First Friday: What 2026 Means for Your Money

Afford Anything | Make Smart Money Choices

Paula Pant | Cumulus Podcast Network

Business, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#677: Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2026 with a reality check on where your money stands right now. The Good News: Gas prices dropped below $3/gallon. Inflation cooled to 2.7%. The Fed cut rates again. GDP grew 4.3% (surprisingly strong). Gold hit $4,500 an ounce. And 19 states raised minimum wages. The Not-So-Good: Health insurance jumped 10-18%. Unemployment ticked up. Mortgage rates are stuck around 6.2%. And 80% of homeowners are unlikely to sell because they locked in rates below 6%. The Big Picture: The stock market is outperforming the economy. How It Affects You: I call it "millionaire malaise." Your 401k looks great. Your home equity is through the roof (no pun intended). If you bought before 2022, your assets look good on paper. Yet you're stressed out at the grocery store. Everything costs more – insurance, groceries, everything except gas. Jobs are stagnant. People are stuck. We're experiencing the difference between wealth and income. This is 2026: Wealthy on paper. Broke at the checkout line. Whether you're new to money management or a long-timer looking for clarity, this episode cuts through the noise to tell you what actually matters for your finances this year. Download the free resource: AffordAnything.com/financialgoals Timestamps Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising run times. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off due to changing ad lengths. (01:33) Warren Buffett's retirement (04:45) Unemployment at 4.6% in November (06:11) JOLTS data and November jobs data (08:04) Gold hitting record highs above $4,500/oz in December (11:26) US inflation at 2.7% in December (20:01) Commerce Department releases GDP numbers at 4.3% (23:08) Gas prices hitting record lows (25:20) Mortgage rates holding around 6.20% (30:26) Minimum wage increases in 19 states (32:23) Health insurance premiums up 10% (employer) and 18% (individual) (35:15) $12 billion USDA aid package for farmers (37:16) Workers over age 50 listing more disruptive tech skills on resumes (39:21) Consumer Sentiment rose in December Share this episode with a friend, colleagues, and cohorts: https://affordanything.com/episode677 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy New Year. Welcome to 2026. And my first question to you is, what are your financial goals in
0:07.8	26? Take a moment. Think about it. This is not a rhetorical question. I want you to come up with
0:13.6	one primary financial goal. You might have multiple goals, but what is your number one financial
0:20.5	goal in 26? Share it with the community,
0:24.2	afford anything.com slash community. Share it with your friends, your family, your spouse,
0:28.6	your partner, your dog, your cat. Find an accountability buddy. Schedule regular check-ins.
0:34.2	Keep that financial goal top of mind. All right, with that, let's get started on today's first Friday episode.
0:41.4	Welcome to the Afford Anything podcast, the show that knows you can afford anything, not everything.
0:46.0	This show covers five pillars, financial psychology, increasing your income, investing, real estate, and entrepreneurship.
0:52.5	It's double-eye fire.
0:56.0	I'm your host, Paula Pant. I trained in economic reporting at Columbia. And if you're new to this podcast, which we get a lot of new
1:01.5	community members at the top of the year, people with goals around getting better with money in the
1:07.1	new year. So if you're new to this podcast, welcome. We are so excited that you're here.
1:12.8	Normally, on most Tuesdays, we answer questions that come from you. And on most Fridays,
1:19.7	we air interviews. But there's one exception, and that is the first Friday of every month,
1:24.4	in which I host a solo episode in which I talk about the big macro economic
1:30.2	trends over the last month. Let's start not with a trend, but with a game-changing piece of
1:35.9	financial news. The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, is officially stepping down from
1:42.6	Berkshire Hathaway. He made this announcement back in May
1:45.7	at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Conference, but at the end of 2025,
1:51.6	he officially handed over the reins. The end of 2025 was the official transition time.
1:57.8	He is 95 years old, so I think he's old enough to retire, and has a net worth of
	...

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