Personal finance

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images At a macro level, the job market is still hot and companies aren’t yet shedding jobs in earnest. Layoffs were at a historic low in April, unemployment claims are around pre-pandemic levels and the unemployment rate is hovering near a five-decade low. But cracks are emerging. Recruiters think

AscentXmedia / Getty Record high inflation and gas prices have many Americans hoping for financial relief. And in California, that’s exactly what approximately 23 million residents stand to get, thanks to the state’s new budget deal, which is slated to give qualifying taxpayers new direct payments. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders

Getty Images Baby boomers aren’t the only generation focused on retirement. Millennials are almost twice as likely to be thinking about retiring early compared to Gen Zers and almost three times as likely as Gen Xers, according to a recent study by Northwestern Mutual. When asked what age people expect to retire, millennials had the most

Getty Images Americans are increasingly turning to side hustles to make more money amid economic uncertainty and persistent high inflation. Some 44% of Americans are working at least one extra job to make ends meet each month, according to survey from Insuranks, a small business insurance marketplace. The online survey of more than 1,000 adults

Dougal Waters | Getty Images Despite the economic and professional gains made by women over the last 50 years, gender gaps persist — and not just in rate of pay. Retirement readiness and financial know-how are key areas with notable gaps, according to two studies recently released by the TIAA Institute. For example, among workers

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images If you get your health insurance through the government Health Insurance Marketplace, you may want to brace for higher premiums next year. Unless Congress takes action, enhanced premium subsidies (technically tax credits) that have been in place for 2021 and 2022 will disappear after this year. The

In this article GS There’s a silver lining to higher interest rates: Stashing some cash finally pays. Soaring inflation, which pushed the Federal Reserve into hiking its benchmark rate, is having an effect on the return savers stand to get on their money, at long last. While the Fed has no direct influence on deposit rates, they

Photo by Mike Kline (notkalvin) | Moment | Getty Images Just three years after the Secure Act ushered in the first major changes to the U.S. retirement system in more than a decade, a slew of additional modifications could be on its way. With recent committee approval of proposals in the Senate and an already-passed

d3sign There has been a lot of chatter recently about the possibility of a recession. Yet what exactly does that mean — and what would a potential downturn look like? A recession is defined as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months,”

Sporrer/Rupp | Image Source | Getty Images The biggest piece of advice that people in retirement would pass along to their younger selves is simple: start saving earlier for the end of your career. Roughly 70% of retirees said that changing their habits to save or invest more and earlier is the top advice they’d

A Social Security Administration office in San Francisco. Getty Images A new Social Security trustees report points to a slightly longer time horizon for the program’s trust funds. But even with a new depletion date of 2035 — a year later than projected last year — the program still faces a 75-year deficit. A one-year

President Joe Biden remarks on efforts to lower high gas prices at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. on June 22, 2022. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden has called on Congress to put a three-month federal gas tax holiday in place to help ease the financial pain drivers

Abortion rights activists hoist their signs near the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 24, 2022. Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday may cause financial hardship for many women, especially those already facing economic instability, research shows. The court’s decision, ending 50

Trevor Williams The 60/40 portfolio is under fire. But should investors sound the death knell for the classic investment strategy? Financial advisors and experts don’t think so — but it likely needs a tweak. “It’s stressed but it’s not dead,” said Allan Roth, a certified financial planner based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. More from Personal

The recent run-up in gasoline prices is now being felt nearly across the board. The national average for a gallon of gas is currently $4.94 after topping $5 per gallon for the first time ever earlier this month, according to AAA. Last year at this time, the price was $3.07 per gallon. The increase has put a severe

If there is one investment every person should have right now, it is a series I bond, according to personal finance expert Suze Orman. The bond’s variable interest rate is based on inflation, which means the asset currently has a high yield. The Consumer Price Index rose 8.6% in May, the highest rate since 1981.

Suze Orman Before you get caught up in the Great Resignation and quit your job, you may want to think twice, said personal finance expert and best-selling author Suze Orman. More than 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs in April, and job openings hit 11.9 million, according to the latest data available from the U.S.

Doucefleur Rising interest rates have pushed the annual percentage rates on credit cards to new highs. The average annual percentage rate on a new credit card is now more than 20%, according to LendingTree’s tracker. It’s the first time that rates have topped 20% since the tracker began in 2018. “When you factor in that

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on April 26, 2022. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau signaled a crackdown on late fees charged by credit card companies on Wednesday, as inflation threatens to

The gender wage gap has remained remarkably stubborn for decades and, inevitably, becomes a significant shortfall at retirement. In 2020, women made 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The gap persists despite women’s increasing levels of education and even widens among higher-income workers. By the end of her career, a full-time