Trevor Williams | DigitalVision | Getty Images The eldest millennials are now approaching 40 and have experienced a few major setbacks that have kept them from building wealth in their adult lives. First, they were hit by 2008 recession — at the time, the worst economic downturn the U.S. had seen since the Great Depression
Personal finance
Lindsey Gamard, 38, quit her job at a technology company during the pandemic. Courtesy: Lindsey Garnard Lindsey Gamard, 38, knew she wanted to quit her job when she saw many of her co-workers leaving. “It was like a sinking ship,” said Gamard, a data analyst who lives in San Tan Valley, Arizona. It didn’t help
Ines Fraile | iStock | Getty Images The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency — which oversees loans of 8.5 million student borrowers — announced it would not renew its contract with the federal government when it ends later this year. Consumer advocates applauded the news because PHEAA, a quasi-governmental student aid organization created in 1963 by
ljubaphoto | E+ | Getty Images Millions of individuals and families stand to receive money from the government through stimulus checks and monthly child tax credit payments. However, many are still waiting on their stimulus checks, while others may not know how to sign up for the child tax credit payments. The IRS this weekend
lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Some 39 million American families on July 15 will get the first of six advance monthly payments of the enhanced federal child tax credit. However, some of those families should elect to not receive the monthly payments, say financial experts, and instead wait to claim the entire credit when
If a student invested $1,300 in Netflix stock in 2014, after three years they would have $4,527. Jill Brady | Portland Press Herald | Getty Images Teenagers haven’t had a better summer for employment since 1953. In June, the unemployment rate for teenagers aged 16 to 19 was 9.9%, the lowest it has been since
A job seeker fills out an application form during a restaurant and hospitality career fair in Torrance, California, on June 23, 2021. Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images The number of Americans out of work for at least a year jumped by 248,000 in June, underscoring persistent challenges for some households even as the broader labor
John Lund | Getty Images You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t let your emotions drive your financial decisions. Yet that may be harder than it sounds, especially when the market sells off. In fact, there may be a number of psychological biases holding you back from building wealth. That’s because the part of our brain
An IRS office building in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York. Timothy Fadek/Bloomberg via Getty Images Last December, two Atlanta tax professionals pled guilty to a scheme that defrauded the IRS of more than $250 million in taxes. The scam claimed more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent charitable deductions through so-called syndicated conservation easements,
Miami Herald | Tribune News Service | Getty Images There are no signs that Congress plans to send a fourth stimulus check to Americans. Still, many individuals and families are clamoring for more money. A Change.org petition calling for $2,000 per month for every adult American, as well as $1,000 per child, that was started
fotosipsak | E+ | Getty Images Student loans are double-edged sword: They help you pay for college but then leave you with a monthly bill for at least a decade after you graduate. The average student loan payment is $400 a month, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. And research has found those payments
Peter Cade | Getty Images While inheriting money is typically a good thing, newer individual retirement account rules may leave some heirs with a smaller windfall. Thanks to the Secure Act of 2019, certain heirs now have less time to take IRA withdrawals. The law stopped the so-called stretch IRA, which allowed non-spouse beneficiaries to
Yamiesha Bell, 27, started a book club focused on personal financial literacy and mindfulness one year ago. Yamiesha Bell In the last year, Raeshanna Mcanuff, 27, a cosmetic chemist, asked for a raise at her job. Adam Sherif, 24, who works at a music talent agency, paid off the first $30,000 of his $60,000 in
Dana Neely | Stone | Getty Images The Biden administration made it easier for many families to qualify for aid toward funeral costs, after loosening rules for a Covid-era program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which administers the program, changed its funeral-assistance policy related to deaths that occurred in the early months of the pandemic.
Getty Images There are signs that the U.S. is rebounding from the havoc wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. In June, the country added 850,000 jobs, more than expected, and is now 7.13 million below the February 2020 level. The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that the economy is on track to recover all jobs lost
Shoppers in San Francisco. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Covid-19 vaccinations are increasing, states are dropping their pandemic restrictions and Americans are feeling good about going out and spending after a year and a half spent mostly inside. “We are now coming out of a cave, basically, and there’s a lot of
Allen Weisselberg, center, chief financial officer of Trump Organization, exits from criminal court in New York on July 1, 2021. David Dee Delgado | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty to tax crimes on Thursday. Experts say the illegal practices the government alleges occurred
The age at which you claim Social Security helps determine how big your monthly retirement benefit checks will be for life. If you wait until your full retirement age — generally 66 or 67 — to claim, you will get 100% of what you earned based on your contributions to the program. And if you
Jeffrey Coolidge | Getty Images Rising inflation is a concern for Kevin Linehan, 68, a retiree in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. After a heart attack at age 44, Linehan left his career with the Postal Service early, opting for reduced disability retirement income. “It wasn’t the best financial thing to do,” he said. “But at the time,
CHUYN | iStock | Getty Images Figures from the IRS show who has received money from the third stimulus checks for up to $1,400 per person — and there are some surprises. In fact, some people with adjusted gross incomes above $200,000 received a cut. The IRS reports 127,751 payments went to taxpayers in that