Credit card fraud is at an all-time high. That’s according to the Federal Trade Commission’s latest Consumer Sentinel Data Book, which tracks and summarizes consumer complaints about fraud, identity theft, and other consumer concerns. In 2017, there were 133,015 reports of credit card fraud across the United States—nearly a 7 percent increase over the
After a long period of deleveraging following the Great Recession, total household debt in the U.S. rose again in the second quarter of 2018, continuing its 16-quarter growth spree. As of June 2018, total household debt stood at $13.29 trillion, an $82 billion increase over the previous quarter and a $618 billion increase over
Recent government statistics have highlighted Americans’ difficulties with saving money and covering basic or emergency expenses. According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, 44.6 percent of American families do not save; fifteen percent of families regularly spend more than they receive in income; and nearly half of families do not have a
Being that millennials now make up America’s largest generation, what these young adults choose to do with their money is a hot topic of conversation. A report by Fidelity Investments that suggested 35-year-olds should have twice their salary saved prompted outrage on Twitter from a crowd of angry (and presumably financially-strapped) millennials. On the
With rental prices skyrocketing and real wages remaining stagnant, renters across the country are allocating a higher percentage of their spending to housing costs. There are currently over 42 million renter households in the U.S. (36 percent of total households), which represents the highest percentage of renters in more than 50 years. Additionally, many
Photo Credit: Hero Images Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo Prices in big cities have been skyrocketing, with many coastal cities becoming completely unaffordable. According to data from Zillow, in San Francisco, for example, the median list price for a home in the first half of 2018 was $1,218,148, with San Jose’s median price of
A record number of Americans are taking out car loans. That’s according to the latest New York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, which shows that since 2012, auto loan balances in the U.S. have skyrocketed, hitting a record high of $1.3 trillion in Q1 2018. Unlike mortgage balances, which have grown slowly
What is Identity Theft? Identity theft is a crime where someone steals your personal information—such as full name, Driver’s License number, or Social Security number—to commit fraud. According to the FTC, identity theft is most often used for credit card fraud, tax fraud, and phone or utilities fraud. It can also take the form of
The U.S. housing market is on a tear and the majority of Americans expect that housing prices in their area will continue to rise. Despite this optimism, some investors and analysts are questioning whether we are due for another correction. A strengthening economy might suggest that housing prices will continue to go up, but certain
In May 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price changes for a “market basket” of consumer goods and services, rose 2.8% over the last 12 months. This represented a significant increase in inflation, which is at a six-year high, and contributed to the stagnation of