Author: Money Mechanics

When people hear that I went from earning more than $200,000 a year as a professional athlete to making $12 an hour as a financial planning intern, they usually focus on the pay cut.I understand why. It’s a dramatic contrast.But I’ve never seen that part of my story as a fall from success or a cautionary tale about what happens when an athlete’s career ends. To me, the more important story is what happened in between. 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 4…

Traditional retirement planning has long assumed a household of at least two people and often the involvement of adult children in managing financial decisions later in life.But more and more, that assumption no longer applies to a growing share of retirees. Surveys and data show that many people living in the U.S. are charting a different course, with roughly 1 in 5 over the age of 50 living alone. (That number rises to 27% for those age 60 and older.) And about 23% never had children.The reasons why are varied. Some are widows or divorced. Others never married or had…

Warehouse clubs have long been known for helping shoppers stretch their grocery budgets, but store brands have become even more important as food prices have increased. While many shoppers join Sam’s Club for bulk pricing on national brands, plenty of members say it’s the Member’s Mark private label that keeps them renewing year after year.Sam’s Club has also updated its Member’s Mark food and beverage line, removing more than 40 artificial ingredients as part of its Made Without Commitment ™ initiative. Now, it has an even larger selection of everyday grocery and household items that deliver solid quality while helping…

Wealth Wise is Kiplinger’s advice column on navigating retirement-related dilemmas. Got a question? See below for how to send it to us.DEAR WEALTH WISE: My Social Security and pension cover all my expenses, so my sizable IRA and taxable brokerage accounts will be used for charity, gifts ($19,000 per heir annually), and eventual inheritance. Should I invest aggressively in my asset allocation model based on my heirs’ ages, since, in essence, I’m investing for what they’ll eventually receive? — Passing It Down.Dear Passing It Down: Many people retire with minimal savings and become reliant on Social Security to cover their…

On Friday, futures stabilized following softer-than-expected U.S. payrolls data, which alleviated concerns regarding rising interest rates and contributed to a notable recovery.The print dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year, given that a strong labor market is one of the central bank’s main conditions for tightening policy.The data lent gold some relief after concerns over higher rates battered bullion through the second quarter. Gold wiped out some 13% in the June quarter, while also reversing all gains for the year.The fell from near 13-month highs after Thursday’s data, spurring gains across metal markets. Gold and…

For German insurance group BarmeniaGothaer the recent completion of its debut catastrophe bond sponsorship underpins its resilience to extreme events, while also offering useful single peril flood reinsurance coverage, CFO Harald Epple has said about the €100 million Yardstick Re DAC (Series 2026-1) issuance.The ceding entity to the recently settled Yardstick Re catastrophe bond is Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherungs AG (Gothaer), a core non-life P&C insurer and part of the BarmeniaGothaer group of companies. Having priced more than a week ago, as we reported at the time, the cat bond issuance has now settled and the Yardstick Re notes will provide…

President Donald Trump speaks with CNBC’s Joe Kernen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on July 2, 2026. CNBC1. Trump feels bad for his kids over investment scrutinyThe president defended his family’s business and said he feels bad that the presidency creates a conflict of interest in any of his children’s investments. “Anything they do, because the presidency is so powerful … if they buy a cupcake company, well, the energy to make the cupcakes, is you know, sort of like, how’s my energy policy?” Trump said during the interview. The president added, “Almost anything they…

Natural Gas Inventories as of June 26, 2026 The EIA has released its natural gas inventory report, showing a net increase of 87 Bcf as of June 26, 2026. Working gas in storage was 2,922 Bcf as of Friday, June 26, 2026, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 87 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 23 Bcf less than last year at this time and 175 Bcf above the five-year average of 2,747 Bcf. At 2,922 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.   Working gas in underground storage, Lower 48 states…

Soccer legend Lionel Messi has cemented his place in the history books as one of the greatest players in the sport after earning the all-time record for the most goals scored by a single player in the FIFA World Cup during Argentina’s match-up against Austria. The so-called soccer GOAT officially surpassed the previous record of 16 World Cup goals set by Germany’s Miroslav Klose to become the competition’s leading all-time scorer, netting a 19th goal during the team’s game against Jordan, which they won 3-1. He does, however face tough competition from French player Kylian Mbappé, who trails just one…

Is INTR a good stock to buy? We came across a bullish thesis on Inter & Co, Inc. on Emerging Value’s Substack. In this article, we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on INTR. Inter & Co, Inc.’s share was trading at $5.38 as of June 29th. INTR’s trailing and forward P/E were 8.86 and 9.79 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. DLocal (DLO) Climbs 9.4% as Revenues Break Past $1 Billion Inter&Co (INTR) is a Brazilian fintech and digital banking platform operating within one of the most attractive emerging market valuation environments, currently trading at a market capitalization of approximately 2.4 billion USD…