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Personal Finance News 29 October 2025 - 10 November 2025

Generation X Money Meltdown: 95% Have Costly Regrets, 81% Fear Retirement Unaffordable

Gen X’s 2025 Retirement Wake‑Up Call (Nov. 10): New Reports Show a $467K Savings Gap—Here’s What to Do Now

Updated: November 10, 2025 Generation X—Americans born roughly between 1965 and 1980—is staring down retirement with a thinner cushion than other living generations. Fresh coverage in the past 24 hours crystallizes the stakes: just 14% of Gen X feels prepared for retirement, the typical target is about $1.07 million, and the amount they expect to have on hand falls short by nearly $467,000. Meanwhile, two‑thirds of Gen X 401(k) participants have under $100,000 saved, underscoring how fragile many households remain even as the stock market has buoyed balances. Schroders+1 What’s new today (Nov. 10) The numbers behind the headlines Why
10 November 2025
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VTI vs. VOO on November 7, 2025: Daily Update, Flows & Why Vanguard’s Flagship ETFs Still Dominate With Young Investors

VTI vs. VOO on November 7, 2025: Daily Update, Flows & Why Vanguard’s Flagship ETFs Still Dominate With Young Investors

What changed today (Nov. 7, 2025) Fresh data from TipRanks’ “VTI ETF Daily Update — 11/7/2025” shows the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) slipped 1.17% on Thursday, part of a −2.72% five‑day stretch, while YTD returns remain +14.71%. Despite choppy price action, investors added $382M to VTI over the last five trading days, and the fund still trades above its 50‑day EMA, a constructive near‑term technical backdrop. TipRanks The same update highlights the week’s macro driver: pressure on AI‑heavy megacaps, which weighed on the S&P 500 (−1.12%) and Nasdaq (−1.90%) Thursday. That factor matters for VTI because its top
7 November 2025
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Record Highs, $55 B Deals & Data Drama: Wall Street’s Wild Week (Oct 4–5, 2025)

7 Best Stocks to Buy Now for Big Gains (November 2025 Edition)

Key Takeaways Market Overview: Rally Rolls On, With Underlying Risks 2025 has been a banner year for stocks globally. In the U.S., the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have repeatedly notched all-time highs reuters.com, fueled by strong corporate earnings (especially in tech) and easing inflation amid a recent Federal Reserve rate cut markets.chroniclejournal.com. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up ~12% year-to-date, the S&P 500 +16%, and the Nasdaq Composite +22% through the end of October markets.chroniclejournal.com. European markets have also surged – the Euro Stoxx 600 is up ~25% (in USD terms) this year core.axa-im.com – and Asian indices hit
4 November 2025
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5 Dividend ETFs That Could Pay You for Life – One Could Turn $500/Month Into $680,000

5 Dividend ETFs That Could Pay You for Life – One Could Turn $500/Month Into $680,000

Why Dividend ETFs for Lifetime Income? Dividend-focused ETFs have become go-to tools for investors seeking steady retirement income. By buying a single ETF, you get exposure to a basket of companies that regularly distribute profits to shareholders as dividends. This means instant diversification and a smoother income stream than relying on one or two stocks. These funds are managed by professionals and often track indexes of dividend-paying firms 247wallst.com, so investors can “set and forget” while collecting payouts. Another appeal is stability. Dividend-paying companies tend to be established, profitable businesses (think blue-chip stocks) that can weather economic ups and downs.
3 November 2025
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Record 2026 Tax Refund Surge Looms as New Tax Cuts Fuel a $50 Billion “Stimulus”

Record 2026 Tax Refund Surge Looms as New Tax Cuts Fuel a $50 Billion “Stimulus”

A Tax Refund Windfall on the Horizon American taxpayers are poised for a record tax refund season in early 2026, with millions set to get substantially larger refunds when they file their 2025 income-tax returns. The reason is an unusual combination of retroactive tax cuts and an IRS decision not to adjust 2025 paycheck withholding to reflect those cuts cbsnews.com. In essence, workers have been overpaying taxes in 2025 under old rates, so they’ll get that money back as a lump-sum refund next spring cbsnews.com. “Many taxpayers will pay too much in tax this year and see larger tax refunds
3 November 2025
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Social Security Surprise: No SSI Check on Nov. 1 – See Why Your Payment Arrives Early

Social Security Surprise: No SSI Check on Nov. 1 – See Why Your Payment Arrives Early

November Payment Schedule: SSI vs. Regular Social Security The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays SSI (Supplemental Security Income) beneficiaries on the 1st of each month. In November 2025 the 1st is a holiday/weekend, so SSA moves the Nov. 1 payment to Friday, Oct. 31 livenowfox.com hindustantimes.com. Fox’s LiveNOW reported: “SSI recipients will receive November’s payment on Oct. 31, because Nov. 1 falls on a weekend” livenowfox.com. Hindustan Times similarly notes that SSI checks “usually credited on the first of each month” will be issued Oct. 31 when Nov. 1 is not a business day hindustantimes.com. In other words, SSI recipients get an early November
31 October 2025
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Stop Vampire Appliances from Sucking Your Wallet Dry – Slay These Hidden Power Drains

Stop Vampire Appliances from Sucking Your Wallet Dry – Slay These Hidden Power Drains

With electricity prices climbing (U.S. rates are ~24% higher than in 2019 meltek.com), every saved watt counts. This Halloween season, energy experts and utilities across the U.S. are urging consumers to hunt down and “stake” these hidden power vampires before they drive up the bills. Duke Energy Florida notes standby loads lurk in every home – from phone chargers to game consoles – and “can drain energy – and potential savings – accounting for as much as 20% of your total energy costs” news.duke-energy.com. Similarly, Pacific Gas & Electric warns idle appliances can quietly add “$100 a year” to a
31 October 2025
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Trump’s Student Loan Forgiveness Shockwave: 2M Borrowers Freed, Stocks on Edge

Trump’s Student Loan Forgiveness Shockwave: 2M Borrowers Freed, Stocks on Edge

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Overhaul On Oct. 30, 2025 the Dept. of Education finalized a sweeping change to the PSLF program. Citing President Trump’s March 2025 executive order on PSLF, the final rule narrows the definition of a “public service employer” to exclude organizations with a “substantial illegal purpose” ed.gov. That includes entities convicted of aiding illegal immigration, supporting terrorism, providing gender‑affirming care to minors (“prohibited medical procedures”), etc. In announcing the rule, Undersecretary Kent argued that “taxpayer funds should never directly or indirectly subsidize illegal activity” and that PSLF must be refocused on “our Nation’s teachers, first responders, and civil
31 October 2025
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Shocking IRS Update: New 2026 Tax Brackets Slashed for Millions – Here’s How Much You’ll Save

Tax Refunds 2025: IRS Shutdown Delays, Bigger Payouts & Global Rebate Roundup

Key Facts: As Congress’s funding lapse hit IRS operations in late Oct 2025, most paper refunds were paused (e-filers still get refunds) irs.gov. The IRS paid out $311.6 billion in refunds in 2025 (up slightly) with an average of $3,052 per taxpayer ts2.tech. The new U.S. tax law (the “One Big Beautiful Bill” of July 2025) raised credits for children and seniors ts2.tech, and analysts now forecast a surge in refunds (an extra ~$50 billion, or +18%) in early 2026 cbsnews.com economictimes.indiatimes.com. In state news, Virginia announced one-time income-tax rebates of $200–$400 from a budget surplus ts2.tech. Abroad, India reports delays in
30 October 2025
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KeyCorp Slashes Prime Lending Rate to 7.00% – Here’s What Borrowers & Investors Need to Know

KeyCorp Slashes Prime Lending Rate to 7.00% – Here’s What Borrowers & Investors Need to Know

Fed Rate Moves and Prime Rate Last week’s Federal Reserve meeting delivered a 0.25% rate cut (its second this year), which immediately set off ripples across banking. In mid‑September, the Fed’s first cut prompted JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and others to trim their prime lending rates from 7.50% to 7.25% reuters.com. Now, following the Oct. 29 cut, banks are pushing prime down again. For example, Webster Bank (CT) confirmed a cut to 7.00% on Oct. 30 markets.ft.com. By rule of thumb, the prime rate moves roughly in step with Fed funds + 3%, so a Fed funds rate of 3.75–4.00%
29 October 2025
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Mortgage Rates Hit 2025 Low at 6.27% – Will They Finally Dip Below 6%?

Mortgage Rates Just Hit a 3-Year Low – Is Now the Time to Lock In?

Mortgage Rates Hit Lowest Levels of the Year After a prolonged stretch of high borrowing costs, current mortgage rates are finally receding. In late October, the average 30-year fixed mortgage fell to its lowest level of 2025, around the 6.2%–6.3% range ts2.tech bloomberg.com. That’s a significant improvement from January, when 30-year rates were above 7% ts2.tech. Some daily measures even put the typical mortgage rate today below 6% on an APR basis. For example, Zillow’s daily tracker showed the 30-year rate at about 5.92% APR on October 29, down 17 basis points in one day nerdwallet.com (a basis point is
29 October 2025
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Tax Season Shocker: Fewer Refunds but Bigger Payouts as New Tax Changes Loom

Tax Season Shocker: Fewer Refunds but Bigger Payouts as New Tax Changes Loom

Fewer Checks, Larger Refunds Mark 2025 Tax Season Americans saw slightly fatter refunds on average this year even as the number of people getting refunds dipped. Final IRS data through October shows the average refund climbed to $3,052, about $48 more than last year’s average accountingtoday.com. That uptick may reflect higher incomes and inflation adjustments that boosted tax withholding – leading many filers to overpay a bit more and get larger refunds. In total, the IRS disbursed $311.65 billion in refunds for the 2025 season, roughly 0.6% more than the prior year el-balad.com. However, those dollars were spread across slightly
29 October 2025
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