They’re betting on when you’ll die

Good afternoon. Somewhere out there, someone's very pleased with themselves for the sentence they buried on page 14, the one nobody reads until it's already cost them money. Today's stories are basically a greatest-hits of that: a policy clause, a Treasury number, a state law, all quietly doing damage while everyone assumed they already knew the rules. Let's go read the fine print so you don't have to find out the hard way.

On The Money Today:

Let's get into it.

At $40 trillion, this is the largest debt load America has ever carried, and the bill is no longer sitting quietly on a government ledger. Interest payments alone have already overtaken one of the country's biggest social programs, and that gap is set to widen fast. Read our first article to see how it could reach into your own retirement savings.

Interest on that debt already outpaces Medicare spending, and Washington expects it to double again within a decade. That kind of borrowing doesn't stay contained in government ledgers; it works its way into borrowing costs across the economy, including your own. A few moves can help insulate your retirement from what comes next.

Why it matters: The 30-year Treasury yield just hit 5.34% — its highest since 2007 — and rising yields reshape what your own bonds pay, what a refinance would cost you, and how far a fixed retirement income stretches against inflation.

The first close is one week away, on August 31. Lightstone DIRECT — one of the largest privately held real estate firms in the U.S., with $12 billion in assets under management, co-investing at least 20% of its own capital in every deal — wants you in before it closes.

New Deal: OKC Outlets

OKC Outlets is a 394,280-square-foot open-air outlet center anchored by national retailers — the only one within 100-plus miles of Oklahoma City. It's 97.5% leased across 94 tenants, none representing more than 4% of revenue.

Lightstone bought it for 38% less than the prior owner paid in 2017. Get access to the full deal materials before the Aug. 31 close.

Police are asking the public to help identify a man caught on camera pocketing $30 a stranger dropped in a Walmart. Under state law, keeping cash you know isn't yours can technically count as theft. Whether that applies here comes down to a single legal distinction most people have never heard of.

Why it matters: This isn't a one-state quirk — most states have similar lost-property laws, and courts weigh whether you tried to return the money, not how small the amount was, so even spare change can technically qualify.

The practice traces back to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and '90s, when dying policyholders sold coverage they could no longer afford. Today it's often older adults doing the selling, for a lump sum that beats surrendering the policy but comes with real tradeoffs. Know what you're giving up before you sign.

Why it matters: Not every life settlement company is regulated, and the lump sum you receive could be taxable or affect your Medicaid eligibility — details FINRA says buyers rarely bring up first.