Posted on January 24, 2024
Economy Staying Strong After a worrisome decline in the first half of 2022 — which sparked fears of a recession — U.S. inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (real GDP) has grown steadily. The third quarter of 2023 showed the strongest growth since the post-pandemic bounceback. Current-dollar...
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Posted on January 02, 2024
Decline in Charitable Giving Americans gave almost $500 billion to charity in 2022 — a strong show of generosity but a 3.4% decline (10.5% adjusted for inflation) from record giving in 2021. This was only the fourth time in the last 40 years that charitable giving fell in current dollars. The stoc...
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Posted on November 21, 2023
Enriching a Teen with a Roth IRA Teenagers with part-time or seasonal jobs earn some spending money while gaining valuable work experience. They also have the chance to contribute to a Roth IRA — a tax-advantaged account that can be used to save for retirement or other financial goals. Minors can ...
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Posted on October 23, 2023
Then and Now In 2003, the U.S. was emerging from the dot-com recession, unemployment rates were peaking during a jobless recovery, and online shopping was becoming more popular. Twenty years have passed, and here’s how some things have changed — one pandemic and two recessions later....
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Posted on September 18, 2023
What Real People Think About Artificial Intelligence When U.S. adults were asked about the expanding presence of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in daily life, 38% said they were more concerned than excited, while just 15% were more excited. Many people were still on the fence, as 46% felt e...
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Posted on August 22, 2023
Leave a Lasting Gift with an Ethical Will A legal will describes how you want your material assets to be distributed, but how do you leave behind your values? Using an ethical will, also called a legacy letter, you can tell your personal story and communicate your beliefs and life lessons to your fa...
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Posted on July 19, 2023
More Americans Embrace the Cashless Economy A growing number of Americans are going “cashless” for everyday purchases like groceries, gas, services, and meals compared to previous years. A cashless payment might be made using a debit or credit card, or a payment app or mobile wallet on a...
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Posted on June 19, 2023
As Your Parents Age, Help Them Protect Their Finances It’s heartbreaking to hear stories of people losing money (even their life savings) as a result of fraud or financial exploitation, especially if they are older and financially vulnerable. In fact, it’s quite common. People age 70 and...
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Posted on May 22, 2023
Cheaper Hearing Aids Are Coming to a Store Near You More than 37 million U.S. adults are living with some hearing loss, but only about one-fourth of those who might benefit from a hearing aid have used one.1 Cost is a big obstacle: The average price of a pair of prescription hearing aids runs about...
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Posted on April 26, 2023
Remote Workers Trade Commutes for Much-Needed Rest According to a detailed analysis of the American Time Use Survey, individuals who worked at home in 2020 instead of commuting to an office collectively saved 60 million hours each day that could be spent doing other things. Employees reported spendi...
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