Hot or cold?

Welcome to The Money, where we break down financial news and provide the TL;DR version of how decisions by the Federal Reserve, government and companies impact you.

Is the economy hot or cold?

Convinced the labor market was cooling quickly, the Federal Reserve last month lowered its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than four years by a jump half-percentage point. Since then, we've seen reports of a whopping 254,000 new jobs created in September and slightly higher-than-expected inflation . Should we be worried?

Not if you're Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee. He told USA Today on Thursday one month of data doesn't determine Fed policy and that the "long arc" view continues to point to a "gradual pace" of rate cuts, including more this year if conditions remain the same.

Social Security gets a raise, sort of

Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 2.5% annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) next year. It's the smallest increase since 2021 and is down from 3.2% this year , in line with the cool down in inflation this year.

With the 2.5% increase, the average beneficiary will see their monthly payment rise next year by $50, which many retirees said won't be enough to offset increasing prices of things they spend the most money on.

For example, health care eats up a large portion of seniors' budget and continues to rise faster than overall inflation . In the 12 months to September, medical care services rose 3.6% and hospital care services were up 4.5%, compared to 2.4% for overall inflation.

Hurricane-hit residents get an extension

A string of severe storms , tornadoes , flooding , wildfires , mudslides and other weather-related disasters this year has meant that the IRS is giving extra time to many people in a long list of communities to file their taxes. Deadlines will vary depending on the disaster and the locality. Make sure to understand the extended deadline that applies to your area, as some deadlines can even vary within a given state.

Plus, those hit by major disasters can receive significant relief, including being able to claim disaster-related casualty losses for either the year the disaster took place or the prior year for uninsured or unreimbursed losses.

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