Cash course: Empower research finds 38% of Americans say cash feels more “real” than digital money — yet only 18% use it daily. Nearly 4 in 10 believe each generation relies less on cash than the one before it, signaling a steady shift toward screen-first spending.

Still, physical dollars serve a purpose, with 40% reporting they feel safer keeping cash on hand for emergencies. The top reasons to use it are tipping (48%) and paying at small businesses (46%). For some, cash also acts as a guardrail — 24% turn to it to limit daily spending, and a third say they’re more likely to make impulse buys with digital payments.

The average stash? Most people carry between $51 and $100 in their wallet, though Gen X tends to hold more — about $101 to $200 on average.

— The Editors 

💪 Fiscal force: Gen X is hitting its financial stride, entering peak earning and spending years with projected outlays of $15.2 trillion in 2025. Americans in their 50s average $970,570 in retirement funds.

↖️ COLA watch: Social Security’s 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be 2.8%, adding about $56 a month for the typical retiree. However, rising Medicare premiums could shrink the bump for some.

🏦 Hidden riches: Americans have over $39 billion* in matured savings bonds tucked away, some sitting in drawers for decades. Redeeming them can take patience, but the payoff can feel like a found-money windfall. Read more about bonds on The Currency™.

🐮 Milk money: AI collars now monitor over 2 million* cows, providing information on feeding, health, and milk yields, as part of a $5 billion livestock-tech trend. For farmers, better tracking means lower costs. Milk prices have increased only 2.1% in the past 12 months, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.

🍨 Frozen assets: A sweet spin-off: Breyers and Klondike owner Magnum Ice Cream is set to become the world’s largest* standalone frozen-treat company after a planned split from Unilever. It had $9.3 billion in revenue last year. Food industry spin-offs have been common as some companies look to unlock value.  

Concrete comeback

New York’s office leasing surged to 23.2 million* square feet through September, the highest in nearly two decades. Companies are choosing high-end, amenity-packed spaces — and paying record rates topping $100 per square foot.

Commuting adds costs too, from transit fares to parking, though numbers from the Empower Personal Dashboard™ indicate that fuel spending in the U.S. is falling. The average monthly spend dropped to $177 in early 2025, down 24% from its 2022 peak, and 12% below 2024 levels. 

Bonus hour

It’s that time again — clocks turn back an hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, Nov. 2* as daylight saving time ends. Public sentiment shows that 54%* want to end the clock change. If asked for an alternative, 48% prefer year-round standard time, 24% prefer year-round daylight saving time, and 19% would keep switching.

Time is money: Americans value an hour of their time at an average of $240, according to Empower research.

Big league bucks

Major League Baseball could beat last year’s record* $12.1 billion in gross revenue by season’s end. Player bonuses in the World Series are determined by gate receipts, and with regular season attendance above* 70 million for three straight years, it could be a winning streak.

Cities like Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Portland are vying* for a spot in MLB’s growth plans. The price of entry: a tentative* $2.1 billion “expansion fee,” up sharply from $130 million in 1998. 

ICYMI — worth a look

• Car repair costs climb 15% as vehicles get smarter — and pricier to fix

• Face time: In-person interviews make a comeback in the AI era

• Law school rebound: What’s behind a 26% two-year rise in applications