ALL THE MONEY NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | | | | | Daniel de Visé | Personal Finance Reporter
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Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money. |
Larry Freudenberg remembers the first home he bought with his wife, Marsha, a year after they both graduated from college. Just one level, with an unfinished second story, and cedar wood planks on the outside. "We thought it was a castle," he said. |
The starter house has been a well-worn homeownership strategy for generations of Americans, who buy a smaller, more affordable property, build some equity, and then upgrade to something bigger, fancier, or in a more preferable location. |
But like so many other narratives about housing, the cutthroat market of 2024 may make the starter home feel like a relic of long ago. |
More Americans struggle to find work |
When Samantha Griswold graduated from college in May 2023 with a degree in fashion merchandising, she figured she would have a job by summer. |
The intensive search appeared to pay off. She snared about three interviews a week, and often made it to the second round. But she never got past that benchmark. Griswold finally landed a merchandising position at Saks Fifth Avenue last month. But 20 months of hunting for a job took a toll. |
As the nation celebrates Labor Day, Paul Davidson reports, a job market that was red hot amid unrelenting post-pandemic worker shortages has decidedly cooled. |
Another high-profile firm pumps the brakes on DEI |
Ford Motor Co. has told employees it will no longer participate in an annual survey from an LGBTQ advocacy group and will not use quotas for minority dealerships and suppliers, Jessica Guynn reports. |
Ford is the latest company to make changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as corporate America faces growing pressure from a conservative activist whose anti-DEI campaign is gaining momentum. |
📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰 |
Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you. |
Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today. | | | | Americans have long bought starter homes, put in sweat equity, and traded up. In such a competitive, high-cost housing market, is it still possible? | | | | US job growth is slowing and more people are struggling to find work. Layoffs remain low but employers are curtailing hiring amid high interest rates. | | | | Activist Robby Starbuck is claiming credit for Ford's DEI backtrack after Jack Daniel's, Harley-Davidson and John Deere also scaled back DEI efforts. | | | | If you studied humanities, life sciences or law in college, there's a good chance you regret the choice now. | | | | Will Lego bricks be made from cooking oil? Perhaps. The company said its bricks will be made from 50% renewable plastic by 2026. | | | | Also: Did Peloton co-founder lose his money? | | | | Former Peloton CEO John Foley revealed that he nearly lost all his money after leaving the exercise equipment company in 2022. | | | | There are plenty of options for visiting new destinations by ship without ever leaving the country. | | | | Tired to trying to watch old family videos the old-fashioned way? Here's how to covert VHS tapes to a digital format. | | | | Our app gives you award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, eNewspaper and more. | | | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
