Author: Money Mechanics

Key Takeaways U.S. card spending per household rose 2.4% year over year in October and 0.3% from the previous month (the fifth straight increase), with payments for services leading the way. Older Americans are driving more of the growth, with Boomers outpacing younger groups in card-spending growth. The number of retail transactions has dropped since January, suggesting price increases, not more purchases, are driving the gains. Americans are swiping their cards more than ever heading into the holidays, but the story behind the increased spending reveals a stark generational divide, as well as a trend that could put the squeeze…

(World Oil) – The UK government will stick with a controversial windfall tax for North Sea oil and gas producers until the end of the decade, dismissing complaints that the levy hurts investment and jobs. The Energy Profits Levy will remain in place until March 2030, according to a leaked document from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The decision comes as Chancellor of Exchequer Rachel Reeves looks to raise billions of pounds to shore up public finances, which have been squeezed by higher borrowing costs and U-turns over welfare cuts. The EPL was introduced by the previous Conservative government more than three years…

 Job Title  Median Annual Salary  Industry/Field Financial Manager $161,700 Finance Software Developer $133,080 Technology Nurse Practitioner $130,890 Healthcare Information Security Analyst $124,910 Technology/Cybersecurity Data Scientist $112,590 Technology Project Manager $100,750 Business/Management Registered Nurse $93,600 Healthcare Accountant $81,680 Finance/Business Marketing Manager $159,660 Marketing/Business Sales Representative (Wholesale & Manufacturing) $66,780 Sales Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2024 Your Industry and Job Title Create the Biggest Pay Gaps Industry choice matters enormously. Technology and health care jobs dominate the upper salary ranges for nonexecutive roles and jobs not always requiring advanced degrees, with software developers earning a median of…

Key Takeaways Warren Buffett turns market crashes into opportunities by following his own advice to “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” Focusing on strong business fundamentals rather than short-term price movements has been central to Buffett’s success, as demonstrated by his long-term holdings in companies like Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and American Express Company (AXP). Since 1965, shares of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B), have delivered a compounded annual return of 19.9%—almost double that of the S&P 500 over the same period. Unlike many of Wall Street’s famous money managers, Buffett has thrived during…

We meant well — but by overprotecting, overpraising and overmanaging our kids, we left them unprepared for the real meaning of hard work in an AI-powered world.We wanted our kids to grow up confident, capable and ready to conquer the world. Instead, we bubble-wrapped them, praised their every burp, then wondered why they graduated college expecting their boss to give them a participation trophy, maybe even nap time.The American Dream turned into the American DreadWe imposed the concept of the American Dream on our kids, even though it didn’t pan out for us. From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal…

Terry Landers’ pickleball injuries include two concussions, a broken wrist, a shoulder injury, a torn thumb and a black eye. None of those disasters kept her from the court. In fact, she had both knees replaced so she could keep playing.The 69-year-old from Bridgeton, Maine, has always been athletic, playing tennis, soccer and softball. She was drawn to pickleball about a decade ago because it was a sport she could play year-round in Maine, and the community she found on the courts kept her coming back.She blames her shoes for two hospital visits, saying they caught on the surface of…

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 67-year-old married and retired engineering manager in Chapel Hill, N.C.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.)Each profile features one person or couple, who will always be completely anonymous to readers, answering questions to help our…

(Image credit: Getty Images)What does the Federal Reserve’s rate-reduction initiative mean in the short run for your fixed-income holdings?You’ll recall that one year ago, the Fed cut three times, starting by hacking its benchmark overnight funds rate by 0.50 percentage point in September. The year ended with bond markets and fund returns in retreat. It’s wishful thinking that cheaper short-term credit and falling money market yields will spark a general bond-buying binge and propel your 2025 total returns toward 10% by year-end.My judgment is that long-dated bonds are expensive and risky and that we are set for an encore of…

It was easy to live off investment income if you retired in the 1970s and early 1980s. After all, interest rates were in the high double digits back then, and pensions were the norm. Even CDs and Treasury bonds gave you a nice return.That’s not the case today. Interest rates are nowhere near that — CDs are yielding around 4% — but it’s still possible to live off investment interest with the “Common Man” rule of retirement spending.Sure, it’s not going to make you rich, but with this approach, your retirement savings pay you regularly and you don’t have to…

(Image credit: Getty Images)The U.S. stock market has been notching new highs, which tends to kick up the likelihood of a market pullback (defined as a drop of 5% to 10%) or even a correction (a 10% to 20% sell-off). That’s where the JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF (JQUA) comes in.The fund – a member of the Kiplinger ETF 20, our favorite exchange-traded funds, invests in high-quality U.S. companies with robust profit margins and little debt. Over the past five years, the portfolio of 200-odd stocks has consistently held up better than the S&P 500 Index in down markets.In the…