Personal Finance

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images Up to 23 million California residents are about to receive tax refunds of as much as $1,050, thanks to one-time stimulus payments the Golden State began deploying Friday. The payments, which will total $9.5 billion, mark the largest program of its kind in the state’s history. The

Tempura | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education has said its application for student loan forgiveness will go live in early October, suggesting it could be ready any day now. With legal challenges to President Joe Biden’s historic move to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for millions of Americans mounting, experts

Parents and caregivers with the Economic Security Project gather outside the White House to advocate for the Child Tax Credit in advance of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Sept. 20 in Washington, DC. Larry French | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images When Natacha Chavez began receiving monthly child tax

A storefront in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Aug. 18, 2022. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Long-term unemployment declined again in September amid a continued strong labor market for job seekers. The number of Americans unemployed at least 27 weeks — the official barometer of long-term joblessness — fell

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images A growing share of car buyers are signing up for monthly loan payments of $1,000 or more amid rising interest rates and elevated auto prices, new research shows. Overall, 14.3% of consumers who financed a new vehicle in the third quarter committed to payments at or above that amount,

JGI/Jamie Grill Cold, hard cash could be going by the wayside for many Americans when it comes to routine transactions like paying for groceries or gas. Even so, it’s still important to keep some cash in your wallet, experts say. The cashless economy trend is not necessarily new, but it is gaining momentum, according to

Increasingly, high school students are rethinking the value of college, with a growing number of them questioning the return on investment. Some have decided against a four-year degree. To be sure, undergraduate enrollment was falling even before the pandemic, but remote learning — coupled with the sky-high cost of college — triggered a nosedive. The

One of the biggest credit card misconceptions is that carrying a balance month to month will give your credit score a boost. To that point, 46% of Americans incorrectly believe that leaving a small balance on their card is better for their credit score than paying off the balance each month, a recent NerdWallet study

George S. Farra (far left), co-founder and principal of Woodley Farra, and the team at Indianapolis-based financial advisory firm, which comes in at No. 1 on the CNBC FA 100 list for 2022. Portfolio manager George S. Farra is good at remembering his mistakes. More than a decade ago, he invested his clients in Hewlett-Packard,

A primary election voter enters a Tampa, Florida, polling place on Aug. 23, 2022. Octavio Jones | Getty Images Most women ages 50 and up plan to vote in this November’s midterm elections, but half of them have not decided which candidates they will vote for, a new AARP poll finds. One key issue they

The tens of millions of Americans who’ve been celebrating news of student loan forgiveness are now stuck in limbo as Republicans mount legal challenges to the Biden administration’s plan. In August, President Joe Biden announced that most federal student loan borrowers will be eligible for some forgiveness: up to $10,000 if they didn’t receive a Pell Grant,

Hurricane Ian is shaping up to be the costliest Florida hurricane since Andrew in 1992. Wind and storm surge damage in the state are estimated between $28 billion and $47 billion dollars, according to a Sept. 29 estimate from CoreLogic. With that level of destruction, property owners are advised to make any claims to insurance

In this article TGT AMZN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Holiday shoppers are getting a head start on the season, and a few big-name retailers are paving the way. Amazon recently announced a two-day “Prime Early Access Sale” kicking off on Oct. 11, and Target is running its own “Deal Days” starting Oct. 6.

Dragos Condrea | Istock | Getty Images A bipartisan bill in the House aims to fix a costly enrollment mistake that some older adults make when they transition to Medicare from an employer-based health plan. Under current rules, workers age 65 or older who leave their job but keep their company’s health insurance as allowed

In this article LC Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Almost everyone has felt the sting of rising prices. As of August, 60% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report — a number that hasn’t budged much since inflation hit 40-year highs. A year ago, the number of adults

A recession is a very real possibility. As the Federal Reserve aggressively raises rates to combat persistent inflation, the tough stance could come at a price. Already, falling stock markets have wiped out more than $9 trillion in wealth from U.S. households. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also warned the central bank’s upcoming moves to fight soaring prices may

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has brought a legal challenge against the President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, possibly putting the administration’s proposal to wipe out much of the debt of tens of millions of borrowers in jeopardy. “This mass debt forgiveness program is fundamentally unfair, unconstitutional and unwise,” Brnovich said in a

Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images It’s no secret that money issues can add stress to a relationship. But a new survey from The Knot, a wedding planning website, finds couples say certain moves are deal breakers in their relationships. The top unforgiveable move, with 43% of respondents, is acting secretive or dishonest about

A man walks through the debris on a street in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo | Afp | Getty Images If you’re far from the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in Florida, you may be thanking your lucky stars that your home wasn’t in the storm’s path. Nevertheless, you

A graduate who calls himself “April Vendetta” protests student debt in New York’s Washington Square Park on May 19, 2021, after New York University’s virtual commencement ceremony. Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images Federal student loan borrowers whose loans are not held by the U.S. Department of Education will no longer be able

Porquenostudios | Istock | Getty Images A lawyer working for a conservative legal group this week brought the first legal challenge to President Joe Biden‘s sweeping plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans. “Nothing about loan cancellation is lawful or appropriate,” Frank Garrison, an attorney at the Pacific Legal

In this article CTRN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT In a war for talent, employers are drastically expanding their benefit offerings to attract and retain workers. Free college may be the most effective tool yet. Most recently, nationwide pizza chain Papa John’s announced it is offering fully funded degrees from partner schools, including the

bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty Images The 2023 monthly premium for Medicare’s outpatient care coverage will be about 3% lower than it is this year, the government announced Tuesday. The standard monthly premium for Part B will be $164.90 next year, down $5.20 from $170.10 in 2022, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

wera Rodsawang | Moment | Getty Images Child poverty fell dramatically in 2021, thanks to an expansion put in place last year that sent monthly payments of up to $300 per child to millions of eligible families. Yet many individuals and families eligible for the child tax credit, as well as another called the earned

Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty Images Amid higher interest rates and a softening housing market, home buyers are continuing to back out of purchase contracts at an elevated rate. About 64,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in August, according to a new report from Redfin. That’s equal to 15.2% of home contracts initiated during the

JGI/Jamie Grill When the Federal Reserve hiked the target federal funds rate by another 0.75 percentage points this month, it opened some new opportunities for savers to earn better returns on their cash. The Fed’s move is aimed at combating high inflation, which has sent costs for housing, food and energy soaring. related investing news

Mphillips007 | E+ | Getty Images The pumpkin spice latte is back — and the popular and meme-ified seasonal drink can teach us a lot about consumer behavior and economics. Starbucks debuted the pumpkin spice latte in 2003, and the “PSL” grew to be the company’s most popular seasonal drink, selling more than 600 million

In this article TRU Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT After years of cheap money, it’s suddenly a lot more expensive to borrow. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark short-term rate 3 percentage points since March in an effort to curb unrelenting inflation, including another big hike earlier this week. “Interest rates are going up at the

Phynart Studio | Istock | Getty Images President Joe Biden’s announcement last month that he’ll forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers will also impact the millions of parents who have taken out loans for their children’s education. The debt cancellation applies to so-called Parent PLUS loans, federal loans that parents can take

sturti The possibility of a looming recession is prompting fresh worries for both professional and everyday investors. More than half of Americans — 56% — think the country is already in a recession, according to a recent survey from MassMutual. Meanwhile, 49% of respondents said they think there will likely be a recession next year,