We’ve talked a lot in this column about high taxes in New York State and other not always positive personal finance issues and statistics. So I was delighted to see this report: New York has the lowest proportion of residents who pay only the minimum on their credit card (s), 27.57%, which is 1.7 times lower than Mississippi, the state with the highest at 46.32%.

In the previous columns, we noted how bankruptcy filings declined dramatically during the second half of the pandemic. There were a number of reasons for the decline, including various moratoriums on things like federal student loans, evictions and mortgage foreclosures. In addition, the stimulus measures and the increase in unemployment benefits bought off many people with financial problems for a while. In addition, some people were denied access to courts and lawyers due to the closures. However, it was generally believed that as things returned to “normal” and these moratoriums and payments ended, there would be an increase in bankruptcies.

The recent American Bankruptcy Institute report confirms this prediction.

Although first quarter bankruptcies were down 40%, the total of 43,425 bankruptcy cases for March was a 39% increase from the 31,221 cases filed in the previous month of February. Likewise, total non-commercial deposits for March represented a 41 percent increase over non-commercial deposits for February 2021. Total commercial deposits in March represented a 16 percent increase over the 65 total commercial deposits in March. during the previous month.

In the last column, I continued my crusade, which is also the crusade of many others in the field of personal finance education, for this “Gold Standard”, a one-semester personal finance course, which will be required for every American high school student. diploma.

Montana State University’s Dr Carly Urban and Next Gen Personal Finance recently teamed up to study Access to Financial Education in 2021. After reviewing over 11,000 course catalogs in U.S. high schools, here are their relevant titles :

NATIONAL ACCESS: A in 5 U.S. public high school students, they are guaranteed to complete at least one semester of personal finance before graduation. Additionally, 68.9% of U.S. high school students have access to personal finance at least as a semester elective course. Outside of the current five guaranteed states (see below), 1 in 9 high school students are guaranteed to take a stand-alone personal finance course.

ADVOCACY ON EARTH: Gold Standard schools (where all students are guaranteed to take at least one semester of personal finance before graduation) have nearly doubled since 2019, from 804 to 1,546 in unsecured states and from 1,657 to 2,722 throughout. the country.

STATE-LEVEL ADVOCACY: Five states (Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia) currently guarantee a stand-alone personal finance course for all of their students. Mississippi and North Carolina will ensure that all students graduate from high school with a Class of 2022 and Class of 2024 Personal Finance course, respectively.

ADVOCACY FOR EQUAL ACCESS: Only 1 in 14 students attending a school with more than 75% black and brown students, and only 1 in 13 students attending a school with more than 75% eligibility for the free and discounted lunch, are guaranteed to take at least one semester of personal finance before graduation. On another topic that we’ve heard a lot about recently in the media, and that many Americans have actually experienced, based on their personal spending, is the increase in many prices as things reopen and markets. people spend more. These increases include certain groceries, gasoline, the prices of certain restaurants, gym equipment, lumber and other renovation and building materials, hotels, rental cars, and much more. . This price inflation is generally expected to readjust in the second half of 2021. Three of the main drivers of the price increase – rising production costs, supply chain disruptions and pent-up demand without the increase necessary of the offer – were recently explained at a White House briefing. It’s a “bit” technical, but interesting nonetheless. Here are some highlights:

First, if the cost of the materials needed to produce a good or service increases (think of the wood needed to build a house or the electricity needed to power a factory), a business can pass those costs on to consumers below. the form of prices; economists call it cost push inflation. In most cases, this type of inflation is transient.

Second, we have already seen supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. For example, the production of parts for goods like automobiles has at times been curtailed, especially at factories in Asia which are playing an increasingly central role in the global supply chain. Transportation and warehousing costs – land, air and sea – have also increased as freight logistics have become more difficult. In the short term, some companies may temporarily pass on the additional costs of these disruptions to higher consumer prices.

Finally, the prices of many of the services most susceptible to the pandemic – such as hotels, dining and air travel – have fallen due to reduced demand. However, as more people get vaccinated throughout the year, the demand for these and other high-reach services could increase and temporarily exceed supply. This surge in demand may in part be fueled by the savings many households have accumulated during the pandemic, as well as relief payments stemming from budget responses last year and this year. For example, Americans may have a high demand to eat at full-service restaurants later this year, but may find that there are fewer dining options than those open before the pandemic. This could encourage restaurants that are still open to increase their prices. Economists call the inflation resulting from these spurts in spending demand pulling inflation. Another reason that we have discussed in this column for some price increases, is the need for some companies to partially recover some of their losses during the pandemic. For example, the increase in the price of Buffalo Bills tickets.

I believe that with these price increases we need to focus and be careful with our short term expenses. We may not be able to “afford” all of our repressed personal demands.

John Ninfo is a retired bankruptcy judge and the founder of the National CARE Financial Literacy Program. Find his previous weekly columns on http://www.mpnnow.com/search?text=Ninfo or on http://www.monroecopost.com/search?text=Ninfo.