Personal finance

It’s been one year since the coronavirus crisis brought the economy to its knees, and some people may never financially recover. Despite recent signs of improvement — including modest job gains and progress on Covid-19 vaccine shots, which paves the way to a more open economy — about half of working adults in the U.S. said

Getty Images If you’re one of the millions of Americans struggling financially because of the coronavirus pandemic, more relief is on the way. Included in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package working its way through Congress and expected to be signed into law by mid-March will likely be direct payments of up to $1,400, an extension

Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images Democrats are rushing to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic aid bill by next week and get it to President Joe Biden in time to prevent a gap in unemployment benefits. It’s perhaps too late to stop that from happening, according to some experts. “The unfortunate reality

Food is loaded as drivers in their vehicles wait in line on arrival at a “Let’s Feed LA County” food distribution hosted by the Los Angeles Food Bank on Dec. 4, 2020 in Hacienda Heights, California. FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Images Long-term joblessness is nearing a record, as Washington lawmakers rush to

Volunteers load shopping bags with food assistance for laid off workers at a food distribution event on Dec. 12, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images Democrats are poised to send more unemployment benefits to laid-off workers. Meanwhile, some workers are still waiting on the last tranche, authorized months ago. A $900 billion

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images It would be normal to want to spend a minimal amount of time planning for your own death. Yet there’s a key aspect of creating an estate plan that experts say you shouldn’t gloss over. For instance, choosing who would carry out the wishes outlined in your

Wind turbines operate at the Gouda wind power facility alongside a road at dusk in Gouda, South Africa, on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images ESG growth Investor demand for ESG funds has grown sharply in recent years. Investors poured $51.1 billion of net new money into such funds in 2020, a

You’ve probably received a phone call claiming your Social Security number has been compromised. For people who fall for such scams, the experience can add up to big financial losses. One elderly woman in Massachusetts lost more than $900,000 to a Social Security imposter scam operation, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for

katleho Seisa | E+ | Getty Images For an extra year, it’s going to be easier than ever to monitor your credit report — and check for errors. The nation’s three largest credit reporting firms — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — said Tuesday that consumers can access their credit report through a central site up

Signs calling for more relief, a second Paycheck Protection Program and more as part of a campaign by Goldman Sachs supporting small businesses near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5, 2021. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI | AFP | Getty Images New $1,400 stimulus checks are set to go out once Washington lawmakers finalize a new coronavirus relief

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 25, 2021. Tasos Katopodis | Getty Images News | Getty Images Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said Wednesday it’s a “prescription for trouble” to end jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and gig

Douglas Sacha | Moment | Getty Images The timing of filing a 2020 tax return is extra important this year — if you get it right, it could lead to a bigger stimulus check. The Senate this week is expected to take up President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks

Luis Alvarez | DigitalVision | Getty Images The House of Representatives’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill includes a proposal that could help keep some seniors out of nursing homes. The bill calls for a 7.5% increase — or about $10 billion — in additional federal Medicaid matching funds for home- and community-based services. The extra

New York City Drew Angerer | Getty Images In the latest stimulus package making its way through Congress, there’s no extension of the national ban on evictions that is set to expire this month, meaning millions of Americans could be at risk of losing their homes as the Covid-19 pandemic still rages. President Joe Biden

FreezeFrameStudio | E+ | Getty Images If you ended up tapping your nest egg due to Covid last year, don’t forget the taxman. Most people did not take an early distribution from qualified retirement accounts — i.e., a 401(k) or individual retirement account — as permitted under temporary rules for last year, according to plan

Hispanolistic New $1,400 stimulus checks could be on the way to millions of Americans now that the House of Representatives has passed the latest coronavirus relief bill. The fate of those payments now rests in the hands of the Senate, which is due to begin considering the proposed legislation this week. The terms have called

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., holds a news conference to announce legislation that would tax the net worth of America’s wealthiest individuals at the U.S. Capitol on Mar. 1, 2021 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images A slew of Democrats on Capitol Hill — including progressives Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and

Brothers91 | E+ | Getty Images One year into the coronavirus pandemic, women are not OK. More than 2.3 million have left the workforce since February 2020, bringing their labor participation rate to levels not seen since 1988, according to the National Women’s Law Center. In December alone, women accounted for 100% of the jobs

Laura Crovo still has some lingering Covid symptoms, despite having contracted the virus last April. It’s been 10 months since Laura Crovo has felt entirely normal. Since testing positive for Covid last April, the 41-year-old Marylander has yet to shake off all of her symptoms. And on top of battling them — mostly a racing

ozgurcankaya Americans are not messing around this tax season. In just one week since the tax filing period opened on Feb. 12, the IRS received nearly 35 million individual tax returns, according to data released by the agency on Thursday. The rush of returns far outpaces what the agency saw last year, even before the