Personal finance

Unemployed Kentucky residents enter the Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky. John Sommers II/Getty Images Kentucky and Montana It appears just two states — Kentucky and Montana — are opting to pay $400 instead of $300. As of Thursday, Montana was the only state to implement the

For the colleges that still plan to bring students back to campus, there is no shortage of expenses associated with in-person instruction. From Covid-19 tests to new standards for cleaning and disinfecting, the costs are adding up. For students, that is translating into new fees on an already sky-high tuition bill.  More from Personal Finance:Here’s

People wait for their numbers to be called at an unemployment event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on July 15, 2020. Photo by Nick Oxford for The Washington Post via Getty Images Some workers got an extra $300 in unemployment benefits this week. That aid will start flowing to others in coming days.  But thousands of out-of-work

A President Donald Trump and a former Vice President Joe Biden supporter converse before the Joe Biden Campaign Rally at the National World War I Museum and Memorial on March 7, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. Kyle Rivas | Getty Images When Americans go to the polls this November, preventing Social Security benefit cuts will

Getty Images Credit card debt is even more of a problem during the pandemic than usual. Almost two-thirds of Americans with credit card debt are worried about being able to make minimum payments in the next three months if the crisis continues, according to a CreditCards.com poll. The good news is that some are already

Many retailers across the U.S. are shuttering storefronts like this Manhattan outlet in New York amid the ongoing Covid-19 downturn. Carlo Allegri | Reuters With negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over the shape of the next government stimulus package in deadlock, President Donald Trump took executive action earlier this month to pass a patchwork of federal aid. Which

Former vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., hold a press conference after a briefing on Covid-19 in Wilmington, Delaware, on Aug. 13, 2020. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images The coronavirus pandemic could have a big impact on Social Security’s financial prospects. And that

Millions of stimulus checks were sent to families this spring. Unfortunately, many people are still waiting for that money. Now, the IRS has announced two deadlines that could help those who still haven’t received their full payments. The stimulus checks were authorized by Congress in the CARES Act and included up to $1,200 for individuals

Democratic presidential nominee and former US Vice President Joe Biden introduces his vice presidential running mate, US Senator Kamala Harris, during their first press conference together in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 12, 2020. Olivier Douliery | AFP | Getty Images Though former vice president Joe Biden has proposed raising taxes on the wealthiest households, accountants

Audrey Saracco / EyeEm Capitol Hill lawmakers have been deadlocked on a new stimulus package. But another issue — sweeping changes to the U.S. Postal Service — now has both parties clashing again. The crux of the argument: whether changes that would improve the balance sheet of the country’s mail service would deny Americans’ their

Newport Beach, California, comes in at No. 2 in Hotwire’s 2020 list of “itty bitty city” destinations for quick nearby summer getaways. Westend61/Getty Images Summer is nearly over, and the Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Many Americans, who put their vacation plans on hold, are thinking about when they might get away. Shorter

“I really liked the job,” Alridge, 37, said. “I was able to put away a lot of money over the last two years; we were saving to buy an apartment.” Source: Matthew Aldridge When Matthew Aldrige was furloughed in March from his job as a server at La Pizza & La Pasta, an Italian restaurant

Robert Federico waited more than four months for his unemployment benefits to arrive. In the end, the payout was more than $23,000. But he endured financial hardship in the interim. Robert Federico Robert Federico’s situation was bleak — dire, even, by his telling. In March, the 52-year-old lost his job at a New York design

For a program that seems to have clear-cut limits for eligibility, stimulus checks appear to have puzzled a lot of people. Part of the problem was determining eligibility, says Aaron Klein, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a non-partisan research group in Washington, D.C. “The structure of the stimulus payment is this

President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Aug. 3. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images) President Donald Trump is “ready to send” more coronavirus stimulus money. But it remains unclear if that is enough to move stalled Congressional negotiations forward so that Americans can see more money in their pockets. On Friday, Trump

Depending on your health coverage, you could see a rebate from your insurer in the coming months. While such paybacks are issued yearly, the 2020 aggregate amount is anticipated to be $2 billion — about twice what it was last year, said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow with the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Insurer profitability has

President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Aug. 3. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images) President Donald Trump signed a measure on Saturday to boost unemployment pay by up to $400 a week. That could help millions of jobless Americans pay their bills at a time when job prospects are slim and prior relief —

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Congress is at an impasse when it comes to how to help millions of Americans recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, a  report from Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee of Congress shows that one group — workers age 55 and older — are

RichVintage | E+ | Getty Images ETF basics An ETF is a cousin, if not a sibling, of mutual funds and index funds, says Kip Meadows, CEO and founder of Nottingham, a Rocky Mount, North Carolina, fund administration firm. An ETF’s composition — a diversified collection of securities — is similar to that of a

Some Americans may still be recovering from the disappointment they felt after receiving stimulus checks for less than anticipated. One particular cohort that may have received reduced checks: those who were due $500 payments for children under age 17. The U.S. government rushed out $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans this spring after Congress passed the