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Inflation is slowing down, but prices are still high — and that has put many Americans under financial stress.
As consumers lean on their credit cards, more borrowers are also falling behind on their payments, recent reports show.

Inflation is slowing down, but prices are still high — and likely to stay that way.
That’s generally considered good news. The economy is expanding amid a lower rate of price growth and a strong job market.

However, even a broad pullback in price increases underscores another bitter reality: We’re still paying more for many goods and services with little relief in sight.
“Cooling inflation is not the same as a substantial reduction in prices,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “Elevated prices have largely persisted, which means that Americans continue to face affordability challenges on a range of things both necessary and discretionary, including homes, vehicles, car insurance, food, electricity and travel.”
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Indeed, the rate of price increases for food has subsided.
Monthly “food at home” inflation has been near 0% for the past four months, according to the latest government inflation data. U.S. gasoline prices fell 3.6% in the month from April to May and even housing inflation is down from its peak over one year ago.

And yet, because in most cases price increases are only slowing — not falling outright — consumers are still seeing their monthly costs rise, especially when it comes to essentials like food, utilities and rent.
On average, 61% of Americans report spending more on groceries and dining out compared to a year ago, according to a recent Wealth Watch survey by New York Life. Costs in those categories rose $209.45 a month on average. Further, 56% of adults said they now spend an average $161.45 more a month on utilities and 48% said rent costs an average $302.94 more a month, New York Life found.
The insurance company polled 2,002 adults in late May.

‘The toll inflation is taking on Americans’ finances’

“We can see the toll inflation is taking on Americans’ finances, as they report higher costs of living on everyday expenses and report lower levels of financial confidence,” said Donn Froshiesar, New York Life’s head of consumer insights.
As more households stretch to cover the increased prices and higher interest rates, there are new indications of financial strain.
“From filling up a tank of gas to making a rental payment to buying groceries, most consumers are paying more today for everyday expenses than they ever have,” Charlie Wise, senior vice president and head of global research and consulting at TransUnion, recently told CNBC.
“And if they’re using a credit card to make these purchases, their interest rates are at much higher levels, so costs also are rising for those consumers carrying a balance,” Wise said.

As a result, more consumers are falling behind on their payments. Over the last year, roughly 8.9% of credit card balances transitioned into delinquency, the New York Fed reported in May. And more middle-income households anticipate struggling with debt payments in the coming months.  
“We’ve gone from an environment where inflation was the focus, and the impact of rising prices has resulted in an affordability crisis, which is now front and center,” Bankrate’s Hamrick said.
However, “if prices continue to normalize and the job market remains stable, further progress can be clawed back on the affordability front,” he added.

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A Roth conversion ladder is a multiyear strategy to transfer pretax funds to a Roth IRA to kickstart future tax-free growth.
You’ll owe upfront levies on the converted balance, but there is no 10% early withdrawal penalty after five years.
However, tapping the conversions after only five years could forgo future tax-free growth.

Svetikd | E+ | Getty Images

Roth individual retirement account conversions are a popular way to reduce future levies on pretax 401(k) or IRA withdrawals — and you can smooth out the upfront tax hit with a “Roth conversion ladder,” experts say.
Roth conversions transfer pretax or nondeductible IRA money to a Roth IRA, which offers future tax-free growth. The trade-off is regular income taxes incurred that year on the converted balance.

By comparison, a Roth conversion ladder is a series of conversions over multiple years, meaning “you’re paying taxes in smaller increments,” said certified financial planner Preston Cherry, founder and president of Concurrent Financial Planning in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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Roth conversion ladders are a “strategic and tactical approach” involving years of tax projections, including future withdrawals, said Ashton Lawrence, CFP and director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina.
For example, rather than converting $200,000 from pretax to Roth in a single year, you may break that into chunks over several years, depending on your income. Of course, boosting your adjusted gross income any year can trigger other tax consequences, such as phaseouts for certain tax breaks.
“It’s not a one-time planning engagement” because you need to revisit the planned conversions every year and adjust as needed, Lawrence said.

‘Unlock’ your retirement funds early

Similar to regular Roth conversions, one of the key benefits of the conversion ladder is tax-free “compounded growth on future gains,” said Cherry, who is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
But the strategy is also popular for early retirees who want to tap retirement funds before age 59½ without penalty, he said.
Although you can access Roth IRA contributions anytime, there’s generally a 10% early withdrawal penalty on earnings before age 59½, with some exceptions.
However, you can tap Roth conversions without the 10% penalty or taxes after five years to “unlock some of your money early,” Cherry said. But a separate five-year period applies to each conversion.
There’s also a five-year aging rule for Roth IRA accounts, which requires the account to be open for at least that long to avoid taxes or penalties, even after age 59½.

While tapping your converted IRA balance after five years could be appealing for early retirees under age 59½, you will forgo future tax-free growth, Lawrence said.
Typically, more time for compound growth makes Roth conversions more beneficial, and you’ll want to make sure you break even on the upfront taxes before tapping the account, he said.

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Guaranteed income programs, which provide monthly income to help people with financial needs, have become more popular since the Covid pandemic.
Even as research shows the efforts have been effective in helping improve economic mobility, the backlash against them is growing.
One program in Texas’ Harris County was recently halted before payments could begin.

Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images

About 1,900 residents in Texas’ Harris County were set to start receiving $500 monthly payments starting this spring.
The money — provided through a new 18-month guaranteed income pilot, Uplift Harris, a Harris County Public Health initiative — was aimed at county residents of 10 ZIP codes who are living 200% below the federal poverty line.

The program would provide money with “no strings attached,” so families could decide how to use the resources to meet their needs.
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But before the first checks were sent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton obtained a stay from the Supreme Court of Texas forcing the program to stop the payments.
In a statement at the time of the stay, Paxton called the program an “abuse of power and unlawful use of taxpayer money.”
Paxton did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

The decision — which follows the successful execution of other guaranteed income programs in Texas and other states — was “shocking and unfortunate,” according to Christian Menefee, county attorney of Harris County.
“It’s highly unlikely the county continues with the program as it’s currently constituted,” Menefee said.

As guaranteed income grows, so does the backlash

Guaranteed income programs provide cash payments intended to establish an income floor for specific members of a community, according to the Economic Security Project, an advocacy organization. While universal basic income provides money to everyone, guaranteed income may provide either targeted or universal support.
The programs flourished in recent years, helped in part by the Covid-19 pandemic that raised awareness of how direct cash could fill targeted needs.
While the federal government deployed billions of dollars in stimulus checks and child tax credit payments, state and local governments also started to experiment with ways to provide money to residents in need, often with the help of extra federal money provided through the American Rescue Plan Act. 
Today, the Economic Security Project is tracking 150 guaranteed income pilots in 35 states. Around 52,000 people have participated in a pilot at some point in the past couple of years, according to Harish Patel, vice president at the Economic Security Project.
Yet backlashes against the programs have also gained momentum.

Individual demonstrator holds sign asking for universal basic income and universal healthcare in Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 20, 2021. 
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Idaho, Iowa, and South Dakota passed anti-guaranteed income legislation this year, while Arkansas did the same in 2023. Those efforts happened “very quickly,” and similar proposals are expected in an additional 25 states, according to Patel.
The conservative think tank Foundation for Government Accountability, and its lobbying arm the Opportunity Solutions Project, has led those efforts. The organization did not provide comment, but the foundation’s research lays out the reasons for its opposition. It argues guaranteed income programs discourage work, “trap people in dependency” and cost taxpayers millions.
The bills are written in “copycat fashion,” which make it easier to replicate them among states, according to Patel. Yet that structure also leaves less room for rigorous analysis of their reach; the proposals are so general that they may end up limiting all cash assistance, not necessarily just guaranteed income programs, he said.
“Let’s say you have a natural disaster and you want to give out cash,” Patel said. “In some states, they may not be able to if these sorts of very general policies that are written become law.”

One-year Austin experiment helped residents

Others who have researched the effects of the programs say they see evidence guaranteed income works.
In a one-year experiment launched in Austin, Texas, in 2022, 135 households received $1,000 per month. The program, which was focused on high poverty and rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, helped improve housing and food security, early research from the Urban Institute shows.
The city of Austin enlisted the Urban Institute to study the effects of the cash infusions.
“We’re awash in evidence in this country that giving people cash infusions works,” said Mary Bogle, principal investigator for the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot evaluation and principal research associate at the Urban Institute.
Typically, participant workers are in very low-wage jobs, Bogle explained. Once they have access to guaranteed income, that often allows them to figure out ways to increase what they earn, she said.
“Folks who press arguments about guaranteed income creating dependency aren’t looking at the fact that what guaranteed income is actually allowing participants to do is make good choices,” Bogle said. “They have freedom of choice.”

For Austin resident Taniquewa Brewster, 38, being selected for the city’s guaranteed income program helped her break free from a pattern of sporadic, unstable employment.
She found out about the program when she was still struggling to recover from winter storm Uri in 2021, which left her apartment building without gas for months.
At the time, Brewster’s ability to work was also limited because she found juggling a full-time work schedule and child care for her five children to be next to impossible.
The extra money had immediate benefits. Brewster said she was able to pay for the sports, camp and after-school programs her children wanted to participate in. She also helped her sister with costs for the car they shared.

Though Austin’s guaranteed income has concluded, Brewster said it has a lasting impact on her life, particularly because it helped jump start her career. The program’s money helped her go to school and get more education.
She got a certificate to be a leasing agent and now works for her apartment complex. She also became a notary and is currently training to become a doula.
“That gave me time and a cushion to say, OK …  you don’t have to put things off so that you can be sure that you can take care of your family,” Brewster said.

‘The status quo isn’t working’

Many other guaranteed income program participants have seen life-changing improvements, particularly when it comes to their earnings capability. That is why the programs’ supporters are puzzled by the growing opposition.
“There’s no real cogent vision for what they want to see, other than the status quo,” said Michael Tubbs, founder of Mayors for Guaranteed Income. “And the reason why guaranteed income is so popular is because the status quo isn’t working for most people, Democrats and Republicans.”
Harris County’s program may have been targeted for political reasons, according to Menefee, the county attorney.

Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1 Rodney Ellis answers a question from the press during a press conference responding to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit challenging the Uplift Harris program on April 10 in Houston. 
Houston Chronicle/hearst Newspapers Via Getty Images | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images

“If Democrats increased the margin of victory in Harris County, because we’re such a populous county, we have the potential to flip the entire state,” Menefee said.
Harris County’s funds have to be committed by December, according to Commissioner Rodney Ellis, and the federal money may instead be used for existing programs.
But Ellis is hopeful the guaranteed income program can be revamped to address the state’s concerns, such as placing more controls on how the money is used and changing the random selection process used to choose participants.
Previously selected participants would likely have to apply again, Ellis said.
The efforts to quash the Harris County program may be replicated to push back against other guaranteed income efforts elsewhere, he said. “I assume other conservative attorney[s] general around the country are looking at this and may resort to doing the same thing.”
Brewster, the Austin program participant, suggests that opponents of guaranteed income might change their tune if they were to switch income and resources with low-income individuals for just one month.
 “Sometimes you just need a boost, and most of those families just needed that boost,” Brewster said.

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Experts say to notify your bank that your cards were lost or stolen so they can be canceled and the bank can send you replacements via mail.
Keeping an extra card and cash at home can come in handy if you lose your wallet.
Freezing your credit immediately can prohibit someone from opening up a line of credit in your name if they’ve obtained your identifying documents.

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images

I was packing up to head home from work last week when I noticed something that made my stomach sick.
The space in my backpack normally occupied by my wallet was empty.

I searched every nook and cranny of my bag and even crawled under my desk to search for the small pouch that was home to my driver’s license, credit and debit cards and a New York City MetroCard. I checked with security to see if someone turned it in. No one had.
Eventually, tired from my frantic searching, I accepted defeat and contacted the bank to lock my cards. 
As a CNBC intern who recently joined the personal finance desk, I spend most days speaking with finance experts to inform the stories I write. After losing my wallet, I decided to ask a few sources what course of action I should take to protect my money and identity.
The experts I spoke to validated some of the things I had already done and provided extra security steps I hadn’t considered. 

‘Everyone should freeze their credit’

One thing I didn’t do immediately that each financial planner I spoke with recommended is freezing my credit.

Freezing your credit can prohibit someone from opening a line of credit in your name, according to Ivory Johnson, certified financial planner and founder of Washington, D.C.-based Delancey Wealth Management.
“Everyone should freeze their credit unless they’re going to use it,” said Johnson, who is a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council. “Everyone. Because you can unfreeze it with the click of a mouse.”
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This can be smart if you lose your wallet to reduce the risk that a thief uses the contents of your wallet to commit ID theft, experts say. That’s especially true if you carry your Social Security card, which isn’t recommended.
To freeze your credit, you must contact the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This was easy to do on each agency’s website — I just made a free account and clicked a button to place a security freeze.

Replacing cards and ID

I filed a lost and found report with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in hopes that my wallet was found in the subway and turned in by a good Samaritan.
I then made a list of everything that was in my wallet … and that was the easy part.
The hard part was getting replacements for everything on my list. I first needed to call each issuer to report the card as lost to ensure I wasn’t responsible for any charges incurred if someone found the wallet and went on a spending spree.
I live in New York City as I attend graduate school and intern at CNBC for the summer. However, my permanent address is in North Carolina.
This made it tricky in requesting a replacement driver’s license. After initially contacting the DMV, I was directed to the state transportation department to change my mailing address so they could send it across state lines. A week later, I’m still without a license.
The North Carolina DMV did email me a temporary driving certificate, but it doesn’t have photo identification on it. A DMV employee told me over the phone that the third-party contractor that prints the state IDs is experiencing delays and that it could take up to 30 days to receive the permanent replacement. I have been relying on my passport for identification in the meantime, but it feels risky carrying that essential document around the city. 

The apps for both Bank of America and Capital One made it easy to cancel my cards and order replacements, but I was left with few options in the interim. 
Luckily, I had a virtual Apple credit card in my phone’s wallet that I applied for last year to purchase a laptop in interest-free installments. I recently paid off the laptop, but had not used the card for anything else, so it came in handy to pay for the subway and dinner on the day I lost my wallet. 
Soon after requesting a replacement debit card, Bank of America sent me a virtual one that I was able to add to my Apple wallet and use immediately. The new physical cards I requested arrived about five days later. 
In the age of online banking, actually walking into a bank to get cash seems “antiquated” to Lee Baker, certified financial planner and owner and president of Atlanta-based Apex Financial, but it’s still an option.
“As long as you’ve got some kind of ID, because they’re going to ask for it, you should be able to go into the bank and say, ‘Hey, I just simply want to withdraw X amount of dollars,'” said Baker, who is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.

Other tips and tricks to manage a lost wallet

Here are a few other key points Johnson and Baker made to protect your identity and money:

Keep cash and a credit card or two tucked away somewhere safe at home for backup.
Rely on a few credit cards, rather than a debit card to make most purchases. There are higher stakes with debit card fraud when it’s your money at risk, experts say, compared to credit card fraud when it’s the credit issuer’s funds at risk.
File a police report for the stolen or lost wallet, especially if the loss will impact scheduled payments and you need documentation proof for a landlord or utility company. This is also important in case someone tries to pass themselves off as you with the driver’s license.
Give copies of identifying documents and cards to someone you trust for safekeeping to serve as a backup if the originals are lost.
Update any accounts or subscriptions you have auto-pay set up for with new card information if you had to request a replacement card.
Change your passwords and add multifactor authentication to credit card and bank accounts.

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Whether you’re mid-career or nearing retirement, it’s important to know where you’re investing — and how those accounts could impact future taxes, experts say.
A mix of pretax, after-tax Roth and taxable brokerage accounts can lower levies in retirement by providing flexibility.
However, the right tax balance depends on your goals, risk tolerance and timeline.

Grace Cary | Moment | Getty Images

Whether you’re mid-career or nearing retirement, it’s important to know where you’re investing — and how those accounts could impact future taxes, experts say.
Many workers are heavily concentrated in tax-deferred savings via a pretax 401(k) plan or traditional individual retirement accounts, which incur regular income taxes on future withdrawals, based on federal tax brackets.

However, many advisors recommend using a mix of pretax, after-tax Roth and taxable brokerage accounts for more flexibility in retirement.
The right mix can provide “a lot of different levers to pull to manage your adjusted gross income,” explained certified financial planner Judy Brown at SC&H Group in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area.
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Pretax distributions could bump you into a higher tax bracket or trigger higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, explained Brown, who is also a certified public accountant.
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums are based on so-called modified adjusted gross income, which is your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest, from two years prior.

By comparison, after-tax account distributions, such as Roth 401(k) plans or Roth IRAs, generally don’t incur levies and won’t boost your earnings.
Another bucket is taxable brokerage investments. If you hold these assets for more than one year, you’ll pay 0%, 15% or 20% on capital gains, depending on your taxable income.
While higher earners could incur an extra 3.8% levy on brokerage assets, the combined rate is still considerably lower than the 37% top marginal tax rate on pretax account distributions.
A mix of pretax, after-tax Roth and taxable assets can help you “adapt to changing tax laws and personal financial circumstances” to better manage withdrawals and taxes, said CFP Alyson Basso, managing principal of Hayden Wealth Management in Middleton, Massachusetts. 

The perks of a brokerage account

Your brokerage assets can be especially useful if you’re eyeing an early retirement before age 59½, according to Houston-based CFP Abrin Berkemeyer with Goodman Financial. 
Workplace retirement plans and pretax IRAs typically incur a 10% penalty for withdrawals before age 59½, with some exceptions. However, you can tap your brokerage account at any age without penalty.
The brokerage account can also help you achieve other goals before age 59½, such as covering a down payment on a second home or funding a child’s wedding, Berkemeyer said.

Of course, you’ll sacrifice certain tax benefits to build your brokerage account, such as tax-free growth or upfront deductions for contributions, he said.
But ultimately, the right mix of pretax, Roth and taxable investments depends on your goals, risk tolerance and timeline.

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A recent Supreme Court ruling and the uncertainty about President Joe Biden’s reelection bid may have consequences for millions of student loan borrowers.
Here’s what to know about these developments.

Students study in the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas at Austin on February 22, 2024 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

New affordable repayment plan faces legal attacks

The Biden administration rolled out its new repayment plan, known as SAVE, or the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, in the summer of 2023, describing it as “the most affordable student loan plan ever.” Under the program, many borrowers expected to see their bills reduced by half or more.
However, Republican-backed states, including Arkansas, Florida and Missouri, filed lawsuits against the SAVE plan earlier this year, putting that relief in jeopardy.
The states argued that the Biden administration was overstepping its authority with SAVE, and essentially trying to find a roundabout way to forgive student debt after the Supreme Court blocked its sweeping plan last year.
In response, two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri temporarily halted significant parts of the SAVE plan on June 24. Days later, the Biden administration successfully appealed part of the injunction against its plan. Yet the fate of SAVE remains in limbo until the judges decide the cases.

Borrowers likely won’t learn more until after the presidential election in November, said Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, a trade group for federal student loan servicers.
Buchanan assumes the cases will eventually reach the Supreme Court.
“Then they themselves wouldn’t even take it up until the October term, for a ruling much later,” he said.
For now, SAVE enrollees can learn more about what the recent legal developments mean for them in a CNBC story from last week.

Chevron ruling may limit Education Department

Meanwhile, a recent Supreme Court ruling is expected to make it harder for the Education Department to deliver relief to student loan borrowers.
The high court in late June overruled the so-called Chevron doctrine, a 40-year-old precedent that required judges to defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of disputed laws. The 6-3 ruling, which split the conservative-majority court along ideological lines, is expected to undermine the federal government’s regulatory power.
“Federal agencies will have less flexibility in developing, implementing and enforcing regulations,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, speaks outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, June 28, 2024.
Valerie Plesch | Bloomberg | Getty Images

That could make Biden’s do-over effort at sweeping student loan forgiveness more difficult, Kantrowitz explained. The president had hoped to start canceling borrowers’ debt under a so-called Plan B before the election.
“President Biden’s proposal for student loan forgiveness involves significant interpretation of the statute,” Kantrowitz said. “This makes it more vulnerable to legal challenge.”

With Biden’s future at risk, so is student loan aid

So what would a Harris presidency mean for those with student debt?
Harris has helped promote Biden’s policies to alleviate the burden of borrowers, and would likely continue his efforts, experts say. However, as a presidential candidate in the 2020 race, Harris put forward a debt relief program that was criticized as being overly complicated and narrow. (To be eligible, borrowers needed to receive a Pell Grant and open a business in a disadvantaged community, among other requirements.)
Ernesto Apreza, press secretary for Harris, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For now, the fact that Trump is leading in the polls is a concern for consumer advocates.
As president, Trump called for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education’s existing loan relief programs, including the popular Public Service Loan Forgiveness initiative. He also wanted to slash the department’s budget, and his administration halted a regulation aimed at providing loan forgiveness to those defrauded by their schools.
“When Donald Trump was president, prior to the pandemic, a new student loan borrower fell into default every 26 seconds and more than 99% of educators, first responders and nurses were denied relief they were entitled to under PSLF,” said Aissa Canchola-Banez, political director at Protect Borrowers Action.
“The stakes for Americans with student debt have never been higher,” Canchola-Banez said.

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Micron Technology’s solid-state drive for data center customers is presented at a product launch event in San Francisco on Oct. 24, 2019.
Stephen Nellis | Reuters

Investors are grappling with a host of mixed signals as recent data suggests the economy may be softening and the S&P 500 surges to new highs.
As investors navigate this complicated environment, they may turn to research from top-rated Wall Street analysts as they search for stocks with strong balance sheets and solid growth prospects.

With that in mind, here are three stocks favored by the Street’s top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Micron Technology
Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) is this week’s first pick. The company recently reported beats on the top and bottom lines for the fiscal third quarter, thanks to the demand induced by the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) wave. Management is confident about the road ahead and expects to generate record revenue in fiscal 2025, backed by artificial intelligence-driven opportunities.
Reacting to the results, Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari reiterated a buy rating on MU stock and increased his price target to $158 from $138. The analyst sees the post-earnings pullback in the stock as a good opportunity for investors to build a position. He expects AI-driven demand and a disciplined supply to fuel better-than-consensus earnings growth in calendar year 2025.
The analyst highlighted several reasons for his bullish investment thesis, including market share gains in the lucrative high-bandwidth memory space and AI compute growth in Micron’s data center business and edge computing.
Hari pointed out that Micron generated free cash flow of $425 million in the fiscal third quarter, marking a rebound from several quarters of negative FCF. He added that the company “remains committed to driving positive cash flow in FY4Q and into FY2025, even considering the material increase in capex that is expected in FY2025.”

Hari ranks No. 25 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 69% of the time, delivering an average return of 29.2%. (See Micron Technical Analysis on TipRanks) 
Amazon
We move to e-commerce and cloud computing giant Amazon (AMZN). Recently, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney reaffirmed a buy rating on AMZN stock with a price target of $225 following his firm’s 12th Annual U.S. Online Retail survey, which involved 1,100 respondents.
Highlighting the survey results, Mahaney said that Amazon continues to be the market leader in the U.S. online retail space, with its dominance reflecting in three vital shopping metrics that his firm tracks – price, selection and convenience. However, he cautioned that the survey indicated a mixed competitive backdrop for Amazon Retail, especially with rival Walmart (WMT) displaying notable improvement in the selection and convenience metrics.
Mahaney noted that AMZN remains three to four times ahead of its closest rival across all the three key metrics. Moreover, the company continues to improve its score in satisfaction, which increased 2% year-over-year to 84% and reflected a significant jump from the 65% bottom seen in 2020. The analyst thinks that the enhanced score is a “reflection of Amazon’s continued focus on improving speed and selection (esp. via the regionalization initiatives).”
The analyst also noted that the penetration of Amazon Prime touched a record high of 81%. Attractive features like Prime Video, Free Same Day Delivery, Prime Music and Grocery made the Prime membership more attractive to the survey respondents.
Overall, Amazon remains Evercore’s “No. 1 Large Cap Long,” with the survey results backing the company’s long-term investment thesis. Notably, the survey results supported the analyst’s views about three fundamental catalysts in 2024 – significant acceleration in the growth of Amazon Web Services, rising operating margins of the North American Retail business and solid free cash flow margins. 
Mahaney ranks No. 20 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 63% of the time, delivering an average return of 32.2%. (See Amazon Hedge Funds Trading Activity on TipRanks) 
Twilio
Cloud communications platform Twilio (TWLO) is this week’s third pick. The company reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2024, with active customer accounts growing to more than 313,000 as of March 31, from 300,000 at the end of the prior-year quarter. However, shares declined following the results as the Q2 guidance missed estimates and reflected the impact of weak customer spending.
Nevertheless, Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth recently initiated coverage of TWLO stock with a buy rating and a price target of $75. The analyst sees the sell-off in the stock as an attractive buying opportunity, backed by his belief that “TWLO is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing acceleration of AI-driven digital customer engagement.”
The analyst expects Twilio to gain from the demand for artificial intelligence-based automated responses that ensure timely and cost-effective customer interaction. He expects the company’s continued investment in research and development and the integration of predictive and generative AI into its new products to boost customer adoption.  
Feinseth also highlighted Twilio’s cutting-edge “call center as a service” platform and its industry-leading position in the communications market. He expects the company’s cost saving efforts and efficiency measures to drive higher margins and boost profitability.
Feinseth ranks No. 195 among more than 8,900 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 61% of the time, delivering an average return of 13.1%. (See Twilio Stock Charts on TipRanks)  More

Vanessa Acosta and her now husband decided to have a “micro wedding” in their backyard instead of a black-tie wedding with 100-plus guests.
Slashing their guest count to roughly half saved them thousands of dollars.
Here’s how a smaller wedding can help you save costs.

Vanessa Acosta marries Sam Roberts in their backyard in Pasadena, California, on May 25, 2024.
Courtesy: Vanessa Acosta

Last year, Vanessa Acosta and Sam Roberts found their dream venue for a black-tie wedding.
But a series of family events made the couple reconsider their plans: “We don’t need to do this big thing where we’re going to put ourselves out financially,” said Acosta, 35, of Pasadena, California.

Instead of hosting around 150 guests and spending about $75,000, the couple decided to get married in their backyard with just 54 of their closest family and friends.
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Such events with roughly 50 guests, max, are called “micro weddings.” A so-called minimony is even smaller, usually attended by no more than 10 people, according to The Knot, an online wedding marketplace.
Acosta and Roberts had a new budget of $3,000, and they knew they needed to get creative.
“We DIY’ed and thrifted everything,” Acosta said. “We thrifted my husband’s shirt, he used his really nice dress shoes he already owned. I made my dress and I thrifted the fabrics; I made my veil.”

Cutting the guest list made the wedding “much more manageable,” she said. The couple tied the knot on May 25.

Why micro weddings are becoming appealing

Vanessa Acosta and Sam Roberts pose together on a street in California.
Courtesy: Vanessa Acosta

The average cost of a wedding ceremony and reception in 2023 was $35,000, according to The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study. The total cost is a $5,000 increase from 2022.
Inflation over the past few years was a key driver to higher costs, according to the Knot. The report polled 9,318 US married couples between January 1 and December 2023.  
“Put simply, weddings are expensive,” said Allison Cullman, wedding expert and the vice president of brand marketing and strategy at Zola, another online wedding marketplace.

‘The number one way’ to save on wedding costs

As the cost of typical weddings in the U.S. has swelled in the past few years, experts say cutting down the guest list is the best way to save on costs, even if you don’t trim it to micro-wedding levels.
In 2023, weddings with 25 to 50 guests took up about 15% of the market; weddings with less than 25 guests made up roughly 2% of the market, according to data from The Wedding Report, a wedding research company, provided to CNBC.
The average guest count at weddings has been declining since 2006, when the average was about 184 people, according to data from The Wedding Report.

We don’t need to do this big thing where we’re going to put ourselves out financially.

Vanessa Acosta

The lowest count was in 2020, when the average headcount declined to 107, primarily due to restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic, said Shane McMurray, CEO and co-founder of The Wedding Report. The size of weddings rebounded in 2021 to 124 because people wanted to socialize after the lockdowns, he said.
“But because of how expensive it is to get married now,” he said, the size of weddings is “probably going to start to come back down.”
“The number one way to save money on your wedding is to cut the guest count,” said McMurray, as many wedding costs, like meals, invitations and favors, are based on your headcount.
Indeed, “having a minimony or a micro wedding allows you to still have an incredibly special celebration without having to pay for 150 meals,” said Cullman.

A sign that reads, “Welcome to the wedding of Vanessa and Sam.”
Courtesy: Vanessa acosta

“It literally was not stressful to deal with the food situation for like a 50-ish person wedding,” said Acosta, who booked a taco stand for $640 instead of roughly paying $90 per plate for about 150 guests.
“Ninety times 150 people. It was a drastic change to go from that to a taco stand that was able to feed every single one and there was still food left over,” said Acosta.

Set a ‘clear and realistic’ budget

Engaged couples should come up with a “clear and realistic” budget from the beginning, as well as make a list of what their priorities are, said Cullman. Doing so will help you when you have to make “difficult decisions to stay within your budget,” she said.
“Couples should discuss what is the most important to them, and what they want to allocate towards items that will make their wedding feel unique, authentic, and most of all, fun,” said Cullman.
Confirming such priorities will help you “determine where to focus your budget and where you can save,” said Lauren Kay, executive editor of The Knot.
You might need to make trade-offs along the way.

“Typically, the venue requires the majority of your budget, and food and beverage costs are determined by the number of guests,” said Kay. “So if the location is your highest priority, keeping this in mind will help you properly allocate your budget and make decisions on the guest list size.”
Being flexible with the ceremony date can also help reduce costs, said Cullman, as off-peak dates can be less expensive.
Exploring “upcycled” or thrifted attire typically won’t “set you back hundreds of dollars,” she said. In that vein, you can even take the proverb of “something borrowed” more seriously and rent a wedding dress or even flowers.

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