It's World Investor Week! Listen to Alan Sorcher and Anne McKinley from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission discuss the SEC's role in providing education and protection to investors.

Resources Discussed in the Show

• World Investor Week: https://www.worldinvestorweek.org/

• US Securities & Exchange Commission’s Investor-oriented Website: https://www.investor.gov/

o Office of Investor Education and Advocacy: https://www.sec.gov/page/oieasectionlanding

o Compound Interest Calculator: https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

o Investor Bulletins (Subscription at bottom of page): https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins

• US Securities & Exchange Commission’s Website: https://www.sec.gov/

o Chicago Regional Office: https://www.sec.gov/chicago; Email: [email protected]

o Division of Enforcement: https://www.sec.gov/page/enforcement-section-landing

• World Investor Week Collaborators with SEC:

o Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): https://www.cftc.gov/

o Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA): https://www.finra.org/#/

o North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA): https://www.nasaa.org/

o National Futures Association (NFA): https://www.nfa.futures.org/

o International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO): https://www.iosco.org/

• Resources & Events to Learn More About Investing:

o Upcoming Webinar – Steps to Investing: What to Know Now on February 7, 2024 at 12 PM CT. Registration required: https://go.uillinois.edu/getsavvywebinars

o Previous Webinars

 Investing Risks & Rewards (recorded February 8, 2023): https://youtu.be/cQm5eCIOY9Y

 Steps to Investing (recorded January 26, 2022): https://youtu.be/3AYXsYQup-4

 Investing Basics (recorded March 10, 2021): https://youtu.be/OuslkX86bGI

o Ep. 57, Investing to Reach Financial Goals: https://on.soundcloud.com/jngYf

We’ve heard the stories of how compound interest can be your best friend. But did you know it can also be your worst enemy? We break down this financial concept in our latest episode of Making Cents of Money!

Show Notes:

• Compound Interest Calculator: https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

• The Life-Changing Magic of Compound Interest: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/compound-interest/

• Understanding Credit Card Interest: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/01/061301.asp

• Relevant articles from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

o What is the difference between paying interest and paying off my principal in an auto loan?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-the-difference-between-paying-interest-and-paying-off-my-principal-in-an-auto-loan-en-845/

o How does my credit card company calculate the amount of interest I owe?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-does-my-credit-card-company-calculate-the-amount-of-interest-i-owe-en-51/

o What’s the difference between a simple interest rate and a precomputed interest in an auto loan contract?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/whats-the-difference-between-a-simple-interest-rate-and-precomputed-interest-in-an-auto-loan-contract-en-841/

o What is the difference between an interest rate and the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) in an auto loan?: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-the-difference-between-an-interest-rate-and-the-annual-percentage-rate-apr-in-an-auto-loan-en-733/

• Interest Rate vs APR: What’s the difference?: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/100314/what-difference-between-interest-rate-and-annual-percentage-rate-apr.asp

• Time Value of Money Explained with Formula and Examples: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/timevalueofmoney.asp

This episode, we're talking about something you're bound to love: your paycheck!

Show Notes:

• Tax Withholding Types (IRS): https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/tax-withholding-types

In today’s society, being digitally literate is a key life skill that we all need. As time goes on, this will only become more important. But did you know that there is a financial impact to you, businesses, and society from lack of digital literacy?

Take a listen in our latest episode of Making Cents of Money to find out how.

Show notes:

‘Verified’ Twitter accounts share fake image of ‘explosion’ near Pentagon, causing confusion”- https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/22/tech/twitter-fake-image-pentagon-explosion/index.html

Anti-vaxxers are costing Americans billions of dollars per year: :https://finance.yahoo.com/news/antivaxxers-costing-americans-billions-each-year-191839191.html

Public Act 102-0055: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-0055

The Economic Cost of Bad Actors on the Internet: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.mediapost.com/uploads/EconomicCostOfFakeNews.pdf 

Resource for checking fake news: https://www.snopes.com/

HoweyTrade from Investor.gov (learn how to identify securities scams): https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/spotlight/howeytrade

Credit Reports are an important tool in managing your finances. But what are they exactly? And how do you get them? Take a listen to find out!

Show Notes:

• AnnualCreditReport.com – get your free credit reports annually from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax

• Episode 51: Credit Scores: https://on.soundcloud.com/6aXWi

• Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA): https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-accurate-credit-transactions-act-2003

• How to get your annual credit report from Experian (includes disclaimer about free weekly credit reports through December 31, 2023): https://www.experian.com/help/annual-credit-report.html#:~:text=Through%20December%2031%2C%202023%2C%20Experian,hardship%20caused%20by%20COVID%2D19.

Too many passwords to remember? There's a solution for that- Password Managers! Check out the latest episode of Making Cents of Money to learn how to make your life just a little bit easier.

Additional Resources:

• Best password manager in 2023” by CNET (June 30, 2023): https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/best-password-manager/

• Check if your email or phone has been part of a data breach: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Join us for a unique game show: Financial Planner Donovan Sanchez vs. ChatGPT (a popular artificial intelligence tool). What types of answers does this AI give to financial questions? Does it actually give good financial advice? Listen and find out!

Additional Resources:

Try ChatGPT yourself: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

ChatGPT and buying a home:

https://fortune.com/recommends/mortgages/i-used-chatgpt-as-my-financial-planner/

Chat GPT Takes on Taxes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/taxnotes/2023/04/04/chatgpt-takes-on-tax/?sh=3099db4070e6

Financial Planner takes ChatGPT for a test drive: https://www.advisorperspectives.com/articles/2023/03/06/a-financial-planner-takes-chatgpt-for-a-test-drive

In part two of our housing series, Kari Beyer from IDFPR is back to talk about different types of help that may be available for renters and real estate fraud.

Additional Resources:

Housing Characteristics in Illinois (e.g., Median Gross Rent) From US Census Bureau: https://data.census.gov/profile/Illinois?g=040XX00US17

The White House Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights (January 2023): https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/White-House-Blueprint-for-a-Renters-Bill-of-Rights.pdf

US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): https://www.hud.gov/

FBI Internet Crime Report 2021: https://www.ic3.gov/Media/PDF/AnnualReport/2021_IC3Report.pdf

The costs of home-ownership, from the initial purchase thru long-term maintenance, continue to rise. Kari Beyer, Director of the APLD & Investigations, joins us to talk about programs designed to help those who may be struggling to cover these costs.

Additional Resources:

- Making Cents of Money episodes:

o Episode 36: Buying a Home! https://on.soundcloud.com/tFdA9

o Episode 37: Renting!: https://on.soundcloud.com/EGJXa

o Episode 38: Mortgages: https://on.soundcloud.com/Qhu2W

- US Census Bureau Quick Facts for Illinois:https://bit.ly/IllinoisCensus

- Illinois Housing Development Authority: https://www.ihda.org/

- Habitat for Humanity of Illinois: https://habitatillinois.org/

- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): https://www.hud.gov/

-Tax Exemptions: https://tax.illinois.gov/localgovernments/property/taxrelief.html

Confused about health insurance? You're not alone. On this episode of Making Cents of Money, Brian Gorman, the Director of Outreach and Engagement for Get Covered Illinois, answers our health care questions.

Additional Resource:

https://getcovered.illinois.gov/