With Mother’s Day approaching, Americans are expected to spend $33.5 billion to make the day memorable.

The amount will make Mother’s Day spending this yr the second-largest, just behind last yr’s record $35.7 billion, based on annual consumer spending questionnaire by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Consumers plan to spend a mean of $254.04 on Mother’s Day gifts and galas, the second highest per person and down from last yr’s banner high of $274.02. Top spenders are expected to be between the ages of 35 and 44, with the budget to have fun special ladies expected to average $345.75.

“Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who play a significant role in our lives,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF. “Retailers realize how important this day is and are ready to help their customers by offering a wide selection of meaningful gifts for loved ones to show their appreciation.”

According to the press release and as in previous years, the preferred gifts are flowers (74%), greeting cards (74%) and special occasions resembling dinner or brunch (59%).

Consumers will spend $7 billion on jewelry, $5.9 billion on special occasions and $3.5 billion on electronics. This yr, total spending on flowers is expected to reach $3.2 billion and greeting cards at $1.1 billion.

Thoughtful gifts will probably be top of mind for many individuals searching for Mother’s Day. More than in previous years will deal with identifying and presenting items which are rare (48%) or create a singular memory (43%).

Almost 60% of individuals celebrating this holiday do shopping especially for his or her mother or stepmother, followed by their wife (22%) or daughter (12%).

“While consumers continue to gravitate toward classic Mother’s Day gifts like flowers and greeting cards, nearly one-third plan to give the gift of an experience this year,” said Prosper executive vice chairman of strategy Phil Rist. “Consumers also plan to spend more on special occasions than before.”

When it comes to where people shop, online remained the preferred place to shop this yr, followed by department shops (32%), specialty stores (29%), and native or small businesses (25%).

Mother’s Day is just a number of days away. If you have not done so yet (and you recognize you must), you’ll buy a pleasant gift together with a bouquet of flowers, sweets and cards to precise in at some point all your love for the person lots of us take as a right for many of the remainder of our lives. days a yr. That’s okay. Most will appreciate the gifts and love you only the same. That said, cards are eventually discarded (or stored in the depths of attics and basements), candy is eaten (mostly by you, probably not), and flowers wither and die. (Please tell me you didn’t buy the plastic ones.)

When it involves gifts, mom will probably be delighted with the clothes, shoes, jewelry and that night out to that fancy restaurant you might have planned for her. (You’re probably not going to let her cook, are you?) But your mother has probably spent her entire life investing in you. Mother’s Day is an excellent opportunity to provide back and take into consideration gifts that is not going to only honor her on at the present time, but will literally enrich her life. Here are a few of my gift suggestions that may help mom construct wealth for Mother’s Day:

Pay her bills.

You’ve been billing her most of your life (she was right, you own the energy company). Or will you pay all of her bills – including rent, mortgage, utilities and even bank card payments – for May? If it’s an excessive amount of so that you can handle alone, recruit your siblings and other individuals who love your mom as if she were their very own to chip in. You may select your largest monthly bill and pay it. You may select a bank card and repay the entire balance. Everything you’ll be able to imagine and what your budget allows. Which gift do you think that can be more memorable for her six months from now?

Pay for a consultation with an authorized financial advisor.

It’s likely that while she was focusing all her energy and planning on supporting you, your mother was neglecting herself, including her funds and particularly retirement planning. Making an appointment with and paying for a financial advisor is an excellent approach to let her know that you simply want her to focus on taking good care of herself for a change.

Husbands, show her the money.

And insurance policies, wills, deeds, credit reports and tax returns. Don’t stop at anything, but additionally show her where they’re in case she needs them in an emergency. Few things are sadder than a grieving widow hit by a bankruptcy because she doesn’t know where her insurance policies and other key documents are, tips on how to take care of tax issues, and even tips on how to access her bank accounts. Every day, women who left such things to their husbands are caught when he suddenly dies. The most significant act of affection is keeping her protected, knowing that if she were to suddenly lose you, not only would you handle her, but she knows exactly where to look to access those resources, including account numbers, passwords, insurance policies, and other vital documents after they need them. needs it the most.

By the way, none of those gifts will prevent from trouble. Mom still deserves flowers, sweets, somewhat shopping, wine, dinner and customarily being treated like the queen she is on Mother’s Day. But helping her construct wealth and gain some financial security is a priceless gift—one you may surely appreciate receiving from your children at some point. Establishing a lifetime of wealth as a Mother’s Day tradition could repay big for you tomorrow.

The projected schedule for Social Security is is extended for one yr, extending the deadline for possible cuts in this system until 2035 resulting from the nice performance of the American market. Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley described the forecast from the Social Security Board of Trustees’ 2024 report as “good news,” but O’Malley also wants Congress to make sure that program advantages may be paid “by foreseeable future.”

As reported in a press release accompanying the report, O’Malley said: “This yr’s report is nice news for the thousands and thousands of Americans who rely upon Social Security, including the roughly 50 percent of seniors for whom Social Security is the difference between poverty and a lifetime of dignity – any potential profit reduction events have been postponed from 2034 to 2035.

More persons are paying National Insurance contributions due to strong economic policies which have delivered impressive wage growth, historic job creation and a consistently low unemployment rate. As long as Americans across the country proceed to work, Social Security can – and can – proceed to pay advantages,” O’Malley said. “Congress can and may take motion to increase the financial health of the trust fund for the foreseeable future, because it has done prior to now on a bipartisan basis. Eliminating the shortfall will provide peace of mind for greater than 70 million Social Security beneficiaries, the 180 million employees and their families who pay into Social Security, and the nation as an entire.

The The issue of financing Social Security is a priority dates back to 1983, when the Reagan administration implemented a series of reforms within the financing of Social Security, including a rise in payroll taxes, taxing advantages for high-income beneficiaries, and raising the retirement age from 65 to 67. As noted within the evaluation of the problems currently facing the 2023 program, it was expected that the child boomer generation would reach retirement age and would increase social security spending; To address this problem, Brookings suggests increasing revenues or reducing advantages, or a mixture of each.

IN a press release reacting to the reportPresident Joe Biden pointed to his plan helping extend Medicare’s solvency by a decade and expressed a desire to stop Republicans from cutting profit programs.

“For so long as I’m president, I’ll strengthen Social Security and Medicare and protect them from Republican attempts to chop the advantages Americans have earned. Since I took office, my economic plan and robust recovery from the pandemic have helped extend Medicare’s solvency by a decade, and today’s report shows a full five years of additional solvency. My plan would permanently extend Medicare’s solvency by asking the rich to pay their justifiable share and lowering the price of prescribed drugs.

According to reports, Biden’s Republican counterparts, Donald Trump, have spent he tried to eliminate most of his term Medicare and Social Security advantages for Americans with disabilities and low incomes. Republicans in Congress have expressed a desire to pass tax cuts, increase defense spending and balance the federal budget, which Vox says is unimaginable without cuts to Social Security and Medicare spending. Eric Levitz writes: “No matter what word salads Trump serves on cable news, one reality remains clear: The party can either oppose any tax increases or protect Americans’ benefits, but it cannot do both. It’s possible that a united Republican government would resist the temptation to cut Social Security in 2025. But let the fox guard the hen house long enough and your chickens will be eaten.”