Nobel prize-winning economist Milton Friedman once said that “Inflation is taxation without legislation.”1 You’re probably aware of how taxes reduce your earnings, but have you thought about the effect of inflation? Over the last 50 years, U.S. inflation (as measured by changes in the consumer price index or CPI) has averaged a little more than 4% […]
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Studies by the Investment Company Institute and the Federal Reserve Board indicate that investors’ willingness to assume risk tends to rise and fall with the stock market.1 Of course, it’s not surprising that people are more likely to pour money into stocks when the market is trending upward and to retreat when the market trends downward. […]
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In a recent study, 40% of consumers responded that they don’t have enough life insurance to meet their families’ long-term needs.1 This concern raises an obvious question: How much life insurance is enough? What might be appropriate for a family with two young children and a stay-at-home spouse could be significantly different from the needs of […]
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Growing demand from developing economies caused global oil prices to rise 265% in the last 10 years. A decade of rising fuel prices often made life more difficult for many U.S. consumers and businesses, and occasionally put unwelcomed strain on the nation’s economy.1 High prices and profits, however, helped make it feasible for energy […]
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Many small firms have found it more difficult to borrow money since the financial crisis hit, and business access to credit has yet to improve despite an economic recovery. A larger percentage of small-business owners who applied for financing were unsuccessful in 2011 (44%) than in 2010 (34%), primarily because there was more demand for […]
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Nearly 50 million Americans are covered by Medicare, including most people 65 and older and many disabled people under age 65.1 Medicare benefits can be valuable — the average benefit per enrollee was $12,042 for Parts A, B, and D in 2011.2 Because there are a variety of coverage options, you may have to do some […]
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You may be familiar with the most common types of investment companies — mutual funds and exchange-traded funds — but how much do you know about a third type: unit investment trusts (UITs)? A UIT purchases a portfolio of stocks or bonds. The portfolio is divided into shares called “units” and sold to individual […]
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According to some measures, total student debt in the United States surpassed $1 trillion last spring and is now more than Americans owe on credit cards or auto loans.1 In 2010, about 56% of students who received a bachelor’s degree from a public college or university had an average debt of $22,000. Not surprisingly, debt […]
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In a 2012 study, more than 80% of respondents cited financial reasons for not having enough life insurance coverage to meet their needs, yet they overestimated the cost of life insurance by almost three times the actual price.1 Considering these perceptions, it may not be surprising that life insurance ownership is at an all-time low, with […]
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July 2012 was the warmest month in the contiguous United States since national weather statistics were first kept in 1895. The seven-month and 12-month periods ending in July also set heat records, and precipitation has been lower than normal, especially in the central part of the country. By the end of July, these hot and […]
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