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AARP poll shows women 50 and over fear for their financial security. And they vote.

Feb 23, 2024
AARP found that they're the biggest swing voting block in the upcoming election: more than 60 million strong.
A recent AARP survey found that more than eight in 10 women age 50 and up want paid family leave for caregivers.
Stefanie Loos/AFP via Getty Images

More than 20 states ring in the new year with a higher minimum wage

Jan 1, 2024
The highest state minimum wages as of Jan. 1, 2024 will be Washington state at $16.28 and California at $16. But is that really enough to live on?
 A nationwide livable wage would be close to $25 an hour, says Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography at MIT.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

As inflation moderates, so does Social Security's cost-of-living adjustment

Sep 14, 2023
The 2024 cost-of-living adjustment comes out to 3.2%, a pretty modest amount compared to past years.
The annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, is automatic and meant to stabilize the purchasing power of Social Security benefits.
Kameleon007/Getty Images

What is the cost of the American dream in different parts of the U.S.?

Jul 17, 2023
We looked at the cost of big-ticket items and expenses, including a house, a car and raising two children, in four different states: California, Michigan, Georgia and South Dakota.
A view of a house in a suburban area in the middle of the 20th century. For many Americans, housing has become unaffordable.
George Marks/Getty Images

Minimum wage gets a mini increase in some states

Jul 7, 2023
The federal minimum wage has been the same since 2009: $7.25 an hour.
Wage increases, even small ones, can be very impactful for low wage workers dealing with inflation.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Western resort towns see record-breaking real estate prices — and housing woes

Mar 6, 2023
More wealthy people are moving to mountain communities, pushing up home values and pushing out some local workers.
Ariel Kazunas says she’s dealt with unstable housing for most of the decade she's lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. For one season, she lived out of a vehicle.
Courtesy Joey Sackett
Devonte and Cassie Bradford with their three kids, Damari, Kendrix and Jaylee.
Courtesy Bradford family

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Will “wonky” fruit and vegetables help alleviate the U.K.’s cost of living crisis?

Nov 23, 2022
Historically, British supermarkets have rejected all imperfect produce, but that’s changing fast under pressure from rising food prices.
Ugly produce sales have been on the rise as the cost of living in the U.K. gets more expensive.
Mychele Daniau/AFP via Getty Images

For Social Security recipients, "there’s no keeping up" with rising costs

Aug 15, 2022
The program is expected to provide a large benefits increase in 2023. Until then, many on fixed incomes have to tighten their budgets.
Marketplace Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell outlines the benefits of this month's boost to government retiree benefits.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Around a dozen states are handing out tax rebates. Could that fuel more inflation?

Jul 6, 2022
It's a bit like the stimulus payments the federal government handed out early in the pandemic. Just don't call it stimulus.
Some economists think "inflation relief checks" should be more targeted or distributed in installments.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images