Veronica Dagher

New York

Personal Finance Reporter at The Wall Street Journal

WSJ Personal Finance Reporter; TV & Podcast Guest; Author: @WSJ’s Resilience: How 20 Ambitious Women Used Obstacles To Fuel Their Success; Proud Wife & Mom

Articles

How to Make Major Investment Decisions Right Now From Mortgages to Stocks

1 week ago | wsj.com | Veronica Dagher |Joe Pinsker |Oyin Adedoyin

$13.75/Week $1.75/Week Includes digital access to The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron's and Investor’s Business Daily
Americans Have $35 Trillion in Housing Wealth-and It’s Costing Them

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Veronica Dagher |Anne Tergesen

After accounting for mortgage payments, their home equity—the portion of their home they own outright—grew by about $525,000. But there was another surprise: Their property taxes have increased by more than 50% since the purchase after multiple reassessments, to nearly $21,000 annually. They know this is a fortunate problem to have, especially since they can still pay their bills. But the higher property taxes have pushed them to trim discretionary spending.
Americans Have $35 Trillion in Housing Wealth—and It’s Costing Them | Flipboard

2 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Veronica Dagher |Anne Tergesen

4 hours agoWith Llama 4, Meta fudged benchmarks to appear as though its new AI model is better than the competition. Over the weekend, Meta dropped two new Llama 4 models: a smaller model named Scout, and Maverick, a mid-size model that the company claims can beat GPT-4o and Gemini 2.0 Flash “across a broad …
Vehicles were already unaffordable before tariffs

2 weeks ago | elpasoinc.com | Joe Pinsker |Veronica Dagher

President Trump’s auto tariffs are about to give another boost to car prices that have already surged over the past four years. That will be an additional burden on household budgets. One common but rough financial guideline is that the monthly payment on an auto loan should be no more than 10% of one’s take-home pay. But even the average used-car payment is right around that threshold for an average American, and a new-car payment is already beyond it.
For some, retirement begins at 55 or earlier

2 weeks ago | elpasoinc.com | Anne Tergesen |Veronica Dagher

Ask people when they expect to retire and they are likely to say age 65. But that is not how it usually plays out. Some stay at their jobs into their 70s and 80s, and many hang it up far earlier. About one in five retirees reported leaving a career at age 55 or younger, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, below the median retirement age of 62. Early retirement doesn’t look much like the polished social-media posts made by “financial independence, retire early” influencers.
Americans Were Already Struggling to Afford Cars Before Trump’s Auto Tariffs

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Joe Pinsker |Veronica Dagher

Common advice to not spend more than 10% of pay on a car loan payment is getting harder to followPresident Trump’s auto tariffs are about to give another boost to car prices that have already surged over the past four years. That will be an additional burden on household budgets. One common but rough financial guideline is that the monthly payment on an auto loan should be no more than 10% of one’s take-home pay.
Here’s What It’s Like to Retire in America at Age 55 or Younger

3 weeks ago | kanebridgenews.com | Anne Tergesen |Veronica Dagher

Retirees open up about their finances and how they spend their time.
Here’s What It’s Like to Retire in America at Age 55 or Younger

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Anne Tergesen |Veronica Dagher

Ask people when they expect to retire and they are likely to say age 65. But that is not how it usually plays out. Some stay at their jobs into their 70s and 80s, and many hang it up far earlier. About one in five retirees reported leaving a career at age 55 or younger, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, below the median retirement age of 62. Early retirement doesn’t look much like the polished social-media posts made by “financial independence, retire early” influencers.
Here’s What It’s Like to Retire in America at Age 55 or Younger

3 weeks ago | on.wsj.com | Anne Tergesen |Veronica Dagher

$13.75/Week $1.75/Week Includes digital access to The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron's and Investor’s Business Daily
This 4-Bedroom Ranch in N.J. Tells You Everything About the Lopsided Housing Market

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Veronica Dagher

Two houses went on the market for similar prices at about the same time earlier this year. One got 25 offers. The other got none. There are many variables that determine demand, from the condition of the house to the price set by the seller. But one factor is having a major impact right now: geography. The Northeast and Midwest markets have far more prospective buyers than available homes. But parts of the Sunbelt are seeing a flood of houses for sale.