As expected, the Social Security Administration has announced that the 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) will be the largest COLA in 42 years, brought on by rampant inflation not seen in more than four decades.   Social Security benefits increase automatically if the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) which measures price...
Finances, just like your body, can be sick or healthy. Both are important to your life and you need to pay attention to both. So, how do you take the temperature of your finances? Here are 11 steps to complete your own financial checkup from our friends at The...
By Jean Chatzky I can’t really afford this, but I love it … I really shouldn’t have bought that, but I needed a pick me up … Is this what a spending hangover feels like? Sound familiar? Turns out the majority of us — 64 percent — regret our spending on short-term...
For months we’ve heard stories about record-high inflation not seen in the United States in more than 40 years. There’s been a plethora of reports about skyrocketing grocery prices, fuel prices, food shortages, and the doubling of power and utility bills. People talk constantly about the way inflation is...
When the Coronavirus Pandemic grabbed us, it hit fast, it hit hard, and there was no time to prepare. It was a crisis bigger than anyone has seen in recent history. In a few short weeks, 40 million workers filed for unemployment benefits. People raided grocery stores, stripping shelves...
I can, I will, I can’t, I won’t. Those are all responses we’ve heard in the past two years about deciding to retire. The response you give or the response you get is directly related to the U.S. economy.   Before COVID, American workers age 55 and above were retiring at...
“What the heck is it?” It’s not uncommon for something we used to know by one name now described by another word. When I was a kid, it was a swamp; today it’s wetlands. We used to re-use things; now they’re re-purposed. Improving something now means it’s re-imagined. The...
It’s not uncommon to see the flashing lights and hear the blaring siren of an ambulance rushing to someone’s aid or transporting them to the hospital for emergency treatment. And no matter whether the ambulance is operated by a private company or a government entity, they are an important...
Ouch! The worst inflation in more than 40 years is inflicting pain on virtually every American, effecting their families, their budgets and their decisions.   The U.S. Department of Agriculture says inflation at the grocery store is 10.4% from June 2021 to June 2022. 41% of shoppers are now buying store...