $50, $100 or more transferred out of your checking account into your new named accounts each month.
Choose the 10th, 15th or 25th of each month for this auto transfer to happen.
You will begin to experience more financial control, which is what you are really after in the long run.
Tens of thousands of people who save money the Financial Rebellion Way never go back to a single savings account ever again.
Click here to watch a short testimonial from Janetta as she shares her results from creating named savings accounts.
Markets: stocks and crypto
Prices for the week ending August 9, 2025:
▲S&P 500 | 6,389 | +1.61% |
▲NASDAQ | 21,450 | +2.90% |
▲NVIDIA (NVDA) | 182.70 | +4.07% |
▲UBER (UBER) | 89.56 | +1.66% |
▲BITCOIN (BTC) | 116,892 | +2.32% |
▲ETHEREUM (ETH) | 4,054 | +15.96% |
Stock Moves
You wanna bet? Sports betting companies Flutter Entertainment (FLUT), the parent to FanDuel, and DraftKings (DKNG) report solid profits for the quarter but concern about more state taxes cause their stocks to pause.
Under Water: Under Armour (UA), once a major disruptor in athletic apparel and footwear, continues to slide as it says it will be about half as profitable as it was last year.
Monster earnings for Monster Beverage (MNST), the maker of Monster-branded energy drinks, reached $2 billion in sales last quarter for the first time ever. That's a whole lot of energy.
Crypto Moves
Bitcoin and other crypto join the 401(k) investment party. President Trump signed an executive order last week establishing a path for employees to add crypto and private investments to their company-sponsored 401(k) retirement accounts.
Quite the wave: Payment solutions provider Ripple (XRP) is to buy Rail, a Toronto, Canada-based payment services company, for $200 million. The stablecoin financial ecosystem is just starting to heat up.
New to crypto? We are still learning, too. Check out more about Chainlink (LINK), the 14th largest crypto by market cap, and the introduction of their new Chainlink Reserve.
Real Money Moves
Tom, 26 - Boston, Massachusetts
Each week, we feature a reader’s smartest and dumbest money moves. We’re all in this together; let’s at least learn from each other.
Smartest move – setting up a 401k: “After feeling like I couldn’t make ends meet, I discovered an opportunity to maximize my savings.”
“I had just started a new job, and learned that my company offered a 401(k) plan with a match. I decided to contribute, taking full advantage of the match as an immediate boost to my savings.”
“I contributed each paycheck, and watched as my retirement savings grew not just from my own contributions, but also from my employer.”
“After even just one year, I was amazed to find that my savings had multiplied, giving me twice the peace of mind.”
Dumbest move – not shopping around for a car loan: “Our car payment was way higher than it should have been.”
“When our old car broke down, we were desperate for a new car, and the guys at the dealership could smell the fear.”
“We got a car we loved but didn’t feel like we were in a place to negotiate or look for better financing options than the dealership offered.”
“We ended up with a higher car payment than we could afford, and made saving money harder.”
The bottom line: Every money move teaches you something — whether it builds your net worth or humbles your ego.
Got a story? Send it in. You might help someone dodge a mistake or make a smarter call.
Side Hustle Differently
Each week, we focus on one or more money-making opportunities for a side hustle that may become a full-time hustle.
Digital Course Creation: In today's information age, sharing expertise through online courses can tap into the continuous demand for learning and self-improvement.
Why it matters: Digital education is a growing market, enabling individuals to monetize their knowledge across various subjects, from cooking to coding.
There’s a global audience eager to learn new skills and enhance personal or professional abilities.
Whether it’s video tutorials, written guides, or interactive webinars, you can choose the most effective way to convey your knowledge.
Once a digital course is created, it can be sold repeatedly without much additional effort, providing a steady income stream.
The bottom line: Capitalizing on the digital education wave by creating and selling online courses lets you turn your expertise into a profitable and sustainable business, all while contributing to global learning and development. All you need is your expertise.
Check out the Financial Rebellion podcast to learn about more side hustles young people are doing.
Invest With Acorns
In under 3 minutes, start investing spare change, saving for retirement, earning more, spending smarter, and more.
It's as easy as when you set up your Venmo, Paypal or Cash account.
Acorns automatically invests your money into one of five investment portfolios based on your age so you don't have to choose the stocks -phew!
The Acorns Round Ups feature also enables you to invest spare change from normal daily purchases.
Click the image above or this link to get started on your investment journey and earn a special $40 bonus when you set up at least a $5 or more weekly or monthly recurring investment.
Word of the Week - ETF
When it’s okay to put your eggs in one basket.
What it means: ETF's, which stand for exchange-traded funds, are baskets of 100 plus stocks, bonds and/or commodities that trade on the stock market just like an individual stock. Yet, because of its many holdings, it lessens your investment risk by giving you diversification instead of owning just one or two stocks.
Example: The S&P 500 ETF gives you exposure to 500 of the largest publicly traded company stocks.
It's an easy way to get exposure to the broad based S&P 500 index where millions of Americans invest trillions of dollars.
ETF's also have lower annual management fees than traditional mutual funds.
Why it matters: ETFs offer a straightforward way for individuals to diversify their portfolios without needing to purchase each stock individually.
The big idea: ETFs let you spread your investment across multiple assets. By pooling various assets in a single traded entity, ETFs provide an effective way to diversify and manage investment risks.
Trusted Partners
Where you bank is a big deal. We are big fans of credit unions to help you become financially rebellious. Here's some of our current partners that we work with around the country so you can get to know them and the value of becoming a member to help you achieve your financial goals and dreams.
Did you know the myths about credit unions versus banks? Debunked here.
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We’ll catch you next week. Rebels OUT.
Disclaimer: The advice provided in Financial Rebellion is not considered to be financial or legal advice of any kind. It is your responsibility to dig deeper on any opinions or recommendations given.