Logo
Search
Home
Archive
Login
Sign Up
Logo
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The repossession number everyone quotes is not a count

Oct 26, 2026

•

2 min read

The repossession number everyone quotes is not a count

1.73 million is an estimate built from a formula. As a rate, it matches 2019. What grew is the loss on each repossession: $10,700 to $17,300 at Ford Credit.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
Who actually paid the tariff, and who got the refund

Oct 23, 2026

•

3 min read

Who actually paid the tariff, and who got the refund

Tariffs brought in $194.9 billion in a year. Importers paid nearly 90% at the border, about a quarter reaches the shelf price, and the refund went to the company at the border.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
Unemployment is low. Car loans are failing anyway

Oct 21, 2026

•

3 min read

Unemployment is low. Car loans are failing anyway

5.49% of car debt is 90 days late, with unemployment near 4%. Only one quarter since 2003 was worse. Here is what breaks a car loan when it is not a layoff.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The cheap Costco gallon is a receipt for the card you already paid for

Oct 19, 2026

•

2 min read

The cheap Costco gallon is a receipt for the card you already paid for

50.6% of Costco's operating profit came from membership fees, not gas. The number that decides whether the card pays for itself is in your own year of fill-ups.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The $40 trillion debt is a sliver of your mortgage rate

Oct 15, 2026

•

3 min read

The $40 trillion debt is a sliver of your mortgage rate

Interest on the debt passed defense spending. The Fed's own study says it explains only a sliver of your mortgage rate.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
Nobody got fired. Graduates still can't get in.

Oct 12, 2026

•

2 min read

Nobody got fired. Graduates still can't get in.

Recent grads have been unemployed above the average worker for 66 months in a row. Layoffs are below 2019.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Same Middle Class Costs $15,800 More in California

Oct 6, 2026

•

4 min read

The Same Middle Class Costs $15,800 More in California

Nobody publishes the middle-class line for 2025. We built it from the federal definition and the prices the government measures in every state.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Car Is Paid Off. The Bills Are Not.

Oct 2, 2026

•

4 min read

The Car Is Paid Off. The Bills Are Not.

Car insurance rose 58% while the cost of living rose 17.2%. The biggest cost of owning a car never sends a bill.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Housing Crash Is a 17% Drop You Never Saw

Sep 30, 2026

•

3 min read

The Housing Crash Is a 17% Drop You Never Saw

The price on the listing barely moved. The payment on the same house went up by more than half.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
Your house lost value. Your tax bill didn't get the memo.

Sep 24, 2026

•

2 min read

Your house lost value. Your tax bill didn't get the memo.

Home values fell 1.7% last year. The average property tax bill rose 3%. Same house, same year.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The $9,994 Trap Behind a $41,705 Car Loan

Sep 17, 2026

•

1 min read

The $9,994 Trap Behind a $41,705 Car Loan

Stretch the loan two extra years, the payment drops — and the interest bill goes up 42% on the identical car.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Raise That Taxes Itself

Sep 16, 2026

•

1 min read

The Raise That Taxes Itself

Four dollar thresholds written into law in 1983, never adjusted for inflation since.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
Where $2,000 a Month Goes: America vs. Southern Europe

Sep 15, 2026

•

1 min read

Where $2,000 a Month Goes: America vs. Southern Europe

$2,000 covers everything in Porto, Portugal — and leaves you $2,496 short in the median American city.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial
The Grocery Bill That Never Reset

Sep 14, 2026

•

2 min read

The Grocery Bill That Never Reset

Grocery inflation is back to normal. The prices never reset.

The Cost of Living Editorial
The Cost of Living Editorial

The Cost of Living's Newsletter

The hidden math behind the American cost of living — explained weekly.

Explore

Home

Archive

Account

Subscribe

© 2026 The Cost of Living's Newsletter.
beehiivPowered by beehiiv