Author: Money Mechanics

With inflation still hammering retiree budgets, retirees may want to stress-test a simple but powerful benchmark: Can retirees realistically travel (or live abroad temporarily) on $100/day?The short answer is ‘yes,’ but with no shortage of qualifiers and caveats.”Living on $100 per day would be fairly easy to do as a nomad, since you can easily find an apartment for rent for $1,000 or less per month in dozens of desirable countries, including in capital cities or in beach areas,” said Tim Leffel, a travel book writer and author of the book A Better Life for Half the Price. From just…

Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) has now lowered its forecast for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season at an update today, citing “conditions in the sub-tropical Atlantic looking less favourable than as appeared to be a month ago.”Recall that, in its April forecast, Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) lowered its previous long-range forecast to call for 12 named tropical storms, 5 hurricanes and just 1 major hurricane for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, with expected accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) of 66. Then in its May update, TSR reduced its forecast numbers again, predicting 11 named storms, 4 hurricanes and 1 major hurricanes, with…

A new fixed rate of 1.30% looks like a real possibility. By David Enna, Tipswatch.com We’ve seen a fascinating explosion in real yields in 2026 as the war with Iran, inflationary pressures and soaring federal deficits are straining the U.S. Treasury market. This move higher is significant for investors in Series I Savings Bonds, a Treasury investment with returns pegged to U.S. inflation through a combination of fixed and variable rates: The I Bond’s fixed rate will never change. Purchases through October 2026 have a fixed rate of 0.90%, which means the return will exceed official U.S. inflation by 0.9%…

pros and cons Pros Longer-lasting battery and upgraded processor.It’s a functional, general-purpose smartwatch with intelligent touches.It’s great for exercise and training, with accurate heart rate metrics in my testing. Cons It takes a long time to charge.The accompanying band is not super comfortable. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.Consumers are catching on to the fact that not every generational upgrade to their favorite tech can be life-changing. Instead, companies are forced to improve their products little by little. I’ve thought about this a lot as I tested the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9. It arrives with a few improvements under…

Developers in Buckeye, AZ, are eyeing a plan to build hundreds of affordable housing units in the city, but they say there’s just one problem: longtime local Councilman Tony Youngker.Youngker’s family homestead is sitting on a plot of land smack in the middle of the proposed 375-unit project, and its developer, Dominium, says Youngker is asking an outrageous sum for the property: $5 million.Mark Lambing, vice president and project partner at Dominium, told the local NBC affiliate, KPNX-TV, that Dominium needs about 30 feet of Youngker’s land to create a right-of-way into the development.”The city has a right to that…

This year marks two meaningful milestones in my life: 30 years of marriage and 30 years in business with our financial services firm.Those anniversaries have made me more aware of how quickly life changes. Two people close to me — one on my side of the family and one on my wife’s — have been facing ongoing challenges involving health, independence and long-term care.Watching these situations unfold has changed the way I think about this topic, both as a family member and as a financial adviser. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor.…

According to average rates from the Zillow lender marketplace, mortgage rates are mixed heading into the weekend compared to Friday. The current 30-year fixed rate today, Saturday, August 8, 2026, fell by 7 basis points to 6.61%, the 15-year fixed rate rose by 11 basis points to 6.01%, and the 5/1 ARM rose by 3 basis points to 6.37%. Read more: Weekly survey of mortgage lenders with the lowest rates: Revealing the wide gaps among rates and fees Today’s mortgage rates Here are the current mortgage rates today, Saturday, August 8, 2026, according to the latest Zillow data: 30-year fixed:…

The U.S. economy saw an unexpected declined in jobs during July while the unemployment rate edged lower, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday in a snapshot that showed a slowing employment picture.Nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 for the month, compared with a downwardly revised 20,000 for June. The Dow Jones consensus forecast had been looking for a gain of 83,000.At the same time, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% as the labor force participation rate fell further to 61.4%, its lowest in more than five years, another indication that fewer Americans were working or looking for…

As part of a planned data center in Pecos County, Texas, Amazon is investing in an on-site power plant that could become the largest source of climate pollution in the United States, according to The New York Times. The NYT says the plant would burn natural gas and is permitted to release 33 million tons of carbon dioxide per year — more than any other power plant in the U.S. In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson confirmed that the data center will “be powered by new on-site generation that won’t raise electricity costs for Texas families.” (Data centers face growing…

(World Oil) – ADNOC released the following statement Friday addressing the impact of recent attacks on its vessels and operations amid continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz: “ADNOC remains firmly focused on meeting customer requirements despite an exceptionally challenging environment. We continue to be significantly impacted by unprovoked attacks on our people and our assets. Since the beginning of the conflict, 15 of our vessels have been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including three vessels this week alone. Tragically, these attacks have resulted in one fatality and 20 injuries to crew members. In close…