The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

CFPB to become a financial literacy program under Trump rather than an enforcement agency

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should focus on financial literacy – empowering consumers to help themselves by choosing the best products and services to meet their needs, said the new director of the CFPB.

The government can’t be everywhere, said Kathy Kraninger, in a talk she gave Wednesday prior to a panel discussion sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

Kraninger said the CFPB would also use other tools available to the it – regulations, supervision, and enforcement. However, under her predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, the acting director appointed to head the CFPB by President Trump, enforcement action by the agency dropped dramatically.

How to improve your finances during Financial Literacy Month

It’s a good time during April’s Financial Literacy Month to take a look at how you handle your finances.

What is financial literacy? It’s knowing how to manage your personal finances.

How are Americans doing with financial literacy? In a survey of 1,500 people, respondents estimated that lacking knowledge about personal finances cost them an average of $1,230 in 2018, according to a study by the National Financial Educators Council.

What can you do to improve your financial literacy?

Take a look at your finances.

If you don’t have one, you need a budget. It’s a financial plan that will help you reach your goals. To develop a budget, you’ll need to keep track of your spending. Write down what your fixed monthly expenses are such as car payments and rent or mortgage payments. Determine what your periodic expenses are. They include items such as vacations and tax payments. Then you’ll need to track your variable expenses – food, clothing, transportation, and entertainment, costs that probably change every month.

April is Financial Literacy Month

Financial Literacy Month has been recognized in United States in April since 2003. Its purpose is to advance financial literacy through promoting and supporting effectiveness in financial education.

Dozens of organizations offer activities during Financial Literacy Month to call attention to the need for financial literacy and the work they are doing on it.

The Jump$tart Coalition is the original promoter of April as Financial Literacy Month. It’s a coalition of more than 100 organizations from business, finance, academia, education, and government, as well as a network of 51 state organizations, which share a commitment to “financial smarts for students.”

Here are organizations that provide basic financial literacy, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency:

Happy Tax Day

I’m happy I got my taxes mailed in Saturday. I’m not so happy my refund has gone down substantially. I hope you were able to get your taxes done on time or file for an extension.

I used TurboTax again, which turned out O.K., unlike H&R Block, which wouldn’t give me an estimate on how much it would to do my taxes until they were done.

For free items to get on Tax Day, see Dealnews.com’s The Best Tax Day Freebies to Get Today.

For information on the tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations included in the Trump-GOP 2017 tax law that should be amended or repealed see Americans for Tax Fairness’ report “Fair Taxes Now: Revenue Options for a Fair Tax System.” It recommends:

Rock ‘n Play baby sleepers recalled by Fisher-Price due to infant deaths

Fisher-Price recalled 4.7 million Rock ‘n Play baby sleepers on Friday.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that Fisher-Price was recalling all models of the sleepers because more than 30 infants have died in Rock ‘n Play sleepers in the decade since they were introduced. The commission said some babies died when they rolled over while unrestrained in the sleeper.  

“While we’re pleased that Fisher-Price is finally recalling these dangerous sleepers, 30 deaths in 10 years is 30 deaths too many and 10 years too late,” said Adam Garber, consumer watchdog for the  U.S. PIRG Education Fund. “For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has said a safe sleep surface is hard and flat. This product clearly fails that test despite being marketed as safe for sleep to parents across the country. Parents expect more rigorous testing when it comes to protecting infants.”

How is Trump’s tax act affecting you?

On Saturday afternoon, I mailed in my income taxes for 2018. Instead of getting a refund of around $1,000 like I do most years, my refund was $170.

The TurboTax representative I spoke to said deductions that were helpful to me in the past, such as for my small business and charitable donations, have been eliminated.

So while Trump’s tax revisions are helping the rich, they have no benefit for me. That huge corporations pay little or nothing in income taxes and I’m paying more is discouraging. I don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes. I support good schools, roads, and bridges. But Trump’s tax law is making the rich even richer.

Consumer group asks federal agencies to stop the sale of contaminated poppy seeds

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration need to crack down on the sale of contaminated poppy seeds and seed pods following the death of 12 Americans, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said.

The center asked officials at the agencies to clarify that it’s illegal to import and distribute contaminated poppy seeds and that those who do will be prosecuted. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arizona, has introduced legislation, the Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act, to amend the law to ensure that contaminated poppy seeds can’t be sold to consumers.

Opiates such as morphine and codeine occur naturally in the opium poppy, which is why it can’t be grown in the United States. The DEA classifies “poppy straw” — all parts of the poppy plant other than the seeds — as a Schedule II controlled substance. While selling and importing poppy seeds is legal, seeds can become contaminated by poppy straw and sap in the fields and during processing. Importing contaminated poppy seeds is illegal.

Opiate contamination can be reduced to safe levels by washing and drying the seeds. However, potentially contaminated poppy seeds are available at several online retailers, including Amazon.com and Ebay. Recipes for poppy seed “teas” can be found on web sites such as Mercola.com and Chewworld.com.

Snack box company settles FTC charges on incentives for positive reviews and phony ‘free’ offers

UrthBox Inc. has agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging the company said customer reviews were independent when it provided customers with free products and other incentives to post positive reviews online.

The order settling the lawsuit, which also alleges that UrthBox failed to disclose the terms of its “free trial” automatic renewal programs, bars the company from engaging in these activities. It also requires UrthBox to pay $100,000 to the commission to compensate consumers deceived by the trial offers.

“People should be able to trust that good customer reviews aren’t the result of companies secretly paying the reviewers,” said Andrew Smith, director of the commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Brass fittings recalled by Interline Brands due to fire hazard

Interline Brands is recalling about 140,000 ProPlus brass flare swivel fittings.

The fittings can leak, posing a fire hazard.  

Interline has received two reports of the swivels leaking when installation.

This recall involves multiple sizes of ProPlus brass flare swivel fittings used as connectors for copper tubing. The brass, gold-colored fittings connect two male flare nuts opposite to each other. The swivels were used primarily for LP gas (propane) applications by professional installers.

Consumer groups sue over USDA’s roll back of school nutrition standards

The Trump administration violated the law when it rolled back nutrition standards for school meals, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.

The violations occurred when the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a final rule that weakens nutrition standards on the amount of whole grains and sodium served in school meals, the lawsuit contends. The weakened standards put about 30 million children, including about 22 million low-income children, at greater risk of health issues associated with diets high in sodium and low in whole grains.

The plaintiffs, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Healthy School Food Maryland, represented by Democracy Forward, are asking the court to set aside the rule lowering the nutrition standards and require the agency to follow Congress’s requirement to set school nutrition standards based on nutrition science as reflected in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.