Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways The most valuable associate degrees combine low community college tuition with high, recession‑resistant demand in healthcare and the trades.Roles like dental hygienist, radiological technologist and respiratory therapist can approach or exceed six‑figure pay with experience and overtime.​ The top-ranked job on Indeed’s 2026 Best Jobs list pays $133,907—and requires only a two-year degree. But some two-year programs never pay for themselves, leaving graduates underemployed and potentially paying off student loan debt for a degree that didn’t pan out. The difference comes down to which careers pay well and are actually hiring. According to Indeed’s 2026 Best Jobs list…

Key Takeaways A public spat, of sorts, between Elon Musk and the chief of Ryanair has drawn attention to both companies’ businesses. Ryanair has turned the beef into ticket sales promotions. Musk jokingly threatened to buy the airline operator. All the world’s a stage for Elon Musk and Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary. The rest of us? Mere spectators. A disagreement between the aerospace company and the the budget airline operator has evolved into a full-blown public beef as the executives—Musk, of SpaceX, and Ryanair’s O’Leary, neither who are strangers to confrontation or shy about making dramatic public comments—have egged each other…

Male doctor talking with senior man in exam roomgettyTwenty-five years ago, there were about 35 million Americans age 65 or older and about 10,000 board certified specialists in geriatric medicine to care for them. Today, there about 60 million older adults in the US. And the number of geriatricians has fallen to about 7,300. Perhaps more troubling, it appears that physicians are going into other specialties, such as oncology or cardiology, with less training in geriatric care than in past years. Another result: Not only is there a nationwide shortage of primary care doctors, who are in the front lines…

Key Takeaways 30-year mortgage rates are hovering just slightly above a recent three-year low as the Fed heads into its next rate-setting meeting this week. The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady, but mortgage rates depend on factors far beyond the Fed. Because future rates are unpredictable, buyers and homeowners are often better off acting when their finances and the right house line up. Where Mortgage Rates Stand Ahead of This Week’s Fed Meeting With the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) set to meet this week, many homebuyers and homeowners are watching mortgage rates closely, trying to gauge…

(Image credit: Getty Images)Stocks opened up and stayed in the green throughout a relatively quiet trading session. Major names in multiple sectors are set to report results, and markets are eager to hear what Fed Chair Jerome Powell has to say at the conclusion of this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.It’s a mostly Magnificent 7 week on the earnings calendar, with Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tesla (TSLA) scheduled to report on Wednesday and Apple (AAPL) up on Thursday. Alphabet (GOOGL) will report on February 4, Amazon.com (AMZN) on February 5.Nvidia (NVDA) won’t report fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results…

Did you forget to take your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) late last year? You’re not alone.Each year, nearly 7% — or 585,000 IRA holders — make that mistake, and that’s only at Vanguard. Many more retirees with traditional IRAs fail to take their RMDs every year.The reasons why vary. For some, it’s an oversight. For others, they don’t even know what RMDs are, let alone when to take them. Generally, they start the year you turn 73, with your first RMD due by April 1 of the following year. After that, the deadline is December 31 annually. From just $107.88…

Key Takeaways Baby boomers have a higher net worth than younger generations.That’s perfectly normal: 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. 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 the post–World War II economic expansion, when housing was more affordable. Many…

Key Takeaways A Trump administration advisor floated a plan this month to allow people to use 401(k) funds for down payments on homes.However, Trump said late last week that he is not a strong supporter of tapping 401(k)s early because of the recent rise in the value of many Americans’ 401(k)s.Experts warn that withdrawing from a 401(k) early could shrink your retirement savings in the long run, even if doing so helps you buy a home. As the federal government looks to make housing more affordable, a Trump administration official this month floated making it easier for homebuyers to fund…

In-brief analysis January 26, 2026 Between January 1, 2026, and January 21, 2026, nuclear power plant outages averaged 2.0 gigawatts (GW), 20% less than in the same period in 2025 and below the previous five-year range (2021–25) for 7 out of 21 days. Data from our Status of U.S. Nuclear Outages dashboard indicate that nuclear power plant outages in the United States fell to 1.1 GW on January 6, 2026, the lowest since September 2, 2025, and 1.0 GW below the outages on January 6, 2025. A large portion of current outages…

hit a record $5,100 per ounce and casually added another 5% to $110. The latest gains seem to have been driven by ongoing weakness and yen intervention signs, not to mention shaky confidence in fiat currencies as a whole, which has been the main driver behind gold all these years. There is also the persistence of global policy uncertainty pushing capital into hard assets. The list of positive factors driving gold is almost endless, but even the most bullish of traders must be wondering when will this rally come to at least a temporary halt. After all, it must be…