Personal finance

martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images When Covid-19 hit early last year and most travel ground to halt worldwide, would-be vacationers scrambled to get refunds from hotels, airlines, cruise lines and other travel suppliers — or to file travel insurance claims for canceled trips. They often hit a wall on both fronts. Suppliers struggled, or

A rally to prevent Massachusetts evictions in front of Boston Housing Court on Oct. 15, 2020. MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images | MediaNews Group | Getty Images Biden administration officials urged states and cities on Wednesday to move quickly to get federal assistance out to the millions of households that are behind on rent

LPETTET | iStock | Getty Images About 2.2 million more stimulus checks have gone out over the last six weeks, the government said Wednesday. The latest batch brings the total number of payments disbursed to more than 171 million, with an aggregate value of $400 billion, according to the announcement from the IRS, Treasury Department

andresr/Getty Images As demand surges for sustainable funds, it may be difficult for some consumers to identify what to add to their portfolios.  Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler shifted his focus to environmental, social and governance investing, known as ESG, in a recent statement. His team will explore climate- and workplace-related metrics, along

In this article BCH.CB= TSLA Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bitcoin is falling, again. The popular cryptocurrency slumped as much as 5% Tuesday, falling below the key $30,000 level for the first time since June 22, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Other cryptocurrencies were also dragged lower. Ether slid as much as 6%, while XRP

Witthaya Prasongsin | Moment | Getty Images “Buying the dip” is an investment thesis often touted by stock traders and financial advisors to juice returns. The thinking is: When a stock index like the S&P 500 falls in value, it’s a good time to buy since shares can be bought at a discount. Investors then

In the wake of the pandemic, many families are taking a hard look at college and whether it is worth the high cost. Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $50,770 in the 2020-21 school year; at four-year, in-state public colleges, it was $22,180, according to the College Board, which tracks trends

In early July, the U.S. Education Department under President Joe Biden canceled nearly $56 million in student loan debt for some 1,800 borrowers, bringing the administration’s total to about $1.5 billion erased. While a win for many borrowers, it isn’t a sign that broad-based student loan debt forgiveness will necessarily come anytime soon, experts say.

Sam Edwards | Getty Images When it comes to planning for retirement, it’s important to consider how taxes could gnaw away at your nest egg once you reach your golden years. Assuming you’ve left work earnings behind you, any amount owed to the IRS will come out of your retirement savings or income. So the

The LEGO NINJAGO World section of LEGOLAND Florida Resort in Winter Haven, Florida. LEGOLAND/Merlin Entertainments Theme parks are set for a big rebound this summer as much of the country starts to exit Covid restrictions. And many of the high-tech, low-touch solutions parks implemented during the pandemic to enable limited reopenings are here to stay

Image Source | Getty Images There’s some good news for those looking to get married on a budget: City and town halls are back in the nuptials business. Wedding bells will be ringing again, for example, at the New York City Marriage Bureau. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday that the city will again book

Alistair Berg | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re among the workers who plan to continue working remotely, you may want to evaluate your 2021 tax situation. While many states offered a pandemic-related reprieve that generally resulted in no tax filing obligation for remote workers who worked temporarily in their state, the leniency was for

bymuratdeniz | iStock | Getty Images Intuit, the company behind popular tax filing software TurboTax, announced that it will no longer participate in the IRS Free File program, which helps millions of Americans submit tax returns at no cost. “With the Free File program surpassing its founding goals of e-file and free tax preparation, and

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images Sasha Demskie received a welcome deposit in her bank account this week: a $250 payment from the government as part of the new monthly child tax credit payments. The money will go to pay basic bills, said Demskie, 46, of Conway, Arkansas, who lost her job in April while she

Serhii Shleihel | iStock | Getty Images Signs are mounting that student loan borrowers could get more time before they need to resume their payments. For more than 16 months now, most borrowers’ bills have been on pause, thanks to a break offered by the U.S. Department of Education because of the financial struggles wrought

RyanJLane | E+ | Getty Images The pandemic sparked charitable giving among wealthy families, and some who are eager to give more may score a bigger 2021 write-off by leveraging money from pretax retirement accounts.  Here’s how it works: Certain retirees with excess pretax retirement savings — meaning they’ve saved more than they expect they’ll

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 The coronavirus crisis has cast new attention on wages and income. It’s been 12 years since the last federal minimum wage increase, and whether a hike in

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images It’s a historic day for U.S. families with children. Roughly $15 billion has been sent to 35.2 million families in the first of six advance child tax credit payments, according to the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS. The average payment in the first round is $423, and will reach

eyecrave | E+ | Getty Images States could do a far better job of teaching financial literacy in their schools, a new report suggests. To that point, 66% of states earned grades of C or worse for such instruction, according to the Nation’s Report Card on Financial Literacy, a study released by the American Public

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Joe Biden arrive at the U.S. Capitol for a Senate Democratic luncheon on July 14, 2021. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images Senate Democrats aim to fund a $3.5 trillion budget measure partly on the backs of higher taxes for corporations and the wealthy,