Personal finance

Xavier Lorenzo | Moment | Getty Images As interest rates go up, 2023 is shaping up to be a good time for savers who stand to earn more money on their cash. The Federal Reserve last week added a 0.25 percentage point rate increase in the latest in a string of rate hikes to combat

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images Getting divorced is often considered one of the most stressful life events. But, for some people, there could be an unintended positive outcome to splitting up: A boost in their work performance. In a study of people in the process of divorce, which is online in advance of

In this article DLTR DG Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A man looks at frozen foods for sale at a Dollar Store in Alhambra, California on August 23, 2022. Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images Among all rising costs, sky-high grocery bills have been especially painful. Although the consumer price index, an inflation

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | DigitalVision | Getty Images As Democratic lawmakers honor the anniversary of a national family and medical program for workers, they are calling for a national paid policy that would bring the U.S. in line with other industrialized nations. This Sunday, Feb. 5, marks the 30th anniversary of the Family and

For most Americans, inflation and rising interest rates are a one-two punch. On the heels of another rate hike this week by the Federal Reserve, credit card annual percentage rates are already near 20%, on average, and set to climb even higher. At the same time, more consumers are leaning on credit to afford increasingly expensive

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty Images For a rising share of car owners, monthly auto loan payments appear to be evolving into a problem. While borrowers who are behind on their payments by more than 60 days represent a tiny portion of all outstanding auto loans — 1.84% — their ranks are growing, according to

Shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images As of this year, people new to Medicare won’t face big delays in coverage — an unenviable situation that some beneficiaries used to find themselves in. Thanks to legislation passed in late 2020, months-long delays in certain Medicare enrollment circumstances are now eliminated. Additionally, individuals who missed signing up

Thomas Barwick | Digitalvision | Getty Images American workers are in the throes of a historic job market, characterized by low unemployment and layoffs, relatively fast-rising wages and a high degree of job-seeker confidence. Job trends in recent months reveal “a juggernaut” of a labor market, said Nick Bunker, head of economic research at the

Littlebee80 | Istock | Getty Images It’s been nearly three years since most people with federal student loans have had to make a payment on their education debt. The U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly cited specific dates for when the bills would resume, only to extend the pandemic-era break yet again. Most recently, amid

Douglas Rissing | Istock | Getty Images Shortly after President Joe Biden announced an unprecedented plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars of the country’s outstanding federal student loan debt, the legal challenges piled up. Republicans and conservative groups have now brought at least six lawsuits against the president’s plan, arguing it is harmful

Jeffrey Coolidge | Photodisc | Getty Images Black Americans are roughly three to five times more likely to face an IRS audit than other taxpayers, according to a new study. While there isn’t evidence of explicit discrimination from the IRS or its revenue agents, the findings show the disparity stems from a faulty software algorithm

Tim Bieber | Photodisc | Getty Images Amid stock market gyrations, recession fears and loftier payouts, consumers last year pumped a record sum of money into annuities, a type of insurance that offers a guaranteed income stream. Buyers funneled $310.6 billion into annuities in 2022, according to estimates published by Limra, an insurance industry trade

Shoppers in San Francisco on Dec. 21, 2022. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Months of high inflation have weighed heavily on households. As of December, 64% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report — up from 61% a year earlier and in line with the historic high first

Simpleimages | Moment | Getty Images There’s a decent chance that your state is holding money or other assets that belong to you — and government officials want you to have it. About 1 in 7 people — 33 million altogether — collectively have an estimated $70 billion worth of unclaimed property being held by

The Federal Reserve raised the target federal funds rate for the eighth time in a row on Wednesday, in its continued effort to tame persistent inflation. At its latest meeting, the central bank approved a more modest 0.25 percentage point increase after recent signs that inflationary pressures have started to cool. “The easing of inflation pressures

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images It’s tax season, and Americans are confronted by a lot of tax jargon when preparing their returns. Two types of tax breaks stand out among all the lingo: credits and deductions. Each lowers your tax liability, which is the total annual tax owed on your income. (That figure can

Westend61 When homeowners look for ways to fund home improvement projects or other expenses, sometimes a home equity line of credit emerges as an option. HELOCs, as they’re called, let you borrow money against a portion of your home’s equity — the difference between your mortgage balance and the house’s appraised value — up to

Djordje Krstic | Istock | Getty Images Fewer borrowers will be able to claim the student loan interest deduction for 2022, with federal loan payments on hold for the duration of the year. But some people may still qualify. Before the Covid pandemic, nearly 13 million taxpayers took advantage of the break, which allows borrowers

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Social Security and Medicare should be “completely off the table” when it comes to debt ceiling negotiations, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a

ozgurcankaya As tax season begins, you may be eager to file your tax return for a faster refund and to check the annual task off your list. For most filers, the tax deadline is April 18, and the IRS urges Americans to prepare before filing to avoid processing and refund delays, along with future IRS