Personal finance

Most millennials have invested heavily in stocks or cryptocurrency — and that hasn’t turned out so well. The S&P 500 Index is down more than 20% so far this year. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is hovering around $19,000 after starting out the year above $45,000. As many younger investors bail out of those investments, bonds

wera Rodsawang | Moment | Getty Images Child poverty fell dramatically in 2021, thanks to an expansion put in place last year that sent monthly payments of up to $300 per child to millions of eligible families. Yet many individuals and families eligible for the child tax credit, as well as another called the earned

bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty Images The 2023 monthly premium for Medicare’s outpatient care coverage will be about 3% lower than it is this year, the government announced Tuesday. The standard monthly premium for Part B will be $164.90 next year, down $5.20 from $170.10 in 2022, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

Steve Pfost | Newsday | Getty Images Amid higher interest rates and a softening housing market, home buyers are continuing to back out of purchase contracts at an elevated rate. About 64,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in August, according to a new report from Redfin. That’s equal to 15.2% of home contracts initiated during the

JGI/Jamie Grill When the Federal Reserve hiked the target federal funds rate by another 0.75 percentage points this month, it opened some new opportunities for savers to earn better returns on their cash. The Fed’s move is aimed at combating high inflation, which has sent costs for housing, food and energy soaring. related investing news

Mphillips007 | E+ | Getty Images The pumpkin spice latte is back — and the popular and meme-ified seasonal drink can teach us a lot about consumer behavior and economics. Starbucks debuted the pumpkin spice latte in 2003, and the “PSL” grew to be the company’s most popular seasonal drink, selling more than 600 million

Whether it’s due to belt-tightening or the promise of federal student loan forgiveness, suddenly families are paying closer attention to financial aid for college. Of those parents with college-bound students who didn’t plan on applying for federal aid, 58% have now changed their minds, according to a new report by Discover Student Loans. “Given the uncertainties

In this article TRU Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT After years of cheap money, it’s suddenly a lot more expensive to borrow. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark short-term rate 3 percentage points since March in an effort to curb unrelenting inflation, including another big hike earlier this week. “Interest rates are going up at the

Phynart Studio | Istock | Getty Images President Joe Biden’s announcement last month that he’ll forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers will also impact the millions of parents who have taken out loans for their children’s education. The debt cancellation applies to so-called Parent PLUS loans, federal loans that parents can take

sturti The possibility of a looming recession is prompting fresh worries for both professional and everyday investors. More than half of Americans — 56% — think the country is already in a recession, according to a recent survey from MassMutual. Meanwhile, 49% of respondents said they think there will likely be a recession next year,

Noel Hendrickson/Getty Images Even with signs that the housing market is cooling, homebuyers are still feeling the sting of elevated prices and higher interest rates. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.7% as of Friday, up from 3.3% at the start of 2022, according to Mortgage News Daily. Alongside that, home prices

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images Money may not be top of mind if you’re in love, but it deserves some serious consideration if you want a lasting relationship. A partnership that pools resources and shares expenses can be a very good thing for a relationship and for each other’s financial well-being. However, different spending

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images It’s still an employees’ market, even amid high inflation and talk of a possible recession. But there are some signs that could start to change. related investing news Evercore ISI cuts S&P 500 year-end target as Fed’s tough talk raises probability of a recession Yun Li 11 hours ago

Ronnie Kaufman | DigitalVision | Getty Images For some new retirees, there’s an extra step needed when it comes to signing up for Medicare. That is, you may need to appeal so-called income-related adjustment amounts, or IRMAAs, if your income as a new retiree is lower than when you were working. Those extra charges kick

Hinterhaus Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images It’s that time of year, when workers get to make some decisions about their employee benefits. Many companies are beginning to hold their annual open enrollment period, which is when employees can sign up for 2023 health insurance — as well as consider other benefits, if your employer

Forget getting a deal; these days, anyone in the market for a new car could pay thousands over the sticker price before they drive off the lot. Limited inventory due to a persistent shortage of computer chips, along with other supply-chain challenges, helped propel new car prices up 10% from a year ago, according to

The Federal Reserve raised the target federal funds rate by 0.75 percentage points for the third time in a row, in an effort to cool down unrelenting inflation. Fed officials have raised the benchmark short-term borrowing rate a total of five times this year, including 75 basis point increases in June and July, marking an unprecedented pace.

Monkeybusinessimages | Istock | Getty Images Millions of Americans may receive reduced Social Security benefits if they worked in public roles as teachers, firefighters, police or government workers. Now a proposal in Congress to eliminate the rules that cause those benefit reductions is moving forward. But experts say it’s still unclear whether the bill will

Brandon Bell | Getty Images News | Getty Images The White House released an analysis on Tuesday of how many people in each state stand to benefit from its student loan forgiveness plan, including a count of borrowers who received a Pell Grant. More than 3.5 million people are eligible for debt cancellation in California,

Enes Evren It’s been a rough year for the stock market, and some consumers are closing investment accounts due to inflation and volatility concerns, according to a recent survey from Ally Financial.  As investors brace for another major interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, inflation is still hovering near a 40-year high and the