The Social Security Administration announced last week that it will raise the cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) at 8.7% for fiscal year 2023. This means monthly Social Security checks will be going up significantly immediately. The Social Security COLA is largely based on changes in the Consumer Price Index, which peaked at 9.1% (annual rate) earlier this year.… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Financial Planning
Social Security Checks Could Rise By 10% In 2023
Last month, the Social Security Administration said it planned to increase its cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023 by 10.5%, the largest boost in decades. That would have brought the average Social Security recipient’s benefit up by $175 to $1,668 a month. The change in the expected COLA each year is largely based on the Consumer… Continue Reading
Household Debt Tops Record $16 Trillion In 2022
US household debt increased to a record $16.15 trillion in the second quarter, driven mostly by a $207 billion jump in mortgage balances, with credit card and auto loan debt also rising as consumers lifted their borrowing to deal with soaring inflation, a Federal Reserve report showed on Tuesday. Overall delinquency rates also rose modestly… Continue Reading
2Q GDP Falls 0.9% – Looks Like We Are Now In A Recession
The Commerce Department reported this morning that US Gross Domestic Product fell at an annual rate of 0.9% in the second quarter. This followed a decline of 1.6% in the first quarter. Thus, by the traditional definition of two or more consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, we are now in a recession. Today’s report… Continue Reading
Americans Say They’re Worse Off Than A Year Ago
We just had the strongest economy in 40 years in 2021 when GDP grew by 5.7%. Wages grew by 4.7% on average last year, also the strongest annual growth in many years. Yet a new poll from Issues & Insights/TIPP in March found that only 20% of Americans said they were better off financially after… Continue Reading