Personal finance

The U.S. Capitol dome is reflected on an ambulance at sunset in Washington, November 10, 2020. Erin Scott | Reuters Talks of a new coronavirus stimulus bill are happening on Capitol Hill. As lawmakers renew their efforts to come to a compromise — including two new bipartisan and GOP packages — some question whether it

People wait in line as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes food outside a church during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 19, 2020. Mike Blake | Reuters As cases of coronavirus rise nationwide and millions remain unemployed, Americans are almost equally split on their financial standing.

Jordan Siemens | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you’re like many Americans, the end of 2020 can’t come fast enough. Yet before you ring in the New Year and hope for better times ahead, there are moves you should make first to set yourself up for financial success. “Use December to reflect on 2020 and

A display is seen as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for fresh coronavirus disease (COVID-19) relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2020. Kevin Lemarque | Reuters Washington lawmakers introduced a new $908 billion coronavirus stimulus package on Tuesday that aims

Getty Images Millions of student loan borrowers have just one month left to figure out how they’re going to resume monthly payments on their education debt while the coronavirus pandemic is still crushing the economy. Monthly payments for most federal student loans have been on pause since March, when the CARES Act gave 42 million

andresr | E+ | Getty Images You don’t have much time left to give your Medicare coverage a yearly checkup and make changes for 2021. The program’s annual enrollment period ends Dec. 7. If you take no action, you’ll automatically remain enrolled in your current plan. However, if you pass on the opportunity to see

SDI Productions | E+ | Getty Images Some taxpayers are just now receiving a scary letter from the IRS: a warning that the federal taxman will seize their state income tax refund. As recently as this fall, the IRS has issued a so-called “notice of intent to levy” to taxpayers with an outstanding balance. The

TommL | E+ | Getty Images With sustainable investing, you cannot only use your money to make the world a better place, you can also use your money’s voice. Such is the job of shareholder advocacy, a primary strategy under the umbrella of sustainable/socially responsible investing. A small, but dedicated number of financial advisors, along

Oliver Rossi When Kaitlin Stupka, 31, her husband and two children moved in with her parents in October 2019, the plan was to stay for six months while they built their dream house in the Dallas-Forth Worth area of Texas. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Now, it’s likely the length of their stay will triple,

Customers of mobile savings app Beam, some of whom complained that they had been unable to access their deposits for months, say they are finally getting their money back. The troubles, however, are far from over for the San Francisco-based startup behind the app. The Federal Trade Commission is seeking a court order against alleged

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images With the number of deaths from the coronavirus continuing to mount, your own mortality may be more on your mind than usual. In fact, The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a rise in estate planning, according to certified financial planner Stacy Francis, president and CEO of Francis Financial.  Pandemic or

More than 40 million Americans have student loan debt, and outstanding student loans nationwide total more than $1.5 trillion. Soon, the government’s pause on federal student loan payments will expire, leaving millions of borrowers grappling with how they’ll pay what they owe in 2021. But Brandon Leake, a 28-year-old husband and father, figured out a

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images As news of several effective Covid-19 vaccines offers some light at the end of the tunnel that is 2020, will a beleaguered travel and tourism industry — one of the hardest hit by the pandemic — soon begin to recover? Possibly, say sources, but they caution that travel

Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images “If we are going to get another round of stimulus, I can’t imagine that won’t be included in it,” said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at right-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute, of a new weekly subsidy. Strain added, however, that he thinks “it’s

Demonstrators display signs calling for an end to evictions and foreclosures during a rally at Boston Housing Court outside the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse on Oct. 29, 2020. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Expiring state eviction bans have led to hundreds of thousands of additional coronavirus cases, new research finds, raising alarm

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Remote workers — especially those who have been hopping to different states — could be on the hook for additional taxes when they file their returns next spring. It’s been nine months since the coronavirus pandemic first gripped the U.S. and led to many workers punching in each day

VioletaStoimenova | E+ | Getty Images Occasionally, a financial advisor grabs national attention by swindling clients out of millions, evading arrest via a bizarre escape plan or, sometimes, both. Luckily, there are ways investors can guard against high-profile cons or more under-the-radar criminality, according to financial experts. “These guys are very convincing in a very

Black Friday — the biggest shopping day of the year — is no longer the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of one-day doorbuster deals, retailers like Walmart and Home Depot have been rolling out discounts in the days, or even weeks, ahead of the official start of the holiday season. And many of the best bargains

Lisa Lickers, her husband and their blended family before the arrival of their baby. Source: Lisa Lickers Navigating the terrain of a blended family’s financial life is tricky enough in normal times. Add a pandemic into the mix, and things can get downright exhausting. “Stressful financial situations bring to the surface underlying family dynamics,” said

Cars line-up as the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes food outside a church in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2020. Mike Blake | Reuters Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, a temporary drive-through to distribute food to those in need was set up near Lancaster, California, north of Los Angeles, on Tuesday. At least 2,000