There’s been talk but no action on raising the federal minimum wage. On a recent Money Talks we had some passionate callers express their opinions on the minimum wage. We’d like to discuss the topic for the full hour today – between your personal finance questions. Our guest today is State Economist Corey Miller. http://www.mississippi.edu/urc/

Calls:

• Automation instead of workers
• Impact on retired workers
• Living wage
• Different amounts for different areas
• Government assistance
• Wage substitute
• Livable

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Do you still have student loans? Do your grandchildren have student loans? Our guest today is Bruce McClary from the Nation Foundation for Credit Counseling. We’ll learn how the pandemic is affecting student loans and what to expect for those about to enter higher education.

Call the Nation Foundation for Credit Counseling about student loans at 1-877-406-6322 or the general number 800.388.2227 https://www.nfcc.org/who-we-help/student-loan-borrowers/

Discussion:

• You can stop paying on your student loan until Sept. of 2021. Or direct your payments to principal only for federal loans. No benefits for private loans.
• Check your annual credit report to see that your loan amount is being accounted for correctly. FREE CREDIT REPORTS AVAIALBLE WEEKLY UNTIL 04/2022
• Student loan benefits may be in unpassed legislation.
• Income driven repayment options
• Public service loan forgiveness options
• More information at https://studentaid.gov/ where you can find a student loan simulator to determine the best repayment program for you.

Calls:

• forgivenss on interest? (no, just principal)
• want a job with a security clearance - manage your money well
• interest on interest

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If you’re a regular listener to MPB Think Radio, you are a regular listener to news stories. Today, our experts are going to translate those news stories to how that information affects you – in Mississippi. 

Income tax, stimulus payments, minimum wage

• retail sales collections
• special perpose acquisitions
• new Treasury Secretary
• cryptocurrencies
• Income tax phase out
• the next COVID relief - enhansed unemployment benefits extended and increased, $1400 stimulus checks
• $15 mimimum wage

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Guests: MDES Executive Director, Jackie Turner, Deputy Executive Director-General Counsel, John Garrett, and Director, Office of ReEmployment Assistance, Erma Cook

Hosts: Dr. Nancy Lottridge-Anderson, President of New Perspectives and Ryder Taff, portfolio manager at New Perspectives. Nancy and Ryder are both Chartered Financial Analysts and Ryder also holds the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement from the CFA Institute.

https://mdes.ms.gov/ 601-493-9427

There is no fee for Unemployment Services through MDES. They do not solicit payments on social media and employees are prohibited from using social media to assist customers. If you are asked to pay a fee for these services, DO NOT PAY the fee and report this to MDES.

If someone filed an unemployment claim using your information report this immediately to MDES. Beware of scams aiming to steal your personal information. Claimants should only use the agency’s official website: mdes.ms.gov to give out personal information. 

Some customers were issued additional benefit payments in excess of the amount to which they were entitled. Those affected have been issued a notice of overpayment. You are entitled only to benefits for which you are eligible. You must repay all benefits that are overpaid even if you were paid in error. Overpayments are legally enforceable debts.

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance - PUA 
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation
• WIN Job Centers 

• credit card offers
• taxes on unemployment
• re-use prospective unemployers
• opening financial accounts for minors
• tax forms
• Ticket to Work
• unemployment appeal
• how long does unemploment last
• Innovate MS for job resources
• can not contribute to an IRA with only unemployment income
• keep records

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Everyone likes free. Some folks need free versions of services or items. We’re working off a list from MSN 27 Things You Should Never Pay For — and How to Get Them for Free

• Birthday meals: 20 Restaurant Chains That Offer Free Food for Your Birthday 
• Through April of 2021, you can get free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion as often as once a week.  https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
• Credit cards: The words to look for: No annual fee. https://www.creditcards.com/ https://wallethub.com/credit-cards/no-annual-fee/ https://www.creditkarma.com/credit-cards/no-annual-fee
• Stream entertainment for free. 15 Free Streaming Services to Watch
• Don’t forget MPB television is available all over the state for free. If you need help adjusting your antenna for better reception the technical service folks here at MPB can help you with that over the phone if you call the front desk during business hours (601) 432- 6565
• To see the free over-the-air channels available where you live, enter your address at the Federal Communications Commission’s “DTV reception maps.” https://www.fcc.gov/media/engineering/dtvmaps
• You can get free products at dollar stores. Deal blogs like Moola Saving Mom, The Krazy Coupon Lady and CouponMom.com do it for you scour all the coupons available out there and determine which coupons are for items sold at chains like Dollar Tree. The result, known as “coupon matchups,” is basically a list of current coupons that you can redeem at particular dollar stores. While the lineup varies from week to week, you can expect to find free stuff regularly. We’ll have links to these blogs on our website. If you come across free items that you can’t use, consider donating them to a local charity. 
• the National Park Service offers free admission on a handful of days scattered throughout the year. 2021 the free days are: April 17: First day of National Park Week, August 4: One year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, August 25: National Park Service Birthday, September 25: National Public Lands Day, November 11: Veterans Day https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm
• Free passes that are avaliable: The Volunteer Pass, A new pass program grants U.S. military veterans and Gold Star Families, The Annual 4th Grade Pass, A new voucher is now available for 5th grade students for the rest of the school year! https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm
• Trace your genealogy for free.10 Ways to Research Your Family Tree for Free Many libraries have subscriptions to ancestry.com where you can look up census records and hook up with others researching their families. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has a website dealing with genealogy. Their staff can tell you what’s available to look at in person at their headquarters in Jackson.  https://www.mdah.ms.gov/genealogy
• After your next checkup, ask your dentist if they have any wrapped toothbrushes, paste and floss to give you that they receive for free from manufacturers. If you don’t use them they’re great to keep for visiting friends or donate to local organizations. 
• Money management tips: What ATMs can you use for free? Does your bank reimburse ATM charges. Learn how you can avoid trading fees if that is of interest to you. Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity and Vanguard have announced $0 commission trades on stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
• LinkedIn Learning offers its catalog of online courses free to patrons of participating libraries. There are 13,000 courses available. So, ask your library if it partners with LinkedIn Learning or similar services.

What is the Black Swan?

Black swan events can cause catastrophic damage to an economy by negatively impacting markets and investments, but even the use of robust modeling cannot prevent a black swan event. The term was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a finance professor, writer, and former Wall Street trader in his 2007 book titled The Black Swan.

Webinar: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 | 6:00pm CDT

RSVP to attend this event

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Our experts discuss the saga of GameStop stock. With information about:

• The IMF
• CBO
• silver market
• bubbles: displacement, boom, uphoria, profit taking, panic
• short sells
• hedge funds
• retail investors
• collusion
• Robinhood and the funds they have on hand

Calls about:

• mutual funds and how "big" is GameStop
• owning part of a company
• earning per share
• where to buy savings bonds: banks
• comment

Will there be Congressional investigations?

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Our financial advisors Dr. Nancy Lottridge-Anderson and Ryder Taff teach us about stocks and fragments of stocks.

And a discussion of Game Stop! https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/26/gamestop-shares-are-jumping-again-but-short-sellers-arent-backing-down.html

• What is a stock?
• Where do you buy them?
• Buying slices of a stock
• Changes in investing
• What can you buy a slice of?
• Recordkeeping
• IPO
• Chicago Board of Trade

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After you’ve paid Rent, utility bills, debt payments, and groceries and set aside at least a little cash in an emergency fund, it's time to start investing. 

• Magic of compounding interest
• Don't pass up free matching 401K money
• Decide how much to contribute
• Ways to save for retirment
• Broker

Questions:

• lottery
• stock cerfificate
• earned income for Roth IRA
• rolling over a Roth IRA
• stock options
• robo advisors such as ACORN
• cash in checking account

Suggested articles: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/how-to-start-investing

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/06/invest1000.asp

https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/

Investment podcast http://moneytalks.mpbonline.org/episodes/money-talks-retirement-investing

Brokers podcast http://moneytalks.mpbonline.org/episodes/money-talks-brokers

Determining your invetment risk tolerance http://moneytalks.mpbonline.org/episodes/5cd31f1633f6c1be55607da7

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Our experts talk about what's in the news and answer your personal finance questions.

Dr. Nancy Lottridge-Anderson, President of New Perspectives and Ryder Taff, portfolio manager at New Perspectives. Nancy and Ryder are both Chartered Financial Analysts and Ryder also holds the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement from the CFA Institute.

• Stimulus checks have been deposited, are being sent as paper checks, and sent as debit cards. The IRS Get My Payment tool is the most appropriate and timely avenue for status updates on your EIP. https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment Visit the IRS.gov website with questions
• Saturday, Jan 16th is National Use Your Gift Cards Day
• Additional unemployment assistance is avaialble. https://mdes.ms.gov/unemployment-claims/covid19/pandemic-unemployment-assistance-pua/
• MDES: Call 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday: 601-326-1119, or 601-493-9427. You can leave a call back number. They are very busy so penitence is requested – so says MDES on THEIR twitter page. 
• https://accessms.mdes.ms.gov/accessms/faces/login/login.xhtml
• December jobs numbers are out: all the jobs lost in the United States were held by women. https://www.thecut.com/2021/01/all-jobs-lost-in-december-2020-were-held-by-women-report.html
• The next Powerball drawing is  WED, JANUARY 13 AT 9:59 P.M. CT for at least 550 million dollars.
• The next drawing for Mega Million is : TUE, JANUARY 12 AT 10 P.M. CT for at least 615 million dollars.
• Bitcoin discussion

Calls:

• stimulus cards
• mutual fund
• 2020 born baby
• "fed tax exempt" on retirement
• stimulus

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Our guest today is Dr. Rebecca Campbell Smith, associate professor with the MSU Extension Service.

Dr. Smith works with the Extension Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy.

http://extension.msstate.edu/

Family finanical management website

The Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Program is designed to motivate adults to improve financial health and increase wealth by reducing debt, increasing savings and gaining confidence in the ability to make wise financial decisions.

When Your Income Drops If your family suffers loss of income, try to remain calm and don’t waste time and energy blaming yourself. Instead, take control of the situation by doing the best you can with the resources available to your family.

Managing Personal Finances During COVID-19: This toolkit provides information and resources to help individuals and families stabilize and improve their financial well-being as they weather loss of income and declining asset values. It is also intended to help consumers protect themselves now and position themselves for a stronger financial future.

Other pamphlets and videos include:

• Basic Money Management
• Credit
• Disaster Relief
• Estate and Finanical Planning
• Fraud and Identity Theft
• Housing and Homebuyer
• Volunteer Money Mentors
• Youth Finanical Literacy

Calls:

• stimulus taxable?
• kids and stimulus
• unemployment
• dependent and stimulus
• landlord help
• social security and stimulus
• 
  

How To Get Your Second Stimulus Payment Direct Deposited To Your Bank Account - a Forbes article

Congress has agreed to a roughly $900 billion economic relief package that includes a second round of stimulus payments.

The second stimulus payment will be:

A onetime stimulus payment of $600 for each individual

A onetime stimulus payment of $1,200 for married or joint filers

A onetime stimulus payment of $600 for dependents age 16 and under

In order to qualify for the second stimulus payment, you will need to have earned (in 2019) less than $75,000 (for individuals) or $150,000 (for married/joint filers). If your income is higher than those limits, then the stimulus payment is reduced by 5% of your adjusted gross income above those limits. This was the formula and income threshold under the first stimulus payment bill.

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