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Younger Americans are using refunds to stay afloat not splurge

• Nearly half of Gen Z and millennials are using tax refunds to pay bills or debt not spend marking a major mindset shift.

• Most refunds are going toward financial catch-up, not fun money, as fewer than 4% spend on travel or entertainment.

• If you want your refund to actually move you forward, focus on debt, staying current on bills, and building a small safety cushion.

Tax refunds used to feel like a bonus. A trip, a splurge, something fun. But new data shows that for a lot of younger Americans, that mindset is gone.

According to Beyond Finance and Operation HOPE, nearly half of Gen Z and Millennials are using their refunds to pay bills or reduce debt. They are not looking at it like extra cash. Instead theyre using it as a financial reset.

Where the money is going (and why it matters)

• Around 45% are using refunds for bills or debt.
• Less than 4% are spending it on travel or entertainment.
• 77% rely on tools like Buy Now, Pay Later, indicating that refunds will be used to pay those down.

Overall, Gen Z and Millennials arent getting ahead financially.Theyre just trying to stay afloat, and using their refund to help.

Heres how touse your refund so it makes a difference beyond this month.

Knock out high-interest debt first

This is the highest-impact move you can make.

Credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later balances often carry high interest or hidden fees. If youre only making minimum payments, a big chunk of your money is going toward interest, not the balance.

Using your refund to pay down (or wipe out) even one account can:

• Lower your monthly payments.
• Reduce total interest paid over time.
• Free up cash in your budget immediately.

Pro tip: Its smart to start with the highest interest rate firstnot necessarily the account with the smallest balance. Thats where your money is leaking the fastest every month.

Catch up on overdue or behind bills

Depending on the size of your refund, ifyoure behind on rent, utilities, or subscriptions, this is a chance to reset everything back to zero.

By getting current, it does the following:

• Stops penalties from stacking.
• Gives you a clean slate going into the next month.
• Makes your budget more predictable again.

Its smart to start with anything that impacts your daily life (housing, utilities, insurance).

Build a small emergency buffer

This is the step people skip, and it is often why they end up back in debt.

If you use your entire refund to catch up, the next unexpected expense (car repair, medical bill, school cost) goes right back on a credit card.

Depending on the size of your refund, even setting aside $300$500 can give you breathing room for small emergencies and help break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

Put this money in a separate savings account so youre not tempted to spend it.

Plan your spending before you touch the money

The fastest way to waste your refund is to treat it like a bonus and figure it out later.

Without a plan, the money usually disappears into:

• Small impulse purchases.
• Upgraded versions of things you didnt need.
• Random expenses that dont move you forward.

Instead, decide ahead of time:

• X% goes to debt
• X% goes to bills
• X% (if any) is for fun

If you want to spend some of your refund as a reward,be sure to cap it. Even blowing $50$100 on something fun can scratch that itch without undoing your progress.

California residents pay the most, West Virginians pay the least

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• U.S. households now spend nearly $25,000 annually on essential bills, with costs varying widely by location.

• The most expensive states exceed the national median by up to 38%, while the least expensive fall as much as 47% below it.

• North Carolina and New Hampshire recorded the largest year-over-year increases in household bill costs.

A new report from bill payment platform doxo underscores a growing divide in the cost of living across the United States, as essential household expenses continue to climb and vary sharply by region.

The companys 2026 Cost of Bills Index(COBI) Report finds that Americans are facing record-high bill expenses, with the typical household now spending about $2,083 per month, or nearly $25,000 annually, on core obligations such as housing, utilities, and insurance. Overall, the national bill pay market has reached an estimated $5.03 trillion.

The report also highlights stark geographic disparities. Residents in the most expensive states including California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts pay between 28% and 38% more than the national median for essential bills. By contrast, households in states such as West Virginia, Mississippi, and Arkansas spend significantly less, with costs running as much as 47% below the median.

Access to clear, localized data is critical to helping consumers better understand and manage their financial obligations, said Steve Shivers, co-founder and CEO of doxo. He said the index is designed to give consumers a standardized way to compare costs and make more informed financial decisions.

Among the most expensive states, California tops the list with a Cost of Bills Index score of 138, followed by Hawaii (131), and Massachusetts (128). New Jersey and Maryland round out the top five.

Bills are a lot less in West Virginia

At the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia stands out as the most affordable state, with a COBI score of 53 nearly half the national median. Mississippi (74), Arkansas (76), and both Oklahoma and Alabama (77) also rank among the least expensive.

The divide is even more pronounced at the city level. San Jose, California, ranks as the most expensive major city, with costs 76% above the national median. New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, and Boston also rank among the priciest urban areas.

Meanwhile, cities such as Pittsburgh, Dayton, Detroit, Cleveland, and El Paso offer comparatively lower costs, with household bills running 16% to 21% below the median.

The report arrives as rising costs continue to strain household budgets nationwide. Year-over-year increases were led by North Carolina, where household bills rose 7%, followed by New Hampshire at 5.4%.

New research suggests early health could influence economic mobility later in life

• Childhood obesity is linked to lower chances of earning more than ones parents in adulthood.

• Researchers used long-term data and genetic analysis to isolate obesitys specific impact.

• The study found a measurable mobility penalty, with effects tied to education, health, and job outcomes.

When people talk about climbing the economic ladder, the focus is usually on education, family background, or where someone grows up. But new research from Rutgers University suggests another factor may play a role: childhood health.

Specifically, the study found that children who experience obesity may face added challenges when it comes to improving their financial standing as adults. Researchers describe this as more than a health issue it may also influence long-term economic opportunity.

The concept at the center of the research is intergenerational mobility, or whether children go on to earn more than their parents. According to the findings, childhood obesity could quietly shape that trajectory in ways that arent always obvious early on.

Childhood obesity isnt just a health crisis, researcher Yanhong Jin said in a news release. It is an economic mobility crisis.

How the study was conducted

To explore this link, researchers analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a large, ongoing project that has followed more than 20,000 Americans from their teenage years into adulthood.

This dataset is particularly valuable because it tracks participants over decades, collecting detailed information on their health, education, income, and even genetic factors. The most recent data includes follow-ups extending into the mid-2020s.

One key feature of the study is its use of genetic information related to body mass index (BMI). Researchers created a genetic tool to help separate the effects of obesity itself from other influences like family income, environment, or cognitive ability.

By doing this, they aimed to isolate whether obesity independently affects economic outcomes, rather than simply reflecting other disadvantages someone may face growing up.

What the researchers found

The results point to a consistent pattern: individuals who were obese as children experienced lower upward economic mobility compared to their peers. On average, their income ranking in adulthood was about 20 percentile points lower relative to their parents.

The study also found differences in where people ended up living. Those who experienced obesity in childhood were less likely to live in higher-income neighborhoods or areas with lower poverty rates later in life.

Researchers identified several factors that may help explain this gap. Childhood obesity was associated with lower educational attainment, ongoing health challenges, and differences in the types of jobs people held as adults.

The effects were not uniform across all groups. The economic impact appeared stronger for girls, children from lower-income families, and those who grew up in certain regions of the U.S.

Overall, the findings suggest that early health may be one piece of a much larger puzzle when it comes to economic mobility highlighting how experiences in childhood can carry into adulthood in complex ways.

Interventions that reduce childhood obesity can deliver benefits well beyond lowering medical spending, coauthor Man Zhang. They can support higher educational attainment, improve job prospects, and increase upward economic mobility for the next generation.

Large-scale review questions whether cannabis helps mental health conditions at all

• The largest review of its kind found no evidence that medicinal cannabis treats depression.

• Researchers analyzed decades of clinical trials but found limited or inconsistent results.

• The study raises questions about widespread use for mental health conditions.

Medicinal cannabis is often marketed and widely used as a way to manage mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. But a major new analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry suggests the evidence simply isnt there.

Led by researchers at the University of Sydney, the study set out to evaluate whether cannabis-based medicines actually improve symptoms of depression and other psychiatric conditions.

Their conclusion was clear: theres no reliable evidence showing that medicinal cannabis is effective for treating depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

This matters because these conditions are among the most common reasons people seek out medical cannabis.

Though our paper didnt specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes, for example a greater risk of psychotic symptoms and developing cannabis use disorder, and delaying the use of more effective treatments, researcher Dr. Jack Wilson said in a news release.

How the study was conducted

To get a clearer picture, researchers conducted a large systematic review and meta-analysis essentially pooling data from existing studies to assess overall trends.

They screened thousands of studies and ultimately included 54 randomized controlled trials, which are considered the gold standard for testing medical treatments. These trials spanned several decades, from 1980 through 2025, and involved a total of 2,477 participants.

Importantly, the researchers focused only on trials where cannabinoids were used as a primary treatment for mental health or substance use disorders. Observational studies and less rigorous data were excluded to ensure stronger scientific reliability.

The analysis covered a wide range of conditions, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and others commonly treated with cannabis-based products.

What the researchers found

After analyzing the data, the researchers found no convincing evidence that medicinal cannabis improves symptoms of depression. In fact, for depression specifically, there was a notable lack of high-quality trials directly testing its effectiveness.

Across mental health conditions more broadly, the findings were similar: cannabis-based treatments generally did not produce meaningful improvements in core symptoms.

The study also highlighted that, while some limited benefits were observed for certain conditions (like sleep issues or Tourette syndrome), the overall quality of evidence was low and inconsistent.

Taken together, the results suggest that despite growing popularity, medicinal cannabis is not supported by strong clinical evidence as a treatment for depression and may not be a reliable option for mental health care based on current research.