5 money lessons we can all learn from the Hollywood strike This is the summer of strikes, with workers fighting for job security and better wages, from Hollywood creatives to Wisconsin brewery workers to digital news employees in New York. A historic double strike by actors and writers has shut down Hollywood. And on Tuesday, a threatened Aug. 1 walkout by 340,000 unionized UPS workers was suddenly off the table. Teamsters and UPS management reached a tentative labor deal, narrowly avoiding a strike that could have had a severe impact on the economy, not to mention hardship for the strikers. In the fall, there is the possibility of a government shutdown if Congress can't reach an agreement on next year's budget. Federal workers should be worried their pay will be paused while the politicians fight over funding the government. [The federal government could shut down in October. Here's how and why.] Life is full of lessons. Strikes, furloughs and layoffs may not be happening to you right now, but watching others try to make ends meet during these situations should be a wake-up call. How long could you survive without a paycheck if a financial emergency strikes? Click the link below to read the five moves you should make before and during a disruption in your income Are you seeing huge dealer markups for popular electric or hybrid vehicles? While shopping for a new hybrid vehicle, I was shocked to learn some dealers are adding thousands of dollars in markups above the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). One dealership tacked on $5,000. I want to hear from you. What has been your experience with the pricing of electric, plug-in hybrid or non-plug-in hybrid vehicles? Click here to respond. Talkback In a recent column, I wrote about feeling pressured to attend a wedding when your money is tight. As I wrote: "Many weddings have become spectacles with no regard to the cost and inconvenience of guests. It's all about the pageantry — the more Instagram- and TikTok-worthy, the better." My concern? Younger adults, those who may be the least able to afford the festivities, are shelling out the most money compared with older guests. . . Twenty-six percent of Gen Zers and 24 percent of millennials planning to attend a wedding this year said they will feel pressured to spend more than they're comfortable with, compared with 16 percent of Gen Xers and 15 percent of baby boomers, according to Bankrate. Read: They do, but you don't. It's okay to RSVP 'no' if you're broke. Here's what readers had to say in the comment section following my column on sending regrets to a wedding invitation. Skippy wrote: "I am just glad that I got married before social media took over. No one had to make things look good for the 'gram." garyDC wrote: "I guess my Catholic guilt didn't spill over to destination weddings I can't afford. I'll come to your local wedding. If you're young and just building a household, I'll buy something affordable off your registry. If I can't afford anything on your list, I'll write a modest check or go in half-sies with someone I know. If this is your second wedding or you're already an established adult with a job and a home, I'll buy a nice card. It's a wedding not an excuse to write out your Santa wish list." ThreeDogsCo wrote: "One of my wife's friends had a destination wedding. We opted out because of cost. Graciously, they had a local reception for those who couldn't make the trip. Well, [they were gracious] right up to the toasts when the groom thanked those who went to the 'real' wedding." Hazy Dazy wrote: "I am a 60+ old guy. I can't even count the number of times in my life I have said 'no' when it came to spending money. My view always was if people judged me because I said no to spending money, they weren't my true friends anyway, so I didn't care." Cinmac wrote: "I send a nice gift and just say no to the event. Let's be honest. A lot of these invitations are just designed to elicit gifts. I give them a win win. They don't have to feed me and they get a nice gift anyway. Obviously, if it's a close relative or friend I go but I opt out of most things that I really didn't want to attend in the first place." DNARICH wrote: "The wedding 'industry' seems to have persuaded everyone that spending an enormous sum of money for a one-day celebration (often $20,000 - $30,000) is expected and appropriate. The pressure this puts on young couples and on their families (who may often be expected to pay) is absurd. Not to be a downer with respect to weddings — but — can't we be a bit more down-to-earth and have less extravagant gatherings and bring down the expense? My wife and I had a wonderful, reasonable-budget wedding 33 years ago, and have never regretted it. We had a wonderful time despite having a more modest wedding." Your feedback I received a lot of feedback about this column: How Barbie primed us for a life of conspicuous consumption "I was the kid like you, no car, no dream house," wrote Jennifer Newlin, College Park, Md. "Think we had a Barbie, a Midge and a Francie, maybe? Three daughters, three dolls. But I did learn to sew making her clothes, and once you can sew something that small, real clothes came easy! So a blessing in disguise." Steven Lindsay from Atlanta wrote: "From Barbie, I learned that folks like her and her cohort were all fake, and the accoutrements (Malibu, house, Corvette, shoes, handbags) were for fake people and fools, idiots. People who are stupid enough to waste good money on overpriced crap, and so gullible as to believe those things were good and somehow made them better or happier. The kind that would walk over others, lie and steal to attain them. The kind that will selfishly consume until the world is used up. Not for me or my friends." "I am a 59-year-old Latino woman who has always wanted a pool in my yard," wrote Lorie Moreno-Roch of Louisville, Co. "When I was 7 or 8 years old, I used my allowance to buy a blow-up swimming pool for my Barbie and her friends. Barbie, my mom and my grandmother helped me have dreams. Barbie and the women in my life helped me have an imagination that helped me believe I could do anything." Liz Zapf of South Bend, Ind., wrote: "I had a PJ and 2 mini-Barbies named Longlocks and Gloria. No accoutrements other than a carrying case that held one doll with a 'closet' to hang clothes in with a pullout drawer for shoes and handbags. I looked nothing like these dolls nor did I dress like them so considered the Barbie universe to be completely pretend, much like many of the books I loved to read." If you have a personal finance question, call 1-855-ASK-POST (1-855-275-7678). Send your comments and questions to colorofmoney@washpost.com, but due to the volume of mail, personal responses may not be possible. Please also note comments or questions may be used in a future column, with the writer's name, unless a specific request to do otherwise is indicated. | 
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