Minding Your Money 360 - Quick tips to manage your money for success

Today on MYM360: A roll back of the Equal Pay legislation.

But first, in case you missed it…. We’ve made some changes to the show and you can learn all about that by listening to yesterday’s episode - Episode 726. Also, to kick things off, I’m having a contest. The first two people who leave me a review on iTunes will get 30 minutes of private time with me to discuss whatever you want – your goals, budgeting, getting out of debt – anything you want and no sales, just objective info. This can easily be a game changer. To leave your review go to mym360.com and click on the green button at the top of the page to go directly our iTunes page. Once you’re there click on View in iTunes and then select Ratings and Reviews. After you write your review, drop me an email at [email protected] and I will be in touch to schedule our talk. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Now, on the heels of Labor Day, I want to talk the new administration’s decision to roll back the Equal Pay legislation that was drafted during the Obama administration and due to take effect next spring. So why was this legislation so important?

The answer is economics. At this point, white women are paid an estimated to receive 79 cents, and black and Hispanic women are currently paid 63 cents and 54 cents respectively to the dollar white men are paid for the same work. This means that women will have less to spend today and in the future on necessities and luxuries like retirement. But let’s put this in dollars so you can feel the real impact. Let’s say that I’m a single minority mom with two kids and Bob is married with two kids. And, that we both have comparable management level jobs at the same company but in different departments. For simplicity’s sake let’s say that Bob earns $100,000 a year. I perform the same job but as a woman and minority I only earn $63,000. Bob earns $37,000 more a year than me – that’s enough to purchase a brand new car outright. Just imagine all of the things that he can do for his family that I can’t – how much closer to financial freedom that he could be. And we are doing the same job.

The administration suspended this legislation claiming the additional paperwork would be “enormously burdensome” on employers. Now, if only they could imagine how burdensome it is to get paid less simply because you’re a woman and/or a minority then we would be getting somewhere!

Civil rights groups and equal pay advocates are calling this move as a shameless assault on women’s and minorities’ rights. It is an “unacceptable and deliberate attack on women in the workplace, said Tracy Sturdivant, cofounder and executive director of the work/family advocacy group Make It Work. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) called it “a clear message to employers: If you want to ignore pay inequities and sweep them under the rug, this administration has your back.” Read more about this in a Vogue article by Michelle Ruiz

Although there is not much we can do about this today, it is something to keep in mind for the next election.

And that’s it for today. Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

It's Monday, Sept 4th and it’s Labor Day. Labor Day tends to be a pretty low-key holiday.

Workers across the country typically receive a Monday off to enjoy the unofficial end of summer and shop the sales. But the history behind the day is really dramatic and you can read the full story in an article in the Business Insider by Aine Cain.

But here is a really quick synopsis: Labor Day came about as a result of a strike. The setting for the strike was the company town of Pullman, Chicago in 1984. During the 1980s there was an economic depression. Pullman who made rail cars made a decision to cut costs — by lowering wages in fact he lowered them by 30% but he refused to lower the rent on the company-owned buildings and the prices in the company-owned stores accordingly. This put workers in a real bind and they eventually went on strike and then things turned violent. When the dust cleared, 30 people had died and damages were estimated to be over $80 million.

So how did a strike result in a holiday? Indiana state professor and labor historian Richard Schneirov said that President Cleveland's decision to declare Labor Day as a holiday for workers was likely a move meant to please his constituents after the controversial handling of the strike. The president was a Democrat, and most urban laborers at the time were Catholic Democrats.

Wow, who knew. Now before we talk about some of our big changes, I want to take a moment to say that we are holding all of those impacted by hurricane Harvey in our thoughts and in our prayers on this usual day of rest and relaxation.

Now, what’s going on with us? You might have noticed in the opening that we are changing our name. Why? Because we’re growing and expanding beyond the ‘Minute’. We are still going to have much of our regular format and topics but we are also going to include some additional features like guest interviews, extended versions and sometimes even weekend editions of the show – all designed to give you news and different views so you can decide what works best for you.

To kick things off, I’m having a contest. The first two people who leave me a review on iTunes will get 30 minutes of private time with me to discuss whatever you want – your goals, budgeting, getting out of debt – anything you want and no sales, just objective info. This can easily be a game changer. To leave your review go to mym360.com and click on the green button at the top of the page to go directly our iTunes page. Once you’re there click on View in iTunes and then select Ratings and Reviews. After you write your review, drop me an email at [email protected] and I will be in touch to schedule our talk. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

And that’s it for today.

Thanks so much for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

It’s Friday and time for our word of the week –the word this week is Plan B.

I chose Plan B as the word of the week because Harvey, hurricanes in general and natural disasters all serve as a wake-up call that we could all be just one disaster away from financial ruin, homelessness or worse. But for many who live paycheck-to-paycheck, it won’t necessarily take a natural disaster to upend their world and so having a Plan B or a backup plan is essential.

So what should you have in your Plan B? At a minimum, you want an emergency fund. A $1,000 is a good starting point. So how do you build a thousand dollar emergency fund? If you have the money, stick it in a separate account to only be used in case of an emergency. If you don’t have the funds immediately available, as little as $20 a week will get you there over the course of a year.

Note: there are some caveats:

Put back any money you use as soon as possible.

Work towards accumulating up to three months expenses are more.

Some other things to include in your Plan B is insurance – health, auto, umbrella, life and disability – as well as a network of friends, family and colleagues you can call on to support you when you are in need and who can depend on you to provide the same for them.

Our word of the week is Plan B. The time to create one is way before you need it.

And that’s the minute for today. Want more Minute? Visit our website at www.mindingyourmoney.org

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!