Personal finance

A person reads a list of employers as they attend a job fair at SoFi Stadium on Sept. 9, 2021, in Inglewood, California. PATRICK T. FALLON | AFP | Getty Images There remains little evidence that states successfully nudged people back to work by ending federal unemployment benefits early, according to economists. Twenty-six states withdrew

Sinenkiy | iStock | Getty Images Federal benefits for aged, blind and disabled Americans have not been updated in years. Now, some lawmakers and advocates are pushing for changes to the program — called Supplemental Security Income, or SSI — to be part of legislation being promoted in Congress. However, it is still unclear whether

A detail of the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, a presumed pseudonym used by the inventor of Bitcoin, in Budapest, Hungary. Janos Kummer | Getty Images News | Getty Images The price of popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum plunged Friday after Chinese officials intensified a crackdown, essentially declaring crypto to be illegal. The government intervention,

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images In just a few months, the new child tax credit featuring advance monthly payments has relieved financial instability and lowered food insecurity for many families with children. Continuing the expanded credit beyond 2021 would slash child poverty even further, reducing it to about 8.4% from 14.2%, a fall of

Signage outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The top 1% of Americans may be dodging as much as $163 billion in annual taxes, according to a report from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  This estimate widens the so-called tax gap — the shortfall between

Trevor Williams | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re like most people, you probably assume you know more than you think you do, even if you don’t realize it. That false sense of security allows us to be decisive in the face of great uncertainties. But when it comes to investing, that can backfire, according

Chassity Jackson, founder of Battle Beauties Fashion, is worried about falling back into a depression over money. Courtesy: Chassity Jackson Chassity Jackson is worried about her financial future. While the 42-year-old Air Force veteran is financially secure now, that wasn’t always the case. Two years ago, she was living in a car with her 11-year-old

Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Federal unemployment benefits lapsed on Labor Day. But there’s good news for Americans who’ve been waiting weeks or months for that aid to arrive: They can still collect back pay past the cutoff date. Workers who haven’t yet applied for the federal assistance can still do

courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images The end of eviction protections combined with the snail-paced distribution of federal rental assistance means that the struggles for renters aren’t going away anytime soon. More than 6 million households remain behind on rent payments, a figure that has only worsened of late, despite an unprecedented allocation of funding

Getty Images Many Americans know the benefit of retirement savings, yet few realize there’s a special incentive to set aside money for their golden years: the saver’s credit. The saver’s credit, formerly known as the retirement savings contributions credit, offers low- and moderate-income filers a write-off at tax time.    Currently, savers may claim up to

Money and mental health are connected. Financial problems can make you stressed, anxious or depressed, and those feelings, in turn, can have a big impact on your finances. In fact, anxious or stressed adults are more likely to engage in costly financial behaviors, including withdrawing cash from retirement accounts and borrowing from high-cost financial services

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images Democrats may scuttle tactics used by the rich to pass wealth to heirs with little to no tax, part of a broader plan to raise money for an expansion of the U.S. safety net. Specifically, the party is considering disallowing some complex trust-planning techniques used by

Sometimes an investment is too good to be true. As Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos, goes on trial on allegations of defrauding investors and patients, her health-care start-up may be a prime example. Nearly a decade ago, investors, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Walton family

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images If you are not working and married, you may be leaving tax-deductible money on the table — money that could go towards your retirement savings. While you typically need to have income to open an individual retirement account, there is an exception for married spouses who file their taxes

Paying for college is daunting even in good economic times. When Covid brought the country to a standstill, one-quarter of last year’s high school graduates delayed their college plans, according to a survey from Junior Achievement and Citizens, largely because their parents or guardians were less able to provide financial support. Even now, cost remains a top concern. Six

ALEAIMAGE | iStock | Getty Images The Biden administration approved on Monday the biggest boost to food assistance benefits in the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a reform that could impact as many as 42 million Americans. Starting in October, SNAP benefits will increase by an average of 25% above pre-pandemic levels. That

katleho Seisa With inflation fears high and interest rates at rock-bottom lows, retirees may wrestle with how much cash they need during their golden years. The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, increased by 5.4% in July from the previous year, and the average savings interest rates are still 0.06%, making cash reserves

Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images Employment among the lowest-paid Americans has flat-lined at a level well below its pre-pandemic baseline — even as mid- and high-wage workers have more than recovered. Jobs for workers who earn less than $27,000 a year were down about 22% as of July 23 relative to mid-January last year, according

In this article BCH.CB= TSLA A view of dogecoin commemorative coins, Yichang, central China’s Hubei province, May 9, 2021. Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images Dogecoin, the cryptocurrency named after a meme of a shiba inu dog, is rallying again. The digital coin jumped as much as 10% on Monday to more than 35 cents, according

Hector Pertuz | iStock | Getty Images If you’re handling the financial affairs for an older person who has died, you may wonder how the government knows to stop sending Social Security payments. Or maybe there’s a surviving spouse or dependent who is hoping those benefits can continue. Although Social Security rules can be complicated,