Personal Finance

• We may have celebrated Valentines Day this week, but according to a U.W. News and World Report survey, 3 in 10 couples experienced financial infidelity. (CNBC)
• According to a Lending Club/Pymnts report, 70% of Millennials are living paycheck-paycheck. (Pymnts)

• Listen to American College of Financial Services President and CEO George Nichols discuss the launch of a financial wellness program at HBCUs and suggestions for how Financial Institutions can better serve Black communities. (Yahoo Finance)

Economics

• Retail sales jumped a whopping 3.8% month-over-month in January. Marketplace referred to it as a “boomflation.”
• Anyone buy a car recently? A whopping 80% paid over MSRP in January! Something unheard of in the past.(WaPo-subscription may be necessary)
• Mortgage Rates rapidly approaching 4%. (Yahoo Finance)
• Jeff Sommer (NYT-subscription may be required) discusses how the Fed should proceed at this challenging time.
• St. Louis Fed President Bullard calls for interest rate action. (CNBC)
• For a good infographic on inflation, (past, present and future), check out this Visual Capitalist post.
• And for a longer holiday weekend read, this is a really interesting paper from the Minneapolis Fed on the widely varied impact of inflation across the economy: who feels the greatest impact? 

Cryptocurrency

• Did you click on that QR code during the super bowl? (CNN)

Super Bowl

• Super Bowl ads reviewed by a Wharton marketing professor. See if you agree. (Knowledge@Wharton)

Miscellaneous

• The power of checklists can be applied to many aspects of life. (Humble Dollar)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.