Personal finance

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Mortgage rates are projected to decline next year — but that doesn’t mean prospective homebuyers should necessarily delay a purchase for the prospect of lower financing costs. The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage will fall to an average 4.5% in 2023, according to a recent housing

A customer shops in a Kroger grocery store on July 15, 2022 in Houston. Brandon Bell | Getty Images Many consumers have suffered sticker shock at the grocery store due to record high inflation. But another surprise that’s grabbing consumers’ attention — and even trending on TikTok — is “shrinkflation.” Almost two-thirds, 64%, of all

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images September has historically been the worst month for stocks. To that point, just two months have delivered an average negative return for stocks since 1945, according to market research firm CFRA: February and September, with the latter being the worst. The Stock Trader’s Almanac reports that, on average, September is

Cyano66 | Istock | Getty Images With much fanfare, President Joe Biden has signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. Historians may one day say this legislation did more to complicate an already too complicated tax code than any tax bill in the past 50 years. It is now up to the Internal Revenue Service

Camille Tokerud Photography Inc. | Stone | Getty Images Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will get two checks in September, for a maximum sum of $1,682. But the second check is no reason to celebrate, as it is not extra money. In months where bank holidays occur, that pushes up the distribution date for payments. In

In this article TREE Mark Hunt | Disabilityimages | Getty Images Owning a home is one of the key ways to build wealth. But for aspiring Black homeowners, that can be a difficult milestone to reach, according to a new report from LendingTree. Research from the online loan market company finds the mortgage denial rate

JGI/Jamie Grill If you’re one of the millions of Americans with student loans, President Joe Biden‘s forgiveness plan may be welcome relief. However, there are some key things to know about the income limits, experts say. Biden will cancel $10,000 for most borrowers or up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, limited to those making

Student loan borrowers stage an Aug 25, 2022 rally in front of the White House to celebrate President Joe Biden canceling some federal student debt. Paul Morigi | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images As tens of millions of Americans process the news of federal student loan forgiveness, countless questions are emerging about how it

President Biden this week announced a long-awaited plan to forgive student debt for millions of borrowers — and criminals will likely leverage the news to steal from unsuspecting victims, the Federal Trade Commission warned on Friday. “Nobody can get you in early, help you jump the line or guarantee eligibility,” said a consumer alert issued

Getty Images President Joe Biden‘s student loan forgiveness plan will soon cancel debt for millions of Americans — and the relief is tax-free on federal returns. However, experts say the cancellation may still trigger a state tax bill. Most borrowers making less than $125,000 per year or $250,000 for married couples filing together will qualify

Strauss/Curtis | The Image Bank | Getty Images Under the Biden administration’s plans to wipe out some student loan debt, one particular type of need-based financial aid that many borrowers receive could mean qualifying for twice as much in forgiveness. If you were the recipient of a Pell Grant, you may be eligible for up

AntonioGuillem | Getty Images It’s something more than 40 million Americans have in common: They hold federal student loans. But the lending system is famously complicated, and these loans come with various names and terms depending on when they were taken out and for what purpose. What are usually just technical differences could now determine

Fast-food workers and supporters fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. James Leynse | Corbis Historical | Getty Images The Biden administration seems to have pegged a student loan policy announced Wednesday to its broader push for a national $15-an-hour minimum wage. The White House detailed a long-awaited plan to forgive up

For millions of Americans, learning Wednesday that the Biden administration plans to move ahead with sweeping student loan forgiveness likely sparked feelings of relief — followed by a lot of questions. The government has already made a surprising number of answers available, though time will tell how smoothly the cancellation unfolds between the U.S. Department

Supachok Pichetkul / Eyeem | Eyeem | Getty Images Some policy experts were quick to sound an alarm after President Joe Biden announced a sweeping new plan Wednesday to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loans for borrowers with incomes under $125,000. Biden will cancel up to $20,000 for recipients of Pell Grants. The

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 President Joe Biden’s long-awaited plan to forgive student debt, announced Wednesday, drew immediate pushback from some lawmakers and consumer groups even as they praised the historic

President Joe Biden could make his announcement on student loan forgiveness as soon as Wednesday, five sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News. Administration officials repeatedly said the decision would come before the end of August, when monthly loan payments are scheduled to resume after being paused for over two years as part

A ‘for sale’ sign hangs in front of a home on June 21, 2022 in Miami, Florida. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes dropped 3.4% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 5.41 million units. Sales were 8.6% lower than in May 2021. As existing-home sales declined, the median price

Air conditioner units for sale during a heat wave in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. Sergio Flores | Bloomberg | Getty Images Labor Day deals are already underway, with big discounts on summer clothing, appliances and outdoor furniture. “Sales have already started,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com. For cash-strapped consumers, this

Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images Most investors think of exchange-traded funds as a simple way to buy a diversified basket of individual stocks tracking an index or with exposure to a particular theme. But now there are also so-called single-stock ETFs, allowing leveraged bets on individual stocks. However, regulators and advisors warn these