Personal finance

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., outside the Senate Chambers of the Capitol on Dec. 7, 2021. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images The Senate will soon consider whether to implement a plan for a federal paid family and medical leave as part of the Build Back Better bill. Advocates are campaigning

andresr | E+ | Getty Images For many Medicare beneficiaries, a supplement plan — aka, Medigap — is an appealing way to cover some out-of-pocket costs. These policies at least partially cover the cost-sharing aspects of Medicare — deductibles, copays and coinsurance. However, there are limitations. For example, Medigap plans don’t cover costs associated with

Inflation is too high and the central bank needs to move quicker to get it under control by raising interest rates, said Gilbert Garcia, a managing partner at Garcia Hamilton & Associates in Houston. “I wished we’d retire the word ‘transitory,'” Garcia said, at the CNBC Financial Advisor Summit on Wednesday, speaking of predictions that

Financial advisors may want to view cybersecurity as a critical issue on more than one level. While protecting client data should be a priority, cyber attacks also could affect the investments they make on behalf of their clients. Basically, some companies may be more prone to costly cyber attacks than others. “The sectors that I

praetorianphoto | E+ | Getty Images With the holiday season comes a lot of gift-giving — and plenty of bills. That’s why it’s good to have a strategy now for how to tackle any debt you may incur, experts advise. “You actually can create a plan as opposed to just figuring it out on the

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images It’d be surprising if you weren’t scared by recent headlines, yet how you responded to them as an investor will have major consequences for your long-term financial picture. Most recently, reports of a new Covid variant that could be more contagious and less affected by vaccines than other strains

Steven Heap / EyeEm | EyeEm | Getty Images It has been 39 years since Congress has taken action to change Social Security. Some House Democrats are hoping to change that with a bill to improve benefits that has been revamped and reintroduced in Congress. On Tuesday, a House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee

Getty Images A simple click or swipe on your laptop, tablet or smartphone to purchase a gift, buy sports and concert tickets, or book a trip may seem like the easiest way to shop this holiday season. Yet it’s important to protect your credit and your identity in the process.  Americans plan to spend just

Betsie Van Der Meer | Getty Images Struggling to find last-minute holiday gifts that won’t be delayed by supply chain issues? One simple way to help children or relatives start investing is to gift them stocks or other financial assets. “If you’re looking at it as a Christmas gift or a holiday gift for a

Petra Richli | iStock | Getty Images It’s a good time to make sure your house is ready for Old Man Winter to show up. Whether snow, ice, freezing or flooding, winter weather can cause a host of headaches for homeowners. And if you’re in a new house that you’re still getting to know, it’s

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images For parents who have a child with special needs, planning for their loved one’s life after they themselves are gone can be overwhelming. Breaking the process down into manageable parts and working with specialized professionals and companies can help. “The three main structures a family should put in place

CandyRetriever | iStock | Getty Images Tens of millions of Americans should soon have access to free at-home Covid tests. The White House made the announcement amid fears of a new variant of the coronavirus. Cases of the variant, called omicron, have already popped up in California, Minnesota, Colorado and New York. Other countries have

Scarlet Poulet (right), pictured with wife Nadine Kujawa, before Poulet was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. Courtesy: Scarlet Poulet Medicare’s rules for signing up have put 68-year-old Scarlet Poulet in an unenviable situation. The New Orleans resident, who is recovering from cancer, has been enrolled in Medicare Part A (hospital coverage) since 2018 when she

Did your “Great Resignation” lead you to start a business or become your own boss this year? You may be able to write off the cost of your home office come tax time. “Knowing that you’re not a 9-to-5 [worker] anymore, you can now take advantage of the home-office deduction,” said Sheneya Wilson, CPA and

Xavier Lorenzo | Moment | Getty Images Some states are making it easier for Americans to collect unemployment benefits if they’re fired for being unvaccinated against Covid-19. The governors of Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee signed laws in recent weeks that change eligibility rules for jobless benefits. Workers in these states who lose a job

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images Americans opened their hearts and wallets for another record-breaking Giving Tuesday. It’s estimated that 35 million U.S. adults participated in 2021, with total gifts of $2.7 billion, a 9% increase from 2020. While most aren’t shelling out for tax purposes, they may not know there’s a special write-off

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images Almost half of U.S. families with young children have faced a high risk of falling into poverty in the first six years of their children’s lives, according to new academic research. What put those families at risk? Insecure or precarious parental work, according to a study from experts at

Joe Raedle | Getty Images The number of long-term unemployed fell by 136,000 in November, continuing a downward trend since early 2021 as the economy and labor market have rebounded. However, the decrease was the smallest since April, when long-term unemployment fell by 35,000 people. Long-term unemployment is a period of joblessness that lasts more

Getty Images This January not only marks the start of a new year. It is also the two-year anniversary of the first identified case of Covid-19 in the U.S. At the time, the pandemic caught most people by surprise. Now, many of our lives do not look the same as they did before Covid-19. People

sturti | E+ | Getty Images As millions of Americans quit their jobs in favor of taking time off, finding a new job or even starting their own business, financial experts have a warning: Don’t lose track of valuable employer-sponsored retirement plans. Neglecting such a plan, which can hold thousands of dollars after just a