Personal finance

skynesher | E+ | Getty Images You know you need a cash cushion. But the numbers can be daunting. Experts say you need three to six months of living expenses — or even more. If you’re put off by the numbers — how do you save when you can barely make ends meet? — focus

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 27, 2020. Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images Unemployment benefits would be cut by nearly half in a new plan proposed by Senate Republicans on Monday. The policy is expected to replace a $600-a-week federal boost, which lapsed over the

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images Months of economic uncertainty have driven people to turn toward a normally forbidden pot of cash: their retirement savings. The CARES Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law this spring, allows individuals affected by the pandemic to take emergency withdrawals of up to $100,000 from their retirement plans.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of U.S. colleges have said their campuses will remain closed through the fall semester.  Still, students are heading back to school as soon as this weekend. For some, there is nowhere else to go. About 52% of high school and college students said going back to school

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

Savings The approaches generally boil down to two general ideas: trimming expenses or turning existing assets into income, according to Jeffrey Levine, CFP, director of advanced planning at Buckingham Wealth Partners in Long Island, New York. An emergency fund is the first place to look in a cash crunch. This may be a no-brainer: This

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

People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment benefits, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Arkansas Workforce Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. April 6, 2020. Nick Oxford |File Photo | REUTERS In mid-March, Erin Madden was furloughed from her job as a bartender at the Hollywood Burbank

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

“My stomach is growling and I have a headache,” said Sheila Ritter, 51. Sheila Reiter Sheila Ritter was laid off from her job as a security guard on March 14, the same day as her oldest daughter’s birthday. Affording enough food to feed her family has been a struggle for Ritter, who lives in Denver,

A view of the Capitol’s Rotunda is seen reflected in an ambulance as negotiations on a COVID-19 economic bailout continue on Capitol Hill March 24, 2020, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Congress is expected to make some big decisions that will affect how much money flows to Americans in the

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

Shelly Chapman | Moment | Getty Images Things have been tough for many Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s about to get worse, personal finance expert Suze Orman warns. The virus is continuing to spread across the country, with nearly 3.8 million cases and more than 140,000 deaths now being reported. At the same

With declining enrollments, reduced giving and state funding cuts, colleges are resorting to last-ditch efforts to stay afloat. Now teachers are the latest victims of extreme cost cutting. The University of Akron, Boston University and the University of Arizona are just a few of the schools to lay off or furlough staff in response to 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

All theater performances in New York are suspended through the remainder of 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Pictured, shuttered Broadway theaters. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Great Depression levels of unemployment have hit some of the country’s biggest cities. The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the jobless rate in New York, Los Angeles and other

All eyes are on Congress to see what they will include in the next coronavirus stimulus bill. That could include a second set of stimulus checks. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday that lawmakers want to send another round of direct payments to Americans.  For some, that could mean a new chance

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

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

U.S. President Donald Trump’s name appears on the coronavirus economic assistance checks that were sent to citizens across the country April 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images Many Americans hope a second stimulus check is on the table in the next coronavirus relief package. Starting this week, we get to see