Personal finance

Rising costs have chipped away at most Americans’ standard of living. As inflation pressures continue, two-thirds of working adults said they are worse off financially than they were a year ago, according to a recent report by Salary Finance. To make ends meet, many are dipping into their cash reserves or going into debt. Nearly three-quarters, or

Win-initiative/neleman | Stone | Getty Images The Biden administration officially launched the application for federal student loan forgiveness Monday — and scammers are already “on the move” to capture borrowers’ money and personal information, the Federal Trade Commission warned Tuesday. Tens of millions of Americans are eligible for debt cancellation. Borrowers may qualify for cancellation

Mike Mergen | Bloomberg | Getty Images If you’re a Medicare beneficiary, now’s the time to evaluate your prescription drug coverage for 2023. In addition to checking during Medicare’s annual fall open enrollment whether you can get a more cost-effective plan, you should be aware of some legislative changes taking effect next year that may

Workers are pushing for greater pay transparency, whether employers like it or not. Such conversations around income expectations used to be “the elephant in the room,” said Vicki Salemi, career expert at Monster.com. Now, 33% of job seekers said they would not even go to a job interview without first knowing the salary the employer

Wpadington | Istock | Getty Images President Joe Biden on Monday announced the official launch of the student loan forgiveness application. The news comes just days after the U.S. Department of Education made available on Friday evening an early version of its student loan forgiveness application. During the application’s short so-called beta period, Americans with

Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education has launched its official application for student loan forgiveness, meaning tens of millions of Americans can now request the financial relief. The

Emily the Criminal Courtesy: John Patton Ford In the new film “Emily the Criminal,” the title character, played by actress Aubrey Plaza, is almost always in a state of fear. There are moments where Emily’s dread lifts: after one of her successful heists, when she’s painting in her apartment to classical music or when she’s

A woman shops for chicken at a supermarket in Santa Monica, California, on September 13, 2022. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images Despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to get the cost of living under control, prices just keep climbing — and the uptick is especially brutal at the supermarket. The cost of food overall

Tomekbudujedomek | Moment | Getty Images The historic climate legislation President Joe Biden signed in August offered a federal tax break — worth up to $7,500 — to households that buy new electric vehicles. But it may be tough for consumers to get the full value of the tax credit — at least initially. That’s

Fg Trade | E+ | Getty Images Are you ready for a “second act” in retirement? Sadly, large numbers of Americans heading into their 60s are not — at least from a financial perspective. While the average amount of retirement savings for Americans between the ages of 55 and 64 was $408,000 in 2019, per

Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education began beta testing the student debt forgiveness application Friday night. The application is available at StudentAid.gov. As of 8:45 p.m. ET Friday,

Wand_prapan | Istock | Getty Images Social Security’s average retiree benefit will go up by $146 per month in 2023, thanks to a record 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment prompted by high inflation. More than 70 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will benefit from those higher payments. “It’s the highest COLA in 40 years,”

Geber86 | E+ | Getty Images As the U.S. economy attempts to find its footing as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, two looming uncertainties have emerged: persistent high inflation and a possible recession. So it’s no surprise that financial advisors who landed on the CNBC FA 100 list for 2022 are hearing about those

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education has said that its student loan forgiveness application will go live in “early October.” Yet it’s nearly halfway through the month, and borrowers still can’t apply. Still, the White House has shared new information on what people can expect from the form. Here’s

In this article WMT AMZN TGT Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale may be over, but the discounts have only just begun. “Black Friday is here,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com, noting that sales that traditionally rolled out on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day are starting earlier

Increasingly, college is an option only for those who can afford it or are willing to take on massive student debt. But not all schools see it that way. To make higher education more accessible, a growing number of institutions are eliminating student loans altogether.  More than 20 schools now have “no-loan” policies, which means

Tommaso79 | Istock | Getty Images People who do not typically file taxes have a new way to claim a federal tax credit aimed at low- to moderate-income workers that was temporarily made more generous last year. GetCTC.org, a simplified filing tool, was updated on Wednesday to include the earned income tax credit. The maximum

Getty Images Younger, wealthy investors are looking beyond the stock market for higher returns. Some 75% of high-net-worth investors between the ages of 21 and 42, compared to 32% of investors over 43-years-old, don’t expect “above-average returns” solely from traditional stocks and bonds, according to a Bank of America Private Bank study released Tuesday. The

In this article TGT AMZN Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Amazon‘s two-day “Prime Early Access Sale” is underway. Look for significant discounts on Amazon devices, such as the Kindle, Echo and Fire TV streamer, and its private-label clothing, according to Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com. As part of the sale, the Fire 55-inch

Rudi_suardi | E+ | Getty Images The Biden administration will soon issue a rule that may make it easier for workers to be considered “employees” instead of “independent contractors.” The U.S. Department of Labor issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on Tuesday, signaling its intent to issue a formal regulation that would redefine how employers