In what could be an ominous sign indicating a deterioration of the financial health of American households, levels of credit card debt have risen over the past year, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noting that the “flow into 90+ day delinquency for credit card balances has been increasing notably for the last year.” That’s a piece...
Total worldwide debt totals reached a record $233 trillion by the end of the third quarter of 2017, up $16 trillion from the end of 2016, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF). That total encompasses total debt incurred by households, governments, and both financial and non-financial corporations. While the IIF report stated that debt to GDP levels...
With the recent passage of the tax reform bill by Congress, deductions for state and local taxes will be capped at $10,000 per year from 2018 onward. For homeowners in many wealthy areas of the country, including the Washington, DC area, that is less than the amount they pay annually on property taxes. And for those who own multiple...
The US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently revised its estimate of the US economy’s growth in gross domestic product (GDP) upward...
Traditional retirement is becoming increasingly harder than it was a few decades ago. It used to be that between social security benefits and employer-sponsored pension plans, most people would be able to leave work at 65 and live out the rest of their lives in peace and relative comfort. This is no longer the case.
Conventional wisdom in the aftermath of the Great Recession seems to be that the massive amounts of money pumped into the economy by various central banks — including the Fed — saved the world from global collapse. However, few can articulate why the recession occurred, although the subprime mortgage market certainly had an impact. This was just one factor,...
According to a survey by the Federal Reserve, 48% of Americans are only slightly or not at all confident about their retirement planning. If you look at what the economy has done recently, and the path it’s currently on, it’s easy to see why.
Today's Americans are retiring before they’ve built up enough of a nest egg to support themselves. Are you one of them?
You never know when a financial emergency may arise. It’s wise to have some precautionary savings set aside, in order to reduce the blow.
As a long-term wealth builder, gold is always a worthwhile investment, especially since it tends to appreciate in value frequently.
