Market Performance: December 14, 2023.

US stocks ripped higher on Wednesday, hitting new 2023 highs, as investors dissected the Federal Reserve's last interest rate decision of the year.

The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) all rose about 1.3% in the wake of the decision. The Dow rose nearly 500 points, breaching 37,000 and hitting its highest close ever.

The Fed held its benchmark interest rate in a range of 5.25%-5.50%, the highest in 22 years, on Wednesday. The move had been widely anticipated by investors.

3 ways to cut your grocery bill, from a ‘cash stuffing’ expert who’s on track to pay off $70,000 in 3 years

Given what inflation has done to the average American budget, it’s not all that surprising that food spending is near the top of the list of struggles.

Here are three strategies for anyone looking to curb their spending on food whether you follow a cash budgeting system or not.

1. Hunt for coupons and rewards:

Sign up with apps that give you rewards or cash back for doing your shopping, such as Fetch, Ibotta, Rakuten and Shopkick. Download those apps on your phone. Those little $1 and $2 savings that you get back really add up. Don’t forget the time-honored couponing method, which these days doesn’t even require a pair of scissors.

2. Shop with a plan

Plan out your meals for the upcoming week and list out the ingredients you’ll need before you go shopping. Sit down, plan your meals and check your pantry for what you already have. Then make a plan for the grocery store.

3. Adjust your expectations

When trying to cut your grocery budget, aim to take your spending down a little bit at a time. Cutting 10% is realistic in the climate we’re living in. There’s no way you’re halving it unless you’re doing some serious couponing and only shopping sales.

House Rich Cash Poor Is A Terrible But Fixable Situation

House rich, cash poor is when you have a lot of equity in your house but not a lot of cash. For whatever reason, a homeowner has untapped equity in their property but is unwilling or unable to withdraw it. Due to excessive spending habits or financial responsibilities, the homeowner feels poor.

According to one Hometap homeownership study, it showed that 73% of people feel house rich, cash poor at least some of the time.

Alternative Investing