Blog doce magia

Many Americans may be wondering how the results of the US midterm elections will affect their finances, from student loans to healthcare.

While the dust has not settled yet, markets are moving swiftly on US election news. The Democratic sweep adds a new twist to energy prices, AI and debt worries.

Another area potentially affected by the Democrats' victory? Crypto markets, which lost about $300 billion in value over the last month.

Juan Hernandez-Ariano, a founder and principal at financial planning firm WealthCreate, says an election is rarely a reason to overhaul your finances, though.

Here is why investors should resist reacting to political headlines to stay the course. 

From AI to the Fed: Five midterm takeaways for the marketsDemocrats pulled off a sweeping midterm elections victory, sending financial markets swinging between gains and losses as an unexpectedly large blue wave washed over investors. Here are the initial takeaways.

I got paid in cash when I lived in Budapest in the early 1990s. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Have you ever thought about moving to another country?

A 2025 Harris Poll found that 42% of Americans have considered moving abroad.

But life in another country is rarely like the hit Netflix show “Emily in Paris,” featuring a young American social media influencer who moves to France for her dream job in marketing, wears colorful couture and falls in love with hunky men.

“Living abroad looks wonderful on Instagram. It's actually not always what it's cracked up to be,” Christina Tunnah, head of the Americas at World Nomads, a travel insurer, told me. Here are her tips for an expat life.

Incidentally, when I arrived in Budapest in the early 1990s for a job, it was a complete culture shock. I didn’t speak the language. I got paid in cash once a month. And it was extremely hard to stay in touch with friends and family back home — my office had only three phone lines for more than 40 people. 

I was lucky to live with a Hungarian-American who helped me navigate bureaucracy and acclimate to post-communist Hungary. By the end of a year, I had a slew of friends and a great boyfriend. I traveled all over Eastern Europe, and I even spoke passable Hungarian. But that’s all because I found a community of expats and locals.

Have you ever lived overseas? How did you handle insurance, banking and visits back home? What advice would you add?

Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com.

Higher gas prices are taking a big bite out of one retiree's finances. REUTERS/Mike Blake

In response to an item in my last newsletter about higher healthcare costs and inflation, I received the following message from a reader:

Social Security is giving us a COLA increase this coming January. That’s nice on paper. But let’s put it side-by-side with reality: my water and sewer bill just jumped 25 percent, and they’re already locking in another 17 percent increase over the next four years. Grocery prices keep climbing every week. Restaurant meals that used to be reasonable now feel like a luxury, and more places are quietly tacking on a 3% or 5% “convenience” fee just for using a credit card. Even the bank wants to charge me now just to run a jar of coins through their sorter. And, of course, gas is still painful every time I fill up.

I’m sure there are plenty more cost increases I’m forgetting right now, but those are the ones hitting hardest. The modest Social Security bump simply cannot keep pace with all of this. The blame belongs squarely on years of excessive government spending, money-printing and policies that have driven persistent inflation. Fixed-income seniors are left scrambling while the costs of everyday life keep rising faster than the checks that are supposed to cover them.

And let’s stop pretending the official inflation rate tells the truth. The government’s CPI number is carefully engineered with substitutions, quality adjustments, and weighting tricks that systematically understate what ordinary people actually pay. For the average household — especially seniors — the real rate of inflation in food, housing, utilities, healthcare and daily necessities has been running far higher than the official figure for years. That gap is why a “cost-of-living” adjustment never feels like it covers the cost of living.

Court Nederveld, 73

Punta Gorda, Florida

I have lots of personal finance ideas, but the very best stories come from readers! What personal finance questions do you have about saving, spending, healthcare, credit and more? Write to me at onthemoney@thomsonreuters.com. I read every message!

Introducing Misinformation Monitor — our newest newsletter! Each week you’ll get a roundup of global misinformation narratives from the Reuters Fact Check team. Plus a "Real or Fake?" quiz. 

Sign up for it here.