These were the top-searched money topics of 2024

People looked up a slew of financial topics on Investopedia over the course of the year, with searches for some emerging as particularly popular.

Ten topics stood out as the ones that Investopedia readers searched for the most in 2024, the finance-focused site reported earlier in the month. 

Investopedia editor-in-chief Caleb Silver discussed the findings of the “2024 Investopedia Terms of the Year” during a recent appearance on “The Claman Countdown.” 

“We look every day, we look every week and we look throughout the year at what people are searching for, what trends, terms or topics,” he explained to host Liz Claman.

Inflation ranked No. 1 for the year, according to Investopedia. 

INFLATION RISES 2.7% IN NOVEMBER, IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS

“That was top of mind for everybody in this year, and it actually bled through into the election,” Silver said. “It wasn’t just the fact that people were noticing that the growth rate was slower, but things didn’t feel cheaper to them.”

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% month-over-month and 2.7% year-over-year in November, the month with the most-recently available data, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Second-place on Investopedia’s annual list was “tariffs.” 

Silver linked that topic’s appearance on the ranking to the presidential election.

TRUMP’S PROPOSED TARIFFS: WHAT CONSUMER PRODUCTS COULD BE IMPACTED? 

“So you were making a choice for a lot of people. ‘I’m not comfortable with the fact that prices are still high. On the flip side, we know tariffs will come our way if they elect President Trump into office.’ That’s what happened,” he explained. “Tariffs is trending very hard right now.”

The No. 3 and No. 4 spots went to “Nvidia” and “stock split,” respectively. 

Nvidia has seen its shares post an over 185% jump since the beginning of the year. It reported last month that it has generated nearly $91.17 billion in revenue and $50.79 billion in net income over the first three quarters of 2024, marking massive year-over-year increases. 

The chipmaker also completed a highly-anticipated stock split over the summer, something that Investopedia reported helped contribute to searches for “stock split.”

“National debt” took fifth-place, according to the site. The U.S. national debt crossed the $36 trillion mark last month and stood at $36.144 trillion as of Dec. 27, according to the Treasury Department. 

“Homeowners insurance,” “student loan forgiveness,” “high yield savings account” and “bitcoin” received fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth place on Investopedia’s 2024 ranking. 

While speaking with Silver, Claman said it was “interesting” the Federal Reserve did show up among the top-searched terms for Investopedia readers. 

“People got used to the fact the Federal Reserve had interest rates so high to tame inflation, and then it became a waiting game of when they’re going to cut, are they going to cut, finally they did in September,” the Investopedia editor-in-chief said. “People were beyond that, past that, thinking about other things.”

“Moneyline bet” took the final spot on Investopedia’s 10 “Terms of the Year.”

“This was the year that sports betting and betting on the election and trading all kind of smashed together, right?” Silver told Claman. “They’ve all been cousins at the same barbecue, but this was the year that betting polls for the president were actually more correct than the actual polls. The betting odds, I should say, were more correct than the actual polls. So people were looking up moneyline because you could make a moneyline bet on Trump versus Harris going into the election.” 

While appearing on “The Claman Countdown,” Silver forecasted that tariffs would remain a hot topic in the coming year.

He also said “100%” when asked if the Trump presidency will be a driver of investor questions in 2025. 

TRUMP INAUGURATION DRAWS BIG CRYPTO DONATIONS

“Because it looks like a risk-on attitude,” Silver continued. “We’ve seen the rise in crypto currencies. We’ve seen the rise in a lot of stocks since the election, but also a less regulatory environment, less intense. You can see a lot more deal making. You’ve already seen what’s happened across the crypto pasture. I think people who haven’t already been in the market are going to come into the market and even into the crypto market,” Silver said, noting an increase in bitcoin interest among Investopedia readers in recent months. 

He also predicted there would be more interest across capital markets in the upcoming year. 

Trump, who won the November election with 312 electoral votes, is slated to officially take office on Jan. 20 after his inauguration.