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NEWS ABOUT: Cost of Living

Average 2012 Prom Tab: $1K+

Average family now spends $1,078 on big dance

(Newser) - If you have a teenager nearing prom age, hopefully you've got good credit. Between dresses, flowers, limo rides, and hairdos, the average family with a teenager is expected to plunk down a whopping $1,078 on prom this year, up from $807 last year, according to a new Visa... More »

World's Most Expensive City Is ... Luanda?

Civil war has led to staggering prices in Angola's capital

(Newser) - If you thought the most expensive city in the world was someplace like London or New York, wait until you get a load of the prices in Luanda, Angola. A house will set you back $10,000 a month, a hotel room $400 a night, and an SUV rental $200... More »

Social Security Checks Get 3.6% Bump

Raise is first since 2009

(Newser) - Social Security recipients will get something in January they used to get every year: a raise. The 3.6% boost, which is tied to the government's official inflation measure released today, will be the program's first cost-of-living adjustment since 2009. That's because inflation has been so low... More »

Tokyo Branded World's Most Expensive City

Tumbling rouble knocks Moscow off top spot in expat rankings

(Newser) - Tokyo and Osaka bumped Moscow into third place in Mercer's annual ranking of the costliest cities for expats, the Times of London reports. Geneva and Hong Kong rounded out the top five. Currency fluctuations pushed many European cities down in the influential rankings,which compare the cost of living in... More »

From Food to Health Care, the Poor Pay More

The economics of poverty mean the poorest pay higher prices for everyday essentials

(Newser) - The economics of poverty are complicated, the Washington Post reports, but it boils down to this: “The poorer you are, the more things cost.” The poor spend more in time, money, hassle, and exhaustion than do the middle class or wealthy on everything from a loaf of bread... More »

Federal Judges Lose Pay Raise Battle, Again

Financial crisis kills hike, leaves bench feeling shortchanged

(Newser) - Federal judges went without a cost-of-living pay increase yet again in 2008, the LA Times reports. A quirk in federal law prevents judges from getting the automatic raises other federal employees get, and the financial crisis derailed a bill that would have upped their pay by 28%. John Roberts is... More »

College May Be Out of Reach for Most US Kids

Middle-class families loans grow to cover rising tuition costs

(Newser) - Rising tuition costs are putting college out of reach for most Americans, a new report shows. Since 1982, college costs have gone up 439%, but median family income only 147%. That has forced the middle class to increasingly fund higher education through loans. For lower-income families—for whom public universities... More »

Mo$cow: World's Priciest City

London second, Seoul third in worldwide survey

(Newser) - Moscow is the world's most expensive city for expats, according to an annual human resource study. A cup of Muscovite coffee can run more than $6, and lodging in the Russian capital can send foreign workers from rubles to rags. London placed in the survey, which compared costs of living... More »

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