Posts by Stephanie Horan:
Perhaps counterintuitively, consumer credit card debt has fallen since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Federal reserve data shows that the total amount of revolving consumer credit, which primarily consists of credit cards charges, fell below one trillion in April 2020 for the first time in close to two years. Data from Experian tells a similar story. Between the end of Q2 2019 and Q2 2020, the average credit card balance of borrowers fell by about 11% from $6,629 to $5,897. Read more
Affordability issues generally affect renters more than homeowners. More than 40% of renters pay more than a third of their household income on rent compared to just 24% of homeowners on their mortgage, according to a February 2020 survey by Freddie Mac. But depending on where they live, renters can lower the burden of their housing costs. That’s why SmartAsset crunched the numbers to identify cities in the U.S. where rent has decreased the most relative to income. Read more
Older American workers have been disproportionately impacted by not only the health impacts of COVID-19, but also its corresponding economic shock, which has deeply affected their ability to budget and save for their retirement. In fact, workers 65 and older have seen some of the highest recent unemployment rates. A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of April 2020 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the unemployment rate was highest among workers in the youngest age cohort (ages 16 to 24) – at 27.4% – and next highest among workers in the oldest age cohort (ages 65 and older) – at 15.6%. Read more
Though definitions vary, economists and researchers generally characterize the middle class as households that earn approximately two-thirds to two times the median national income. Slightly more… Read more
Monthly electric bills vary with the seasons. They are typically lower during milder spring and fall months and higher in the summer and winter, when households are running air conditioners or… Read more
Since March, mortgage rates have fallen steadily. According to Freddie Mac data, the 30-year fixed-rate average was at 2.90% and the 15-year fixed-rate average stood at 2.40% for the week ending… Read more
Nationally, unemployment has slowly fallen since its initial record spike in April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last month that the national… Read more
Financial advisors in the U.S. tend to be on the older side. About 29% of financial advice professionals are between the ages 55 and 64, and another 12% are older than 65, according to market… Read more
Whether due to societal changes or lack of savings, many Americans have delayed homeownership. According to a National Association of Realtors report, the median age of first-time homebuyers in 2019… Read more
Between 2015 and 2019, the total American workforce grew by about 8.7 million workers, with 4.4. million women and 4.3 million men securing employment. Though female and male workers joined the… Read more
With mortgage rates falling and a renewed emphasis put on living space during COVID-19, U.S. home sales have boomed. Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that sales of previously… Read more
In 2018, the median monthly rent for a studio was $891 while the median rent for a one-bedroom rental was $911. This means that the average renter living alone in America spends upwards of $10,600… Read more
In light of the COVID-19 crisis, many individuals are reconsidering where they live. According to a July 2020 Pew Research Center study, about a fifth of U.S. adults moved due to coronavirus or know… Read more
Earlier this spring, SmartAsset decided to take a closer look at where people had responded to the 2020 Census the most. Since the publication of our original study in May, the Census Bureau moved up… Read more
With many small businesses struggling to maintain their financial reserves during COVID-19, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were the U.S. lenders that originated the highest number of… Read more
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans have had trouble covering expenses – especially rent – in recent months. According to data from the National Multifamily Housing Council, less… Read more
Millennials are much more likely to move than their generational counterparts. IRS data shows than less than 30% of taxpayers are younger than age of 35, but from 2017 to 2018, more than half of tax… Read more
Many economists have theorized about what the shape of the COVID-19 recession – in other words, the possibilities for recovery – will be. Some individuals are still holding out hope for a “V-shaped”… Read more
Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that there are about 33.6 million families in the U.S. with children under the age of 18. In 2018, at least one parent was employed in almost 91% of those family… Read more
Though efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus across the U.S. have squeezed many local economies and the bank accounts of their residents, college towns are among the most vulnerable. They are… Read more
Finding a home to fit a family can be a difficult task. Beyond looking for the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, prospective owners must consider the full costs of homeownership. Though a… Read more
Only 55% of non-retired American adults have money in a defined contribution plan such as an IRA or 401(k), according to 2019 data collected by the Federal Reserve. With the coronavirus pandemic… Read more
The gender unemployment gap is defined as the difference between female and male unemployment rates. A “positive” gap indicates that female unemployment is higher than male unemployment while a … Read more
Overseen by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is the largest fixture of federal coronavirus financial relief programs. The program provides forgivable… Read more
Young adults today move more than previous generations. A recent Zillow study found that in 2017, close to one in two millennials – more than 45% – had lived in their current home for fewer than two… Read more
