Kristen Hagopian Show - 01 17 24

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, everybody, Welcome to theChristin Agopian Show. Shout outs from everybody
here in Studio B as we connectwith our syndicated stations coast to coast via
the Biz Talk Radio Network. Greetingsto you all, especially Linda t listening
in from Portland, Oregon, thefive Woman Frugal Crew in Orlando, Keep

(00:20):
those great emails coming, guys,and Mitchell Meeks and Kathy Tarvor super fans
listening in from the super Talk MississippiNetwork. This week's show is brought to
you by our caring sponsors at NationalTreatment Centers. Guys, we're doing this
shout out every week because everybody outthere knows a family that is fighting the
effects of today's substance abuse epidemic.And that's what it is. It's an

(00:42):
epidemic. It is at every earninglevel, every educational level, every city,
every town. Maybe it's your familytree that's battling it, or a
neighbor or someone you care about.If someone you care about needs help,
pick up the phone. You arethe want in control and call the professationals
at eight hundred nine three to twofour zero A two. That's eight hundred

(01:06):
nine three two four zero A two. The number is going to be on
our website as well. Guys,Brilliantfrugalliving dot com, help the ones you
love put that chapter behind them.Sitting here, coffee in hand, going
with a awesome chocolate almond with waytoo much cream in it as usual,
yems, looking out the studio windowsat another gorgeous January day. It really

(01:27):
is great out there, Honest togod. Kids are hoping for a snow
day or two this week here inthe Philadelphia area. We might be able
to deliver that to them. We'regetting that minute or two of daylight more
each day. Love it. Bringit on. And today, guys,
we are revisiting in our two partseries here some fantastic new subject matter that

(01:49):
I have been so wanting to connectwith you on, and that's school choice.
Okay, we had a great guestlast week. We're bringing them back
this week as well. Later onin the hour that's going to go into
fantastic detail on this, but Iwanted to go over some more information first
that some of you may not havebeen aware of. I wasn't aware of
it, and it can save youa ton of money if you're thinking about

(02:13):
other school options for your kids oryour grandkids. Now. I said this
in last week's show. I ama tried and true, proud public school
brat. I went to a fantasticschool, you know, and so did
my husband, also public school.When we had kids of our own,
moved away from both of our varioushometowns just a bit, we determined after
a lot of research that as goodas the public school was, a private

(02:37):
school nearby was a better fit forour kids. So we're hearing from a
lot of people who are in thesame boat where they themselves went to public
school, and they're thinking to themselves, you know what, I Am going
to explore something outside the usual publicschool realm because there are so many choices
out there. There's the charter schoolsand the private schools and the parochial schools

(02:58):
and the homeschooling. There's a tonof choice. This is it gets incredibly
freaking overwhelming. And here's where wekind of distill all the information down and
pair it down for you. Now. When we're talking about the biggest questions
when it comes to private school,number one is always where it ties into
our show, how do you affordit? You know, we're all still
you know, hauling out from gota ton of debt. The vast majority

(03:19):
of Americans do, and understandably.Yeah, your first priority is your kids
or your grandkids, whoever you're considering, you know, non public school for
But of course you got to putpen to paper and figure out how to
pay for it. So when we'retalking about how to pay for it,
I'm using this. We got thisfantastic thing setting in from Living Well Spending
Less blog. It touches on somany of these I love this a number

(03:40):
one. If you're thinking about doingthis, you know, leaning out of
public school into a private school,you know, a parochial school, whatever,
charter school, you name it,apply for private scholarships. Okay.
We have got stations for our showin just about every state in the Union,
and scholarship options very significant from stateto state. But there are a

(04:01):
number of nationwide scholarship options available,okay, including those from the Commonwealth Foundation.
More than one listener, let usknow about the Commonwealth Foundation. They
offer scholarships to partner Christian schools.Okay, that's the Commonwealth Foundation. The
next one is a Better Chance,which offers scholarships as well, the Jack
Kent Cook Foundation, which offers scholarshipsto more low income high school students,

(04:28):
and the Children's Scholarship Fund. Thisis something that more than one listener sent
in as well, the Children's ScholarshipFund, which offers scholarships to lower income
students in grades K through eight.All Right, and that is just off
the top of our head. Itis unbelievable. It is fantastic to hear
and read about all the various optionsto really pare down the cost of this.
In addition to the programs I justmentioned, this is important, guys.

(04:50):
Most private schools, most of themalso offer a large variety of in
house scholarships for students. And itdoesn't have to be you know, academic
scholarships. There's all kinds of scholarshipsout there, guys, that can greatly
reduce tuition costs. And this isone of the most important questions to ask
when you're considering the different schools inyour area. Okay, there are even

(05:13):
a handful of private schools across thecountry that offer free tuition. Okay,
this is the it's reality. Getout there and find out more about it.
Additionally, and this is something wehad a lot of feedback from.
Many churches offer tuition assistants to memberfamilies who wish to send their kids to
schools within the same religious affiliation.Okay, so if you're thinking about,

(05:34):
you know, an Episcopalian academy ora Catholic school or a Christian academy,
that's just the kind of thing youwant to do. If you're a member
of a local church, definitely inquirewith your pastor or your church administrator and
find out if that's an option.Okay, we got a lot to cover.
I'm going to jump right into thenext one because this is all money
in your pocket. Next, thebiggest, the next biggest way to really

(05:57):
greatly reduce the cost of private schoolfor your kids applying for your state voucher
programs. Okay, there are currentlyno federally funded school voucher programs, although
you can always write your congressman torequest it. But a few states,
and these are all states that wehave stations in, so listen up.
A few states, including Florida,Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana,

(06:20):
Mississippi, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, and Washington, d C.
Have established some kind of voucher programthat provides funds to either low income
or special needs families or both forattending the private school of their choice.
Okay, now here's where you canfind a list. The Alliance for School

(06:42):
Choice has assembled this huge, comprehensivelist Okay the Alliance for School Choice with
detailed information about the different state voucherscurrently available. Click on there find out
more about it now if your kidsor grandkids are younger, okay. Many
states also offer free preschool programs atthe private school of your choice, and
getting into the preschool program at theprivate school of your choice is a great

(07:05):
way to get your toe in forfuture years down the road. Okay.
So, now, while Florida's program, I'm being told is one of the
best in the country, there aremore than forty states currently offering some sort
of free or reduced cost PreK program. Okay, your local pre K school
should be able to provide you withsome more information on your own states program.

(07:28):
They're going to be in the know. Okay. Next up, this
is another big one. Take advantageof your states state tax credit programs.
This is big. Now, severalof the same states I just mentioned Florida,
Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Georgia as well as Iowa,
Pennsylvania, my own home state,New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia,

(07:50):
and North Carolina, a good longlist there have set up tax credit
programs. These things are beautiful taxcredit programs to give pairs it's paying for
private school a break on their taxes. And it's a big break. Okay,
now again, The Alliance for SchoolChoice has also assembled a comprehensive list
of all the different state tax programscurrently available. If your state is not

(08:13):
currently on that list, contact yourlocal state representative. Representative means they represent
you, and if your needs aren'tbeing met, let your representative know it
to find out how to get atax program initiated. That's how it happened
in all the other states. Makeit happen for yours. We got room
for one more before the break,and this is one that is a huge
eye opener. It blows wide openthe idea that you might not be able

(08:37):
to afford private school. Here's howyou can. One of the biggest ways
people get their kids into these schoolsnegotiate the tuition rates. Okay, it's
a little known fact that private schooltuition rates are rarely, if ever set
in stone, especially for the schoolsthat may be eager to boost their enrollment
rate of great kids. You've gotgreat kids, you've got great grands kids,

(09:00):
You've got wonderful kids that you're thinkingabout putting in these schools. These
are just the types of kids thatthese private schools would love to have.
So during your search for these schools, be sure to inquire as to whether
there's any wiggle room within the publishedtuition rates. Get in there and dicker
around and negotiate and talk them downjust a bit, flat out. Many,

(09:22):
many schools, if not all,have a cushion, shall we say,
with room to adjust rates as necessary, particularly if you're thinking of sending
more than one kid to the school. That's a big thing. There may
also be a credit. There mayalso be a credit available in exchange,
maybe for a certain number of volunteerhours. If you have any teaching background,

(09:43):
if you have any lunch room background, if you have any background with
kids. This is all the stuffthey need to know about, so be
sure to inquire about this possibility aswell. You gotta love this next one.
In addition to negotiating tuition rates themselves, consider negotiating your payment scale.
It doesn't all have to be alump sum, you know, for five
grand each year. That's overwhelming forthe vast majority of families. However,

(10:07):
a twelve month schedule, you know, all through the year, even summer
break, of four hundred per monthmight be more manageable. That's about ten
bucks a day. Guys, Canyou do it? I think you can,
especially when it's incorporated into a monthlybudget. All right, a five
thousand dollars a year school bill.That's it's about ten twelve dollars a day,
give or take. Okay, that'swhat we're talking now. It's about

(10:28):
fifteen dollars a day. Can youdo fifteen dollars a day for your kid?
Most people can. Five thousand isoverwhelming, but when you do fifteen,
you know, fifteen bucks a day, give or take, much more
doable. That's what we're talking about. And guys, I want to hear
from you as well. We haverarely had such a huge response. There
is huge interest in school choice,in private schools, you know, any

(10:48):
kind of schools, and I wantto hear your feedback as well as to
the best most effective ways to getin there without breaking the bank. Times
flying guys hang out for a second. We'll be right back right after this,
and we are back with the Kristena Gophian show. Another beautiful January

(11:11):
day, half past the hour.Who better to join me than the real
estate man himself, John Harriet foranother episode of Dad and Daughter Talk real
Estate. Take it away, Dad, what's today's week's tea leaves telling you
about the real estate market? Youare talking about beautiful January weather. I
tell you, this is almost souththe quality cold here, it's not that
well. The kids were devastated.We got some snow here in the Philadelphia

(11:35):
area. It had the very poortiming to show up over the weekend.
I mean, what's the point ofgetting snow on a weekend. It's not
going to cancel out none. Sothey were a little bummed about that.
But still, I mean, ifI can make it out of my driveway
in January, it's a beautiful dayin my book. So yeah, very
picturesque, very scenic. Not muchhelp in getting the kids out of school.

(11:56):
But other than that's another gorgeous January. It's all good. And no
matter what day of the year,month of the year, apparently it is
always a good time to talk realestate. The party never stops in the
real estate market, party never stops, and you're always something new to talk
about. Back dat up, takeit away, sir. Alright, we're
going to touch on a whole bunchof topics, Chrissie. One is where's

(12:16):
the housing market headed? Yummy stuff, and what's going to be happening state
by state? And by the way, folks, if you're interested in what's
going to be happening to your statewith real estate prices, just call our
dad and Daughter Talk real Estate Hotline, which is yes, absolutely guys,
anytime call or text four eight fourfive seven four four zero eight eight.

(12:37):
Now we're going to talk about shouldbuying a house be one of your first
financial steps this year? And ofcourse the answer to that is yeah,
okay. What is happening with thereal cost of buying a house? Well,
actually, you might be surprised thatin many ways it's less expensive now
than it has been back in theseventies, eighties, nineties, in the
first ten years the cheap out.Now we're going to give a little bit

(12:58):
of direction on if you're thinking aboutwhat is the best time to list your
house? Very good, yep.And then we're going to talk about is
the recent dipping interest rates here tostay And just mention a little bit toward
the end. If you're thinking aboutbuying a vacation property, is now a
good time to be doing that?Preferably for all my talk about great January,
So preferably in a warmer climate whereveryou are, pick that vacation home

(13:20):
where you can get a little bitof a tan. Yep, you're right,
you are right. I do likePennsylvania as a place to live.
But I say, what those Miamitemperatures look awful darn good. Yeah,
those Miami temperatures look awful down good, Okay, So where's the housing market
headed? The core Logics people isa group of economists that gets convened by
the National Association of Realtors four timesa year. One hundred and five economists.

(13:43):
I don't know why they pick thenumber one hundred and five, but
that's what they have. And theyget together four times a year and they
attempt to come up with a consensusand they always do as to what is
going to be happening with home pricesover the next year, and they are
saying their crystal ball and they doit themselves. Since Karnact The Magnificent is

(14:03):
no longer with us, those ofyou who remember the old Johnny Carson,
The Night Show, Karnact, TheMagnificent, the Turban. They are saying
that home prices appreciate by about fourpoint eight percent. That's not bad over
last year. And furthermore, theysay nationally, if you buy a house
now five years from now, thathouse is probably going to be worth about
twenty five percent more phenomenal. Now, the higher priced houses probably are not

(14:26):
going to appreciate quite that much.The lower priced houses might appreciate a little
bit more. And as I've saidbefore, you only know one thing about
a forecast, right Chrissy, andthat is that is wrong. It's usually
not spot on. But you're lookingfor trends. When the trends are telling
me something, I'm willing to taketheir word at that bad. That's right.
So it's you know, going up, going down. You don't know
if it's going to be wrong earlywrong, late, wrong, high,

(14:50):
wrong low. Everybody is saying homeprice is going to be appreciating next year.
Okay, Now, if you're interestedin what's going to be happening in
your state, well I've got thatinformation too. For example, We've got
a lot of listeners down in theLouisiana Mississippi area. Mississippi about four point
seven percent this year, Louisiana alittle bit lower. Give us a call

(15:11):
that dad and daughter talk real estatehotline. Hey, Louisiana, John,
how much the price is going upnext year? Just give me an email
address and I'll get that information backto you. Beautiful, but it's looking
like home prices are going up prettysolidly, in good shape, very reassuring.
I love that. Now, thenwhat should be your very very first
step checking out your ability to buya house? Oh, the very very

(15:35):
first thing that you ought to do, folks, is number one. Pick
yourself a good realtor. Absolutely.I always recommend interviewing at least two,
preferably three or four. But thevery very first thing that you ought to
do is find out what kind ofa loan you're prequalified. Definitely, and
you can do this in a coupleof different ways. Again, I would
recommend that you select a realtor you'regoing to be working with. Alternatively,
if you're not ready to make thatkind of a commitment yet, just call

(15:58):
one of the local real state officesthat's well known in your area. And
I'm a very partial to Killer Williamsbecause I think we have a very very
good screening process to get people onboard who are going to be doing a
good job and say, look,what i'd like to find out is what
kind of a house i'd be qualifiedfor. Yep. And typically there's no
cost or obligation for this. Andfolks, here's one, perhaps kind of

(16:18):
a dirty little secret. Almost everymortgage lender operates with the same set of
guidelines because unfortunately, all of themortgage lending rules are written in Washington,
DC by Fanny may and Freddie Mack. And the reason for that is,
as soon as that loan gets approvedand your house gets settled, your mortgage
lender is not going to service thathimself. He's going to sell it off

(16:40):
to Fanny May Ye who packages ittogether with a lot of other mortgage loans
into mortgage backed securities. And that'show the money gets made. It's a
double edged sword. Your lender probablywill not be servicing that loan. He
or she is going to be sellingit, So get hold of a good
realtor or It's it's not a badidea to just look on the yellow pages

(17:03):
of the Internet otherwise known as Googleor Yahoo, and say mortgage lender in
the Houston area or whatever, andjust give them a call and say,
look, my situation is thus,I'm not ready to buy yet, but
I want to find out what itis I'm qualified for. And again,
everybody is going to use the samenumber cruncher, and they're going to come
back and tell you what it isyou're qualified for and which program you're going

(17:26):
to be best suited for. Thereyou go. Some people they're going to
be best suited with a twenty percentdown payment that's going to give you the
lowest interest rate and the lowest payment, and other people are going to be
a zero percent down payment because you'rea veteran, or someplace in between.
Maybe a three and a half percentdown payment because you can get an FHA

(17:47):
loan for three and a half percentdown, a little higher interest rates.
You're going to be playing PMI,which is primary mortgage insurance, but it
helps you get into that house rightnow and helps you save money in the
long run. You touched on somany points. There's number one, of
course, get your hands on agood realtor. But when it comes to
these bankers and these finance experts,they don't make a living unless they put

(18:08):
you in a home that you're lookingfor. So honestly be aware that,
yeah, you know, the recession, the Great Recession, may have put
a couple of dings and bruises inyour in your personal finances, your portfolio,
your bank accounts. But chances areexcellent they're going to be able to
work some you know, very understandablemagic on you and get you something,
maybe more than you thought you mightbe able to do. Yep, I

(18:29):
think most people are going to bevery very pleasantly surprised. You know,
some people think you need a creditscore of seven to fifteen down payment of
twenty percent in order to qualify fora home purchase. Not so exactly.
Google mortgage lenders and whatever area you'rein, Yeah, give them a call
and say, look, here's whatI'm thinking about doing. And don't trust
any form you fill out on theinternet. No, and I would say

(18:49):
stay away from internet based lenders.I've seen some very very horrible stories.
I heard that too, about whenyou come to settlement time and they say,
well, now there's five thousand dollarsa dipsy doodle fee. Here,
wait a minute. Nobody mentioned inthe dipsy doodle feed, but oh yes
we did. It was in thesmall print of that application. Stick with
a with a local lender who's abooks and mortar guy in your neighborhood.

(19:10):
But that is how to make surethat you can qualify for more. If
they say you're qualified for a millionand a half with a five thousand dollars
a month mortgage payment, you don'thave to buy something that much. Fus,
don't buy something that high. Youheard it from Dad and I here.
And the next thing is, youknow the cost of buying a house
across time. I'm looking here ata report that was done just recently takes

(19:30):
a look at the cost of buyinga two hundred and fifty thousand dollars house
in the nineteen seventies, eighties,nineties. Right now, okay, and
guess what. Back in the eighties, buying a two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars house would have cost you abouttwenty seven hundred dollars a month for principal
interest. Right now, buying thathouse for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
would cost you about fifteen hundred andforty six bucks too important because the interest

(19:52):
rate back then was about thirteen percentand right now it's under five percent.
Back in the eighties, you're talkingabout a three thousand dollars month payment.
That was about your entire salary backin the day in the eighties thirty six
dollars a year, and now it'sa fraction of that at the lower interest
rates. It's unbelievable. There again, good realtor can really really come in
handy and be worth his or herweight in gold. Heck. Yeah,

(20:14):
the fact that some people are bemoaningthe fact that, oh, housing prices
have gone up so much, etcetera, et cetera. Great housing is
really kind of affordable these days,especially if you look at it in terms
of, you know, percentage ofthe median income takes to make a principal
and interest payment, et cetera,et cetera. So talk to a good
lender and get yourself a good realtorand find out. The first thing to
find out is how much of ahouse am I qualifying exactly? Okay,

(20:38):
the best time to list your houseif you're going on, if you're thinking
about putting it on the market.I get this question a lot They say,
John, what's the best time tolist my house? And whether it
is July, October, December,April, I always say today, yeah,
And they get their their eyes getbig and they say, whoa,
whoa, whoa. But aren't mostof the house is sold? And you

(21:00):
know the spring of the year,And that's true. You know, the
spring market is when most of thehouses get sold. But that's also when
most of the houses come on themarket. Yep, so you've got a
lot more houses that you're competing against. The best time to get your house
on the market is today because thatperfect buyer may show up and be ready
to buy today, and if yourhouse isn't on the market, he or

(21:21):
she is not going to be mistedopportunities. Time flies. We've only got
about twenty seconds left. Fick Well, folks, thank you very much for
listening. Chrissy, thank you againfor having me as your guest, and
we'll hope to see you next week. You'd better believe it more into next
week. Thanks again, pop moreafter this, guys, and we are

(21:48):
back with the Kristen a Gophian Showand our next guest back again by popular
demand, is so good at highlightingsomething that is an increasing interest to so
many out there, and that's schoolchoice. You know, over the last
few years, especially as we putCOVID in the rear view mirror, thank
Heaven, people who before had noconceivable interest in school choice really got their

(22:14):
interest peaked, and those who werealready interested in it took their interest up
another notch. And I've mentioned thisbefore on the area. You know,
I'm a proud public school brat.You know, I had a wonderful experience
in public school, as did myhusband, and when we had kids,
we really researched the options. Wehad. Moved away from our original school
districts. We're about an hour westand we adore where we live. It's

(22:38):
just fantastic and the solutions that wecame up with worked beautifully for us.
Everyone's different, you know, maybeyou or somebody you know is going back
and forth tossing around facts and numbersthemselves. And if there's anyone out there
who is dang good at supplying theanswers, it's mister Andrew Campanella, author
of the School Choice Roadmap and presentof National School Choice, joining us via

(23:02):
our Newsmaker line. Andrew, welcome, great to talk to you again.
We talk every year, and it'swonderful, oh, I know, and
we always appreciate it when you taketime out of your schedule to join us,
because this is subject matter that isjust skyrocketing in interest. And when
we first had you on the showyears ago, pre COVID, so many
things were different. And every timeI have you on the show, we

(23:23):
get tremendous buzz because they are somany people interested in your expertise and your
latest findings. The numbers are alwaysmoving around there. And when I put
out the word that you were joiningme again, sure enough, interest spiked
again. And we're in the midstof school Choice Week, which is a
great time to connect talk to ourlisteners as to what exactly the term school

(23:48):
choice actually means. Sure, so, thank you very very much. And
every time we talk, I saythat there are a lot of options for
families, but today there are reallyso many more and they have grown exponentially
since the pandemic, and so sowhat school choice means is giving parents the
power to choose the learning environments thatwork best for their kids. And so

(24:11):
for some kids like you and forme, the local public school was really
the best fit. But for otherstudents and maybe a charter school or at
private school, or at home ora micro school. And so right now
parents have more choices than ever before. And they can even get tuition assistants
to send their kids to a privateschool, they can homeschool their kids,

(24:33):
they can try something called micro schooling, which is a brand new type of
education. And what we want familiesto do during School Choice Week is to
get that process started. So ifyou want to make a change, if
you're even thinking about making a change, do the research now before the summer.
Don't wait. So I'm taking notesas you're talking because you're bringing up
so many interesting points and I wantto hear more about that micro schooling later

(24:57):
as well. That sounds fast.But one thing that keeps jumping into my
head. You know, I've gotolder kids now, beautiful kids that powered
through COVID. They did great.We luckily didn't have any school closures,
miraculously. One of my kids wasgoing to Catholic school at the time.
The other one went to a publicschool where everybody showed up every single day
in person for some great learning.They simply woarm masks and I'm thankful for

(25:19):
that every day. But You've gotparents out there that are looking around and
they want to do right by theirkids. There's so many choices, How
exactly do parents go about identifying thebest school for their child. Yeah,
so I appreciate that you brought upthe fact that it is daunting for families,
because I want parents who feel dauntedto know you are not alone.

(25:41):
A majority of families who when askedif they want to pursue the process of
choosing a new school do say thatthey're initially stressed out about it, and
so that's normal. And what wetry to do is remove that stress as
much as possible. And one ofthe ways we do that is by getting
rid of all the confusing education jargonthat parents are confronted with every day that

(26:07):
makes the process even more confusing,because what families really need to do when
they choose a new school for theirchild is not to think about all the
things they don't know right now,which is what are all the options available
and how you actually enroll, becausewe'll get there and we've got the resources
to show you how to do it. Well. What I want you to

(26:27):
do is think about your child.That's not going to confuse you because you
know your child better than anybody elseon this planet. You are the expert.
Nobody out there, no academic,no bureaucrat, can tell you more
about your kid that you don't alreadyknow. So I want you to make
a list, put it down onpaper, of what your goals are for

(26:48):
your child academically, personally in thelong run. I want you to make
a list of what you need foryour child's education, what your child needs
to succeed based on your own intuition, and then what you want nice to
have list of things that would behelpful. And then you go through the
process of making a list of schoolsin your area. Doesn't need to be

(27:11):
complicated. Just look at all theschools in your area, write them down.
Then you're going to consider researching them, visiting them, asking questions.
Then talk to friends and family andget their input. I don't encourage families
to talk to other folks at thestart of the process because I want you
to center your child and your needsfirst. Don't let a ton of different

(27:34):
information influence you at the start.Let it help you at the end of
the process when you're about to finalizeyour decision, and then get to the
process of actually choosing, and soif you break it down into those steps
and you keep your child at thefront of the equation, it's a lot
less stressful. And our website togive a quick pitch for that school choiceweek

(27:56):
dot com really breaks down those stepsso that they're a lot more achievable for
moms and debts. That is outstandingand it sounds like that kind of straightforward
connect the dots decision making is goingto appeal to a lot of parents out
there. So they're putting their listtogether. Here's what's going to work.
Here's one of our big goals.Here's something we really want to look for

(28:18):
when they get that list together andthey put it together, and suddenly that's
going to narrow down the number ofschools they are going to really dive into
with more focus. Then it comesto the point where, you know,
what does our state from coast tocoast, whatever state you're in, what
does our state offer parents in termsof school choice? How do we go
about checking that box. So that'sa really good point and a great question,

(28:41):
And the first thing families need toknow is this, Even though we're
the National School Choice Awareness Foundation,a lot of our work focuses on specific
states, all the states, actually, because every state has its own school
choice policies and education laws. Educationis really a local and state issue,
and so every state sets its ownpolicies about the freedom's parents have about choosing

(29:06):
where their kids can go to school, and a lot of times they delegate
decision making to districts. So,for example, a district might be able
to decide if a child is ableto go to a different school outside of
their zone. A district might beable to decide how many charter schools will
be there, depending on the state. But for example, in Pennsylvania,
which I believe you're in, right, Christen, You're in Pennsylvania, Yep,

(29:30):
absolutely, we're right here in PA. So there is a program if
you want to send your child toa private school, build the Educational Improvement
Tax Credit program that allows you toget tuition assistants to send your child to
a private school. That's statewide,So it doesn't matter where you live.
Now, the options you have andthe choices you have in your community do
matter about where you live. Becauseyou want to make sure you can get

(29:52):
your child to a school for onlinelearning, there are full time statewide tuition
free online schools in Pennsylvania. Soevery state, I know you have listeners
all over the place. Every statehas its own options. So we break
it down by state on our websiteat school choiceweek dot com. It sounds
more complicated than it is. Soagain, I'm writing stuff down as you're
talking, and it kind of begsa question. In your research, are

(30:15):
you finding that there's any one statethat is really crushing it in terms of
getting this done and kind of settingthe tone for the next evolution of education
in our country or are we allkind of along the same pace, or
do you find there are a coupleof states that are really standing out with
how they're excelling with this. No, we're getting into the big leagues.
I'll tell you that you look ata state like Florida, stay like Arizona.

(30:37):
Those two states really offer more optionsfor families than almost any other.
I would say you have more choicesfor your child if you live in Arizona
or Florida than almost anywhere else.But those states could still improve, And
where they could still improve is publicschool choice. School districts still make it
a bit too tough for families inthose states to transfer out of their zone

(31:00):
or out of their district, andso more needs to be done to expand
options. In Pennsylvania, for example, I would say it's above average level
of choices. There are choices,but difficult to switch between it among districts
in many cases, and the privateschool choice program could be expanded. Brilliant,
good stuff, and I knew thetime would fly. Where do our

(31:22):
listeners go for more information on this? How do they take it to the
next step school choiceweek dot com.All the information is right there. Can't
beat that, Andrew Campanilla. Again, I knew the time would fly.
Always a pleasure, sir, yourwealth of information on subject matter that our
listeners are getting more and more interestedin. You're on the cusp of something

(31:42):
absolutely huge and mind blowing. Inthe fact that you can come here on
the air and break it down forus in workable terms every single time is
so appreciated. Many thanks for takingtime out of your busy schedule. Yet
again. Let's see what the nextyear holds, and please know you've got
an open mic anytime be well.Thank you so much, I appreciate it,
and we'll be right back gang rightafter this small, not too still

(32:12):
the best of all circumstance. Let'shands all Jaska and we are back with

(32:37):
the Christianagopian Show. And as weall face January squarely in the eye and
maybe make some resolutions to adapt somehealthier habits, some people are going to
take it that step further and reallyaddress some issues that they know aren't getting
better on their own, whether it'sregarding your health, whether it's regarding relationships,

(32:59):
whatever it is. And alcohol relatedproblems are among the most significant public
health issues in the US, andthe holidays especially, I can't be alone
in thinking this. You know,the holidays are a time you see the
people you love, and you knowsome people are more likely to drink beyond
their limits, and January is agreat time to kind of rethink your drinking

(33:20):
habits amongst others. And joining usv our newsmaker line none other than doctor
George Koob back by popular demand,director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, a world renowned experton how alcohol affects health, and he's
here to join us to talk aboutdry January, which is a great concept.
It's helping so many people. Howyou can maybe recognize signs of an

(33:44):
alcohol problem and the people that youcare about and ways to get help.
Doctor welcome, Thank you. It'sa pleasure to be with you. It's
a pleasure to have you back.I hope your twenty twenty four is going
well so far. And as Imentioned during the break, we're looking so
forward to connect with you on thisbecause in this day and age, I
know I'm preaching to the choir here, Doc, but in this day and

(34:06):
age of increased stress and less sleepthan ever, you know, more worries
than ever. We seem you know, every time you turn on the news,
it's kind of a mistake to doso you want to stay in the
know with various things, and youturn off the set. You're more crazy
making than you were before. Anda lot of people are taking the edge
off with some alcohol. I donot drink. I'm more of a chocolate

(34:28):
and coffee kind of gal. Butthe good news is you can operate heavy
machinery under the biggest coffee and youknow, chocolate doses there are out there,
but in all seriousness, not somuch with alcohol. And when you
see the people that you love alsodealing with all the stress out there,
and you see they're reaching for thealcohol. Talk to us a bit about
some possible signs of an alcohol relatedproblem. None of us want to stick

(34:52):
our noses in whether they're not needed, but when we're seeing people that we
care about, we want to reallyknow what the signs are and maybe when
we should stick our nes and didthis, you know, for their good
as well as the people that youknow that are around you. Talk to
us about the signs of an alcoholrelated problem that maybe may have surfaced during
the holidays. Well, if youduring the holidays you only went to parties

(35:13):
where alcohol was being served, andwhen you were at the parties you overdid
it, embarrassing yourself and more importantly, perhaps your friends that you went with
or your significant other, then thatthat's an early marker. Another is where
you know you're just not feeling sohot, particularly in the mornings when you

(35:34):
when you get up, and there'sa good bit of malaise and fatigue that
follows that. That's that's another.That's another sign. What you mentioned drinking
to cope with stress. If you'reif you can't wait till the evening so
you can down a couple of drinksto take the edge off the stress of
the day. That's that's another indicator, especially if that starts to escalate.

(35:59):
The words increase on a on aday or weekly basis, because alcohol produces
tolerance and so that means that veryrapidly. And so if you start increasing
what you're drinking, then you knowyou need to increase it even more the
next night to get the same effect. And you know, alcohol wears off

(36:22):
very quickly, so you know,in two or three hours, the demons
come back with a vengeance and thenyou start re engaging with alcohol. So
all and one of the most sensitivemeasures is is deterioration in relationships or deterioration
in work performance. And you knowthose are things to pay attention to.

(36:43):
It's so true. Now talk tous a bit about dry January. It's
a concept that I think is soimportant. You know the concept of not
drinking any alcohol during the month.And it's exactly as you say, Doc,
because there's nothing like the holidays.You know, you go to attend
a couple of parties, maybe it'sfor work or whatever else, and you're
seeing friends and co workers in thesestates where you're like, my gosh,

(37:04):
you know, I grew up ina household that didn't have a lot of
alcohol in it, you know,a little bit once in a while,
you'd have a sip. I again, am not a big fan of it,
but you go and kind of seesome other family trees in business during
the holidays, and you're like,holy macaroni, there's a lot of you
know, alcohol going around here.Say maybe the same thing with the company
parties, that sort of thing.When we're talking about dry January, talk

(37:24):
to us about how that can bemaybe a really crucial healthy first step and
where our listeners can go for somemore information on this. So if you
actually stopped drinking for a few daysor a week or a few weeks,
and you suddenly reverse many of thethings I mentioned. In other words,
you're sleeping better, which is avery sensitive marker. You have more energy,

(37:46):
You're getting your assignments done at workfaster and more efficiently and better.
You no longer have gaesstro intestinal distressin the evening. You know, listen
to your body because your body's tryingto tell you something. And I think,
you know, I think that's oneof the crucial parts of this dry
January movement. It is part ofa changing culture in the United States.

(38:07):
And something I like to emphasize is, you know, think about not hosting
a party or going to a partyor a reception where alcohol is the only
beverage sold or presented or available.You know, any party should include a
non alcohol containing beverage. And sothose are those are some things that I

(38:30):
think are really important, absolutely true, and I knew the time would fly.
Doctor. Thank you so much fortaking the time to share this very
important information. You've got an openmic anytime. Wishing you and your entire
crew a very happy and healthy yearto come. Happy twenty twenty four.
Thank you, and don't forget aboutrethinking drinking and the alcohol treatment navigator get
all the information I've been talking about. We certainly will, and we'll put

(38:52):
links to all of our social mediaas well. Be well, sir,
Thanks again, thank you, thatwas great, And until next week,
save those pennies, pay with cashand you all stay frugal out there.
Cheap is small and not too steep. The best of all she cheap circumstance.

(39:16):
As first my man to be acomp person in a little bad lane
sign by all fa I just gottalearn to recall the love love. I'm

(39:40):
not a cheap. You understand,I'm just a cut rist person in a
low bages life. Excuse my shoes. They don't quite fit the special offer
and they hood me. Is thiseven my trous I'll give you your face

(40:00):
if there were a juice still thesales so I shouldn't complain. It squeezed
me so tired, so I can'tsee no more. They're a size twenty
eight. Bye, I take thirtyfour. I'm out of lovemagine, walking
side I loved my boy said,I'm out of love badge. I'm a

(40:28):
comfied person in a gold mag I'mshocking at woolers A love discots. GoF
I'm dropping my stand so that Ican buy more