About the Author
Beth Tallman
Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an M.B.A. in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducting student workshops, and developing finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.
Reading List for the 4th of July weekend
By Beth Tallman
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Jul 03, 2020
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Current Events, Economics, Investing, Personal Finance, Credit Scores
Here is your holiday weekend reading list—stay safe people!!!!
Economics
The economy added 4.8 million jobs through the week of June 12, higher than expected. (CNN) (New York Magazine) There are several reasons we shouldn’t yet be celebrating:
The economy is still down 14.7 million jobs
Another 1.4 million filed for unemployment last week
Continuing unemployment claims are still at close to 20 million ...
ICYMI: What's New With Taxes for 2020
Just prior to the usual April filing deadline, we published a brief update (CARES Act edition) on changes congress made to individual income tax returns for the 2019 tax year. The following information recaps the key changes, and explains a bit more about what has been happening since the last post.
Filing Deadlines (for 2019 returns)
One of the biggest changes to taxes (for 2019 only, at least so far), is that the Federal filing deadline for individual 2019 tax returns was moved from...
Reading List for June 26-28
Current Events-Stimulus Checks
QOD: What are most people spending their stimulus checks on? Answer: Household expenses. According to a Census Bureau Household Pulse survey, 85.5% answered this way. Of those earning between $75,000and $99,000 who got a prorated check, checks were more likely be used to pay down debt or saved.
If you have a family member in a nursing home, you might want to be sure the nursing home didn’t try to pocket your loved one’s check. (WAPO-1).
The...
Reading List for June 19-21
Economics
Another 1.5 million people filed unemployment claims this past week. The important and telling statistic is the continuing unemployment claims, which have remained above 20 million since late April. (The Street)
The recovery in Retail Sales has been uneven, according to the National Retail Federation CEO. (CNBC)
The market took the retail sales figure as positive news. (MarketWatch)
NPR breaks down retail spending by income level. Folks at lower income levels are spending whatever...
Reading List for June 12-14
Economics
The unemployment rate dropped in May. Is it reason to celebrate? Maybe we won’t sink deeper, but our economic woes are far from over. (NYT-subscription)
Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting reiterated the expectation that the employment woes will continue for awhile. (USA Today)
Earlier this week the Fed announced the expansion of its Main Street Lending Program. (Fed Press Release)
US Debt levels rose in the first...
Reading List for June 5-7
Current Events
Of Dollars and Data explains the racial wealth gap mentioned in Tim’s post on NGPF yesterday. WaPo tracks the gap back to 1968…and there has been little change.
Economics
After Thursday’s news that another 1.9 million people files for unemployment last week (AP), today’s unemployment rate announcement stunned most economists, going down to 13.3% when it was expected to go up as high as 20% (Forbes). The recovery of 2.5 million jobs added from...
Reading List for May 29-31
Pandemic Round Up
Weekly unemployment claims totaled 2.1 million last week, bringing total claims to over 40 million. (CNBC)
Summer jobs for teens are hard to find this year. (WSJ) (For reference, here is what the job market looked like for teens last summer: unemployment stood at a 50-year low. WSJ)
Amazon is looking to make 125,000 of the jobs it added to deal with the pandemic permanent hires. (TechCrunch)
USA Today sums up the permanent changes in our economy as we learn to live with this...
Reading List for Memorial Day Weekend 2020
By Beth Tallman
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May 22, 2020
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Personal Finance, Current Events, Economics, Investing, Paying for College
A little bit of everything for this holiday weekend as we wind down this challenging year.
Personal Finance
56% of parents with young children are in debt due to coronavirus. (PR Newswire)
Four million Americans are currently not paying their mortgage. (MarketWatch)
If you live to 100, will your money last? (Knowledge@Wharton)
Last but not least, 68% of Americans do not have a will. (The Conversation)
Investing
What is the “dark side” of low interest rates. (NY...
Reading List for May 15-17
By Beth Tallman
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May 15, 2020
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Current Events, Economics, Investing, Student Loans, Identity Theft
Economics
Unemployment claims totaled close to 3 million this past week, bringing the pandemic total to over 36 million jobs lost. (CNBC)
State unemployment systems can’t handle the volume of applications, and many are still waiting for benefits. Here is the story of one New Yorker: (CNBC)
You can probably guess which retail sectors were hardest hit in April. Here are the US Retail Sales stats for April: (NPR-read or listen)
The drop in CPI last month was the largest ever. (USA Today)...
Reading List for May 8-10
By Beth Tallman
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May 08, 2020
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Current Events, Employment, Economics, Investing, Student Loans, Personal Finance
The country took time to recognize some VIPS this week: Teachers and Nurses, and Mothers will have their day on Sunday. “Thank You” seems an inadequate expression of our gratitude, especially now! You (teachers) inspire me with your energy, creativity, and agility in providing quality instruction and heartfelt support for your students during this challenging time.
And now for the reading list:
Unemployment
Unemployment reached historic levels in April of 14.7%....
Reading List for May 1-3
Economics
First quarter GDP tumbled 4.8%, the biggest drop since 2008. How bad will the second quarter be? (Marketwatch)
WAPO’s Michele Singletary explains what you may need to do if you haven’t received your stimulus check yet.
Federal Reserve
Bankrate.com recaps the readout from this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
If you want to watch Chairman Powell’s news conference, here is a link: (CNBC)
Unemployment
The unemployment picture...
Reading List for April 24-26
Happy Weekend! Hope you all will enjoy spring weather, while here in the Cleveland area we have seen snow flurries for the last three days!
Economics/Employment
Pick your medium for info on the new unemployment claims figure yesterday from Yahoo Finance: Video, or an article on unemployment explaining “continuing claims”—which lags by one week.
Have we bottomed out? (Will things stop getting worse, even if they don’t get better?) (Yahoo Finance)
USA...
Reading List for April 17-19
Personal Finance
(Knowledge@Wharton) takes a closer look at financial distress and geographic differences.
Recognizing the role of Financial Literacy in this pandemic and the subsequent recovery. (CNBC Opinion)
Economics
Another 5.245 million Americans file for unemployment benefits as reported this week. That brings the total to over 22 million in the last four weeks, wiping out the last decade of job growth post the Great Recession. (Yahoo Finance)
Only 29 states are...
Reading List for April 10-12
Good News for Consumers
Those who rely on insulin to live will finally be getting a break, as Eli Lilly capped copays at $35 for those with and without insurance. (NYT)
Consumer Reports contacted 20 companies offering auto insurance to see how they were helping customers with rebates or payment deferrals.
Check to see if your favorite publications have free versions/newsletters with coronavirus updates. (WaPo) (NYT) (LA Times) (WSJ “free” update hasn’t been updated...
What's New With Taxes: CARES Act Special Edition
April is Financial Literacy Month, and except for this year, Tax Month!
Here are a few tax-implications of the CARES Act that you should know about for 2019 and 2020. This information was taken from the following articles:
Don’t Mess With Taxes (Kay Bell)
Washington Post
1) Filing and payment date for 2019 taxes has been postponed until July 15.
HOWEVER: Given that the stimulus checks are tied to information from the IRS, specifically your bank account for direct...
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