Stephanie Horan is a data journalist at SmartAsset. A Certified Educator of Personal Finance (CEPF®), she sources and analyzes data to write studies relating to a variety of topics including mortgage, retirement and budgeting. Before coming to SmartAsset, she worked as an analyst at an asset management firm. Stephanie graduated from Williams College with a degree in Mathematics. Originally from Philadelphia, she has always been a Yankees fan and currently lives in New York.
With many Americans driving around winter holidays, average gas prices will be at their highest seasonal level ever, according to new data from GasBuddy (a website that tracks local gas prices). The national average is projected to stand at $3.68 per gallon on Thanksgiving Day, which is $0.30 higher than last year and $0.20 higher than the previous record of $3.44 set in 2012. Read more
Like most client-facing businesses, financial advisory firms tend to have a strong focus on marketing. Those promotional strategies often serve to both engage current clients and expand their business to bring on new clients. And with the end of the year around the corner, many advisors are assessing their businesses and marketing strategies in 2022, as well as starting to plan for 2023. Read more
Millennials are increasingly putting down roots whether that is through buying a home, getting involved in their community or working with a local financial advisor to plan for the future. While less than 4% of millennials moved between states in 2021, new Census Bureau data shows that some cities in particular experienced significant increases and decreases in their millennial populations last year. Read more
The housing market has increasingly discouraged young people from buying homes. A June 2022 survey by Money and Morning Consult found that given the state of the housing market over the past two… Read more
The share of individuals who work from home has dramatically increased over the past several years. Census Bureau data shows that the estimated percentage of workers in the U.S. who work from home… Read more
Mortgage rates have jumped over three percentage points this year, recently hitting new highs above 6.0%. And for new homebuyers, this has dramatically increased the cost of buying a home. Though… Read more
Young professionals are generally staying close to home, according to new research. The Census Bureau and Harvard University recently found that 80% of young adults live less than 100 miles from… Read more
The tight labor market has made it more difficult for some companies to secure top talent. Even financial advisor firms are struggling to find new advisors as their workforce ages. Data from the J.D.… Read more
In June 2022, U.S. stocks officially entered a bear market as popular market indexes – such as the S&P 500 – fell more than 20% below previous record closes. Those losses have since been met by… Read more
The independent wealth management industry has grown significantly over the past decade and many financial advisors think it will continue to grow looking forward. According to a 2022 Schwab Advisor… Read more
After months of climbing gas prices, the national average has hit new highs, reaching $5 per gallon of regular gasoline in June. According to recent data from AAA, the national average for regular… Read more
Many Americans agree that amid rising prices and economic uncertainty today, it takes a six-figure salary to get by. However, women continue to be underrepresented in higher-paying jobs. According to… Read more
During times of economic instability, financial advice is often in high demand. As increased inflation and the Russia-Ukraine War continue to shake financial markets, many individuals working with… Read more
Most financial advisors fall in the 90th percentile of U.S. workers according to average annual earnings. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average financial advisor made about … Read more
With rapidly climbing food, rent and gas prices, inflation is the highest it has been in four decades. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which… Read more
Though financial advisors expertly help clients plan for their future, they sometimes neglect to apply the same forethought to their own firms. In fact, only 27% of financial advisors have a… Read more
Editor’s Note: This study was originally published in March 2022. Home prices shot up an average of roughly 17% during 2021 and continued to rise during the first month of this year, according to… Read more
Nationally, less than 3% of businesses are Black-owned. However, over the past two years, the number of Black-owned businesses has grown by 8.52%, according to Census Bureau data. This exceeds the… Read more
Finding an affordable home has become an increasingly daunting endeavor. As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the U.S., home prices soared while incomes remained stagnant. In fact, Zillow and Census… Read more
Over the next 10 years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects there to be 821,300 new openings for STEM jobs, according to recent estimates. This represents a roughly 9% increase in the number of… Read more
As federal efforts to increase the minimum wage have stalled, many states and cities are paving the way to pay workers more than $7.25 an hour. On January 1, 2022, a total of 20 states raised their… Read more
Census Bureau data from 2019 to 2020 shows the largest single-year drop in national employment. There were roughly 5.7 million fewer Americans employed in 2020 when compared with the prior year.… Read more
Research has shown that the COVID-19 recession was particularly harmful for working women. A recent report from the Brookings Institution highlights two primary reasons why this was the case. Firstly… Read more
As the holidays approach, some workers may look forward to a bump in their paychecks with employers paying out bonuses. Across the many different types of bonuses allotted to workers (i.e. referrals,… Read more
Many homeowners were incentivized to refinance their homes after mortgage rates reached historic lows in 2020. And Freddie Mac data shows that this caused mortgage refinancing activity to hit its… Read more
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