{"id":84978,"date":"2024-10-19T01:00:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T08:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=84978"},"modified":"2024-10-22T14:45:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T21:45:19","slug":"black-coffee-19-oct-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id84978-black-coffee-19-oct-2024.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: Canaries in the Coal Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe<\/em> …<\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Well … another busy week is behind us. So with that in mind, let’s get this party started …<\/p>\n

Life’s big changes rarely give advance warning.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– H. Jackson Brown, Jr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? Last week the Social Security Administration has announced a 2.5% “cost-of-living” adjustment<\/a> (COLA) for 2025, which will increase monthly benefits for over 72 million Americans. This adjustment – which is effective January 2025 – will add approximately $48 to the average monthly benefit of $1907. Unfortunately, anybody who shops for groceries, fuel and insurance knows prices actually rose far more than that in the past year. In fact, Social Security recipients\u2019 standard of living fell even further after receiving a similarly-paltry 3.2% increase in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Believe it or not, prices increases aren’t limited to basic living expenses. For example, the Mega Millions ticket price will rise from $2 to $5<\/a> in April 2025, but the company promises “bigger jackpots” and more chances to win. For you gamblers who aren’t counting at home, this is only the second price hike since Mega Millions’ current format launched over 20 years ago – but the last increase was in 2017, when tickets doubled from $1 to $2. Oh … and speaking of gambling:<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Sadly, most people who regularly dabble in state-run lotteries fail to understand why these games of chance are better known as the \u201cstupid tax.\u201d The odds of winning the grand prize are currently 1 in 302 million<\/a>. Compare that to the odds of being struck by lightning during your lifetime, which is roughly 1 in 15,000. As for those who say they are hoping for a smaller, but “easier to win\u201d payout, the odds of winning their measly $4 \u201cjackpot\u201d is 1 in 89. If only the odds of losing were just as bad …<\/p>\n