Are Sneakers Good Investments? How to Find Cheap Flights?

This week's Happy Hour Finance Friday is answering questions like whether sneakers are good investments and my method for finding cheap flights.

SIGN UP FOR ROBINHOOD HERE: https://join.robinhood.com/aliciam832Get a free stock when you join using my link

SIGN UP FOR ACORNS HERE: https://acorns.com/invite/KXVXMD Get $5 when you use my invite link

What is the best website to purchase flights?
How do you find cheap plane tickets for out of country travels?

I personally use Google flights to search for my flights. It’s a really great tool that allows you search and see prices with date graphs and price graphs. You can be flexible with your dates and do multiple cities. Typically for Europe we would fly into one city and fly out of another so we can visit two cities/countries in one trip. We’ve done this for Amsterdam-Paris, Paris-Barcelona, and London-Paris. Major cities have more flights so that makes the prices cheaper - just look up JFK to CDG.

Like I mentioned in my previous finance video, the best way to find cheap plane tickets, to get the best bang for your buck, is traveling in the off-season. I really like February-May, October-November because the weather is usually still nice in the spring/fall seasons and it’s a lot cheaper with less tourists.

https://www.theflightdeal.com/ is another great website that actually alerts you random price deals to travel around the world. Usually really great deals but not necessarily a place you had in mind to visit or takes more planning in advance. With our work schedule in the past as an influencer, I’ve learned that we have to plan trips last minute because a paid work opportunity could come up last minute.

Have global issues affected the way you handle your daily spending/budgeting?

For sure! For starters, we are focusing on our daily essentials. We are not really spending extra money on clothes since we don’t even get to go out as much. Typically during this time a lot of retailers have their big summer sales with 50% off, but I’m trying to stay conscious of what I need at this time. I’ve been spending more money in investing. For sneakers, I’m buying them to do my YouTube videos so it’s considered necessary for business. We still want to support local businesses and charities so we order food delivery or takeout once a week and donate money to different causes as the needs come up.

Are sneakers good investments? How much value do they lose if you wear them?

Yes and no. It really depends on which pair you buy. Just like a company stock, you need to do your research so you know if the sneakers will have value. Overall, from the sneakers I’ve purchased and collected over the years, they are a great investment. Check out StockX and GOAT app to see the value over time. For example, Jordan 1 sneakers have proven that essentially majority of the styles and colorways hold their value and increase over time. Even some of the basic general release sneakers that I bought at $160 now actually have more value used. So in that case, even though I’ve been wearing it the past two years, I can make more money. Other sneakers such as the Nike x Sacai Blazer that I paid resale value for $225, the used pair can go for the same amount if not more. So in that case, the sneakers I worn basically didn’t cost me any money over time.