Personal finance

A person shops for groceries on March 10, 2022 in the Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood of Brooklyn. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images Inflation hit a new 40-year high in June, and policymakers are working feverishly to tame it — perhaps even risking recession to do so.   Jerome Powell, chair

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries will be in line to receive a record high cost-of-living adjustment in 2023 due to inflation. The question is exactly how high it may be. Based on new consumer price index data for June released Wednesday, The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan senior group, now estimates the

Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022. Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images Inflation jumped to a new 40-year high in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. That means the prices Americans pay at the gas pump, grocery store and elsewhere have been rising much faster than normal this year. That

Getty Images Inflation has continued to rise, but some retirees won’t feel the brunt of many soaring costs, experts say. Annual inflation jumped by 9.1% in June, growing at the fastest pace since late 1981, the U.S. Department of Labor reported on Wednesday. Higher prices have many worried, even those earning six figures. Some 65%

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images If you’re a prospective homebuyer who is having second thoughts, you’re not alone. About 15% of all home contracts fell through in June, marking the highest share of cancellations since March 2020 — the start of the pandemic — when it was 17.6%, according to real estate brokerage

Woman on her back pushing shopping cart in supermarket aisle David Espejo | Getty Images Experts are weighing the odds as to how likely a recession is and how fast it could come upon us. Most Americans — 70% — already believe an economic downturn is on its way, according to a new survey from

David Ryder | Getty Images After staggering growth during the pandemic, the U.S. housing Boismarket is starting to cool — and it’s happening fastest along the West Coast. The quickest-cooling real estate market is San Jose, California, according to a new Redfin analysis, which ranked U.S. metropolitan markets based on median sales prices, year-over-year inventory

A customer reaches down to pick up a bottle of water from a street vendor in Paris on June 17, 2022. Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images The value of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar has sunk near a two-decade low — and that’s good news for Americans traveling to Europe this

A customer shops for meat at a Target store on June 08, 2022 in San Rafael, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images Inflation is a real worry for many Americans — even those who earn six figures — and it’s impacting decisions about how they spend their money. Fully 96% of

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images If you’re among the millions of workers who have left their job as part of the so-called Great Resignation that’s still rumbling through the labor market, be sure not to neglect your 401(k). While you may have options for how to handle retirement savings in your ex-employer’s plan, there

Getty Images The demand for Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, has skyrocketed as investors seek refuge from soaring prices and stock market volatility. While annual inflation rose by 8.6% in May — the highest rate in more than four decades, according to the U.S. Department of Labor — I bonds are

Spxchrome | E+ | Getty Images Your company is switching its 401(k) provider. What should you do? At a high level, what this means is your employer chose a new firm to administer and keep records for its company-sponsored retirement plan. These firms track details for employees like total savings, contributions, trades, investments, holdings and

Romolotavani | Istock | Getty Images As talk about the possibility of a recession heats up, so may your anxiety. While a downturn is not a foregone conclusion, some experts have recently boosted the odds of a recession happening in the near-term. Citigroup, assessing global economic growth over the next 18 months, sees a 50%

In this article AMZN As Amazon gears up for Prime Day on July 12 and 13, shoppers may be less enthusiastic this year about the big annual sale. “The explosive sort of growth year over year that we’ve seen with Prime Day, we may not see that any longer,” said Nathan Burrow, senior deals editor at Wirecutter.

A Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images The clock is ticking when it comes to implementing changes to shore up Social Security’s funds, which will not be able to pay full benefits in 13 years’ time. Potential voters are aware of the program’s woes, according to a June survey by Social Security

Courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images Over the past few years, there’s been no shortage of ways to give to charity. And there’s a special tax break for retirees who transfer funds from individual retirement accounts. Individual Americans donated an estimated $326.87 billion to charity in 2021, a 4.9% rise compared to the prior year,

Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images The number of Americans who want to work full-time but are forced to work part-time jobs declined in June to its lowest in more than 20 years, according to federal data issued Friday, underscoring the strength of the labor market and the bargaining power of workers. There were

Lifestylevisuals | E+ | Getty Images Homebuyers are feeling the squeeze of rising mortgage rates. On top of that, housing prices remain high. That may lead many to rethink their budget. “As mortgage rates go up, it raises the cost of buying a home with a mortgage,” explained Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “For

A restaurant worker at a May 26, 2021 “Wage Strike” demonstration organized by One Fair Wage in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images Workers earning minimum wage are getting an income boost in some parts of the U.S., thanks to new higher minimum pay rates that went into effect in

Whether it’s an effort to support women’s rights or gun control, fight climate change or help Ukrainian refugees, more Americans are giving to charity this year in response to global challenges. However, there are just as many scammers trying to capitalize on the current environmental, social and geopolitical unrest. “Any time there’s something that is in