Self-checkout can be confusing, so follow these tips from a veteran cashier. M-Production / Shutterstock.com
Self-checkout lanes became more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the lack of cashier-to-customer contact. And it’s not just grocery stores that have us scanning and bagging our own purchases. Home-improvement stores and discount-store chains such as Target, Walmart and even Costco are among those businesses where you might find self-checkout offered. No question…
While everyday employees lose their jobs, CEOs remain ultra wealthy, even after pay cuts.
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You have to feel for David M. Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs. Under Solomon’s watch, the bank lost billions of dollars and was forced to admit to breaking the law for abetting the theft of Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. The rank-and-file staff certainly felt the backlash, with 3,200 employees laid off just last month. As for Soloman, now that his annual salary has been slashed by 30%, he’ll have to find a way to live on $25 million.
In reviewing the numbers, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that, adjusting for inflation, CEO pay increased by 1,322.2% between 1978 and 2020. That translates to growth roughly 60% faster than stock market investments. Even during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions lost their jobs, CEO compensation jumped by just shy of 19%.
EPI found that if the typical CEO in a large company begins their workday at 9 a.m., by 3:37 p.m. that same day, they will have earned $58,260. Meanwhile, the average annual income across the U.S. comes in at $63,214, and 1 in 3 Americans cannot afford to cover a $400 emergency.
In a report focusing on the 300 U.S. corporations with the lowest median pay, EPI found that the median worker’s income did not keep pace with inflation in 106 of the 300 companies. The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in those 300 corporations was 670-to-1. In other words, for every dollar a worker earned, the CEO raked in $670.
While those at the top are sure to extol the virtues of capitalism, the rest of the country worries about things like finding money to buy shoes for their kids and whether they’ll have to claim bankruptcy due to medical bills.
A word that’s caught on is “greedflation.” It helps explain how the rising cost of consumer goods, like groceries and gasoline, is not entirely due to trade disruptions brought on by COVID-19. The AFL-CIO released a new report last month, and according to that report, corporate greed is as much to blame as supply chain hikes.
The AFL-CIO’s annual Executive Paywatch Report provides a database tracking CEO-to-worker wage ratios for more than 20 years. And while CEOs blamed price increases on all things pandemic-related, inflationary pressures, and the high cost of worker wages, the raw data tells the real picture.
For example, the company line has been that inflation is due, in part, to the rising cost of wages. The truth is, after adjusting for inflation, workers’ real wages fell by 2.4% in 2021. That’s 2.4% less in employees’ checking accounts and 2.4% less with which to pay bills. What has not fallen is company profits or CEO compensation. The AFL-CIO calls runaway CEO pay “a symptom of greedflation.”
A perfect example of this can be found at Amazon and CEO Andy Jassy. In 2021, the CEO of Amazon received a total compensation package of $212.7 million. At the same time, the median pay for an Amazon employee was just under $33,000. The CEO-to-worker pay ratio in this case was 6,474-to-1.
According to EPI, policies should be passed that increase the ability of shareholders to exercise greater control over CEO pay. The group also suggests that there should be a tax policy penalizing corporations for excess CEO-to-worker pay ratios.
Talking heads have spent the past few years bemoaning the lack of loyalty among employees and questioning why so many people were unwilling to go back into their old jobs as pandemic restrictions eased. If they really want to know what’s going on, perhaps taking a closer look at the built-in inequities in the workplace would be a good place to start.
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It can be a headache, but doing these things will make your life easier in the long run.
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Many think of this time of year as tax season, and they’re not wrong. But for some couples, the beginning of a new year also brings separation or even divorce. A University of Washington study found that divorce rates begin climbing after the holidays and peak in March. Some may view this as a fresh start, but regardless, the process is often a major source of stress.
Divorce proceedings can take a long time, and there’s often a lot of legal red tape to cut through. Then, once it’s done, you face the daunting prospect of covering all your expenses on your own. While everyone should follow their lawyer’s advice when trying to navigate a divorce, here are a few tasks that can help to ease the financial transition.
Once you and your ex have agreed on how to divide your existing savings, you should open new checking and savings accounts on your own. Transfer the funds accordingly and then close any old accounts you shared together. If you had automatic bill pay set up to take money out of your joint accounts, make sure you transfer these payments to your new account before closing the old one.
When shopping for a new bank account, think about the features that matter the most to you. If you want to earn a high rate of interest on your savings, you’ll need a high-yield savings account from an online bank. And if you don’t want to be tied to a local bank’s ATM network, you’ll have to find a checking account with a nationwide ATM network or one that provides monthly ATM fee reimbursements. Check out our guide on how to choose a bank to learn more about the key features you should consider.
You probably don’t want your ex inheriting your life insurance policy if you die, so update your beneficiaries as soon as possible. You could name your children, other family members, or even a friend. Or if you don’t feel you need life insurance anymore, you could cancel the policy.
You may also want to change your will so your ex doesn’t inherit any of your property after your death. Depending on how complicated your will is, you may need a lawyer’s assistance to do this.
Divorce means you’ll no longer be able to rely upon your ex’s income, unless they’re paying you alimony. Even then, that may not be enough to provide you with the lifestyle you’re used to. So it’s important to plan a new budget.
Think about how your income and expenses will change after your divorce. You might have less money coming in, but you also might have less going out since you won’t have to pay for your ex’s bills and purchases anymore.
If you’re struggling to keep track of your spending, a budgeting app could help. This can do a lot of the math for you and help you quickly visualize where your money is going each month.
Your emergency fund is money you use to cover unplanned expenses or to help you pay for your bills following a job loss or an injury that leaves you unable to work. Ideally, you want to have at least three months of living expenses in your emergency fund, but some feel more comfortable with six months of expenses saved or even more.
If you don’t have an emergency fund or you don’t believe yours is adequate, building this up should be your first priority after paying all your bills each month. Once you’ve done this, you can work toward saving for some of your long-term goals.
Your credit reports don’t keep track of your marital status, so getting a divorce doesn’t directly affect your credit. But closing joint accounts you shared with your ex can change your credit score. More importantly, if you forget to close any joint accounts, your ex’s financial behavior could continue to affect your credit long after your divorce.
Everyone is allowed free credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com. During 2023, you can actually view your reports weekly. Checking this during and after your divorce process can help you see how the divorce has affected your credit. It can also alert you to any joint accounts you may have missed.
It’ll take some time to adjust to managing your finances all on your own again. So take it day by day. If it feels too overwhelming to do all the above tasks right now, space them out a little. And if you realize something in your new budget isn’t working like you’d hoped, make some changes. Over time, you’ll find a path forward that works for you.
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The size of your buffer could make a big impact on your finances.
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Life is full of unexpected surprises. In some cases, that’s a good thing — like when a friend you haven’t seen in a while visits out of the blue or you win a raffle unexpectedly and get some extra cash. In other circumstances, though, these surprises can be unwelcome — and sometimes costly.
Sadly, you can’t control when an expensive emergency happens to you. What you can do, though, is follow financial expert Dave Ramsey’s advice and make sure you’re prepared for this type of situation.
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Ramsey has made it very clear that he believes there’s a specific type of financial account you need to have open in order to be prepared for surprise events that will inevitably come your way.
“Having an emergency fund gives you that buffer between you and all the craziness life throws your way, like losing your job or having your A/C go on the fritz in the middle of July,” Ramsey said.
An emergency fund can be kept in a high-yield savings account so you can access the money easily if and when you need it. If your air conditioner breaks or your income goes down, or any other surprises occur, you can take money out of this account to cover your costs.
An emergency fund can serve as a buffer between you and these types of unexpected events because you won’t have to worry about going into credit card debt or otherwise struggling to pay essential bills. You’ll just be able to take money out of the account you’ve set aside for these purposes so your financial goals won’t be derailed and you won’t have a lot of stress. What could be a disaster will be reduced to a mere inconvenience because you’re able to pay for it.
If you want to follow Ramsey’s advice, you’ll want to make sure your buffer truly is big enough to protect you from all that life could send your way. Ultimately, this means carefully considering how much money should be in your emergency fund.
READ MORE: Emergency Fund Calculator
Ramsey has traditionally recommended saving three to six months of living expenses within that account, while other finance experts such as Suze Orman have suggested larger amounts (Orman, specifically, says you should have about 8 to 12 months of living expenses set aside).
You should consider personal factors that could affect the level of craziness life could throw at you when you decide how much is best. For example, if your job isn’t very secure or if you have health issues or an old house or car that’s prone to breaking, a larger emergency fund would be necessary. But if you have tons of job security, an affordable rented apartment, and limited other commitments, a smaller emergency fund may suffice.
The important thing is that you feel comfortable with the size of the buffer you’ve created for yourself and that you make sure you’re being realistic about your readiness to cope with unexpected expenses. Doing that can help you avoid financial disaster.
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Layoffs have been in the news a lot. What does that mean for stimulus aid?
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At the start of 2023, Amazon announced plans to lay off more than 18,000 workers. Since then, a number of tech companies, including Netflix and Microsoft, have followed suit.
Workers are being told not to panic. After all, the tech sector went on a hiring spree in 2021 when the world went digital, and now that people are reverting to pre-pandemic habits, some of that activity needs to be reversed.
But last week, Disney joined the ranks of major companies downsizing their staff. And that was a bit of a jolt given that Disney is clearly not a tech giant.
All of this layoff-related news is understandably disheartening. But should it get people thinking about stimulus checks?
It’s never comfortable to hear about widespread layoffs, as it immediately leads to thinking along the lines of “Will I be next?” But despite so much news about layoffs, the reality is that the U.S. labor market is in pretty solid shape.
In January, the U.S. economy added over 500,000 jobs, and the national unemployment rate reached a 54-year low. So while it’s true that some large companies are rethinking their staffing needs, for the most part, jobs are still plentiful.
The last round of stimulus checks to hit Americans’ bank accounts was approved in March of 2021. Back then, unemployment was still high, and vaccines for COVID-19 were not yet widely available, which meant a lot of people who wanted to rejoin the workforce couldn’t due to health concerns.
But we’re in a very different place today, and because of that, a near-term round of federal stimulus aid seems unlikely. Of course, if mass layoffs start to pick up and unemployment levels begin to skyrocket like they did during the pandemic, then it’s reasonable to assume that lawmakers might come to the economy’s rescue by approving another stimulus round. But we’re far away from that scenario as of now — and that’s a good thing.
Of course, just because the U.S. labor market is strong doesn’t mean individuals shouldn’t do what they can to shore up their finances and protect themselves in the face of layoffs. And perhaps the best way to do that is to build up an emergency fund. At a minimum, workers should aim to have enough money in their savings accounts to cover three full months of essential bills.
But three months is really the minimum. And while the economy is in good shape right now, things could change in the course of the year. So really, aiming for more like six months’ worth of living expenses in the bank isn’t a bad idea for the average worker, as that amounts to even more financial protection.
We could see layoffs extend beyond the tech sector as 2023 moves along. But hopefully, mass layoffs won’t become a trend. And as long as layoffs remain limited to a small portion of the workforce, we shouldn’t expect to see stimulus checks go out.
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Don’t buy a house without reading this first.
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In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average sales price of a home in the U.S. reached $535,800, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. With the typical home now costing more than half a million dollars, it’s increasingly likely your home will be the largest purchase you make. So, naturally, you don’t want to regret it.
Unfortunately, many people end up making a bad decision when it comes to buying a property. And there’s a simple reason why that’s the case.
When it comes to your home purchase, you are likely to end up dealing with regret if you act based on your emotions rather than using your head to make a sound financial decision.
Now, buying a home is an emotional process, so it’s easy to see why so many people fall victim to this mistake. When you go shopping for a property for you and your family to live in, chances are good you’re picturing what your life there will look like. You may envision your kids running around the backyard or think about cooking romantic meals in your kitchen.
When you see a property that pushes your emotional buttons and makes you envision a life you want, you may be tempted to throw caution to the wind and buy the property. And that’s fine if you’re using your head first to make sure the home is right for you.
But if you don’t think about the financial details and the fundamentals underlying the transaction because you’re so swept up with falling in love with a house, you could end up in a nightmare rather than your dream home.
Instead of letting your heart control what home you buy, you need to use your head first. Specifically, you must make sure you find a property that:
Comes with a mortgage you can easily afford both now and in the futureIs in a safe neighborhood with a good school district (even if you don’t have kids, since school district affects property values)Has a reasonable commute to work, restaurants, stores, and family members who you wish to see regularlyIs priced fairly so you don’t end up underwater, where you owe more than the house is worthDoesn’t need more maintenance and upkeep than you feel comfortable tackling
These are ultimately the factors that are going to control whether you are happy with a house or not. If you buy a property that doesn’t have these things, then you are almost assuredly going to end up miserable. After all, those long hours playing with your kids in the backyard aren’t going to happen if you have to work extra because your housing payments aren’t affordable or if your commute is so long.
While it’s OK to wait for a house you love that also has these other attributes, you want to check these boxes first and pass up any property that doesn’t fit, even if it otherwise seems like the perfect place to set down roots.
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