Personal finance

Rudi_suardi | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. job market has been stagnant of late, a dynamic that contains both good and bad news for U.S. workers. On the one hand, businesses are holding on to their existing workforce, meaning employees are unlikely to lose their jobs, economists said. But it also may be hard

Close-up of unrecognizable black woman opening mail containing new credit card Grace Cary | Moment | Getty Images Most credit cards have a variable rate with a direct connection to the Federal Reserve‘s benchmark. It follows that credit card rates spiked along with the Fed’s string of 11 rate hikes starting in March 2022. The average annual percentage rate

Miniseries | E+ | Getty Images Housing is not cheap — whether you’re buying or renting.  In October, the median sales price for a single-family home in the U.S. was $437,300, up from $426,800 a month prior, according to the latest data by the U.S. Census.  Meanwhile, the median rent price in the U.S. was

Former Representative Billy Long, a Republican from Missouri, speaks during a campaign event for former US President Donald Trump at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, US, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024.  Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Missouri congressman Billy Long to lead the IRS, which has triggered

PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, Color of the Year 2025. Courtesy: Pantone “Mocha Mousse” was dubbed 2025’s color of the year, according to the Pantone Color Institute, which it described as “a warming, brown hue imbued with richness.” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director Pantone Color Institute, described the shade as “sophisticated and lush, yet at the same

A driver for an independent contractor to FedEx delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images Holiday shopping is expected to reach record levels this year. But a growing share of those purchases will be sent back. Returns in 2024 are expected to

Traders react after the closing bell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 13, 2023.  Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters However you feel about the world these days, you’re likely happy with the stock market. The S&P 500 is up nearly 30% this year so far. But

Grace Cary | Moment | Getty Images After decades of building your nest egg, you will eventually have to start taking required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from pretax retirement accounts. The first RMD can be tricky, according to financial experts. Since 2023, most retirees must begin RMDs at age 73. The first deadline is April

In this article FIS Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT As the markets tested record highs, retirement savers reaped the benefits. The average 401(k) plan balance ended the third quarter up 23% from a year earlier, at $132,300 — the highest average on record, according to a new report by Fidelity, the nation’s largest provider of

Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images A Labor Department rule that shields retirement savers from getting harmful investment advice is at risk of being overturned during President-elect Donald Trump’s second term — an outcome that would have an element of déjà vu, said legal experts. The Biden-era regulation, issued in April, aims

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images As a historic wave of baby boomers reaches retirement age, finding affordable long-term care is a challenge. “We’re going to have a major storm coming in our country with all these folks that can’t take care of themselves,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-New York, said Thursday at the Employee Benefit Research

U.S. President Joe Biden is joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona (L) as he announces new actions to protect borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down his student loan forgiveness plan in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on June 30, 2023 in Washington, DC.  Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

9parusnikov | Istock | Getty Images Oxford University Press may have crowned “brain rot” the word of the year, but “dynamic pricing” was also a top contender. Originally coined by economists in the late 1920s, dynamic pricing refers to “the practice of varying the price for a product or service to reflect changing market conditions.

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images Companies can now offer their workers a “match” on their student loan payments in the form of a contribution to their 401(k) plan — and a small but growing number of employers are taking advantage. Traditionally, companies have only paid a 401(k) match to workers based on their

Damircudic | E+ | Getty Images More federal student loan borrowers have been able to get their debt discharged in bankruptcy over the last few years, thanks to new guidance that the Biden administration has issued. That more lenient policy may be at risk when President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House in January, experts

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images Older Americans have just a few days left to evaluate their Medicare coverage for next year. Medicare’s annual open enrollment period for health plans and prescription drug coverage runs until Dec. 7. Experts say it’s worthwhile for Medicare’s 67.8 million beneficiaries to make sure they have the

Medianews Group/orange County Register Via Getty Images | Medianews Group | Getty Images It’s easy to swipe your credit card or send a check when donating to charity. But you could score a bigger tax break by gifting another asset. Some 34 million U.S. adults gave $3.1 billion for Giving Tuesday 2023, up by 0.6%

Sturti | E+ | Getty Images When shopping for a home, many buyers may hope to avoid purchasing a property subject to a homeowners association.  But that may be easier said than done. That’s because HOAs are on the rise in the U.S. Therefore it’s important to understand the ins and outs of these organizations

A driver for an independent contractor to FedEx delivers packages on Cyber Monday in New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images Consumers are increasingly concerned that their online orders may not arrive in time for the holiday — and rightfully so. More than half of shoppers —

Mementojpeg | Moment | Getty Images Federal student loan borrowers who fall behind on their bills will once again face financial consequences. After the Covid pandemic-era pause on the payments expired in September 2023, the Biden administration offered borrowers another year in which they would be shielded from the impacts of missed payments. With that