Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Living paycheck to paycheck

Also: Good news on college tuition ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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The Daily Money

ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Wed Oct 30 2024

 

Daniel de Visé Personal Finance Reporter

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Lower-income households aren't the only ones living paycheck to paycheck.

A growing share of middle- and higher-income families are spending virtually all of their paychecks on essentials and have little or nothing left over each month for discretionary purchases or savings, Paul Davidson reports. (Hmm: Sounds like many journalists we have known.)

The trend could curtail consumer spending, which makes up 70% of economic activity.

Caregivers, too, are struggling financially

When she was 29 years old, Jacquelyn Revere received a phone call from a family friend while riding the New York City subway to a comedy show. Revere needed to go home to Los Angeles right away. Something was wrong with her mom.

Revere immediately took a 21-day leave from her job and flew to California. She would spend the next six years caring for her mother and grandmother, both dementia patients.

The cost of caregiving isn't just ravaging the finances of older Americans, Medora Lee reports, but also those of younger generations who provide the care.

College tuition is getting cheaper

Americans love to grouse about the rising cost of college. But consider this: The average in-state student at a public university now pays only $2,480 a year in net tuition and fees. 

Tuition, of course, is only one item on the list of college expenses. Room and board can cost more. But the full cost of attending a public college is falling, rather than rising, after you adjust it for inflation. 

The average net price in tuition and fees for an in-state student at a four-year public college has plummeted by 40% in a decade, after inflation, from $4,140 in 2014-15 to an estimated $2,480 in 2024-25, according to a new report from the College Board.  

Other college costs are going down, as well.

📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰

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About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.

Most Americans -- 76%, in fact -- live paycheck to paycheck. Don't be one of them.

More households are living paycheck to paycheck, or spending all their income on essentials - Including 20% of families earning more than $150,000

Larry Zarzecki speaks with Verona Palatines at the Kent Senior Center, where he volunteers, on March 22, 2024. Zarzecki, 61, lives on his disability pension, occupying a modest in-law cottage next to his son's home in Stevensville, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Zarzecki was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at 49. In 2013, he suffered a brain injury and severe spinal damage from a serious fall that would impact his ability to find work.
 

Caregivers suffer financially when it's time to retire, new study says

Caregivers can find up to a 90% deficit in retirement savings vs non-caregivers, a study says. This adds to the US retirement crisis and need for help

University of Oregon graduate Ethan Hosford, center, dances with the Oregon Duck and fellow students during the 147th Commencement ceremony at Autzen Stadium Monday, June 17, 2024.
 

Do I really need that student loan? The latest college tuition trend.

Americans love to grouse of about the high cost of college tuition. A new report tells another story.

Shoppers fill the mall as they look for holiday gifts on Black Friday at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on November 24, 2023.
 

U.S. economy grew 2.8% in the third quarter

The economy grew 2.8% in the third quarter as consumers kept spending

JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 30: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in the 1st Summit Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial on August 30, 2024 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Promising to cut energy bills in half, conduct the largest deportation operation in history and put a 200% tariff on foreign made automobiles, Trump rallied his supporters in the all-important battleground state of   Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776194347 ORIG FILE ID: 2169508701
 

Project 2025 would overhaul overtime protections for American workers

Project 2025, a blueprint for a second Trump term that he has alternately embraced and distanced himself from, overhauls overtime protections.

Geoffrey Barton, President & CEO of Mountain Housing Opportunities, is interviewed at Westmore Apartments about his concerns over a temporary storm debris sorting center directly behind the apartments on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024.
 

No, climate change hasn't killed homeownership - yet

Homeownership still makes more sense than renting for many Americans, even if the market is tough right now

At least 75 people across 13 states have fallen ill from an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders.
 

McDonald's CEO addresses E. coli outbreak: 'Very sorry'

McDonald's growth in U.S. sales was driven by $5 Meal Deals. It doesn't expect an E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders to impact its performance.

Packs of various condoms stand on a shelf of a CVS store in Washington, DC, on Feb. 23, 2022. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the first condom for use during anal intercourse, in what was hailed as a victory for sexual health by experts.
 

Add condoms to the list of medical expenses that are tax deductible

Condoms are the latest "medical expense" that's tax deductible if you itemize, the IRS said. If you don't itemize, see how you can still save.

A mechanic repairing an elevator.
 

5 high-in-demand jobs that don't require a college degree

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