Crypto Cheddar, $32M Slippers, and the Hottest Month 🥵
This Week in Review☕: Most expensive item sold at auction in Paris | The obsession with the Hermes Birkin | UK announces 4-day workweek | Bitcoin surges past record 120k | July set to be hottest month
Quick Bites:
Work 💻 : In 2025, the side hustle landscape is changing as second jobs are on the decline.
Remember when everyone and their damn dog had a side hustle? 💰
Selling candles, reselling sneakers, doing voiceovers on Fiverr, running 17 Etsy shops and a food blog on the side? Yeah.. apparently the world is over it 👋
Only 27% of people have a side gig this year- down from 36% in 2024 and 40% in 2023, a new Bankrate survey shows.
And even the 4 in 10 people who do have a second job say it’s mostly for fun money- like travel, skincare, or whatever’s in your saved cart at Zara. NOT to survive.
However, some analysts are saying if the economy gets shakier, side hustles might start increasing again.
Background💡: An extra source of income, particularly like social media brand deals and freelance consulting had become very popular amongst Gen Z in the past 2 years.
The internet also made it easier than ever to start a new business, especially for the younger generation who have grown up in the world of digital media.
“Young people are already inherently more vulnerable financially than their older counterparts because they haven’t had as much time to build up a safety net,” says Sarah Foster, economic analyst for Bankrate.
“But we also find in surveys that they feel concerns about job security more intensely”
Our Thoughts💡: Ok, we're gonna call it like it is.. A "side hustle" is actually a super adorable name for mandatory extra jobs we have because being alive in today's economy is expensive af🖕🏻
Like $20 for a basic whole milk cappuccino and an avocado toast? Stay strong Gen Z 🤯
Fashion 👛: Jane Birkin's original Hermès handbag (yes, the Birkin) sold for a whopping 8.6 million euros, on Thursday in Paris, CNBC reports.
This makes it the 2nd most valuable fashion item ever sold at auction.
Number one?A pair of ruby red slippers from “The Wizard of Oz” for $32.5 million in 2024, according to Sotheby’s.
To put that in perspective:
You could buy 300 regular Birkins.. or, you know, a 3-bedroom in Notting Hill.
OR you could flex with one very weathered, legendary, cigarette-scented icon carried by Jane herself.
Key Highlights:
-The bag was heavily worn, covered in stickers and not in good condition
-It was auctioned by Artcurial in Paris and the bidding war was intense (no word on whether Kris Jenner was lurking with a paddle)
-The winning bidder is anonymous, which is rich-people language for: "Please don’t @ me."
Background💡: The coveted "Birkin" which starts from $10,000 and can go upto half a million dollars has become the ultimate status symbol of rarefied wealth.
You'd typically see it on someone über-wealthy or a Kardashian. However, being rich isn't enough to get your hands on one of these bags.
These bags are not on display in stores, instead they are shown in private rooms to "chosen shoppers" who are "deemed worthy", the lawsuit claims.
Long story short💡: You can basically visualize an entire store full of women shrieking “My friend only bought a Twilly and got a bag” lmao
Our Thoughts💡:
Jane Birkin’s original bag: $10.1M
Dorothy’s heels: $32.5M
Our brain after reading this INSANITY: SCREWED 🫠
World Trade 🌍 : Trump announces 30% tariffs on EU and Mexico, starting August 1, CNBC reports.
Yes, thirty percent. As in, your favorite imported wine, cheese, car, and probably your skincare are about to cost luxury prices- and NOT the good kind.
Trump said that if the EU or Mexico retaliates with higher tariffs, “then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 30% that we charge.”
Guys, remember when big companies decided to double the price of everything in 2020, blame Covid and now inflation while posting CRAZY profits..?
Yeah we don't need to remember because its happening right f**king now🤬
Trump’s tariffs have already led JPMorgan to raise its recession probability to 60% this year.
Global response:
-Mexico is already calling the whole thing “unfair” (because, same), and they’re in talks with the US trying to dodge the full 30%.
-The EU, which collectively sells more to the US than any single country, is taking the diplomatic route, pausing its own retaliation to “pursue further discussions” before the deadline, CNBC.
-India is reportedly close to a deal that keeps their tariffs under 20%.
In summary:
Trump is raising the price. Everyone’s trying to negotiate the friend rate. August 1 is the deadline before the group chat goes full chaos. 📈🔥
Our Thoughts:
Bold predictions from Team Touristy:
By September, your French face mist will cost the same as a Dyson Airwrap.
Global diplomacy will be managed entirely through petty subtweets.
Someone’s going to launch a $125 “Tariff-Proof” artisanal handbag made in Oklahoma and call it “Parisian-Inspired.”
Finance: Bitcoin surges to $120,000 record for the first time, Bloomberg reports.
i.e Financial markets are weirdly chill right now, regulators in the US have temporarily stopped being allergic to crypto, and stocks are doing that awkward thing where they hover near record highs while the world quietly burns to the f**king ground
So yes- Bitcoin is thriving.
Because apparently nothing says “stable economy” like digital currency tied to zero fundamentals and 100% vibes 💸✨
🏛 Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill:
The US House kicked off “Crypto Week” where lawmakers will debate a series of bills designed to push forward Trump’s pro-crypto agenda.
Translation:
Congress is finally realizing that maybe.. just maybe.. crypto isn't going away, and it's time to stop pretending it's a phase like frosted Pop Tarts or NFTs of raccoons wearing sunglasses.
Our Thoughts:
To summarize it for y’all:
Bitcoin: 🚀 Over $120,000
Stocks: Stable, for now
Congress: Cosplaying as crypto experts
Wall Street: Still pretending they “just got in for the tech”
You: Regretting selling at $40K and thinking about mining from your 2012 MacBook
Long story short:
Crypto is back, it’s booming, and even the government’s pulling up a chair. Buckle up.
Health: New blood tests could be "absolutely transformational" to cure Alzheimer's disease, CNN reports.
A new combined blood test has a 90% accuracy rate in determining whether memory loss is due to Alzheimer's, a study has found. Researchers hope it could soon lead to speedier diagnoses and treatment.
Alzheimers is NO joke.
We forgot what we were gonna type
Our grandma is in the final stage of her life, 99% non-verbal with Alzheimers, but bad gal riri just came on the radio and she looked us straight in the eye and said "turn that off"
In comparison, doctors only have a 61% accuracy rate to identify the disease, according to the study.
"We'd love to have a blood test that can be used in a primary care physician's office functioning like a cholesterol test but for Alzheimer's"
-Dr. Maria Carrillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association.
Our Thoughts:
The only time Alzheimers sounds like a piece of cake..
When we think about our ex
Quicker Bites:
Mass protests have erupted across France over proposed pension reforms.
China has launched its first fully autonomous cargo ship, signaling a major step forward in AI-powered logistics.
India is nearing a landmark trade agreement with the EU, aimed at keeping tariffs low.
The UK’s new Prime Minister is proposing a four-day workweek, sparking national debate over productivity and work-life balance.
Meta has released a beta version of its latest augmented reality glasses, receiving early praise for functionality and improved design.
Record-breaking heatwaves continue across Europe and North America, with July 2025 projected to be the hottest month in recorded history.