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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2019)
BUSINESS & AG LIFE 2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020 Millennial Money: Six empowering money moves expenses, says Colin Walsh, CEO of Varo, an online bank. “By keeping track of each and ev- ery purchase you make … you can more easily start to see how small purchases here and there add up,” Walsh said. Once you know where your mon- ey is going, you can make informed decisions about where you want it to go, giving you a sense of purpose with your spending. You might even decide to keep on tracking. By Kelsey Sheehy NerdWallet Raise your hand if you feel confi dent about your fi nances. Not feeling it? That’s OK. Perhaps you’re among the 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, or one of the 81.6 million paying off student loan debt. It’s hard to feel confi dent when your loan balance doesn’t seem to budge and you’re fi shing through the couch cushions for spare change to put gas in your car. But you can gain some control over your fi nances, bit by bit, until that confi dence comes. These six empowering money moves will help you build momentum with small gains. 2. SWITCH TO A HIGH-YIELD SAVINGS ACCOUNT If you’re already doing the hard work of saving, why not make money on your money? Most savings accounts earn minimal interest — the average annual percentage yield is just 0.09% — but several offer close to 2% interest. Here’s the difference that can make: If you have $1,000 in a savings account with an APY of 0.09%, you’ll earn a measly $4.51 over fi ve years. In a 2% APY account, that same 1. TRACK YOUR SPENDING FOR ONE MONTH Knowledge is power when it comes to fi nances. Still, most people don’t know exactly where their money goes. Tracking your spending for one month will help you identify habits and spot excess WHEAT Continued from Page 1B Soft red winter wheat is $5.49 to $5.50 per bushel on the Chicago mar- ket, while hard red wheat is $4.70 per bushel on the Kansas City market, he said. “It’s looking a little overbought,” Newsom said. “Could it add another 20, 25 cents? Sure. I wouldn’t be sur- prised if we do add that over time.” Newsom said he would be more en- thusiastic if Kansas City added 25 to 30 cents, signifi cantly above the $4.70 mark in the next week or so. Newsom pointed to a weak car- ryover of stocks for soft red winter wheat on the Chicago market and a lot of new commercial buying. He also sees the potential for the value of the dollar to come down, mak- ing U.S. wheat more competitive overseas. Drought across the Southern Plains — a major wheat-growing region — is not critical, but will bear watching if $1,000 would earn about $105. 3. INCREASE YOUR CREDIT SCORE First things fi rst: If you don’t know your credit score, start there. Several credit card issuers and personal fi nance websites offer free credit scores, so you can monitor it regularly and keep tabs on your progress. You can get your full cred- it report for free every year from each of the three credit bureaus using AnnualCreditReport.com. (Note: Checking your credit report does not hurt your credit score.) Now, look for ways to increase your score. A few ideas: — Check for errors on your re- port and dispute any you fi nd with the credit bureau. — Lower your credit utilization (the percentage of your credit card limit that you use) by paying down cards or increasing your credit limits. — Become an authorized user on a partner’s or parent’s credit card. You can use a credit score simu- conditions don’t improve heading into spring, he said. As domestic matters gain strength, worldwide issues also affect prices, he said. “We’ve got Australia basically on fi re — they’re supposed to continue to have hot temperatures,” he said. “Their crop could get hurt, which brings more attention back to the United States.” A “groundswell of interest” has been showing up in U.S. winter and spring wheat futures and cash mar- kets, Newsom said. The Black Sea and Europe had a better wheat crop, which will limit some of the price upside, Behne said. “I think right now the trend is on the upswing...,” he said. “I think it’s just general positivity in the ag sector because of the Phase One China deal, although it doesn’t really all have that much to do with wheat, or shouldn’t, unless the government just makes them buy wheat from us for some reason.” lator to learn ways to boost your credit score, as well as see the nega- tive impact certain moves could have, like missing payments or increasing your credit utilization. 4. PAY OFF ONE LOAN OR CREDIT CARD Ever feel like you’re throw- ing money at your debt, but the balances never seem to go down? Instead of trying to pay them all off at once, direct your energy (and extra money) at one debt, while making the minimum payments on the rest. You can tackle your debt in order from the smallest to largest balance to net some quick wins, or get rid of your most expensive debt fi rst by focusing on the account with the highest interest rate. Tackling debt in a disciplined way will put you back in the driver’s seat with your money. 5. PLAN FOR EXPECTED EXPENSES You can’t plan for every expense, but there are some you can see “We have no idea if trade is pro- gressing or not, because we’ve been told 6,001 times that trade deals are progressing, but nothing has actually been done,” Newsom said. Newsom expects some sort of trade movement before the next elections. But all the recent price activity may be happening even without trade movement, he said. “There’s just this idea that the wheat complex as a whole is getting more bullish, the U.S. dollar is looking more bearish and all of this could lead to some increased demand for U.S. wheat,” he said. A USDA report Jan. 10 may signal a signifi cant decrease in corn produc- tion, Behne said. If the corn crop is smaller, it lends more support to wheat prices, he said. “I think they can go up from where we’re at currently,” he said. “But $6.50, without a weather problem in the spring somewhere to add extra juice, seems like a longer shot now.” coming. Homeowners, for example, can anticipate things like property taxes and certain repairs. “If you have an old roof, you’re going to eventually need to replace it, so start setting money aside for that,” said David Carlson, founder of Young Adult Money, a personal fi nance blog. The fi nancial hit won’t sting so much if you’ve set a little aside each month, and you’ll feel more confi dent knowing you can cover the cost without rearranging your budget or going into debt. 6. NEGOTIATE YOUR SALARY Few things are more empower- ing — or intimidating — than advocating for your own worth. If you’re on the job hunt, start practic- ing your negotiation skills now so you can use them when an offer comes in. Arm yourself with salary data for your role and experience level and list the various qualifi ca- tions you bring to the table. The same tactics help when asking for a raise from your current employer. SEAWEED Continued from Page 1B weeds have yielded results in cutting methane. Researchers from the University of Cali- fornia, Davis, found last year that methane emissions were reduced by 24-58% in a dozen cows that ate one variety of the Asparagopsis genus of seaweed. There’s no guarantee other kinds of seaweed would have the same effect, said Ermias Kebreab, a professor of animal science at UC Davis who is not involved in the New England work. However, new kinds of seaweed feeds still could help improve cattle’s diet on farms, he said. “I think there is indeed good potential to use seaweed as cattle feed if it can replace high protein/energy sources such as corn, alfalfa and other ingredients commonly used in the industry,” Kebreab said in an email. One potential problem could lie in producing enough sea- weed to feed to cows. But Dorn Cox, research director of Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment in Free- port, Maine, said the growth of seaweed as cattle feed could potentially benefi t dairy farm- ers, as well as aquaculturists. Wolfe’s Neck will host some of the feeding trials. Maine has a growing sea- weed farming industry, and evidence that seaweed is good for cows’ health would aid that growth, Cox said. “That’s why the research is so important,” Cox said. “We have to make sure it’s going to work and it’s something we can grow regeneratively as part of the Maine coastal ecosystem.” Rapid Weight Loss It’s Happening Right Here in La Grande, Right Now... Did you know? Only a Weight Loss Physician can... If you want to lose 10 to 100+ pounds rapidly, healthfully, and safely, you can. Diagnose & treat certain medical conditions that contribute to your weight gain, so you can lose weight rapidly I lost 103 pounds on MetTrimMD. Prescribe the right food and nutritional plan in combination with anti-obesity medications, if appropriate, to ensure you lose weight healthfully That’s why I opened a MetTrimMD Center in La Grande. If you struggle to lose weight and keep it off, come see us today, to learn more. 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