Personal finance

Many Americans seem to be addicted to income tax refunds, even though financial planners often advise having less tax withheld from your pay throughout the year as the better way to manage your cash flow. Nearly two-thirds of taxpayers — more than 111 million Americans — received a refund from the Internal Revenue Service last

Getty Images The April 15 tax deadline is about two months away, yet that’s still plenty of time to knock a few dollars off your 2019 tax bill. The IRS declared tax season open on Jan. 27. The agency expects to receive more than 150 million individual income tax returns for the 2019 tax year.

Tetra Images | Getty Images In a world where much of consumer banking has gone high-tech, the most costly scams involve an old-school tool: checks. At about $2,000 a pop, fake-check scams cheated consumers out of more than $28 million in 2019, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That per-instance amount is more than six

St. Clare’s Hospital was everything to Jerry and Kathy Adach. They married after meeting at the Schenectady, New York area hospital, where both worked, in the early ’80s. Their two daughters were born there. The couple, who devoted a combined 59 years of service to the facility, had expected to retire with a good pension

Squaredpixels | Getty Images It’s the bane of some older Americans. Once they hit a certain age, the government makes them take money out of their retirement accounts, even if they don’t need the cash. That is changing, albeit slowly. The recently passed Secure Act raises the age for when those required minimum withdrawals must

PeopleImages Your ex-spouse can continue to cause you trouble long after the ink is dry on your divorce decree. Four out of 10 estate planners and attorneys pointed to “gray divorce” — that is, ending your marriage after age 50 — as putting a dent into boomers’ financial plans, according to a recent survey by

Sandy Nurse doesn’t see why she needs to be $120,000 in debt “just for trying to improve my understanding of the world.” And so, after a decade of struggling to repay her student loans, she plans to stop trying. She hopes others will join her, too, in a national strike against the country’s outstanding student

Aline Maurice | Image Bank | Getty Images Valentine’s Day is perfect time to tell your partner how much they mean to you — and come clean about a secret you may be keeping. Chances are, that has something to do with money. Nearly half, or 44%, of those in a relationship admit to committing

Once you reach age 65 and are eligible for Medicare, sorting through your options can be tricky. Add in any layer of complexity to the maze — i.e., jumping in and out of the workforce, dropping and picking up coverage — and look out. The program comes with rules — lots of them. And if

Catherine Delahaye If you want a tax credit for paying your nanny, you’ll have to get right with the IRS first. Hiring a caregiver for one infant child costs an average of $596 per week, according to data from Care.com. On a monthly basis, the payment is on par with many mortgages: $2,384. Moreover, in

For most Americans approaching their golden years — no matter their wealth — how much income they will have in retirement, where it will be coming from and how to spend it are major concerns. But where to spend it may be just as important in determining quality of life after they punch their last

President Donald Trump is calling for cuts to the Education Department Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump released a budget for 2021 on Monday that would slash many of the programs aimed at helping borrowers. Student loan spending would be cut by $170 billion in Trump’s plan, titled “A

Kang-ho Song, Hye-jin Jang, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park in the movie “Parasite.” Source: Parasite In “Parasite,” the South Korean thriller that took home four Oscars Sunday night, including the award for best picture, the tension between rich and poor is on full display, juxtaposing the luxury and abundance of the haves with the hardship and

Despite the dangers of high-interest debt, more consumers are testing the limits of plastic. To that point, more than 1 in 3 Americans — or 91 million people— said they’re afraid they’ll max out their credit card when making a large purchase, according to a new WalletHub credit cards survey. (Most of those polled considered

Ryan Reed became a technical support specialist at IBM after graduating last year from the tech firm’s apprenticeship program. Photo credit: IBM. Ryan Reed was having a tough time. The 38-year-old, a resident of Raleigh, North Carolina, had been trying for months to land a job in technology, a passion dating to his days as

Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England. Max Mumby | Indigo | Getty Images Royals aren’t the only ones leaning on family. As Prince

When financial advisor Liz Miller took on a client whose spouse had recently died, she realized a piece of the survivor’s financial life needed more attention than her wealth management services would provide. That is, the client needed help with the basics of managing money because her late husband had handled everything. “She hadn’t been

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (R) participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson | Getty Images Social Security policy has already prompted some presidential contenders to resort to fighting words. But for many

Aimstock | Getty Images It’s the gift that everybody wants: the ability to get a do-over when you make a mistake. In golf, it’s called a mulligan, or the chance to redo a stroke. With Social Security, it’s called a withdrawal of application. However, the circumstances under which you can exercise this option are limited.

Getty | Westend61 Everyone has to save for retirement. If you have a job with a company that offers retirement savings, you are in luck. You sign up (or you might be enrolled automatically) and then contribute through your paycheck. You don’t have to do a thing. But when you’re an independent entrepreneur, you have