The numbers behind the headline The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its August income and spending report on October 1, and one line deserves your attention more than any other: the personal saving rate fell to 4.1% — the lowest since November 2022. HR Ratings put the monthly figure at 4.09%, the lowest reading since …
What an index fund actually is An index fund is a single investment that holds a little piece of hundreds of companies at once, by copying a market index. The most famous example: an S&P 500 index fund holds all 500 of the largest U.S. companies — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and 497 others — in …
Why this year needs a plan, not just good intentions Deloitte’s 2026 holiday survey, published October 14, projects the average American will spend $1,654 this season — up 4% from $1,595 last year. Retail goods alone are expected to hit $988, up 10% year over year. And shoppers are already moving: 24% started buying in …
Your side hustle made money this year. Congratulations — and condolences, because the tax bill is coming, and almost every beginner gets blindsided by at least one part of it. Side hustle taxes feel complicated because they’re different from W-2 taxes. Nobody withholds anything from your freelance payments. You’re suddenly responsible for taxes most employees …
Most financial New Year’s resolutions are dead by February. That’s not a character flaw — it’s a design flaw. “Save more money” and “stop overspending” are wishes, not plans. And waiting for January 1 to start is the first mistake of all. Here’s the thing: you don’t need a new year. You need a head …
Here’s an uncomfortable truth about saving money: your willpower is not the problem. Your system is. Every month, millions of people resolve to save “whatever’s left” after spending — and discover there’s nothing left. That’s not a character flaw. Money sitting in checking feels available, and available money gets spent. Behavioral economists have a name …
The most important financial event of the week hasn’t happened yet — and the person running it won’t say what he’ll do. The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee meets October 27–28 to decide whether to hold interest rates steady or raise them again. New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was asked about it directly at the IMF/World …
Every December, the same question comes up at every checkout counter in America: card or debit? Cash or credit? And every January, about half of holiday shoppers get an answer they didn’t want. ICSC’s 2026 holiday survey found that 50% of consumers say their personal or household debt will affect their holiday spending — and …
Four easy payments of $37.50. No interest. No credit check. What could go wrong? A lot, it turns out. Buy now, pay later has gone from a checkout novelty to a $20-billion-a-holiday-season habit — and the data on what it is doing to our budgets just got ugly. LendingTree’s October 2026 tracker found that 47% …
It’s the most common money question I hear from people in their 20s and 30s: “I have $500 a month to put somewhere — should I build my emergency fund or start investing?” It’s a great question, and the fact that you’re asking it means you’re already ahead of most people. But it’s also slightly …