Do you have a 401k at your job? Are you vested? Are you worried about the contributions declining because of this dooming recession? If so, let’s talk.

For many people being introduced to Stocks comes from the Human Resources department in a standard corporate setting. Typically, after 90 days you are given the option to either contribute a 3-12% monetary sum to your shiny new 401k plan. You would sign a few documents stating that for every paycheck, you will allow your compensation to deduct that percentage amount, and then the magic happens. You adult :-).

Around this same presentation you are shown a few pre-packaged plans that have been created according to your age and the future year that you will retire…according to the government. For example, Vanguard 2045, Vanguard 2055, you get the idea. The next step is waiting for your employer to match your contribution when you have been fully acclimated into the company, aka vested. This is the safest, least risky version of stocks, because since you are not managing, monitoring, or manipulating it, the growth either up or down is controlled by the stock market.

For me, I like living a bit on the edge so this standard form of saving was never enticing to me. Sure the presentation says something like if you invest early and stay with the same employer for the next 45 years you will have saved a Million dollars. I know. I understand. The idea that you can only control a portion of what happens in your 401k, while knowing if a recession hits, your savings also takes a hit, seems odd. This sounds like the secret Wall Street knows but would never say.

It was the summer of 2014 where I sat on a call and heard Chuck Hughes talk. I was intrigued by the notion of being in control of where your funds lie and having the ability to move things around when you saw a need. Now let me ask you, what things do you purchase in excess every month? Whatever they are: Cosmetics, Fuel, Electricity, Department store items – those things are actually investments. If you believe in Target, appreciate them being in close proximity to your home so that you can pick up items that you believe you need, you very well should put 2% in $TGT. As they increase revenues and hit their goals, they will pay out their shareholders dividends. Dividends are (a sum of money paid regularly (typically quarterly) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits (or reserves). You will receive your cash dividend and use it or re-invest it in that stock and let your money compound. When I think of all of money, I’ve invested in drinking Starbucks Venti Caramel Macchiatos but I didn’t actually have an investment in $SBUX, I know now that I was doing myself a disservice.

UPDATE:

SLFP is currently paused!

On Wednesday August 24th, 2022, Democratic President Joe Biden signed the Student Loan Forgiveness Plan and the world as we know has divided itself again. Of the many groups, the leading ones are the ones who are upset that their loans are not getting paid off, those that believe that the loans are not the responsibility of no one except the student or the parent who obtained the loan, the ones that believe the amount of $10k per student with a Government loan is too low, and those that are just happy that something is happening in their favor. No matter what side of the world yo may sit currently, it happened, and someone you may know will need to determine if they qualify and can apply come late October/early November. 

Some of the key talking points of the American Rescue Plan are:

Using the authority Congress granted the Department of Education, they will forgive $10,000 in outstanding federal student loans for people who earn less than $125,000 a year.

In addition, students who make under $125,000 a year and received a Pell Grant (had to qualify by earning less than $60k at the time of FAFSA), you’ll get an additional $10,000 reduction off that total for a total of $20,000 relief.

Ninety-five percent of the borrowers can benefit from these actions. That’s 43 million people.

Of the 43 million, over 60 percent are Pell Grant recipients. That’s 27 million people who will get $20,000 in debt relief.

Nearly 45 percent can have their student debt fully cancelled.

Student loan forgiveness is Federally Tax-Free through 2025

Since this is unprecedented, 13 States may or may not use rolling conformity with Federal Tax Cancelled of Debt and trigger a Tax Bill upwards of $1100. These states include: Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. To confirm about your state, it is best to consult a Professional. The good folks at Herij Taxes (https://herijtaxes.com) offer Virtual services for these states and can help as needed.

How do we pay for it? Per President Joe Biden: “We pay for it by what we’ve done.” Cited:  The White House Briefing Room 8/25/2022

Judge Approves $92 Million TikTok Settlement, With Illinois Claimants Receiving Biggest Share

If you and/or your minor child used the TikTok and/or Musical.ly application, You May Be Entitled to a Payment from a Class Action Settlement.

According to lawyers, TikTok users who created videos prior to Sept. 30, 2021 were eligible to be part of the class-action suit.

Two separate classes of plaintiffs were created, with one comprised of nationwide users and a second class comprised solely of Illinois-based users.

If you live in Illinois and used the TikTok app in Illinois to create videos, you may be entitled to up to 6x the Payment.

• Plaintiffs filed a class action complaint alleging that TikTok, Inc. f/k/a Musical.ly, Inc; ByteDance, Inc.; Musical.ly n/k/a TikTok, Ltd. and Beijing ByteDance Technology Co. Ltd. (collectively, the “Defendants”), violated federal and state law by collecting and using, without sufficient notice and consent, Plaintiffs’ personal data in connection with their use of the TikTok – Make Your Day video-sharing application (and/or its predecessor app Musical.ly) distributed in the U.S. (the “App.”).
• Defendants deny these allegations and other material allegations in the operative complaint.
• The Settlement1 that has been reached in this case affects the following persons (collectively the “Settlement Class”):
  • Nationwide Class: All persons who reside in the United States who used the App prior to September 30, 2021.
  • Illinois Subclass: All persons who reside in the State of Illinois and used the App in the State of Illinois to create videos prior to September 30, 2021.
• The Settlement, if approved, would provide $92,000,000 to pay the members of the Settlement Class who file valid claims, as well as to pay Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees, costs, a service award for the named plaintiffs, and the administrative costs of the settlement. It would also provide injunctive relief to protect App users’ information. The Settlement avoids the further cost and risk associated with continuing the lawsuits; it pays money to those persons whose rights Plaintiffs contend were violated; and it releases Defendants from further liability.
• You may submit a claim on your own behalf or on behalf of your minor child.
• Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. Read the notice carefully.Can I Still Join the Class-Action Suit?Deadlines for the lawsuit have already passed, according to lawyers. Individuals who wanted to file a claim form to be part of the class-action suit were required to do so by March 1, 2022.Individuals who sought to exclude themselves from the suit were required to make that known by Jan. 31.

  How Will Payments be Distributed?

  According to the law firm that filed the suit, those individuals who filed to be part of the class-action suit will receive payments electronically, unless they opted for an alternative form of payment.

  No official date for payments has yet been announced.

  Why Are Illinois Residents in a Separate Class?

  The reason Illinois residents were part of a separate class in the suit is because of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which imposes strict limits on the way companies can use and share biometric information.

  As a result of that law, Illinois residents who are part of the class-action suit will receive the same share as other United States residents, but will also receive five additional shares apiece, effectively increasing their payout.

  The official number of participants in the class-action suit has not yet been announced, and therefore it is not known how big a settlement payout Illinois residents can expect