Personal finance

Consumers are putting more purchases on plastic — and paying more for the privilege. Rising prices have caused many Americans to feel suddenly cash-strapped and more dependent on credit cards to make ends meet. After consumers paid off a record $83 billion in credit card debt during the pandemic, helped by government stimulus checks and fewer opportunities

At the country’s top colleges, the most recent application season was the most competitive on record, but getting accepted at several schools may have been the easy part for students. Now they have less than one week to decide on which school they’ll attend ahead of National Decision Day on May 1, the deadline for

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Fidelity Investments is offering bitcoin to 401(k) investors. But before retirement savers get access, employers must give the green light — and that’s often much more complicated than it sounds. Fidelity administered almost $2.9 trillion of 401(k) and other workplace retirement plan assets (representing over a quarter of the

Getty Images Some investors may soon be able to add cryptocurrencies to their 401(k) accounts. Fidelity Investments announced Tuesday it will begin allowing investors to put cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in 401(k) retirement accounts, making it the first provider to do so. The offering will be available midyear for the 23,000 companies that use Fidelity

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 04: Supporters of The Debt Collective convene near the U.S. Department of Education to demand full student debt cancellation on April 04, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for MoveOn & Debt Collective) Leigh Vogel | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Nearly 9 in 10 young Americans

Gece33 | E+ | Getty Images In the continuing war for talent in the American workplace, employers have been adding more perks to attract and retain employees. That includes paying more attention to the financial well-being of their workers. “I’m seeing greater interest in financial-wellness programs because of the Great Resignation, coupled with an increasingly

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images There’s a chance — a tiny one — that a Powerball player will manage to turn $2 into $421 million on Monday night. That’s the jackpot amount heading into the week’s first drawing, which comes on the heels of 29 pulls — three weekly — with no one

Benjamin Gibson, a pharmacist in San Antonio, Texas, makes more than $100,000 a year and owns his own home. And yet, Gibson, 40, struggles to afford basic necessities, including groceries and gas. “When you are used to spending a couple of dollars on fruits and vegetables and then you’re paying a lot more, it stresses

Math teacher Marina White teaches Canyon High School seniors in Canyon Country, California, a lesson on investing and the power of compound interest. Helen Zhao | CNBC Millions of high school students across the U.S. will graduate in 2022 with one important course under their belt: personal finance. Recent momentum among states requiring personal finance

Liudmila Chernetska | Istock | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a number of massive changes to the federal student loan system, which it says could bring millions of borrowers closer to debt forgiveness. Federal student loan borrowers have long run into serious issues, including misinformation from their servicers, too many choices

Casarsaguru | E+ | Getty Images With a background of high inflation and the war between Russia and Ukraine still unfolding, April has been an unhappy month for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.89% for the past month to date as of Friday, for example, while the S&P 500 Index was down

Musketeer | Getty Images For anyone who’s nearing retirement and watching the stock market nervously, those jitters may mean it’s time to review your portfolio. While stocks over time offer the best opportunity for long-term growth despite periods of volatility, a persisting market downturn heading into retirement can be problematic if you’re tapping those assets

A “We’re Hiring” sign hangs on the front door of a toy store in Greenvale, New York, on Sept. 30, 2021. John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images State cuts to pandemic unemployment benefits last summer had a small impact on hiring, suggesting enhanced funding for the unemployed didn’t play a big role in labor shortages,

Today’s financially savvy teens are thinking a lot about cryptocurrency, blockchain and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Many of these young investors are curious about how they should start putting money into the often-volatile asset class. Experts say that new investors don’t need to shy away from cryptocurrency, but warn that they should educate themselves on

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Efforts to expand a federal program for disabled, elderly and blind Americans suffered a setback on Thursday when the Supreme Court ruled that Puerto Rico residents should be excluded from receiving those benefits. The program, called Supplemental Security Income, or SSI,

Georgijevic | E+ | Getty Images If you had a surprise tax bill this filing season, it may be time to adjust your withholdings, financial experts say.  Whether you’re a W-2 employee or self-employed, the IRS expects an ongoing piece of your income, paid through withholdings or quarterly payments. As of April 8, nearly 68% of

Getty Images Many employers offer their workers benefits beyond just health insurance and retirement planning. These perks can range from mental health services to financial advice and can be used to grow your personal wealth. But many workers don’t know what benefits they’re eligible for. In fact, some 32% of employees said they are confused

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference announcing the State and Local Taxes (SALT) Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from New York and three other states to overturn the $10,000 limit on the federal deduction for state and

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden signed H.R. 55, the “Emmett Till Antilynching Act,” in Washingtonon March 29, 2022. Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have released their 2021 tax returns, and there are a few key takeaways for the average American, experts

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Powerball players may want to make sure they’re looking more closely at their numbers after each drawing. In about two weeks — on May 5 — a ticket purchased in Michigan a year earlier and worth $1 million will expire. And just last month in Maryland, no one came forward