ArcaMax

It’s that time of year, when millions of kids head back to school. As you settle into your routine, here’s a gentle reminder: Now is the time for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and friends of young people to talk about money. Why now? Because just like almost every hard conversation, now is a better time than later.

The goal is to help ...Read more

Recently, a number of young renters have been in touch with me to discuss re-starting their home buying journeys.

These soon-to-be-first timers were encouraged by the recent reduction in mortgage interest rates and the ability to finally find a house that they really want. As a bonus, the past two years of renting has allowed them to accumulate...Read more

Just in time for my annual column about everyone’s favorite benefit, Social Security, the government announced an overhaul to its online portal, SSA.gov.

The change impacts millions who are receiving or intend to receive Social Security retirement benefits and also younger workers who are interested in using helpful tools to calculate future ...Read more

In the category of “we like good news too,” the 2024 Medicare Trustees Report showed improvement.

Yes, there are still long-term structural problems, caused by a combination of an aging population and rising health costs, but the Hospital Insurance (HI) program deficit narrowed and “the year of depletion of trust fund reserves has been ...Read more

The July jobs report should have been dedicated to the Hollywood classic, All About Eve where Bette Davis’ character Margo Channing warned partygoers, “Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night.”

The same could be said of the labor market, which is slowing down faster than expected and putting the Federal Reserve’s much-...Read more

When the government released its most recent update on U.S. economic growth (Gross Domestic Product or GDP), it was a classic “upside surprise.”

The economy expanded by an annualized pace of 2.8 percent in the second quarter, far ahead of expectations of 2%, and a big jump from the first quarter result of 1.4%.

The result was a joint ...Read more

This may be one of those indicators that signals the top of the stock market, but I have recently been inundated with a slew of questions that boil down to this: Should I fire my financial advisor?

Maybe investors think that it’s easy to rack up double-digit returns, because that’s what’s happened over the past 18 months or so.

In 2022, ...Read more

When the government released the June Consumer Price Index, there was a sigh of relief among economists.

The overall CPI rate actually slid by 0.1 percent in June from May. For the 12 months through June, CPI increased by 3% and the core rate, which strips out food and energy, was up 3.3%, the smallest 12-month increase since April 2021.

Let�...Read more

It’s that time of year, when the inbox is bulging, so time to get cracking on a lightning Q&A!

Question: I will be receiving $160,000 from a life insurance policy. I do not want to risk it in the stock market -- I want to put it somewhere safe where it'll be able to earn some interest. Your thoughts?

Answer: You can investigate government ...Read more

There’s nothing like a soaring stock market to make a summer break more enjoyable. The S&P 500 index’s near 15 percent return for the first half of the year ranks as the 13th best start since 1950, according to Comerica Wealth Management.

Before you break out the confetti, it’s notable that the entire universe of stocks did not rise ...Read more

The stock market is up, the inflation rate is moving down, and everything is fine, right?

Maybe, or maybe it’s summer, and you don’t want to deal with your financial life. Not so fast... just a little bit of focus might help save you or make you some money before the next Heat Dome descends.

Here are few items for your summer financial to-...Read more

The world recently recognized Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a term that has many applications, depending on the region.

In this column, we are focusing on the financial exploitation of older Americans, which can be divided into two categories: financial abuse, which is committed by someone the victim knows, and financial fraud, which is ...Read more

Parents, it’s not just you: It really does cost a lot to raise a child in the United States.

The annual Child Cost Aware of America (CCAoA) report is out and the results are staggering. The national average price of childcare for 2023 was $11,582 – and that’s just the AVERAGE!

In many parts of the country, especially those that have seen...Read more