Personal Finance

Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images Winning $640 million wouldn’t be a bad way to close out the year. That’s the Mega Millions jackpot amount for the next drawing, set for Friday night. The top prize has been growing since Oct. 14 when it was reset to $20 million after two tickets — sold

bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty Images For retirees, a new year means adjusting to changes in a variety of Medicare costs, including premiums, deductibles and copays. For 2023, some of those costs will be higher than they were this year, while others are going down. Although each change doesn’t necessarily involve a huge dollar amount,

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images The surge in egg prices has stood out in a year when Americans saw their bills balloon across the grocery store. Average egg prices jumped 49.1% in November compared with those a year earlier — the largest annual percentage increase among all grocery items in that period, according to

In this article EFX Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cash payments that were approved as part of Equifax‘s settlement over its 2017 data breach are now reaching consumers. The money — which comes from a $425 million consumer restitution fund created as part of the settlement — began

Integrity Pictures Inc | The Image Bank | Getty Images Retirement accounts are a tax-advantaged way to build your nest egg — but tapping them too soon typically comes with a penalty. However, the tax code waives that penalty in some circumstances. And federal lawmakers are about to add a few more — for example,

Catherine Mcqueen | Moment | Getty Images It will soon be easier for cash-strapped Americans to tap their retirement savings for emergency expenses. President Joe Biden is poised to sign a $1.7 trillion bill that amends rules related to so-called hardship distributions from 401(k) plans. The measures are tucked into “Secure 2.0,” a collection of

Buying a used car has typically been considered a smart way to save by avoiding the steep depreciation costs that go hand in hand with new cars. However, a limited supply of new cars and trucks due to the ongoing chip shortage caused demand for used cars to skyrocket, pushing prices much higher and reducing

Chandra Sahu, 25, left a job in investment banking during the so-called Great Resignation last year, eager to find work that offered more flexibility. The New York City resident said she looked for work that fulfilled her “top priorities,” allowing her to demonstrate her “agency and creativity,” and landed at a startup. “I wanted to

Student loan borrowers protest the GOP outside the Republican National Committee’s offices in Washington, D.C,. for denying student loan relief to 40 million borrowers on Nov. 18, 2022 Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Two of the legal challenges brought against President Joe Biden‘s student loan forgiveness plan have reached the U.S.

Michael Godek | Moment | Getty Images Three years after the Secure Act of 2019 ushered in the first major changes to the U.S. retirement system in more than a decade, more modifications are now on their way. Dozens of retirement-related provisions collectively known as “Secure 2.0” are included in a $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations

Advocates, legislators, and pregnant workers rally on Capitol Hill in support of The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act on Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images Mothers and moms-to-be are poised to get new workplace protections, thanks to two amendments included in the $1.7 trillion federal government spending package

Credit scores play a key role in your financial life. Generally speaking, the higher your credit score, the better off you are when it comes to getting a loan. And yet, many Americans make the same common mistakes with credit, putting their future financial well-being at risk. As interest rates rise at the steepest annual pace ever,

Svetikd | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has delayed, for a year, when payment services such as Paypal and Venmo and e-commerce companies such as eBay, Etsy and Poshmark will have to issue tax forms to individuals whose business transactions through those platforms exceed $600. The agency on Friday said that such third-party platforms won’t have

Parents and children participate in a demonstration organized by the ParentsTogether Foundation in support of the child tax credit portion of the Build Back Better bill outside of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 13, 2021. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images Washington lawmakers are rushing to get as much done as possible before the

Byba Sepit | Getty A new incentive for low- and moderate-income individuals to save for their post-working years could be on its way. Under a provision included in a legislative proposal known as “Secure 2.0” — which is included in an omnibus appropriations bill that cleared the Senate on Thursday and awaited a House vote

sturti Coming up with the cash to cover an unexpected emergency expense can be a challenge for many individuals and families. Studies show an unexpected expense of even $400may prompt people to borrow to cover the cost. When faced with such bills, workers may be tempted to tap their retirement savings accounts. related investing news

wdstock | iStock Editorial | Getty Images People owed a piece of the $2 billion that Wells Fargo has agreed to pay to customers affected by some of its banking practices could soon receive those funds. The nation’s fourth-largest bank reached a settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, announced Tuesday, to resolve customer abuses

In this article GEN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT As the cost of living skyrockets, many adults are turning to a familiar safety net: mom and dad. Nearly a third of millennials and Gen Zers, over the age of 18, get financial support from their parents, according to a new survey by personal finance

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., listens to testimony during the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Hearing to examine the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets report on Stablecoins in Washington, Feb. 15, 2022. Bill O’Leary | Pool | Reuters Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., will file an amendment to the $1.7 trillion spending package, to increase the

Sollina Images | Tetra Images | Getty Images Amid record high inflation, stretching Social Security benefit checks became more difficult in 2022. Even as a 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment went into effect in January, the record high annual benefit increase still fell short, according to new research from The Senior Citizens League. The average retiree benefit

Ariel Skelley | The Image Bank | Getty Images If you have a health savings account and are nearing retirement age, be aware that some of the rules are different for the older crowd. HSAs, which can only used in conjunction with so-called high-deductible health plans, offer a “triple tax” benefit: Contributions are made pre-tax,

When it comes to car buying, there may be fewer deals out there, but there is still plenty of value to be had.  To that end, cost-conscious car shoppers are increasingly seeking out used vehicles in good condition. To be sure you get what you pay for, check for excess wear and tear beyond the stated

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images You may not be the only person eager for packages to arrive at your house. During the holidays, as the volume of home deliveries surges due to gift buying and giving, so does the chance that so-called porch pirates will grab parcels right off your front step, experts say.

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images The ranks of employers offering a Roth savings option to 401(k) investors continue to grow, giving more workers access to its unique financial benefits. About 88% of 401(k) plans allowed employees to save in a Roth account in 2021, up from 86% in 2020 and from 49% in 2011,

Moses Storm Comedian Moses Storm was 16 when he first learned to read and write. “I have the equivalent of maybe a second-grade education,” he said. For much of his childhood, he lived on a bus with his single mother and five siblings, not knowing where he’d wake up the next day. During those tumultuous

miodrag ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images Up to 254,000 Medicare beneficiaries’ personal information may have been compromised in an online ransomware attack at a government subcontractor, officials warned this week. Letters are being sent to the beneficiaries who were impacted by the potential data breach, said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Those

West | Istock | Getty Images The Biden administration’s most recent announcement that the pause on federal student loan bills would be extended left borrowers with more uncertainty: It didn’t provide a date for when the payments would resume. The pandemic-era relief policy suspending federal student loan bills and the accrual of interest has been

Joos Mind | Photodisc | Getty Images Long Covid results in $9,500 of total average medical costs for workers and their employers in the six months following a diagnosis, according to a study by Nomi Health. Long Covid is a chronic illness that can carry potentially debilitating symptoms, which may last for months or years.

In this article LC Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT As rising prices continue to weigh on households, more families are feeling stretched too thin. As of November, 63% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a monthly LendingClub report — up from 60% the previous month and near the 64% historic high hit in

The Federal Reserve raised its target federal funds rate by 0.5 percentage points at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday in a continued effort to cool inflation. Although this marks a more typical hike compared to the super-size 0.75 percentage point moves at each of the last four meetings, the central bank is far from