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Why do so many of us struggle to save?Saving for the future can be difficult because of a cognitive bias known as hyperbolic discounting: our tendency to place greater weight on immediate satisfaction, even if focusing on the long term will have a greater payoff. This bias is why, when you get a raise, you may consider getting a new carincurring a higher monthly paymentinstead of sacking away more money each month for retirement and perhaps getting to retire several years earlier.Feeling stressed about finances can also get you off track with your savings. While some people respond to financial stress by saving more, others respond by spending more in order to regain feelings of control.Unfortunately, these shortsighted decisions on spending versus saving can have large effects on our ability to achieve our future goals, because of the enormous power of compound interest. So, let’s talk about what you can do to keep saving when you feel the urge to give up. 1) Perform a goals audit Sit down and list what you are saving for. If needed, you can use techniques geared toward helping people find and articulate their financial goals.Then, consider how you might pair up your goals to boost your savings motivation. Research suggests the most motivating financial goals may be those relating to security (for example, retirement) or self-actualization (such as opening a business or contributing to charities). Consider how you may link some of your shorter-term goals to these bigger goals.For instance, you may decide to couple your “savings for home repairs” with your desire to “donate to charity” by committing to donate the excess you saved for repairs to your favorite nonprofit. By ensuring your goals are well-articulated and meaningful, you can always come back to them for a dose of motivation when you feel yourself wavering. 2) Assess what you can (and should) save When we are feeling stressed by finances, we may convince ourselves that all our current spending is more of a priority than our saving. So, start by doing a comprehensive review of your budget.How much money comes in each month, how much goes out, and where does it go? If you don’t find a monthly surplus, that indicates you may need to go through your spending and decide where you can spend less.I recommend giving yourself a reality check by calculating how much you need to save each month to achieve your goal in the time you want to. It’s especially eye-opening to calculate how saving more or less each month can affect your ability to retire.Remember, it’s OK if you cannot save as much in this season of your life as you’d like. But by saving what you can and coming back to this practice when your circumstances change, you can still make serious progress toward your goals. 3) Take it out of your hands Now, make your commitment as easy as possible by automating the process. If you have to decide every month to transfer money into your IRA or savings, the chances are that it won’t happen at some point. You’ll forget, put it off, or maybe decide that this is the month for a treat instead.Research suggests that automating savings can help people save more than they otherwise would, so taking the time to automate your savings now can help you stick with your plan for monthsor yearsto come. This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-financeDanielle Labotka, Ph.D., is a behavioral scientist at Morningstar. Danielle Labotka of Morningstar
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Look what you made her do Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”Swift announced the album on her website shortly after a countdown timer expired at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday. No release date was announced, but her site said vinyl editions of the album would ship before Oct. 13.Fans have long theorized that Swift’s 12th album would soon arrive. On Monday, Taylor Nation an official branch of the pop superstar’s marketing team posted a TikTok slide show of 12 images with the caption “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era'” Swift is seen wearing orange in every image.A special limited vinyl edition of the album will be released in “Portofino orange glitter,” according to a pre-order page on her site. A special cassette edition is also available for pre-order.Sensing a pattern, eagle-eyed fans noticed that 12 minutes earlier, the popular “New Heights” podcast posted a tease for Wednesday. The show, hosted by Swift’s boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce alongside his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, posted an orange image on social media with a mysterious silhouette, many believing to be Swift.The podcast announced early early Tuesday that Swift would would appear on “New Heights” and a teaser video posted about her appearance showed her pulling the album from a briefcase. The actual album artwork, just as it is on her website, is blurred.“The Life of a Showgirl” follows last year’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” announced during the 2024 Grammys and released during her record-breaking tour, which raked in over $2.2 billion across two years and five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.The album is also her first release since Swift regained control over her entire body of work. In May, that pop star said she purchased her catalog of recordings originally released through Big Machine Records from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount.In recent years, Swift has been rerecording and releasing her first six albums in an attempt to regain control of her music. The project was instigated by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun’s purchase and sale of her early catalog and represents Swift’s effort to control her own songs and how they’re used. Previous “Taylor’s Version” releases have been more than conventional re-recordings, arriving with new “from the vault” music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work.So far, there have been four rerecorded albums, beginning with “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021. All four have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.Swift’s last rerecording, “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” arrived in October 2023, just four months after the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” That was the same year Swift claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history. Maria Sherman, AP Music Writer
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President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the richest, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Monday.The CBO estimates that the 10% of poorest Americans will lose roughly $1,200 a year as they experience restrictions on government programs like Medicaid and food assistance, while the richest 10% of Americans will see their income increase by $13,600 from tax cuts. Overall, American households will see more income from the tax cuts in the legislation, including middle income households, but the largest benefit will go to the top 10% of earners.The CBO’s report comes as lawmakers are away from Washington, many taking their messages about the bill to voters. Republicans muscled the legislation deemed “the big, beautiful bill” by Trump through Congress in July. Democrats all vehemently opposed the legislation, warning that its tax cuts and spending priorities would come at the expense of vital government aid programs and a ballooning national debt.“This really is a big, beautiful bill for billionaires, but for the poor and the working class in this country, you are actually poorer,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, in an MSNBC interview on Monday.Changes to eligibility for government food assistance under the law will impact millions of Americans, the CBO found. Roughly 2.4 million people won’t be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under new work requirements for many recipients. Low-income Americans could also see their income reduced through further restrictions on food aid and other types of assistance included in the law.Already, more than 10 million Americans are expected to lose health insurance by 2034 due to changes to Medicaid under the law.Following release of the report, Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he took issue with CBO’s methodology, repeating criticism he has made in the past.“CBO has a troubled track record of getting its estimates incorrect and, like Democrats, is biased in favor of more federal spending and higher taxes,” Smith said on social media. “Don’t buy it.”Republicans have been eager to sell the upsides of the legislation arguing that the tax cuts will spur economic growth while they are on a monthlong summer break from Washington. But those who have held townhalls in their home districts have often been greeted by an earful from voters and activists.“Tax the rich,” the crowd in Lincoln, Neb. chanted last week as Republican Rep. Michael Flood attempted to defend the bill.Still, Trump has been undeterred.“President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill is putting America First like never before, delivering huge savings for hardworking families, boosting our economy, and securing our borders,” said White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson in a statement last week. Stephen Groves, Associated Press
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