Personal finance

Nosystem Images | E+ | Getty Images Many older women outlive their spouses and may not expect higher future taxes after suffering from the loss. But there are ways to prepare, according to financial experts.  American women have a significantly higher life expectancy than men, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images Health savings accounts offer perhaps the best tax perks relative to other investment accounts. But most account holders use them in a way that dilutes their benefits, data shows. Just 19% of HSA participants invest their account assets, according to a new survey by the Plan Sponsor Council

Stephanie Land Source: Simon and Schuster Stephanie Land’s daughter, Emilia, was 7 months old when Land was forced to leave her volatile life partner. What came next for the single mother was homelessness and food insecurity — but somehow, at the same time, Land also worked to finish her college degree and pursue a writing career.

Credit card debt is mounting. Americans now owe $1.08 trillion on their credit cards, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday. Balances jumped 15% from a year ago, according to a separate quarterly credit industry insights report from TransUnion, while the average balance per consumer hit $6,088, the highest in 10 years. Persistent inflation has put

Simpleimages | Moment | Getty Images Heading into 2024, consumers should “economize” their budgets, pay down debt and save money, if possible, to boost their personal finances, Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said Thursday at CNBC’s Your Money event. This “three-point action plan” is important for households since there’s “a high risk

Klaus Vedfelt | Digitalvision | Getty Images Travel was expensive and busy in 2023, leading jetsetters to seek out cheaper, less-trodden alternatives to popular hot spots. It’s a great way to save money on trips heading into 2024, according to experts. This concept — seeking out cheaper duplicates, or “dupes,” of pricey products — was

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen outlines the improvements the IRS will deliver to taxpayers in 2024, during remarks at IRS Headquarters in Washington on Nov. 7, 2023. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday announced IRS goals for the 2024 tax filing season and shared agency updates amid continued scrutiny from some Republican

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images New protections for households that roll money from 401(k) plans to individual retirement accounts may take effect as soon as 2024, due to a new U.S. Department of Labor initiative announced last week. The Labor Department proposed a rule that aims to ensure retirement savers get financial advice that’s

Tetra Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images Feeling the pressure of inflation and rising interest rates over the past few months, an increasing number of consumers have been making credit card payments 30 days late or more, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. That

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images Whether you’re starting to invest or nearing retirement, there are several ways to use exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, to achieve your financial goals, experts say. An ETF is like a basket of individual assets, such as stocks or bonds, with shares that trade on an exchange throughout the day.

After the Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s sweeping forgiveness plan earlier this year, the president announced a series of other relief measures for student loan borrowers.  Already, Biden has managed to erase $127 billion in education debt for more than 3.5 million borrowers, largely through Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans. The most beneficial so

Richard Stephen | Istock | Getty Images The clock is ticking for Congress to shore up Social Security benefits. The latest projections from Social Security’s actuaries show the program’s trust funds are due to run out in 2034, at which point 80% of benefits will be payable. If Congress does not act by 2034, the

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images If your partner got down on one knee and asked you to marry them today, would you say yes? What if you found out the ring destined for your finger boasts a lab-grown diamond? The chances of that engagement ring bearing a man-made diamond are higher than you

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images Costs for some key health insurance components have slowed for workers in recent years. While the deceleration is a positive trend, many workers likely still find current prices unaffordable, experts said. “Yes, it’s slowed,” said Carolyn McClanahan, a physician and certified financial planner, and founder of Life Planning

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has announced new 2024 investor contribution limits for 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and other retirement accounts. The employee contribution limit for 401(k) plans is increasing to $23,000 in 2024, up from $22,500 in 2023, and catch-up contributions for savers age 50 and older will remain unchanged

Getty Images For millions of people, it’s time to compare benefits and prices and pick health coverage on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces. Open enrollment on those plans started on Nov. 1 and typically lasts through Jan. 15, though that will be extended to Jan. 16 in 2024 due to a federal holiday.

Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona answers questions during the daily briefing at the White House Aug. 5, 2021. Win McNamee | Getty Images As student loan bills restarted in October for tens of millions of Americans, the companies that service those loans made errors that potentially violate federal and state consumer protection laws. In

Turner worker working on drill bit in a workshop Rainstar | E+ | Getty Images The Social Security retirement age is currently moving to age 67, and some lawmakers have called for pushing it even higher. But that may be a problem for a certain cohort: older workers in physically demanding jobs, according to a

This month, more than 200,000 first-generation American and low- and middle-income high school seniors will receive something unexpected: proactive college acceptance letters. As part of a strategy aimed at expanding college access, roughly 1 in 8 first-year students with a Common App account will get at least one offer of admission before they even apply.

Jobseekers wait in line at a Nov. 2, 2023 career fair in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images The job market continues to show signs of cooling, but alarm bells aren’t ringing just yet, economists said. The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported