Category: Cost of Living
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USDA expects beef prices to climb 9.4% this year while eggs fall 29.4%
In its latest Food Price Outlook, released Sept. 25, USDA’s Economic Research Service forecasts supermarket beef and egg prices moving in opposite directions this year. Beef and veal are projected to average 9.4% higher in 2026 than in 2025, while egg prices are expected to fall 29.4% over the same period. The swing reflects a…
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Fannie Mae will let mortgage companies tell homeowners when rising home values may let them drop private mortgage insurance
Fannie Mae will update its mortgage-servicing guide so loan servicers can proactively tell homeowners when a rising home value or a paid-down balance makes them eligible to cancel private mortgage insurance, under a directive from FHFA Director Bill Pulte. The change would let a servicer reach out once a loan’s balance falls to 80% of…
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Mailing a holiday package by USPS Ground Advantage can cost up to $7.50 more from October 4 to January 17
The U.S. Postal Service will raise prices temporarily on retail Ground Advantage packages this holiday season, adding as much as $7.50 to the cost of mailing a package in the heaviest weight tier. The increase applies to shipping zones 5 through 9, the longer-distance zones, and runs from Oct. 4, 2026, through Jan. 17, 2027.…
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Obamacare premiums for 2027 are rising 22.2% in Washington, 15.97% in Pennsylvania and 6% in New York after state reviews
State insurance regulators finalized 2027 Affordable Care Act marketplace rates this month, and the increases vary sharply by state: Washington approved an average 22.2% rise, Pennsylvania approved 15.97%, and New York held its increase to 6%. Each state’s insurance department reviewed and trimmed what insurers originally requested before signing off on a final number. The…
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Trump’s 15% tariff on imported polysilicon, a key solar-panel material, takes effect December 4
A new 15 percent tariff on imported polysilicon, the raw material at the base of nearly every solar panel sold in the United States, takes effect December 4, 2026. The tariff, and a minimum price floor issued alongside it, is aimed at rebuilding a domestic polysilicon industry that has nearly disappeared over the past two…
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Le Sueur County, Minnesota, homeowners saw insurance jump 23.9%, or $715, in six months
Homeowners in Le Sueur County, a rural county in south-central Minnesota, absorbed the sharpest home-insurance increase Insurify tracked anywhere in the state this year. Premiums there rose 23.9 percent, or $715, in just six months, nearly double Minnesota’s own statewide increase over the same stretch and more than ten times the national pace, according to…
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Home insurance now averages $3,012 a year, and Minnesota homeowners saw a 12.9% jump in six months
The average cost of homeowners insurance nationwide rose to $3,012 a year in the first half of 2026, a 2.2 percent increase, according to a new analysis from the insurance marketplace Insurify. Minnesota homeowners saw a far sharper move over the same stretch: premiums there climbed 12.9 percent, or $457, in just six months, one…
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The 15-year mortgage rate climbed to 6.42%, up from 5.49% a year ago
Borrowers who choose the shorter, faster-payoff option saw their own weekly number move higher too. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42 percent this week, up from 6.26 percent the week before and 5.49 percent a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Lenders typically use the 15-year loan for refinancing or for…
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The 30-year mortgage rate averaged 7.03%, up from 6.30% a year ago
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.03 percent this week, up from 6.95 percent the week before and 6.30 percent a year earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The move pushed the benchmark rate above the 7 percent line, a threshold that adds noticeably to the monthly…
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The Trump White House says the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low while beef demand grew almost 10% in a decade
The White House says the two forces squeezing the beef aisle are moving in opposite directions at once. In a fact sheet issued September 4, 2026, the administration states that the national cattle herd is at a 75-year low while demand for beef has climbed almost 10 percent over the past decade. The document accompanied…