Personal finance

The Trump administration has already begun carrying out its plans to close parts or all of the Department of Education, which is responsible for underwriting student loans, disbursing college aid and ensuring equal access to education. President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to “find and remove the radicals who have infiltrated the federal Department of Education,” and suggested

Maria Korneeva | Moment | Getty Images As millions of taxpayers file returns, many worry that certain claims could boost their chances of being picked for an IRS audit.  After an infusion of funding, the agency said it aimed to more than double the audit rate for the wealthiest taxpayers. But the IRS’ future priorities are unclear amid changing

Artistgndphotography | E+ | Getty Images As millions of Americans gather paperwork to file their returns, many could see a tax form for business payments “for the first time ever,” according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. For 2024, if you had more than $5,000 in business transactions from apps such as PayPal or Venmo, along

Prapass Pulsub | Moment | Getty Images If you have a tax bill or bigger than expected refund this season, it may be time to update your paycheck withholding, which can be tricky, experts say.   Typically, there’s a refund when you overpay taxes throughout the year, and a tax bill when you don’t pay enough.

Sanja Radin | E+ | Getty Images It seems that love is in the air, and so is the spending as more people are apparently getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit this year. Americans shopping for their significant others are expected to spend $14.6 billion this year, according to the latest annual survey by the

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Sorry, lovebirds, but that chocolate you’re buying for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day probably comes with a bigger price tag. Candy is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift, beating out other tokens of affection like flowers, cards and jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation. Additionally, chocolate accounts for

Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images More than 3.2 million individuals scored a legislative victory due to a new law that will increase the Social Security benefits for which they are eligible. However, many of those individuals now face a lengthy wait for the extra benefit money coming to them. The Social Security Fairness

Asiavision | E+ | Getty Images Collectively, Americans now owe a record $1.21 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new quarterly report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card balances jumped by $45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven in part by holiday spending, and

People walk by a sign for Freddie Mac headquarters on July 14, 2008 in McLean, Virginia. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images) Paul J. Richards | Afp | Getty Images Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two giant mortgage finance firms controlled by the federal government

Elon Musk speaks next to President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2025. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Staffers from Elon Musk‘s secretive government slashing effort, DOGE, have pushed the highest-ranking officials at the Department of Education — even those recently appointed by President Donald

In many ways, workers are still reeling from the pandemic. After a tumultuous few years, worrying about what will come next is causing more employees to suffer from so-called layoff anxiety. According to Clarify Capital’s 2025 survey of 1,000 Americans, 1 in 3 adults have layoff anxiety. It’s especially impacting younger workers: among Generation Z,

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Sen. Elizabeth Warren is urging the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to reevaluate the decision to rescind more than 200 job offers to bank examiners in the wake of President Donald Trump‘s federal hiring freeze. The FDIC is already severely understaffed, which “threatens

Coroimage | Moment | Getty Images If you worked remotely in 2024, you may be eyeing the home office deduction. However, qualifying for the tax break may be harder than you expect, experts say.  Only 7% of companies allowed fully remote work in 2024, down from 21% in 2023, according to a ZipRecruiter survey that

Richard Stephen | Istock | Getty Images The advisory group known as the Department of Government Efficiency, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has moved quickly to curb government spending at federal agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At a rally Monday outside the Social Security Administration’s Maryland

© Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images When saving for retirement, more time in the market can be beneficial depending on your goals and risk tolerance. Generally, the longer your investing timeline, the greater the opportunity to save and the bigger risk you can afford to take. But your investing timeline can be shortened

Sign on an empty supermarket shelf in Queens, New York. Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Wholesale egg prices have eclipsed record levels as the U.S. scrambles to contain a bird-flu outbreak — and consumers may soon see more sticker shock at their local grocer as a result, according to analysts. On Friday, average

US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2025.  Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images As House Republicans look for ways to slash spending to fund President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, they’ve floated proposals that could raise federal student loan bills for

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the U.S. Treasury Department in protest of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency on Feb. 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Rose Layden | Getty Images U.S. senators expressed concern on Friday that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting effort, the Department of

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images Renters should reap the benefits of a lower-cost rental market while they can. It might not last, experts say.  As of December, the median asking rent price in the U.S. was $1,695, down 0.5% — or $8 — from November, according to a report by Realtor.com. The latest rent price

Chappell Roan at the 67th GRAMMY Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Christopher Polk | Billboard | Getty Images With a Grammy win for best new artist, Chappell Roan is at a career high. A few years ago, she was one of the millions of Americans without