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True to its name, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage spreads out repayment over 30 years, with an interest rate that remains the same for the life of the loan. 
It’s “a uniquely American construct,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.

monkeybusinessimages | Getty

Most U.S. homebuyers taking out a mortgage opt for a 30-year fixed-rate option — but they may not realize how unusual that offering is.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is a uniquely American construct,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.

True to its name, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage spreads out repayment over 30 years, with an interest rate that remains the same for the life of the loan. 
As long as you do not refinance or sell your house, the rate you get at the start of your mortgage won’t change, said Jacob Channel, a senior economist at LendingTree. “You’ll have the exact same rate, regardless of what the broader market is doing,” Channel said.
In 2022, 89% of homebuyers applied for a 30-year mortgage, according to government data analyzed by Homebuyer.com.
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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage can exist in the U.S. due to the country’s deep financial markets, experts say.

“If we did not have the dominance of the fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. residential mortgage market, we would see a much higher level of stress among existing homeowners,” McBride said.

The ‘whole reason’ for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage

The secondary market for mortgage-backed securities in the U.S. is the “whole reason” for the existence of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, McBride explained.
About half of all mortgages originated in the U.S. will end up packaged into a mortgage-backed security and sold to bond investors, he said.
While mortgage-backed securities were at the heart of the financial crisis and Great Recession, improvements have been made to avoid the risk. Lenders, for example, strengthened mortgage origination processes and improved underwriting standards and collateral assessment, and there are now other guardrails that did not exist over a decade ago.
Mortgage-backed securities are attractive to investors in the U.S. and across the globe because their government sponsorship makes them safe investments over long periods of time. They also provide a fixed payout, said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, a real estate brokerage site.
The rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage tracks closely to 10-year Treasurys because “U.S. real estate is almost as good an investment as a U.S. Treasury bond,” she said.

However, mortgage-backed securities are “only part of the story,” according to Enrique Martínez García, an economic policy advisor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
“There are two institutions in the U.S. mortgage market that are very specific to the U.S.: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Martínez García said.
The insurance Fannie and Freddie provide is essential to why lenders are willing to take on the risk associated with interest rate movements, Martínez García explained.
“In most other countries, [that risk] gets passed through to the households, the buyers,” he said.
Even in countries where fixed-rate mortgages are prevalent, they usually span shorter periods of time. That’s because such countries lack both the path toward securitization and institutions that take on the long-term risk, Martínez García said.
“That’s what’s missing in many other countries,” he said.

Foreign homebuyers typically get variable rates

While homebuyers in other countries can typically get long-term mortgages or fixed-rate loans, the U.S. is unusual in its combination of those attributes.
In Canada, for example, homeowners might get a mortgage that spans 25 years, but they are expected to refinance every five years or so, Channel said.
In the U.K., homeowners might get fixed-rate mortgages, but such loans only span up to five years.
“Every few years, you’re nonetheless doing something that causes your rate to change,” Channel said. 
The difference between fixed-rate and variable mortgage rates lies in who bears the risk of fluctuating rates, Martínez García said. With fixed-rate loans, financial institutions bear the risk. With variable-rate loans, consumers do.

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Studies show a disconnect between how much adult children expect to inherit and how much their aging parents plan on leaving them.
Longer life expectancies, rising healthcare costs, growing financial insecurity and changing views about inheritance are all partly responsible.

There’s a massive wealth transfer underway.
“It has started and it’s only going to accelerate,” said Liz Koehler, head of advisor engagement for BlackRock’s wealth advisory business.

Baby boomers are set to pass more than $68 trillion on to their children. And yet, some millennials and Generation Z may not be inheriting as much as they think.
Recent reports show a growing disconnect between how much the next generation expects to receive in the “great wealth transfer” and how much their aging parents plan on leaving them.
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To that point, 68%, of millennials and Gen Zers have received or expect to receive an inheritance of nearly $320,000, on average, USA Today Blueprint found. Additionally, 52% of millennials think they’ll get even more — at least $350,000 — according to a separate survey by Alliant Credit Union.
However, 55% of baby boomers who plan to leave behind an inheritance said they will pass on less than $250,000, Alliant found.

Further, just one-third of white families and about one in every 10 Black families receive any inheritance at all, and more than half of those inheritances will amount to less than $50,000, according to a separate study by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Part of the discrepancy is because “parents are just not communicating well with their adult children about financial topics,” said Isabel Barrow, director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines.
Tack on inflation, high healthcare costs and longer life expectancies, and boomers suddenly may be feeling less secure about their financial standing — and less generous when it comes to giving money away.
Overall, fewer Americans are feeling financially confident these days, a report by Edelman Financial Engines found, and just 14% would consider themselves wealthy.

Millennials may be ‘richest generation in history’

Still, over the next decade this intergenerational transfer could make millennials “the richest generation in history,” according to the annual Wealth Report by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
These funds come at a time when millennials and Gen Zers are having a harder time making it on their own.
In addition to soaring food and housing costs, today’s young adults face other financial challenges their parents did not at that age. Not only are their wages lower than their parents’ earnings when they were in their 20s and 30s, after adjusting for inflation, but they are also carrying larger student loan balances, recent reports show.
With so much at stake, “there is so much missing that needs to be discussed with our adult children when it comes to what happens with our money,” Barrow said.

Boomers need to map out a plan

At the same time, views of inherited wealth are changing, according to BlackRock’s Koehler. Parents want to feel confident that the next generation is going to have the same value system around building wealth.
“Firms and advisors who are doing this well are finding ways to open up the conversation so it is clear and transparent and setting common family values and expectations around philanthropic endeavors,” she said.
The failure to create such a strategy is a major issue, the Edelman report found: 90% of parents intend to leave an inheritance to their children but 48% do not have a specific plan in place.
That makes it even more important to map out how that money will be handed down as well as exactly how much will change hands, Barrow said, in addition to discussing it as a family.
“It’s not only what are you getting but how you are getting it — all of this needs to be part of a big-picture financial plan,” she said.
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Entry-level jobs are typically thought of as positions requiring little to no prior experience or skills. But it’s a longstanding gripe among job seekers on social media that job listings’ requirements are more ambitious.
“When you apply for an entry level marketing job and they ask for: 2+ years of experience, a degree, experiences in graphic design, SEO, copywriting and a viral TikTok account on the side,” one TikTok user offered as an example.

“Companies listing ‘Masters preferred’ for entry level office positions,” posted another.
There’s truth to the meme.
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Almost half (42%) of employees said they felt excluded from job opportunities due to a lack of formal qualifications or experience, according to a 2023 report from TestGorilla. In a 2022 report from McKinsey & Company, the second-most-cited barrier to employment was a lack of experience, relevant skills, credentials or education.
“There has been a shift over the past few years towards skills-based hiring, with employers far more concerned about employees’ experience and skills than even their degrees,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.

That shows up in hiring trends. Less than 61% of human resources leaders said in 2023 that they are hiring for entry-level and less-specialized positions, down from 79% in 2022, according to a PwC survey.

One of the biggest barriers at play is a gap in skills and training. But for many workers, getting training on the job has been tricky.
Employers are “not developing talent internally,” said Peter Cappelli, a professor of management with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. “They’re looking outside to hire people rather than to promote them from within.”
To build skills, job seekers could enroll in one of the growing number of “cheap, affordable, convenient and accessible online training programs, many of which have a large practical component,” Pollak suggests. Freelance work, or volunteer or internship experiences can also provide opportunities to gain credentials and experience.
Watch the video above to learn more about why job requirements have become increasingly demanding and how to prepare for the workforce. More

A brighter economic outlook has helped push Social Security’s projected trust fund depletion date to one year later.
Experts still say now is the time for Congress to take action and prevent a looming shortfall.

People leave a Social Security Administration building in Burbank, California. 
Valerie Macon | Afp | Getty Images

The trust funds the Social Security Administration relies on to pay benefits are now projected to run out in 2035, one year later than previously projected, according to the annual trustees’ report released Monday.
On the projected depletion date, 83% of benefits will be payable if Congress does not act sooner to prevent that shortfall.

The Social Security trustees credited the slightly improved outlook to more people contributing to the program amid a strong economy, low unemployment and higher job and wage growth. Last year, the trustees projected the program’s funds would last through 2034, when 80% of benefits would be payable.
“This year’s report is a measure of good news for the millions of Americans who depend on Social Security, including the roughly 50% of seniors for whom Social Security is the difference between poverty and living in dignity — any potential benefit reduction event has been pushed off from 2034 to 2035,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement.

O’Malley, who was sworn in to lead the agency in December, also urged Congress to extend the trust fund’s solvency “as it did in the past on a bipartisan basis.”
“Eliminating the shortfall will bring peace of mind to Social Security’s 70 million-plus beneficiaries, the 180 million workers and their families who contribute to Social Security, and the entire nation,” O’Malley said.

What reports reveal about Social Security, Medicare

Social Security’s new 2035 depletion date applies to its combined trust funds.

The trust funds help pay for benefits when more money is needed beyond what is coming in through payroll taxes. Currently, 6.2% of workers’ pay is taxed for Social Security, while an additional 1.45% is taxed for Medicare. The total 7.65% is typically matched by employers. High earners may have an additional 0.9% withheld for Medicare.
While the combined depletion date for Social Security’s trust funds is typically used to gauge the program’s solvency, the funds cannot actually be combined based on current law.
Social Security’s two trust funds have distinct projected depletion dates.
The fund used to pay retired workers, their spouses and children, and survivors — formally known as the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund — is projected to last until 2033, which is unchanged from last year. At that time, 79% of those scheduled benefits may be payable.
The fund used to pay disability benefits — known as the Disability Insurance Trust Fund — will be able to pay full benefits until at least 2098, the last year of the projection period.

Also on Monday, the government updated its projections for Medicare. For most older Americans, the program is their primary or only source of health care, according to the AARP.
Medicare solvency is typically measured by the ability of the trust fund to make up for a shortfall in payroll taxes used to fund Part A hospital insurance.
The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund — used to fund Part A benefits — saw the biggest improvement in this year’s trustees report. Its depletion date is now pushed to 2036 — five years later than was projected last year — due in part to higher payroll tax income and lower-than-projected 2023 expenditures.
At that time, 89% of scheduled benefits may be payable.
Medicare’s Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund — which covers voluntary Part B coverage for physician services and medical supplies and Part D prescription drug coverage — is financed for the indefinite future, since it relies on beneficiary premiums and Treasury Department contributions that are automatically adjusted each year. 

Why experts say now is the time to act

While the new projected depletion dates show lawmakers have slightly more wiggle room, experts say the solvency of both Social Security and Medicare should be addressed sooner rather than later.
The issue is a top concern for AARP members ages 50 and up, said Bill Sweeney, the organization’s senior vice president of government affairs. About 40% of families who are 65 and older rely on Social Security for at least half of their income, and about 20% of families rely on it for all of their income, he said.
For any reductions to be on the horizon for Social Security benefits, or for that to even be talked about, is “really scary for people,” Sweeney said.
“Congress has a responsibility to sit down and work this out in a bipartisan way,” Sweeney said. “And the sooner they do it, the better.”
The new projected depletion dates put Social Security and Medicare on a more similar timeline than previous estimates. That may offer the opportunity for a unified one-step reform for the programs, he suggested.

“In order to make these trust funds whole for the future, some tough choices are going to need to be made,” Sweeney said.
Prospective changes may include tax increases, benefit cuts or a combination of both.
The status of Social Security’s trust funds has worsened compared with what was projected when the last major reforms were enacted in 1983, senior Treasury officials said Monday. Between 1983 and 2000, the top 6% of earners saw faster increases in pay versus the remaining 94%. Social Security does not necessarily benefit from high earners’ wage gains, since high earners stop paying taxes into the program each year after they reach a maximum annual earnings threshold.
Democrats have proposed addressing those inequities with tax increases on the wealthy, while also making benefits more generous.
Republicans have advocated for forming bipartisan commissions to address the programs’ solvency issues.
While updates on the status of Social Security and Medicare are released annually, Congress has yet to act.
“We’re driving straight into this mess despite all the warning bells and alarms that the trustees and others have been ringing for decades now,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement.
“Every year we get closer to the deadline, we seem to get further away from the solutions,” she said. More

Inherited individual retirement accounts can be a financial boost for heirs, but the windfall can trigger tax issues, experts say.
Since 2020, certain heirs, including most adult children, must deplete inherited IRAs within 10 years, known as the “10-year rule.”
You can minimize the tax hit by spreading out withdrawals or taking the money during lower-income years.

Laylabird | E+ | Getty Images

Inherited individual retirement accounts can be a financial boost for heirs, but the windfall can trigger tax issues, experts say.
Withdrawals from pretax inherited IRAs incur regular income taxes. Since 2020, certain heirs can no longer “stretch” retirement account distributions over their lifetime to reduce yearly taxes.

Now, certain heirs, including most adult children, must deplete inherited accounts within 10 years, known as the “10-year rule.” The rule applies to heirs who aren’t a spouse, minor child, disabled or chronically ill. It may also apply to certain trusts.
Ideally, you should smooth out your yearly tax liability “so you don’t get hammered by the end of the 10th year,” said individual retirement account expert and certified public accountant Ed Slott.  
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The IRS in 2022 proposed mandatory yearly withdrawals from inherited IRAs if the original account owner had already started distributions. However, the IRS has waived the penalty for missed required minimum distributions amid confusion — and extended that relief for 2024 in April.
Slott said there’s widespread confusion about the rules, but the relief only condenses the 10-year window for taxable IRA withdrawals.

“They’re just pushing off the inevitable,” said JoAnn May, a Berwyn, Illinois-based certified financial planner at Forest Asset Management. She is also a certified public accountant.
While only about 20% of May’s clients have inherited IRAs, she expects more heirs to face the tax-planning issue as baby boomers age.

Bigger inherited IRA withdrawals can significantly boost adjusted gross income, which can have “unintended consequences,” such as higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for retirees, May explained.
Younger heirs could be affected by higher income too. For example, they could face college-funding issues when submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
Plus, there are income phaseouts for Roth IRA contributions, as well as for tax breaks like the child tax credit, student loan interest deduction and more.

How to plan for inherited IRA withdrawals

Typically, May runs multiple-year projections to help clients decide the best years to take withdrawals from inherited IRAs.
“Tax planning is very important,” she said.
Advisors may leverage a lower-income year — say, after a job layoff, retirement or other life changes affecting income — to take more income and reduce future withdrawals.   
Typically, they try to take enough income to fill a tax bracket without spilling into the next one with a higher rate.

There are also tax-planning opportunities for the original IRA owner, CFP Karl Schwartz, principal and senior financial advisor at Team Hewins in Boca Raton, Florida, previously told CNBC.
For example, the original owner may consider so-called Roth IRA conversions. The move triggers upfront tax and after the conversion, the balance grows tax-free. Heirs would still face the 10-year rule, but withdrawals wouldn’t incur levies.
“It would probably make sense if they’re in a tax bracket that’s lower than their beneficiaries,” Schwartz said.  

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Spending more to save more — also known as “spaving” — is a common pitfall.
But it can also lead to excessive spending and high-interest credit card debt if you aren’t careful, experts say.
Here are the best ways to avoid falling for a financial trap.

Spending more to save more is an all-too-common pitfall.
The opportunities for so-called spaving are nearly everywhere, whether it’s the lure of a “limited-time deal” or “buy one, get one free” or tacking on additional items to get a bigger discount or simply to reach the free shipping threshold.

But spending to save can lead to excessive buying habits and high-interest credit card debt if you aren’t careful, according to consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch.
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Similar to “girl math,” which breaks down the price of an item by the cost per wear to justify big-ticket purchases, spaving encompasses all the ways buying decisions are rationalized. 
″’Spaving is us justifying our desire to buy more,” said Brad Klontz, a Boulder, Colorado-based psychologist and certified financial planner.
By nearly every measure, Americans are financially strained. Yet, even as inflation and high interest rates squeeze budgets, consumers continue to fall for these financial traps.

“Teams of scientists have figured out how to extract more money out of you,” said Klontz, who is also managing principal of YMW Advisors and a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
But spaving comes at a cost, he added.
“We are just constantly spending more than we can afford and then we experience stress related to our financial health,” Klontz said.

How to combat spaving

Think through your purchases carefully, Woroch said — and consider the trade-offs, especially if it comes at the expense of your economic standing. Here are her six steps to avoid the financial trap of spaving:

Quiet the noise. Identifying triggers that lead to impulse sale purchases is key to dodging them in the future, Woroch said. “Delete shopping apps on your phone that alert you to the latest sale and unsubscribe from store newsletters,” she said. “Instead, look for coupons only when you need them” through deal sites such as CouponCabin.com or with a browser plug in like SideKick, which scans for applicable codes.
Pay with cash. Buying big-ticket purchases in cash can also help avoid impulse spending. “You’re less likely to part with your hard-earned dollars on something you didn’t plan to buy or don’t really need when you’re forking over actual bills,” Woroch said. This strategy doesn’t rule out money-saving opportunities, she added. Take pictures of your receipts using the Fetch app and earn points, which can then be redeemed for gift cards at retailers such as Walmart, Target and Amazon.
Do the math. For some “buy more, save more” deals, the percent discount is often the same but disguised as a greater value, according to Woroch. For instance, getting $20 off $100 is no better than $10 off $50. “Don’t let this fool you into buying more,” she cautioned, “do the math with your calculator if you aren’t sure.”
Steer clear of temptation. If there’s a particular retailer that temps you with limited-time sales, try to avoid going into that store altogether. Instead, “order online and choose curbside pick up to get what you need,” Woroch said.
Create shopping “hurdles.” If you are shopping online, deleting stored payment details can help create a “purchase hurdle” that forces you to think through your buying decisions before your proceed, Woroch said.
Set time rules. When in doubt, sleep on it, she advised. “Give yourself 24 hours to think through a purchase before you hit the buy button.” Chances are, you will have moved on.

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Women and Wealth Events
Your Money

In February, Rebekah Alstede Modery and Sarah Alstede joined Kurt Alstede and Mary Thompson-Alstede as co-owners of Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey.
With the younger generation of Alstede women owners, the farm is now majority women-owned.
Women farmers are frequently involved in day-to-day decision-making, record keeping and financial management, land use and crop decisions as well as estate planning, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

Rebekah Alstede Modery, left, and Sarah Alstede, sisters and co-owners of Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey.
Courtesy: Alstede Farms

Sisters Rebekah Alstede Modery and Sarah Alstede were raised on a New Jersey farm. This year, they decided to spend their careers there, too.
Rebekah graduated in 2023 with a double major in agricultural business and sustainable agricultural production from Delaware Valley University. When it was time to decide on her next steps, it was easy to commit to staying on at the family farm, she said.

“I grew up here, and I loved doing it, and particularly loved the business and marketing side,” Rebekah, 24, told CNBC in the living room of her childhood home, nestled on Alstede Farms’ 600-acre property in Chester, New Jersey.
Sarah, 22, had a similar bond with the farm: “I knew really my entire life growing up that I would want to be here forever.”
She recently graduated from Centenary University with an associate degree in animal science with a focus in equine studies.

More from Women and Wealth:

Here’s a look at more coverage in CNBC’s Women & Wealth special report, where we explore ways women can increase income, save and make the most of opportunities.

In February, the sisters joined their father, Kurt Alstede, and their stepmother, Mary Thompson-Alstede, as co-owners of Alstede Farms.
With the younger generation of Alstede women owners, the farm is now majority women-owned. While farming is often thought of as a male-dominated field, there’s data indicating women are often key decision-makers for farms.

What decisions women farmers make

There were about 1.22 million female producers, or women farmers, in 2022, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It’s still a male-dominated field: Those women represent about 36% of all producers.
Until recently, government data didn’t fully capture the role of women in farming, said Dominique Sims, an agricultural statistician at NASS.
NASS conducts the Census of Agriculture once every five years. It updated its practices in 2017 to collect more detailed demographic data, and ask more questions about who makes key decisions for farms and ranches. For its 2022 survey, it added another decision-making category: marketing.
“Women have always been a part of agriculture and always been a part of the decision-making, but the Census of Agriculture hasn’t always had the questions to ask,” said Shoshana Inwood, an associate professor of community, food and economic development at The Ohio State University.
Of the women who were in farming in 2022, many were key decision-makers, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.

The category women are most involved in is making day-to-day decisions, with 78%, the data shows.
Record-keeping and financial management is the only area where women are more likely to be involved than men, at 71% versus 70%.
“If you look at the female producers specifically, those are the categories where they reported the highest rate of involvement,” said Lance Honig, chair of NASS’ agricultural statistics board.
Both genders are equally as likely to be involved in estate and succession planning, at 53%.

High interest rates, climate change challenge farms

As younger women such as Rebekah and Sarah take on roles making key farm decisions, they’ll need to be prepared to navigate a host of growing financial challenges.
While the total number of producers in the U.S. has hardly changed in recent years, farms continue to consolidate.
There were 1.9 million farms in the U.S. in 2022, a 7% decline from 2017, according to USDA figures. Over that same period, the average farm size increased 5%, to 463 acres per farm, according to the agency.
About 23% of farms in the U.S. carried debt in 2022, a decline from 28% in 2018, according to the Agricultural Resource Management Survey by the USDA Economic Research Service.
However, that’s not indicating a healthier farm economy, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. High interest rates have made it more expensive for farms to carry debt and created liquidity challenges.
“Operating loans and other forms of financing cost farmers a whopping 43% more in 2023 than in 2022 and are forecast to remain elevated for much of 2024,” wrote AFBF economist Bernt Nelson.

Climate change and weather extremes that come with it have also become increasingly challenging for farmers. Two of the biggest stressors are changing temperatures and rainfall or precipitation, said Rachel Schattman, assistant professor of sustainable agriculture at the University of Maine.
“Farmers are very good at thinking on their feet and they’re great problem solvers,” said Schattman. “The variability makes that problem-solving process a lot more intense and it’s a lot more financially demanding.”
Changing weather contributes to issues such as frost and freezes after long, warm periods in the spring, flooding or ponding events, drought, hastened crop developments and changing dynamics with pest and weed pressure, she said.
Some farmers have the cash flow to pay outright for the labor costs and equipment needed to mitigate such problems, while others might have to take lines of credit at the beginning of the season, said Schattman.
“For large-scale investments like wind machines to deal with frost in perennial fruit orchards, those are much more capital intensive and are often financed through things like traditional loans,” she said.

‘A huge undertaking’ as a family

Co-owners of Alstede Farms from left to right: Mary Thompson-Alstede, Rebekah Alstede Modery, Kurt Alstede and Sarah Alstede.
Courtesy: Alstede Farms

In mid-March, Alstede Farms experienced a frost-freeze period, which threatens the life of new blooms, said Rebekah, who now works as the farm’s assistant production manager out in the fields. Warmer temperatures earlier in the spring had spurred the apples, peaches, plums and apricots to further develop, putting them and early crops including strawberries at risk.
“We were out with different tools trying to keep everything warm. We double-covered our strawberries and we had fans blowing, just mixing the air to keep it warmer for the apples,” said Rebekah.
Such efforts are “a huge undertaking,” said Mary Thompson-Alstede. “We have people up all night long making sure everything is working and operational and driving tractors around with heaters to move it to all different places on the farm.”
In addition to labor costs, the double layer of row covers for the 22 acres of strawberries was $25,000, said Kurt Alstede. “We successfully protected them, but now there’s another $25,000 investment because of climate change.”

Rebekah Alstede Modery, left, and Sarah Alstede, sisters and co-owners of Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey.
Courtesy: Alstede Farms

Sometimes the risk management tools are not enough. Apple-picking is one of Alstede Farm’s crown jewels, along with pumpkins, and both share a peak season that spans from early September to late October, said Sarah.
Last year, the farm lost eight of its busiest weekends in the fall due to rain. Alstede Farms resorted to selling hundreds of tons of apples to juice at 5% of the price, or 10 cents a pound instead of $1.99.
Sarah believes that she and her sister have the grit to withstand such challenges, after seeing their family deal with hardships.
“It’s definitely equipped us to what the future will bring once we really take over,” she said. More

Coca-Cola beverages are offered for sale April 30, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. 
Scott Olson | Getty Images

As macro uncertainty hangs over the stock market, investors are searching for sources of income, which can help cushion their portfolios in volatile times.
Those who wish to add stocks that pay dividends consistently can follow the recommendations of Wall Street experts. These analysts can guide investors toward the best stocks from a large universe of dividend-paying companies.  

Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street’s top pros on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.
Chord Energy
First up is Chord Energy (CHRD), an oil and gas operator in the Williston Basin. Earlier this year, Chord declared a base-plus-variable cash dividend of $3.25 per share.
Recently, Siebert Williams Shank analyst Gabriele Sorbara initiated coverage of Chord Energy stock with a buy rating and a price target of $262, citing its attractive valuation and capital returns. The analyst highlighted the company’s peer‐leading capital returns framework, under which it aims to return more than 75% of free cash flow (FCF) to shareholders through dividends and opportunistic buybacks.
The analyst expects capital returns of $778.8 million and $1.15 billion in 2024 and 2025, respectively. These estimates for 2024 and 2025 reflect capital return yields of 6.6% and 9.7%, respectively, which are above the peer average yields of 6.3% and 7.8%.
Citing CHRD’s solid track record in the Williston basin and an impressive inventory runway of oil locations, Sorbara said, “With improving capital efficiencies from wider spacing, longer laterals and acquisition synergies, we view CHRD as the name to own for the greatest exposure and leverage to the basin.” 

The analyst also sees an upside to the Street’s consensus estimates for certain key metrics, including production, EBITDA and free cash flow, driven by the recently announced Enerplus acquisition, enhanced capital efficiencies and higher oil prices.
Sorbara ranks No. 391 among 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 52% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 12.4%. (See Chord Energy Stock Buybacks on TipRanks)
Energy Transfer
Next on the list is Energy Transfer (ET), a master limited partnership or MLP. ET is a midstream energy company operating over 125,000 miles of pipeline and related infrastructure. On April 24, the company announced an increase in its quarterly cash distribution to $0.3175 per common unit for the first quarter of 2024, payable on May 20.
The new cash distribution marks a 3.3% year-over-year increase and reflects a dividend yield of about 8% on an annualized basis.
Recently, Mizuho analyst Gabriel Moreen slightly raised the price target for ET to $19 from $18 and reiterated a buy rating, calling the stock his firm’s new midstream top pick. The analyst pointed out that the stock has outperformed its midstream peers so far this year, but to a lesser extent compared to some other operators. That’s despite the company’s solid free cash flow outlook and leverage in the Permian basin.
“We believe ET could capitalize on its improved credibility by providing a more detailed capital allocation framework,” said Moreen.
The analyst thinks that a clear message about capital allocation could serve as a major company-specific catalyst to help investors capitalize on the company’s healthy free cash flow yield.
He added that the stock’s discounted valuation and upside potential on equity return are the key drivers that make it his firm’s top midstream pick.
Moreen ranks No. 183 among 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been successful 79% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 10.3%. (See Energy Transfer Technical Analysis on TipRanks)
Coca-Cola
This week’s final pick is dividend king Coca-Cola (KO). Earlier this year, the beverage giant increased its quarterly dividend by about 5.4% to $0.485 per share. This marked the 62nd consecutive year in which the company hiked its dividend. KO stock offers a dividend yield of 3.1%.
On April 30, Coca-Cola reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and raised its organic revenue growth forecast. However, the company expects a higher impact of currency headwinds than previously estimated.
Reacting to the Q1 print, RBC Capital analyst Nik Modi reiterated a buy rating on KO stock with a price target of $65. The analyst noted that KO significantly outperformed organic growth expectations. He thinks that the company’s underlying fundamentals continue to be robust despite the impact of a strong dollar on the bottom line.   
“We believe the company’s latest restructuring and organizational design changes will facilitate better allocation of resources, which will ultimately lead to better share gains and white space expansion,” said Modi.
The analyst expects the momentum in Coca-Cola’s revenue and earnings to continue this year and sees further upside if the U.S. dollar weakens, given the company’s significant exposure to international markets.
Modi ranks No. 620 among 8,800 analysts tracked by TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 60% of the time, with each delivering an average return of 6.5%. (See Coca-Cola Hedge Fund Activity on TipRanks) More