Personal Finance

Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re one of the millions of Americans expecting student loan forgiveness, you won’t owe federal taxes. But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook at the state level. Indiana is the latest to confirm forgiveness will trigger state income taxes, and some borrowers may owe county levies

Kateryna Onyshchuk | iStock | Getty Images If you get your health insurance through the public marketplace, you may want to keep an eye out for a check from your insurer. Insurance companies are distributing $1 billion in rebates to 8.2 million policyholders, beginning this month. Of those, the majority — an estimated $603 million

As prices rises, Americans are increasingly finding new ways to make ends meet. But with some necessary purchases, like groceries, there are fewer options that don’t involve taking on debt. That makes the option to pay later — through companies like Klarna, Zip, Zilch, Affirm and Afterpay — look increasingly attractive.   More from Personal

A Social Security Administration office in Sebring, Florida. Jeff Greenberg | Universal Images Group | Getty Images Those who sought help from their local Social Security Administration office recently may have been met with a new challenge — long outside lines in the summer heat. That prompted congressional lawmakers to write to the federal agency

Getty Images The amount of money you drop on subscriptions may be more than you realize, recent research suggests. More than half of consumers (54%) underestimate how much they spend monthly on subscriptions by at least $100, according to a survey commissioned by market research firm C+R Research. For 24%, the difference was $200 or

Nirunya Juntoomma | Istock | Getty Images If you’re feeling unsteady amid stock market volatility, high inflation and rising interest rates, you may wonder how much cash you really need to have handy. But the right amount to have in your emergency fund depends on your family’s situation and needs, financial experts say.   Still, with

Newsday Llc | Newsday | Getty Images In pre-pandemic years, Labor Day sales events offered generous discounts on new cars as dealerships aimed to clear out current-year models and start selling the next year’s versions. These days? Not so much. The average new-car discount offered by manufacturers is down an estimated 47.1% from a year

Chaay_tee | Istock | Getty Images Student debt can make it harder for people to start a business or purchase a home — and one reason for that is that lenders take into account your existing financial obligations. Now that President Joe Biden has announced he plans to cancel up to $20,000 for millions of

Student-loan debt activists rally outside the White House a day after President Biden announced a plan that would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 25, 2022. The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images Federal student loan borrowers could get

Jose Luis Pelaez | Getty Images Married women may want to make sure they consider the possibility of unplanned singlehood when it comes to retirement preparations. Among women retirees, 51% of those who are divorced or widowed stepped away from the workforce earlier than planned, according to a new report from the Employee Benefit Research

In this article ZG A for-sale sign in front of a home listed for more than $1 million on April 29, 2022 in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Grocery shoppers aren’t the only ones who have to contend with the phenomenon known as “shrinkflation,” which is what happens when the price of something

Caroline Purser | The Image Bank | Getty Images The Biden administration is firing back at Republicans considering bringing a legal challenge against President Joe Biden’s historic move to forgive the student debt of tens of millions of Americans. A White House spokesman, Abdullah Hasan, accused the GOP of double standards that punished the middle

In this article BAC Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images To help narrow a homeownership gap among Black and Hispanic-Latino communities, Bank of America is launching new zero down payment, zero closing cost mortgage products to help people in minority communities buy their first homes. The program — called the Community Affordable Loan Solution

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is reportedly considering a challenge to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness effort. Anna Rose Layden | Getty Images News | Getty Images A number of Republican legislators may bring a legal challenge against President Joe Biden’s historic announcement last week that he’d forgive the student debt for tens of millions of

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images Identity crime involving government benefits, social media accounts and other scams jumped by 36% in 2021 to an all-time high, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. The good news is that there are several ways individuals can protect themselves. About 15,000 people reported an identity-related crime or attempted

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images As the November midterm elections approach, leaders on both sides of the aisle are trading barbs on one key program that affects millions of Americans: Social Security. Over the weekend, President Joe Biden called out certain lawmakers on Twitter, including Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson

In this article F HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 29: Students study in the Rice University Library on August 29, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education could have its application for student loan forgiveness up and running as soon as within the next few

Consumers are increasingly relying on credit cards to make ends meet, but it hasn’t significantly impacted their financial standing — at least when it comes to their credit rating. The national average credit score sits at an all-time high of 716, unchanged from a year ago, according to a new report from FICO, developer of one of

A customer shops in a Kroger grocery store on July 15, 2022 in Houston. Brandon Bell | Getty Images Many consumers have suffered sticker shock at the grocery store due to record high inflation. But another surprise that’s grabbing consumers’ attention — and even trending on TikTok — is “shrinkflation.” Almost two-thirds, 64%, of all

Student-loan debt activists rally outside the White House a day after President Biden announced a plan that would cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 a year in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 25, 2022. The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images When the U.S. Department of Education

Strauss/Curtis | The Image Bank | Getty Images Under the Biden administration’s plans to wipe out some student loan debt, one particular type of need-based financial aid that many borrowers receive could mean qualifying for twice as much in forgiveness. If you were the recipient of a Pell Grant, you may be eligible for up

AntonioGuillem | Getty Images It’s something more than 40 million Americans have in common: They hold federal student loans. But the lending system is famously complicated, and these loans come with various names and terms depending on when they were taken out and for what purpose. What are usually just technical differences could now determine

Student loan borrowers stage an Aug 25, 2022 rally in front of the White House to celebrate President Joe Biden canceling some federal student debt. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images As tens of millions of Americans process the news of federal student loan forgiveness, countless questions are emerging about how it

In this article TREE Mark Hunt | Disabilityimages | Getty Images Owning a home is one of the key ways to build wealth. But for aspiring Black homeowners, that can be a difficult milestone to reach, according to a new report from LendingTree. Research from the online loan market company finds the mortgage denial rate

President Biden this week announced a long-awaited plan to forgive student debt for millions of borrowers — and criminals will likely leverage the news to steal from unsuspecting victims, the Federal Trade Commission warned on Friday. “Nobody can get you in early, help you jump the line or guarantee eligibility,” said a consumer alert issued

Cyano66 | Istock | Getty Images With much fanfare, President Joe Biden has signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. Historians may one day say this legislation did more to complicate an already too complicated tax code than any tax bill in the past 50 years. It is now up to the Internal Revenue Service

Fast-food workers and supporters fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. James Leynse | Corbis Historical | Getty Images The Biden administration seems to have pegged a student loan policy announced Wednesday to its broader push for a national $15-an-hour minimum wage. The White House detailed a long-awaited plan to forgive up

Borrowers who continued repaying their student loans during the payment pause have a unique opportunity to get a refund — and potentially, boost their forgiveness eligibility in the process. In addition to President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan, the payment pause on federal student loans was extended once again through Dec. 31. In an announcement

Supachok Pichetkul / Eyeem | Eyeem | Getty Images Some policy experts were quick to sound an alarm after President Joe Biden announced a sweeping new plan Wednesday to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loans for borrowers with incomes under $125,000. Biden will cancel up to $20,000 for recipients of Pell Grants. The

Comstock | Stockbyte | Getty Images The labor market is strong, and unemployment is low. But economists fear a recession looms — and 50% of employers expect to reduce headcount in the next six to 12 months, according to a recent PwC survey. Workers who turn to jobless benefits for financial help will find a