Personal finance

Nancy Ney | Photodisc | Getty Images The new year has ushered in a big change to 529 college savings plans, which has made the accounts more attractive to some investors. But the adjustment may have unexpected downsides, experts say. Starting in 2024, families can roll unused 529 plan funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth

Georgijevic | E+ | Getty Images With U.S. Federal Reserve officials expecting to cut interest rates in 2024, there are steps investors can take now to prepare. The central bank’s latest summary of economic projections, issued in December, indicates three cuts may be coming this year. (This assumes each is a quarter-percentage-point decrease.) The Fed

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the student debt relief plan as Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona (R) listens in the South Court Auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on October 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images After the Biden administration’s gigantic setback at the Supreme Court over its sweeping

Adamkaz | E+ | Getty Images If you’re a retiree who relies on Social Security benefits for income, you will see some changes in 2024. You will get a benefit boost to adjust for inflation. But just how much extra money you see will depend on the size of your Medicare Part B premiums and

A simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid is finally online after a significant delay. However, as part of a “soft launch,” the new FAFSA form has only been periodically available. It’s likely few, if any, of the millions of students applying to college for the 2024-25 academic year have been able to successfully submit an application,

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images If you left behind a small 401(k) plan account at a former job, odds are your former employer has moved those funds out of the plan. And that move may hurt your retirement savings over the long term, experts say. Current law allows employers to “force out” 401(k)

Rear view of woman sitting on top of mountain against cloudy sky during sunrise. Simonkr | E+ | Getty Images It was a very good year for the stock market. The benchmark S&P 500 ended the year with a 24.2% gain, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than a 13% this year and and the Nasdaq

What begins as a gender wage gap inevitably becomes a significant shortfall by retirement. In the U.S., women who work full time are typically paid about 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. That gap has persisted despite women’s increasing levels of education and representation in senior leadership positions. Women are also still more

Miodrag Ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images Over the last few months, millions of Americans have received their first student loan bill in over three years. If you can’t make the payments, there’s some good news. When the bills resumed in October, the Biden administration offered borrowers a 12-month “on-ramp” to repayment, during which they’ll

Tokyo, Japan. Matteo Colombo | DigitalVision | Getty Images When it comes to travel abroad, popular destinations like London, Paris and Rome always seem to top the wish list for Americans. But many travelers are looking beyond those mainstay cities for trips in 2024. Interest in major Asian hubs, off-the-beaten-path locales in Europe and other

This year, 40% of Americans said they do not make financial resolutions for the new year and 68% said they do not have written financial plans at any point in the year, according to research from BMO Financial Group. However, setting a budget goes a long way in managing your personal finances. “Many people spend

Young woman counting money. Jose Luis Pelaez Inc As the calendar turns to a new year, many Americans are vowing to change their money habits. To that point, 48% of investors recently surveyed by Allianz Life Insurance Company say they are more likely to make and keep a financial resolution in 2024 to either save

mphillips007 | iStock Unreleased | Getty Images The Powerball jackpot has ballooned to an estimated $760 million — the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history — and experts have tips on what the lucky winner should do first. If you score the winning ticket, you’ll pick between one of two payouts: annual payments worth $760 million or a

Up until now, 529 savings plans were widely considered the best way to save for college. But there was always a major sticking point, according to financial experts and plan investors. The funds had to be used for qualified education expenses such as tuition, fees, books and room and board. Even though the restrictions had loosened in recent

Praetorianphoto | E+ | Getty Images The $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles will be easier for many consumers to claim in 2024, but it may be more difficult for others. These opposing dynamics are due to federal policies taking effect at the same time. One policy kicking in Jan. 1 will allow car

Xavier Lorenzo | Moment | Getty Images If you’re looking for a new job, get ready for more competition in the new year. “We see many more job seekers come and use our site in mid- to late-January,” said Scott Dobroski, career trends expert at Indeed. “It aligns to that new year, new you mentality,”

Tomasz Szulczewski | Moment | Getty Images Women continue to make great strides in the workforce, achieving increasing levels of education, and advancing into senior leadership positions. However, the gender pay gap — the difference between the earnings of men and women — has barely budged in recent years. In the U.S., women who work full

Student loan forgiveness advocates rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., after the nation’s high court struck down President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program, June 30, 2023. Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images Nearly a year before federal student loan payments restarted, the U.S. Department of Education warned

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images As the calendar turns to a new year, you may be at risk for losing money if you have a flexible spending account. Many FSA owners have a Dec. 31 use-it-or-lose-it deadline to use the funds they have set aside for the year. The average forfeit of funds

Marco Bello | Reuters The price of bitcoin has surged in 2023 as investors await approval for the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which would be a milestone for cryptocurrency investors, experts say. In early December, the digital currency topped $44,000 for the first time since April 2022, and year-to-date gains were above 160%,