Category Archives: Financial Independence

The National Retirement Risk Index measures how many Americans will be able to maintain their standard of living after retirement. Are you at risk? Find out in this episode of Motley Fool Answers, as Motley Fool personal finance expert Robert Brokamp goes right to the source, with special guest Geoffrey Sanzenbacher from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

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This video was recorded on August 31, 2021.

Alison Southwick: This is Motley Fool Answers. I'm Alison Southwick, joined as always by Robert Brokamp, CFP, MVP, homecoming king, and personal finance expert here at The Motley Fool. He really was the homecoming king. In this week's episode, we warned you we were changing up the show's format a bit, and here's another change. Rather than bring you a mailbag episode the last week of every month, we'll aim to bring you interesting interviews with outside experts in the field of retirement, money, finance, and honestly, whatever we want to talk about. This week, Bro sits down with Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, economist with the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. They're going to talk about the big trends in retirement today, as well as what to do about social security. All that and more on this week's episode of Motley Fool Answers.

Robert Brokamp: Long-time listeners know that one of my go-to sources for academic research into financial independence is the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Beside the steady stream of studies and analysis, both on their main website and their Squared Away blog, the center also created the national and retirement risk index. A measure of the percentage of Americans that will be able to maintain their standard of living once they leave the working world. Here to talk about the index and plenty of other topics is Dr. Jeff Sanzenbacher, Associate Professor of the practice of economics and a research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Dr. Sanzenbacher, welcome to Motley Fool Answers.

Geoffrey Sanzenbacher: Thanks so much, Robert.

Brokamp: Let's start with the national and retirement risk index. What is it and what's it saying about retirement preparedness in America nowadays?

Sanzenbacher: Yeah. The national retirement risk index is an index that basically takes where people are on their life track for retirement savings and projects them out to the time when they're going to retire. It looks and see are they likely to have enough money to maintain their standard of living. If they do have enough money, then we would say they are not at risk. If they don't have enough savings so that it looks like when they get to retirement, they're going to fall short and not be able to keep living how they are, we would say they are at risk. The index shows that about half of people are at risk of not having enough wealth to maintain their standard of living once they retire.

Brokamp: That's generally speaking at the retirement age of 65. Is that around the average nowadays?

Sanzenbacher: That is actually around the average. Nowadays, a lot of people, like any average, a lot of people don't make it, a lot of people work longer, but yeah, the average is right around 65.

Brokamp: What happens to the other half? Are they still retiring and then they figure out later that maybe they shouldn't have?

Sanzenbacher: Yeah, I mean, I think we've looked at some data on what happens to people who reach that threshold without enough money, and there are a couple of things that show up. Their health outcomes appear worse, slightly more likely to die within the study period. More likely to report being in poor health. They also report being less satisfied with their retirement, which makes sense. If you think about the goal of retirement savings is to be able to maintain your standard of living once the major source of your earnings is gone. When we say you don't have enough wealth to retire, that means you retire and then your standard of living drops from what you've been used to your whole life. Of course, you're going to be dissatisfied. That's really one of the main things we see.

Brokamp: Do we know much about the process by which people make the decision to retire? I mean, to me, it's amazing when people choose to quit before they have sufficient resources. Are they getting bad advice? Are they underestimating how much retirement costs? Or are there just too many people saying, "Okay, I'm 65, it's time to retire." That really didn't do much analysis?

Sanzenbacher: I think a lot of that. I mean, I think if you look at when people retire, there are these huge spikes at 62 and 65, 62 being when you can first claim Social Security, 65 being when you can first get Medicare. I think those benchmarks play a big role in people's thinking. If there's one thing -- I hate to admit this as a researcher -- but if there's one thing I've learned, doing lots and lots of regressions on people's retirement decisions, it's we can't explain a whole lot. We might explain 25-30% of people's decision-making. As an econometrician that's not so bad. I mean, 25-30% of what people do is not the worst thing in the world, but that means there's 70% we really don't know. I think a lot of it comes down to how much does someone hate their job or likes their job. That's obviously hard to capture in data. I think a lot of it comes down to these rules of thumb based around these ages that we've drilled into our heads as being important ages. I think some of the more salient things that people do consider is their health. Are they well enough to keep working? Spouses play a big role. If your spouse retires, you're more likely to retire. Those are things we can measure. I think one of the big things that we really can't measure are these soft job characteristics. Someone hates their job, they don't like their boss, they're stressed out. Those are really just hard to pick up in economic data, so I think that plays a big role, too.

Brokamp: One solution for people who don't have sufficient resources is to work longer. A previous Center for Retirement Research publication suggested that 85% of workers would be prepared if they worked to age 70. Is this what we should be aiming for as a society, is 70 the new 65 when it comes to retirement?

Sanzenbacher: I wish that it was Robert, but there's an inequality in who can work longer. We did a study, a colleague and myself to the study looking at variation and how easy or difficult are jobs to do for a while. One that consistently comes up is, first of all, and this maybe goes without saying, blue-collar jobs are much harder to do into your 60s than is a white-collar job on average. The reason for that is pretty simple. A lot of those jobs use physical strength and physical strength does decline with age. On top of that, I think the ability to switch jobs to find and create something that's both meaningful but also easy to do is easier for white-collar workers who might have more options by the time they reach that age. On top of that, I think white-collar workers have more options to self-employed consulting, things like that on the side and maybe keeping them in the labor force, but aren't like a full-time job and yet still pay pretty well. We see a lot of independent contracting in the form of consulting among older white-collar workers. I think all those things basically mean that there is this inequality in who can work longer.

On top of that, that inequality is really correlated with wealth inequality. The people who maybe need to work the longest, the most who have the lease savings a lot of times, are the very same people who can't really work longer because they're in a physical job or they're in poor health. There are these cross-correlations that I think are dangerous for people.

Brokamp: We've talked before on the show about how many people end up retiring sooner than expected.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah.

Brokamp: A lot of that, the No. 1 reason is health. People think, "Oh, yeah, I am going to be able to work until 65 or maybe 67 or 70, no problem." Then something happens and they are not able to do that.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah, health is by far the biggest measurable reason we could find. Again, it's one of those situations where we did a study saying, "How do we explain why people retire before they plan?" If you ask people in their early 50s, they'll say, "Yeah, I want to work 'till 65. I want to work 'till 66." A lot of people don't make it. We did a study looking at why they don't make it. Again, health was a really big reason. Another big reason was they lost their job. They got laid off and couldn't find a new job. But we also couldn't explain a lot of it. Again, we couldn't explain 70% of it. We have this, well, we're doing a pretty good job statistically, it's not bad. But at the same time, it leaves a lot of uncertainty as far as people have this plan, not when they're 30, I mean, they're in their 50s. They should have a number in their head that's so realistic. Yet, a lot of people don't make it and we don't exactly know why. I suspect it's some combination of maybe a spouse retired faster than they thought. Maybe they had grandkids and they want to go see the grandkids. Maybe the job they hated more than they thought. But a lot of it is hard to tell, so health, losing a job, are big observed factors, but a lot of it's stuff we can't see.

Brokamp: Now I'm sure you're seeing some of the evidence that's come out that many people have retired during the pandemic. One report, I saw that estimated maybe 2 million people retired more than they would've expected. I guess that's a combination of maybe people lost their jobs. Also, maybe because the stock market has done well. But certainly, these things happen and people didn't plan on them happening and then they are at this point in life like, "Well, heck, why not? Why don't I just retire?"

Sanzenbacher: I think the COVID recession's interesting because what you typically see during a recession, like everything in life, unfortunately, things that are bad for the economy tend to hit lower-income people worse. Typically during a recession, we see lower-income people retire at a higher rate. I'd put retire in quotes because I think they leave the workforce, maybe not voluntarily. Look a little bit and then say, "You know what? I'm done with this." That happens to low-income people a lot more during recessions. We were at the COVID recession, we saw it happen to high-income people more than we would expect to. I think you're right, Robert, I think the stock market is doing well probably plays a role. I think those people may also have been fairly well prepared and who want to go to work if there's this dangerous virus out there. That's especially dangerous to you in your 60s. I think that also plays a role. We do see this different pattern during the COVID recession we know we had seen before. One of the things I'm working on with a colleague at the center is doing some work on unretirement. One thing we're always interested in is how many people unretire? They retired, they thought it was a good idea. They realize that no, it's not, "The economy is coming back, I can find a job easily" so they unretire. We're trying to look into that and see if that's happening in this recession.

Brokamp: Interesting, I look forward to that research.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah.

Brokamp: Theoretically, another solution might be to use home equity, especially since many Americans have more in home equity than they have saved in their 401(k). But how often is that used as a retirement resource and should it be?

Sanzenbacher: Yes, first approximation never. I think it's very rarely used. I think that it's always worth noting, as much as we talk about the stock market and as important as that is for retirement, probably a third of workers have nothing in retirement accounts. Probably another third don't have that much, so their house is by far the biggest asset they have for retirement. You have a top third that maybe has roughly equal amount on both. For that bottom really, 70%, the house is really important. The main two ways, I guess that people can access the house, or maybe three ways. One is downsizing, so people go from the house they had in the 30s, 40s and 50s and downsize to a smaller house and pocket the profit. That is somewhat uncommon. People are really attached to their house. I gave a talk in Newton Massachusetts. It was at a senior center. It was about these options, so one is downsizing, one is doing a reverse mortgage, and one is doing something called a property tax deferral, where you're just basically using your home equity to pay your property taxes while you're alive then when you sell the house, it gets paid off. People hated all these things, no one wanted to hear it. I'm not used to a hostile crowd, it was not a happy crowd.

People don't want to sell their house, they have a lot of memories in their house. People don't want to take a reverse mortgage because I think somewhat rightfully they don't quite trust that industry. I think the industry has made a lot of strides over the last couple of years, has done a lot, to reform things like, for example, you have a non-borrowing spouse now. They've done a lot to make it easier for that non-borrowing spouse to stay in their house. I think the industry is making strides, but people still don't trust it. Then the property tax deferral, a lot of times our income is restricted, so that's a bit of a problem. It seems like a means tested program, and people don't like that. Also, it is a lien against your house, and people don't like it. People very rarely use any of these options, which is understandable but also frustrating as someone who sees that as the biggest store of wealth that the typical person has.

Brokamp: Yeah. People do have very emotional attachments to their house and they are very uncomfortable with any concept that's similar to spending your house, because then what's going to happen.

Sanzenbacher: Right.

Brokamp: But clearly it's going to be the lifeline for millions of Americans.

Sanzenbacher: I think the one way it is used is like an emergency, or something really bad happened, you use the house as your lifeline. As economists, we want to see people use their wealth in a linear, nice, orderly way. As an economist, I pull my hair out saying, "Come on, use this store of wealth" but as a person, I know that the economist is a crazy one, because people do have these attachments to their homes and that's normal, I think. The economist in me is frustrated, but the person does get it.

Brokamp: Yeah. Besides, running out of money, another risk in retirement and one that I don't think is discussed enough is cognitive decline as we age. We've all had experiences speaking with older relatives and you noticed how there's slipping and then sometimes slipping a little bit and sometimes maybe on the road to full-blown dementia. How prevalent is cognitive decline in retirement and how does it potentially affect money management?

Sanzenbacher: I think in people's 60s and even early 70s, it's probably common as mild cognitive decline. Probably not to comment that will get in the way of financial management resources right away. By the late 70s and 80s, I would say, it becomes quite common. People should be looking for help with managing their money. A lot of times it's subtle things, people are missing bill payments they never missed before. But it can evolve into full-blown fraud risk and things like that. It's not just old timers, I think even people who don't get Alzheimer's can have enough natural cognitive decline by their late 80s, they're going to need help.

The good news is most people have help. We do this study where I think about 85% of people have some form of help most of the time, from family. Sometimes from outsiders, most of the time from family. But the problem is that the other 15% are bad off. They're a lot more likely to miss bill payments, a lot more likely to struggle with hunger, a lot more likely to report not having enough money for basic necessities. Making sure that when you're in your 60s, or early 70s, when you are able to really plan ahead, do you make sure you have a family member who is ready to help you? Do you make sure you're not relying entirely on your spouse, who you think you'll live with forever, but who might pass away before you? Making sure you have a backup plan in that case is really important. I don't think people really make those plans often enough, so I do think at least considering who would i have help me? Then maybe formalizing that financial power of attorney, are making sure your will is in order, those things are all very smart.

Brokamp: Obviously, Wealth Management had a report on this, and told the story of a woman who is a successful children's book author and illustrator. Her husband handled all the finances as well as their business and she didn't know that he went five years without paying taxes, made some bad investments, all due to gradually progressive cognitive decline, and they pretty much lost everything. Most couples, one person does all the financial management and the other person trusts them. There is a point where you have to get other help, everyone, maybe more than one or two people have an eye on what's happening to the bills, make sure the bills are getting paid or not being repeatedly paid over and over again.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah.

Brokamp: I think it's also key that people have to accept that this could happen to them. When you dig into the legal community, you find story after story of family members clearly seeing that someone is in trouble, but that person is not willing to accept help, not willing to acknowledge, and not willing to give up control.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah. The taking away the keys conversation, I think is really hard for people. Especially, a lot of times it's a child helping a parent, and that role reversal is really difficult. Taking away the keys, driving is literally one of the things where this conversation happens pretty early, but financial management is another place where I think it happens, and it's hard. Social Security does have a program called the Representative Payee Program that can help with that, but it's a really big step to take because basically it means Social Security is paying the money directly to another person, who's charged with taking care of the beneficiary. That's a big step and Social Security doesn't take it lightly. It is hard to formalize these arrangements, but it's worth thinking about doing.

Brokamp: Staying on the topic of health. The evidence about the healthiness of retirement itself is actually mixed. Some studies indicate that it is associated with cognitive decline because you lose the intellectual stimulation of work, could lead to social isolation, could lead to depression. Other studies, on the other hand, find that general happiness levels rise after retirement. What's your take on that? Do you think retirement is good for people?

Sanzenbacher: I tell everyone who listens to me, which does not include my family, unfortunately, does not include my parents especially, but I tell them work as long as you can and are happy working. My sense is the overwhelming amount of literature on health suggests that retirement is associated with worsening physical health. Notwithstanding having a jobs that are very physical, but in general, there's a study showing that at age 62, there's a discrete uptick in mortality because there's a discrete change in retirement. Some colleagues at the Center for Retirement Research just did a research using Dutch data, and they showed that in the Netherlands, there was a change in policy that suddenly changed people's retirement age, and the people who are affected in a way where they retire later, live longer. My sense is the majority of the evidence is on that side. When you combine that with the idea that working longer helps your financial wellness, my sense is that there's no way that it doesn't help your financial wellness. Most of literature says it helps your physical wellness. To me that says just work longer if you can. Like I said, easy advice to give, hard when someone doesn't feel like working anymore. I've been frustrated with every single one of my relatives and in-laws, but I will keep saying it.

Brokamp: I totally agree. I said it in a previous show that I certainly expect to work to age 67, if not longer. But then I come across stories of people who died at age 67 or 68.

Sanzenbacher: Yeah.

Brokamp: Nanci Griffith the folk singer said it like, "Man, I don't want to wait. Don't want to save everything until retirement."

Sanzenbacher: Yeah. I completely understand that. I think again, like the economist in me looks at the numbers and I say, look, if you're a healthy 67-year-old man, it is worth it. Claiming at 67 or 68 probably maximizes your lifetime benefit from Social Security. Because your life expectancy is probably 85, 86. Of course, not everyone is going to get that life expectancy. You don't want to miss out on years of retirement and benefits that you might get. I think it is tough. But the economist who says maximize lifetime benefits, that is like 67 years old for a healthy man.

Brokamp: Is there anything about retirement planning either on an individual or national level that you think doesn't get as much attention as it should?

Sanzenbacher: On the individual level, the big thing that I've been thinking a lot about is the decumulation of 401(k)s. We have spent a lot of time trying to understand what's the best way to give you 401(k). What are the best investment options? How do you get people to say it? Do you auto enrollment, auto-escalation, all these cool features all give money into the system? I don't think most of you will have a clue how to get it out. It is really hard for people to go into this thing we've been building for their whole life. They have this pile of mine that they've grown very attached to, they like to look at the balance. They like to feel like it's there. To go and take money out of that is a completely different experience. It used to be people had pensions. A pension is very much like a paycheck, which is how we all live. We're used to the idea that I get a paycheck every month or every two weeks and I take that and I spend it and I save a little bit of it and then I go on and that's where more money comes. But the 401(k) is the opposite of that. You've got a big pile of money that you got to choose how to draw it down. They're obviously rules like when you start at age 70, you got to start pulling money out. But people don't know how to do it. I think as a society, we should be thinking harder about how do we do this. People don't want to buy annuities. Again, it's like using your house, I think people should do it. People don't like annuities.

I basically say a lot of things, people don't listen to you, buy annuities, [laughs] use your house, delay retirement. No one listens. But those are all reasonable things to do. But on the national level, something that has really been driving me crazy is Social Security. For a lot of people, Social Security, probably a third to a half, Social Security as their main source of retirement income. We know that 12 years from now benefits are going to drop by 20% if we don't do anything. I think that if the past is any indication in 2032 we'll start talking about it in 2033 we'll do something a month before it's done, but I do worry that the something we do will be damaging that some people maybe unintentionally. One of the things that of course, is always talked about is pushing back the full retirement age, which is a reasonable thing probably you talked about doing. But it does hurt those people who can't extend their careers, more than it hurts people that can extend their careers. That means basically blue-collar workers or disproportionately people of color are going to suffer relative to white-collar workers. I really do think having that discussion a little bit earlier can help us talk about some of the creative ways we can deal with it. Instead of just doing what I think will happen, which is in 2033 they'll increase payroll tax by a percent, and increase FRA by two years and we will move on. But I don't know if that's the best way. I would like to have the conversation now. Nationally, that'd be what I'd like to see.

Brokamp: FRA stands for full retirement age, of course.

Sanzenbacher: Absolutely.

Brokamp: I appreciate all your comments about moving the age back is difficult for some people. I definitely think it makes sense to move up that minimum age of 62.

Sanzenbacher: I do, too.

Brokamp: If you are unable to work, that's a disability issue.

Sanzenbacher: Yes. We have a program for that, yes.

Brokamp: But as you pointed out, actually this recently changed, but 62 was the most popular claiming age just because it's there.

Sanzenbacher: I think it just changed, but I think it was forever. I think it's still pretty much like a tie with I think 65 probably. Sixty-five is not a year, it's Medicare, it's not anything to do with Social Security anymore, it's the old full retirement age. But yeah, it is. I agree with you on that I think pushing up early age and I actually think increasing the full retirement age makes sense. But if for no other reason people are living longer. But it's worth noting that people are living longer unequally, too. I think thinking a little bit about how we do this in a way that maintains the purposes of the program is worth doing, although I also agree it probably needs to be done somehow.

Brokamp: Final question here whenever I talk with a retirement expert I'd like to close the interview by asking about their own plans. What does retirement look like for you? Obviously, you are going to work as long as you can. Are you going to keel over your desk at Boston College there one day?

Sanzenbacher: I'm very lucky in that I do a job that I absolutely love. It's hard to imagine retiring from, I teach college because, if you ask me, it's like a great job. But what I can see doing is phasing out where I teach a class or two for income and to keep myself engaged with the school where I'm not using a full time slot or I'm moving out a little bit like that. Because I do think that working full-time well into my 70s probably isn't a goal of mine, but I would like to work into my 60s full-time, well into my late 60s and then probably transition in teaching a class or two will be great if that's still an option for me. That would be an ideal situation for myself. But certainly, having a job that isn't physically demanding. Fortunately, we all experience cognitive decline. But the things that we know and I've known our whole lives are the things that stick with us the longest. If you teach a microeconomy class, that hasn't changed since Adam Smith that looks like I knew forever. It is easier across econometrics, that's a little harder because it does change over time. Hopefully, I'll be able to teach a class that it's stuff that really is the bedrock of the discipline.

Brokamp: Our guest today was Dr. Jeff Sanzenbacher, associate professor of the practice of economics and a research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Jeff, thank you so much for joining us on Motley Fool Answers.

Sanzenbacher: Yes, thank you. That was great.

Southwick: Well, that's the show. It's edited quickly by Rick Engdahl. Our email is answers@fool.com. For Robert Brokamp, I'm Alison Southwick. Stay Foolish everybody.

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A Look at the State of Retirement - The Motley Fool

Niamkemudera Muhammad is the founder of The B Network Group, a family-owned company that seeks to among other things make more Black entrepreneurs successful. The company is seeking to give $50,000 twice per month for the next 100 years to Black entrepreneurs with solid business plans.

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The B Network Group says it believes there are hundreds of thousands of African-American people with great ideas that can help and support the Black community but have no finance to get started. Therefore, it wants to fund these ideas that will also encourage millions of people to go after their dreams and live their best life.

The $50, 000 funding support will be given to anyone who has a business plan that has the potential to create jobs and industry in African American communities across the globe. Muhammad plans to choose one company, corporation, or non-profit a year to give $500,000 that aligns with his companys goals, principles, and advocations.

We are simply asking four million people to donate $50. This small one-time donation will provide generational wealth and motivate millions to become entrepreneurs. We believe if we can show the world that by giving up one night of partying, we can provide one hundred years of financial independence. That will be a great start and a true sign of community maturity, Muhammad says.

According to The B Network Group, if four million people donate $50, $200 million will be raised to fund African-American entrepreneurs. In the spirit of transparency, The B Network Group has broken down the allocations in this manner: $120 million will be allocated to the companys $50k giveaways while $50 million will be allocated to the annual $500,000 grant.

Muhammad has worked for over 10 years in finance for companies like Rolls Royce and the Discovery Channel, according to his nonprofits website. The nonprofit says that Muhammad utilized his accounting degree for years before going back to his other love cutting hair. He opened his own barbershop while maintaining a 10-year contract as the barber on base for the United States Coast Guard.

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Nonprofit founder to give away $50,000 twice a month for the next 100 years - Face2Face Africa

Currently, the market of eCash (XEC) experiences negative dynamics of 3.7%. eCashs price stalled right at $0.00024050 during this day. The company takes the trading volume by $200,669,482. The cryptocurrency started the trading session at 03:00 with a value of $0.00024991 and slightly declined. However, a couple of hours later r it reached the point of $0.00027289. A little time after it decreased to the volume of $200,669,482. eCash is developed from one of the most well-known names in the cryptocurrency world, BCHA, which was previously known as eCash. With the idea of the great Milton Friedman, eCash aspires to take financial independence to a new level. According to the official website, eCashs objective is to become sound money that anybody may use anywhere in the globe. This is a technology that will revolutionize society and greatly improve human freedom and prosperity. The roadmap gives a high-level technical direction overview of the eCash protocol, allowing various technical teams to collaborate on the projects advancement. The creators of eCash provide high-quality professional software that meets the demands of consumers, miners, and merchants.

Finance and Business Reporter

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eCash (XEC) Rapidly Plunges 3.7%: Here What You Should Know About It Own Snap - Own Snap

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) today announced the first cohort of students selected to participate in the Capital One Build to Best HBCU Early Talent Program, an integrated program to support students attending TMCF member-schools, which are Americas publicly supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs). One hundred (100) second-year students have been selected to the program, which will begin in the fall 2021 semester.

This effort is a part of TMCFs larger missionto advance pathways toward economic mobilityfor Black students and intentionally diversify the future work force within corporate America. As the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility and the McKinsey Global Institute found in their recent report, significant economic and human value can be gained when Black Americans are fully engaged in the economy. HBCUs are uniquely positioned to foster such engagement.

This program reflects our intention to invest in communities of color and support the career aspirations of HBCU students, consistent with our mission of preparing the next generation of work force talent through leadership development, said TMCF Chief Programs Officer Dr. Eric D. Hart. We look forward to partnering closely with Capital One to support rising talent in an effective and meaningful way.

The Capital One Build to Best HBCU Early Talent Program will provide professional development to rising sophomores with an emphasis on CreditWise, Capital One's credit management program, soft skills, career readiness training, and personal education plans for on-time graduation.

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At Capital One, we recognize HBCUs and PBIs as champions for academic excellence and the integral role they play in paving career pathways for students, said Shavonne Gordon, Vice President of Enterprise Diversity Recruiting at Capital One. Last year, we committed $1M in grants to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and United Negro College Fund in an effort to support HBCUs and increase the number of Black college graduates across the country, and we are thrilled to continue expanding these partnerships.

The partnership builds off Capital One's Impact Initiative, a $200M multi-year commitment which invests in diverse communities and businesses, and supports organizations that expand economic opportunity, particularly for Black and LatinX communities.

The Capital One Build to Best HBCU Early Talent Program Inaugural 100 can be viewed here.

About the Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nations largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs.

TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit: http://www.tmcf.org.

About Capital One

Capital One, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol COF and is included in the S&P 100 index. Capital One was founded on the principle that great talent, great analytics and great technology could revolutionize financial 2 services and democratize credit. We believe that attracting, hiring, and enabling great people can change banking for good. To learn more about Capital One, visit http://www.capitalone.com/About.

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Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Capital One Launch Inaugural Class for the Build to Best HBCU Early Talent Program - StreetInsider.com

Andrew, a middle-aged individual became a millionaire at 45 years. He wanted to spend more time traveling and sharing his knowledge in different countries. By 50, his savings had grown, even more, granting him financial independence.

Andrew didnt inherit wealth and never won any lottery. So how did he attain financial independence at the age he desired?

He held various internships throughout his college, and he started his investments early with his internship stipends. At one point, he chose to take out a loan for his higher education tuition fee.

To become debt-free and fulfil his financial dreams, Andrew resorted to making a lifestyle choice and stick to his monthly investments which were following his financial goals and asset allocation.

From there, Andrew continued to invest without stopping. He started with index funds and NPS. Once he gained confidence in investments he started investments in actively managed funds and individual stocks.

Small steps by Andrew helped him achieve his financial freedom.

It is absolutely important to grow your money so that you can retire like a king or queen while still being able to enjoy hobbies, vacations, or whatever else you desire.

Analyse your existing financial situation

Many understand the significance of honest self-evaluation. This concept is also useful when it comes to financial planning. To begin with, you can examine your income, existing debts, and current investments. You can then plan the appropriate and subsequent steps for financial planning.

It may become difficult to assess your current assets and liabilities, as well as which investment avenues to pursue. Obtaining financial advice from a Registered Investment Advisor can assist you in achieving financial independence.

Identify your debts

Debts have to be analysed and dealt with carefully. Debt traps are the most common reason for people to lose their financial independence. If you have a debt that you can pay off, make sure you do so as soon as possible.

Before you embark on your journey to financial independence, make sure that you have paid off all of your debts. Creating and sticking to a financial plan is the most effective way to avoid debt. Some debts, such as student loans, may be necessary, and it is reasonable to consider them based on your budget.

Emergency fund is a saviour

Unexpected events in life such as job loss or medical emergencies, can be addressed with the assistance of an emergency fund. An emergency fund is essential for unwelcome rainy days such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

During an emergency, you should always have access to funds. One of the most important characteristics of emergency funds is their quick ability to be converted to cash (liquid). When choosing investment options for an emergency fund, make sure you don't sacrifice liquidity for a high return.

Start early

If you start saving early in life, you can avoid taking more risky bets. The compounding effect teaches us that saving a reasonable amount of money does not necessarily require a large sum of money. What you will need is the discipline to save regularly. The longer the period, the more fruitful the returns.

However, this should not deter anyone who has begun their investments in later periods of life. Investing has no age limit, but the sooner you begin, the more time you will have to accumulate wealth.

Managing your finances is one way to practice self-care. Mastering financial freedom will enable individual freedom.

(Nitin Mathur is CEO, Tavaga Advisory Services--a Robo Advisory platform)

(To receive our E-paper on whatsapp daily, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)

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Learn smart ways to save your money; here's how - Free Press Journal

BlueChip'sresearch shows that investors have changed the investments they are seeking, but not their appetite for investment. In 2020, BlueChip's customers came in greater numbers, intending to start their journey to financial independence.

The catastrophe of COVID-19 has affected economies differently, and most industries are grappling with it. Although, the investment market landscape has remained remarkably buoyant, as the pandemic is fuelling a greater need for global wealth preservation and growth.

With BlueChipFx, every individual can fulfil their financial dreams by having access to superb trading platforms. They built BlueChipFx to reach the pinnacle of financial success through a community of prominent and skilled traders as well as have multiple offerings, from managing Demat Accounts, offering trading platforms.

To make sure clients reach success in the financial market, BlueChipFx provides the best trading platforms and finest client support available 24 hours a day, as well as providing in-depth technical analytical support. It provides all these new market insights to the traders to support their next move. Keep up to date on the most traded instruments and markets with BlueChip's Daily Technical Analysis.

Maintaining high-security standards and tailoring trading conditions to each client are amongits priorities. It also helps Forex traders to develop the knowledge and skills they need to trade efficiently and responsibly. BlueChip has accelerated its growth plans and wants to use technology, data, and digitalization on developing solutions based on accurate data. It plans to focus on delivering cloud, on-premises, and hybrid solutions to drive outcomes defined and desired by customers.

About BlueChip Group of Companies

BlueChip Group of Companies is your one-stop, all in one service provider for real estate, banking assistance, and business setup. Our vision is to become the global leader and the best service provider for our clients with a mission to fulfil our clients' needs hassle-free!

Useful Links

Media contact: Gurmeet[emailprotected]+971-586508091

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1609607/BlueChip_Team.jpg

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BlueChip Investments: Fastest growing investment group in the region promising to stay ahead of time with assured returns - PRNewswire

Plend has raised 700,000 in a pre-seed equity funding round ahead of its planned launch into the peer-to-peer lending sector later this year.

The P2P consumer lending platform said the funding came from venture capital firms including Tomahawk VC Ascension and Haatch, alongside NBS Ventures, which is a part of Nationwide Building Societys Incubator.

Plend will specialise in personal unsecured credit using open banking data to predict the affordability of a potential borrower over the lifetime of the loan.

The platform said it will assess creditworthiness in a fairer way, to tackle the problem that 13 million people in the UK are held back by a lack of affordable credit.

Read more: Plend co-founder changes job title ahead of four new hires

Were on a mission to personalise credit scoring and create a fairer way to assess creditworthiness, said Robert Pasco (pictured right), co-founder and chief executive of Plend.

By making smarter lending decisions based on a persons actual behaviour and current financial position, we will be giving financial independence to millions of people currently excluded from life-changing loans.

Im one of the 13 million and I have a deeply personal experience with the blunt instrument that is our current outdated and odious credit scoring system. This investment is a big step towards creating a world where everyone is treated fairly and can access affordable finance.

Read more: Plend mulls IFISA and SIPP ahead of July launch

Financial wellbeing is crucial to living a happy and healthy life, said James Pursaill (pictured left), co-founder and chief technology officer at Plend.

Whether youre young or retired, returning expat or immigrant, unbanked or just trying to make ends meet, were determined to better understand your financial situation and offer a more affordable loan so you can get on and do more with your life.

Were also excited to be building a community of retail investors who want their money to have an impact and make a real difference to peoples lives.

In June, it emerged that Crowdcubes co-founder and chief marketing officer Luke Lang was joining Plend and last month the platform revealed that it is making four appointments from September onwards for data science, marketing and compliance roles.

Inan exclusive interview withPeer2Peer Finance Newsin May, Pasco and Pursaill highlighted the social and ethical ambitions of the business.

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Plend raises 700000 in equity funding round ahead of P2P launch - P2P Finance News

El Salvadors Bitcoin legal tender bill passes into law on Tuesday, September 7, despite objections from locals who appear to be against its implementation.

Nonetheless, soon after the Congressional vote in June, President Bukele said the law would pass, and nothing will stop it from happening.

I dont see this being stopped, this is going forward every day. Were just going to announce a lot of interesting things thats going to move the project even forward

To mark the occasion and pump the BTC price, the r/Bitcoin subReddit will initiate a mass Bitcoin buy at the time the law passes.

The idea is also gathering support in a Brazilian subReddit as well, adding to the strength of the movement. Brazil gained independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822, making tomorrow an ideal date to show solidarity with El Salvador.

Echoing shades of the WallStreetBets saga earlier this year, Reddit becomes the focal point once again for a coordinated market move.

Back then, GameStop and AMC became a battleground for amateur traders sounding off their discontent with short-sellers, and the financial system in general, by pumping the aforementioned stocks.

This spilled over to crypto, with many attributing Dogecoins all-time high of $0.74 directly to the uprising.

This time around, in the hopes of replicating the buying frenzy, r/Bitcoin, which has 3.3 million members, is building steam with the idea that everyone buys $30 of Bitcoin at 5 pm Central Time on September 7 the time El Salvadors Bitcoin bill passes into law.

@nakamoneys tweet on this has so far garnered over eleven thousand likes, almost three thousand retweets, and had over four hundred comments.

BREAKING:At the same time El Salvadors #bitcoin bill will become law, at 3pm September 7th, a huge Brazilian Reddit community, with more than 3 million members, will buy $30 in #bitcoin each, remembering that Sep 7th is Brazils independence Day. More and more users are joining.

Whether this has the same impact as WallStreetBets remains to be seen. But either way, as President Bukele stated, nothing will stop the Bitcoin law from passing, marking September 7 as a historical day regardless.

Critics have argued that this event is market manipulation of the highest order. And, if pulled off successfully, as in the case of GameStop, it forces a major disconnect between price/valuation and fundamentals.

@nakamoney countered this by saying such a movement is better described as supporting the financial independence of citizens in developing nations.

Sunday saw Bitcoin break $50,000 and close the day well above at $51,700. While the accompanying volume was not convincing, it still marks a 16 week high for the leading cryptocurrency.

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Reddit community to buy $30 in Bitcoin in show of solidarity with El Salvador and Brazil - CryptoSlate

Islam provides women with education rights, financial independence, unilateral divorce, and guarantees their dignity, and the Taliban should follow these principles if they are sincere.

After the culmination of the United States' longest war, Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15. As a result, Biden faced the Saigon moment with diplomats being airlifted out of the US Embassy while many Afghans were likewise desperate to escape the country. On the other side, the Taliban tried to project a more tolerant attitude, unlike during their previous rule between 1996 and 2001.

To strike a moderate tone, the Taliban vowed to respect women within the framework of Islamic law. During their past governance, women had been suspended from work and girls were banned from school. Gender apartheid was codified. Naturally, people have had their reservations concerning recent promises given such a background.

But what does within the framework of Islamic law mean exactly?

Initial thoughts will likely revolve around modern-day patriarchal heaven that would not go amiss in a Hollywood movie. Regrettably, this comes from a lack of nuance and misunderstanding of the relationship between Islam and women.

From a religious perspective, the Prophet Muhammed says, "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." Today, 3.7 million children in Afghanistan are out of school, and 60 percent of them are girls. Moreover, while both partners should be free to ask for a divorce, the man-favoured system impedes Afghan women from exercising that right. The Quran also teaches that a woman has a right to work and keep her earnings. Still, the number of working women in Afghanistan for 2019 is 22 percent. Furthermore, the World Health Organization reveals that almost 90 percent of the women in the country were exposed to at least one form of violence. What happened to paradise lies under the feet of mothers''?

This hypocrisy and the colonialist interference in the region have led to Mortons fork situation for the women. When the Taliban talks about religious rules, the world seamlessly accepts their Islamic narrative. Subsequently, the image of an abandoned and to-be-protected Muslim woman conveniently remerges. As she is now in danger, her only salvation became another holier-than-thou.

The European Parliament stated that "For Afghan women and girls, this means systemic and brutal oppression in all aspects of life." Meanwhile, Greece completed its 40-km fence border with Turkey to prevent a possible migration wave. And Estonia, for its part, is ready to accept a whopping30 Afghan refugees.

Between the devil and the deep blue sea

In a similar vein, former US President George Bush criticized Joe Biden for the withdrawal, remarking that Afghan women and girls could "suffer unspeakably hard at the hands of the Taliban." That is ironic, keeping in mind his "war on terror" that killed more than 47,000 Afghan civilians (including women). Twenty years back, then-first lady Laura Bush said in a radio address that "the fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women." Fast forward to now and there are bodies falling from planes trying to flee Kabul and Afghan women are at the bottom of the global gender gap report.

Now comes the White Feminism issue. In her recent book 'Against White Feminism,' Rafia Zakaria, an attorney and author, defines a White feminist as someone who "refuses to consider the role that whiteness and the racial privilege attached to it have played and continue to play in universalizing white feminist concerns, agendas, and beliefs as being those of all feminism and all feminists." At some point, the perception of a needy woman becomes more important than the womans existence at all.

Bringing this back to the region, the Taliban has emphasized that women would be expected to wear the hijab but not the burka. But that is not merely a religious symbol. Nima Naghibi, Associate Professor at Ryerson University, points out that the Western sees the veil as a barrier and way to the heart of the Orient. Indeed, Oriental men accept the veil as a national and cultural honor. Correspondingly, Deniz Kandiyoti, Professor at the SOAS University of London, says that conservative beliefs, shaped in the atmosphere of colonization, is the only way to resist foreign occupation and to preserve traditions. On that line of thought, "a woman's possible liberation" is perceived as an attack on the family.

Ultimately, Afghan women become victims that have to be rescued by people with white saviour complexes. Conversely, as the Taliban spokesperson said, "These are not our rules; these are Islamic rules," saying it is "for their security." Both sides benefit; the West has someone to save, and the Taliban someone to protect. Leila Ahmed, Professor at the Harvard Divinity School, explains that in such situations, women, stuck between their pious/nationalist identity and the Wests idea of women, have to choose "between betrayal and betrayal."

In the end, Islam itself provides women with education rights, financial independence, unilateral divorce, and guarantees their dignity. These principles are at the heart of Islamic rights and should guide the Taliban if they are sincere.

Aristoteles says, to hold womens subjugation is a natural and social necessity. On the same line, the world still favours preserving that image. Hopefully, all the chaos could be a chance for the West and Taliban to reconsider their positions on Afghan women.

Source: TRT World

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Can the Taliban 'really' give the Afghan woman her Islamic rights? - TRT World

Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos, may claim that intimate partner abuse ... [+] contributed to her behavior at the company. (Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Jury selection was completed last week in the trial of Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes. Federal prosecutors have charged Holmes with fraud relating to the blood-testing startup.Holmes and Theranos former COO and president, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani claimed their technology could test for dozens of health conditions with a single finger prick of blood. Federal investigators and a Wall Street Journal reporter discovered it couldnt, and now Holmes and Balwani are facing charges for defrauding investors, doctors and patients.

In unsealed court documents, attorneys for Elizabeth Holmes wrote, For over a decade, Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani had an abusive intimate-partner relationship, in which Mr. Balwani exercised psychological, emotional and [redacted] over Ms. Holmes. They continue, This pattern of abuse and coercive control continued over the approximately decade-long duration of Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwanis relationship, including during the period of charged conspiracies.

As a result of these allegations, theres speculation that Holmes defense will suggest that intimate partner abuse contributed to her actions at work.Although many think of domestic violence as a personal issue, it can result in significant repercussions for physical and mental health that impacts work life too. For example, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that victims of domestic violence lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the U.S., resulting in a $1.8 billion loss in productivity for employers. When you add in the costs of medical care, the cost of domestic abuse rises to a whopping $5.8 billion per year.

California State University Professor Emeritus Mindy Mechanic is serving as an expert on intimate partner abuse in Holmes trial.Naturally, Mechanic cannot speak about Holmes case, but she did offer to share her knowledge about the different ways that domestic violence can play out at work.

What Is Intimate Partner Abuse?

Although most of us likely think of physical violence when we hear about intimate partner abuse, Mechanic says its really about control.She points out that physical violence is just one of four abusive tactics adopted to control victims.The most common tactic is emotional and psychological abuse which, according to Mechanic, includes behaviors like name-calling and verbal abuse; gaslighting; undermining someones self-esteem; isolating victims from friends, family and sources of support; restricting access to other resources including finances; controlling who they see, what they do, what they read, what they watch and what they listen to.

Sexual assault and coercion, and stalking and harassment are the other two primary strategies employed by abusers.Although these four strategies may seem like they have little overlap, Mechanic says they share a common thread.The underlying goal of a perpetrator in these kinds of cases is to keep their partner controlledto get their partner to do what they want them to do, she says.

Most victims report experiencing a variety of these abusive tactics.One study that followed women experiencing intimate partner violence found on the majority of days (62%), no abuse occurred; on 27% of days, the women suffered psychological abuse alone and on 6% of days, victims experienced both psychological and physical violence.

Repercussions Of Partner Abuse At Work

Suffering this type of abuse at home would naturally have repercussions in the workplace.If somebody is being harmed and threatened, they are living in a state of fear, looking behind their back, looking over their shoulder, always wondering whats going to happen. People who have suffered intimate partner abuse or violence can suffer PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), they can suffer depression, they can suffer anxiety, they can suffer panic attacks, they can cope maladaptively by using substances to try to quell their anxiety or self-medicate for depression, says Mechanic. In addition to mental health issues that may impact job performance,victims may also miss work due to doctors visits or because they dont want to show up at work with bruises or a black eye.These could all add up to productivity losses as well.

Although many abuse victims suffer symptoms consistent with PTSD, Mechanic points out that PTSD often doesnt fully capture the victims experience.PTSD assumes that the traumatic event is in the past, and for many victims, the real threat of abuse continues while they are experiencing symptoms consistent with PTSD.This makes abuse victims experience with PTSD unique. Mechanic suggests that a different name for the disorder (peri-traumatic instead of post-traumatic) might better capture the victims experience and help clinicians target coping strategies to meet the unique needs of abuse victims.

Mental health issues arent the only problem victims face at work.Abusers can also directly interfere with a victims ability to do their job. Mechanic says they might try to sabotage the partners career by losing the victims keys so that when its time to go to work, theyre stuck at home. Abusers may show up at the victims job or place tracking devices in their car, their phone or laptop to monitor if the partner is where theyd said they would be.If the abuser is also a work colleague, they can track and control even more activities like their partners meetings and lunch plans.

While the workplace can be a source of additional stress, Mechanic points out that it can also be a place of salvation and refuge.There are a lot of ways that having a job can be a life raft both emotionally and physically helping women get out of abusive relationships, Mechanic says.The workplace can provide physical safety and emotional safety which is absent in the victims home life.A job can also help the victim regain self-esteem and achieve the financial independence necessary to escape the abusive relationship.

Victims of abuse faced even more challenges when stay-at-home orders, intended to reduce the spread of Covid-19 left many victims trapped at home with their abusers. Even since stay-at-home orders have expired, work from home has become standard for many employees. When people are together 24/7, there is no escape from abuse that might ordinarily be provided by one or both individuals leaving to attend school or employment, Mechanic says. With more exposure, there is greater opportunity for abuse to be transacted, she adds.

Organizations Can Provide Training

Given the prevalence of domestic abuse, some organizations are stepping up to train their employees on how to spot it. Without training,a domestic violence victims struggles may go unnoticed by coworkers. Educating coworkers to look for signs of abuse (a coworkers partner who shows up at work frequently or sits waiting in the parking lot, an employee who wears long sleeves in warm weather, a colleague bombarded with calls from home) is a critical first step. Once domestic abuse is suspected, then a trained manager can talk to the employee.Some organizations also offer options such as relocation plans for victims.An additional benefit of these programs is they help victims realize that their workplace is safe and that they have options to escape the abuse.

With regard to Elizabeth Holmes, we have yet to find out if and how she will be presenting her alleged experience with domestic abuse at work.If she does discuss her experience, it will help raise awareness of this serious issue faced by millions of victims.

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Elizabeth Holmes And How Partner Abuse Can Impact Work Behavior - Forbes