What I’m Reading This Weekend (April 28-29)

April has brought us Financial Literacy/Capability Month and "Equal Pay Day."  This week's list starts with the first and ends with the last, and we cover global economics, news for teachers, and Amazon was in the headlines so many times they get their own heading this week.

Financial Capability 

• Do you live in one of the five states that received and A from the Champlain College Financial Literacy Center?  Here are the top ten states.
• Why do seven out of ten adults avoid making financial decisions?  Here are some of the results from research done by the Principal Financial Group and behavoural economist Dan Goldstein.
• If you have trouble making financial decisions, here are some reasons to consider hiring a financial planner.
• Given that May 1 is decision day for seniors/colleges, here is a highlight from What’s New With…...Paying for College posted yesterday: an article on esports scholarships.

Global Economic View

• Seven out of ten adults worldwide now have a bank account-thanks to smartphones.  World Bank’s Global Findex Report released this week (good global stats in this one).
• The world economy seems to be chugging along, so why are world’s top economic policy makers worried?
• The Federal Reserve is focused on making sure the economy doesn’t overheat.  But many feel the strong economy has left them behind.
• The erosion of middle class in the United States is not only about globalization or automation: the public service sector is being decimated.

For Teachers

• Here are more stories from teachers whose grants were turned to loans, an issue we have mentioned previously.
• Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado are about more than wages.  While I try to avoid opinion pieces, this one by Paul Krugman explains the allocation of  federal, state and local taxes and why education is “stuck in the crosshairs” and deserves a read.
• There is a huge demand for people to fill trade jobs with good salaries, so why aren’t more high school grads considering them instead of college?

Retirement-

• How do you know if are you spending enough when you retire, or if you are spending too much?  Here are some guidelines.
• Two weeks ago we introduced an article on FIRE (financial independence retire early).  Vicki Robin is a big name among the FIRE adherents.

Amazon

It’s hard to get through a week without some interesting news about Amazon.  Here are articles on three of Amazon’s new or proposed products and services.

• Amazon is reportedly working on home robots.
• If you are worried about you package being swiped off of your front step, here is a new delivery service - directly into your car's trunk!
• A new version of Alexa for Kids called “FreeTime” incorporates a wide array of parental controls.  Perhaps it will allow you to stay one step ahead of your tech-savvy kid!
• We all knew it was coming someday….Amazon announces it will raise the price of Prime subscriptions from $99 to $119.
• Amazon reported record earnings, and its stock jumps on the news.

Equal Pay Day

April 10 was "Equal Pay Day" in the US.  It represents how much longer women have to work to make the same amount as men earned the previous year.  Stay tuned for more on this subject in the next "Digging Deeper."

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