1976 called. It can't believe what a house costs now

Welcome to MoneyNerd! 

And happy birthday, America! Rick here. Honestly, you don’t look a day over 200.

I can say that with authority because I was fully sentient in 1976, a high school sophomore with too much hair, working part-time at an ice cream parlor for the federally mandated minimum wage of $2.30 an hour.

The bicentennial world was pretty different. No internet, no personal computers. Cars were cooler but less safe. Vinyl still ruled. So did network TV. Phones were attached to the wall. 

(This is where you roll your eyes and say, “Yes, we know, Grandpa.”)

And besides, “bicentennial” is much easier to say and remember than “semiquincentennial.”

But in some ways, it was kinda the same. Inflation was running hot. A major conflict with Iran was on the horizon. Politics were weird, but weird in a different way.

That $2.30 an hour I made at Swensen’s Ice Cream Factory? Equivalent to about $13 today. The federal minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation, though, and sits at only $7.25. To compensate, many states and localities set their own minimum wages above the federal benchmark. 

Median household income, on the other hand, is actually higher than it was 50 years ago, even after adjusting for inflation. Food is cheaper now, at least as a percentage of take-home pay. We have all kinds of cool gadgets we didn’t have before, whether you really want them or not. 

But prices in some major categories of financial life have risen much faster than the overall rate of inflation — categories like healthcare and housing. My parents bought our Anaheim tract home in 1975 for about $50,000. Its Zillow estimate today is over $1.3 million. Healthcare expenditures have just about doubled after adjusting for inflation.

A college education? Don’t even ask.

So happy semiquincentennial, everyone. Let’s be clear: I owe everything I have to a decision my father made to leave Holland and bring his young family here. I was born a few years later into a life that has been marked by opportunity. 

All I want for Independence Day is for the generations after mine to have the same opportunities. 

Also in this week’s MoneyNerd:

- Anna Helhoski, news writer 

If you, like me, have ever had a grievance with a financial company, you know that finding relief on your own is an uphill battle. But at least Americans have had the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) take your complaints and seek a resolution on your behalf. 

Up until now, submitting a complaint wasn’t a particularly cumbersome process — but that’s changing. 

 Last week, the federal watchdog, created after the Great Recession to help consumers resolve disputes with financial companies and credit reporting agencies, rolled out new “efficiency” changes to “restore integrity” in the system, according to the bureau. 

The CFPB has seen complaints surge in recent years, from about 150,000 credit and consumer reporting complaints in 2019 to more than 5 million in 2025. In response, it’s tightening how complaints are filed, verified and screened.   

It’s now requiring stronger identity verification — including additional contact information and two-factor authentication. The bureau is also giving itself more leeway to screen out “invalid” or “abusive” complaints, though it hasn't specified what that entails. And consumers are now required to first go directly to credit bureaus before escalating issues. 

Critics say the changes mean that if you have an issue with your bank, credit card issuer, debt collector or a credit bureau, you’ll have more hoops to jump through to reach a resolution. 

Read more about the CFPB’s new changes and how they could affect you. 

About one-third of all American wealth is now in the stock market, the highest share ever recorded. But that wealth is concentrated — 90% of Americans are mostly sitting on the sidelines while the market compounds.

Click to watch!

On Monday, the Supreme Court delivered a split ruling on presidential power over independent agencies. The Court blocked President Donald Trump’s removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while allowing Democrat-appointed Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to be fired. 

The divide in the decision could ripple into the policies that shape the economy more broadly — and, ultimately, into the financial forces people experience day to day, like interest rates, prices and the cost of borrowing.

I turned to my NerdWallet colleague, senior economist Elizabeth Renter for her perspective on what the dual rulings could mean for the economy. 

Anna Helhoski: Does the court's decision protecting Lisa Cook reinforce confidence in the Federal Reserve's independence? More broadly, why is Fed independence considered so important for the economy? 

Elizabeth Renter: The ruling better ensures that members of the central bank cannot be fired unfairly or for solely political reasons. But, it doesn’t prevent a president from pursuing an investigation with the goal of eventually firing a Federal Reserve board member, whether that investigation is politically motivated or not. Overall, however, the ruling does provide some reassurance that the court believes the Fed should maintain some independence not afforded other agencies, particularly those in the executive branch. 

AH: Why do economists generally view the Federal Reserve as warranting a different level of independence than other agencies, such as the FTC?

ER: The FTC is part of the executive branch, which the president is the head of. The Federal Reserve is not part of a single branch of the federal government, and is only accountable to the legislative branch, or Congress. This is by design. The stakes are extremely high if political pressure drives monetary policy. World economic history has proven that where central banks are subject to political pressure, the economy runs hot, with ultra high inflation and sharp consumer pain. Politicians ultimately push for short-term economic growth, no matter the costs, especially in election years. This growth drives faster price growth, which can snowball into embedded inflation that is harder and harder to fix. 

AH: Taken together, what — if anything — could Monday’s rulings ultimately mean for consumers? Are there potential implications for inflation, borrowing costs, competition, antitrust enforcement or consumer protections?

ER: Central bank policy can come with discomfort in the form of higher interest rates, for example. But this discomfort is generally short-lived, and a means to an end. Consumers should take some solace in the court’s support of Fed independence as the Fed’s monetary policy decisions left free of political influence are more likely to drive long-term economic stability. This means shorter and less painful bouts of inflation, which translates to greater financial stability at the household level.

- Jackie Veling, personal loans writer

More people are leaning on credit cards, and the cracks are starting to show. 

Serious credit card delinquencies (meaning balances that are 90 days or more past due) are the highest they’ve been in 15 years, according to the Federal Reserve. 

Past-due debt can trigger an avalanche of stress, but the three credit counselors I spoke to were clear on one thing: You can absolutely get out. Here’s what they said. 

Face the music: It’s tempting to bury your head in the sand when dealing with a tough situation, and credit card debt is no different. But it’s important to get a handle on what you owe. List out the balance, minimum payment and interest rate for each card. The debt with the highest rate is probably doing the most damage.

Find ways to lower interest: Calling your creditor may be enough to get an interest rate reduction. But you can also sign up for a debt management plan with a credit counselor, who will negotiate your rates down for you. Debt consolidation loans are another way to lower interest, since they roll your debts onto a fixed-rate loan. 

Don’t ignore collections: If your debt is significantly past-due, it may get sold to a debt collections agency or other debt buyer. Verify the accuracy of the debt, then ask about options, like a payment plan. If you receive notice of a lawsuit, respond ASAP to avoid a default judgment. 

Counselors told me shame most often prevents their clients from acting in their best interest. But falling behind is more common than you think. The sooner you make a plan, the better. 

Read more about what credit counselors have to say about credit card debt strategies here.

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Your MoneyNerd team: Courtney Neidel, Anna Helhoski, Rick VanderKnyff.

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