Burgers, Benjamins, and What a Dollar Buys — Jun 8, 2026
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"The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket." — Kin Hubbard
Jun 8, 2026
There Are Now 19.2 Billion $100 Bills in Circulation — More Than the 14.9 Billion $1 Bills, and the Most of Any Denomination — Yet Hardly Anyone Carries One
The humble single lost its crown years ago: by the Fed's latest count there are 19.2 billion Benjamins in circulation against 14.9 billion ones, which makes the $100 the most common U.S. bill of all. The catch is that you almost never see one, because an estimated 80% of them live abroad — squirreled into safes and under mattresses as the world's favorite way to hold dollars in cash.
Source: Federal Reserve — Volume of Currency in Circulation
A Big Mac Runs $9.08 in Switzerland and $2.47 in Taiwan — Against $6.12 Here — Which Is The Economist's Cheerfully Unscientific Way of Calling the Swiss Franc the World's Most Overpriced Currency
The Economist has priced burgers as a currency yardstick since 1986, and its January 2026 reading puts the Swiss franc a striking 48% "overvalued" against the dollar, with a Big Mac in Zurich going for $9.08 — while Taiwan's currency looks nearly 60% too cheap at $2.47. It's a joke with a real point buried inside: over the long run, exchange rates should drift toward making that identical sandwich cost the same everywhere, and they almost never do.
Source: The Economist — Big Mac Index (January 2026)
Americans Spend More Than $100 Billion a Year on Lottery Tickets — More Than on Movies, Music, Books, Video Games, and Concert Tickets Combined — and the Heaviest Players Are the Ones Who Can Least Afford to Play
Lottery sales have topped $100 billion a year for a while now, outrunning every other form of paid entertainment put together. Roughly 40 million habitual players account for about 80% of that, at something like $2,500 a head annually — and because lower-income households spend a far bigger slice of their paychecks on tickets than wealthy ones do, economists keep calling it a tax on hope.
Source: North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries / Wharton
Dads Come Up About $14 Billion Short: Americans Just Set a Record $38 Billion on Mother's Day, While Father's Day Spending Runs Closer to $24 Billion — and More of Dad's Goes to Steak Dinners and Power Tools Than Anything Sentimental
With Father's Day two weeks out, the yearly reminder arrives: the National Retail Federation clocked a record $38 billion spent on mom this spring, against the roughly $24 billion Americans reliably hand over for dad — a gap of about $14 billion. The split says something, too — Mother's Day leans on jewelry and flowers, while Father's Day quietly keeps the country's steakhouses and hardware aisles in business.
Source: National Retail Federation
On a Lighter Note: Costco's Hot-Dog-and-Soda Combo Has Cost $1.50 Since 1985 — It Would Run Close to $4.70 Today If It Had Merely Kept Pace With Inflation — and the CEO Says It Isn't Going Anywhere on His Watch
Reagan was in his first term the last time this price moved, and four decades of inflation later the combo would fetch nearly $4.70 if Costco let it float; instead it's still $1.50, a deliberate money-loser the company swallows to keep shoppers walking through the door. Co-founder Jim Sinegal reportedly once warned a successor he'd be killed if he raised it, and the current chief has pledged it stays put as long as he's around. A rare fixed point in an economy where nothing else sits still.
Source: Costco / CNN / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics