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| This Week In Your Wallet |
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Fewer clothes, more mending. Levi’s, Zara and other brands are betting that more consumers will warm up to the idea of fixing what they already own rather than buying new. As The LA Times reports, in-store repairs and how-to-sew workshops are becoming standard retail offerings as brands chase younger, budget-friendly and planet-conscious shoppers. "Learning how to repair and care for clothing is probably one of the simplest but absolutely totally effective ways that we can reduce waste and also extend the lifetime of whatever we buy," says Vicki Swain, product longevity & partnership lead for Primark, a retailer that recently launched workshops teaching people how to replace zippers and buttons.
You’ve likely seen the headlines about the bond market – here’s what’s actually going on: 30-year U.S. Treasury yields recently hit 5.3%, their highest point since 2007, while the 10-year Treasury yield (which influences mortgage rates) rose to 4.7%, up from 4.2% at the start of the year. The reason is simpler than it sounds – governments and companies are all fighting for the same pot of money, and that tug-of-war is driving up the cost of borrowing. Add in investor worries over inflation and rising government debt, and as we saw, a selloff can pick up steam. The Treasury is trying to get ahead of it, and last week, announced it would double government debt buybacks to help stabilize long-term rates. While we’ve seen steeper selloffs of U.S. Treasuries before, this is still a situation to watch, because as The Washington Post puts it, "a sustained increase in the yield eventually filters into higher rates on consumer loans for homes and autos as well as corporate lending to finance factories and hiring."
Money can cause stress in any marriage, but when one partner comes from a different financial background than the other, things can be especially tricky. Sage Singleton experienced this firsthand and is sharing what she learned with HerMoney. As she describes, she grew up well-off; her husband’s family, on the other hand, struggled. The differences in their money mentalities have shown up everywhere – including in the freezer aisle. "I reached for a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream, and my husband was appalled because that was the most expensive kind," Singleton shares. "We’ve had to learn to compromise on which products we buy. If it’s something that can be purchased generic, we’ll do that to be more frugal. If it’s an item where brand names matter, we purchase that. We are constantly learning how to shop and spend money together." |
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| Things That Save You Money |
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| Do We Have Enough? 4 Women Get Honest About Retirement Planning |
Do we have enough to feel comfortable in retirement? And how do we make sure the women who come after us feel financially empowered?
Those are the questions Jean saved for the final episode of From First Paycheck to Forever Paycheck, HerMoney's series with AARP. She sat down with Hannah Williams (Salary Transparent Street), Viviana Vazquez (OverGenPoverty), Ashley Parker (The Atlantic), and Carly Roszkowski (VP of Financial Resilience, AARP) to ask what "enough" really looks like at every age.
Viviana, at just 30, is already there. "I feel like I already have enough. Having $100,000 invested that is going to grow to a million dollars by the time I'm 67, that's more than I could have ever imagined."
She also introduced the table to a concept gaining traction – the mini retirement. "That's kind of what I'm doing now," she said. "Taking a career break, working on my business, testing out what it feels like to take money from savings and use it." |
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| Ask Jean |
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| Q: |
Today’s question comes from Gretchen. She writes: "I was recently advised by a relative’s assisted living facility that it was possible to prepay a local funeral home for funeral expenses. Is this a good idea?" |
| A: |
It can be – but there are a few things to consider. For those who go the prepaid route, the main appeal is cost. Today, the median cost of a funeral with burial and viewing is around $8,300, and cremation with services runs about $6,280. Prepaying locks in today’s prices before expenses climb further.
That said, if you opt for a pre-paid plan with a funeral home, you have to consider what happens if the funeral home you’ve selected closes. Make sure any prepayment contract addresses that scenario and that your loved ones know the plan exists. If you don’t, and the funeral home closes, getting a refund could be an uphill climb, since protections vary by state. Then there’s the scenario where your wishes change (that has happened a lot in recent years as cremation has grown in popularity).
Many experts actually favor pre-planning over prepaying, through avenues such as an earmarked life insurance policy, a payable-on-death account for funeral costs, or building the expense into your retirement plan. These options can provide more flexibility without the risk of prepaying a funeral home that could close in the future and, at the same time, they can provide you – and your loved ones – with a similar peace of mind that things are taken care of. |
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