Personal Finance

The Biden administration announced Tuesday it is making permanent changes to its public service loan forgiveness plan to make it easier for borrowers to have their loans forgiven. “Our team has worked to turn public service loan forgiveness from a promise broken into a promise kept,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said during a

BartekSzewczyk | Getty If you’ve already maxed out 401(k) plan contributions for 2022 and you’re eager to save more for retirement, some plans have an under-the-radar option, experts say. For 2022, you can defer $20,500 into a 401(k), plus an extra $6,500 for investors 50 and older. But the total plan limit is $61,000 per

JPMorgan Chase brought its Advancing Black Wealth Tour to Philadelphia on October 8, 2022. Photo: Steven CW Taylor & Salim Weldon of Steven Taylor Photography A new endeavor from JPMorgan Chase is trying to help close the racial wealth gap. The bank’s Advancing Black Wealth Tour, launched this spring, aims to give attendees the tools

miodrag ignjatovic The nation’s youngest workers appear to be taking the save-for-retirement message to heart, research suggests. Defined as workers ages 18 to 25, Generation Z is saving an average of 14% of their income for their golden years, according to new study from BlackRock. Among millennials (ages 26-42), Gen Xers (ages 43-55) and baby

Sarah O’Brien hard at work writing about personal finance. Salvatore Agostino One of the best benefits of being a personal finance reporter is my keen ability to recognize the many money mistakes I’ve made in my life. I’ve already divulged a few in the first iteration of this confessional two years ago. While some of

Caroline Purser | The Image Bank | Getty Images The Biden administration could start discharging millions of Americans’ student debt as soon as Sunday. This is possible as some of the legal challenges brought against the sweeping policy by critics have failed in courts. A taxpayers group in Wisconsin earlier this week requested that the

When it comes to getting into college, every little bit helps. Often college hopefuls turn to applying early to their top school to gain that edge. By demonstrating a preference to a particular college, studies have shown, an early application can give you a leg up, which goes a long way in the hyper-competitive world

Xavierarnau | E+ | Getty Images Social Security benefits will go up by more than $140 per month on average in 2023, as a record 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment kicks in. Exactly how much of an increase the approximately 70 million Americans who rely on the program for income will see will vary. More than 65

Under any conditions, families don’t like to skimp when it comes to the holidays. But with rising prices and fears of a recession, holiday shoppers are feeling less generous this season. Many consumers are planning to make fewer purchases — and at a discount, according to a recent holiday retail report by Deloitte. Still, households

Stefani Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education’s application for student loan forgiveness, which officially went live earlier this week, is surprisingly easy to fill out. Borrowers just need to provide some basic contact information and their Social Security number. That’s it. Well, for some. More from Personal Finance:How to save

Supreme Court nominee and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 21, 2020. Ken Cedeno | Reuters The Supreme Court on Wednesday was asked to block the Biden administration’s student loan debt relief program, which is set to take effect this weekend. The request by the Brown County

Bernd Vogel | Getty Images Ultra-wealthy Americans can soon protect more assets from federal estate taxes, the IRS announced this week.  Starting in 2023, individuals can transfer up to $12.92 million to heirs, during life or at death, without triggering a federal estate-tax bill, up from $12.06 million in 2022.  Since married couples may share

Rising costs have chipped away at most Americans’ standard of living. As inflation pressures continue, two-thirds of working adults said they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, according to a recent report by Salary Finance. To make ends meet, many are dipping into their cash reserves or going into debt. Nearly three-quarters, or

Win-initiative/neleman | Stone | Getty Images The Biden administration officially launched the application for federal student loan forgiveness Monday — and scammers are already “on the move” to capture borrowers’ money and personal information, the Federal Trade Commission warned Tuesday. Tens of millions of Americans are eligible for debt cancellation. Borrowers may qualify for cancellation

Workers are pushing for greater pay transparency, whether employers like it or not. Such conversations around income expectations used to be “the elephant in the room,” said Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster.com. Now, 33% of job seekers said they would not even go to a job interview without first knowing the salary the employer

Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education has launched its official application for student loan forgiveness, meaning tens of millions of Americans can now request the financial relief. The

A woman shops for chicken at a supermarket in Santa Monica, California, on September 13, 2022. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images Despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to get the cost of living under control, prices just keep climbing — and the uptick is especially brutal at the supermarket. The cost of food overall

Emily the Criminal Courtesy: John Patton Ford In the new film “Emily the Criminal,” the title character, played by actress Aubrey Plaza, is almost always in a state of fear. There are moments where Emily’s dread lifts: after one of her successful heists, when she’s painting in her apartment to classical music or when she’s

Wand_prapan | Istock | Getty Images Social Security’s average retiree benefit will go up by $146 per month in 2023, thanks to a record 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment prompted by high inflation. More than 70 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will benefit from those higher payments. “It’s the highest COLA in 40 years,”

Tomekbudujedomek | Moment | Getty Images The historic climate legislation President Joe Biden signed in August offered a federal tax break — worth up to $7,500 — to households that buy new electric vehicles. But it may be tough for consumers to get the full value of the tax credit — at least initially. That’s

Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education began beta testing the student debt forgiveness application Friday night. The application is available at StudentAid.gov. As of 8:45 p.m. ET Friday,

Geber86 | E+ | Getty Images As the U.S. economy attempts to find its footing as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, two looming uncertainties have emerged: persistent high inflation and a possible recession. So it’s no surprise that financial advisors who landed on the CNBC FA 100 list for 2022 are hearing about those

In this article WMT AMZN TGT Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale may be over, but the discounts have only just begun. “Black Friday is here,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com, noting that sales that traditionally rolled out on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day are starting earlier

Azmanjaka | E+ | Getty Images Amid record high inflation, Social Security beneficiaries will get an 8.7% increase to their benefits in 2023, the highest increase in 40 years. The Social Security Administration announced the change on Thursday. It will result in a benefit increase of more than $140 more per month on average starting

Tommaso79 | Istock | Getty Images People who do not typically file taxes have a new way to claim a federal tax credit aimed at low- to moderate-income workers that was temporarily made more generous last year. GetCTC.org, a simplified filing tool, was updated on Wednesday to include the earned income tax credit. The maximum

In this article TGT AMZN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Amazon‘s two-day “Prime Early Access Sale” is underway. Look for significant discounts on Amazon devices, such as the Kindle, Echo and Fire TV streamer, and its private-label clothing, according to Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com. As part of the sale, the Fire 55-inch

Rudi_suardi | E+ | Getty Images The Biden administration will soon issue a rule that may make it easier for workers to be considered “employees” instead of “independent contractors.” The U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on Tuesday, signaling its intent to issue a formal regulation that would redefine how employers

Ridofranz | Istock | Getty Images Roth individual retirement account conversions may be alluring when the stock market dips. But it’s easy to make mistakes, financial experts say. The strategy, which transfers pre-tax IRA funds to a Roth IRA for future tax-free growth, may pay off when the market drops because you can buy more

Tom Brenner | Reuters There’s still a decent chance that changes to the U.S. retirement system will be enacted before the end of the year. Despite there being just a few months left before the next Congress convenes Jan. 3 — the midterm elections will be Nov. 8 — the push to improve Americans’ ability

In this article TGT AMZN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Amazon‘s two-day “Prime Early Access Sale” starts soon, spurring a number of holiday deals coming earlier than ever before. “October is really going to be the month of unprecedented deals,” said Deborah Weinswig, the founder and CEO of Coresight Research. Indigenous People’s Day or Columbus