WEBVTT - Coronavirus pt II; The magic of RSUs; Target Commercial Backlash 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:20.800 Yes, we're back, We're black, We're brown. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:25.400 And bitch yon I did a condensed version. 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:32.839 Hey Manja, Hey, have you survived coronavirus Gate twenty Are 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.800 you out there? I'm calling you from my bunker in 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:37.560 the suburbs. 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.440 First of all, a friend off I went to Costco yesterday. 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:41.480 She's like, you want to go? I was like sure. 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:45.560 It was midday, midday and people were buying water as if, 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:47.320 like you know, it was the end of the world. 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:48.280 I'm like, are you kidding me? 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.159 Oh, Pete, don't judge because that was me and my 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:56.080 mother at Sam's Club Saturday morning, so we made the mistake. 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:58.880 We talked about the coronavirus on last week's show, so 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.560 let's touch on that. Last week, which seems like a 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.440 long time ago in terms of coronavirus news, the market 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:07.119 with tanking like yea, and the headline for this show 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:09.440 is when the coronavirus comes for your four oh one 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:11.240 K And I wasn't kidding. My four oh one K 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.200 is down eight percent. Thank you very much coronavirus appreciate it. 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:16.840 And we talked a little bit about why the coronavirus 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.440 is moving the markets. Obviously, China was ground zero for 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.959 this virus and the spread of it. And there's tons 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:25.920 of US based companies and products from US based companies 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.400 that are made in China, and there's concern about like 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.720 even the iPhone, for example, having the parts that they 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.000 need to make the iPhone that everyone buys, and so 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:36.160 the economic impact could be really great. And then what 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:39.200 if people what if it gets in the US, What 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:41.039 if it's spread so much that people aren't able to 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:44.120 go to work anymore. So there are real implications. And 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.600 right now there is no cure, there's no vaccination, and 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:52.800 the US government maybe isn't the most reliable when it 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:55.560 comes to their response to this, or maybe investors don't 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.720 feel like there's a real strategy or plan in place 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:01.680 from the government right now at the federal level to 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:06.760 handle this type of pandemic, So investors get spooked. There's 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:09.520 not really a ton of confidence that will be able 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:12.239 to contain the virus, and you see the markets move 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:16.160 like they did last week, which, yeah, it can definitely 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.600 impact your investments. I don't know if you saw anything 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:21.800 from your portfolio or Tiffany, you were smart and didn't 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:25.160 look at all, which is probably I did a better response. 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:27.560 I lost like nine hundred bucks. But you know we've 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:29.960 also rallied. I need to last. 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:33.680 Time I checked them, only nine hundred, nine hundred bucks. Well, no, 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:35.920 well nine hundred bucks from my Robinhood. 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:37.560 Oh oh you kept robin Hood. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:37.880 Yes. 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:39.799 I didn't check like my bigger accounts. I was like, 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.040 you know, Robinhoods were buy my individual stocks for fun. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:43.880 And I was like, oh, I lost my hundred So 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.840 for context, that's about ten percent because I have about 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.520 nine thousand dollars in there, so you know, not. 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:52.919 A little bit of money. But I will say this that. 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:56.799 My my doctor, I was asking her, you know, she says, 0:02:56.840 --> 0:03:00.760 honestly that the coronavirus is not by name, you're deadly 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:05.120 that because what you're seeing is they're reporting every death. 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:08.440 But if they were to report every daily death due 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.440 to the flu, we'd also be equally as freaked down 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:14.400 that SARS. Remember when SARS was a big thing. She's like, 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.680 that was a deadly virus that was really dangerous, and 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.480 she was like Corona. Think about Corona. She was like 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:21.760 the way you would think about pneumonia. She said, Tiffany, 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:24.960 you're you know, you're relatively young, you're healthy. 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:26.640 If you were to get pneumonia. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.239 Now, will we be concerned, Yes, because ammonia is not 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.720 a good thing to get. But what I think Tiffany's 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.720 going to pass away, The likelihood is minimal because you're 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:37.520 not eighty years old. She's like, now, if your dad 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.720 got pneumonia, we'd be very concerned. 0:03:39.920 --> 0:03:40.640 So it's the. 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:44.320 Very young, the very old, and those with compromised immune 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:45.200 systems and so. 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.600 But they're reporting every single death, so it just seems 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:48.640 like another and another. 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.800 And the truth is people someone died today from tripping 0:03:51.840 --> 0:03:53.840 down the stairs, but they're not reporting that, you know 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:55.840 what I mean. So it's like putting into context that 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:58.440 less than two percent of people who contract the coronavirus 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:02.160 are actually passing away. It's that's relatively low. It's just 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:04.800 because right now that the media is fanning the flames 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.080 of fear because it's you know, it's good for business, 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:11.240 but it's not. She's like, it's not a deadly virus. 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.560 I mean, not something you want to get, but there 0:04:13.600 --> 0:04:17.800 are viruses that are way more deadly, and that she's like, 0:04:17.839 --> 0:04:19.000 I would be concerned about. 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.440 Yeah, And I've I've listened and read, listened to lots 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:26.920 of interviews and tried to read the most what's the 0:04:26.960 --> 0:04:29.680 opposite of fanning the flames and like the opposite of alarmists, 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:33.760 just really like matter of fact researchers, healthcare reporters, people 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:35.800 who are genuinely not trying to cause a panic to 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.000 see what they have to say. And the fact is 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.480 it is deadlier than the flu in terms of like 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.000 the rate of people who are dying from the coronavirus, 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:46.760 it's something like Tiffany' said around two percent versus the flu, 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:49.680 which is zero point one percent. But obviously the flu 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.360 is a lot more widespread. People are just concerned because 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.520 there's not a vaccine for it, and it's you know, 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:57.200 people don't really show symptoms. You can be walking or 0:04:57.200 --> 0:04:59.560 may not have serious symptoms. It could be mild like 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:03.000 you have a or you know, like a mild flu, 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.040 and you may not know it's a coronavirus. And in 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:09.080 some states there's not like enough tests right now to 0:05:09.160 --> 0:05:13.280 figure out like a diagnosis, and it's just very early stages. 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.480 But largely what the experts have been saying. Obviously you're 0:05:16.480 --> 0:05:18.599 not going to get your like health care and science 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:20.960 news from brown ambition, but I will just say, like 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:23.000 based on what I've heard. The best thing you can 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.800 do is wash your hands. It's very basic advice. Wash 0:05:25.839 --> 0:05:28.320 your hands, use your hand sanitizer. Don't touch your face, 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.120 don't shake hands with people if you don't have to. 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:33.760 You know, a good old fashioned fist bump or elbow 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.279 bump or just like a nice nod and a you know, 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.680 a little wink that that'll do it. Just really good hygiene. 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:42.320 Don't go up and buy surgical masks. You probably can't 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.120 even find them anyway because they're all sold out. And 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.160 healthcare workers or if you're caring for someone who's sick, 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:51.120 those are important to have masks, But for the general 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:54.839 healthy population, it's not really gonna potentially protect you to 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.120 wear those masks. And if you're like me and you 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.760 have the option to work remotely, consider it, especially if 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.400 you're in a like for example, in my county, there's 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:07.640 confirmed case and I am really seriously considering not commuting 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:10.159 because I don't necessarily have to, and is it worth 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:13.479 the risk to commute, And it's not even about it 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:15.000 could be the regular flu and I don't want to 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:18.359 bring that home to my to my baby. But in 0:06:18.440 --> 0:06:22.800 terms of like the impact to your finances, I'm trying 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.039 not to watch my four O one K. I'm on 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:27.400 the younger side, so of course most of my investments 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:29.680 are in the market because they say you have time 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.520 to bounce back from any downturns, and it's true, like 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:36.360 already the markets have recovered a little bit, and I 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.440 genuinely feel like I'm just gonna you know, Grin and Barrett, 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:42.400 I'm not making any I'm not making any changes. I 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:44.880 fully believe that eventually there will be a vaccine and 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:47.960 we'll get through this, just like we have swine flu 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:52.360 and West Nile and all other stuff. Blah yeah, bola. 0:06:52.520 --> 0:06:54.560 And but for those of you who are you know, 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.719 looking at your investments or your four O one k, 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.600 just you know, consult your financial advisor. That's an advisor 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.960 if you have one. But personally, I am trying to 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:08.200 just consider this another blip and keep my eye on 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:11.920 the prize, which is long term retirement growth and not 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.760 short term trading. So I'm staying the course. 0:07:16.080 --> 0:07:20.080 Honestly, what historical data shows that that after some of 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.960 the worst days of the stock market comes some of 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:26.080 the best days, like about two weeks later, within the 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:28.240 next two weeks, meaning that let's just say you have 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:29.880 like the we had like we and we did, we 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.320 had like some of the biggest drops since the recession. 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.280 But if you were to pull your money out during 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.960 the drop and then two weeks later, like we're rallying now, 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.720 you know, like the stock market is bouncing back, now 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:45.600 your money is now out, so you cannot You've already 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:48.600 experienced the loss, but now you can't experience the gain. 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:51.120 So that's why they tell you, really it's best, quite honestly, 0:07:51.160 --> 0:07:54.240 to relax. And the truth is, like my mom called me, oh, 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:56.840 should I mean my money? I'm like, no, should I 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:59.400 sull No? I was like, mommy, you are in retirement 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:04.760 and your strategy should be such that you should be 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:08.560 invested conservatively, so based upon your age. So my dad 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.640 is seventy five, so he shouldn't have seventy five percent 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.320 of his money in the market anyway. So if he 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.920 has like the ideal, which would be about twenty five 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:20.440 percent in the market and then seventy five percent in 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.640 like bonds and more conservative investments, there's. 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:27.560 Nothing to move. You're already balanced in your investment. So yeah. 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:30.240 So basically, just reiterating what Mandy is saying is that 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:33.560 the key is that you do the work beforehand for 0:08:33.679 --> 0:08:37.040 things like this, which is to have your investment balance, 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:39.640 which the rule of thumb is that you take your 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:43.000 age in bonds. So I am forty, I should be 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.240 forty percent in bonds, sixty percent in stocks. And when 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.320 I'm fifty, I should be fifty percent in bonds fifty 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.240 percent in stocks. But do you see like so yeah, 0:08:50.320 --> 0:08:51.880 I say all that to say like, not you know, 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.320 not jumping in and out, like unless you're trading, like 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:56.920 like our friend Tila, she trades, so she's looking at 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:00.760 the market differently. But for long term investing that you know, 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:02.640 you don't have to run and jump and there's always 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:03.320 going to be something. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:05.640 Yeah, And that's why I'm still gonna be a fan 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:07.880 of that target date fund. One think about my age. 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.080 I'm just like that twenty fifty five fun will just 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:13.040 take care of me and you know, recalibrate as I 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:15.600 get older. But it is smart at least once a 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:17.719 year to look at your investments if you're not in 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:20.959 a target date fund, and you know, consulting an expert 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:24.320 investment advisor to make sure that you're properly balanced and 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:26.800 you're not taking on more risk. Than as appropriate for 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.280 your age and your your timeline. But it's so much 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.840 I mean, the you know, obviously you want you know, 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:34.800 my thoughts are with the families and impacted by this. 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.160 It's got to be really terrifying to be quarantine in 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:40.199 your house with this weird new virus. But in terms 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:43.160 of like the psychological impact to investors, it's always fascinating 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:46.120 to me just the conversations people have about their finances 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:49.600 around like the market downturns like this. I'm always just 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:51.480 like I'm like, oh, what type of people are going 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:53.000 to be the ones to like call up their eventual 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.200 advisor freaking out? And who's going to you know, stay 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.920 the course? And yes, as a great recession baby who 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:01.959 started her four oh one k and nine, I really 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:03.920 took I mean I was fortunate, I feel like to 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:06.560 start investing them because it was like everything was on sale, 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:09.240 it was all very cheap, and the market was you know, 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:11.640 on the on the decline. And over the past ten years, 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.120 I've got to experience all those gains and I try 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:17.200 to just tell myself that story again, like there are 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:20.679 ups and downs and just remembering that and looking at 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.400 what history, you know, tells us and not trying to 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:26.520 listen to what so and so on c NBC or 0:10:26.720 --> 0:10:32.920 whatever Bloomberg is saying for today. Yeah, agreed, wash your 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:37.120 hands people twenty seconds seeing the ABC's while you do it. 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.880 Yes, literally, It's so funny. When I taught pre school, 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:41.080 I used to have the kids do that. That's how 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:42.959 they would know that they washed their hands long enough. 0:10:43.280 --> 0:10:45.400 Preschoolers have a better hygiene than a lot of adults 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:49.120 out there. I see, y'all. Yes, I am trying to. 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.320 I tried and grab the bottom of My trick is 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.640 to grab the bottom of every door handle because I 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:55.840 figure more people to touch the top of them. And 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.880 I'm like, I'll reach down awkwardly to the subway poll 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:00.680 and try and grab like the oh it's part of 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:03.200 the poll. I can without being you know, into a 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:07.760 prentzeil just to say myself, but yeah, definitely hand sanitizer 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.440 within an inch of your life. You guys, all right? 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.439 What else? What else is going on? How's Molly Moore? 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:14.840 Did you you hit your fundraising goal? 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:15.720 I did? 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.960 There were we are in the stretch goal, so I 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:21.760 told myself for every I did the math. So our 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:25.360 fundraising goal was thirty five thousand dollars, and what that 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:28.160 meant was I'd be able to give donate a thousand 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:32.080 books to children in low income communities and to hire 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:38.000 for financial literacy experts and educators to write some free 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.880 curriculum for children. So I that way, I can put 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.000 it on the Mollymore site and donate that right back 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.800 to y'all. And now we're almost at forty thousand dollars, 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:49.400 so people. 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:49.960 Are still donating. 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:52.560 Yes, which because you're doing something called yes stretch goals. 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.439 So with the stretch goals, what that means is, Okay, 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:57.920 for every additional five thousand that I raised, I did 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.880 the math, I can donate an additional two hunch books, 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.280 so instead of just a thousand books, now we're about 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:06.520 one thy two hundred, and I can hire one additional teacher. 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.240 So I'm excited about that. So if you haven't already, 0:12:09.360 --> 0:12:11.679 you can still go to mollymore dot com, even if 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.280 you're listening to this five years from now, Mollymore dot com. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:15.400 You could just buy a book. 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.480 But if the kickstarter is still live, if you go 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.000 to Mollymore M A L I, M R E dot com, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.400 you can contribute and not only do you get a 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.080 book for yourself, but you can also help make this 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:28.920 world more financially literate. 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:29.800 So I'm excited. 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:32.240 Oh congratulations, that's awesome. 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:32.440 Thank you. 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:35.440 It feels like on the other side, I'm like, whoof, oh, Molly, 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:38.440 like we should do a whole Kickstarter episode about like 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:40.720 what it takes to like, you know, do a successful 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:44.560 Kickstarter or fund, like a crowd raising crowdfundraising. That was 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.320 really like an interesting I'd never done that before, so 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:49.880 there's a lot of things I learned that we you know, 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:52.560 it was just a really good experience because I feel 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:53.240 like we learned a lot. 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:55.240 We didn't do everything right, but we did do right, 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:57.400 you know, was enough, But I learned a lot. It 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:00.640 was definitely a big learning lessons fa Well. 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.439 If you guys have any stories of crowdfunding or questions 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.320 about starting a crowdfunding campaign or things that work for y'all, 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:08.200 feel free to send them in. You can hit us 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:12.400 up at brand Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com dot com, 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.280 or shoot us a note on Instagram. Brand Ambition Podcast 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.840 on Instagram. Also, we have a website, Brand ambition Podcast 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:21.000 dot com. You can ask us anything there which gets 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:25.080 us your messages as well. And speaking of that. Let's 0:13:25.080 --> 0:13:27.240 take a quick break and we'll come back and answer 0:13:27.320 --> 0:14:00.720 some of your questions for this week. All right, guys, 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.360 we are back and ready to tackle your questions again. 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:05.560 Hit us with your questions. You can wait. Hit us 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.040 with your questions. Hit us up with your questions. Brand 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:12.319 Ambission Podcast on Instagram or sorry the Graham what do 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:16.720 people say? Ig or email us directly Brandimission Podcast at 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.920 gmail dot com. We have a really interesting question from 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:23.520 a listener named Esther who's in the Peace Corps. First 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.120 of all, thank you for your service. Yes, that's amazing, 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:29.120 But she's about to leave the Peace Corps. So Esther says, 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.440 I joined the Peace Corps in twenty eighteen after graduating 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.720 college in twenty seventeen. I'm now reaching the end of 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:38.240 my Peace Corps service in April. Since being with the 0:14:38.280 --> 0:14:41.080 Peace Corps, I was able to pay off one student loan, 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:43.880 but I'm still faced with my Sally May and federal 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:47.920 student loans, which total up to forty thousand dollars all together. 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:50.800 Because of my low income. While I've been in Peace Corps, 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:53.280 I was able to defer my federal loan, but of 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.880 course interest has been accruing and my Sally May loan 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:00.520 is a whole other monster. Now, with Peace Corp coming 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.120 to an end, I will not have a study income 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.640 to repay my loans, and I'll be given a small 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.080 lump sum of money after leaving the Peace Corps, about 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:14.120 seven thousand dollars. I'd like to move, but I'm planning 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:17.400 on only getting a job for a temporary period of time, 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:20.840 probably a low paying job, and I feel like there's 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:22.600 no way I'm going to be able to pay back 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:25.320 my loans. Do you guys think I'm setting myself up 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.880 for failure? How can I begin tackling my student loans? 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.680 Whenever I think about it, I panic? Would it be 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.400 smart to set up an automatic withdrawal from my savings 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:39.840 to my student loans? Please help me, so you do 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.000 the right thing, you guys, to wait college, you want 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.080 to give back, join the Peace Corps. But you're right. 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:46.520 While you're in the Peace Corps, you're not obviously making 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:48.600 a ton of money, if any at all. And you 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.760 come back and she's going to get a small what 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.920 they call a readjustment allowance seven thousand dollars that she 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.280 could use for whatever. I can see her hesitation though, 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.920 like taking that seven thousand dollars and chipping away at 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:02.760 forty thousand dollars worth of debt? Is that the best 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.480 use of you know, that readjustment allowance? And if she 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:08.680 only plans, you know, if she thinks she can probably 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.360 get a job, but nothing that's really high paying. When 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.960 she comes back, she's feeling like, how am I going 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.120 to be able to tackle this debt? 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:18.640 Well, my question is what was her name again? 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:19.240 Esther? 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:20.400 Esther? 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:24.600 So my question is is loan forgiveness available because she 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:26.560 joined the Peace Corps? Because I know, like when I 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:30.080 was a teacher, that student loan forgiveness was available to 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:33.120 me because I was teaching. And if you're you work 0:16:33.120 --> 0:16:35.520 in like certain rural and urban areas, there are all 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:38.480 of these like available, There are all these ways that 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:43.680 you can qualify for student loan forgiveness. So I don't know, Honestly, 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.360 I don't know much about the Peace Corps. So is 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:48.880 there a way I would definitely look into that, Like 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:51.720 with the time that you spent there can that be 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.600 put towards student loan forgiveness? Because all of my loan 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:57.920 wasn't forgiven when I did it, and I did it retroactively, 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.560 so I was able to go back and say, oh, well, 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:02.360 you know, this is the time I spend as a teacher, 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:05.600 and they I think, I want to say, maybe like 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.159 fifteen to seventeen thousand dollars or something like that was 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:11.560 taken off my student loan. So I'm just sharing all 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:14.280 that to say that like looking into that as well, 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:16.159 forgiveness because of your time served. 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:19.520 Yeah, the thing is she doesn't mention what industry she'd 0:17:19.520 --> 0:17:22.320 be working in either, But you're right, if it's a 0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:26.440 public service industry, you know it's these federal forgiveness programs 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.040 are only like they're only in effect for as long 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:31.080 as the current administration wants them to be into it. 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.720 In effect, so let's say she comes back and she 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.760 joins a nonprofit or works for the government. Ostensibly she 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.720 could qualify for pubs something called public service loan forgiveness. 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.600 But to be honest, that program has really turned out 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:45.720 to be kind of a dud for a lot of people, 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.440 Like way too complicated. Some people are getting denied even 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:51.600 though they did the right thing by going into the 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.679 right job sector because the government kind of did a 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:58.199 funky job of setting up the whole process. But like 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:01.159 so it's not to say that loan forgivenes isn't a possibility, 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:03.360 but definitely you'll need to do your research and make 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:06.280 sure that you're following all the exact right steps so 0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:09.160 that you potentially can qualify. And since you don't tell 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:11.400 us what industry, it's hard to know if maybe you'll 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.280 qualify for some of those programs that are out there, 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:16.639 but in general, so let's just pretend you know, you're like, 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:19.000 you know, you just you travel, You're coming back with 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.560 four thousand dollars in debt. You're at, you know, wanting 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.560 to get an entry level job. You're not unlike every 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.920 other college graduate out there who's sort of looking down 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.600 at this, you know, big pile of student loan debt 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.000 and not sure what to do. The good thing is, 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:34.879 you know you were able to defer your loans. You 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:37.240 weren't just like missing your loan payments this whole time 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.760 and letting you know, late payment fees and all that 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.399 kind of other stuff add up. So you're done the 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:44.760 right thing with your federal loans. I say, the first 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:47.600 thing is get on an income driven repayment plan so 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:50.119 they'll base your payment, which could be as low as 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.080 zero dollars, depending on how much income you have, on 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.719 whatever your income you're earning at the job you get 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:57.480 when you come home, and if that's no job, then 0:18:57.480 --> 0:18:59.280 they'll base it on the fact that you're not employed 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:02.120 right now. That'd probably be the first step as far 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:04.560 as that readjustment allowance, that lump sum that you're going 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:06.639 to get if you don't have any savings, and it 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:08.720 sounds like you don't because you say that you're hoping 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:12.760 to build it up. I almost feel like taking that 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:16.760 seven K and immediately kind of using that on your loans. 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.199 I don't know if that makes the most sense. I 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.120 wonder like, I feel like you kind of need you're 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.679 going to need a savings cushion just to you know, 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.720 inoculate yourself from you know, any other setbacks so you 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:29.280 don't have to take on more debt to pay for 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.800 something that might come up in the future. So part 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.680 of me is like, definitely pad your savings a little bit, 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:39.320 Maybe take a chunk of that seven k and make 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:42.360