We’re smack in the middle of new phone season and getting close to the time when some of us are going to have to start worrying about wish lists and stocking stuffers, so I want to look at an accessory that may be on some people’s radar : the PopGrip JumpStart, a $35 battery bank that attaches to your phone via PopSocket’s quick release mechanism and provides around a 50 percent charge via a built-in or cables.
Worried About Social Security? Here’s the Reality
This story is part of So Moneyan online community dedicated to financial empowerment and advice, led by CNET Editor at Large and So Money podcast hosted Farnoosh Torabi.
Social Security is one of the top-searched financial terms on the internet right now.
Interest in the topic spiked after recent news that current benefits would receive a significant cost-of-living increase to help keep up with high inflation. And as the midterm elections approach, we’re hearing again how some Republican politicians want to throw these federal benefits on the chopping block.
“This is an ideological battle that’s been going on for 85 years,” says William Arnone, CEO of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a nonpartisan organization that aims to educate the public on Social Security’s benefits.
Like many employed Americans, I’ve been dutifully paying Social Security tax since my first gig in high school (I was a hostess in a 1950s-themed diner). I speak for my generation when I say that if the government decides to strip us of our monthly paychecks in retirement — watch out, Uncle Sam. Prepare to find us marching in the streets protesting this thievery, walking canes in tow.
My audience is also perplexed about the fate of one of the few social insurance programs in this country. When I asked followers on Instagram to drop me their related questions, I immediately received dozens of queries. Their biggest concern is over Social Security’s future and what it means for retirement for this generation and