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...
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...
I was having a conversation about retirement health insurance with an acquaintance of mine who just retired. He’s a former corporate executive—an analytical person—who’s always done his homework to avoid as many surprises as possible in the business world. He’s done the same thing with healthcare and decided that a Medigap policy is best...
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...
Like everything else in the United States, soaring inflation is pushing the cost of raising a child from birth through age 17 to astronomical heights.   The Wall Street Journal commissioned the Brookings Institute to find out just how expensive it is to raise a child now. Brookings looked at average...
If you have a Health Savings Account (HSA), there’s good news and there’s bad news for next year. The good news—in 2023 you’ll be able to contribute more than you have in the past. The bad news—the higher contribution limits are because of the highest inflation rate in more...
It’s just human nature. When we buy something, we want to pay the lowest price and get the best deal. That same principle applies to America’s seniors when they turn 65 and have to choose a Medicare Part D Prescription drug plan. The problem, though, is that choosing the...