Personal finance

NFL linebacker Brandon Copeland understands the importance of investing his money. In fact, the New York Jet spends about 10% of his salary and saves the rest. “This career can end at any moment. Any money I make I’m trying to extrapolate that out for life, I’m trying to save as much as possible,” he

Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images With a New Year comes a new start, and your retirement is no exception. That’s because the limits for pre-tax saving have gone up for aspiring retirees. And those already in retirement will see a modest boost to their Social Security retirement benefits, along with increased Medicare Part

Oscar Carrascosa Martinez | Moment | Getty Images When Kelly Smith had a mammogram in February 2018, she got a clean bill of health. Yet that April, as she was putting on lotion, she noticed a lump in her left breast. Several follow-up visits to her doctors confirmed the worst: She had stage 3B breast

Oxford University Joe Daniel Price | Getty Images For high-school seniors, the world is their oyster. In fact, a growing number of college-bound students are completing their bachelor’s degrees in foreign lands. Rather than just studying abroad for a semester or two, about 50,000 U.S. students are currently pursuing full degrees abroad, with a little

It’s a family dynamic that is increasingly becoming commonplace — and can make dealing with financial issues particularly challenging. A spouse — or both — has at least one child from a previous marriage or relationship and together they create what’s known as a “blended family.” Think “The Brady Bunch” – just without the rotary

Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty Images If you were diligently saving money for medical expenses all year, you may be about to lose it. A health-care flexible spending account, which you may have access to at work, allows you to save pretax dollars in a savings account. You can take tax-free distributions from the

Roger Richter | Corbis | Getty Images Friends don’t let friends buy $3,000 coffee tables. If you’re stuck on a pricey piece of furniture, consider that your money may be better spent elsewhere, like on a solid sofa or a great mattress. Furniture is one of the largest purchases most people make, says Rebecca Hawkins,

Medicare beneficiaries have about two weeks left to evaluate their options for 2020 and make changes for the new year. While you don’t need to take any action if you want to stick with your current coverage, experts say it’s worthwhile making sure it will still suit your needs next year — and that there

Many workers don’t need experts to tell them they aren’t putting enough away for their golden years — they apparently already know it. More than half of U.S. adults (52%) say they are behind where they should be when it comes to saving for retirement, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. Among pre-retirees, the

Despite the partisan noise swirling around the impeachment hearings in Washington, DC, supporters of at least one bill remain hopeful that the divide won’t derail its passage. The Secure Act, as the measure is called, aims to increase the ranks of retirement savers and the amount they put away. While it cleared the House in

Jamie Grill | Getty Images Sometimes it pays to hold off on that holiday bonus. Workers on Wall Street received an average bonus of $153,700 in 2018, according to a report from the New York State Comptroller’s office. That’s down 17% from the prior year — but still enough to make the holidays happier. Meanwhile,

Moyo Studio | E+ | Getty Images If you have one resolution for 2020, make it to clear the decks on your credit card debt. About 2 out of 3 consumers with credit cards have been toting the same balance or higher over the last decade, according to a recent survey from Bankrate.com. The personal

Many Americans are feeling pretty good about their financial future, at least over the next year. In the latest CNBC Invest in You survey, 43% said they think they and their families will be better off financially a year from now. Of those polled, 42% said their situation will be the same, and 13% said

Marc Romanelli | Blend Images | Getty Images Procrastination comes at a steep cost for older savers who want to hold off on taking mandated withdrawals from their retirement accounts. If you turned 70½ this year or you’re older, you’re on the hook for a required minimum distribution out of your individual retirement account and

Kenneth Fisher, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Fisher Investments, speaks during a television interview in New York, May 10, 2010. Jonathan Fickies | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Chicago police pension fund is ending its $67 million relationship with Fisher Investments. The Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago joins a number of

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio wants the average investor to learn from the errors of others. In fact, the “biggest mistake” he sees investors make is thinking that markets that went up recently are “better bargains rather than expensive bargains.” “Don’t make the mistake of buying those things that have gone up thinking they’re

The Fearless Girl statue is seen in the foreground as a banner announcing the IPO of Uber Technologies hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange, May 10, 2019. Andrew Kelly | Reuters You don’t have to tell Willis Williams that the initial public offering calendar has been busy this year. Williams, 44, a New York

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz is the president of Charles Schwab Foundation and a certified financial planner. Courtesy of Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz has a simple message for parents and schools: Teach your kids about money. The certified financial planner — who also is board chair and president of the Charles Schwab Foundation — is on a mission

If you’re hoping to snag the best-available terms on a loan, a standard rule of thumb about credit card usage could end up messing with your plans. The common advice is to keep revolving debt below 30% of your available credit so your utilization rate doesn’t hurt your credit score. Yet experts say your FICO

It’s no secret most people overindulge during the holidays. Aside from feasting on holiday treats, nearly two-thirds of adults said they have felt pressure to overspend this time of year, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. With that comes a heavy toll. Roughly two-thirds of Americans also said that holiday expenses negatively affect their