Realistic Money · The Saturday Recap · November 14, 2026
The week inflation ran hot, stocks won back their loss and Congress passed the VA raise
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October and the S&P 500 still gained 2.5% for the week. Gold had its worst week since June, Bitcoin fell below $70,000, and mortgages eased for a fourth week. Congress sent the 3.6% veterans raise toward the President, and the IRS set next year's 401(k) limit. What it adds up to here.
By The Magnolia Standard · Published November 14, 2026
Tuesday's inflation report came in hotter than forecast, and by Friday traders were treating a December rate hike as close to settled. Stocks rose anyway. Gold did not. In Washington, the veterans raise cleared its last vote on Veterans Day, and the IRS set next year's retirement limits.
The market: a 2.5% week
The S&P 500 closed Friday at 7,561.67, down 0.4% on the day but up 184.81 points, or 2.5%, for the week, the Associated Press reported. That is nearly all of the 2.7% it lost the week before. The Dow finished at 52,347.55, up 2.1% for the week. The Nasdaq closed at 25,136.27, up 2.3%.
For the year, the S&P 500 is up 10.5%, the Dow 8.9% and the Nasdaq 8.2%.
Oil: a second losing week
Brent settled Friday at $95.84 a barrel, up 2 cents, and West Texas Intermediate at $88.56, down 18 cents, Reuters reported via CNBC. Both fell about 2.5% for the week, after a 13% to 16% drop the week before. Reuters pointed to Washington's plan to keep its blockade of Iran in place and to a report from the International Energy Agency, which said the oil market will be in surplus this quarter for the first time since the war began, Bloomberg wrote.
At the pump, AAA's Friday reading put the Texas average for regular at $3.35 a gallon, down from $3.55 a week earlier and $3.84 a month ago. A year ago it was $2.65. The Houston-area average was $3.41. Texas diesel averaged $5.48, against $3.27 a year ago.
Inflation: 0.4% in October, and no yearly number
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October after 0.6% in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Leaving out food and energy, prices rose 0.3%, the third month in a row at that pace. Energy rose 0.7%, food 0.5% and shelter 0.3%.
The report carries no year-over-year figure this month. The bureau did not collect price data in October 2025, during the lapse in federal funding, so there is no October 2025 index to compare against. The November report is due Thursday, December 10.
On Friday the producer price index, which tracks what businesses get for their goods and services, rose 0.3% for October and 6.5% over 12 months.
The Fed: December 9
The Federal Reserve's range is 3.75% to 4%, and the next decision is December 9. Friday morning, markets put an 89.4% chance on a quarter-point increase and a 10.6% chance on a half point, Reuters reported. Before the producer price report, the quarter-point figure was 96.2%. Those are prices on a bet, not a decision.
Mortgages: 7.11%, a fourth weekly drop
Freddie Mac's Thursday survey put the average 30-year rate at 7.11%, down from 7.18% and the lowest in seven weeks. A year ago it was 6.24%. The 15-year average fell to 6.45% from 6.57%.
Gold and silver: the worst week since June
Gold fell 3% on Thursday to its lowest level in more than a year. Friday morning it was $3,898.84 an ounce, up 0.6% on the day but down more than 4% for the week, on course for its worst week since early June, Reuters reported. Silver was $49.91. A week earlier, gold closed at $4,064.50 and silver at $51.80. Reuters tied the slide to the hotter inflation report and the expectation of higher rates, which weigh on a metal that pays no interest.
Bitcoin: under $70,000
Bitcoin was $69,134.72 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, down 5.6% from the morning before and 30.7% below a year earlier, according to Fortune. Last Friday morning it was about $76,000, so the week took off roughly 9%.
Veterans: the raise passed Congress
The House passed H.R. 8552, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026, by voice vote on Monday. The Senate passed it without changes, also by voice vote, on Wednesday, Veterans Day. On congress.gov Friday it showed as passed by both chambers and not yet signed.
Once it becomes law, VA disability compensation and survivors' payments rise December 1 by the same 3.6% Social Security gets. For a veteran rated 100% with no dependents, that is about $4,080 a month, up from $3,938.58. Military retired pay rises 3.6% on its own, with no bill needed. The full table and what the bill does not touch are in this week's New on the Books. Texas property tax exemptions for veterans are in Veterans Resources.
New on the books
On Thursday the IRS set the 2027 retirement limits in IR-2026-136. A 401(k), 403(b), government 457 plan or the Thrift Savings Plan takes up to $25,500, up $1,000. The IRA limit stays at $7,500. Catch-up amounts and the new income ranges are in the 2027 limits piece.
Two days earlier the agency reminded filers that cash given to charity this year can be deducted even by people who take the standard deduction: up to $1,000, or $2,000 for a married couple. What counts and what records to keep are in this week's resource.
- December 1: the VA raise takes effect, if signed.
- December 9: the Fed's next decision.
- December 10: the November consumer price index.
- December 31: the last day for a 2026 gift to count toward the new charity deduction.
What it adds up to for a family here
Worked with this week's published numbers. The arithmetic is ours; every rate is the one printed above.
- If your household buys 15 gallons of regular a week, 70 cents a gallon more than a year ago is about $10.50 a week, or roughly $550 a year. Two weeks ago the gap was more than a dollar.
- If you are borrowing $260,000 on a 30-year loan, this week's 7.11% means about $1,749 a month in principal and interest. That is about $12 less than at last week's 7.18%, and about $150 more than at the year-ago 6.24%.
- If a veteran in 77354 is rated 70% with no dependents, the raise is about $65 a month, or about $780 a year, once the bill is law.
- If a married couple here earns $112,500 (about the 77354 median) and takes the standard deduction, a $2,000 cash gift to a qualifying charity this year cuts their federal tax by about $240, because their last dollars of income fall in the 12% bracket.
The default, if nobody in the house does anything at all: the VA raise and the new retirement limits arrive on their own schedule with no form to file, a fixed mortgage already signed stays where it is, and the charity deduction is simply not claimed.
Sources this week: the Associated Press index table as published by KRMG; Reuters via CNBC on Friday's oil settlements; Bloomberg via Rigzone; AAA's Texas gas prices as of November 13, 2026; the BLS releases for the consumer price index and producer price index for October 2026; the Federal Reserve meeting calendar; Reuters via Kitco on rate-hike pricing, gold and silver, Friday morning; Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey of November 12, 2026; Fortune on Bitcoin; the congress.gov action page for H.R. 8552, read November 13, 2026; the VA's current compensation rates; IRS releases IR-2026-136 and IR-2026-135. A Friday settlement for gold had not been published when the paper went to press, so the figures are Friday morning's.
Saturday Morning · Not money news
This weekend around Magnolia
- Today: Academy opens at Magnolia Village, 4353 Magnolia Village Dr. Our story.
- Today, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the second and last day of the Nutcracker Market, with more than 280 vendors, at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe. Admission is $5, cash.
Texas outdoors
The regular duck season in the North Zone opens today and runs through November 29, then reopens December 5 through January 31, on the Texas Parks and Wildlife calendar. Deer season, which opened last Saturday, continues through January 3.
More dates through December are on the paper's fall and holiday calendar.
How this column is made. Realistic Money runs every Saturday. It 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. If a number is wrong, write editor@themagnoliastandard.news and we correct it with a note.
Also this Saturday
The VA raise passed Congress: what 3.6% does to a disability check, rating by rating
The House passed the veterans cost-of-living bill on November 9 and the Senate on Veterans Day, both by voice vote. It raises VA disability compensation and survivors' payments by the same 3.6% Social Security gets, effective December 1. Where the bill stands, the math at five ratings, and what it does not touch.
The 2027 retirement limits: $25,500 for a 401(k), $7,500 for an IRA, and who can put in more
The IRS raised the workplace plan limit by $1,000 on Thursday and left the IRA limit where it was. The catch-up amounts by age, the new income ranges for Roth and deductible IRAs, and what a bigger contribution does to two Magnolia paychecks.
Giving to charity without itemizing: the new $1,000 deduction, the December 31 line and the receipts
Starting with this year's gifts, a household that takes the standard deduction can still deduct cash given to charity: up to $1,000, or $2,000 for a married couple. What counts, what does not, the records the IRS lists, and the tax math on two households in 77354.