Author: Money Mechanics

Guests at the Fendi Dallas Highland Park Village Boutique in Dallas, Texas. Rick Kern | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesIn today’s K-shaped economy, lower-income consumers headed out to shop may be hitting Dollar General or a post-bankruptcy Big Lots, but affluent Americans are increasingly headed for the shopping center private club. Membership clubs are increasingly being seen as retail revitalizers, whether that’s in a traditional mall, open-air shopping center, or as a stand-alone commercial real estate tenant. Like their country club cousins, private clubs require monthly dues and often an initiation fee. For instance, Dallas’s Highland Park Village, which boasts…

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways A MacOS Tahoe upgrade went south on a brand-new machine.The solution to recover is not for the faint of heart.If your Mac Studio is bricked, a DFU Revive/Restore is necessary.Earlier this month, I received my new Mac Studio M3 Ultra computer. I decided to make the purchase because I was doing bigger and bigger video projects, and my Intel-based iMac wasn’t up to the task. The new machine has 96GB of RAM and that screaming M3 Ultra chip. Yeah, it’s gonna be blazing fast.As soon…

Key Takeaways According to Fidelity, millennials (ages 30-45 in 2026) had an average 401(k) balance of $80,700 as of September 2025, with an 8.8% average savings rate. As of October 2025, according to Empower, people in their 30s had a median of $81,441 in their 401(k), and 40-somethings had $164,580.The averages, Empower found, were higher: $211,257 for 30-somethings, and $419,948 for 40-somethings. The average millennial had about $80,700 saved for retirement as of September 2025, according to Fidelity Investments. That looks modest next to Gen X’s $217,500 and boomers’ $267,900, though these generations, of course, have had longer to save. The…

Key Takeaways Gen X expects to fall more than $400,000 short of what they think they’ll need for a comfortable retirement.This gap stems from the shift away from pensions toward 401(k)s, which left Gen X without many of the automatic 401(k) features younger workers rely on today. Among American generations, Gen X faces the largest retirement savings shortfall, according to a recent survey by asset management company Schroders. While this generation, born between 1965 and 1980, thinks they’ll need more than $1.1 million to retire comfortably, they expect to have about $712,000 saved, leaving a shortfall of more than $400,000.…

Key Takeaways Hosting a Super Bowl party for 10 people will cost $140 this year, slightly more than last year.Prices for chicken wings are down by 2.8%, and the cost of tortilla chips and frozen pizza also fell, while costs for shrimp, wine and beer all increased.An average increase in wages should help with the cost this year’s Super Bowl party, the Wells Fargo report said. Wings and pizza might not break the bank if you’re hosting a Super Bowl party this year, according to a new report on football’s favorite snacks. It will cost about $140 to serve food…

Key Takeaways The U.S. is on track for slow job growth in 2026, according to forecasters.Tariff-related uncertainty is curtailing hiring, and it’s possible A.I. adoption is also hurting job openings.Trump’s immigration crackdown is also reducing the number of available workers, making it harder for employers to find qualified staff. Is the labor market getting worse for employers, or for job seekers? Yes. And forecasters expect that to continue into the new year.Several trends have combined to create a labor market that isn’t working out well for anyone. Job seekers are seeing fewer openings and staying unemployed longer—the long-term unemployment rate…

Key Takeaways Though the Alps are sprinkled with luxury ski resorts and wealthy zip codes, many destinations are surprisingly affordable for retirees.The Alps are popular for their natural beauty, high quality of life, and the health benefits that come with walkable communities. Retiring to the Alps doesn’t require a Swiss bank account type of wealth. While Switzerland’s mountain villages average $3,691 per month, among the world’s highest costs of living, neighboring Alpine countries offer the same dramatic scenery at a fraction of the price. Italy, Austria, Slovenia, and France all have stunning Alpine regions where retirees can live comfortably for…

Stocks on Wall Street finished Friday’s session in the red, after President Donald Trump nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the Fed’s next chairman. Stunning declines in prices of gold and silver also kept markets on edge. Source: Investing.com Despite Friday’s weakness, the major averages recorded a positive month. The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 logged gains of 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, for January, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite notched a 1% gain. The small cap Russell 2000 jumped more than 4% in the month. More volatility could be in store in the coming…

MGIC Investment Corporation has now successfully priced and settled its latest 144A mortgage insurance-linked securities (ILS) transaction, securing the targeted just over $323.5 million of collateralized mortgage reinsurance through the Home Re 2026-1 Ltd. transaction.MGIC returned to the capital markets earlier in January, with the first issuance of mortgage insurance-linked notes to support the reinsurance needs of its Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation unit since October 2023. The Home Re series of mortgage insurance-linked notes deals has been in effect since 2018 with this new Home Re 2026-1 now being the eighth rated issuance in the series. MGIC uses these 144A…

By David Enna, Tipswatch.com Long-time readers of this site know what that headline means: I am on the move. Over the next 3+ weeks I will be traveling “Down Under.” That’s Australia, the continent with more than 20 creatures – sharks, crocs, snakes, spiders and even jumping ants — that can kill you in less than 20 minutes. Koala. Look at those claws! I will try hard to avoid all that danger and head toward the slightly-drunk creatures like koalas. Some of the time, especially early in the trip, I will be in remote areas of Tasmania and central Australia.…