Is becoming a millionaire losing its luster? The idea that anyone who works hard enough can make it big one day is a pillar holding up the American dream. Yet the shine could be starting to rub off. Persistently high inflation threatens to erode once eye-watering fortunes. The creeping ubiquity of people with more than […]
Rising prices aren’t all embattled American consumers have to struggle against. Shrinkflation is on the prowl. That sinking feeling you get upon opening a bag of chips that’s nothing but air? You’re not alone – everyday items really are getting smaller, according to a new report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The government […]
Lifestyle inflation is a simple concept. As your income rises, so does your standard of living. But to build wealth, you need to save more. Even though you’re making more money, do you feel like you’re stuck on a treadmill with no increased savings to show for it? Lifestyle inflation is what keeps many in […]
The year was 1955. My parents were buying their ever first home. My then-28-year-old mom pushed my then 31-year-old dad into taking on far more debt than he was comfortable with – their mortgage payments ate up half their income! To say things were tight would be an understatement. My oldest sister tells stories of […]
Inflation keeps ticking higher and higher, but affects the cost of some items much more than others The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks thousands of prices and folds them all into a weighted average they call the consumer price index, or CPI. Last month, I wrote how the CPI’s year-over-year increase was 5.0%, […]
High Inflation Is Here Now. Are You Wondering How Badly It Will Hurt Your Wallet? There’s no two ways about it. Prices are moving up. For some things, by over 50% in the past year! According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the official score-keeper, May’s year-over-year change in the consumer price index […]
Every year the price of goods increase in value, this increase in value is referred to as inflation. If your money isn’t at the very least growing at the same rate as inflation, you’re actually losing buying power with your money. Let’s take a look at what I mean. Say something costs $100 today, and […]
The U.S. tax code is famously complicated. Congress, over decades, has enacted tax measures (and will continue to do so) that it believes will benefit society (or at least segments of society that they care more about than others, a.k.a., earmarking or pork). One aspect that bewilders me is that we’re required to calculate as […]
Most people hate taxes, but if we’re honest, they’re important. Crucial even. Why Taxes Are a Necessary Evil Without taxes, the government wouldn’t be able to fund the military that keeps us safe and protects our national security interests. It couldn’t provide the bare minimum (less actually, but at least something) to the poor, the […]