Millions of Americans are borrowing money or draining their savings to buy groceries, highlighting the financial strain many households face as the cost of living rises, new research has found. More than a quarter of working-age adults who relied on credit cards to buy groceries were either unable to pay their balance in full or … Read more
Trump revives Greenland national security demand at NATO summit Former Deputy National Security Advisor Victoria Coates analyzes the historic NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where alliance defense spending has skyrocketed under new policy framework. Coates details the strategic impact of America’s recent 80-target military response against Iranian forces, unpacks why sovereign control over Greenland remains … Read more
Making only the minimum payment on your credit cards isn’t a failure, but it also isn’t a plan. Getty Images/iStockphoto Credit card debt is a lot harder to escape in today’s landscape than it was just a few years ago. Borrowing costs have remained elevated, and credit card rates, in particular, are unrelenting. At nearly … Read more
Buying a first home remains out of reach for many Americans, with fewer than 4 in 10 non-homeowner households able to afford a typical starter home, a new LendingTree analysis found. A typical starter home costs $200,000, with LendingTree defining entry-level homes as owner-occupied properties valued at the 25th percentile of the housing market. The … Read more
A $75,000 salary can still buy a home in this market — just not the same home it would have bought a few years ago. Sakchai Vongsasiripat/Getty Images Buying a home comes with some major financial challenges for many borrowers right now. Not only are mortgage rates still hovering near 6.5%, but home prices remain … Read more
Less than half of Americans could afford medical expenses and access to quality care last year, according to a new Gallup poll, highlighting mounting financial strain even among many higher-income households. The share of “cost secure” Americans — those who could afford access to quality care and pay for doctors’ visits and prescriptions — fell to … Read more
Let’s start with the good news: U.S. workers’ pay is up roughly 4% this year, with median household income in April reaching roughly $88,000, according to government data. Now for the bad: That’s still nearly $30,000 short of what online real estate firm Redfin estimates Americans need to earn to afford a home. Households need … Read more
Vet care has become prohibitively expensive for many pet owners, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. Vladislav Stepanov/Getty Images Owning a pet has never been cheap, but the math has shifted dramatically in recent years — and not in pet owners’ favor. The average American now spends more than $4,272 a year on … Read more
If you can’t afford your debt relief payments, it’s important to find a new route to relief quickly. Seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images Things aren’t particularly easy for borrowers right now, and that’s especially true for those carrying a revolving balance month to month. Between today’s high borrowing costs, persistent (and rising) inflation pressures and record levels of household and … Read more
While the cost of other food staples, like eggs, has sunk in the last year, ground beef prices remain searingly high. Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that ground beef prices were $6.70 a pound in March, up nearly 16% from a year ago. Beef steaks, which were $12.73 per pound … Read more