Personal finance

Aimee Dilger | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images Maybe you’ve heard by now that an army of retail investors has managed to use one of hedge funds’ common investment strategies against them. That is, short-selling. It generally involves selling borrowed shares of a stock with the belief that the price will drop, at

Not wanting to touch anything is having a dramatic impact on consumer habits. Amid the coronavirus crisis, Americans are abandoning cash almost entirely in favor of “tap and go” transactions and have finally embraced contactless and digital payment methods after years of reluctance.  Fewer and fewer adults use printed or minted U.S. currency at all any more.

martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images Vacations may be back on Americans’ calendars later this year — especially if vaccines help suppress the Covid-19 pandemic — but business travel won’t bounce back for quite some time, according to a forecast from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Fifty-six percent of Americans say they are likely

Digital Vision | Photodisc | Getty Images If you tied the knot last year, it may be worthwhile checking what your new status will mean for your 2020 taxes. While many couples see their tax bill drop post-nuptials, some face a “marriage penalty” — that is, paying more in taxes than if they had remained

Gabriela Bhaskar | Bloomberg | Getty Images If you’ve been holding shares of GameStop, AMC Entertainment or other so-called “meme” stocks that have shot up to the stratosphere recently, it may be time to take the gains and move on. While it’s uncertain where those stocks will go from here in the short-term, experts say

Ariana Drehsler | AFP | Getty Images A shift in federal health-care policy appears to be underway. As early as Thursday, President Joe Biden is expected to issue executive orders to temporarily reopen the health insurance exchanges and to address roadblocks encountered when low-income households try to access Medicaid. Although details are slim, the actions

Signage stands in a GameStop Corp. store in Peru, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images It’s the stock rally no one quite predicted. In recent years, GameStop, a video game retailer, has been shrinking its retail presence by closing hundreds of stores. Yet this week, its stock popped dramatically. On Wednesday, GameStop shares

In times of financial distress, credit cards are one of the easiest ways to access cash. During the coronavirus crisis, more than half, or 51%, of adults with credit card debt — roughly 51 million people — added to their balances, according to a report by CreditCards.com. And 44% blame the pandemic, the report found.

Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images What a long year of Covid it’s been. Twelve months after the first case was confirmed in the U.S. in January 2020, American life and family finances continue to look different than they did pre-pandemic. While wealthier households — mostly college-educated and White — have largely rebounded

President Biden delivers remarks before signing a “Made in America” Executive Order at the White House on Jan. 25, 2021. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images A new $1.9 trillion plan pushed by President Joe Biden includes a host of initiatives aimed at shoring up Americans’ finances as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on. That

Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images President Joe Biden wants to avoid another unemployment benefits cliff. Instead of an abrupt end to jobless benefits, as occurred for millions of Americans the day after Christmas, Biden wants to gradually phase out aid over time. The mechanism to achieve this goal is known as an “automatic stabilizer,” in

fizkes | iStock | Getty Images It’s a new year, which means new Medicare costs. For Medicare’s 63 million beneficiaries, certain parts of the program change yearly and can affect premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing. While the upward adjustments don’t necessarily involve huge dollar amounts, they can become challenging for some beneficiaries. “Though the increases

FG Trade | Getty Images Tax filing season is swiftly approaching, and many Americans may be able to file their returns for free. About 70% of people filing taxes in the U.S., equal to roughly 100 million Americans, are eligible for a free program through the IRS, according to the agency. Even more may be

Audrey Saracco / EyeEm If your $600 stimulus payment still hasn’t landed in your bank account, you may be wondering if you can still expect it. According to the most recent guidance from the IRS, the answer is “maybe.” Millions of second stimulus checks have been deployed in recent weeks after Congress approved the payments

Behind on your rent? A new fund helps those apply for assistance. Diego Martin Lopez | iStock | Getty Images A $25 billion federal rental assistance fund will soon be disbursed to states, allowing those struggling amid the pandemic to apply for the money. By one estimate, 14 million Americans are behind on their rent

Until the coronavirus crisis, nothing had been able to slow the pace of annual college tuition increases. Year after year, college costs edged higher, rising 3% to 5%, on average — outpacing inflation and family income. However, in the midst of the pandemic, schools are under pressure to keep these increases in check. Several institutions said

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic during a COVID-19 response event at the White House in Washington, January 21, 2021. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Newly elected President Joe Biden has a tall list of priorities in his first days in office, with stemming the pandemic

Nate Wlodarchak, left, and his husband Shawn Wlodarchak. Source: Nate Wlodarchak As Nate Wlodarchak drove people to the polls on Election Day, he couldn’t stop picturing his life without student debt. On the campaign trail, now President Joe Biden had promised to forgive $10,000 of the loans for all borrowers, which would practically reset Wlodarchak’s

Image Source | DigitalVision | Getty Images As President Joe Biden advocates for sending additional stimulus checks to millions of Americans, he is also moving help those who missed out on earlier payments. On Friday, Biden issued an executive order asking the Treasury Department to re-evaluate its delivery structure for stimulus checks to make sure

President Joe Biden signs an executive order during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2021. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Joe Biden ordered federal labor officials on Friday to clarify when unemployed workers can refuse a job offer and continue to collect