everyone has their own unique views and needs when it comes to financial success if you'd like to leave your financial woes behind and live a life of Financial Freedom you've come to the right place Welcome To Die saving with Steve show hosted by Steve Sexton the show will help you with the ins and outs of money we talked about financial issues that could be costing you thousands of dollars and keeping you up at night we talked about money tax reduction saving more spending less 401K risk management retirement and everything under the sun that relates to you having a healthier happy relationship with money now here is your host of saving with Steve Steve Sexton<br> blue welcome to the saving with Steve show where we talked about the ins-and-outs of money pretty much everything on the sun related to you having a happier or healthier relationship with money my name is Steve sex and I want to thank you for joining us today I would appreciate you all for sharing this with your friends and family are well over 600,000 listeners here in the United States and our overseas audience just keep growing and growing we've got a wonderful show for you but last week we had Jonathan's row to the area manager for Synergy One Lending you walk us through what happened earlier in the year 2022 would happen through the end of the year when mortgage rates went up what's going on at the environment the holeshot you're really want to go check out that episode in if you do just go to the saving with Steve. Us that's the same thing with Steve. Us website for more information show guest guest and so on on top of that you can still get in contact with this to take a look at Ardis<br> a gift and get those special discount for Breeze at wonderful place to go for cookies and treats and stuff like that again you'll get it sitting with Steve discount 2020 just want to go to the resource page is there today on the re talking about 2023 Wellness goals one of the big things is occurring right now is what's going on with the economics and today I'll be talking about 2023 Financial waluszko I just want to set this up properly incomes are stagnating middle-class jobs are disappearing economic growth is slowing and the meteor games are mostly going to those who are already wealthy more Americans than ever are frustrated by the direction in which we are headed we have our wonderful gas-powered Yaris who is the author of the book understandable economically the goal is to replace the frustration with practical understanding of our economy and Empower ears to identify and advocate for better approach is her problem<br> they fix this is a wonderful book you want to go check it out as a 4.9 star rating at Amazon you don't get 4.9 star ratings with an economic book it's really very important is how it's going to be talking to us about is our national debt a threat going to be talking to us about do tax cuts for wealthy create jobs or did they just build more inequality one of the big questions that our readers really wanted they have answers is could alternative currencies like Bitcoin actually placed a dollar so we're going to be talked about those things and more I want to introduce you to Howard yards is Howard welcome to the show thank you so much great to be here I'm actually very excited for you to be here now for those who don't know how are yours is an economically Professor attorney business attacked miss you greatly enjoys explaining complex issues in a clear interesting and easy accessible way he has taught of writing courses on economics and business currently teaches at New York University he proves<br> is there a such as an Executive Vice President and general counsel for the rating group they are the largest Grandeur of debt in the world and he also serves on a numerous boards he's an advocate for safer streets help the homeless and supports the Arts powered we're really glad to have you this understandable economically and understanding are commies a lot easier than a lot of people think is I talk to people everyday is just don't get it it's one of those things where they don't understand what's going on I'd like to start with and the biggest question that everybody wants to know from our lives nurses<br> they see the national debt is in 30 + trillions of dollars and they want understand hate is that a threat so I just wonder if you could just start right there didn't understand or I can Alex is I can't get my head around the difference between 10 trillion and 22 and 30 trillion it all sounds like an inconceivably large number to me so what I do in the book is I break it down on a per-person basis and pearl merican is $68,000 I know exactly what $68,000 it I can get my head around it I can decide if it's too much or too little now is it too much your opinion a different from mine or I can point out is that almost everyone who went to medical school almost everyone who start a business and almost everyone bought a home has it that even larger than that I think it comes down to is that money being wasted are we just pushing expenses on to<br> children that we don't feel like pain or are we using it to invest in roads in education it's going to pay off big-time down the road it's like any debt is a question of what you're doing with it with if you took $68,000 out to go to medical school no one would stay away so they took $68,000 a day to feed a drug addiction or didn't go on some exciting vacation yeah it's wasteful some of the question is what are we doing for the money<br> dad said we can each have our own opinion as to what what what the government's been doing but the point is it all comes down to what we're doing with the money if we're investing it wisely and Roads and infrastructure and education yacht Basin if not no it doesn't make sense so that's that's that's how I look at it on a per-person basis also the debts it cost each American roughly $1,050 a year to pay the interest on that debt<br> is that a bankruptcy inducing existential crisis not really it's a fair amount of money but it's not the bankruptcy inducing an existential crisis that a lot of politicians who are in favor of cutting spending would make it out to be the point that I like to make in the book in that I like to make when I speak about this is it comes down to what the money is being spent on if it's being something changed our current estimated has a 13% Roi return-on-investment that's a no-brainer but just pushing are the expenses for programs on to their children that doesn't know comes down to what we're spending the money cuz Dad is a tool of use property people have become very wealthy but in the same token sometimes there is frivolous spending and you know what everybody we can we can go down that chance and but we won't so you really have to take a look at what you said is what is it being used for<br> right now so that's really the issue that we have to focus on not necessarily the amount is inconceivable I stowed in the book of speaking to a congressperson who was saying something was 10 billion and then someone asks you about it and they weren't sure if it was 10 billion or 10 or 10 million that's like forgetting where your sandwich at lunch cost $10 or $10,000 it's the same order of magnitude is very hard to even the people who control the purse strings to understand the magnitude that's why I like to think of it on a American base as of recently seen all the cryptocurrency stop with the FTX and all that stuff some people are saying cryptocurrencies on his way out some people are still feeling it take a currency that could replace the dollar they see trying to have a new crypto<br> the question comes could alternative currencies like Bitcoin actually replace the dollar<br> I don't like giving definitive answers the whole goal of the book is to educate people so they can reach their own conclusions and I'm going to break my rule and say I don't see how that can possibly be with regard to the US dollar we know exactly what the rules are we know who's controlling it we know who who oversees them we know who appoints them who who is in charge of course I don't know I no one seems to know the point is that they're concerned me be an increase in the number of Bitcoin or there are some other problem with the queen I know they say it can't happen where is the recourse if it happens who you going to do are you going to contact the one knows so this is something that's completely made up at the beginning it seemed to be like digital goal like cyberspace goal at least has some purpose is used it in some<br> applications and of course it's used in jewelry what is bitcoin used for ransoms and murders is it just it doesn't seem to have any purpose to my feeling is not Bitcoin in the end the cryptocurrencies in general a remarkable run and everyone that has a proclivity or an interest in investing in this has already investing invested in it there's a great anecdote and understandable economics when JFK's the president's father was getting his shoe shine right in 1929 and the shoeshine boy and was a boy I gave him a stock tip he went back to his office I don't know if this is apocryphal but he said if the shoe shine boy is investing in the stock market every last penny was already in the market and it can only go one way in my personal opinion that's where we are with cryptocurrencies today<br> but it's so interesting you say that because over the last three years I've dealt with a lot of people with her tax reduction of other things but there is one gentleman who went hey I just bought this at $20,000 and he's all excited when up to 60 Alaska you bought more at 40 and it's 15 he's like all this is great great great great great great and you know I just talked to him a month ago oh yeah and what he actually contributed to it and all that so it's not that exciting anymore I think it's important for people to understand what's going on their customers of Bernard Madoff for many years we agree with that because there's no Foundation there what's going to happen but in the same token people buy into this enthusiasm that's going there and you get too many Talking Heads and it gets all excited and stuff like that<br> and pretty soon everybody is promoting something that doesn't have a foundation and that's Bitcoin to me it's it's a big gigantic Ponzi and every time somebody keeps asking me this guy's got all this money until I go I hope he doesn't honestly no one person who bought into Bitcoin when it was a hundred bucks a piece you left his job he left with like 30 million dollars and he does know I'm out of Bitcoin and say congratulations you're the only one I was just like very shocked he's very well-off and his game is someone else's lost staying in some kind of stocking on the New York Stock Exchange where they create profits and create value if there hopefully it's a really interesting question I'm glad you're actually saying that because one we're going to have to take a break right now so you I want to talk about a little bit more so everybody stick with this will be right back with more Howard<br> she's got a wonderful book called understandably economically makes it easier for every understand what's going on you can get it on Amazon got a wonderful rating so stick with this word of me right back<br>more expert advice for having a happier relationship with money still to come on the saving with Steve show<br> don't let your financial woes keep you up at night and prevent you from living a life of Financial and personal freedom hi I'm Steve Sexton post of the saving with Steve show we're going to be talking about the ins-and-outs of money does Financial issues it could be costing me thousands of dollars causing stress keeping you up at night we're going to talk about money tax reduction saving more spending on your investment risk management retirement and everything is so sweet with you having a healthier happy relationship with money soon as you've ever dreamed of living a life of Financial and personal freedom you owe it to yourself and your family to tune in to the saving with Steve show join me Steve Sexton on a saving with Steve show as we talked about everything under the sun when it comes to money to learn more about the show visit saving with<br> Steve. Us that saving was Steve. Us saving with Steve. Us will see you soon<br> welcome back to the show that is here to help you achieve your financial goals it's the saving with Steve show now here's your host Steve Sexton<br>hello welcome back to the shaving with Steve shovel were talking about ins-and-outs of money pretty much everything under the sun or they see you having a happier healthy relationship with money I want to truly thank you for tuning in and letting your friends and family and Associates know about the show all the replays are available at stadium with Steve. Us if you enjoy the stories of helpful information and insights I'm stating with Steve I encourage you to go to YouTube signed the register there so you never miss the show please check out a few of our Affiliates at UK help radio DBS Radio talk radio New York City e360 TV last these TV network all these networks are dedicated to empowering you to solve problems uplift your spirit and live a life of personal financial Freedom you can always you go to the stadium with Steve sex and Facebook page and let's get back to you with how our yard is hard welcome back to the show we're glad you're here I want to start we've been talking about Neo Bitcoin and all that but one of the biggest questions that we've got when we pulled our listeners<br> is do tax cuts for the wealthy create jobs or just crave more inequity that sounds perfect question to show what the benefit of understanding economics can be this is the point of making the book it doesn't require specialized knowledge it just requires Common Sense let's work through this so you give a text to wealthy person wealthy person that has enough money to meet all their needs what do they do with it they say they don't spend it they just put it in their savings account or buy a stock they don't spend it into the economy what happens when you get a tax cut or two and middle-income or lower-middle-income person or a poor person they spend it almost immediately and packed up or they are the more likely they are to spend it quickly what happens when they spend that money into the economy isn't this do better businesses grow there's more demand for goods and services and what do businesses do<br> there's more demand for goods and services they expand there are more people that put more people on the payroll and then there's a whole nother round of spending as a result of that increased economic activity this does not require specialized economic nod it just requires slowly thinking through what the effects of these two alternatives are it so clearly if you give a tax cut to middle or lower and middle-income people or lower-income people is going to be spent in the economy resulting in a much more immediate benefit to economic growth and job growth take a tax increase for people who make more money what it what does that mean<br> well if you think about it it's it's the same logic if you increase taxes on lower-income people they're going to cut back on their spending in fact I'll probably cut back on the spending their spending by the exact amount of the tax increase because people on the lower end of the economic spectrum 10 to spend all the money they earn if you increase taxes on the wealthy they're much less likely to cut back on their spending of someone's running several hundred thousand dollars a year and their taxes go up by several thousand dollars a year they're probably not going to change their lifestyle $30,000 a year and their taxes go up a couple thousand dollars a year they are very likely to change their lifestyle resulting in less than nothing and less income as the point that's made in the book in that all the time of a snake and it's made any come one is spending it was the income without spending you can't have income so the economy relies on spending and bye bye cutting back on spending on<br> buy lower-income people and middle-income people you're coming back on a I love that because it's a reality check we've heard the politicians go back and forth in with their talking points and everything it when you just listen to what you said you can see the lack of logic that they have when they make their points and it's really about inciting somebody I'll play Devil's Advocate they will say well where is the money to invest going to come from I getting tax cuts for the wealthy there's more money for investment and my retorted that is if businesses are not expanding if consumers are buying things what business is going to borrow money or seek money from a wealthy person to expand on the other hand if the average person spend more money and there's a greater demand for the business is good they'll find the money to invest that money will somehow turn up the money if a business is growing if they need money to produce more goods and services if the demands their the investment money will follow one of the other questions that we're coming up<br> with is why does they call me regularly turn down and how can we get it back on track we see two years of inflation actually no there inflation report showed the only things that went down where used cars and trucks in oil and gas everything else went up from an engineering standpoint we see Landings down by 30% obviously we're working towards a downturn why do these come and how do we get out of it to this beach crypto story on a mass scale we were talking about crypto before we were saying it was all there was a lot of enthusiasm and then everyone who potentially investing in crypto and death the increase in the price starts to slow down and impact stagnate and that's when people start saying maybe it's time to sell and once you start selling and they start seeing like the roller coaster coming more and more want to sell in the more who want to sell this in other words is the Rushford for the exit it's the same thing<br> the economy and economy grows and grows and then it's settled reaches a Tipping Point in and goes back this is the ebb and flow of the economy it's been happening for centuries fortunately it's not as volatile as it was before we had the Federal Reserve what is the Federal Reserve when the economy turn down it makes money cheaper to get people spinning again there's this ebb and flow of the economy at the point that I always making the courses overall trend is up it goes in vacillates up and down but on average it goes up over time which is a great thing because for most of human history people live the point of making the book is how you made a shoe in ancient Rome how you made it a shoe in the medieval. How you made a shoo-in in the Renaissance was all the same a cobbler sat there with the same tools it's only since the Industrial Revolution in the last couple hundred years that we we<br> and it's awesome productivity in ya again it kind of goes up and down almost all of us are so much better off for it let's help everybody understand why it's that has been raising interest rates we say it's inflation what's really going on there what's the cause of all that I mean I talked to an 83 year-old lady to this morning and she's like I just don't understand what's going on something that's not as complicated as a lot of people make it out to be particularly Economist what is inflation there's a certain amount of spending in the economy and there's a certain amount of stuff and if the amount of spending increases faster than the amount of stock prices go up if the amount of spending increases more slowly than the amount of stuff you get deflation and if the amount of spending growth is it the same rate as the amount of stuff is going you get stable prices it's that simple there's literally nothing more to it in fact that Congress had this line inflation is too much money<br> chasing too few goods so that's it in a nutshell and what have we seen in the last couple years we saw an increase in the amount of spending to provide a reason that we've also seen a real problem with producing goods and services why the coronavirus pandemic obviously there's the war in Ukraine and Supply chains have been normal so that ratio between spending and stuff. Messed up a bit meaning that we have more spending them than the increase in spending was greater than the increasing stuff causing inflation and it it's coming back into line I will go out on a limb for a second time I think we're going to see inflation debating fairly soon when you say next time answer I think we're talking months definitely not yours okay good good good to know that's it you know what I think is very intime I'm going to say this I appreciate the the economics lesson<br> made it real simple and it was like you know you walking into the ice cream shop is that simple so I appreciate that very very much of the book is to take all of many of these economic Concepts and really try to make them understandable for most people this is wonderful so people can get your book in Amazon where I can get any major bookstore or online shop would have the book Kindle hard copy audiobook we have it all you're going to want to read this and I'll make a big difference especially if you're looking to understand what's going on with the economy and the nice thing about it is you won't fall asleep in 15 minutes because it's somebody for Mika nomics it's actually a fun little book to read you'll have great stories parade analogies so you want to go check it out and it's called understandably can Dominic's and it says because understanding or economics is easier than you think and more important than you know by Howard yards Howard I want to thank you again for being here just the exact<br> samples of explanation you were provided maybe even easier for me to understand which thank you so much I was great to be here thank you and I hope you have a wonderful New Year to you too thanks a lot everybody stick with this word of me right back<br>more expert advice for having a happier relationship with money still to come on the saving with Steve show<br> don't let your financial woes keep you up at night and prevent you from living a life of Financial and personal freedom hi I'm Steve Sexton post of the saving with Steve show where did he talk about the ins-and-outs of money those financial issues that could be costing me thousands of dollars causing stress keeping you up at night we're going to talk about money tax reduction saving more spending on your investment risk management retirement and everything is so sweet with you having a healthier happy relationship with money soon as you've ever dreamed of living a life of Financial and personal freedom you owe it to yourself and your family to tune in to the saving with Steve show join me Steve section of the saving with Steve show as we talked about everything under the sun when it comes to money to learn more about the show visit saving with<br> Steve. Us that's saving with Steve. Us saving with Steve. Us will see you soon<br> welcome back to the show that is here to help you achieve your financial goals it's the saving with Steve show now here's your host Steve Sexton<br> welcome back to show the shaving with Steve show where we talked about the ins-and-outs of money just had Howard Yaris here he's the author of understandable economically want to check out that book check out that segment as well next time to be talking about 2023 Financial Wellness gold couple things here first one increase your savings by 1% in 2023 1% isn't very much you're probably won't even affect but according to Vanguard when you're looking at a meeting contribution to an employee's Define penitent man which is using 6% increase your contributions by 1% and play me tens of thousands of dollars more in your entire account when you're ready to retire for a person who makes $100,000 a year the difference between a 6 and a 7% contribution rate over 30 years would be about $70,000 so think of that<br> every year you move on increase it by 1% cuz if you do you're going to be putting so much more into retirement fund in the reality is when your dollar cost averaging it's all about accumulation if you can accumulate 1% more each and every year you're going to have the option to retire so much sooner so make sure that's part of your Wellness go second save an extra fifty bucks a month saving is a habit the more you save the better you get at and like most things in life you need to stretch yourself now and every now and then to get even better at it this month trying to pay $50 more than usual it may not sound like a lot but it does a couple things first it provided you a stretch goal that you can work for his meeting if you can save an additional $50 of January a month like a holiday Bill start arriving and can help build your financial covenants even more next had your savings this is particularly important when unexpected<br> what does emergency arise like our parents health emergency the roof leaks because it's January February it's raining it should give you that a little extra so you don't have to dip into the credit cards and number three when it comes to Wellness pay off your smallest dead as soon as possible in fact it makes sense to start listing all your gifts all the way from the smallest little credit card to the big mortgage that you have or the college ones that you got to pay offs list them all what's the minimum payment what is the payment date in his much as you can in that first one while making all the minimum payments on the other once you done with that one take the money you're paying on that added to the second one create a big snowball going here and get your debt paid off cuz you know what it's always better to earn interest been paying interest right heck yeah because that makes life easier retirement easier when you have emergencies or easier for I want to thank you for joining us here on saving with Steve<br> appreciate you sharing this with your friends and family and you know what we're going to look forward to seeing you next time right here on saving with Steve have a nice day see you later bye bye<br> thank you for joining us for the saving with Steve show hosted by Steve Sexton to learn more about the show and how to become a guest or sponsor visit saving with Steve. Us that saving with Steve. Us join us again next time as we continue to talk about everything under the sun that relates to you having a healthier happier relationship with money this has been the saving with Steve show hosted by Steve Sexton<br>