Personal Finance

Prasit photo | Moment | Getty Images U.S. stocks have a case of whiplash. Stocks slumped Thursday in one of the worst sessions seen so far this year. During intraday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,000 points or 3%, while the S&P 500 lost 4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped

Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images Catch-up contributions for retirement savers could get more generous for certain savers, if legislation proposed in Congress becomes law. But the benefits of the increased limits will likely be concentrated among higher-income plan participants. Today, preretirees ages 50 and up can put away an extra $6,500 toward retirement

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona delivers remarks at the department’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2022. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images Temporary changes to the troubled public service loan forgiveness program have resulted in more than 110,000 people with student debt getting around $6.8 billion in relief. The new figures

Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the CARES Act, at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, September 28, 2021. Kevin Dietsch | Pool | Reuters A bill to change Supplemental Security Income benefits for

JohnnyGreig | E+ | Getty Images When stocks gyrate, stock investors invariably hear this advice: “Stay the course.” In other words, don’t sell in a gut reaction; stick to your financial plan. This counsel generally makes sense for long-term investors. Stocks are likely to recoup losses by the time owners need the money many years

Camille Tokerud Photography Inc. | Stone | Getty Images A federal benefits program for blind, disabled and elderly individuals could get a long-overdue update if a proposal in Washington is approved. Two Ohio senators — Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman — have teamed up to introduce a bill to update the

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Inflation, rising interest rates and market volatility have many Americans on edge. Consumer prices were up 8.5% in March from a year ago, costing U.S. households an extra $327 per month, according to a Moody’s estimate. To combat rising inflation, the Federal Reserve has begun increasing interest

Choreograph | iStock | Getty Images For Medicare beneficiaries wondering whether their Part B premiums could be reduced, the waiting continues. More than three months after Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra ordered a reassessment of this year’s $170.10 standard monthly premium — a bigger-than-expected jump from $148.50 in 2021 — it remains uncertain

U.S. President Joe Biden announces additional military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as well as fresh sanctions against Russia, during a speech in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, April 28, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he’ll have his answer on student loan forgiveness within

Lifestylevisuals | E+ | Getty Images Adjustable-rate mortgages are making a comeback. With interest rates surging, more buyers are turning to ARMs, which offer lower initial rates than fixed-rate loans. However, after a certain period, the rate on the ARM adjusts to reflect current market conditions. “You have double the number of borrowers out there

Getty Images If you’re eligible for health savings account contributions, you can deposit more money starting in 2023, thanks to an inflation adjustment from the IRS. In 2023, you can save up to $3,850 with an individual health insurance plan, up from $3,650 in 2022, the IRS announced Friday. And you can soon contribute up

Luis Alvarez | Digitalvision | Getty Images The surge in worker pay that was a key feature of the 2021 labor market showed signs of fading early this year, as businesses’ demand for workers has moderated a bit from last year’s record levels. Wages and salaries in the private sector grew by 5% in the

Mint Images | Mint Images Rf | Getty Images Americans may be getting more information about a big financial choice regarding pension benefits. Pension plans traditionally pay retirees monthly streams of income that last for the rest of their lives. Companies may also offer a lump sum to current and former employees, allowing them to

Building wealth is cool. That’s a mantra of Modern Blk Girl, a community aimed at teaching Black women the importance of investing and wealth creation that was founded by Tiffany James when she was just 25. Like most newly minted college graduates, James had student loan debt and was living just barely within her means

Most adults in the U.S. support guaranteed access to personal finance education for high school students. Eighty-eight percent of adults surveyed by the National Endowment for Financial Education said their state should require either a semester or year long personal finance course for graduation. The survey of 1,030 adults was conducted in March. More from

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

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

kate_sept2004 Summer vacations plans could be in flux this year. This time, it’s not because of Covid-19. Instead, high prices due to inflation may prompt prospective travel goers to switch up their plans. In fact, 69% of adults who say they will take a vacation this summer anticipate changing their travel plans as prices have

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

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

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

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

cdwheatley | E+ | Getty Images People have wide-ranging views of what it means to be “high net worth,” according to a survey from digital wealth manager Personal Capital. Yet most people — 74% — don’t see themselves ever fitting into that category. When 2,209 adults were asked what they would consider high net worth,

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,

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

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,

Fizkes | Istock | Getty Images For some consumers, medical debt they don’t even owe appears to ends up haunting them anyway. Complaints jumped 31% from 2018 to 2021 about debt collectors attempting to get consumers to fork over amounts that already were paid or otherwise not owed, according to a new report from the

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

Liubomyr Vorona | Istock | Getty Images Money and family – what two subjects bring up more for us? And so when a relative comes to you asking for financial help, and the two are combined, it’s only natural to feel overwhelmed. “Being solicited for money from someone you love can cause discomfort that you