A Column · Every Saturday
Realistic Money
The week's numbers, the laws that reach your paycheck, and one thing you can do about it. No side, no pitch, every figure sourced.
Every Saturday morning this column does the same job. It reads the week's stock market closes. It reads the price of oil, gold, silver and Bitcoin. It reads the inflation report when there is one and the Federal Reserve when it meets. It notes any new law or rule that touched a household or a small business that week, and how the industries involved responded. Then it says plainly what those things might mean for a family in Montgomery County that is neither poor nor rich.
The column has no politics. It does not tell you whether a law is good. It tells you what the law says and who it reaches, and what the paperwork is. When something is genuinely contested, it says so and gives both readings.
Each Saturday runs two to four pieces. The recap always. At least one resource a reader can act on. When the week calls for it, a plain-language walk through something new on the books. Every number links to where it came from.
Saturdays
October 10, 2026
The Saturday Recap
The week the 30-year mortgage hit 7.40% and stocks finished near a record
Freddie Mac's weekly average rose again, to 7.40%, from 6.30% a year ago. The S&P 500 gained 1.2% anyway. A hurricane shut most of the oil pumped in U.S. Gulf waters, gold and silver rose Friday, and next Wednesday brings September prices and next year's Social Security raise. What the same house loan costs now against a year ago.
Resource
Medicare's open enrollment starts Thursday. The 2027 drug-cost numbers that changed, and what happens if you do nothing
From October 15 to December 7, people on Medicare can change their health or drug plan for January 1. The Part D deductible ceiling rises to $700 and the yearly out-of-pocket cap to $2,400. The letter to look for, the default, a worked household, and the free state counselors.
Resource
Next year's Social Security raise is set Wednesday. How the number is made, and what it does to a $2,000 check
The 2027 cost-of-living adjustment comes out October 14, the morning September prices are released. It is three months of one price index against the same three months a year earlier. The forecasts, the arithmetic on a typical check, and the Medicare premium that comes out of the same deposit.
October 3, 2026
The Saturday Recap
The week hiring stalled at 29,000 and the 30-year mortgage reached 7.28%
Employers added 29,000 jobs in September and the odds of an October Fed increase fell from almost 70% to 18%. Mortgage rates went the other way. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge came in lower, partly on a new method. What the same house loan costs now against a year ago.
Resource
Sell online to a buyer in Europe? From November 1, every item on the customs form carries three product codes
The European Union starts enforcing its product-identifier rule on parcels sold to consumers on November 1. It covers a used jacket as much as a new one, at any price. Which three codes, where each one usually hides, what happens to a parcel without them, and the gift in the mail that the rule does not reach.
September 26, 2026
The Saturday Recap
The week mortgage rates crossed 7% and oil gave back 8%
The ten-year Treasury yield reached about 5.1%, its highest since 2007, and Freddie Mac's 30-year average hit 7.03%. Stocks rose anyway, oil fell 8% on talk of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and gold and silver lost ground. What the same house loan costs now against a year ago.
Resource
The property tax bill comes in October. Four ways to pay it, and what missing January 31 costs
Montgomery County's statements go out in October and are due January 31. The quarter plan for homeowners 65 and over, disabled or disabled veterans, the pre-payment plan for next year's bill, what escrow means, card fees, and the penalty that starts at 7% on February 1.
September 19, 2026
The Saturday Recap
The week the Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023
A quarter point, a 12-0 vote, and the prime rate at big banks up to 7% the next morning. Oil stayed above $100, Texas gasoline hit $3.93 and diesel set a record. Gold and silver rose anyway. What a hike reaches, what it does not, and how long each one takes.
Resource
If somebody knocks about solar panels, a Texas law that started this month gives you five business days and a two-page form
Solar retailers and salespeople now have to register with the state. The contract has to come with a disclosure form that answers 19 questions, including whether a lien can go on the house. The cancellation window is written into the statute. What to ask for at the door, and the number to call.
New on the Books
New on the books: you can now get the parts to fix your own laptop, and gold is legal tender in Texas
Two Texas laws took effect September 1. One makes manufacturers sell parts, tools and manuals to you and to independent repair shops. The other recognizes gold and silver as money and puts the state on a deadline to build a way to spend it. What each one covers, what it leaves out, and what nobody is required to do.
September 12, 2026
The Saturday Recap
The week oil crossed $100 and the Fed started talking about a hike
Stocks fell four days and bounced on Friday. Gasoline pushed August inflation to 3.4%. Gold slipped, silver had its third losing week, and Bitcoin sits about $38,000 below where it was a year ago. What each of those does to a household budget in Montgomery County.
Resource
Your kid may have $250 waiting. How the new children's accounts work, and how to claim the Dell money
The federal accounts opened July 4. Newborns get $1,000 from Treasury. Kids ten and under in ZIP codes like 77354 get $250 from Michael and Susan Dell, and the deposits started landing two weeks ago. Nothing arrives until a parent opens the account.
New on the Books
New on the books: seven changes that reach a normal paycheck this year
Tips and overtime, the senior deduction, car-loan interest, the bigger standard deduction, fewer 1099s, and two Texas property-tax changes voters approved in November. What each one is, who it reaches, and the paperwork it needs.
How this column is made. Realistic Money gathers numbers published by sources we name and link, and explains what they might mean for a household around here. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice. The paper holds no position in anything mentioned and takes no payment for inclusion. Corrections to editor@themagnoliastandard.news.