This is the first in a series of financial commentaries by our Editorial Roundtable.
Check back to read alternative points of view expressed in this column.
James Cash Penney, who founded JC Penney in 1902, observed years later that, “Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.”
The Economy
Current Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell recently indicated that the Fed may soon cut interest rates for the first time since the start of the financial crisis in 2009. What would such a change in the federal funds rate mean for you?
In today’s world of 24/7 cable TV and Internet news, people are more
Beware of Credit Score Inflation America’s credit scores have improved along with the improving economy. Compared to 2006, there are approximately fifteen million fewer Americans with credit scores below 660 and a corresponding increase of fifteen million Americans with scores greater than 740.
That’s good news, with a potential downside. Federal Reserve research suggests that
Survey Suggests Economic Overconfidence If the economy is so great and unemployment is so low, why do so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? And why don’t we seem to care?
The February PYMNTS.com Financial Invisibles Report attempts to answer these questions, noting, “For three consecutive quarters, consumers have been optimistic about their financial futures
The Shutdown’s Housing Market Woes It’s a great time to buy a home, and you’re ready. You’ve saved up a suitable down payment, found a home, and settled on a lender. As an added bonus, interest rates are at their lowest point in the last nine months – despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
How Low Can It Go? According to economic theory, low unemployment will lead to rising wages as employers compete for the small pool of qualified workers. Unemployment in America hit a historically low 3.8% in May 2018. Aside from a one-month dip to 3.8% in April 2000, the unemployment rate hasn’t been 3.8% or below
Another Day, Another Breach
Have we reached the point where Americans react to data breaches with a yawn? Given the constant stream of new attacks and the staggering number of accounts involved, that’s an understandable reaction.
The sportswear retailer Adidas recently joined the list of companies successfully attacked by hackers. The size of the
Affordable Housing? What Affordable Housing? Affordable housing is increasingly hard to find in today’s market. According to data from Trulia, America’s inventory of starter homes has decreased by almost half compared to six years ago while prices rose by almost 58%.
As consumers recovered from the housing crisis and Great Recession, more people became financially
A Closer Look at the New Tax Law’s Effects The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) promised an income tax cut for most Americans. Is that promise less likely to be fulfilled if you live in certain states?
The Tax Policy Center (TPC) released a recent report addressing the TCJA’s effect on individual states and
Excessive Borrowing – Bad for Countries As Well As People? If you continue to run a balance on your credit card every month, eventually your overspending will catch up with you. Collective interest charges will send you into a debt spiral – where you can’t even pay off the accrued interest, much less the debt
Millennial Retirement Idealism How will millennials do in retirement? Very well…or so they think. A recent survey by Aperion Care on millennials and aging found that many millennials have fairly ambitious – and, in some cases, unrealistic – expectations regarding their golden years.
Millennials expect to live to age 81 on average – which is
More Savings, More Debt Do you participate in a 401(k) plan at work? If so, were you automatically signed-up by your employer? A new study suggests that if you were auto-enrolled in the plan, you may be accumulating more debt – but that may not necessarily be a problem.
Whatever… Just Sign Me Up Policymakers
Tax Season Arrives In January Are you ready for tax season? Ready or not, tax season, defined as the first day that the IRS accepts tax forms to the tax filing deadline, will be here soon.
For the 2018 filing season (covering the 2017 tax year), tax season begins on Monday, January 19 and ends
Costs Increase, Defaults Follow Americans owe the government approximately $1.37 trillion in student loans – and, according to recent information from the U.S. Department of Education, student loan debtors are having an increasingly difficult time paying back those loans.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some $631 billion of the $1.37 trillion debt load is
Who would dare to make economic predictions for 2018 in the age of Trump? We can try, with the help of economists and other experts in the financial field. Here are our predictions for five major economic metrics in 2018.
1. Economic Growth – Current predictions for 2018 US economic growth are around 2.5%. The
Consider All the Costs Few things beat the thrill of driving off the auto dealership with your new car – but are you paying more for that thrill than you should be paying?
Presumably, you shopped around to find the car you wanted at the best price, and remembered to compare all the associated taxes
Should I stay or should I go? With apologies to The Clash, that’s the question many homeowners are asking themselves. Does it make more sense to renovate your current home, or should you look for a home that is a better fit for your current needs?
Data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) suggests
Stocks Outpace Housing Few can argue that the stock market has experienced great growth under President Trump. The “Trump Bump” consists of an approximate 20% increase in both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 during the President’s first year in office.
Does the same Trump Bump translate to the housing market? A recent study by
Cut, Cut, Cut After a short delay and with significant fanfare, the House of Representatives released the Republican tax reform plan last Thursday. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – or, if you prefer the Trumpian term, the “Cut Cut Cut Act” – represents an ambitious attempt to change the tax code in a way
What’s the best time of the year to rent a home? That depends on what factors are important to you, and how much time you have to act.
People don’t always have the luxury of taking their time in renting a house or apartment. They often have to assess a market in a fairly short
It’s that time of year when the leaves change colors, pumpkin flavoring is crammed into everything imaginable (who needs Eye Drops with Pumpkin Spice?), and scary things come out on Halloween – but will you open your door on October 31 and be confronted by anything scarier than these hair-raising financial horror stories?
They Stole
Beware of KRACK KRACK Attack? Is that the name of a new video game, dance craze, or rock band? Unfortunately, it’s none of those things – it’s the acronym for a new path identity thieves have to steal your personal information.
KRACK stands for Key Reinstallation AttaCK. It’s a recently discovered systemic vulnerability in wireless
A Burden for You, An Opportunity for Scammers Educational debt has reached levels that are hard for the average American to fathom. By some estimates, outstanding student loans have reached a whopping $1.45 trillion dollars. Over 44 million Americans have some form of student loan debt, with 2016 graduates averaging over $37,000 in debt.
That’s
Time’s Running Out If you received an extension of time to file your taxes this year, hopefully you made good use of it – because the due date is fast approaching. Monday, October 16, is the filing deadline.
Did you squander your extension time? If so, you’re probably out of luck. The IRS generally only
It’s tough living on the lower end of the credit score scale. If you have a credit score below 640 or so, you are generally given “subprime” lending offers for any form of credit that you request. From credit cards to auto loans and mortgages, you will be hit with higher interest rates and potentially
During his successful Presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, promising, “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” Do we still want a wall built? A recent MoneyTips survey says no, but Trump voters say yes. In fact,
In a recent survey, more people than not believe that President Trump will lower business taxes, but the same wasn’t true for their own personal taxes. On other critical issues in the news, Americans are torn, but not Trump voters.
As our government acts on repealing ObamaCare, with restructuring our antiquated tax system on deck,
Treasury Report Targets Dodd-Frank In February of 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13772, which gave the Secretary of the Treasury 120 days to create a report reviewing financial laws and regulations with respect to seven “Core Principles”. Those principles are generally related to streamlining the financial markets and, in the President’s opinion, reducing constraints
America Breaks the Debt Record According to the New York Fed’s recent Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, America has more debt than ever before. Do you? Should you be concerned in either case?
The report shows that American household debt reached $12.73 trillion in the first quarter of 2017. That tops the previous
Slower Credit Growth for the New Year Are you using more or less credit these days? If your habits track the latest data released by the Federal Reserve, your rate of consumer credit growth has slowed considerably.
The Fed’s release for January 2017 revealed that outstanding consumer credit rose by $8.8 billion to $3.77 trillion