I recently co-authored a journal article in
the Journal of Financial Planning and conducted a webinar for
the Military Families Learning Network titled 2019 Personal Finance Year in
Review. Both discussed recent events, facts, and trends in the world of
personal finance. Below are 15 items that were included:
§
More than 25 million taxpayers switched to
claiming the standard deduction instead of itemizing (only about 10% of tax returns included
itemized deductions vs. about 30% previously)
§
The IRS unveiled a new tax form for taxpayers
age 65+ and a redesigned tax withholding form for 2020
§
Morningstar announced that it is planning an
evaluation system for cryptocurrencies
§
The average annual percentage rate (APR) on
credit cards was 17%, the highest rate in > 2 decades (Reason: Creditors are charging higher
rates to offset generous rewards programs that eat into profits)
§
Robo-advisory firm Betterment started an
FDIC-protected savings account with a 2.69% yield (Other fintech firms such as Wealthfront
and SoFi have also launched non-bank banks)
§
About 106 million credit card customers and
applicants were affected by the Capitol One hack
§
Terms of the Equifax hack settlement were
announced: 10 years of free credit monitoring or up to $125
§
Three Federal Reserve interest rate cuts took
place in 2019, almost reversing 2018 rate increases
§
Average new light duty car prices increased to
$37,401; the average new car loan is $32,119 (The average new car loan term reached a
new high of 69.17 months or almost 6 years)
§
Auto loan delinquencies surged past Great Recession
rates; 7 million borrowers are 90+ days behind
§
2019 was 50th anniversary of
financial planning profession
§
29% of Baby Boomers age 65-72 are
working/looking for work (the highest rate in > 50 years) while Millennials
are approaching middle age in worse financial shape than every prior living
generation
§
Payday loan protections to ensure that civilian
borrowers could repay loans were rolled back by the CFPB
§
The print version of 47-year old Money magazine ceased publication
§
The 35-day federal government shutdown exposed
the financial fragility of many U.S. households
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