Reid & Rudiger, LLC

06/17/2022

Americans are confronting more expensive food, fuel and housing, and some are grasping for answers about what is causing the price burst, how long it might last and what can be done to resolve it.

There are few easy answers or painless solutions when it comes to , which has jumped around the world as supply shortages collide with hot consumer demand. It is difficult to predict how long today’s price surge will drag on, and the main tool for fighting it is interest rate increases, which cool inflation by slowing the economy — potentially sharply.

Here’s a guide to understanding what’s happening with inflation and how to think about price gains when navigating this complicated moment in the U.S. and world economy.

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Inflation is a tricky problem, but it has a few clear causes and consequences, and policymakers are working to bring it to heel.

06/15/2022

The surging cost of living has caused more Americans to feel financially squeezed. With inflation still near 40-year highs, even top earners are living paycheck to paycheck, according to one report.

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Even wealthier Americans are feeling financially strained as the prices for goods keep climbing.

06/13/2022

Half of working Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent MagnifyMoney survey, which puts them at Level 2, Self-Sufficiency.

"With every dollar you save, you give yourself more freedom and options in life," says self-made millionaire and author of "Financial Freedom" Grant Sabatier.

06/10/2022

LeBron James has officially become a billionaire, according to Forbes. This makes James the first active NBA player to reach the milestone, and the second NBA player to reach billionaire status, joining retired basketball star Michael Jordan.

James, an Ohio native, had a difficult childhood, as his young mother struggled to make ends meet. With the small amount of money he did have, James made sure to always put some aside, thanks to a money lesson from his uncles.

LeBron James has officially become a billionaire, according to Forbes. This makes James the first active NBA player to reach the milestone.

06/06/2022

Despite the stock market’s poor performance since the beginning of the year, Americans have increased contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts over the course of 2022, according to a recently published Fidelity study.

The S&P 500 dropped by about 5% in the last quarter, and that was reflected in a lowered average 401(k) balance of $121,700 — a 7% decrease from the previous quarter. But those poor returns didn’t stop workers from increasing their 401(k) contributions by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2022. On average, Fidelity said, U.S. workers are now contributing 14% of their paychecks to those retirement accounts.

That’s the highest savings rate recorded since Fidelity started tracking the metric in 2010, and just below Fidelity’s recommended rate of 15%.

American workers have increased their 401(k) contributions in 2022, despite a downturn in the stock market.

06/06/2022

The Covid-19 pandemic really highlighted how financially troubled our society is. Debt levels are extremely high, bankruptcies are commonplace and many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Today’s adults are suffering and may be setting the next generation up for trouble, as well.

Tackling the financial literacy crisis in America begins in the home, as financial education courses are still not being taught consistently in schools across the country.

Yet, according to a T. Rowe Price study, 36% of parents are “very” or “extremely” reluctant to discuss finances with their children, and another 26% say they are “somewhat” reluctant. As a result, kids today have no concept of money or how it works.

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05/25/2022

Javadi, is the owner and founder of Free Women, a sewing and handicraft business based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has become a successful side hustle for Javadi and her employees. From 2020 to 2021, Free Women brought in $130,000, and employed close to 30 women refugees.

Hanifa Javadi came to the U.S. as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2016. She is now the founder and owner of Free Women, a business that employs refugees.

05/23/2022

As markets flirt with bear territory — when a major index falls 20% or more from a recent high — some technical analysts don’t think there’s too much to worry about. These three charts show why it may not be time to hit the panic button. At least not yet.

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What goes up must come down, and what goes bull must go bear. The conventional wisdom is that a bit of market madness is inevitable, cyclical and should give investors a potential buying opportunity.

05/20/2022

Saudi Arabia reported a 57.5 billion riyal ($15.3 billion) budget surplus in the first quarter as officials kept spending restrained despite surging oil income.

Total government revenue was 278 billion riyals, 36% more than the same quarter last year, while spending rose 4% over the same period to 220.5 billion riyals. Capital expenditures fell 1% as the kingdom relies more on its sovereign wealth fund for projects and domestic investment.

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Saudi Arabia reported a 57.5 billion riyal ($15.3 billion) budget surplus in the first quarter as officials kept spending restrained despite surging oil income.

05/19/2022

The resurgence of codes occurred during the pandemic as businesses found a simple way for consumers to scan menus, pay bills and sign up for events.

Hackers were already one step ahead. They found that the bar codes were an easy way for them to steal bank and credit card data and net a fast payday.

The bottom line is that QR codes are tampered with because it is a way to make money, Alex Hamerstone, director of advisory solutions at TrustedSec, a Strongsville, Ohio-based ethical hacking and cyber incident response company, told TheStreet.

"Scammers go where they can make money or steal personal information (to use to make money) and as QR codes continue to become more common, scammers will continue to gravitate towards them," he said. "The QR code itself is nothing nefarious- a QR code simply presents data which is read by an app on your phone, and directs the user to a web site."

The FBI warned consumers that QR codes were being used by criminals to steal data, embed malware to gain access to smartphones and redirect payment for cybercriminal use. Once the money has been transferred, recovering the funds can not be guaranteed, the FBI said.

Learn more:

Businesses could also suffer when cybercriminals steal data from their QR codes.

05/18/2022

Where do millionaires keep their money? High net worth individuals put money into different classifications of financial and real assets, including stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts and real estate. Most of the 20.27 million in the U.S. did not inherit their money; only about 20% inherited their money. More than two-thirds of all millionaires are entrepreneurs. Here are some of the places the genuinely rich keep their money:

Where do millionaires keep their money? High net worth individuals put money into different classifications of financial and real assets, including stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts and real estate. Most of the 20.27 million millionaires in the U.S. did not … Continue reading → The post ...

05/17/2022

insecurity is widespread around the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 38 million Americans did not have enough food to meet their needs in 2020, profoundly affecting their health and quality of life. Moreover, “eating a healthy breakfast is associated with improved cognitive function, reduced absenteeism in schools and improved mood,” said Dr. Kara Odom Walker, executive vice president and chief population health officer at Nemours Children’s Health System, during a recent U.S. News & World Report webinar. Addressing all of these concerns is a priority for Nemours, she noted, which embraces a “whole child health” model that incorporates “nutrition and food access as an essential part of health.”

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