A well-planned retirement can deliver sweet returns over time. New research from Empower finds that 68% of Americans say “retiring well” means having the financial freedom to live a little and enjoy experiences, while just as many value the security of reaching their savings goals.

Nearly half (49%) prioritize a high quality of life, and 37% say being close to loved ones is what matters most. When it comes to where to settle down, 86% want to retire somewhere they can maintain their lifestyle stress-free, and 39% hope to live in a dream destination.

Read more about the big and little joys of retirement in The Currency^TM.

— The Editors 

🏡 Home sweet home: The luxury home market is heating up with sales of $1 million-plus homes increasing 7.1% in 2024. Prices are up 7.6%, doubling the pace of traditional markets. Dreamscrolling is a pastime for the 21% of Americans who browse home listings for fun. And for those thinking big, there’s a 50,000-square-foot Florida spec house listed for a record-setting $285 million.*

🐔 No fowl play: Chick-fil-A hopes to make drive-thrus even faster, rolling out drive-thru-only spots able to serve up to 700* cars per hour. The chicken chain notched $21.6 billion in sales in 2023, with about 60% of its sales now coming from drive-thrus. Across the industry, 43% of all fast-food orders in the U.S., totaling $140 billion, happen from the driver’s seat. Consumers spent an average of $37.80 on fast-casual food in December 2024, according to Empower Personal Dashboard^TM data.

🍯 Sweet spot for credit: Nearly 1 in 4 Americans (24%) now hold a FICO score between 800 and the golden 850, but hitting 760 is the benchmark for unlocking most top-tier credit perks.

📅 It's a date: April 15, 2025 marks the deadline for filing 2024 taxes, and new tax breaks could help filers keep more of their income. Adjustments to tax brackets, a boosted standard deduction, and shifts in the Child Tax Credit could mean a sweeter return for some taxpayers. Read more in The Currency. 

The price of love

Consumers are smitten with Valentine’s Day: Spending this year is projected to reach a record $27.5 billion,* up 6.6% from 2024, according to the National Retail Federation.

With shoppers planning to lay out $188.81 on average, candy tops the gift list for 56%, followed by flowers (40%), greeting cards (40%), an evening out (35%), and jewelry (22%).

Empower research shows that 67% of Americans consider love more important than advancing in their careers. And 60% would spend less on luxury/non-essential items for themselves if it improved their romantic life.

The AI attraction

Generative AI is making itself at home in daily life and business, with the market expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032. More than half (51%) of businesses that adopted GenAI in the past 2 years have seen at least 10% revenue increases, and 78% of executives find it so appealing that they plan to increase AI spending in the next year.

Consumers are crushing on AI, too: 21% say they would use it to recommend money moves to plan for retirement, 1 in 4 would rely on it for paying bills on time, and 23% would use it to build budgets. 

Turning up the heat

Sweet and spicy are a match made in flavor heaven. McCormick’s 2025 Flavor of the Year, aji amarillo,* has a distinct “swicy” combination of fruity notes and tropical heat and is set to take over menus, with a 44% increase in restaurant appearances expected.

Demand for food and beverages with “spicy” in the description grew 9%* in 2024 year over year, and some companies are answering the trend with innovative additions. Fast-casual favorite Chipotle has offered limited-time flavor “chipotle honey chicken,” and Starbucks has introduced spicy iced drinks such as dragon fruit lemonade.

🏈 Sweet teams are made of this

The Dallas Cowboys take top spot as the world’s most valuable sports team at $10.1 billion,* and the most profitable with estimated annual profits of $564 million. Beyond ticket sales and merch, stadium rights bring in additional revenue from concerts and other non-sporting events.

The NFL dominates, with 9 of the 20 most valuable teams, but the NBA is making moves as a power player — new media deals could more than double revenue next year, shaking up the rankings