Photographer is my life. Americans may soon be able to withdraw cash from ATMs around the country using only their phones. While there are several clear benefits, especially for those without a bank account or debit card, there may also be security risks, according to some experts. Mastercard and a technology partner, Pin4, have been
Personal finance
Jackie Beck says a vision board helped her realize a dream trip to Africa. Source: Jackie Beck Here’s a great way to save money when what you really want to do is enjoy the moment. Just close your eyes. Now think of something you really want: a trip to Europe, college for your kids, a
Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain. Ihor_Tailwind | iStock | Getty Images When Petra Ahmann decided to uproot her life in New York and move to Barcelona, she was motivated by the same reason as many other expatriates. She fell in love with the city. “I felt like I could live here,” Ahmann said. An initial trip
Ada Calhoun, who’s written about the financial struggles of middle-aged women today Gilbert King The summer of 2017 was a difficult one for Ada Calhoun. The 41-year old freelance writer watched a bunch of her projects fall through. She racked up $20,000 in credit card debt, and had next to no savings behind her. Childcare
Home concept,Businessmen holding home keys krisanapong detraphiphat Many people entering the traditional home-buying years already have debt – student loans, of course. And those loans can make landing in a new house trickier. “Although many Americans have student loans, mortgage companies will still evaluate these outstanding debts while making their decision to approve or deny
If your weekend plans include dropping a bet on the Super Bowl, don’t forget that Uncle Sam wants a piece of anything you win. Americans are expected to wager about $6.8 billion on Sunday night’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Miami. And no matter where you place your bet
Dean Mitchell | E+ | Getty Images If you wait until you’re 70 to think about long-term care, you’re already late. With the national annual median cost of a private room in a nursing facility at $102,200, according to insurer Genworth’s 2019 Cost of Care Survey, lacking a thought-out plan can be a costly error.
Christopher Futcher | Getty Images Nearly 100 million people will watch the San Francisco 49ers face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. What they watch it on is nearly as important as who wins. However, there are only a few days left to score a deal on a new TV to
Anfisa Kameneva | EyeEm | Getty Images Many workers don’t have access to retirement savings programs. That is changing. Now, efforts on both a national and state level aim to give more individuals access to plans. In December, Congress ushered in the Secure Act. Among the changes included in the legislation are new ways for
eclipse_images | E+ | Getty Images If you can’t beat the crypto crowd, it might be time to join them, experts say. Virtual currency and its underlying technology, blockchain, are here to stay – and that means both will play some role in investors’ lives. “It’s actually very hard to decouple blockchain and bitcoin,” said
The Federal Reserve‘s decision Wednesday to keep interest rates steady came as a relief to many. For good reason. Although the federal funds rate, which is what banks charge one another for short-term borrowing, is not the rate that consumers pay, the Fed’s moves still affect the borrowing and saving rates they see every day.
With the Powerball jackpot close to $400 million for Wednesday night’s drawing, you may be daydreaming about what you would do if you win. Among past recipients of huge jackpots — whether Powerball or Mega Millions — some common themes emerge when it comes to how they intended to handle their sudden windfall, based on
PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Tax season is starting off with a whimper, as 1 in 5 people predict they will owe the IRS this tax season. Those were the findings from a recent survey by NerdWallet. The personal finance website polled 2,002 adults online from Nov. 18 through Nov. 20, 2019. Taxpayers who
If you can clear a few hurdles, high health care costs might help lower your 2019 tax bill. The deduction for medical expenses is one of the few tax breaks currently available to individuals, due to tax-law changes in effect from 2018 through 2025 that doubled the standard deduction and eliminated most other write-offs. As
Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from abuse is being gutted from the inside, according to some consumer advocates and legal experts. A new enforcement policy at the Consumer Financial Protection
Hill Street Studios Here’s a head-scratcher: Getting a raise could hurt your standard of living in retirement. That conclusion seems counterintuitive. After all, wouldn’t saving the same percentage of a larger paycheck yield more savings, and therefore a healthier retirement? Not exactly, according to new research published by Morningstar. “Raises — and how we spend
Jetta Productions Inc Bring out your box of receipts. Tax season begins today. Eager taxpayers can start filing their 2019 tax returns on Monday, Jan. 27. The IRS expects it will receive more than 150 million returns. People with elaborate returns can ask for a six-month extension to file, but they have until April 15
Hero Images | Hero Images | Getty Images Many Americans believe they will live longer than their parents. For younger generations, that has led to a big concern: how they will provide financially for those extended years. That’s according to a new online poll from the Longevity Project and Morning Consult, which surveyed 2,200 U.S.
If you were hoping to keep your bitcoin stash under wraps from the IRS, think again. As the 2019 tax season kicks off on Jan. 27, the taxman is expecting you to disclose whether you had any cryptocurrency transactions last year. The IRS asks the following question on the first page of Schedule 1 of
katleho Seisa Lawmakers have diluted a retirement tax break popular among wealthy Americans, leading many to consider a strategy known as a Roth conversion for individual retirement accounts to try softening the blow. A Roth conversion involves the owner of a traditional IRA, which is funded with pretax contributions, moving that money into an after-tax