Money

Life & Style

Why are we in a student loan crisis? Student loans are normal. But normal is not setting college graduates up for success. Instead, it has put us in a student loan crisis. According to the Wall Street Journal, the average college student graduates with $35,000 in student loans, and it’s taking on average 20 years […]

TODAY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT AUTO LOANS. WHY? According to a recent report from the credit reporting agency Experian, the length of auto loans continues to get longer and longer. According to the data, the average loan length for new cars is now 69 months – 6 years and 9 months – and loans of […]

Life & Style

When a friend or acquaintance asks for a job referral, more often than not, we agree. For one, we want to help the next person get ahead — especially if they’re Black. In addition, many companies offer amazing monetary incentives for employee referrals. However, those of us who have lived a little bit know that […]

WHAT DO WE NOW KNOW ABOUT INCOME INEQUALITY? Last week, the Census Bureau reported that the gap between the richest and the poorest American households is now larger than it has been in the past 50 years. While we have seen the gap between low-income and high-income households grow in recent decades, based on the […]

WHY IS MILLENNIAL DEBT ON YOUR MIND? Last week, Northwestern Mutual released a report showing that young Americans – particularly millennials – are carrying significantly levels of debt. The data shows many young people have financial burdens that their parents and grandparents did not have, and it is likely to have profound implications for their […]

Life & Style

BACKGROUND: The unemployment rate for all Americans is near historic lows at 3.7% and the unemployment rate for African-Americans is currently at 5.5%, the lowest level ever recorded in our country’s history. With so many people working, the advantage should be with the worker in the current job market. Yet, wages are up only 3% in the […]

Money Mondays

Today we are talking about the August jobs report. Why did it catch your eye? What really piqued my interest was what it told us about the economy, Tom. In the Labor Department’s report released Friday, we can really see a tension between the positive and negative factors that are at work in our economy. […]

HURRICANE DORIAN HAS YOUR MIND ON THE FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF NATURAL DISASTERS, IS THAT RIGHT? As Hurricane Dorian – now a Category 5 storm – approaches the southeastern states, I wanted to help our listeners better understand how to prepare themselves and their families financially for a natural disaster. THAT SOUNDS GREAT. LET’S START WITH […]

Life & Style

73% of American home owners are planning to do renovations on their home this year. HGTV star and real estate expert Egypt Sherrod gave us some advice on which projects they should tackle first common misconceptions, and more. 1. Plan for the unexpected (mentally and financially!) No matter how well you plan, every homeowner will […]

We heard a lot of talk about bad economic news last week.   “Recession” seemed like the word of the week last week. And it can be a word that causes people a lot of anxiety. This morning, I want to make sure our listeners understand what is going on in the economy, and how to […]

WHY ARE OLD RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ON YOUR MIND TODAY?  MELLODY: Put simply, people change jobs pretty regularly. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker in America changes employers every 4 years or so. And when we do this, many of us end up starting a new retirement account. But that does not […]

This morning we’re talking about the recent turbulence in the markets. What have we seen lately? There is no denying that the markets have been choppy in recent weeks. After a very strong period at the beginning of the summer, the NASDAQ fell by 3.75% in the past two weeks, while the Dow Jones shed […]