The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • B4

B-4 THE RECORD SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2015 USA TODAY PERSONAL FINANCE The IRS stumbles into tax deadline They have more degrees, they go to college at higher rates than ever before and they have the debt to show for it. If they want prosperity, they've got to be smart and use the time they have right now. These kids (will) never be able to take a cash advance on a credit card to start a company, they don't have the resources to buy a house (and most don't want to) so they need to be smart on every move they make to find prosperity down the road. QHow has your reporting influenced this book? The kinds of stories I cover What's unique about how Millennials manage finances? They have time, the most valuable ingredient in building wealth, but they also have this added wrinkle of student loan debt. They become money and debt managers before they're old enough to drink.

The biggest financial decision they'll ever make happens when they're 17 deciding where to go to college and how much money to borrow to do it. It puts them in a unique position of having to triage their debts at a time when other generations were getting MILLENNIALS' MONEY-SAVING SUPER POWER? TIME! go to the heart of the When it comes to saving money, Millennial have the most potential. That's why CNN chief business correspondent Millennial experience: job creation, the tech revolution, the student debt crisis, is college worth it? Last year I crossed the country started with a clean slate QWhat are their most common money mistakes? Not graduating college in four years. Only 39 do. On borrowed money, or at a year, it's just ludicrous.

For many, it's easy to ignore their debt and let it fade into the background noise of Emma Hinchliffe USAToday Christine Romans is telling today's 18- to 34-year-olds how to save in her new book, Smart Is the New Rich: Money Guide for reporting on alternatives to a $125,000 four-year college degree. What I learned is Millennials are gun-shy from the recession. They came of COURTESY CHRISTINE ROMANS Author Christine Romans Millennials. "Why write a money book for Millennials?" Romans asks. "Because you have the most valuable ingredient for building wealth: time." USA TODAY talked with Romans about her new book.

Hadley Malcolm USATODAY The Internal Revenue Service is slightly behind in receiving and processing tax returns this year as a filing season plagued by customer service shortcomings ends this week. A little more than 99 million people, or two-thirds of taxpayers, have filed as of April 3, down 0.8 from the same period last year, according to IRS data. The number of returns processed at this point is down 1.2. People have until Wednesday to file for a return or a six-month extension. The tax body has been blunt about how its dwindling funding would affect customer service performance, telling taxpayers to expect long wait times on calls and at service centers, and pushing people to file electronically and look to the Web for help instead.

That strategy has worked to a degree. Visits to IRS.gov, which fell last year after a huge jump in 2013, are up 11.7, though there's hours-long waits to reach someone beyond what's online. At least 115 million Americans reach out to the IRS for help every year, but less than half could expect to get it this season, according to a report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS. The IRS has also stopped helping people prepare returns, and staff has been cut so much that they often can only answer taxpayers' basic questions, such as which forms to fill out. Taxpayers have so far received more than $217 billion in refunds.

age and saw their parents struggling (so they) don't have that risk-taking gene. They also have different views about how they want to work they don't buy the 40-hour workweek, climbing the corporate ladder. They look at what Gen and the Baby Boomers achieved and they say, "That's it?" They think like tech CEOs. They want the four-day workweek, flexibility, they want to be inspired by the project they're on. I think they're unfairly characterized as lazy and entitled (Google "Millennials at work" and you'll see what I mean) and I think how they spend their money and what they want out of a career could change everything.

QHow can Millennials combat negative stereotypes in the workplace? They have to be really aware of them. Millennials must know walking into a job interview that there's someone who thinks they're the kid who got the soccer trophy for showing up and not for winning, and they don't want to work hard. their life. Too much student debt will keep you from really joining the middle class. Another mistake, paying too much for housing.

Millennials often pay 50 to 60 of their income in rent if they can move home or live with two or three roommates they should. (Also), invest in a tax-advantaged 401(k) even when you're paying student loan debt QHow should they approach saving for retirement and for other long-term expenses? They're like their grandparents and great-grandparents: they save money but they're scared of investing. I want them to be investing by the time they're 25. It's almost a contradiction: They save like they came out of World War II but spend in a way that makes them happy. They don't scrimp whether it's the right iPhone, a luxury bag or a vegan food-delivery service, but they're scared of investing.

But the math is in their favor. Investing in a tax-advantaged account starting early in your 20s is the easiest way to build wealth. QWhy is smart the new rich? We know this is the smartest generation in American history. MILLENIALS' WEAKNESSES Here are some roadblocks to money success from Smart Is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials: "Guesstimating" monthly spending. Unrealistic goals.

Huge student loans, but you don't live like a student. Procrastination. Paying only minimums on credit cards. GETTY IMAGES What is the one piece of financial advice you would give all Millennials? Leverage their time. Don't just focus on the debt focus on growing money at the same time.

CUTTING THE CORD THE WEEK AHEAD Your how-to guide for leaving pay-TV behind Mike Snider USATODAY Before you try that online app, read these expert tips to help you switch CHARLES MOSTOLLER, BLOOMBERG With savings in pockets, will consumers spend? Doug Carroll USATODAY to aim than your grandparents' antennas," said Richard Schneider, president and founder of Antennas Direct. Most people who are within 70 miles of the transmitters should have the ability to receive DTV signals, he says. If you are within 25 miles you usually can get by with an indoor antenna. Beyond that, you probably need an attic or outdoor antenna. Antennas Direct has its own calculator on its site to help you see how far you are from transmitters.

You can also check Antenna.org. With indoor antennas, you may be able to use old rabbit ears. Newer, indoor flat antennas can stick to a window or wall and usually work up to 25-30 miles away ($49 to $79). Outdoor antennas cost $50 and up, and you may want to pay for installation Antenna maker Mohu has an online tool that recommends an antenna and tells you what channels you are likely to receive. Channel Master has a $10 FLA-Tenna (free shipping) that the company recommends customers try before investing in anything more expensive.

"For a lot of people, the FLATenna will be all they ever need," said the firm's Shelly O'Connell. QWhat if my only option is a cable company? You may be stuck. "There's satellite Internet, but it's slower," Swann said. "You can also use a mobile Internet device, but that may be costly, too, plus it's restrictive to the device you connect it to." Qls there a way to still get the Golf Channel (or other channels such as HGTV)? Before Sling TV came along, everyone just wanted to know how to get ESPN without a pay TV subscription. Golf Channel is now available on PlayStation Vue, which became operational in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia last month.

The channel is part of the $59.99 tier, a $10 step up from the basic service. Live streams of HGTV and other cable channels can be found also on Sling TV. Severing your relationship with a traditional pay-TV service cutting the cord remains a hot topic. As many as 7 of pay-TV homes are expected to drop their service or switch to an online video app instead. Many of those are already "cord cheaters," who may, say, have cut their $100 pay-TV bill to $75 and use the $25 to get video from Amazon, Hulu or Netflix, said Billy Purser, senior director of marketing at Digitalsmiths, a data firm owned by TiVo.

The findings came from a consumer survey the firm conducted. There's still more than 101 million pay-TV homes, according to research firm IHS. But the buzz around cord cutting has raised many basic questions with readers. Here are a few I've received that I've answered with the help of some industry experts. QHow do I get started? Determine your needs, wants and budget, says Phil Swann of TVPredictions.com.

If certain channels or programs are important to you, research to make sure they're available through another service before dropping your pay-TV service. If you already have a smart TV or a Net video set-top box such as Apple TV or Roku, a tablet and a smartphone, and you live someplace where you can get both reasonably priced broadband and (over-the-air digital TV signal) reception via a cheap antenna, "you may be in business," says Joel Es-pelien of consulting firm the Diffusion Group. "You also have to decide how much of a sports fan you are," he said. "If you like to watch the playoffs then (cutting the cord) is probably not for you." QWhat about getting local channels via an antenna? Many of your favorite programs may be available over the air from local broadcasters. And the good news is that antennas "are much smaller, more powerful and easier EARNINGS REPORTS Ql earnings reports compete for attention: Tuesday Johnson Johnson, PMorg an Chase, Wells Fargo, Intel Wednesday Bank of America, CSX, Delta Air Lines, Netflix, SanDisk Thursday American Express, Blackrock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Mattel, Phillip Morris, UnitedHealth Group Friday General Electric, Honeywell, Reynolds American, Schlumberger MATT ROURKE.

AP Antennas "are much smaller, more powerful and easier to aim than your antennas." Richard Schneider, Antennas Direct Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists forecast the first gain in five months for the headline PPI number (up 0.2) for March due to lower energy prices. But, "underlying inflationary pressures remain muted in the face of the strong dollar and lingering excess capacity." Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET brings the Empire State Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the March industrial production at 9:15 a.m. from the Federal Reserve. BofA Merrill Lynch sees an up-tick in the Empire State survey, but looks for a modest contraction in industrial production.

At 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, check out the Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey on economic conditions in its districts around the country. Thursday has March housing starts from the Commerce Department at 8:30 a.m. ET. The seasonally adjusted number plunged to 897,000 in February, but many forecast a rebound.

The Labor Dept. turns out its read on inflation with the consumer price index for March at 8:30 a.m. The CPI increased in February for the first time since October 2014, and Nomura foresees a modest increase for March. Consumers saved plenty on lower gasoline prices over the past several months, but there's been scant evidence of them spending that windfall. Was March any different? One of this week's key economic reports may give a clue as might a stream of corporate first-quarter earnings reports.

The major data begins Tuesday with the March retail sales from the Commerce Dept. at 8:30 a.m. ET. Sales fell the previous three months. Nomura chief U.S.

economist Lewis Alexander at Nomura says in a research note, "The weather, (which presumably) played some part in the weak sales was milder." Plus, "continued increases in household income and the saving rate should help (spur) activity," and increased gas prices and vehicle sales should support total sales. Nomura forecasts a 0.9 increase in overall sales and retail sales minus autos to rise by 0.7. Also Tuesday, the Labor Department reports on the change in prices at the business level when it releases the producer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET. "Cutting the Cord" is a regular column covering Net TV and ways to get it.

If you have suggestions or questions, contact Mike Snider via e-mail at msnider usatoday.com. And follow him on Twitter: MikeSnider..