Author: Money Mechanics

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 56-year-old married high-ranking executive at an electric utility in South Carolina.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…

What good is a pension if you don’t live long enough to enjoy it? When Germany introduced the world’s first old-age social insurance program in 1889, the retirement age was set at 70. The problem? Life expectancy at the time was around 40, so many people never reached retirement at all.Today, we face the opposite problem. What good is living longer if your money doesn’t last long enough to enjoy it?Although Americans feel more optimistic about retirement, one of their top concerns is the possibility of living longer than expected, according to a survey by Natixis Investment Managers. From just…

Key Takeaways The iPhone 17 has many of the same display and camera upgrades as more expensive iPhones, making it a more valuable base model than in years past, reviews said.The $799 phone has better battery life, but doesn’t take the best zoomed-in photos or stay cool during extensive gaming sessions, reviews said. At about $800, the new iPhone 17 isn’t cheap. But it offers more value than prior entry level iPhones, reviewers said. “I don’t think there has ever been a better base model” in Apple’s (AAPL) annual revamp of its iPhone, iPhone Plus, iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro…

Thank you, Dean Madan. I appreciate the opportunity to speak here at Drexel University and to visit Philadelphia, an area where I have spent much of my personal and professional life.1 I will not go on too much about the City of Brotherly Love other than to say I am considering jogging up the steps of the art museum before I catch my train home. It is an honor to take part in the inaugural Drexel Economic Forum and to meet some of the students, researchers, and business leaders who are here. It is an important time for these groups…

We have been discussing Charter Schools for quite some time regarding the credit quality of the underlying. Bondholders who own MUNI debt sold for a TX charter school did not receive their October coupon payment after the school closed its doors. Reve Preparatory Inc., which operates the school in the South Houston area, has approximately $25 million of bonds outstanding. We are suspect of this credit, although we do have bonds out on a few charter schools, they are all insured by the two top insurance companies. If you are purchasing this debt, it is recommended that you consult with…

The Mississippi housing market continues to show one of the slowest absorption rates in the nation, with homes sitting on the market well above the U.S. median. The state now ties with Louisiana, Hawaii and Florida for the longest days on market (DOM), underscoring a widening gap between local conditions and the national trend. HW Data shows Mississippi’s median DOM for single-family homes at 91 days, compared with a national median of 70 days. On a 90-day horizon, Mississippi posts a median of 70 days, also above the national 56-day figure. The alignment between short- and long-term measures confirms the…

OpenAI has acquired Roi, an AI-powered personal finance app. In keeping with a recent trend in the AI industry, only the CEO is making the jump.   Chief executive and co-founder Sujith Vishwajith announced the acquisition on Friday, and a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch he is the only one of Roi’s four-person staff to join OpenAI. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company will wind down operations and end its service to customers on October 15.  The Roi deal marks the latest in a string of acqui-hires from OpenAI this year, including Context.ai, Crossing Minds, and Alex. While it’s not clear whether any of Roi’s technology…

(Oil Price)– Over the past decade, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman, has advanced bold strategies to reshape its economies by reducing reliance on oil while developing new sectors like renewable energy, tourism, financial services, and digital innovation. Charting a course toward long-term economic resilience, these nations have launched sweeping infrastructure projects and enacted reforms designed to attract foreign investment. And it has worked swimmingly, so far. During his May 2025 tour of Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, U.S. President Donald Trump announced investment pledges totaling over $2 trillion, according to the…

Key Takeaways Cracker Barrel’s latest efforts to show investors that it’s working to turn things around include some management changes and the end of a relationship with a consulting firm that worked on its controversial rebrand. The stock is still down substantially for the year. Some Wall Street analysts think it has some room to rise. Cracker Barrel isn’t done shaking things up. The restaurant chain operator that lately found itself national news for uncomfortable reasons—a brand revamp that elicited unfavorable reactions from sizable chunks of the public and the disapproval of President Donald Trump—continues to adapt. It late yesterday…

Medicare and Medicaid are the largest public health coverage programs in the U.S.getty Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved a Republican-led bill that would fund the government at the current levels for an additional seven weeks. The bill requires 60 votes to move forward in the Senate, which means that at least seven Democrats must join all 53 Republicans to vote yes. In exchange for their votes, Democrats are insisting that Republicans extend health care subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) and reverse earlier cuts to Medicaid. As debates rage about the specifics, it’s become clear…