The Consumerism Commentary Podcast has been on hiatus this summer, but Tom and Jay are returning soon with monthly podcasts featuring interviews with authors, industry experts, and CEOs. In the interim, I will be featuring a few Podcast Special Editions, hosted by myself, also featuring a number of great interviews.

The first of these Special Edition podcasts features the most-read personal finance columnist on the internet, Liz Weston. Liz recently published a new book in electronic format, There Are No Dumb Questions About Money, available from Amazon.com and iTunes. We discuss the questions and answers from the book as well as what led the author to begin writing about personal finance. We also talk about how blogging — and the internet in general — changed the shape of the discussion about personal finance.

Liz Weston’s website, AskLizWeston.com, is always open for feedback and questions from readers and listeners, and her column is available on MSN Money.

[00:00] Introduction from Luke Landes
– [00:38] Interview with Liz Weston
– [00:48] There Are No Dumb Questions About Money
– [02:06] Fear of asking questions
– [07:40] Liz Weston’s background, family life, and journalism
– [10:35] Effect of recession on financial questions
– [12:03] How to handle a mortgage you can’t repay and rebuild credit
– [14:49] Frugal fatigue
– [15:45] Is debt elimination too highly prioritized against retirement savings?
– [20:10] Saving for retirement with low cash flow
– [22:37] Saving for children’s college education
– [28:55] Long-term commitments with opposing financial philosophies
– [31:45] Today’s biggest financial issue for families
– [33:56] The explosion of personal finance blogging
– [37:22] How the internet changed Liz Weston’s writing
[40:05] End

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Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek talks with Ellyn Spragins, speaker, author, and editor of the Letters To My Younger Self series of books.

Ellyn talks to Tom about how women differ from men in regards to success, especially regarding finding and developing their inner talents. They also discuss her “Letters to My Younger Self” series of books, including what inspired her, the celebrities who contributed, as well as one of her favorite letters.

Table of contents

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:37] Interview with Ellyn Spragins
– [00:51] Ellen’s inspiration to help women
– [03:48] How women are different from men in finding and developing talents
– [05:44] What women need to know about success
– [07:28] Rule for Success #1: Be selfish
– [08:15] Rule #2: Be bad
– [08:29] Rule #3: Be “dyslexic”
– [09:21] Rules #4 and #5: Study your gut & don’t be men in pink
– [10:45] How “Letters To My Younger Self” got started
– [12:42] Finding celebrity contributors at the beginning
– [16:00] Finding contributors after the first book
– [18:19] One of Ellyn’s favorite letters
– [21:13] Ellyn’s seminars
[26:52] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

Theme music by Mindcube.

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Today on the Consumerism Commentary Podcast, Tom Dziubek talks with Gregg Wind, CPA at the accounting firm of Wind & Stern, about income taxes related to children’s summer jobs.

First, Gregg and Tom talk about tax advantages for parents who have a business and are thinking about hiring their children as employees. Afterward, they discuss summer jobs for kids in general and things that they should consider doing for their income taxes.

Table of contents

[00:00] Introduction from Tom Dziubek
[00:37] Interview with Gregg Wind
– [00:51] Hiring your kids to work at your family business
– [01:47] Avoiding the “kiddie tax”
– [03:50] Payroll tax impact
– [05:10] Tax-free benefits
– [05:58] IRA contributions for kids
– [07:39] Summer jobs for kids: explaining the W-4 form
– [10:30] What a teen should withhold for their taxes
– [13:37] Working as an “independent contractor”: the 1099 form
– [16:45] Declaring tips as income
– [18:10] Kids who want to start a business
– [22:04] Self-employment tax even though standard deduction exceeds income
[25:03] End

We always welcome feedback from listeners. If you have any comments for this episode or for any other, or if you have suggestions for future episodes, please leave us comments here or email us at podcast at this domain name.

Theme music by Mindcube.

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