How to make quick money today (1 8 25)

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💵 Today’s Top Stories

🖥️ A.I. Exerting Outsized Influence on Money, Stock Market

OpenAI thus far offers the most prominent consumer-facing product in the A.I. industry.

ChatGPT is just one of many A.I. chatbots – yet at the same time it’s a 1 of 1. Valued at $157 billion after raising an additional $6.6 billion in cash in October, is a microcosm of the industry at the moment.

Once associated with Elon Musk and originally billed as a nonprofit, CEO Sam Altman survived a messy public removal and reinstatement after a fight with the board of directors over, among other things, whether he is consistently candid, whether OpenAI should be for profit and whether it is doing enough to protect humanity against “sentient” A.I. Microsoft also is heavily involved. (If it sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, you’re not alone.)

ChatGPT Pro, the most expensive chatbot tier, costs $200 per month. OpenAI’s plan is to aggressively raise subscription costs, as it is burning through billions and billions currently (it was anticipating a $5 billion loss in 2024).

The problem? Users paying for the service are using it more than the company expected. Said Altman: I “personally chose the price” because I thought “we would make some money.”

It’s possible that we’ll see much steeper and more frequent price hikes in the consumer-facing market with A.I. than we have even with streaming services in the last year or two.

And despite all the hand-wringing about whether government regulations can keep pace and adequately provide industry guardrails, costs are rapidly increasing while forward progress may have slowed down.

A.I. influenced much of the S&P 500 in 2024, especially behemoth large-cap stocks such as Nvidia (+171% in the last year). It isn’t taking over the world instantly, but neither is it lingering in the background as something for future generations to contend with.

💸 Today’s Top Savings Rates

Check out our updated list of Clark.com-approved high-yield savings accounts with the highest rates. Here are the top five APYs on our list as of January 8, 2025.

See All Rates | High Yield Savings Accounts Calculator

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💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals

🎙️ Podcast

Saving for retirement is largely our own responsibility as individuals. As we live longer, we have a lot of time in retirement to prepare for. Plus, events in the world can be complicated which can make investing a nerve-wracking decision. Fortunately, there are basic core pillars and strategies that successful investors share. In this episode of Ask an Advisor, fee-only fiduciary financial advisor Wes Moss breaks down the five fundamental keys of successful investors to help you better navigate the path to achieving financial freedom and reaching your retirement goals. In the second half of the show, Wes takes a deep dive into one of the pillars: planning.

☎️ Need Money Help?

The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.

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