Personal finance

With high inflation, the threat of a recession and ongoing market volatility, we’re in a period of high financial uncertainty. Understandably, many investors “are pretty afraid right now,” said Brad Klontz, a psychologist and certified financial planner. And when we’re stressed, our frame of reference tends to become short, said Klontz, who is also a

Songsak Rohprasit | Moment | Getty Images This is an excerpt from the Personal Finance team’s weekly Twitter Space, “This week, your wallet.” Check out the latest episode here. Tax Day is fast approaching. The deadline to file a federal tax return for most Americans just over two weeks away, on Tuesday, April 18. Here’s

Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re a freelancer or contract worker, there are still ways to lower your 2022 tax bill — including contributions to a retirement plan improved by legislation passed in December. One of the provisions from Secure 2.0 included a change to solo 401(k) plans, designed for self-employed workers

To keep up with rising costs, many young adults turn to a likely safety net: their parents. From buying groceries to paying for their cell phone plan or covering health and auto insurance, 45% of parents with a child age 18 or over provide them with at least some financial support, according to a recent

Suze Orman Nathan Congleton | NBC | Getty Images The recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank have made a recession more possible — and that means it’s more important than ever to have emergency savings set aside, according to personal finance expert Suze Orman. “Because of what is happening with banks, it

March 30 is ‘Ivy Day,’ when many Ivy League schools release those long-awaited admissions decisions. More than ever, acceptance into the Ivy League is considered highly desirable, however, when it comes to his year’s ultimate dream school, Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes out on top, according to a recent survey of college-bound students and their

Riska | Istock | Getty Images After being suspended for more than three years, federal student loan payments are expected to resume in the coming months. Yet, at that point, borrowers who aren’t financially prepared to pay may have options for getting more time, experts say. “Deferments and forbearances are available for both undergraduate and

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images Workers who participate in a company 401(k) plan pay fees for a host of associated services. Among them is the cost of administering the plan — for example, tracking daily fluctuations in account value, facilitating trades and issuing regular notices to investors. But based on how your employer structures its

Mixmedia | Istock | Getty Images You may have heard that Social Security’s funds are running low. If that doesn’t change, that may interfere with the program’s ability to pay full benefits in the next decade. Now, a new virtual tool from the American Academy of Actuaries lets you explore Social Security’s woes and decide

Shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images Tax rules for Roth individual retirement accounts don’t require owners to withdraw money during their lifetime — a valuable proposition for retirees who don’t need to touch the money and want to let their investment continue growing tax-free. But those rules change once the account holder dies — meaning

A woman looks through a garbage can in Manhattan in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Over the last 50 years, the poverty rate in the U.S. has barely budged: Around 11% of the U.S. population was considered poor in 2019. In 1970, just about 12% was. “There is

It’s getting harder to keep up with higher prices. As of February, 62% of all U.S. adults were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 60% a month earlier, according to a new LendingClub report. To make ends meet, more people have picked up a side hustle, the report also found. As pandemic-related benefits are scaled back,

In this article SBNY Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Nicoletaionescu | Istock | Getty Images When it comes to bank deposits, $250,000 is the key number experts are talking about in light of recent financial shocks in the banking sector of a severity not seen since the Financial Crisis. That amount is the threshold

Suze Orman speaks during AOL’s BUILD Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York. Jenny Anderson | WireImage | Getty Images At the end of each episode of her long-running eponymous CNBC show, Suze Orman would close out with the phrase, “People first, then money, then things.” Women took that to mean they should give

Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty Images Death and taxes are, as Benjamin Franklin famously declared, two of life’s certainties. Investment fees may be a worthy addition to that list in the modern era — though not all investors are aware of this near-universal fact. The fees financial services firms charge can be murky. One-fifth

Fg Trade Latin | E+ | Getty Images Families will soon find college acceptance letters in their mailboxes. As students weigh where to attend, making sure they won’t borrow too much is key, experts say. The consequences of taking on too much student debt can be severe. “If you borrow too much, you will have

Andrew Bret Wallis | The Image Bank | Getty Images For retirees, health-care costs can be among the most unpredictable expenses they face over the course of their golden years. While many of them worry about affording their monthly Medicare premiums, their bigger concern is their out-of-pocket costs, recent research from eHealth shows. Fully 75%

Visualspace | E+ | Getty Images Over the past year, there’s been a wave of confusion around tax reporting for payment apps like Venmo and PayPal, along with e-commerce companies such as eBay, Etsy and Poshmark. But the IRS provided clarification in an update this week. The 2022 threshold for Form 1099-K, which reports third-party business payments to

Antonio_diaz | Istock | Getty Images Among the millions of Americans with past-due medical debt, there’s a decent chance they owe $1,000 or more, new research suggests. While 39% of that cohort said they owe less than $1,000, the remainder (61%) owe more, including 21% who owe at least $5,000, according to a new Urban

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images A couple of Medicare enrollment periods are underway — and both end soon. First, if you didn’t enroll in Medicare when you should have and you don’t qualify for a special enrollment period, you can sign up until March 31. Second, if you are already on Medicare