Personal finance

It’s not necessarily an easy transition from military life to a civilian one. You’ll have to find a job and a place to live, to start. “In a lot of ways, you are taken care of in the military. You get free medical and dental, and you just go to the local naval hospital for

Open enrollment season is underway for many workers. And as employees pick their health plans for the year ahead, they may be missing out on some valuable new offerings. Given record-low unemployment and competition to attract and keep top talent, more employers are upping the ante with voluntary benefits, according to William Ziebell, CEO of

Catherine Ledner | Taxi | Getty Images Before leaving active duty, there are several things that military service members should do to get ready for civilian life. Top of the list is being financially prepared for the transition and beyond. “It’s not just about changing your job, it’s about changing your way of life,” said

Tara and John Falcone. Tara launched her own financial education company, ReisUp, after her husband was restationed in Japan at the end of 2015. Source; Tara Falcone Holding a steady job may be tough if you are married to a member of the military. Since military families generally move every two to three years, the

Hero Images | Getty Images There’s a downside to this year’s stock market appreciation: Some investors are in line for a surprise tax bill. Mutual funds distribute capital gains to their investors close to the end of each year. By now, many investors have received notifications from their fund companies about that, and they can

Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images It’s not just saving for retirement you need to worry about, but drawing down your money at the right time, too. The IRS requires savers to make withdrawals from their retirement accounts starting at the age of 70½. “They’ve allowed you to defer taxes, but they need to

cmannphoto | Getty Images Get out your pencils and calculators: The IRS has released a breakdown of what’s ahead for the 2020 tax year. Taxpayers who’ve been paying close attention will notice that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act overhauled the tax code. Those sweeping changes include a higher standard deduction — it’s now $12,400

College graduates will soon be hit with their first student loan bill aywan88 | E+ | Getty Images We’re heading into the season for turkey dinners, Christmas trees, presents and, for recent college graduates, their first student loan bill. Students who were handed their diplomas in May or June will find the half-a-year grace period

For some savers, the lure of moving assets to a Roth individual retirement account from a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan often boils down to the tax-free income it will deliver in their golden years. Yet there are some less obvious reasons for certain retirees or retirement savers to consider doing a so-called Roth conversion.

ferrantraite | E+ | Getty Images You may have the perfect plan for holiday season travel. Yet one wrong move and your carefully crafted budget could fly out the window. “The holidays are a really busy time and there are already so many things to do – from checking off wish lists to holiday functions,”

Advertising billboards seen in Times Square, New York City Brigitte Blättler | Moment | Getty Images If you’re living in the northeastern part of the country, chances are that you’re paying some hefty income taxes. New Yorkers paid the most in state income levies — $2,249 per capita during the 2017 fiscal year, according to

Seb Oliver | Image Source | Getty Images If you’re thinking of buying a home in Las Vegas — congratulations! You just might make a bundle when the time comes to sell it. That’s because the average annual internal rate of return for a homeowner in Sin City is 13.29%, according to a recent analysis

People shop at the Macy’s flagship store on 34th St. on Black Friday on November 23, 2018 in New York City.  Stephanie Keith | Getty Images Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events of the year — for a reason. “Everything will be on sale in some capacity,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer

Photo by Hero Images via Getty Images If you’re planning on punching in at your job well into your 60s, pay close attention to your workplace benefits. That’s because if you mismanage them, it could cost you. The over-65 crowd is expected to become a growing share of the workplace in the future. The labor

Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren lashed out at billionaire Leon Cooperman on Monday for his stake in student loan servicer Navient and stressed the importance of forgiving student debt. “I care about an entire generation of students being crushed by student loan debt — deferring their

You might know by now that Medicare’s annual open enrollment is underway and ends Dec. 7. So do scammers. Every fall, when the program’s 60 million or so beneficiaries can make coverage changes for the next year, criminals tend to step up their game, experts say. It could involve a person pretending to be a

Getty Images It’s no secret the holiday season brings on more financial stress for many consumers. And one group — millennials — are the most susceptible to taking on more debt to keep up, according to a new survey from CreditCards.com. The survey found that more than half of the people in that generation —

A woman uses her vaping device in Harmony, Pa. Keith Srakocic | AP While the long-term effects of vaping are still unknown, there’s little doubt that vaping won’t go in your favor when it comes to life insurance. The vaping-related illness outbreak reached more 1,888 probable cases with 37 fatalities as of Oct. 29, according

For many Americans, the open enrollment season, which covers both employer-based and federal health insurance, is underway. Rising health-care costs are a significant cause of stress, and yet, nearly three-quarters of working adults spend 45 minutes or less reviewing their benefits before enrolling, according to recent research by employee benefits provider Unum. At the very

MACON, Georgia — As the head of student loan debt at the U.S. Education Department, Wayne Johnson discovered some people had balances of more than $1.5 million. “I’ll never forget it,” Johnson, 67, said, during an interview with CNBC on Sunday night at a gated retirement community he owns here. “There were lots of folks