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January is financial wellness month. That makes it the perfect time to work on improving financial habits, including saving more money, paying down bills, saving for retirement and life goals, and ensuring you and your family are protected from risks.

The Zebra takes a closer look at what financial wellness means and how having sufficient insurance coverage can safeguard it.

What Financial Wellness Means for You

When most people think of “wellness,” they likely focus on good physical and mental health. But finances can have a wellness component, too, that is just as important to take stock of. Alarmingly, a 2024 Guardian Life report reveals that only 30% of adults currently report good financial health, the lowest level in 14 years.

“Financial wellness is really about having enough stability and breathing room so that a single unexpected event does not unravel years of hard work. Revisiting your financial wellness from time to time can help you catch gaps before they show up at the worst possible moment,” explains Taylor Kovar, a Certified Financial Professional.

Ask Paul Ferrara, senior wealth counselor at Avenue Investment Management, and he’ll tell you that financial wellness implies having a liquid reserve of three to six months of expenses and trying to grow your total wealth faster than the rising cost of living.

With the turn of a calendar year and a focus on New Year’s resolutions, January is an ideal time to scrutinize your financial wellness, set goals, and strive for improvement in how you manage your dollars.

“People should reassess their financial position in January since cost increases and lifestyle modifications can change the trajectory of their long-term plans,” says Ferrara.

According to a recent national survey by The Zebra, 69% of policyholders are at least somewhat likely to conduct an “insurance checkup” in January to look for savings and improve coverage.

TheZebra

Financial wellness planning involves more than just budgeting or saving. It’s about being prepared for life’s uncertainties and protecting your financial security.

“It also means making sure that insurance risks are properly managed so that unexpected events don’t wreak havoc on your household,” Loretta Worter

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Demographics are perhaps some of the most important indicators for the housing market. An area’s demographics can impact housing demand, where builders operate, what type of housing product is required, and what design elements are most important.

As the U.S. becomes more diverse — with nonwhite populations accounting for a growing share of the nation’s workforce, household formation, and first-time buyers — this shift is likely to affect housing activity.

To understand how and where these shifts are occurring, NewHomeSource parent company Zonda analyzed Census data* across 49 major markets to identify how demographic composition may align with future homeownership trends.

A good starting point to understand the scale and direction of the demographic shift in the U.S. is the national population picture. In 2023, 39.5% of the national population identified as nonwhite. Ten years ago, this share was 26.3%; 20 years ago, the share was 23.9%.

Among the 49 metros analyzed by Zonda, the story is even more pronounced. Nonwhite residents made up 49.8% of all residents in 2023 across these markets, nearly 10% above the national figure. California led the way, with markets including San Jose (70.9%), Stockton (68.8%), Los Angeles/Orange County (67.1%), and Riverside/San Bernardino (68.5%) with shares well above the national share. Conversely, Mountain West metros such as Fort Collins (17.3%), Provo (18.8%), and Denver (34.4%) had shares below the national average.

Generational Distribution

Beyond the population share, the generational makeup of the nonwhite population provides a clearer window into how long-term housing demand may be impacted. Younger age structures among many nonwhite groups mean a larger share of the population is advancing into life stages associated with preparing for homeownership, putting pressure on both the rental and ownership markets over the next decade. Nationally, each younger generation is more diverse than the one before it. In 2023, 27.5% of Baby Boomers identified as nonwhite, compared with 38.5% of Gen X, 43.1% of Millennials, and 46.3% of Gen Z.

Zonda

The generational progression is also evident across most of the major markets analyzed by Zonda. In nearly every market, diversity increases as generations get younger, suggesting the pool of prospective buyers will not only increase, but also become more diverse over time.

Approximately 70% of the top markets had a higher share of nonwhite Ge

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The U.S. stock market had another solid year in 2025. The S&P 500 gained about 18% in total — the third straight year of double-digit returns, thanks mostly to the AI hype.

But dig a little deeper, and things look a lot messier for anyone trying to pick individual stocks. The gains weren’t spread around evenly. A few superstar stocks crushed it, while tons of others barely moved or even tanked. Finder.com examines what the sector splits from last year show.

Finder.com

Even inside the same industries, results were all over the map — some companies soared while others in the same group fell hard. And the whole rally? It was carried by just a handful of big names, not a wide crowd of winners.

As if picking stocks wasn’t tough enough already.

A small group of AI-related winners — think data storage, memory chips and semiconductors — carried much of the market, while many otherwise good companies got left behind or took big hits.

Picking the right ones was brutal. Stocks were moving way more independently than usual — monthly single-stock dispersion averaged 27.4% annualized, the third-highest reading since 2008. This means stocks’ returns varied greatly from one another, even when the overall market looked positive.

Data on sector averages, top and bottom performers and company-level breadth — the percentage of stocks up versus down within each sector — underscores just how uneven the year truly was.

Overall market and sector performance: Polarization beneath the surface

The broad market’s respectable return hid dramatic differences across the 11 major sectors.

Information Technology led with an average gain of 32.9%, fueled by the ongoing AI boom — especially semiconductors, memory and data infrastructure.

Communication Services followed at 18.9%, while Industrials, Utilities, Financials, Consumer Discretionary and others posted mid-teens to single-digit gains.

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