Personal finance

Downed power lines are seen on Highway 90 after Hurricane Laura passed through Iowa, Louisiana, August 27, 2020. Elijah Nouvelage | Reuters As communities along the Gulf Coast assess the damage left in Hurricane Laura’s wake, homeowners elsewhere may want to double-check their own insurance coverage. The massive storm made landfall early Thursday in Louisiana

In a major policy pivot, the Federal Reserve said it will allow inflation to run “hotter than normal” to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus crisis. That means the Fed will be less inclined to hike interest rates, letting borrowers benefit from cheap money for an extended period of time. “This kind of

Ariel Skelley | DigitalVision | Getty Images The idea of “slowing down” in retirement is quickly becoming an antiquated concept. To today’s retirees, retirement is no longer simply defined as the end of work, but the beginning of a whole new chapter of life, with new choices, freedoms and challenges. This new beginning is born

PayPal is fighting back after several consumer advocacy groups cited the payment provider for what they called “predatory financial practices.” In a joint letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the consumer groups, including the Student Borrower Protection Center, Americans for Financial Reform, Student Debt Crisis and

Tenants of the Woodner apartment building in Washington, D.C., protest to demand their rent be forgiven during the Covid-19 pandemic. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images Unemployed workers living in most U.S. cities can’t cover basic living expenses with jobless benefits alone. In fact, Americans living in just 12 out of 109 metro areas could afford

MilanRist | E+ | Getty Images As the Covid-19 pandemic continues and unemployment remains at record highs, many people are turning to part-time work, the gig economy and the side hustle to make ends meet. Some of those are better than others. It’s probably not a great time, for example, to become a driver for

Protesters block a courthouse entrance in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, 2020. VALERIE MACON | AFP | Getty Images In the absence of any national ban on evictions during the pandemic, tenants struggling to pay their rent are at the mercy of a patchwork of narrow and temporary local protections.  In Maryland, Missouri and Ohio,

Parents with children in kindergarten through college are bracing themselves for a tumultuous start to the school year. As they look toward the higher education landscape today — and anticipate what it could be like years down the road, some parents may be wondering if saving for college is really worth it.  A  survey by

Public School 159 in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens is one of 1,866 schools in New York City. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters “I hope they figured out something better,” said New York City parent Crystal Berroa, 27, of her expectations for distance learning this fall.   For Berroa, who lives in a homeless shelter with

Yoshiyoshi Hirokawa | DigitalVision | Getty Images Retirement savers who took a mandatory distribution from a retirement account this year have a week to put the money back. The CARES Act, the coronavirus relief bill signed into law this spring, allows people with retirement accounts to skip required minimum distributions for 2020. RMDs are the

The U.S. Department of Education will automatically suspend payments for most student loan borrowers through the end of the year. Mark Chilton | iStock | Getty Images Most student loan borrowers don’t have to start making payments on their debt again until January 2021.  With Republicans and Democrats locked in a stalemate on the details of

JGI/Jamie Grill There may never be a better opportunity than now to teach your kids about money. Many parents are likely spending more time with their children thanks to closed summer camps and virtual schooling brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.  “We don’t always get a chance in our life to pause and be this

franckreporter | E+ | Getty Images College students whose parents have lost their jobs could be facing more pain next year. That’s because their financial aid packages could fall far short of what they need to cover the cost of their education. On Oct. 1, students can start filling out the Free Application for Federal

Jennifer Moon has waited more than two months for unemployment benefits — and the delay presented a scary situation. Absent any income, the 46-year-old, who lives in Cedartown, Georgia, fell behind on bills. Lenders repossessed her car. She lost water at her home, which she rents, before a friend helped pay the bill. Most significantly, Moon,

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a June 25 campaign event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mark Makela | Reuters Health insurance for the nation’s older population could undergo some changes if Joe Biden wins the presidential election in November. The Democrat nominee wants to expand both Medicare coverage and eligibility for the program, as well

CasarsaGuru | E+ | Getty Images This fall’s back-to-school shopping list certainly isn’t looking like those of years past. With many schools across the country going virtual, or offering part-time distant learning, parents are rethinking what their kids will need as the school year gets underway. “We’re being forced to really look at how we

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night, which could be the beginning of a series of reforms for

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is overseeing program funding, had approved 13 states to offer the extra unemployment benefits as of around noon ET on Friday.  Those states are: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah. Seven others — Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Indiana, Texas and West

Even as the pandemic rages on, many eviction protections are coming to an end. No-Mad | iStock | Getty Images President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he didn’t want people evicted during the pandemic and that his executive action “will solve that problem largely, hopefully completely.”  Experts disagreed, since the president was only

Hill Street Studios | DigitalVision | Getty Images Some taxpayers are getting a surprise in the mail from the IRS: a notice indicating that they still owe money, even if they’ve paid. Earlier this spring, when many IRS workers — as well as many other employees — were told to work from home due to