🐾The care factor

The care factor can come at a hefty premium for kids — and prices are rising 1.3 times faster for pets. 

Pet services costs have jumped about 34.6% since 2020, compared with a 25.8% increase for kids' day care, and the pet industry as a whole was projected to reach $157 billion in 2025. Infant day care in the U.S. averages $332 per week, while doggy day care can also take a bite at about $40 per day ($200 weekly) — though prices can vary considerably by region.

An estimated two in three U.S. households (66%) have pets today, and 97% consider their furry friends part of the family. There’s a personal finance upside to this: Nearly two in five people say owning a pet inspires good money habits.

💸 Pay it forward: Pay hikes are expected to hold steady at 3.5%* in 2026, unchanged from 2025. About half of companies (48%) say they’ll take a performance-based approach to raises, while 44% will adopt the “peanut-butter” style of spreading increases evenly across their workforce. A good rule of thumb for pay increases is to try to allocate roughly half to savings.

🏡 Building strength: Buyers are coming into the 2026 housing market with more options and negotiating power in their pockets. About 40,000* home purchase agreements were canceled in December — a 14.9% increase year over year. Sellers also outnumbered buyers by 631,535* for the month, the largest gap on record.

📚 Lessening the load: Efforts to make secondary education more affordable are picking up as overall U.S. student debt exceeds $1.7 trillion. Nearly 1,000* two-year colleges, vocational schools, and four-year universities in 45 states now offer free tuition programs for eligible students. Already facing loan bills? Consolidating or refinancing may help make repayment easier.

🛡️ Added security: Understanding Social Security rules for ex-spouses can make a difference in retirement income. Divorced spouses can potentially claim up to 50% of a former spouse’s full retirement age benefit — and survivor benefits can be as much as 100% — if eligibility requirements are met.

Going the extra mile

Some Americans are unretiring: An AARP survey reveals 7%* of retirees returned to the workforce in the past six months — more than twice the average number. Roughly 38 million people aged 55 or older currently have jobs or are hunting for them, with older employees representing almost one fourth of total workers.

Why the boomerang? Money matters: Americans put the magic number for retirement savings at $1.06 million and 72% rely on Social Security benefits for retirement income. But it’s not the full story. More than two in five (41%) cite personal fulfillment as a reason to go back to work after retiring.

Tax TLC

With about 7.6 million Americans making up the “sandwich generation” — adults who provide unpaid care to elder relatives along with children under 18 living at home — many may be looking for some TLC when it comes to reducing their tax burden.

Taxpayers who claim dependents can unlock certain tax credits and deductions depending on their situation and adjusted gross income (AGI), including the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and child and dependent care tax credit. Read more on The Currency^TM. 

Helmets on

Cadillac is looking for a position in the Grand Prix spotlight when it makes its racing debut* in Australia next month. The GM brand paid $450 million* in fees to become the first U.S. car with its own F1 team, hiring more than 500* new workers along the way. F1 attracts about 1.3 million U.S. viewers and 827 million fans worldwide.

Costs are also on the move for everyday drivers: Auto insurance premiums are up 93% since 2014, with 57% of Americans keeping their cars longer to save money. 

👓 ICYMI — Catch up on the news making headlines:

Cost of care: Family insurance coverage tops $2K monthly

Handle with care: What a Health Savings Account (HSA) covers

Take care: Brush up on how SECURE 2.0 affects retirement rules