Cut to food stamps

Food stamp benefits will be cut, starting last Friday.

The cuts, totaling $5 billion, will mean less money for groceries for millions of people who rely on food stamps. It's a tough time to have less food on the table, just a few weeks before the start of the holiday season.

Congress has the power to halt the cutback. However, experts say it's highly unlikely at a time when Republicans are calling for even more drastic cuts to food stamps.

Food stamp benefits were bumped up in the midst of the recession. The temporary provision expired Nov. 1.

READ MORE:  http://money.cnn.com/2013/10/25/news/economy/food-stamp-cuts/index.html?iid=s_mpm

Most Americans accumulating debt faster than they’re saving for retirement

A majority of Americans with 401(k)-type savings accounts are accumulating debt faster than they are setting aside money for retirement, further undermining the nation’s troubled system for old-age saving, a new report has found.

Three in five workers with defined contribution accounts are “debt savers,” according to the report released Thursday, meaning their increasing mortgages, credit card balances and installment loans are outpacing the amount of money they are able to save for retirement.

The imbalance is expanding even as policymakers are encouraging people to set aside more by offering generous tax breaks and automatically enrolling workers in retirement accounts that in some cases automatically escalate the amount of money over time.

Currently, workers with retirement savings accounts put aside more than 11 percent of their pay for retirement — 5 percent in their own accounts, and 6.2 percent in Social Security.

READ MORE:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/many-americans-accumulating-debt-faster-than-theyre-saving-for-retirement/2013/10/23/b7a9c85e-3b3e-11e3-b6a9-da62c264f40e_print.html

In more homes, the roof overhead is rented

In the aftermath of a historic housing bust, rented single-family homes are on the rise in communities from coast to coast.

At least a fifth of all occupied single-family homes were rentals last year in 32 of the nation's top metropolitan regions, according to a USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. That's up from seven metros in 2006.

Rates: National average on 30-year mortgage falls to 4.5%

The growth reflects changes brought by the housing boom and bust and the enduring financial hardships imposed by the recession. Millions of homeowners lost homes to foreclosure and were forced to become renters, while others delayed homeownership.

READ MORE:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/20/single-family-homes-turned-rentals/2939243/