Good afternoon. Money rarely announces when it's working against you. It just looks like good news right up until the moment it doesn't. That's the thread running through today's issue — the stories where the safest-looking choice turned out to be the one worth questioning.
On The Money Today:
A 4.7% Social Security raise sounds big, until you see what's driving it
She spent 10 hours and $25,000 believing a warrant was coming for her
Should you skip Social Security if you don't need it? Here's the catch
Let's get into it.
NEWS
Inflation is pushing next year's Social Security raise toward one of the largest in a generation, and on the surface, that sounds like good news. But retirees get an automatic adjustment built into their checks. Everyone else doesn't, which means your paycheck and your savings are exposed to the exact same forces driving that bump.
If you're holding cash and watching it lose ground, a gold IRA can help preserve purchasing power inside a retirement account. Real estate has historically kept pace with rising prices too, and platforms like Arrived now make fractional ownership possible for a few hundred dollars.
For a steadier approach, locking in a rate with a certificate of deposit (CD) guarantees growth no matter what the broader economy does next. And if your portfolio has grown past $250,000, a second opinion from a vetted advisor might be the smartest move before this bump lands.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Acorns
Most of us barely use cash anymore, so the old trick of saving spare change doesn't really work — until now, with Acorns, Acorns, an app that invests the extra cents from your everyday purchases, fixes that automatically:
Every card purchase rounds up to the nearest dollar, and the difference goes into a smart investment portfolio
Just $2.50 in daily round-ups adds up to $900 a year — before your money even starts earning in the market
Set up in under five minutes, with automatic saving from as little as $3 a month
NEWS
Tampa woman loses $25,000 to scammers who told her to pay bail or risk jail for 'skipping jury duty'
A single phone call convinced a Florida woman she was about to be arrested, and by the time it ended, she'd handed over her life savings. The callers knew details about her family that no stranger should have known, which is exactly what made it so convincing. This is the playbook scammers are running right now, and it could just as easily start with your phone ringing.
MUST READ
Not every retiree needs their Social Security check to get by, and some assume that means they should just turn it down. The decision is trickier than it looks, touching everything from Medicare premiums to the health of the fund itself. Before you walk away from money you've already earned, here's what to weigh first.
MONEY IQ
What percentage of working Americans say they plan to keep working in retirement because they don't trust Social Security to be enough?
ALSO MAKING THE ROUNDS TODAY
MONEY IQ ANSWER: HOW DID YOU DO?
The answer is: D) 61% — according to recent surveys, roughly 61% of working Americans say they expect to keep working in retirement, at least part-time, because they don't believe Social Security alone will cover their expenses. It's a sign that even with COLA increases, most people are planning for retirement income to come from more than just their monthly check.
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.
