Author: Money Mechanics

Most “America 250” travel guides will point you toward the crowded, cobblestoned streets of Philadelphia or Boston — and while those historic hubs certainly earned their place in the history books, the true American story doesn’t end at the original 13 colonies. If you are looking to give your grandchildren a deeper sense of the nation’s heritage, the best classroom isn’t a packed museum line; it’s the open road.These four itineraries trade predictable monuments for sweeping coastlines, ancient mountain passes and hidden historic stops, offering a compelling backdrop for passing down stories and building memories.Out West: the Pacific Northwest &…

You might know that certain ages matter in retirement planning: 59½, 62, 65 … these numbers come up in articles, in conversations, in the back of your mind when you’re wondering whether you’re on track.Knowing a number exists and knowing what to do with it are different things.I’ve worked with many people in their 50s and 60s who pay close attention to their finances for the first time, or finally getting serious after years of unmet intentions. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to…

Welcome to Kiplinger’s My First $1 Million series, in which we hear from people who have made $1 million. They’re sharing how they did it and what they’re doing with it. This time, we hear from a married 58-year-old man who works in the entertainment/gambling industry in New York. He reports his annual salary is $150,000.See our earlier profiles, including a writer in New England, a literacy interventionist in Colorado, a semiretired entrepreneur in Nashville and an events industry CEO in Northern New Jersey. (See all of the profiles here.) From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance Become a…

Twelve Securis is combining its catastrophe bond and private ILS focused investment teams, to consolidate and optimise its approach to managing dedicated strategies and blended portfolios, while at the same time the firm also stated that long-standing senior employee Etienne Schwartz is departing the firm.Twelve Securis, the specialist catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager, is bringing responsibilities for analytics, portfolio and investment management of both cat bonds and private ILS together now, seeing this as a more efficient approach. The company manages the largest UCITS cat bond fund at over US $4.65 billion, other cat bond mandates, as…

Anchiy | E+ | Getty ImagesThe availability of lower-priced homes for sale is increasing, but that doesn’t mean buyers can afford them, new research suggests.Sales of starter homes fell 5.4% in May compared with a year earlier, despite there being 4.5% more available, according to a report from real estate firm Zillow. The typical value of a starter home — defined as the lowest-priced third of properties — was $202,000 nationally in May, up 2.3% from the same month in 2025.”Starter-home buyers have more choices, more price cuts and less competition … But the unfortunate reason for that advantage is…

OpenAI said Friday it has suspended work on some aspects of its upcoming model Astra after an internal review found it had made significant advancements in agentic coding and cybersecurity — enough to warrant concern over its capabilities. OpenAI said in a blog post Friday that this model, which is still in development, reached its “critical cybersecurity threshold,” meaning it could independently identify and carry out cyberattacks against traditionally well-protected real-world systems. Under the company’s “Preparedness Framework,” which it created in 2023, this triggered additional safeguards. “While we continue to benchmark and assess this model, our preliminary evaluations indicate strong…

Tiny homes have long been viewed as an affordable alternative to traditional abodes—as well as a more flexible means of living. Having first risen to prominence as DIY off-grid cabins, the diminutive dwellings have since evolved into a much more mainstream form of accommodation, so much so that they are now even available for order on Amazon. But for those who have always dreamed of building their own property, tiny houses also represent something of a foundational learning experience, one that can help them to navigate the complicated waters of homebuilding, building up key skills that they can later funnel…

You faithfully pay your recurring bills (such as utilities and insurance) with automatic payments set up from your credit card to simplify your life. Shouldn’t you take advantage of that card usage beyond convenience?Credit cards can make life easier and, when properly managed, can certainly provide some impressive perks. From purchase protection to rental car coverage, the right credit card can save you money when used responsibly.With the right strategy and a rewards program, credit card spending can be turned into free travel in the form of flights, hotel rooms and more. This is how to do it — and…

A call option contract offers its buyer and seller two different roles. The call buyer pays a fee up front for the right to buy shares at a set price, called the strike price, before the contract expires. The call seller, also known as the writer, collects that fee and takes on the obligation to deliver the shares at the set price if the buyer exercises their right. At expiration, the call buyer comes out ahead only if the stock rises above the strike price by more than the fee paid. The call writer generally wants the stock to finish…

(World Oil) – ConocoPhillips has announced a planned leadership transition, naming Andy O’Brien president and chief executive officer effective Sept. 1, while longtime CEO Ryan Lance will retire from the role and become executive chair in a transitional capacity. The company also named Konnie Haynes-Welsh senior vice president and chief financial officer, succeeding O’Brien as CFO. The appointments mark the end of Lance’s 14-year tenure as president and CEO, during which he transformed ConocoPhillips into one of the world’s leading independent upstream companies through a series of major acquisitions, portfolio optimization and a focus on shareholder returns. “On behalf of the board, I want to thank Ryan for…