ok so three things crossed my desk this week that i can't stop thinking about because i'm pretty sure they're all kinda versions of the same story.

normally i'd pick one and run with that, but these three keep talking to each other in my head, so we're doing all three today lol. aaand disclaimer: the savvie section talks about common consumer debt and i promise i'm not wagging a finger. understanding mechanics is literacy, never shame 💌

in today's counter-cultural programming:

💸 the credit card you didn't know you opened
📱 meta beat google. here's what it actually feels like.
🎁 a creator benchmark, a wells fargo wagut check, and a lil new yorker cartoon feature
🪞 savvie.org is LIVE + we're hiring interns + summer creative partnership spots open
🎀 a small aside before we get into it - this is edition 25 and 25 has always been my favorite number. i was born on the 25th (super youngest child of me ik), christmas is on the 25th obvi, and as i kid i thought it was such a “clean looking” number. whatever that means.

let's go ↓

shift number one of the day, and probably the one with the biggest downstream effects. mid-april, the advertising industry's main research org (the IAB, if you wanna google it) dropped their annual report and confirmed something kinda huge: meta will outpace google in ad revenue this year for the first time ever. $243B vs $239B. social media now commands 40% of global digital ad spend.

in other words the internet's center of gravity is movin y’all 🫠 most coverage of this story has been for media buyers, which misses the other 99% of the people it impacts. so here's what meta ads overtaking google ads actually means if you're not running ads for a living:

so notice what's changing in your feed over the next six months. things are going to look very different from the last six.

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now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

🌐 savvie.org is officially LIVE!!! the home for everything financial literacy for women in their 20s and 30s :) but with that we say goodbye to stan store 🪦 you served us well.
- you can now shop the digital products at savvie.org/shop 🛒
- and if you feel led, donate to help keep these resources accessible at savvie.org/give 🤲

📓 also check out the savvie scoop if money content is more your lane than this teague talk chaos, that one's for you!

59% of gen z uses BNPL.

and of those who use BNPL, 57% have already missed a payment in early 2026 😳

the scariest part of this all too is every BNPL transaction is like its own loan. every afterpay/klarna/affirm transaction is its own unique liability. so ten purchases are like ten mini-loans. and most BNPL providers are now reporting to credit bureaus.

so a missed payment on a setting spray can hit your credit report. you may pay less at checkout, but you wind up paying more in fees you didn't budget for. it’s this super predatory way that you get saddled into little liabilities that are so easy to miss until a report shows up and it’s too late.

and klarna is literally being hit with a class action lawsuit as we speak alleging their entire business model is built to encourage overspending. the suit calls out that klarna doesn’t underwrite (what i used to do for a living lol - but this means they don't make sure you have the capacity to repay what they let you borrow before extending you credit) and (2) they require you choose autopay (which the suit says violates the electronic funds transfer act aka #RegE).

and unsurprisingly it alleges klarna users skew "disproportionately financially vulnerable" with subprime credit profiles. if this wins, expect a wave of similar suits against affirm, afterpay, and the rest. so you guys (!!!!) this is so not a moral failing on us. it's the output of a system that gave us debt dressed up in high heels!! you can't budget around debt you don't even know was debt.

the nuance: financing a real investment through a structured provider is a different animal and is using credit as a tool. but splitting the $118 reale essentials kit into four payments because you didn't want to or can’t spend $118 today is… not that.

a permission slip to be a debit card person if spending runs away from you: if your brain works better with a hard ceiling, that's a-okay. credit card rewards points aren't worth white-knuckling willpower at checkout. money tools are just that and the only question is whether you understand the one in your hand. know thy self 🫧

(want the deeper money breakdown weekly, not just when it sneaks into teague talk? the savvie scoop is where that all lives 🤍)

trend: "my top 5 horror movies" but it’s not actually horror movies

read: the wells fargo 2026 money study - 69% of gen z says owning a business is part of the american dream and 74% of those who don't own one want to. our generation isn't refusing to participate in the economy lolol we're rewriting what success in it looks like!! also a good gut check if you've been sitting on a business idea you keep talking about but haven't had the courage to get started 👀

comedic relief: me trying to prevent the next lockdown bc this time i have claude

totally random:

also it’s mother's day weekend 🎀 make sure you send love to your mom or to the mother figures in your life!!

other places i'd love to see you:
⛪️ steadfast sundays - reflections on abiding in a steadfast God in an unsteady world
📓 the savvie scoop sends every other wednesday
📱 daily on @teague.media + @withsavvie

thanks for reading 💌

the internet's center of gravity moved. ours doesn't have to ¯¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just keep clocking what's shifting and you're already ahead of most rooms 🫶

happy mother's day weekend friends. send love to your people!

xo,
callie 🤍

p.s. reply and tell me: what's one trend you think is gonna matter in 6 months that nobody’s talking about yet? lmk 👀