THIS WEEK

What changed this week in future affordability

A factual changelog from Aspire's committed rate-data refresh. Values are trailing CAGRs at these assumptions, with sources and as-of dates shown.

Issue 2026-09-14 · Source data as of 2026-09-14 · Refresh threshold 0.05 percentage points

3 tracked cost-vector moves crossed 0.05 percentage points. Each row shows the prior and current trailing CAGR at these assumptions.

Weekly mover chart for the 2026-09-14 Aspire rate refresh

Moved up

Childcare — day care and preschool
Previous CAGR at these assumptions4.67%

Current CAGR at these assumptions4.90%

Move+0.23 pp

Childcare — day care and preschool rose 0.23 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: BLS CPI-U, Day care and preschool, U.S. city average, NSA. As of 2026-09-14.
Private K-12 tuition
Previous CAGR at these assumptions3.70%

Current CAGR at these assumptions3.80%

Move+0.10 pp

Private K-12 tuition rose 0.10 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: BLS API:CUUR0000SEEB02. As of 2026-09-14.

Moved down

Healthcare
Previous CAGR at these assumptions2.50%

Current CAGR at these assumptions2.37%

Move-0.13 pp

Healthcare fell 0.13 percentage points from the prior refresh. Source: FRED. As of 2026-09-14.

Unchanged notables

Vector	Current CAGR	Source	As of	Window
Cost of living (CPI)	3.34% at these assumptions	FRED	2026-09-14	2016-08-01 to 2026-08-01 (10 years)
Home — US national (Case-Shiller)	6.35% at these assumptions	FRED	2026-09-14	2016-06-01 to 2026-06-01 (10 years)
Rent — US (CPI rent of primary residence)	4.19% at these assumptions	BLS CPI-U, Rent of primary residence, U.S. city average, NSA	2026-09-14	2016-08-01 to 2026-08-01 (10 years)
Homeowner carrying costs (tax + insurance + upkeep)	3.60% at these assumptions	Composite — see methodology	2026-05-31	2015-12-01 to 2025-12-01 (10 years)
S&P 500 Total Return	15.37% at these assumptions	Yahoo Finance:^SP500TR	2026-09-14	2016-08-01 to 2026-08-01 (10 years)

Sources and method

Trailing compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Most rows use 10-year windows; childcare uses the 5-year methodology source-audit window. Equities/gold/BTC: monthly closes from Yahoo Finance; sp500 uses ^GSPC price-index closes, while sp500_total_return uses ^SP500TR dividends-reinvested total return. CPI sub-indices + national home: FRED/BLS monthly series. Metro-level homes: Zillow ZHVI (SFR + condo mid-tier, smoothed, seasonally adjusted). Metro-level rents: Zillow ZORI (all homes + multifamily, smoothed, seasonally adjusted). Tuition: College Board Trends in College Pricing (annual).

This page reports trailing source data from rates.json. It does not recommend any asset, account, allocation, security, mortgage, insurance product, or financial action.

See methodology

Moved up

Moved down

Unchanged notables

Sources and method

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