For much of the postwar era, economic policy rested on a simple assumption: income was stable. Paychecks arrived on schedule. Jobs lasted. Benefits followed employment. Safety nets were designed around predictability.
That assumption no longer holds.
Today’s economy increasingly runs on irregular hours, variable pay, contract work, performance incentives,...
There was a time when bills were something households managed. Today, for many Americans, they feel more like something that manages them.
Monthly obligations such as housing, insurance, utilities, healthcare, transportation, subscriptions have become so constant and so inescapable that they no longer register as temporary expenses. They...
Where Americans live has always shaped their financial lives. But increasingly, geography isn’t just about cost of living or job opportunity it’s about exposure.
From hurricanes along the Gulf Coast to wildfires in the West and floods in the Midwest, a growing share of U.S. households now live...
For generations, financial stability was defined by predictability. A steady paycheck. A fixed mortgage. Bills you could plan around. Once those pieces were in place, the thinking went, the rest would follow.
Today, that definition no longer holds.
Across income levels, American families are discovering that stability itself has...
For all the spreadsheets, budgeting apps, and long term planning Americans do, one line item continues to resist control: healthcare.
It doesn’t behave like housing. It doesn’t track food or transportation. And unlike most recurring expenses, it can explode without warning. Even in an economy where inflation shows...
Financial anxiety is often discussed as a single, shared experience, a vague sense that money feels tighter than it should. In reality, it looks very different depending on where someone is in life.
The pressures facing a 25 year old renter are not the same as those facing...
