Smart Spending Tips breaks down consumer payment trends using 2024 data and explains the pros and cons of today’s most common payment methods so you can make more informed spending choices. Technology and financial innovation are changing the way Americans handle money. Some of these changes provide consumers with more choices and better efficiency. However, some carry risks and additional costs. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta recently updated its annual Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice. It tracks how Americans pay for goods and services, whether with cash, checks, credit cards or other methods. Looking at how these…

Edward Fishman’s timing is perfect. His book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare, was released one month into a new administration that views every economic relationship as a potential negotiating lever. Fishman’s book tells the story of a gradual, and then sudden, awakening of government officials to the power associated with squeezing or cutting off key arteries of economic connection to achieve political goals. Fishman is friends with Chris Miller, who introduced us to the idea of chokepoints in his book Chip War. Miller explained that every chip that goes into the world’s most advanced computers are…