Personal finance

Dartanian Stovall looks at the house that collapsed with him inside during the height of Hurricane Ida in New Orleans. Michael DeMocker | USA TODAY Network via Reuters If you’ve winced at the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida along the Gulf Coast, you may want to consider whether you’re prepared in case the next big

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images A new report released by the Social Security Administration on Tuesday reveals new estimates of just how much the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the program’s already ailing trust funds. The results show the funds from which the program pays benefits have been “significantly affected” by both the pandemic and

Visoot Uthairam | Moment | Getty Images Scammers have bilked Americans out of $545 million in Covid-related fraud since the beginning of 2020 in a range of schemes from online shopping to travel, according to the FTC. The agency received almost 589,000 consumer complaints associated with the pandemic from Jan. 1, 2020 to Aug. 30,

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images Even as the delta variant of Covid-19 upends return to work and school plans, many parents who are now sidelined are plotting a return to work. About 81% of parents who are looking for job openings are planning to do so for financial reasons, according to a new survey conducted

SDI Productions Expecting an enhanced write-off for charitable gifts in 2021? The deduction won’t look the same as it did in 2020, according to tax experts.  As the pandemic ravaged American lives, Congress added a provision to the CARES Act to spark more charitable giving: an improved tax deduction for cash gifts up to $300

In this article DNUT So, what’s better than one free doughnut? Two free doughnuts. With Covid-19 cases on the rise, Krispy Kreme is upping the ante to get vaccinated. From Aug. 30 through Sept. 5, the company is offering anyone with a vaccination shot two free doughnuts instead of just one.  In March, Krispy Kreme was one of

Michele Treacy and family with her late father Col. Lester Marlon Romine Courtesy of: Michele Treacy Michele Treacy lost her father at the beginning of the pandemic. However, a delayed tax refund has prolonged the grief she and her family are feeling and prevented them from finding closure. Treacy’s father, Col. Lester Romine, 91, passed

Bangkok ranked No. 1 on a new list of top global “workation” destinations from Holidu.co.uk. Getty Images As telecommuting has proven necessary, practical and long-lasting for many amid the pandemic, a common thought’s been occurring to employees worldwide — why work from home when you could work by a beach, or at a Parisian café?

XiFotos | E+ | Getty Images Nearly 40% of Americans participating in 401(k) retirement plans do not fully understand the fees associated with the accounts, according to a report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog. The lack of knowledge around how fees work in the employer-sponsored retirement plans persists, the report

A college graduate calls their family on video to celebrate Kemal Yildirim | Getty Images Earlier in August, the U.S. Education Department under President Joe Biden announced it would cancel another $1.1 billion in student loan debt for about 115,000 borrowers who attended ITT Technical Institute, a now-defunct school. This latest round of forgiveness brings

Education Secretary nominee Miguel Cardona testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Washington, DC., February 3, 2021. Susan Walsh | Pool | Reuters The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it will cancel $1.1 billion in student debt for 115,000 borrowers. The relief will go

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images For millions of American families, the new enhanced child tax credit has meant extra money on a monthly basis. Even better, there are other tax credits that were improved during the pandemic that folks will be able to use to boost refunds, or potentially offset tax liabilities. That’s because

People protest for a moratorium on evictions on Aug. 4, 2021 in New York. Stephanie Keith | Getty Images Millions of Americans who remain behind on their rent could now be at risk of being pushed out of their homes after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s most recent eviction ban. The Centers for

MoMo Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images Interest in working remotely has surged during the Covid-19 pandemic and is lingering even as the economy reopens, a new study suggests. The share of online job searches for remote positions jumped 460% in the two years between June 2019 and June 2021, according to an analysis published

JGI/Tom Grill | Tetra images | Getty Images As retirees live longer, many worry about outliving their savings. However, many older Americans haven’t planned for a looming expense: the cost of long-term care. The median cost of a private room in a nursing home was $105,850, and in-home care costs were $53,768 to $54,912 annually,

Choreograph | iStock | Getty Images Signing up for Medicare sometimes means deciding that a supplement plan — aka Medigap — suits your situation. That is, you want extra insurance to at least partially cover the cost-sharing aspects of Medicare — deductibles, copays and coinsurance. However, Medigap plans do have limitations to be aware of.

Job seekers speak with hiring representatives during a job fair at a community center in Beattyville, Kentucky, U.S., on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Jon Cherry | Bloomberg | Getty Images Most Americans expect to look for a new job as the pandemic continues. Some 55% of people in the workforce, meaning that they’re currently working

kate_sept2004 As the Covid-19 pandemic set in, the federal government stepped up to provide Americans with unprecedented financial relief. In order to access those funds, from stimulus checks to monthly child tax credit payments, most Americans had to file tax returns. But submitting that paperwork could have put some individuals and families in a vulnerable

Peter Cade | Getty Images Most retirees — including those with less wealth — aren’t tapping their nest eggs before their required withdrawals, according to research from J.P. Morgan Asset Management and the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Some 80% of the retirees studied didn’t withdraw money from accounts before their required minimum distributions, known as

Getty Images Divorcing parents often have plenty to navigate. And the latest stimulus package has dumped even more onto the negotiating table in the form of enhanced tax credits. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan provided Covid-19 relief for millions of Americans, including increases to three write-offs in 2021: the child tax credit, the earned