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Crypto Christmas: Surveys show that one in ten Americans are gifting cryptocurrency to loved ones and friends this holiday season. Bitcoin continues to be the popular choice with Dogecoin and Ethereum coming in a distant second and third. While crypto is a popular topic, the ‘crypto curious’ outnumber the ‘crypto experts.’ If you fall into the former category, reach out to your advisor today for further education on how to invest and how blockchain technology works.

Early Retirement: A full 25% of Gen Z respondents to a new survey by Goldman Sachs Asset Management said they plan to retire before the age of 55. Most of the retired people surveyed did leave the workforce early—but later in life. The most common age was between age 60 and 64. Only 8% retired before age 55. Young workers seem to think they will need less money annually in retirement relative to the traditional rule of thumb of 80% of pre-retirement income.

Inflation Up: U.S. inflation hit an all time high in November, rising 6.8%. That was the fastest pace since 1982 and the sixth straight month in which inflation topped 5%. The November prices trend came before the Omnicron variant. The rising inflation strengthens the case for Federal Reserve officials to agree at their meeting this week to accelerate the wind-down of their stimulus efforts. Fed officials have said they expect prices to remain elevated over the next few months, particularly after energy prices rose this fall.

2021 Emoji Use: The pandemic changed many things of modern life—the clothes we wear or the foods we eat, for example. But our emoji use hasn’t changed much. According to data, 9 out of 10 most used emojis were the same from 2019 (the last time data was collected). The red heart emoji held the number two spot, with the tears of joy emoji ranking number one despite Gen Z deeming it uncool. 😂❤️