Friday, April 10, 2026

Lack of Financial Knowledge Cost Americans $415 Billion in 2020

Thu, 07 January 2021  |  financial literacy 

In a recent survey of U.S. adults, the National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) asked a single question: "During the past year (2020), about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?" On average, the respondents estimated their lack of money management knowledge had cost them $1,634 over the course of the year, or a total of $415 billion for the U.S. as a whole.

The 2020 data ($1,634 per adult) is a sharp increase from 2018 ($1,230) and 2019 ($1,279) surveys. The total cost for the adult population in 2019 (240 million) was $... Read More

Number of Homes for Sale Hits an All-Time Low

Thu, 07 January 2021  |  housing 

The number of homes for sale in the U.S. reached an all-time low in December, dipping below 700,000 for the first time as buyers remained active throughout the holiday season, according to realtor.com®'s Monthly Housing Trends Report released today. Due to unusually strong demand, home prices were up double digits compared to last year, however, the median listing price came down to $340,000 from a summer high of $350,000.

"The shortage of homes for sale has been an ongoing issue for the last couple of years, but in December the combination of the holiday inventory slowdown and... Read More

Ownership More Affordable Than Renting In Nearly Two Thirds Of U.S. Housing Markets

Thu, 07 January 2021  |  housing interest rates 

Owning a median-priced three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 572, or 63 percent of the 915 U.S. counties according to the new 2021 Rental Affordability Report from ATTOM Data Solutions. That has happened even though median home prices have increased more than average rents over the past year in 83 percent of those counties and have risen more than wages in almost two-thirds of the nation.

Home ownership is more affordable in almost two-thirds of the country following a year when the impact of declining interest rates helped counteract h... Read More

Private Sector Employment Decreased by 123,000 Jobs in December

Wed, 06 January 2021  |  employment small business 

Private sector employment decreased by 123,000 jobs from November to December according to the December ADP National Employment Report®. The report, which is derived from ADP's actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Job losses were concentrated in large businesses with 1,000+ employees which lost an estimated 169,000 employees. Businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees generally reported pos... Read More

Millennials Rush to Refinance as Interest Rates Hit Record Lows

Wed, 06 January 2021  |  housing mortgages millennials 

Refinance activity climbed to 45% of all loans closed by millennial borrowers in November 2020, up three percentage points from the month prior, and the highest percentage since May 2020, according to the latest Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker. Year-over-year, refinance share – the percentage of all loans closed by millennial borrowers during the month that were refinances – increased by 14 percentage points. The continued increase in refinance activity happened as the average interest rate on all 30-year... Read More

Home Value Disparities Between Races Shrinking

Tue, 05 January 2021  |  housing demographics 

Typical values for Black- and Latinx-owned homes still lag behind overall U.S. home values, but the gap is narrowing. A new Zillow® analysis shows homes owned by Black and Latinx households are worth 16.2% and 10.2% less, respectively, than the typical U.S. home -- gaps that have closed by about 4 percentage points from their widest points following the Great Recession. Homes owned by non-Hispanic white and Asian families, meanwhile, have typical values 2.9% and 3.7% higher than the typical U.S... Read More

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