For many Americans, owning a car was long a pillar of middle-class stability. That’s shifting. Monthly car payments have now soared: the average new-vehicle payment is roughly $749 a month in Q2 2025. Meanwhile, among new-car buyers, nearly 1 in...
A handful of states—mostly in the Northeast and Midwest—are posting the strongest house-price gains right now. But before you treat rising equity like found money, remember how the last boom-and-bust punished households that borrowed against paper gains. Here’s the “then...
If you’ve ever paid a $35 overdraft fee or borrowed $500 from a payday lender, you’ve felt the reach of America’s quietest predator — the financial system itself. Predatory finance doesn’t always wear a mask. Sometimes it hides behind glossy...
A bank account should keep your money safe — not nickel-and-dime you every month. If you’ve ever been hit with a $35 overdraft fee or had your account closed for being “too low-balance,” you already know: not all bank accounts...
