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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's How Much Groceries Cost in the US Compared to Mexico, Canada and China
As much as housing skyrocketed in cost during and after the pandemic, food prices rose even faster. Read Next: Discover More: From 2020-2024, the USDA reports that food prices rose by 23.6%, compared to 23.0% for housing. But food inflation slowed dramatically in 2024, from a rate of 11.4% in 2022 to 5.0% in 2023 to just 1.2% in 2024. So how do U.S. grocery prices and affordability compare to our neighbors in Canada and Mexico, and to the second largest economy in the world, China? Grocery Cost Index: 71.75 (Numbeo) Share of Average Consumer Spending: 6.8% (USDA data processed by Our World in Data) In absolute terms, groceries cost more in the U.S. than in China, Canada or Mexico. 'The U.S. imports groceries from other countries like Mexico and Canada, for year-round availability,' explains consumer finance expert Aaron Razon of CouponSnake. 'Add in the high cost of local labor and the impact of trade policies and tariffs on grocery prices, it's really no surprise that groceries would cost more in the U.S. than it does in these other countries.' But as a share of the average American's budget, groceries take up the smallest percentage across these four countries, at just 6.8%. That makes grocery affordability in the U.S. better than its neighbors and chief rival. Grocery Cost Index: 65.35 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 9.7% Groceries cost a little less north of the border. Specifically, Numbeo reports that groceries cost 5.8% less in Canada when priced in the same currency. However, the median Canadian also earns less than the median American. The average Canadian household spends 9.7% of its budget on groceries. Grocery Cost Index: 38.22 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 25.7% That effect becomes much more pronounced in Mexico, where both incomes and grocery prices are lower. Numbeo reports that groceries cost 42.3% less in Mexico, in absolute terms. Accountant Shalini Dharna of Dharna CPA explains further. 'In general, consumers in Mexico tend to have less disposable income than in the U.S. and Canada, so in relative terms groceries are more affordable in the U.S. than in Mexico.' Plus, Mexican households have less access to imported foods than Americans do. Outside of major cities, many Mexican families primarily eat locally grown food. Grocery Cost Index: 34.18 Share of Average Consumer Spending: 21.2% Groceries cost even less in China: 53.1% less, to be exact. 'China's large-scale agricultural production and low labor costs put them at an advantage when it comes to affordability,' says Razon. The raw numbers don't tell the whole story, however. China has enormous wealth and cost-of-living divides, especially between rural and urban areas. Food takes up a large portion of the average Chinese household's budget — particularly for those low-wage rural workers providing that cheap labor. Grocery cost indexes from Numbeo. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 25 Places To Buy a Home If You Want It To Gain Value This article originally appeared on Here's How Much Groceries Cost in the US Compared to Mexico, Canada and China Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Ways To Use AI To Earn and Save an Extra $100,000 for Retirement
Artificial intelligence services keep getting smarter — and more flexible in taking over tasks for you. Learn More: Find Out: But can you entrust AI with your financial future? With your retirement nest egg? While AI can't do everything for you, it can certainly help. Try these ways to use AI to save an extra $100,000 for retirement. Budgeting comes in two parts: planning how to spend and then actually doing that day in and day out. Artificial intelligence can help you with both. You can ask an AI bot to think like a financial planner and create a budget tailored to your needs, goals, and priorities. Even better, you can then feed your past spending behavior into the bot to ask it to compare your actual spending to your ideal budget, to find where you're going astray. 'With AI tools making expense tracking less tedious and more efficient, consumers can better manage their finances, keep up with their expenses, and seal the leaks that drain their financial resources,' explains Aaron Razon, budgeting expert with CouponSnake. Want to advance your career and earn more? Learn how to competently use AI. At the simplest level it will make you a more qualified hire, as many roles will increasingly require workers to leverage AI. It can also boost your productivity, allowing you to get more done in less time. The uses don't end there however. Ask AI to help you brainstorm job and career ideas that you didn't know existed, but which fit your strengths and goals. Then ask it what steps you must take to make the career transition for the ones that jump out at you. Dustin W. Scout runs AI platform Magai and offers a simple example of a user running a side hustle with nothing but AI support. 'He creates bespoke AI art for corporate clients based on their interior design needs, personality, or interests. Once the client has settled on a piece, he enlarges the AI image to a printable resolution and has it printed on canvas and shipped to the client.' Or take Enes Karaboga, who created media site as a side hustle. 'A single content site can earn more than $100,000 in a few years with Google Ads and affiliate links. In the past, you needed a team to run such a business. I have my own army of AI writers, editors, designers and more. Each AI agent works for pennies. All you need to do is orchestrate the workflow, set the direction and make the key decisions.' Earn enough money with that AI-powered side hustle, and you can quit your day job. From there, you could work full-time on growing your business. Or you could automate much of the work with AI, and hire a human manager to oversee the rest of it. Then you can retire if you like — regardless of your age. Justin Ramos, CEO of AI-powered Compai, recently went through this exercise himself. 'I was deciding between Wealthfront's S&P 500 Direct Investing and their Direct Index Investing offerings, and I asked Claude to analyze the long-term implications of both options, focusing on diversification and tax advantages. 'While the S&P 500 option had lower fees (0.09% vs 0.25%), Claude's analysis showed that Direct Index Investing's ability to harvest tax losses from individual stocks could generate an additional 1-2% in annual tax savings. It demonstrated that on a $100,000 initial investment growing at 8% annually for 20 years, the standard S&P 500 approach would yield approximately $466,000. Alternatively, the Direct Index approach would yield about $581,000, leaving me with $115,000 in additional retirement savings.' Ultimately, you're responsible for your own financial decisions. But AI can help you make more informed decisions — and perhaps retire with an extra $100,000 or more in your nest egg. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? 5 Types of Cars Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying This article originally appeared on 5 Ways To Use AI To Earn and Save an Extra $100,000 for Retirement
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
5 Ways To Use AI To Earn and Save an Extra $100,000 for Retirement
Artificial intelligence services keep getting smarter — and more flexible in taking over tasks for you. Learn More: Find Out: But can you entrust AI with your financial future? With your retirement nest egg? While AI can't do everything for you, it can certainly help. Try these ways to use AI to save an extra $100,000 for retirement. Budgeting comes in two parts: planning how to spend and then actually doing that day in and day out. Artificial intelligence can help you with both. You can ask an AI bot to think like a financial planner and create a budget tailored to your needs, goals, and priorities. Even better, you can then feed your past spending behavior into the bot to ask it to compare your actual spending to your ideal budget, to find where you're going astray. 'With AI tools making expense tracking less tedious and more efficient, consumers can better manage their finances, keep up with their expenses, and seal the leaks that drain their financial resources,' explains Aaron Razon, budgeting expert with CouponSnake. Want to advance your career and earn more? Learn how to competently use AI. At the simplest level it will make you a more qualified hire, as many roles will increasingly require workers to leverage AI. It can also boost your productivity, allowing you to get more done in less time. The uses don't end there however. Ask AI to help you brainstorm job and career ideas that you didn't know existed, but which fit your strengths and goals. Then ask it what steps you must take to make the career transition for the ones that jump out at you. Dustin W. Scout runs AI platform Magai and offers a simple example of a user running a side hustle with nothing but AI support. 'He creates bespoke AI art for corporate clients based on their interior design needs, personality, or interests. Once the client has settled on a piece, he enlarges the AI image to a printable resolution and has it printed on canvas and shipped to the client.' Or take Enes Karaboga, who created media site as a side hustle. 'A single content site can earn more than $100,000 in a few years with Google Ads and affiliate links. In the past, you needed a team to run such a business. I have my own army of AI writers, editors, designers and more. Each AI agent works for pennies. All you need to do is orchestrate the workflow, set the direction and make the key decisions.' Earn enough money with that AI-powered side hustle, and you can quit your day job. From there, you could work full-time on growing your business. Or you could automate much of the work with AI, and hire a human manager to oversee the rest of it. Then you can retire if you like — regardless of your age. Justin Ramos, CEO of AI-powered Compai, recently went through this exercise himself. 'I was deciding between Wealthfront's S&P 500 Direct Investing and their Direct Index Investing offerings, and I asked Claude to analyze the long-term implications of both options, focusing on diversification and tax advantages. 'While the S&P 500 option had lower fees (0.09% vs 0.25%), Claude's analysis showed that Direct Index Investing's ability to harvest tax losses from individual stocks could generate an additional 1-2% in annual tax savings. It demonstrated that on a $100,000 initial investment growing at 8% annually for 20 years, the standard S&P 500 approach would yield approximately $466,000. Alternatively, the Direct Index approach would yield about $581,000, leaving me with $115,000 in additional retirement savings.' Ultimately, you're responsible for your own financial decisions. But AI can help you make more informed decisions — and perhaps retire with an extra $100,000 or more in your nest egg. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? The 10 Most Reliable SUVs of 2025 This article originally appeared on 5 Ways To Use AI To Earn and Save an Extra $100,000 for Retirement
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What If the US Dollar Drops in Value by 50%?
The value of a dollar shouldn't require much math. If you have $1, you have $1, right? Learn More: Read Next: Sort of! The dollar's value fluctuates over time (inflation) and due to economic conditions (such as tariffs) based on how much you can purchase with that same dollar. Thus a dollar is really a measure of purchasing power. For instance, there was a time when a single dollar could buy multiple groceries, whereas today you can't even buy a dozen eggs for anywhere near that price due to inflation. If the dollar lost half of its value, what would the impact look like on the economy and your wallet? In truth, the dollar value fluctuating is a pretty regular occurrence, according to Jim Pendergast, general manager of altLINE by The Southern Bank. '[We] saw the dollar value drop at a fairly similar clip from 2022 into 2023, as it is now, before slowly recovering,' he said. A 50% drop in dollar value is hard to envision in the short term, he said, and unlikely, though not impossible. 'We recently saw Argentina's currency value drop drastically in just a couple of years, a decline that exceeded 50%, so it's not entirely impossible. But within our borders, we haven't seen things fail to revert to a relative norm in decades.' Find Out: The immediate impact of a value drop would be inflation-related challenges, such as prices going up and the cost of goods increasing, Pendergast said. 'Another impact that may not be as obvious is the impact it has on savings accounts. Money in your savings account could be losing value, particularly if interest rates aren't keeping up.' Aaron Razon, a personal finance expert at Coupon Snake, takes a slightly more alarmist approach. He said that if the U.S. dollar were to really lose half of its value, the result could be 'devastating for consumers.' While such a devaluation would be a worst-case scenario, he said that scenario could 'attack everyday expenses and drive up their prices in a way that would make affordability even more of a financial struggle than it is today.' This could have an impact on utility costs like electricity, gas and water, because the cost of importing their equipment would have become more expensive. Importing oil and food would also become more expensive, leading to higher prices for gas, food and other essentials. '[The] result of all these price increments would be a strained household budget that would force families to make tough financial decisions,' Razon said. Thankfully, Pendergast said that 'we do know what the warning signs are of an impending drop, such as sharp increases in national debt and inflation, along with unforeseen Fed reserve policy changes.' While the average American's purchasing power may feel strained due to high costs of living and tariff increases, he said the U.S. is not quite there yet. Shaky economic times call for having 'stable cash reserves,' Pendergast said, though he noted, 'It's easier said than done when prices are going up. He recommended people keep some funds liquid and earning interest in a high-yield savings account. Additionally, if you have the funds to spare, you could consider investing in 'safe haven' assets such as gold or other precious metals, Razon said. 'These assets provide a hedge against currency devaluation and inflation, and even tend to maintain their value over time.' However, Razon said he doesn't think a 50% devaluation scenario is realistic. What's more likely to happen than a serious drop in the dollar is 'stagflation,' according to an April 2025 Wolters Kluwer Blue Chip Economic Indicators Survey. In it, 46 leading economists agree that the U.S. has shifted from solid growth to a risk of stagflation over the next 12 months as a result of U.S. trade policy, notably tariffs. 'Financial markets are very disturbed by the Trump Administration's widespread imposition of tariffs on goods produced by almost every economy with which the US trades,' the report states. 'Some estimates have the US effective tariff rate rising to its highest level in more than 100 years. Financial markets worldwide, especially equity markets, have reacted negatively to the tariff increases announced on April 2.' Almost half of the economists in the survey (49%) fear these impacts will be 'lasting,' while 51% think they will not. No matter what shape the economy is in, thus your own personal finances, Pendergast urged consumers to 'establish a good relationship with a bank or trusted financial advisors' who can advise on best practices. More From GOBankingRates 5 Types of Vehicles Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth 4 Things You Should Do if You Want To Retire Early How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State? This article originally appeared on What If the US Dollar Drops in Value by 50%?
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 Things To Do With Your Money If Tariffs Are Making Your Lifestyle Harder To Afford
If the tariffs that President Donald Trump has promised on many of the country's trade partners go into effect, many goods and services will likely become more expensive. For some Americans, their lifestyles may become harder to afford. Learn More: Read Next: Experts recommended some money moves to make to adjust to a high-tariff environment. If your everyday costs are rising due to tariffs, it's important to track your expenses because tariffs are probably not affecting all your purchases in the same way, according to Aaron Razon, a personal finance expert at Coupon Snake. Tracking will enable you to identify the specific items and categories that are the most affected by the tariffs, and show where cutbacks may be necessary, he added. Another step is to segment your spending into 'fixed,' 'variable' and 'postponable' categories, according to Sara Levy-Lambert, head of growth at Awning. She explained, 'I once rewrote my own household budget this way, during a 2018 spike in fuel and import prices, and discovered that we were able to defer almost 15% of monthly outgoings without noticing the difference.' Find Out: You don't have to abandon everything you purchase, but it is a good idea to anticipate what will immediately get more expensive. The areas of household budgets that will likely be hardest hit by tariff-related inflation are household goods, clothing and textiles, food and beverages and electronics, Razon said. So the best way consumers can adjust their spending habits without sacrificing their quality of life is to consider cost-effective alternatives for these items. Consumers could look to buy secondhand or refurbished items on places like Facebook Marketplace, local 'Buy Nothing' groups and consignment stores, Levy-Lambert said. And of course, you'll save money by making certain lifestyle adjustments like cooking at home as opposed to dining out, Razon pointed out. Another option is to 'lean into domestically produced substitutes, which might now be roughly equivalent in price due to the tariffs on foreign products,' Levy-Lambert said. These products may also become more affordable over time. Otherwise, if you were planning to purchase a big-ticket item like a car, a major appliance or sports equipment, delay your purchase until tariffs drop or cheaper alternatives come around, Razon said. If you're encountering economic strain that's tied to tariffs, you may want to revisit your saving and investing strategies, Razon said, moving anything that's invested in risky or volatile ways to assets that are more stable. However, Levy-Lambert recommended that if your investments are relatively stable, don't make any 'dramatic changes' based on tariffs. 'If your budget is so tight that you are relying on high-interest debt, then yes, reallocating from low-yield savings to pay off that debt may be beneficial,' she said. Most retirement accounts average out over time. While it can be frustrating to have to give up an aspect of your lifestyle due to financial strain, you might be able to keep some of the enjoyable parts by negotiating bills and finding better deals. Most folks have no idea how negotiable their 'fixed' expenses are, Levy-Lambert said. Internet, insurance, cellphone plans, even gym memberships often have retention departments that can offer you better rates. 'A client of mine called her cable company recently to downgrade a plan and was offered a 20% discount, simply for asking. Surviving economically necessitates negotiating,' she said. If you're overwhelmed by where to even start making changes, Levy-Lambert suggested using 'a goal-stacking approach.' 'Focus with intensity on one priority, such as credit card debt, and automate small contributions to the others. Even $25 a month deposited in a high-yield savings account helps keep the momentum up, she said, because when things are tight, 'momentum counts more than magnitude.' Lastly, a lifestyle adjustment may follow more easily when you first make a mindset shift. When the cost of living keeps creeping up, one mindset shift that may help people stay financially focused is putting your energy into that which you can control, Razon said, 'things like their spending habits, savings strategy and budget.' Additionally, Levy-Lambert recommended changing 'a scarcity mentality into resourcefulness.' This can mean that instead of thinking about what you can't afford, think instead about your options, such as bartering, DIY, community support and habit swapping. 'As I often remind people, adaptability is the real currency of resilience. When you no longer expect life to remain the same and implement systems that thrive under pressure, you regain control, even amid rising prices,' she said. Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban: Trump's Tariffs Will Affect This Class of People the Most 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth How To Get the Most Value From Your Costco Membership in 2025 How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State? This article originally appeared on 7 Things To Do With Your Money If Tariffs Are Making Your Lifestyle Harder To Afford Sign in to access your portfolio
