Do you have credit card debt hanging over your head? Or maybe you've been thinking you should start saving for retirement, but you aren’t sure how to pay for it?
This hour we sit down with NPR correspondent Chris Arnold, who covers personal finance and consumer protection. NPR’s new family of podcasts, Life Kit, gives listeners practical tips for navigating life challenges from parenting to healthy eating. Arnold hosts Life Kit’s podcasts about money. They are all about figuring out how to get your finances in order in a fun and approachable way.
We also talk with Marketplace’s Marielle Segarra about the psychology and history of tax refunds. Financial experts say getting back a big refund is not necessarily a good thing—so why do so many of us love getting that big check anyways?
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
GUESTS:
- Marielle Segarra - Reporter for Marketplace (@MarielleSegarra)
- Chris Arnold - NPR correspondent who covers personal finance and consumer protection; he hosts NPR’s “Life Kit” podcasts on money and personal finance (@Chris_ArnoldNPR)
- Donna Taglianetti - Financial stability consultant working with Connecticut United Ways
READING LIST:
Marketplace: The history — and psychology — behind the tax refund (Marielle Segarra, February 2019) – “‘I've yet to see anything that will dissuade taxpayers from wanting and demanding a significant refund,’ said David Williams, chief tax officer at Intuit, which makes the tax preparation software TurboTax. ‘No amount of financial advice seems to have turned the tide on it.’”
NPR: Six Simple Rules for Saving Money (Chris Arnold, December 2018) – “If you're not good at saving, it's not your fault. Humans are hard-wired to focus on the present, so you have thousands of years of evolution to fight against. But there's a way to win the fight.”
Connecticut United Ways: ALICE Households Can Build Emergency Savings With EARN SaverLife Program – “Lack of savings is the financial challenge American families’ worry about the most. In fact, one in three households nationwide have no savings. Furthermore, according to the 2018 ALICE Report, more than 46% of Connecticut households do not have enough money saved to cover expenses for three months. This vulnerability means that that a medical emergency or unexpected car repair has the potential to cripple an ALICE household.”
Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
