The financial news that actually matters
A gallon of regular gasoline cost about $3.01 at the start of January. By mid-April, the national average had climbed to roughly $3.68, a jump of about 22%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly retail price series. For a family filling a 20-gallon SUV tank twice a month, that translates to nearly $27 more…
Most retirement savers picture their nest egg as locked away. Money goes into a 401(k) or IRA, sits inside familiar funds, and waits for retirement. However, the reality is less reassuring. Federal rules allow brokers and other financial firms to invest some of the cash and collateral tied to customer accounts in approved investments, and…
Nearly half of U.S. workers are still sitting on thin retirement balances, and the problem runs deeper than any single snapshot can show. Across federal data, academic research, and worker surveys, the pattern is consistent: too many households are saving too little, too many workers still lack a plan at work, and the people with…
Social Security checks are going up in 2026, but that does not mean retirees everywhere will feel the same relief. A uniform federal raise lands very differently depending on certain factors. Factors like where someone lives, rent, groceries, utilities, and out-of-pocket medical costs still vary sharply from state to state. That is what makes geography…
The seven-year countdown is no longer an abstract warning buried in a government report. It is now the central fact hanging over the future of Social Security retirement benefits. According to the Social Security Administration’s 2025 trustees report, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, the part of the system that pays retirement and survivor…
National home prices in the United States have slipped into negative territory on a year over year basis for the first time since the housing market was still climbing out of its post-crisis slump. That shift does not point to a crash, but it does mark a clear break from the long stretch of annual…
Medicare scam calls were already a familiar nuisance for many older Americans. During the most recent open enrollment season, they became something more dangerous. Recent reporting citing Better Business Bureau complaint data found Medicare scam complaints running 40% higher than a year earlier, while federal officials were separately dealing with a confirmed Medicare.gov account incident…
Homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages during the pandemic’s low-rate window are running into a much harsher borrowing environment as their introductory periods expire. For that group, the jump is real: a loan that once looked manageable at roughly 3% can reset materially higher, lifting monthly payments and putting new strain on household budgets. But…
Turning 65 does not make a health savings account disappear, but it does change the rules in a way many workers miss until payroll or tax season catches up with them. Once Medicare coverage starts, new HSA contributions generally have to stop. That is true even for people who keep working and stay on an…
Financial advisors have long warned that borrowing from a 401(k) to fund a home down payment can solve one money problem by creating a bigger one later. The move can look sensible when buyers are scrambling to assemble cash in an expensive housing market, especially if a retirement plan loan seems cheaper or easier than…