After a break of over two years, borrowers will restart federal student loan payments in January 2023. Before the new year arrives, it might be wise for borrowers to have a strategy for repayment. In March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the federal government ordered the suspension of payments, [...]
Pandemic Pet Adoption During the pandemic, approximately one in five households adopted a pet. These furry companions helped many battle loneliness and isolation during quarantines and lockdowns. With that said, the new additions also amplified the need for veterinary care. During this same time period, another trend emerged. More people [...]
High Priority As inflation puts the squeeze on Americans’ wallets, many people are trimming expenses to stretch their cash. Data from Earnest Research indicates that while restaurants seem to be a casualty of budget reprioritization, coffee shops have yet to get the ax. Spending at bakery cafes and coffee shops [...]
Brookings’ Jump Scare Brookings Institution, one of oldest think tanks in the U.S., evaluated the cost of raising a child. The analysis indicated that a married couple with two kids, earning a mid-range income, would on average spend $18,271 annually to raise their youngest child born in 2015 through age [...]
Separate Ways, Worlds Apart For many months, we have focused almost unilaterally on the path of tightening by the Federal Reserve, and what the next leg of that journey may look like. The concern has been, and remains, how much pain rate hikes, inflation, and quantitative tightening will inflict on [...]
Calculating COLA Every year, Social Security checks get updated to account for inflation based on a measure called, “Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.” While it’s a mouthful, this cost of living adjustment, or COLA, simply takes the index’s average figures for July, August, and September [...]
“Resortainment” Takes Off The pandemic shook up the way people live, work, and travel. As the restrictions ease, companies are attempting to recalibrate to the new norm. Trends in the hotel industry reflect the impact COVID-19 has had on its current clientele. Interest in vacation travel has surged, while business [...]
Worst Performance In Over Two Decades Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising interest rates, and record high inflation. Those are just a few of the headwinds weighing on the IPO market, which is on track to post its worst performance in over two decades. At this point last year, traditional public [...]
20% Drop in Sales Federal reserve policy pushed mortgage rates sharply up, squeezing some would-be homebuyers out of the market. Mortgage applications are down and so are home sales. For six consecutive months through July, sales of existing homes have dropped and are now down 20% from the prior year. [...]
Discretionary Pause Soaring inflation of the last few months has seemingly driven up the cost of everything. It has hit low-income Americans hard, as some of the biggest price increases have been in non-discretionary items. With prices for the 12 months ending July revealing a 44% increase in the cost [...]
