Personal finance

fstop123 | E+ | Getty Images LAS VEGAS — College is a major expense for many families, but a payment strategy can provide significant tax savings, according to a college funding expert. “Distribution planning is not just for retirement,” said certified financial planner Ross Riskin, chief learning officer for the Investments & Wealth Institute. Families

Harvard Yard, on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Maddie Meyer | Getty Images This year’s high school graduating class faced one of the toughest college-application seasons on record. At the nation’s top schools, including many in the Ivy League, “it’s never going to be harder to get in,” said Hafeez Lakhani, founder

Jackyenjoyphotography | Moment | Getty Images Investors who are skittish about the ups and downs of the stock market can borrow an easy 401(k) investment strategy to calm their nerves and be more disciplined with their money — and reap the potential financial benefits. The strategy is called “dollar-cost averaging.” It entails investing money in

Djelics | E+ | Getty Images Richelle Brooks’ budget is already tight. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do when federal student loan payments resume in the fall. The single mother of two has seen all her expenses rise over the last few years amid high inflation. “I go grocery shopping and spend $300

Pixdeluxe | E+ | Getty Images Retirement savers who withdrew money from their accounts in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic may have just days or weeks left to repay those funds and reap the tax benefits. The CARES Act — a federal relief law passed in March 2020 — allowed savers to pull

Fizkes | Istock | Getty Images Stubborn inflation has driven households near the breaking point, but the pain of high prices has not been shared equally. By most measures, low-income households have been hardest hit, experts say. The lowest-paid workers spend more of their income on necessities such as food, rent and gas, categories that also

baona | Getty Images The rate of inflation has shown signs of easing, following the highest spike in four decades. Yet the shock of rising prices continues to have an impact on consumers’ psyches. “The typical U.S. consumer is looking at the gas station or their grocery store and seeing prices elevated and not coming

File photo of graduates of Baruch College participate in a commencement program at Barclays Center, Monday, June 5, 2017, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Bebeto Matthews | AP In the days ahead, 125,000 graduating high school seniors will receive automatic acceptance letters from the State University of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced

The Senate voted to repeal President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan on June 1, 2023. Biden —pictured here with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in October  — is expected to veto the bill. Getty Images | Bloomberg A GOP-led effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan passed the Senate

dowell | Moment | Getty Images Treasury bill yields have climbed over the past few months, with one-month to one-year terms currently topping 5%, as of June 1. However, there are a few things for everyday investors to know about the Treasury bill purchase process, according to financial experts. Treasury bills, or T-bills, have terms

Ejs9 | E+ | Getty Images Assessing how fast prices are changing for consumers may sound straightforward. But that’s not always the case — measurement quirks in consumer price index categories such as housing, technology and health insurance mean inflation readings don’t always jibe with the actual prices people pay. The dynamic is important: It

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images Americans’ confidence they can live comfortably in retirement has dropped the most since the global financial crisis in 2008, according to a recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research. One reason is high inflation, which has reduced both workers’ and retirees’ belief that their

Djelics | E+ | Getty Images During the past year, the rate at which Americans quit their jobs has steadily declined from a record high back to pre-pandemic levels — seeming to spell the end of the labor market trend that came to be known as the “great resignation,” labor economists said. The “quits rate”

Most homeowners are planning to remodel at some point down the road, but not everyone will get their money’s worth in improved home value. Of all home improvement projects, the most popular are sparkling bathroom overhauls, according to newly released data from the Contractor Growth Network, followed by big-ticket kitchen and basement renovations. In some

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Federal student loan borrowers hoping for another extension of the pandemic-era payment pause received bad news in the the tentative deal between Republican lawmakers and President Joe Biden to suspend the debt ceiling and avoid default. According to the legislative text of the agreement, the pause on

Visitors at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 24, 2023. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters A tentative deal to raise the debt ceiling limit includes up to $21.4 billion of IRS budget cuts, slashing part of the nearly $80 billion in agency funding enacted last August to boost taxpayer service, technology and enforcement.   The

Miniseries | E+ | Getty Images Americans have suffered in “declines in overall financial well-being,” according to a new annual Federal Reserve report on economic well-being of U.S. households released last week. Only 63% of all adults can cover an unexpected $400 expense, the report on 2022 found, down from a high of about 68%

These days, many people are worried about paying for college. Less than half of Americans are confident that they’re currently saving enough for future education expenses, according to a recent report by Edward Jones. Checking your 529 college savings balance may not provide much comfort, either. Last year, these popular savings plans took a hit

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As a growing contingent of Americans feel priced out of a college education, tuition assistance may be the most valuable incentive companies are using to attract and keep workers. In the last few years, more businesses have added or expanded benefit offerings of free college programs. Not only does free or discounted higher education improve