Personal finance

People rally during a demonstration in support of Covid-19 relief, organized by Shutdown DC, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25, 2021. Al Drago | Getty Images When the U.S. began to shut down the wake of the onset of Covid-19, it meant millions of families were suddenly without the income they

Fuel prices at a Shell station in Menlo Park, California, US, on Thursday, June 9, 2022. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Americans are still grappling with the worst inflation in roughly 40 years, and many are changing their spending habits to keep up. In May, prices were 8.6% higher than they were

Catherine Mcqueen | Moment | Getty Images Inflation is eroding the value of consumers’ savings at the fastest pace in four decades. The Consumer Price Index, which gauges how quickly costs are rising for a basket of goods and services, jumped 8.6% in May from a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday.

In the face of rising inflation, higher interest rates and slowing economic growth, there’s more competition than ever for consumers’ dollars — and even how their purchases are made. During the pandemic, most shoppers showed a preference for buy now, pay later when it came to payment and still do: Installment buying has exploded in popularity along with a

Kieferpix | iStock | Getty Images For retirees who want to put their charitable dollars to work right away but worry about giving away a large sum all at once, there’s a relatively easy strategy that may be a good fit. It’s called a charitable gift annuity. It’s basically is a contract with a nonprofit

Damircudic | E+ | Getty Images Saving in a 401(k) plan may be tough for workers who switch jobs frequently — a dynamic that’s come into greater focus amid the Great Resignation. In 2021, 14% of people saving in a 401(k) plan left their employer, according to a new report from Vanguard Group, which is

For many Americans, the pandemic-induced slowdown offered a rare opportunity to better their financial standing. Government stimulus checks and fewer opportunities for spending drove the personal savings rate to a level not seen since World War II, with many consumers using the cash they had on hand to pay down debt — primarily their credit

Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer poses at an event where General Motors announced an investment of more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites on January 25, 2022 in Lansing, Michigan. Jeff Kowalsky | AFP | Getty Images High school students in Michigan will soon be guaranteed a personal finance course before they graduate.

Allison Shelley | Getty Images News | Getty Images The clock is ticking when it comes to how long Congress has to act to repair Social Security’s trust funds. New projections from the program’s trustees show the combined trust funds will be depleted in 2035, at which point 80% of benefits will be payable. That’s

valentinrussanov When the stock market dips, a strategy known as tax-loss harvesting can be a silver lining. But it doesn’t make sense for all portfolios, financial experts say.   Here’s how tax-loss harvesting works: You can sell declining assets from your brokerage account and use the losses to offset other profits. Once losses exceed gains, you

Charnchai | Istock | Getty Images If you’re heading to a new job and still owe money on a 401(k) plan loan from your former employer’s retirement savings plan, be sure you know what will happen to that outstanding balance. While you may be permitted to continue paying off the loan in installments, most companies

Demonstrators participate in a protest asking U.S. senators to support the continuation of unemployment benefits on July 16, 2020 in Miami Springs, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images The nation’s unemployment system suffered multiple failures during the Covid-19 pandemic, including delayed payments, elevated fraud and “substantial” disparities in receipt of benefits along racial and ethnic

Xavierarnau | E+ | Getty Images It’s no surprise that many people like the idea of a four-day work week. Convincing your employer to test it out, on the other hand, may not be an easy task. Only a small number of employers offer a four-day policy, However, 40 companies in the U.S. and Canada

Westend61 / Josep Rovirosa | Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries saw the biggest cost-of-living adjustment in about 40 years in 2022, when they received a 5.9% boost to their monthly checks. Next year, that annual adjustment may even go as high as 8%, according to early estimates. That is despite the fact the annual Social

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House on June 2, 2022. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Biden administration is unlikely to announce a decision on student loan forgiveness until later this summer, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The more than 40 million Americans saddled with

In this article LC With inflation still hovering near 40-year highs, it’s getting harder for workers across all income levels to make ends meet. The Consumer Price Index, a key inflation metric, increased 8.3% in April from a year ago, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Although it was down slightly

The White House, Washington, D.C. Joe Daniel Price | Moment | Getty Images Tens of millions of Americans are waiting anxiously for word from the Biden administration on what it plans to do on broad-based student loan forgiveness. Most recently, the White House was reported to be leaning toward a cancellation plan of $10,000 per

Tetra Images – Erik Isakson | Brand X Pictures | Getty Images Investment funds that promote values like the environment and social good have become more popular. But trying to pick a so-called ESG fund — especially one that aligns well with your interests — may seem about as easy as drying a towel in

Peter Cade | Getty Images After a rough period for municipal bonds, also known as muni bonds, investors may be returning. But there’s a hidden tax retirees need to consider before piling in. While weekly inflows for U.S. muni bond funds have been negative for most of 2022, outflows dropped significantly last week, according to

lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Without the child tax credit, Stormy Johnson has been skipping her own meals so her kids can eat. Johnson, 45, works as a student support specialist in Preston County Schools in Kingwood, West Virginia. Before the monthly enhanced child tax credit payments lapsed in December, she received an additional