Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Across the economy, people are quietly rewriting their shopping lists, cutting recurring purchases that no longer feel worth the money and finding practical workarounds instead. I looked at how people describe these shifts in detailed lists of “things people have stopped buying” and focused on 11 everyday categories where habits are changing, then traced the…
American households are heading into a pivotal stretch in 2026, when a mix of higher borrowing costs, resuming obligations, and shifting tax rules is poised to push debt burdens higher. The pressure will not come from a single source, but from mortgages, credit cards, student loans, and even the federal tax code converging on family…
Credit card debt is climbing again, and the latest jump in balances over just a few months signals that household budgets are under growing strain. As more borrowers lean on plastic to cover everyday expenses, late payments are starting to rise, raising fresh questions about how long consumers can keep spending at their current pace….
Half of holiday shoppers say they expect to lean on buy now, pay later this season, turning a once niche checkout button into a mainstream way to cover gifts, travel and entertaining. I see the appeal of splitting up payments when prices are high and paychecks are stretched, but the same tools that make purchases…
Millions of households rely on SNAP to keep food on the table, but a growing share are losing benefits not because their income changed, but because of paperwork mistakes and missed deadlines. A new wave of administrative hurdles, from stricter work rules to glitchy online systems, is turning routine forms into a high‑stakes test that…
The American middle class once defined economic security, yet today a large majority of households are stretched so thin that a single missed paycheck can trigger crisis. The shift did not happen overnight, and it is not just about individual choices, but about decades of policy, corporate strategy, and financial engineering that steadily eroded the…
New federal rules are tightening who can keep food assistance, but the law still leaves room for people to protect their benefits if they understand the fine print. I want to walk through how the updated Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) requirements actually work, where the legal escape hatches are, and how states are quietly…
Side hustles are getting stranger as the digital economy explodes, and in 2026 the weirdest ideas may also be the most profitable. I am seeing the same pattern across guides to online income and side businesses for 2026: unconventional niches are moving from fringe experiments to serious cash generators. Here are eight of the oddest…
Handled well, a 0% intro APR card can function like an interest-free loan that smooths out big expenses, but the same card can become expensive debt if a few key habits slip. Recent reporting on habits that make or break these offers, on credit card behaviors to avoid, and on strategies to keep more money…
Plenty of money habits sound smart because people swear by them, but some quietly stall progress instead of building real security. I see the same nine patterns come up again and again, especially when they are contrasted with proven tactics like intentional budgeting, targeted frugality and realistic retirement planning. Understanding why these popular habits fail…
Retirement Shield
The money news that hits your wallet
The free Retirement Shield newsletter covers the benefits, tax, and cost-of-living changes that affect what you keep, a couple of times a week.