Personal finance

Marco Vdm | E+ | Getty Images If you’re ready to focus on retirement in 2025, early January could be the perfect time to boost your 401(k) plan contributions, financial experts say.  More than half of American workers feel they are behind on retirement savings, according to a Bankrate survey that polled 2,445 U.S. adults

From left, Elon Musk, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy arrive for a meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images When Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy laid out their vision for slashing the size of the federal government, they touted plans to bring workers back to the office

U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC.  Alex Wong | Getty Images The country’s roughly 40 million federal student loan borrowers should brace for changes related to their debt when President Joe Biden exits office toward

Ezra Bailey | Stone | Getty Images Opening presents during the holidays is of course a lot of fun. But for many, opening those credit card statements will be just the opposite. Months before the holidays hit, consumers were already bracing for the anticipated costs. More than half of 2024 holiday shoppers, or 55%, felt

Rgstudio | E+ | Getty Images When it comes to financial resolutions, paying down debt is at the top of many to-do lists for 2025. But financial advisors who work with clients every day have their own wish lists for what they think should be top financial priorities for 2025. Here are some tips covering

Pedestrians walk in front of the New York Stock Exchange, decorated with a giant U.S. flag, in New York City, Nov. 6, 2024. China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images Assets in U.S. exchange-traded funds in November topped $10 trillion for the first time, according to the latest data from Cerulli Associates.

Hobo_018 | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it was reopening two student loan repayment plans, leaving borrowers with more choices to tackle their debt. Those options are: the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan and the Income-Contingent Repayment Plan. They’re both income-driven repayment plans, which means they set

J Studios | Digitalvision | Getty Images In Saïd Sayrafiezadeh’s fictional short story, “Minimum Payment Due,” the main character is trapped in credit card debt and desperate for a way out. The fact that the experience is common — more than a third, or 38%, of adults in the U.S. have credit card debt, according

Hill Street Studios | Getty Images Keith Harris, a 17-year-old high school senior at KIPP DC College Preparatory, has studied accounting, investing and budgeting, among other basic lessons, like his English, history and math curriculum. Harris is enrolled in his high school’s NAF Academy of Business, a rigorous three-year finance program with a work-based learning

A woman shops at a Target store in Chicago on Nov. 26, 2024. Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Images Heading into the holidays, many Americans were already saddled with record-breaking credit card debt. And yet, consumer spending is set to reach a fresh high this season.  The National Retail Federation reported last week that

Images By Tang Ming Tung | Digitalvision | Getty Images Many people, especially those with debt, will be discouraged by the recent Federal Reserve forecast of a slower pace of interest rate cuts than previously forecast. However, others with money in high-yield cash accounts will benefit from a “higher for longer” regime, experts say. “If

Manonallard | E+ | Getty Images Many Americans are capping off the holidays with new debt balances. This season, 36% of American consumers took on holiday debt, according to a new survey from LendingTree. Those who racked up balances this season took on an average of $1,181 in debt, up from $1,028 in 2023. However,

Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury secretary, on a tour of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in Vienna, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 2024. Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images The U.S. Treasury Department has delayed the deadline for millions of small businesses to Jan. 13, 2025, to file a new form, known as a Beneficial Ownership Information

Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez | Picture Alliance | Getty Images It has been a banner year for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, with some of the biggest asset managers introducing ETFs that hold the flagship digital currency. But there are things to consider before adding these ETFs to your portfolio, experts say.   The U.S. Securities and Exchange

After a strong start to the holiday season, consumer spending is on track to reach record levels this year. But many of those purchases will soon be returned. December’s peak shopping days are closely followed by the busiest month for sending items back, which experts dub “Returnuary.” This year, returns are expected to amount to 17%

Home Alone (1990) 20th Century Fox The classic Christmas movie “Home Alone” tells the improbable tale of a family who leaves their 8-year-old son home when they leave for vacation. Yet in the years since the 1990 film was released, viewers have focused on another question — how wealthy was the fictitious McCallister family featured

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during the Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 9, 2024.  Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters The Biden administration has withdrawn two major plans to deliver student loan forgiveness. The proposed regulations would have allowed the U.S. Department of Education secretary to cancel

Ryanjlane | E+ | Getty Images The IRS plans to issue automatic “special payments” of up to $1,400 to 1 million taxpayers starting later this month, the agency announced last week. The payments will go to individuals who did not claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax returns for that year and who

Sdi Productions | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. job market has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, from one characterized by record levels of employee turnover to one in which there is little churn. In short, the “great resignation” of 2021 and 2022 has morphed into what some labor economists call the “great

Credit card rewards can go a long way toward attracting new customers and encouraging existing borrowers to spend. But whether they’re earning cash back, points or miles, most consumers end up leaving some reward dollars on the table. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is cracking down on some issuers’ “bait-and-switch” rewards programs. The consumer