Personal finance

The prolonged period of high inflation may finally be coming to an end, according to an analysis of recent data by UBS global wealth management. In October, the consumer price index, a closely followed inflation gauge, increased 3.2% from 12 months earlier, down from 3.7% in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. The report marked

In this article WFC Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Tetra Images | Tetra Images | Getty Images Families preparing for Thanksgiving will find that turkeys are cheaper this year. The U.S. bird population recovered from last year’s avian flu, boosting supply and helping push down prices. This year, a 16-pound frozen whole turkey costs

Customers at a pop-up shop at a Forever-21 store in New York’s Times Square on Nov. 10, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Inflation continued its broad moderation in October, down significantly from pandemic-era highs that hadn’t been seen in more than 40 years. This dynamic — whereby prices for consumer goods and services

Person holding car key. Manusapon Kasosod | Moment | Getty Images Donating your used car to a charity may bring you joy for helping another person in need, especially as prices for both new and used cars remain high. However, don’t expect the move to make a huge difference in your taxes, experts say.  That’s

Thomas Barwick | Stone | Getty Images People who find it easiest to financially prepare for retirement have four behavioral traits. Yet just 10% of workers show all of these “optimal” characteristics, according to new survey findings from Goldman Sachs Asset Management in collaboration with Syntoniq, a behavioral finance research organization. The behaviors help retirement

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty Images If you’re planning to sell investments or rebalance brokerage assets next year, it’s possible you won’t trigger a tax bill for 2024.   The IRS on Thursday released dozens of inflation adjustments for 2024, including higher income tax brackets, increased standard deductions and boosted income thresholds for capital gains.

Peopleimages | Istock | Getty Images For many Americans, planning for retirement may feel like a daunting financial goal. Now, there’s another risk on the horizon that may stoke their worries — the 2024 elections. Almost half of investors — 45% — surveyed by Nationwide Retirement Institute believe next year’s presidential and congressional contests will

Wael Alreweie | Istock | Getty Images Bitcoin investors are eagerly waiting for regulators to approve the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which could be significant for cryptocurrency investors, experts say. Last week, the price of bitcoin notched an 18-month high, climbing to $37,970, after BlackRock took first steps toward an ether ETF. The

Getty Images Exchange-traded funds came in third among the top 10 investment products to grow in popularity with U.S. households from 2020 to 2022, according to a new survey. While individual stocks were the most commonly owned investment product, held by 43% of households in 2022, 18% of households invested in ETFs in the same

Araya Doheny | Getty Images When Dave Bernstein, 87, started working at the U.S. Postal Service in February 1970, he was making $2.35 an hour. To supplement his income, he also took on other work. Years later, Bernstein decided in 1992 to take a voluntary retirement. “We knew there was going to be a reduced

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.