Personal finance

When Lawrence Carpenter was released from prison in 2001, he was determined to make a better life for himself and his family. Yet he knew that having a criminal record would make it tough to find a job. “I shouldn’t have to live in poverty for the rest of my life because I made a

kali9 | E+ | Getty Images Ah, summertime. It’s the perfect time to think about taxes. No, seriously. Some activities and pursuits that are more common during this season also may be things that impact your taxes, the IRS noted recently. And the sooner you evaluate how these endeavors will figure into your tax return

martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images When Covid-19 hit early last year and most travel ground to halt worldwide, would-be vacationers scrambled to get refunds from hotels, airlines, cruise lines and other travel suppliers — or to file travel insurance claims for canceled trips. They often hit a wall on both fronts. Suppliers struggled, or

LPETTET | iStock | Getty Images About 2.2 million more stimulus checks have gone out over the last six weeks, the government said Wednesday. The latest batch brings the total number of payments disbursed to more than 171 million, with an aggregate value of $400 billion, according to the announcement from the IRS, Treasury Department

A used car dealership is seen in Laurel, Maryland on May 27, 2021, as many car dealerships across the country are running low on new vehicles as a computer chip shortage has caused production at many vehicle manufactures to nearly stop. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images True, used-car prices have surged. You may

Yulia Petrova | Moment | Getty Images More than two-thirds of federal student loan borrowers say they’re not ready to resume their monthly payments. That’s the finding from a survey conducted for The Pew Charitable Trusts, which comes as the U.S. Department of Education’s payment pause and interest waiver for borrowers is set to expire

Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty Images “Buying the dip” is an investment thesis often touted by stock traders and financial advisors to juice returns. The thinking is: When a stock index like the S&P 500 falls in value, it’s a good time to buy since shares can be bought at a discount. Investors then

In this article BCH.CB= TSLA Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bitcoin is falling, again. The popular cryptocurrency slumped as much as 5% Tuesday, falling below the key $30,000 level for the first time since June 22, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Other cryptocurrencies were also dragged lower. Ether slid as much as 6%, while XRP

In this article WLTW Bambu Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images You may be in line for a larger pay increase next year. The pandemic caused businesses to cut back on compensation, but now companies are planning to boost raises to levels not seen in several years. Employers project average annual salary increases of 3%

Sam Edwards | Getty Images When it comes to planning for retirement, it’s important to consider how taxes could gnaw away at your nest egg once you reach your golden years. Assuming you’ve left work earnings behind you, any amount owed to the IRS will come out of your retirement savings or income. So the

Virojt Changyencham | Moment | Getty Images Stocks took a steep dive on Monday amid fears that the coronavirus pandemic will be hard to pull out of. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed more than 700 points by mid-day. The S&P 500 is down 1.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite has lost 1.6%. Despite the uncertain

Image Source | Getty Images There’s some good news for those looking to get married on a budget: City and town halls are back in the nuptials business. Wedding bells will be ringing again, for example, at the New York City Marriage Bureau. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the city will again book

Alistair Berg | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re among the workers who plan to continue working remotely, you may want to evaluate your 2021 tax situation. While many states offered a pandemic-related reprieve that generally resulted in no tax filing obligation for remote workers who worked temporarily in their state, the leniency was for

bymuratdeniz | iStock | Getty Images Intuit, the company behind popular tax filing software TurboTax, announced that it will no longer participate in the IRS Free File program, which helps millions of Americans submit tax returns at no cost. “With the Free File program surpassing its founding goals of e-file and free tax preparation, and

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images Sasha Demskie received a welcome deposit in her bank account this week: a $250 payment from the government as part of the new monthly child tax credit payments. The money will go to pay basic bills, said Demskie, 46, of Conway, Arkansas, who lost her job in April while she

RyanJLane | E+ | Getty Images The pandemic sparked charitable giving among wealthy families, and some who are eager to give more may score a bigger 2021 write-off by leveraging money from pretax retirement accounts.  Here’s how it works: Certain retirees with excess pretax retirement savings — meaning they’ve saved more than they expect they’ll

An executive chef interviews a job seeker about hospitality employment during a job fair on June 23, 2021 in Torrance, California. PATRICK T. FALLON | AFP | Getty Images The rapidly spreading delta variant of Covid-19 may be reason for Congress to extend federal unemployment benefits past their expiration in early September, according to some

Serhii Shleihel | iStock | Getty Images Signs are mounting that student loan borrowers could get more time before they need to resume their payments. For more than 16 months now, most borrowers’ bills have been on pause, thanks to a break offered by the U.S. Department of Education because of the financial struggles wrought

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images It’s a historic day for U.S. families with children. Roughly $15 billion has been sent to 35.2 million families in the first of six advance child tax credit payments, according to the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS. The average payment in the first round is $423, and will reach

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden arrive at the U.S. Capitol for a Senate Democratic luncheon on July 14, 2021. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images Senate Democrats aim to fund a $3.5 trillion budget measure partly on the backs of higher taxes for corporations and the wealthy,