Personal finance

Henry McMaster, the governor of South Carolina. Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images At least two states will soon kick workers off pandemic-era programs that expanded and raised unemployment benefits. The governors of Montana and South Carolina announced this week that they are ending their participation in the federal programs at the end of June. The

Flood waters stream down the road in Muhlenberg Township, Pennsylvania, after a major storm last August. Ben Hasty | MediaNews Group | Getty Images Continuing climate change and soaring lumber costs are two things you may need to consider when it comes to your homeowners insurance. Whether you live in an area prone to hurricanes,

Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images At least 7 million people likely qualify for tax refunds on unemployment benefits received last year, a new report suggests. The American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed in March, waived federal tax on up to $10,200 of jobless benefits, per person, collected in 2020. Taxpayers qualify if their

Maricopa County, Arizona, constable Darlene Martinez signs an eviction order on Oct. 7, 2020 in Phoenix. John Moore | Getty Images News | Getty Images Renters who are financially struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic got some scary news yesterday when a federal judge overturned the national eviction moratorium two months earlier than expected. In

urbazon | E+ | Getty Images For some would-be homeowners, coming up with the cash to buy a house can be tricky. Depending on your situation, a Roth individual retirement account could help. In a nutshell, up to $10,000 in Roth IRA earnings can be withdrawn — free of both taxes and penalty — for

Students wearing protective masks raise their hands in a classroom as a teacher gives a lesson remotely at a public charter school in Provo, Utah, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. George Frey | Bloomberg via Getty Images It’s a question many a personal finance educator has asked: What’s the best way to engage my

Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images Married couples who file a joint tax return must wait longer than others to get a refund on their unemployment benefits. The dynamic is largely due to the complexity of calculating their refund relative to other taxpayers, according to tax experts and IRS officials. Unemployment benefits are typically taxed as

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images A new set of $1,400 stimulus checks has been sent, bringing the total number of payments issued to 164 million, or about $386 billion. About 1.1 million payments were sent this time, representing more than $2 billion. About 600,000 of those payments were made using direct deposit, while

Unemployment applications are seen as City of Hialeah employees hand them out to people in front of the John F. Kennedy Library on April 08, 2020 in Hialeah, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Workers asked to repay unemployment benefits issued during the Covid pandemic may be getting a refund. However, it may take states up to

Oliver Rossi | DigitalVision | Getty Images Many American parents are financially supporting their adult children at the expense of their own financial wellness. Almost half, or 45%, of parents with adult offspring have given their children money during the coronavirus pandemic and of those 79% said the funds would have otherwise gone towards their

Austin Hossfeld and his wife, Hayley. Photo: Austin Hossfeld Every day, Austin Hossfeld types the same words into Google: “Biden” and “student loans.” “A lot of the times, it’s the same articles,” Austin, 26, said. “I re-read them. “At night, I talk to my wife about it.” Like so many other Americans, the Carroll, Ohio,

Images By Tang Ming Tung The U.S. government has sent billions of dollars in stimulus checks to Americans since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet some people may still be asking, “Where is my money?” If you feel that you may have been left in the lurch, there is a way to claim the

Tetra Images | Getty Images Tax refunds on 2020 unemployment benefits are slated to start this month. But some taxpayers — namely, single filers — will get the money sooner than others. It may be summer before other groups, such as married couples and those with complex tax returns, get their refunds, according to the

Image Source | Getty Images The wealthiest Americans may soon face a slew of tax hikes. President Joe Biden wants to raise taxes on single filers likely with income over $452,700 and couples earning more than $509,300.  But the plan may wind up penalizing some higher-earning married couples. The marriage penalty “It’s not the first

Leon Cooperman Scott Mlyn | CNBC If you have accumulated more wealth than you need, there are a number of things you can do with the excess money, according to billionaire investor Leon Cooperman. Founder of the Omega Family Office, Cooperman — who has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion — shared his views

urbazon | E+ | Getty Images It’s one of those debates that rarely seems to have a clear-cut winner: Should retirees pay off their mortgage or continue making those monthly payments? The answer — probably somewhat annoyingly — is that it depends. Of course, there are a couple of immediate benefits to paying off a

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images If you are in the market for a new house, you may be overlooking one key to your success: your credit score. That three-digit number has a direct impact on your ability to get a mortgage and what interest rate you will pay. Mortgage rates are at two-month lows,

Tyler Marks, his wife, Maranda, and their daughter, Layla, 3, and two sons, Hayden, 7, and Atticus,1. Courtesy: Marks family His name is Tyler Marks. But he showed up on the gray screen during his eviction hearing as Call-in User_3. Unemployed for most of the pandemic, Marks couldn’t afford to buy a laptop or computer

A concert at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre outside Denver. John P Kelly | The Image Bank Unreleased | Getty Images When Riley Cash, 31, of Denver, received his second vaccine shot earlier this month, the next big event on his agenda was a concert at nearby Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. The outdoor venue

With money at the root of a lot of relationship issues, it’s no surprise that most people won’t swipe right on a date with bad credit. More than one-third, or 38%, of adults would reconsider a romantic relationship because of the other person’s debt, a 12% jump from a year ago, according to a recent study