Personal finance

Richard Drury | Digitalvision | Getty Images After funneling money into pretax retirement accounts, you will eventually face mandatory withdrawals in retirement known as required minimum distributions, or RMDs. Since RMDs can trigger higher taxes, the withdrawals can be a nuisance for some retirees who do not need the money. But the yearly activity could

Kathryn Bracho, 48, with her husband, Michael, and their two sons, Declan and Taran. Courtesy: Kathryn Bracho With federal student loan forgiveness in jeopardy and the rising cost of college now a top concern for students and their families, more Americans are prioritizing saving for higher education. In 2024, 74% of parents surveyed have started

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and former President Donald Trump Reuters As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris unveil their economic agendas, both presidential candidates have called for tax changes that could affect millions of Americans. Taxes will be a key issue for the next president. Without action from Congress, trillions in

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks at an Aug. 10 campaign rally in Las Vegas. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images Affordable housing is a cornerstone of the “opportunity economy” that Vice President Kamala Harris sketched out last week. Harris’ economic policy pitch included proposals to lower the costs

Will & Deni Mcintyre | Corbis Documentary | Getty Images The notion of offering free school meals could become a policy issue in the U.S. presidential race, experts say — especially given Vice President Kamala Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on the Democratic ticket. The federal government offered K-12

A Target store in Queens, New York. Lindsey Nicholson | UCG | Universal Images Group | Getty Images The back-to-school shopping season is in full swing, with the hefty bills to prove it. Nearly one-third — 31% — of back-to-school shoppers said that buying supplies for the new year will put them into debt, according to a

JGI/Jamie Grill | Blend Images | Getty Images Higher prices have made it more difficult for Americans to stretch their paychecks. Yet new research finds a bright spot: Most households have enough liquidity to cover “moderate expense shocks,” according to a recent JPMorgan Chase Institute analysis of a sample of 5.9 million households through anonymized

Kumikomini | Istock | Getty Images In 2004, Sabrina Finch returned to school to become a nurse. Her mother, Rebecca, was excited for Sabrina, then in her early 30s, to finally have a career. She’d watched for years as Sabrina struggled to get by working low-wage jobs, including in fast-food restaurants and factories. As a

Activists demonstrate in support of a $15-per-hour minimum wage and tips for restaurant workers in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 8, 2022. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images The federal minimum wage recently marked a new anniversary. But for affected workers, that may not be something to celebrate. The federal minimum wage has now been

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event with U.S. President Joe Biden (not pictured) in Prince George’s County, Maryland, U.S., August 15, 2024.  Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled an economic plan, including an expanded child tax credit worth up to $6,000 in total tax relief for families

Klaus Vedfelt | Digitalvision | Getty Images From leggings to lip gloss, there’s a dupe for almost any brand-name product. Buying a knockoff used to be a consumer’s dirty little secret, largely because a “fake” was considered inferior to the real thing, not to mention the economic cost and intellectual property rights infringement. But brand imitators,

Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn | Istock | Getty Images About 2.9 billion people may have had their personal information hacked, a new proposed class action lawsuit alleges. If true, reports suggest all Americans may have had valuable personal information compromised — including full names, current and past addresses, Social Security numbers and information on parents, siblings and

Getty Images As their retirement nears, investors need to be aware of a threat known as the “sequence of returns risk” which could jeopardize their retirement nest egg. While this risk is often an overlooked and misunderstood problem for retirees, there are ways to minimize its negative impact, experts say.  Also called “sequence risk,” the

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty Images Inflation cooled below 3% in July 2024, the first time it dropped beneath that level in more than three years. While many areas of the U.S. economy are dis-inflating — meaning their prices are still rising, though at a slower rate — some have been outright deflating. That means

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images With the federal government’s ability to forgive student debt up in the air, experts say it would behoove borrowers to explore the many state-level relief programs available. “Most states have one, especially if you’re in health care,” said Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a

Phoenix Wang | Moment | Getty Images Former President Donald Trump has touted a bold new idea for Social Security: ending taxes on benefit income. “Seniors should not pay tax on Social Security,” Trump wrote on July 31 in all capital letters on social media platform Truth Social, and repeated the point during an Aug.

Pascal Broze | Onoky | Getty Images As investors face economic uncertainty, financial advisors have guidelines for how much cash they should have set aside. Despite second-quarter economic growth, nearly 60% of Americans wrongly think the U.S. is currently in a recession, according to a June survey of 2,000 adults from Affirm. While Goldman Sachs

Jj Gouin | Istock | Getty Images Most Americans rank Social Security as “one of the top” issues or a “very important” issue determining who they will vote for in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, according to a new CNBC poll. Social Security reform is also a top concern, according to a separate survey from

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump. Brendan Mcdermid | Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both want to end taxes on tips — and some policy experts have already criticized the idea. Harris expressed support for tax-free tips at a

Iuliia Isaieva | Moment | Getty Images Homeowners are sitting on$17 trillion in equity as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, according to CoreLogic. The average homeowner gained $28,000 in equity compared to a year earlier. For many people, there’s no need to touch that money. Home equity is “not like bread,”