Good morning. Sometimes the numbers tell you everything. Today we have three stories where the math is surprising, uncomfortable and in one case, genuinely inspiring.
On The Money Today:
What's really driving Trump's economy approval numbers
An 18-year-old's bet on himself in a small Michigan town
Why the traditional path to retirement may need a rethink
Let's get into it.
CNN's data chief thought he'd made a typo. He went back through his spreadsheets twice just to be sure. A 79-point collapse doesn't come around often — and when it does, there's a story behind it worth reading.
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At 18, Dylan Larson bought a restaurant in a fading Michigan mining town and became its only employee. He is the owner, the chef, the server, the dishwasher and the accountant. No full kitchen — just a small electric griddle, a four-slice toaster and a convection oven. On busy days, customers wait up to 45 minutes. "It's a lot of work," Larson told the Detroit Free Press. "But I love it." The obstacle that almost stopped him before he even flipped his first order wasn't money, wasn't equipment and wasn't the odds. Click to find out what it was.
The median 401(k) balance in America is $40,000. Social Security was never meant to be a primary income source. And the cost of living keeps climbing. HSBC's head of wealth says the traditional retirement model was built on assumptions that no longer hold — and 87% of people who've tried the alternative say it changed their life. The question isn't whether you can afford to retire. It's whether the retirement plan you've been counting on is still working for you.
ALSO MAKING THE ROUNDS TODAY
NEWS: Ted Cruz just called Trump Accounts a "dirty little secret" and what he revealed about Social Security could affect every American's retirement
RETIREMENT: She spent 30 years in the U.S. then moved back to Canada in retirement and says it had nothing to do with taxes
NEWS: Seattle's mayor waved goodbye to fleeing millionaires — but critics say she may be laughing off a tax exodus that could reshape the state's finances
TAXES: Scott Galloway says the tax code punishes your paycheck and rewards your portfolio — here's how to get to the right side of it
HAVE YOUR SAY
If you had to run a restaurant completely alone for one month, what would be your biggest nightmare?
That's a wrap for today! Before you go, we'd love to know what you thought of today's newsletter. Hit REPLY if you have more to share — we read every one.
See you soon with another quick roundup of the financial news that matters.
