Category Inflation
Tax Brackets, Limits, and Phaseouts
[Just a heads-up — this is mostly a placeholder for now — we are going to add more detail, including historic numbers so trends and changes are more clear. And there are some changes which won’t make sense without more context, such as when the standard deduction increased enormously due to the 2017 TCJA, but […]
2026 Social Security COLA and other adjustments
The BLS released the CPI-W for September 2025 a couple of days ago. This allows the Social Security administration to compute the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) which will apply to Social Security benefits in 2026. The COLA for an upcoming year is based on the changes to the CPI-W over the three overlapping 12 […]
2024 Social Security COLA and other adjustments
The BLS released the CPI-W for September 2023 today. This allows the Social Security administration to compute the COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) which will apply to Social Security benefits in 2024. The COLA for an upcoming year is based on the changes to the CPI-W over the three overlapping 12 month periods ending in […]
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California
What You Need To Know About Property Taxes in California Property taxes in the US are generally proportional to the value of one’s property. The more valuable the property, the higher the taxes… Except in California. This is because in 1978, California enacted Prop 13 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)> which limited increases in the taxes on […]
2015 IRA, 401(k) and other retirement plan contribution limits announced
By law certain retirement plan limits get adjusted every year, not exactly tracking inflation (i.e., not by the CPI) but rather in “chunks” which approximate it. For 2015, the following limits have been announced: IRA Contributions (combined limit across Roth and Traditional): $5,500IRA Catch-Up Contributions (for folks over 50): $1000[Both unchanged from 2014 and, actually, […]
Inflation and the Price of a Burger
In a pair of recent discussions, the issue of inflation has come up. In one, someone mentioned that he’d thought that recent inflation was worse than “official” numbers – and the example he gave was how he’d noticed how expensive meat was at the supermarket. And in another, a question arose regarding how well one might […]
I-Bonds “Real” Interest Rate Goes Back Above ZERO
I-Bonds “Real” Interest Rate Goes Back Above ZERO — for the first time since the rate was set to zero back in Nov, 2010. For the last three years, any newly purchased US Treasury Series I savings bonds – which pay interest which is a composite of a fixed “real” rate plus a variable […]
US Treasury I-series savings bonds – still zero real yield
For the 6th straight 6-month period in a row, US Treasury I-Bonds will be issued with a fixed “real” rate of 0%. That’s zero. Nil. Nada. Zip. The nominal yield is higher, since it’s a composite built out of the fixed (zero) rate plus a component representing inflation. The composite rate right now is 1.18%. […]
Gold Bugs Swatted Again
Gold Bugs Swatted Again Rick Ferri on gold. note especially his charts showing inflation-adjusted price of gold.
Malkiel: Buy Stocks, not Bonds
Burton Malkiel has been speaking up a lot lately, and with much the same message – repeated several times over the last few months (at least since an op-ed back in April). While hitting on some of the same themes he’s hit on for 40 years (index funds, low costs, broad diversification, don’t time the […]
Meyers Wealth Management 