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A single worker needs to earn a six-figure salary to live comfortably in 11 of the most expensive states in the US, stark new figures reveal. Analysis by SmartAsset defined 'comfortable' as being able to live by the 50/30/20 budget rule. This allocates 50 percent of earnings for necessities such as housing, food and utilities, 30 percent for discretionary spending and 20 percent for savings, investments and paying off debt. Massachusetts is the most expensive state for a single worker, according to the findings, as residents have to earn $116,022 to be able to live comfortably on their own. The study lays bare the effect stubborn inflation and soaring interest rates is having on household budgets - making living alone in some states unaffordable for many Americans.

The number of millionaire homeowners in America has more than quadrupled in five years, a new report has found. Between 2017 and 2022, the amount of households earning a seven-figure salary ballooned from 30,000 to 136,697. Analysis of US Census bureau figures by real estate site Point2 shows the profile of a typical millionaire homeowner is a 50-year-old chief executive living in New York or San Francisco. On average they own a $1.8 million, ten-room home including five bedrooms and three cars.

The 'magic number' that Americans need to retire comfortably has surged to an all-time high - while the amount they have saved is dwindling, a new report reveals. US adults believe they need $1.46 million for a comfortable retirement, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual. This is a 15 percent increase on the $1.27 million reported last year - far outpacing the rate of inflation. But as the amount Americans suspect they will need in their later years has grown, the amount they actually have saved in their nest egg has not kept up. The average American has just $88,400 in their retirement pot today, the study found, a monumental $1.37 million less than the target.

Home prices have doubled in less than ten years in 68 of the 100 largest cities in the US, a sobering new study shows. And in some major American cities, the cost of the average property has doubled in as little as five years. In Detroit, home prices were half of what they are now as recently as 2019, data from real estate marketplace Point2 reveals. Home prices in Miami and Tampa, Florida, have doubled since 2018, as they have in Baltimore, Maryland, and Spokane, Washington.

A Texan software company is alleged to have been at the center of a 'rental cartel' that enabled landlords across the US to artificially drive up prices. Software sold by RealPage is used by many of the largest property management firms in the US and suggests prices landlords should charge based on availability and demand in their area. But plaintiffs in several states have brought lawsuits against the firm, claiming landlords share private and commercially sensitive data with the platform which is then weaponized against renters to keep costs as high as possible. In some markets, the majority of property managers in an area are said to use the software for pricing guidance and instruction.

One US Bank customer discovered he went from earning $160 a month to just $2 after his account was rolled over to a new one when it matured. The problem is with a type of fixed-term account known as a certificate of deposit, or CD, that pays a fixed interest rate for a set period of time.

A viral photo appearing to show a person trying to return a two-decade old TV to Costco has again brought into the limelight the retailer's much-loved returns policy. The image shows a vintage Samsung projection television from the early 2000s sitting on top of an iconic orange Costco flat cart in a store in Pennsylvania. While it's not clear whether or not the sales associates accepted the return, the owner of the old TV, supposedly bought in 2002, would have had a strong case.

For years they have been sold to motorists as a glimpse into the future. But is the EV revolution over before it ever really began? The headlines certainly aren't promising. Tesla shocked analysts last month when it announced sales had dropped for the first time since the height of the pandemic in 2020. So far this year Apple has also killed its decade-long project to create its own EV while Ford is slashing production of its electric pickup. Meanwhile General Motors wants to bring back its plug-in hybrid. Yet amidst all the gloomy sales reports, there is a growing army of die-hard EV enthusiasts who insist they will never return to their old gas-guzzling ways.

Many Americans are concinved that cookies are used by airlines to track internet activity. Flyers think that once an airline spots they are looking for a specific ticket they start increasing prices. But the idea that using private or 'incognito' mode while browsing the internet to buy flights will prevent airlines from gathering data and charging extra is nothing more than a myth, experts say. The misconception is that cookies are used by airlines to track the internet activity of potential buyers. Once they identify that somebody is looking for a specific ticket they can then start increasing prices. By using a private browser window, the idea is that cookies cannot be used to track the person's searches, leaving the comparison site or airline unable to determine which flight they are hoping to buy.