WEBVTT - BA Q&A: The Refinancing Debate

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<v Speaker 1>It's time for the b A keep A the B

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<v Speaker 1>keep a.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, the b A q A and we're back. We're

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<v Speaker 2>back with the BA keep a.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, it is time for the b A Brown Ambition

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<v Speaker 1>QA question and answer. So remember we're not your financial advisors.

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<v Speaker 1>We're not financial planners, we're not your lawyer, we're not

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<v Speaker 1>your insurance agent. We're just two girls chatting on a mic.

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<v Speaker 1>And that we're not giving advice. We're merely answering questions

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<v Speaker 1>that of how we might manage and then you have

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<v Speaker 1>to make the best choice for yourself. But always lean

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<v Speaker 1>into your the people that you pay for financial advice. Okay, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we got two great listener questions. If you have questions, though,

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<v Speaker 1>you can always submit them to us. We are a

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<v Speaker 1>Brown Ambition podcast on Instagram, the BA podcast on Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>can send us an email at brandanbisionpodcast at gmail dot

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<v Speaker 1>com or go to brownanbisopodcast dot com and cliss click

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<v Speaker 1>ask us anything.

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<v Speaker 2>So yeah, let's get into our questions.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I'm excited about these. So our first question comes

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<v Speaker 3>from listener Janelle, and she has a question about some

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<v Speaker 3>student loan debt one of our favorite topics already, so

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<v Speaker 3>she says. Her question is specifically about Naviant and student loans.

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<v Speaker 3>So she says, I've recently got an offer from Naviant.

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<v Speaker 3>From NAVIANTREFI to refinance my student loans. I have two

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<v Speaker 3>private loans and one federal loan that's currently being serviced

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<v Speaker 3>by Naviant. My federal loan is the biggest chunk of

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<v Speaker 3>my debt. It's thirty five thousand dollars. I know that

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<v Speaker 3>Naviant is ending their contract with the government, and I

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<v Speaker 3>already printed out my payment history and loan details, even

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<v Speaker 3>though no one has reached out to me about who

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<v Speaker 3>the new servicer will be after their contract ends. My

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<v Speaker 3>question is, am I in danger of losing my protection

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<v Speaker 3>with public service loan forgiveness if I refinance my federal

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<v Speaker 3>student loans with Naviant for all my loans similar as

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<v Speaker 3>if I had refinanced them with so FI. I just

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<v Speaker 3>want to lower interest rate because I'm tired of paying

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<v Speaker 3>so much money to student loans, but I also don't

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<v Speaker 3>want to lose my protections if the worst case scenario

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<v Speaker 3>is I lost my job or hit hard times and

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<v Speaker 3>I needed some assistance for deferment or forbearance.

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<v Speaker 1>Jane quick answer. Yes. So here's a conundrum right that

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<v Speaker 1>Janelle has, and many of you might be feeling this too.

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<v Speaker 1>Janelle has two types of loans. She's got private student

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<v Speaker 1>loans and she's got federal student loans. Now, I want

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<v Speaker 1>you to think of private student loans, just call it loan,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning it's similar to a car loan. It's similar to

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<v Speaker 1>a home loan. Like you just owed in people. There's

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<v Speaker 1>really no if something happens, there's no federal protection. So

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<v Speaker 1>we all are very familiar now with the moratorium that

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<v Speaker 1>happened when everything happened with COVID and quarantine. That the

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<v Speaker 1>federal government was able to say with federal back loans,

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<v Speaker 1>whether you had a a FAHA like a loan for

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<v Speaker 1>your home or whatever, or like a VA loan for

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<v Speaker 1>your home or student loans that were federally back, they

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<v Speaker 1>have control of the money they lend out to say,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, actually, don't pay me right now things

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<v Speaker 1>are rough. The federal government has control to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>The federal government cannot tell private entities to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>It cannot tell the regular people that you owe Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>can you let Janelle know she doesn't have to pay no.

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<v Speaker 1>So what Janelle is struggling with is that Janelle, refinancing

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<v Speaker 1>your private loans, that's fine because you don't have those

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<v Speaker 1>protections anyway, get your lower interest rate for those systs.

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<v Speaker 1>But I know that's not where the chunk of what

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<v Speaker 1>you owe is you really want to try to. You're

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<v Speaker 1>trying to lower the interest rate on your federal student loans,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can refinance them, but you will lose the

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<v Speaker 1>federal protection because you cannot refinance federal student loans with

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<v Speaker 1>the federal government. Don't refinance, you would have to refinance

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<v Speaker 1>them with a private company, therefore taking them away from

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<v Speaker 1>the federal government protection and going with a private company.

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<v Speaker 1>So you have to ask yourself, do what's worth it?

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<v Speaker 1>Is it worth with it to me to lose the

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<v Speaker 1>protection in order to get a lower interest rate. I

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<v Speaker 1>can't make that choice for you, but I just want

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<v Speaker 1>you to know that those are your choices. I tend

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<v Speaker 1>to lean toward make telling people like especially now, like

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<v Speaker 1>if something does happen to your job, you would lose

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<v Speaker 1>the ability to do for a barnment for barans or

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<v Speaker 1>from a deferment that you know, I really don't like

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<v Speaker 1>refinancing out of federal student loans unless I'm pretty certain

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<v Speaker 1>that I'm going to be able to to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to pay and nothing's going to happen to the way

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<v Speaker 1>I make money. But you know, there's no way to

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<v Speaker 1>know for sure. So just know that, yes, refinancing your

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<v Speaker 1>federal student loans, you will lose the federal protection.

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<v Speaker 3>Yep, one thousand percent. I have barely anything to add

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<v Speaker 3>other than the fact that one I left out I

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<v Speaker 3>just realized was that she says she's planning to pay

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<v Speaker 3>off one of her private loans by the end of

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<v Speaker 3>this year, So congrats on that. Yeah, that seven hundred

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<v Speaker 3>bucks left, that's amazing. And the other private loan is

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<v Speaker 3>only fifty six hundred dollar. I mean, I'm saying only

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<v Speaker 3>it's a lot of money at nine percent, but that

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<v Speaker 3>you know, see how you feel once you pay off

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<v Speaker 3>that last loan, that fifty six hundred dollars one at

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<v Speaker 3>nine percent. See how you feel if you can refinance

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<v Speaker 3>that when and get that paid off, See how you

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<v Speaker 3>feel then about your federal student loans. But for now,

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<v Speaker 3>I would just rock with them and focus on those

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<v Speaker 3>private loans, and then see how you feel later and

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<v Speaker 3>how your finances are looking and it doesn't like just

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<v Speaker 3>because you can save money by refinancing, like that opportunity

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<v Speaker 3>is not going anywhere as far as i'm you know,

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<v Speaker 3>as far as I know, you will be able to

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<v Speaker 3>refinance in the future if you decide to. It's not

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<v Speaker 3>like a one and done opportunity. Banks will always be

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<v Speaker 3>trying to get your money. Okay, So don't be too

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<v Speaker 3>hard on yourself on rushing into a decision right now.

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<v Speaker 2>That's all I would add. Okay, all right.

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<v Speaker 3>Question two do you want to read this one?

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<v Speaker 2>Sure?

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<v Speaker 1>This is a shorty.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a nurse and I've worked for a country Okay, Hello,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a nurse and I've worked for a county hospital

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<v Speaker 1>for over half of my eighteen year nursing career.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh. I love nurses.

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<v Speaker 1>My mom was a nurse. I currently pay into a

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<v Speaker 1>pension plan. That's awesome, but I have but I have

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<v Speaker 1>paid into Social Security in the past. Will I be

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<v Speaker 1>able to receive my pension and Social Security benefits when

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<v Speaker 1>I retire? Anonymous in Texas?

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<v Speaker 3>Hey Texas, Hey there, that's why when you said country hospital,

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<v Speaker 3>I was like, maybe it is a country. Well, thanks

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<v Speaker 3>for your service. I mean nurses don't get enough love.

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like, yes, yeah, I see no reason and

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<v Speaker 3>listen again, financial experts, I am not or we are not,

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<v Speaker 3>But yes, I believe you have no problem getting your

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<v Speaker 3>pension and your Social Security. You know, I think as

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<v Speaker 3>if you're working on through a regular you know, nine

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<v Speaker 3>to five job and you're paying your you're paying your

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<v Speaker 3>payroll taxes FIKA, which is what does FIKA stand for?

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<v Speaker 3>I know it's Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes, right,

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<v Speaker 3>those things. It's like the however many percent six percent

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<v Speaker 3>of your paycheck that goes toward those those taxes, part

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<v Speaker 3>of that is Social Security, so you should have been

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<v Speaker 3>paying into that benefit. And absolutely the best way to know.

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<v Speaker 3>Actually it sounds like you might be nearing retirement, but

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<v Speaker 3>if you actually go to SSA dot gov and log

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<v Speaker 3>in or create an account, they should actually be able

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<v Speaker 3>to give you a sense of how much they can

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<v Speaker 3>even estimate your benefit when you retire. I believe, so

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<v Speaker 3>go and go to SSA dot gov. That would be

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<v Speaker 3>my advice, and see what information you can find through

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<v Speaker 3>your account there.

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<v Speaker 1>And just so you know, like I hear what you're

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<v Speaker 1>doing and what you've written us on taxes. Is it

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<v Speaker 1>you think you're thinking to yourself, because I pay into pension,

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<v Speaker 1>that I must not be paying to Social Security. That's

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<v Speaker 1>not true. Like if you go, like like I'm on

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<v Speaker 1>the government website right now, and it's like basically nearly

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<v Speaker 1>every American worker as well as their employer, is required

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<v Speaker 1>to pay into Social Security and Medicare taxes. It's just

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<v Speaker 1>taken out of your check. You might have not noticed,

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<v Speaker 1>inclusive if you're self employed. So just because you're paying

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<v Speaker 1>into your pension, it doesn't mean that you're not paying

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<v Speaker 1>into your Social Security. You are, you know, especially as

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<v Speaker 1>a nurse there you know you work for a public

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<v Speaker 1>entity of that, like you're paying into Social Security, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's two separate things. Like you know, your your pension

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<v Speaker 1>plan is separate from your from your Social Security. So

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<v Speaker 1>I mean you, to Mandy's point, go to that website

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<v Speaker 1>to absolutely make sure. But I'm probably like ninety eight

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<v Speaker 1>point nine percent short that you are paying it to

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<v Speaker 1>Social Security and not even recognizing it.

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<v Speaker 2>So you gonna be good at taxes.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you for your question though, all right, that is

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<v Speaker 3>the ba QA, like tip said at the top of

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<v Speaker 3>the show, feel free to send us your quest questions.

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<v Speaker 3>We are Brand Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com or

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<v Speaker 3>you can also dm us on the Gram. We are

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<v Speaker 3>at brand Ambition Podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, we love your questions.

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<v Speaker 3>Until next Friday.

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<v Speaker 1>How about y'all