Month: January 2020

 Hero Images | Getty Images New parents will have one new source to tap for money — their retirement savings. The Secure Act, which was passed by Congress in December, is ushering in some of the biggest changes to retirement savings since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. But experts warn that tapping your retirement
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Getty With household American debt now at roughly $14 trillion dollars, it’s no surprise many Americans are struggling to manage their debt and establish positive financial habits. Mortgage debt is by far the largest source of American debt, sitting at $9.83 of the $14.12 trillion. Following mortgages is student loan debt, which hit $1.5 trillion in
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Deep in the valleys forged by the waters of Asia’s Red River, a series of colorful mountain villages are encircled by fields of towering rice terraces. The fields are agricultural feats of precision — rugged mountains blanketed with emerald stairways that, seemingly, ascend to the heavens above. Mu Cang Chai, Vietnam. Ratnakorn Piyasirisorost But this
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Prasert Krainukul If you think that Republicans and Democrats can’t see eye to eye these days, try sitting in a room with financial professionals who are for and against annuities. The inability to agree is real. And both sides hold steadfast to their positions. Annuities are insurance or investment contracts that give investors regular payments
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Couple celebrating with sparklers at the beach Getty If you’ve been holding the Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (RQI)—a fund I wrote about a lot in 2019—you’ve done very well indeed. RQI has dominated, with its market-price return surging 51.9%, including gains and dividends, since the start of 2019. So today we’re going
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Getty The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has reached an agreement with Free File, Inc. (FFI). According to the IRS, the deal will help make the Free File program more taxpayer-friendly while strengthening consumer protections in several key areas. (You can read the agreement, which downloads as a PDF, here.) “This updated agreement is part of a larger
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Job seekers wait in line for a job fair June 4, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson) Getty Images Right now I am attending meetings hosted by the American Economic Association in San Diego, a conference that is basically Mecca for academic economists. Disturbingly, there are a lot of sessions on whether we
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Investors should hold off from buying stocks Friday, even as U.S. stocks opened lower after an American airstrike killed Iran’s top military general, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said.  “I would not be excited about jumping in here because … we’re not giving up enough,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.”  The “Mad Money” host said caution is extremely important
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