Talk maybe about what retirement looks like in a relationship.

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Submitted by Lailana H., a student at Pahrump Valley High School.

Y'all need to talk to each other...

JanetMNast.Professional men and women in business meeting

How do you want to live as you get older?

When you start dating someone seriously, this is a topic you need to discuss with each other. It all falls under a discussion you should have about you both manage money (learn about that in the Relationship lesson).

Here's how bad it can get...

A couple of close friends of mine (we'll call them Fred and Wilma) agreed that they would spend their money as fast as they made it. They didn’t save a dime and didn’t think anything would ever happen to the business they owned. Well, until they were in their early 70’s…and Fred's son (Sam, from a previous marriage) came along and talked Fred into handing the business over to him. They signed a contract and both agreed that Sam would keep Fred on as a consultant at a salary of $10,000 a month. Sweet.

Until Fred didn’t get his first month’s pay.

Turns out that Sam put some kind of loophole in the contract that allowed him to fire his father.

Now Fred & Wilma have no company, no income and no retirement savings at the age of 73.

They called Tom and I for help with their bills. All our extra income was tucked away into our retirement accounts and there was no way we were going to touch that to bail them out, knowing we’d never get it back. And they wouldn’t be able to help us if we ever needed it.

They lost everything, house, cars, motorhome, most of their household goods, everything had to go. And Fred ended up going back to school to get his real estate license and, luckily, they were able to rent a house from a friend of theirs.

Well, at least Fred and Wilma had agreed on how they would manage money.

So, think about it...

JanetMNast.Professional men and women in business meeting

How do you want to live as you get older?

If both of you are spenders like Fred and Wilma, well, at least you agree. But do you really want to risk being homeless when you get old?

Or if one of you is a spender and one is a saver, this could work. But you must agree on how much goes to savings and not fight about it. Remember, I mentioned that money is in the top three reasons for divorce? This is one of those possible hot buttons.

If both of you are savers, this may work well too. As long as you can agree on how much to save, and when spending a bit for fun stuff is ok, then you’ll be fine.

Regardless on what you decide, you should do some basic math and figure out how much you should save for retirement. That’s explained in my answer to Mauricio's question posted in the Employment lesson.

Sincerely,

Jan

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President’s proposal to block production of gas ranges

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Click picture to read source article.

How does this affect you and your personal household economy?

1. Your Jobs

Do you or any of your family members work for the companies that make these gas ranges? Guess which companies will be making fewer to no gas ovens/ranges when they are outlawed.

And who’ll be losing their jobs when said companies will have to cut back on employees when this happens? And what happens when they have to shut down alltogether because the only product they made and sold is now outlawed?

Bottm line, anyone who used to work building and selling said ranges is sh** out of luck.

2. Homeowners Who Use Gas Ranges

Yes, you are screwed if your range stops working and you have to buy a new one. (We had one blow up on us 3 years after we moved into a brand new house-yikes! This kind of stuff does happen.)

If a home is piped to use natural gas for heating and cooking on a gas range, this home will have to be upgraded. And believe me, this type of construction can’t be easily undone and rebuilt. Not to mention the extreme expense to do so. This isn’t cheap!

For example, my husband and I just had our entire heating and AC system (29 years old) upgraded to heat pumps. In order to pay for this we had to pull $16,000 out of my 401k to pay for this. If we weren’t over a certain age (62) and if we hadn’t saved for 35 years, this wouldn’t have been possible.

The average family just doesn’t have that kind of money laying around.

So what do you do?

It appears to me that you, along with millions of other people will be left with… what? No way to bake & cook meals

And don't let politicians try to tell you that they are the "average every day person." Look at their homes and how they live: they're not.

3. Hardware Stores Who Sell Gas Ranges

Yep, you guessed it: If there’re less gas ranges to sell, then there’s no need for employees to sell them.

And then those unemployed people have,

  • Less money to spend on groceries and other products and services.

  • Which ties to those stores now bringing in that much less money.

  • Which leads to them not being able to pay as many workers.

  • Which leads to more layoffs.

Of course there is one other possible solution that could cover the cost of lost sales:

Raise the prices of the products he's still allowed to sell.

If you're anything like me, this may not go over really well the next time you need to buy a replacement stove.

Can you see how ONE decision...

...made by one person in a position of power (the POTUS) can have such a huge impact on so many people?

Not just millionaires but average every day people like you and me who are working our butts off and maybe just making ends meet.

This is an example of how the “economy” works and how we are all affected by decisions made by politicians in Washington.

Understanding how the economy and how it affects you is one of the more important Life After 18. Knowing this allows you to make better informed decisions and choices when you vote.

Your knowledge is your super power!

Sincerely,

Jan

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Grammar Police Unite: “Weird Al” Yankovic – Word Crimes

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Grammar Police Unite! You're gonna love this!

“Weird Al” Yankovic has released a music video for his song “Word Crimes”, a parody of the song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke. The video skewers terrible grammar while obviously spoofing Thicke’s video.

The song is off Yankovic’s new album, Mandatory Fun, which released today. The album is currently available via Amazon.

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Have You Received Your Tax Forms Yet?

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Click here to learn more about taxes in our Life After 18 Module: Income Taxes
If you worked any part of last year or collected any money from anyone including the government, you should have one of two of these tax forms in your hot little hands by now. By law, you should’ve had them by January 31st.
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Yeah, I know, tax time is no fun at all for most people to think about.

And it’s not even that you’ll have to pay anything. It’s just all the forms you have to fill out. And it seems like they're getting more and more complicated every year. But we all have to do the best we can because if we don’t, well, we could end up with the IRS knocking on our door.

So I just want to give you a heads up, or at least a head start, on some of the forms you should have by now. They could’ve been sent either through snail mail or your email.

Yes, I said snail mail. As in the US Postal Service. Many companies and government entities still send these documents via snail mail. And it’s really easy to not know what they are so you might have just thought they were junk mail and threw them in the trash.

If you think you may have done that, don’t worry, don’t panic. You can always call the appropriate company or agency right away and get a copy resent. It’s really that easy to take care of.

The other thing is that some companies are just slow. So your call would be a nice friendly reminder for them to get their acts together.

Lastly, know that I’m not a tax person, accountant, or financial advisor. I’m just a person who’s been filing tax returns since 1976, yikes! While I’m familiar with these more common forms, this is not the end-all, complete list of possibilities. Please talk to a certified tax accountant to get the full list of forms that apply to you and your situation.

There could be more or less but just take a quick look and see what sounds familiar. As I said, I just want to give you a heads up, or at least a head start on what to look for.

Tax Forms You May Be Missing

If any you have been in any of these situations in the previous year:
You should have received this form:
If you've received a paycheck from an employer
Form W-2
If you're paying for health insurance through some sort of state or federal marketplace (and not your employer )
Form 1095-A
If you've made mortgage (house) payments (not rent)
Form 1098
If you’re collecting Social Security
Form SSA-1099
If you've pulled any money out of a retirement account, such as a 401K
Form 1099-R
Click here to learn more about taxes in our Life After 18 Module: Income Taxes
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Is your perfect mate really perfect for you?

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I've been reading a lot of posts on social media lately where men and women alike are complaining about their other halves. Some of their arguments are pretty ugly regarding really bad behaviors. I'm not an expert on fixing people or relationships, but lately, I've been helping a lot of people learn how to make better choices before jumping right into the next one.

Let's begin with this first aha moment:

Anyone who's gone through a devastating break-up has got to know that being in love with someone doesn’t necessarily mean you can or should live with them.

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So if we all know this, why do we keep falling in love with the wrong kind of person?

I think it's because...

...we all get so caught up with the chemistry of the connection, that we completely blow off any use of our brains and logic. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

But if you’re really honest with yourself, I’ll bet you can remember at least one time in your life, (or a maybe gazillion times) that you've done this. Am I right?

Business of Life Perfect Match Chemistry

So how do you avoid the heartbreak of a relationship gone bad?

You learn how to rely on your heart and your head. And the best way to do that is to make a checklist.

And you stick to it!

After all, if you don’t, you'll always get what you settle for. Which you already know, makes you miserable over and over again.

Yes, I know a “list” sounds so cold and impersonal. But wouldn’t it be nice if you could remember to avoid the annoying person that’s always loud and obnoxious for instance?

Have I got a checklist for you!

So! I’ve done all the work for you with this very cool worksheet that'll really get you thinking.

Janet M. Nast business of life skills the perfect match worksheet It doesn't focus on rainbows and unicorns or even your favorite colors and hobbies. But it does contain eleven categories of characteristics and behaviors that you should include in your checklist when you're dreaming up the perfect mate; the one you want to spend the rest of your life with.

And it contains a sample completed list that I created for myself. (Some things were private so I left them out, but you'll get the idea.)

This is the list that saved my life!

After going through three divorces with abusive men, I finally figured out I needed to do something different. Yes, some people would call me a slow learner, hahaha! But at least I finally got it right. And you can too! My fourth husband and I have been happily married since 2003 - Yay!

I sincerely wish you luck and happier days ahead!

Warmest regards,

Jan

Click on the PDF to get your FREE worksheet and get started on creating your own custom list.
LifeAfter18 Download PDF
Take a Sneak Peek at the Course Outline For: "Long Term Relationships"
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