Personal finance

March 30 is ‘Ivy Day,’ when many Ivy League schools release those long-awaited admissions decisions. More than ever, acceptance into the Ivy League is considered highly desirable, however, when it comes to his year’s ultimate dream school, Massachusetts Institute of Technology comes out on top, according to a recent survey of college-bound students and their

Riska | Istock | Getty Images After being suspended for more than three years, federal student loan payments are expected to resume in the coming months. Yet, at that point, borrowers who aren’t financially prepared to pay may have options for getting more time, experts say. “Deferments and forbearances are available for both undergraduate and

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images Workers who participate in a company 401(k) plan pay fees for a host of associated services. Among them is the cost of administering the plan — for example, tracking daily fluctuations in account value, facilitating trades and issuing regular notices to investors. But based on how your employer structures its

Mixmedia | Istock | Getty Images You may have heard that Social Security’s funds are running low. If that doesn’t change, that may interfere with the program’s ability to pay full benefits in the next decade. Now, a new virtual tool from the American Academy of Actuaries lets you explore Social Security’s woes and decide

Shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images Tax rules for Roth individual retirement accounts don’t require owners to withdraw money during their lifetime — a valuable proposition for retirees who don’t need to touch the money and want to let their investment continue growing tax-free. But those rules change once the account holder dies — meaning

A woman looks through a garbage can in Manhattan in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Over the last 50 years, the poverty rate in the U.S. has barely budged: Around 11% of the U.S. population was considered poor in 2019. In 1970, just about 12% was. “There is

It’s getting harder to keep up with higher prices. As of February, 62% of all U.S. adults were living paycheck to paycheck, up from 60% a month earlier, according to a new LendingClub report. To make ends meet, more people have picked up a side hustle, the report also found. As pandemic-related benefits are scaled back,

Even when they don’t buy a fixer-upper, most people will end up doing some amount of repairs on a new home. About 95% of homeowners said they plan to take on a major home improvement project in the next five years, according to a recent report by Real Estate Witch. However, only 50% said they

In this article SBNY Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Nicoletaionescu | Istock | Getty Images When it comes to bank deposits, $250,000 is the key number experts are talking about in light of recent financial shocks in the banking sector of a severity not seen since the Financial Crisis. That amount is the threshold

Suze Orman speaks during AOL’s BUILD Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York. Jenny Anderson | WireImage | Getty Images At the end of each episode of her long-running eponymous CNBC show, Suze Orman would close out with the phrase, “People first, then money, then things.” Women took that to mean they should give

Mireya Acierto | Photodisc | Getty Images It’s not unusual for wealthy taxpayers to relocate from high-tax states to low-tax states. There’s evidence in population trends: Texas and Florida — neither of which have a state income tax — were the states with the biggest population increases from 2020 to 2021, according to the latest

Alistair Berg | Digitalvision | Getty Images Death and taxes are, as Benjamin Franklin famously declared, two of life’s certainties. Investment fees may be a worthy addition to that list in the modern era — though not all investors are aware of this near-universal fact. The fees financial services firms charge can be murky. One-fifth

Fg Trade Latin | E+ | Getty Images Families will soon find college acceptance letters in their mailboxes. As students weigh where to attend, making sure they won’t borrow too much is key, experts say. The consequences of taking on too much student debt can be severe. “If you borrow too much, you will have

Andrew Bret Wallis | The Image Bank | Getty Images For retirees, health-care costs can be among the most unpredictable expenses they face over the course of their golden years. While many of them worry about affording their monthly Medicare premiums, their bigger concern is their out-of-pocket costs, recent research from eHealth shows. Fully 75%

When it comes to the U.S. economy, confidence is key. But the banking crisis has threatened to upset how most people feel about their financial picture. “The bank problems are probably making a lot of people think twice,” said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, an economics professor at George Washington University and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images A couple of Medicare enrollment periods are underway — and both end soon. First, if you didn’t enroll in Medicare when you should have and you don’t qualify for a special enrollment period, you can sign up until March 31. Second, if you are already on Medicare

Antonio_diaz | Istock | Getty Images Among the millions of Americans with past-due medical debt, there’s a decent chance they owe $1,000 or more, new research suggests. While 39% of that cohort said they owe less than $1,000, the remainder (61%) owe more, including 21% who owe at least $5,000, according to a new Urban

Recent bank woes and rising interest rates have prompted higher levels of economic uncertainty. When it comes to the markets, that means more volatility may be in the forecast. Volatility happens when the value of an investment “fluctuates wildly in a short period of time,” according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. “In the months

Digital artist FEWOCiOUS auctions five NFT works of art, along with five physical paintings and drawings at Christie’s on June 28, 2021 in New York. Noam Galai | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images The IRS said it plans to tax some non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, as collectibles akin to art or gems — an

Prostock-studio | Istock | Getty Images It’s a strange time for people with federal student loan bills, which means that their experience with this year’s tax season will likely also be unusual. The Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans is on hold until the