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Tax season is a good time for couples to get on the same page regarding household finances. Now that you’ve filed your 2018 taxes, take time to think about how you can better work together with your spouse as you navigate 2019. Particularly for those who file jointly, it’s important for both spouses to understand…

The growing cost of medical services and health insurance in the United States is a problem that is not isolated to a single demographic. Many people are impacted. The latest surveys of American businesses report that health insurance and benefits are one of their greatest expenses, second only to employee payroll. Companies used to subsidize…

According to new research from Genworth, one of the nation’s leading long-term care insurance companies, Americans are both entering caregiver roles and requiring care at younger ages. Among the study’s findings:1 ·         Nearly half of family caregivers now are men ·         The average age of a family caregiver is 47 (down from age 53 in…

  People are living longer, which also means more people are working longer, either because they want to stay engaged or they need more time to prepare for a longer retirement. Unfortunately, these trends haven’t made ageism any less prominent. One researcher found careers tend to peak at age 45 for men and age 40…

When Lessie Brown, a 114-year-old woman from Ohio, passed away in January, her family attributed her longevity to the fact that she ate a sweet potato nearly every day until she was well past 100.1 All potatoes are packed with nutrition, but the more colorful the potato, the better. Varieties of orange, yellow and purple…

In the first month of 2019, pharmaceutical companies have increased prices on more than 250 prescription drugs despite calls from the president and Congress to reduce drug costs.1 These hikes have evoked the ire of President Trump, who has pledged to reduce drug prices in the United States, which are higher than in most other…

From politicians in Washington to residents whose cars are routinely damaged by potholes, perhaps the most agreed-upon issue in the U.S. is the country needs an infrastructure upgrade. Frustrated by inaction at the national level, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently announced $25,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to…

  In recent years, the scope of the oil market has changed. OPEC, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, was established in 1960 to unify the petroleum policies of its members. These 14 countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East, are considered hotbeds for oil.1   However, the world’s two largest producers are the United States…

A changing society has changed some of the ways customers and banks interact. For example, early efforts by brick-and-mortar banks to cut costs by promoting online transactions and electronic statements gave way to a new wave of competition from internet-based banks.1 This also severed some of the close relationships longtime customers enjoyed with familiar tellers…

For most of the 20th century, it was common for employers and unions to sponsor health care insurance for retired workers, which helped pay for some or all of Medicare’s cost-sharing requirements and deductibles. However, this trend reversed sharply in the mid-1990s. A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that only 19…