CBO: Under the latest Senate healthcare bill, deductibles could be more than some people earn

The latest effort by Republicans in the Senate to overhaul the US healthcare system could have an unexpected effect on deductibles (the money you pay before insurance kicks in): they could get so high they're actually more than the poorest Americans earn. The CBO estimates that by 2026 the second-lowest-priced plans (the silver plans, in the Obamacare marketplace) would have $13,000 deductibles. Under the Affordable Care Act currently, a deductible for the same plan would be $5,000 in 2026.

• 
  GOP Leaders Want to Vote on Health Care Soon. But They're Facing an Uphill Battle

  Time
• 
  Senate Republicans Report New Life On Their Health Care Bill

  HuffPost

Walmart Making Move to Streamline In-Store Merchandisers

◊Walmart (WMT) is said to have announced a new merchandising service program internally that drops the number to five companies able to manage supplier displays and other services in over 4,600 U.S. stores, Talkbusiness.net reports. In-store merchandisers are a large group of mostly hourly contract workers that set up and check on supplier displays in Walmart stores. Recently more third party companies have popped up and the number of merchandisers in stores haven't been following consistent protocols. Walmart U.S. chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies outlined new guidelines for the company's Merchandising Services Program in a July 18 memo to suppliers, Talk Business added. The new effort

Here is why your savings rate is more important than your investments’ returns

It is only natural for investors to want assets with the best possible performance and lowest costs, but the secret to building wealth has less to do with returns and more to do with your savings rate, according to analysts at Pension Partners. In other words, the amount of money you contribute to your retirement fund is far more important than what investment vehicles the money is parked in, as you can control the former but not the latter. It makes sense intuitively. Saving $20,000 a year will grow your wealth a lot faster than saving $10,000 a year. But even incremental savings-rate increases play a far bigger role than corresponding increases in the rate of return. To illustrate the importance

• 
  Keep More of Your Retirement Savings with Tax-Bracket Planning

  Kiplinger.com
• What to Do When Your TFSA Is Maxed Out?

  Yahoo! Canada Finance