Personal Finance

Cynthia Pineda lost her accounting job in early April. Without the $600 weekly unemployment boost, she’ll get just $275 each week in aid from Florida. Meanwhile, finding a new job has proven extremely challenging. Cindy Pineda was the breadwinner of her family before the coronavirus pandemic hit. But Pineda, 60, lost her accounting job in

Blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility February 11, 2005 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. William Thomas Cain | Getty Images Congress won’t move on the next round of stimulus legislation this week. Despite that, however, a second set of stimulus checks is still on the table. Draft legislation

Jovita Carranza, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), speaks as Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, left, listens during a House Small Business Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. Erin Scott | Getty Images Details of  Senate Republicans’ version of a coronavirus aid bill are starting to emerge. Accountants question whether it will provide enough

10’000 Hours The ask First, take your pre-Covid-19 job description and evaluate how your position has changed since. “You have probably taken on way, way more responsibilities,” said Jaras, author of “Know Your Worth, Get Your Worth” and host of the podcast, Her Career Talk. Take a “red marker” to that job description and underline

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin arrives to the Capitol for a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., about the COVID-19 relief plan, on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Unemployed workers may see about $200 or $300 a week in extra jobless benefits when the current $600-a-week

Peopleimages | E+ | Getty Images Financing a home might be more accessible than you think. You’ve probably heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two entities created by Congress that buy and guarantee mortgages through the secondary mortgage market to expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing. “Those are the biggest chunk [of home

President Donald Trump met with cabinet members and Republican Congressional leaders in the Oval Office on July 20 to discuss a proposed new round of financial stimulus. Doug Mills | Pool | Getty Images The people who would get the greatest benefit from a payroll tax holiday may be the ones who need it the

Despite the coroanvirus pandemic, home sales are up.  If you were thinking of taking advantage of low mortgage rates yourself, first make sure you know what you can afford.  “When we first decide to purchase a home, we get really excited about that ideal home,” said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Irvine, California-based Sun Group

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a “Build Back Better” Clean Energy event on July 14, 2020 at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images An overhaul of your tax planning could be around the corner if former Vice President Joe Biden wins the

Nearly all college students think distance learning should cost less. Very few schools agree. After most colleges and universities moved online in the spring, three-quarters of all college students were unhappy with the quality of the education they received. Now, roughly 93% of undergraduates said tuition should be lowered if classes continue remotely in the fall, according to a

Rob Daly | OJO Images | Getty Images Households aren’t too happy with the U.S. consumer financial ecosystem these days, a report suggests. Complaints made to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were up 50% from March through June this year compared with the same time period in 2019, according to research from consumer advocacy

Luis Alvarez/ Getty Images. If you need money, you might be thinking about those funds you’ve socked away for retirement. Well, there’s good news. Maybe. If you’re financially impacted by Covid-19, you can take up to $100,000 in emergency funds from your individual retirement account or 401(k) plan through the end of 2020. In addition, if

One of the trickiest parts of retirement planning is knowing whether you’ll need long-term care down the road — or how much it might cost. While not everyone will need such care — help with daily living activities like bathing or dressing — those who do can face a big tab. Medicare — relied on

Glenda West was hoping to retire in comfort with her wife, Juliana. Yet like many Americans, the 60-year-old has seen her retirement plans thrown out of whack by the coronavirus pandemic. “We had a clear plan on how much to put away every year,” said West, who owns a small construction company with her wife

Robert Miller, a Pittsburgh area restaurateur, has watched with sadness as some of his favorite local eateries closed for good in recent weeks. Union Standard, Pizza Taglio, Spoon — just a handful of the businesses lost in the age of the coronavirus pandemic. “They’re all places people would know by name,” Miller said. Miller, 45, expects

President Donald Trump speaks on the “Rebuilding of America’s Infrastructure: Faster, Better, Stronger” in Atlanta on July 15. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images Your paycheck could get bigger if the White House gets its way. President Trump said this week that he won’t sign the next coronavirus relief package into law if it

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated the $600 weekly enhancement to unemployment benefits won’t be in the next coronavirus relief package. Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images Paid not to work Lawmakers intended the $600-a-week supplement to fully replace lost wages for the average American. In other words, someone who lost a job would be

A vehicle is seen in a caravan protest asking the state of Florida to fix its unemployment system on May 22, 2020 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Florida’s unemployment office is cutting nearly 1,000 workers from its call center — around a quarter of its representatives — at a time when the state’s jobless claims

Yellow Dog Productions | Getty Images Medicare might become a bit easier to navigate. A congressional measure that would help prevent costly enrollment mistakes cleared a House committee on Wednesday as part of a group of bipartisan-backed health-care bills. The next step would be a vote by the full chamber, although it’s uncertain when that

ljubaphoto “This year’s July 15 filing date is considered a disaster-related postponement of the filing deadline,” said IRS spokesman Eric Smith.  “Where a disaster-related postponement exists, the IRS is required by law to pay interest, calculated from the original April 15 filing deadline, as long as an individual income taxpayer files a 2019 tax return

The Covid-19 unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. MARK FELIX Medicare is often referred to as a maze. The various deadlines for signing up may have something to do with that. While turning 65 makes you eligible for Medicare, not everyone will follow the same path to enrollment. Some beneficiaries are automatically signed

Medical staff work outside the Covid-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston on June 30. Go Nakamura | Getty Images Amid one of the worst public-health crises in history, a record number of Americans are without health insurance. More than 5.4 million people who were laid off from their jobs are

More and more schools are joining the fight against the Trump Administration over a new rule that may bar international students from studying in the U.S. Now, 59 public and private colleges — including Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Duke University and Emory University, as well as every member of the Ivy League — have

For many Americans, budgeting has become a more precarious balancing act these days. Both sides of the equation — income and expenses — are wrought with uncertainty. What will happen when your unemployment benefits run out? Will you be able to keep up with your credit card payments? Here is some information on where things

The median price for a home in San Francisco is about $1.3 million, according to real estate site Zillow. Education Images | Universal Images Group | Getty Images There’s one part of the mortgage world that’s harder for some would-be home buyers to access: Jumbo loans. While there are signs that lenders may be easing

Morsa Images If your income has taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic, you may be trying to figure out ways to bring in some cash. One option is to tap  your 401(k) plan or individual retirement account under the new rules enacted in the federal coronavirus stimulus package, or CARES Act. Experts often say  taking money

Tomas Vargas, Jr., of Stockton, Calif., says that receiving money through the city’s universal basic income experiment has been life changing. Snap Jackson Photography A few years ago, Tomas Vargas, Jr., was having a tough time supporting his family. The Stockton, California, resident, a part-time supervisor at UPS, found his paychecks were not enough to

Demonstrators gather in front of the Texas State Capital during a protest in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, June 30, 2020. Sergio Flores/Bloomberg via Getty Images More states may take similar steps as outbreaks expand, mostly across the American South and West. The United States reported a daily record of 63,247 new cases of Covid-19 on

Changes to Medicare that advocates have been seeking may end up in the next federal coronavirus relief legislation,  experts say. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to unveil its version of the next stimulus package in late July as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to slow economic recovery and unemployment remains high. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,

A newly erected fence blocks the front of a vacant home that Moms 4 Housing activists occupied during a months-long protest that ended in a court-ordered eviction, in Oakland, California. PHILIP PACHECO Emily Benfer began her career representing homeless families in Washington, D.C. Her first case involved a family that had been evicted after complaining to