Bankrate

I recently spoke with CBS News about Bankrate's annual study of the best and worst states to retire. The big takeaway? Don't rule out unlikely places for retirement, and don't move somewhere for retirement just for the year-round warm weather or the beaches. Delaware isn’t typically thought of as a retirement haven, but if you dig into the data, you'll see that it checks a lot of boxes for retirees. With no state or local sales tax or income tax on Social Security benefits, it’s considered a tax-friendly state for retirees. On average, property taxes and homeowners insurance are also lower in Delaware compared to the rest of the country. Delaware scores well in diversity and overall well-being and has a large share of residents who are 62 and older compared to its population. Delaware also has a high number of health care establishments per capita and a robust health care system. The state’s weaker spots are its higher living and health care costs and higher crime rates compared to other states. West Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri are a few of the other states that landed at the top of our ranking. If you could pick somewhere to spend your golden years, where would it be? #retirement #economy #retirementsavings #wheretoretire

Are you thinking about purchasing a new home? What mortgage rate would make you comfortable in that decision? Nearly half of current homeowners (47%) say mortgage rates need to be below 5% for them to be comfortable purchasing a new home this year, while 38% say they need rates to be below 4%, according to a new Bankrate survey. On the other hand, nearly 2 in 5 homeowners (38%) say there is no mortgage rate where they would be comfortable purchasing a home this year while 42% of current homeowners say there is no mortgage rate where they would be comfortable selling their home this year. “The mortgage lock-in effect has frozen home sales for the past couple of years,” notes Bankrate’s Jeff Ostrowski. “Alas, these results don’t bode well for an unfreezing of the market. Many homeowners aren’t keen to sell at all, and many would-be buyers are waiting for mortgage rates to dip below 6%”. For the full survey: https://lnkd.in/eRnqPpft

Bankrate’s annual best states to retire study is out and rounding out the 2024 best states to retire are: 1. Delaware 2. West Virginia 3. Georgia 4. South Carolina 5. Missouri Delaware is the best state to retire in 2024 as Iowa, last year's number one, drops to 9th place. This study ranked all fifty U.S. states by affordability (40% of the ranking), overall well-being (25%), quality/cost of health care (20%), weather (10%) and crime (5%). The worst state to retire for the second year in a row is Alaska, followed by New York, Washington, California, and North Dakota. Check out the official rankings and see where your state lands: https://lnkd.in/ezf7HRC

Finance wasn’t built with women in mind. That’s not stopping them from reclaiming the space for themselves. Our writers recently attended FinCon’s Women in Money Summit at the Nasdaq MarketSite in NYC. They connected with fellow women in personal finance content creation and gained valuable insights from industry leaders. 👏Check out what our experts learned: Sarah Foster highlights a key takeaway from this event, “Don’t be afraid to take up space! We all bring our unique insights and perspectives to the beat, and it’s what makes our content valuable.” R.E. Hawley, who attended the event, emphasized the importance of recognizing women’s financial realities and changing how we think and talk about money. In the meantime, don’t miss our coverage of how women can crush their financial goals despite long-standing barriers by Alex Gailey: https://lnkd.in/egWWKrAF 

Raise your hand if you don't like going to the doctor or the dentist 🙋🏻♀️ Health checkups, like financial checkups, are necessary evils. A lot of us don't want to deal with them, but we all know we have to. With the summer slowdown, it's the perfect time to prioritize “review finances” on your to-do list if you haven't already. I make it a priority to keep tabs on my budget and savings every month, but even with all that, a more in-depth mid-year checkup is needed to help me stay on top of things and re-examine long-term financial goals. Halfway through the year gives me enough time to pivot financially if I need to, and it’s the one thing that ensures I’m not asking, “Where did it all go?” at the end of the year. The beauty of a mid-year financial checkup is that it’s much easier than actual health checkups. Personally, I much prefer setting aside time to tune up my finances than spending hours at the doctor's office or getting a cavity filling. You can do it from the comfort of your home and you can set the pace. I did my mine in under an hour. Have you done a deep dive into your finances yet this year? Do you have tips or tricks to make the process smoother? I'm curious about what's worked for you 💸✍ See the steps I took for my mid-year financial checkup by reading my latest for Bankrate. #finances #financialhealth #budgeting #saving

How have your finances fared over the past four years? According to a new Bankrate survey, 43% of Americans say their finances have gotten worse under the Biden Administration and just 19% say their finances are better. When comparing presidential candidates, slightly more Americans (37%) say having Donald Trump as president would be best for their personal financial situation, compared to President Biden (32%). When it comes to the economy, just 26% of Americans say they are more likely to vote for President Biden based on his handling of the economy while 46% say they are less likely to vote for him. “With months to go before Americans cast their votes in the presidential election, President Biden has more work to do to make his case on pocketbook issues,” notes Bankrate’s Mark Hamrick. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/dZJu7chY

The June Retail Sales Report coincides with Amazon’s Prime Day, which kicked off today and lasts July 16-17. Despite expectations of 0.3% drop, June retail sales remained steady month-over-month. Bankrate’s Ted Rossman notes that nonstore retailers, indicating e-commerce platforms, saw significant gains both monthly (1.9%) and yearly (8.9%). With Amazon Prime Day signaling the unofficial start of back-to-school shopping, all eyes are on this sector. The National Retail Federation forecasts a slight dip in back-to-school sales compared to the previous year.  If you’re planning on shopping the sales today, spend wisely https://lnkd.in/gJzdS_Rw

The average yearly car insurance cost in the U.S. surged by 12% to $2,278 over the past year. Bankrate's Shannon Martin shared insights with The Wall Street Journal, highlighting how drivers are strategically adjusting deductibles to reduce their monthly premiums. Read here: https://lnkd.in/gmWXjChQ

What's the outlook for the U.S. economy over the next 12 months? The outcome is important for individuals, households, and businesses, as we look to achieve financial goals. That's what we asked many of the nation's top economists for our quarterly survey at Bankrate. I'm extremely grateful to the experts who've participated in this effort since I started it a decade ago. Here are some of the main takeaways (looking at the averages among respondents): -Unemployment will increase slightly to 4.3%. -Hiring will slow more considerably, averaging 115k jobs added a month. -Interest rates, including on mortgages, should decline. -The odds of a recession are about 1-in-3 or 32%. -They're divided between saying inflation should hit the Fed’s desired 2% level by the end of 2025, or by the end of 2025 or later. Of course, the actual outcomes could be much different. We must acknowledge the high uncertainty around the U.S. election, monetary policy (as governed by the Federal Reserve and other central banks), and geopolitical developments when two wars are raging. Kudos to my tremendous colleague Sarah Foster who does a terrific job taking complex subjects, and breaking them down for us to understand. Let's keep the conversation on this going! Feel free to share, and please let us know your thoughts on the outlook, including your career, finances, and the broader economy.

Bankrate's Chief Financial Analyst, Greg McBride, CFA spoke to Schwab Network about the state of the U.S. labor market and the expectations for the Fed's rate cut path. He talks about how higher rates are impacting the economy. https://lnkd.in/eeg_3Ey9