Author: Money Mechanics

A recently-added feature in Grammarly purports to improve users’ writing with help from the world’s great writers and thinkers — and some tech journalists, too. Launched in August 2025 as part of a broader set of AI-powered features, Expert Review appears in the sidebar of Grammarly’s main writing assistant, allowing users to bring up revision suggestions “from the perspective” of subject matter experts. Wired noted that this Grammarly frames this feedback as if it was coming from well-known authors, whether they’re living or dead. In some cases, according to The Verge, it can even appear to come from tech journalists…

Key Takeaways Roles related to building AI systems are thriving, with salaries averaging over $150,000.Top graduate programs at Carnegie Mellon, MIT, and Stanford can position you to build the technology rather than compete against it.When evaluating programs, focus on research opportunities and job placement, not just rankings. The jobs that are most exposed to AI aren’t disappearing. They’re outperforming the rest of the labor market in both growth and wages, according to a December 2025 Vanguard analysis. But exposure to AI isn’t the same as vulnerability to it. Employment for workers ages 22 to 25 in roles that are vulnerable…

key takeaways Geography now defines middle-class life as much as income does.Shrinking middle class numbers reveal deeper shifts in how Americans define stability.Budgeting realistically, diversifying income, and controlling lifestyle inflation are keys to financial stability today. If starting a family, buying a house, or just thinking about purchasing a car feels impossible—you’re definitely not alone. What used to define “middle class” feels further out of reach for Millennials and Gen Z than ever before. Rising costs, stagnant wages, and where you live all play huge roles in whether big life milestones feel doable—or merely like dreams. So has the middle…

Key Takeaways The median net worth for Americans under 35 is a modest $39,040, reflecting limited time to accumulate assets.While many young adults already save and invest, debt like loans, credit cards, and mortgages can keep net worth low—or even negative.As a young adult, net worth is best used as a tracking tool to gauge financial progress over time rather than compare yourself to others. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. What’s the Typical Net Worth for Americans Under 35? Americans under 35 are in the earliest stages of building net worth, often balancing new…

KEY TAKEAWAYS The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects millions of job openings through 2034 for workers with degrees in fields like business administration, nursing, accounting, and computer science.Four of the top 10 pay more than $100,000.A business administration degree qualifies you for six of the 10 occupations with the most projected openings. This year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identified the top 10 jobs with the most projected openings from 2024 to 2034 for workers with a bachelor’s degree—and four of them pay six figures. For students weighing whether college is still worth it, this list offers a roadmap to…

Key Takeaways Baby boomers have a higher net worth than younger generations.That’s perfectly normal, as net worth tends to rise over time as compounding takes effect, earnings rise, and financial burdens ease.The key to growing net worth is using debt wisely and investing smartly. Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Baby boomers control more than half of all U.S. household wealth—$88.5 trillion in 2025. That works out to $1.6 million per boomer on average. But that masks significant disparities among those born between 1946 and 1964—the median is closer to $370,000. Boomers entered adulthood during…

(Image credit: Getty Images)I recently worked on a retirement plan with a married couple in their early 50s. They initially viewed their retirement spending as a flat number that would last for decades. When I asked them to step back and reflect on how spending could change over time, the picture became clearer.They mapped out higher spending during early retirement — often called the “go-go” years — when they plan to travel more adventurously and visit family.We scaled their spending down for the later years, when activities and travel will become infrequent, but allocated funds for caregiving and other health…

PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), one of the world’s largest digital payment companies, was once a promising growth stock. Yet over the past five years, its stock has declined nearly 80% as intense competition, the loss of eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) as a top customer, and a challenging macro environment throttled its growth in active accounts and revenues. From 2021 to 2025, PayPal’s year-end active accounts only grew from 426 million to 439 million. That was well below its original goal (which it later abandoned) of hitting 750 million active accounts by 2025. As its account growth stalls out, it’s trying to drive…

Middle East tensions pushed oil up 7%, triggering risk aversion and Bitcoin drop to $63,000. Regulatory progress and strong ETF inflows led by BlackRock helped Bitcoin recover toward $74,000. Whales accumulated over 13,000 BTC as markets await US jobs data for direction. had a very volatile start to the first week of March 2026. At the start of the week, rising tensions linked to the war in the Middle East pushed oil prices up by about 7%. This made investors more cautious and reduced interest in risky assets, causing Bitcoin to fall to around $63,000. The market soon recovered from…

In the absence of traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz quickly, oil prices will rise a lot. Forecasts of $200/barrel are coming from some analysts, and something like that would be needed to smash down demand to meet sharply lower supply. Although there are buffer stocks, there is not going to widespread willingness to sell inventory out of them below replacement price. A release from the American Strategic Petroleum Reserve appears likely in the absence of immediate good news, but that just delays the reckoning.An oil spike of just 1-2 weeks can be shrugged off, but anything beyond that…