Personal finance

A voter fills out a ballot at a polling station on Election Day in Falls Church, Virginia, U.S., November 7, 2023.  Kevin Lamarque | Reuters When it comes to the November election, there is one issue that is at the top of voters’ wish lists: Social Security. Despite political division, most Americans — 87% —

Lisa5201 | E+ | Getty Images Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked legislation that would have expanded the child tax credit, a key tax break for millions of families. Despite strong bipartisan support for the House bill passed in January, the legislation met resistance from Senate Republicans. Thursday’s procedural vote wasn’t expected to clear the 60-vote

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a new plan for federal student loan relief during a visit to Madison Area Technical College Truax Campus, in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S, April 8, 2024.  Kevin Lamarque | Reuters The Biden administration is sending emails to tens of millions of borrowers this week about its new plans to cancel student

Sdi Productions | E+ | Getty Images Home affordability has slightly improved for buyers this summer, according to a recent report.  The median new mortgage payment was $2,167 in June, a 2.4% decline from $2,219 in May, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The index measures how new monthly mortgage payments change

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will leave interest rates unchanged. However, recent signs of economic growth and cooling inflation are paving the way for a widely anticipated September rate cut, which is welcome news for Americans struggling to keep up with sky-high interest charges. “Consumers should feel pretty good about the U.S. economy,”

Visitors walk during a long-duration heat wave impacting much of California on July 9 in Death Valley National Park, California.  Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images Amid surging summer heat, the earth reached a new hottest day on record on July 22. That day, the global average temperature was almost 63 degrees

Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday at the urging of several Republican-led states blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from further implementing a new student debt relief plan that lowers payments. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Biden administration is gearing up to try to forgive the student debt of tens of

Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 30, 2024. Elijah Nouvelage | Afp | Getty Images “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at a political event in Atlanta on Tuesday evening. “When our middle

Valentinrussanov | E+ | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is poised to make the first interest rate cut in years this fall, which can influence mortgage rates to go down. Even small cuts in interest rates could make a meaningful difference in what a homebuyer will pay. To that point, people in the market to

Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures while giving a keynote speech on the third day of the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee on July 27, 2024. Jon Cherry | Getty Images News | Getty Images With the price of bitcoin hovering around $70,000 again, experts have tax advice for new

Commuters sit in traffic on southbound Interstate 5 during the afternoon commute heading into downtown San Diego on March 12, 2024 in San Diego, California.  Kevin Carter | Getty Images Young professionals may be falling back in love with the nine-to-five aesthetic — known as “corpcore” — but few are logging the hours at the

Richard Behar Courtesy: Lizzie Cohen You probably haven’t heard Bernie Madoff‘s name in awhile, but that doesn’t mean the infamous fraudster’s story is over, or the pain he inflicted. Irving Picard, an 83-old court-appointed trustee, still spends his days trying to claw back money from the those who benefitted from Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and to

If you are a W-2 employee and get paid biweekly, there are two months out of the year when you will receive three paychecks instead of the usual two. August may be one of those months. This is a great opportunity to give your financial standing a boost, experts say. “Receiving three paychecks in August

Even as home prices hit new highs, experts say there are signs that the housing market is becoming better for buyers in some locations. The median cost of an existing, single-family home in the U.S. was $426,900 in June, a new all-time high, according to the National Association of Realtors. About 3.89 million homes were

A development towers over the Lyric Theater in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood. Greg Iacurci MIAMI — Nicole Crooks stood in the plaza of the historic Lyric Theater, a royal blue hat shielding her from the midday sun that baked Miami. In its heyday, the theater, in the city’s Overtown neighborhood, was an important cultural hub for

We Are | Digitalvision | Getty Images Federal student loan payments are on pause for millions of borrowers while the Biden administration defends its new relief program in court. Here’s what to know. Who doesn’t have to make payments? The U.S. Department of Education is placing federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration’s

US Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris delivers keynote speech at Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.’s Grand Boulé event at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 24, 2024.  Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Financial experts describe Vice President Kamala Harris‘ investment style in one word: Boring. For a

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. Kevin Mohatt | Reuters “Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at a political event in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday

Simpleimages | Moment | Getty Images With interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve on the horizon, it could be a good time to shift cash, experts say.   Traders expect a rate cut in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, which could lower the target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage

The Charging Bull in the Financial District in New York City. Mairo Cinquetti | Nurphoto | Getty Images After weeks of hitting new highs, the S&P 500 index on Wednesday suffered its worst trading session since 2022. The market broadly began to recover Thursday amid a sell-off in technology stocks. Experts say those stock moves