Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Estate sales are treasure troves of unique items often overlooked by casual shoppers. With a keen eye, you can discover valuable pieces that might just enhance your collection or even turn a profit. Here are seven such items you should keep an eye out for at your next estate sale adventure. 1) Vintage Jewelry Often…
UPS plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs this year as it reduces its dependence on Amazon shipping volume, a move announced on an investor conference call and reported by the Associated Press. The announcement lands at a moment when layoffs and discharges are rising and millions of American households lack even basic financial cushions,…
Dave Ramsey, the personal finance radio host and author, has built a brand around blunt warnings about money mismanagement, and his sharpest advice targets Americans over 50 who face a shrinking window to recover from financial errors. Federal data confirms the urgency: debt levels among older households have climbed steadily since 1989, and a growing…
Millions of Americans who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are confronting sharply higher premiums after the enhanced premium tax credits expired on January 1, 2026. The sunset of those temporary subsidies reinstated income caps on eligibility and raised the share of income that households must pay toward benchmark plans, effectively more…
American consumers now reach for credit cards more often than any other payment method, and the consequences of that habit ripple far beyond the checkout counter. Merchant processing fees in the United States exceeded $187 billion in 2024, driven largely by credit card transactions that carry higher interchange rates than debit. The shift toward an…
Roughly 1.73 million vehicles were repossessed across the United States in 2024, a figure not seen since the country was still reeling from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The sharp increase, driven by record-high monthly car payments and tightening household budgets, represents a 16% jump from 2023 and signals growing financial strain among American borrowers. For…
Retirees across the United States are discovering that a $70,000 annual income can deliver a lifestyle that feels far wealthier than the number suggests, provided they pick the right zip code. Federal cost-of-living data shows that smaller cities in the South, Midwest, and parts of the Pacific Northwest price goods, housing, and services well below…
Federal data and behavioral research point to the same conclusion: middle-class households that automate a handful of money habits can accumulate significantly more wealth over time without cutting back on daily spending. The mechanism is not willpower or extreme frugality. It is inertia, the same force that keeps most workers stuck at default savings rates,…
Warren Buffett, now 94, shocked Berkshire Hathaway shareholders by announcing his intention to retire at the end of 2025, capping a career in which the vast majority of his fortune was built after he turned 50. When the Forbes list of wealthy Americans was published on October 13, 1987, Buffett was 57 years old and…
Three separate government-mandated fee increases all take effect on March 1, 2026, hitting consumers who rely on autopay for municipal electric bills, immigration processing services, and state park passes. The increases range from inflation-adjusted bumps of roughly 5.7% on federal immigration filings to new seasonal charges at Delaware State Parks, and each one will silently…