Needs Vs Wants - Setting Priorities

When is the right time to think about retirement? Expert advice says, when you are young. It's never too soon to start investing in your future!   Our host, Alison Crane - Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Garland County will ask her guest, Dr. Laura Hendrix, University of Arkansas Associate Professor - Personal Finance & Consumer Economics and an accredited financial counselor, questions about how to invest and when dabbling in the stock market is beneficial. Dr. Hendrix has some good advice on finding reliable information to help take some of the worry out of investing in Part 2 of My First Real Job and They Already Want Me to Retire!

Filling out all of the paperwork for your first real job can be intimidating, especially when you have to make all of the decisions about your benefits and retirement plan. Never Fear! Our Grown Up U podcast is here to take the guess work out by explaining the types of retirement and investments that could be offered plus providing some commonsense advice on saving your money for retirement and for emergencies. Listen as our host, Alison Crane - Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Garland County interviews her guest, Dr. Laura Hendrix, University of Arkansas Associate Professor - Personal Finance & Consumer Economics and accredited financial counselor, to define financial terminology and take some of the guesswork out of filling out benefits forms. 

When it comes to spending money, there are five facts that cannot be ignored. Mary Ann Kizer, Jefferson County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, and Dot Hart, Arkansas Extension Homemakers Cares – Mental Health and Well-Being Chairman and National Volunteer Outreach Network Vice-President for 9 states, share those important facts that every consumer needs to know and offer some wise tips for making money decisions based on the “Buyerarchy of Needs.” 

The supplement section in a store almost always takes up a full aisle. That means it's important to take vitamins, right? Listen to Garland County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Alison Crane, as she visits with Dr. Jamie Baum, Associate Professor for Food Science at the University of Arkansas and Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at UADA, to find out the facts about multivitamins and whether or not they are actually beneficial. You might be surprised by what you hear.

Is it possible to eat healthy during the holidays and still enjoy all of the parties and family gatherings? Julie Goings, Phillips County - Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, has some easy-to-follow tips for how make healthy food choices at holiday gatherings and still enjoy some cake. Plus, Julie has some food safety steps that can keep your holiday dishes safe as well as tasty.

Have you ever tried to cook something, and it just didn't turn out like you hoped?  Learn what it means to follow a recipe and how to properly measure ingredients using the correct measuring tool. Valerie Turner, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Monroe County, shares tips to help your meals turn out like a pro.

Maybe you have not thought about it before, but networking is a valuable tool to finding the right job or making connections. In today's podcast, Garland County FCS Agent, Alison Crane, will share the basics of networking and what is the most effective type of networking - informational interviews. 

Are you a new parent or new at making vaccination decisions for yourself?Knowing the facts about immunizations can help you make an informed choice.  Listen as Phillips County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Julie Goings, helps dispel some of the myths about vaccines so you can make an informed choice for you or your family. 

Do you feel awkward when meeting someone for the first time? Are you unsure when and how to make an introduction in a social situation? This is the perfect podcast for you. Listen as Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Julie Going, shares tips based on Emily Post's Etiquette to help you make the perfect introduction. 

Cleaning and disinfecting have been hot topics for the past couple of years. But the importance of cleaning and its purpose hasn’t changed. Tristin Bolton, Family and Consumer Sciences Agent in Crawford County, along with Stephanie London from the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, will share just why it is important to clean and share cleaning responsibilities in a shared space, like a dorm.