Personal finance

In this article ZG Lacheev / Getty As today’s prospective home buyers confront high home prices and rising interest rates, there’s one thing they can do to save money — raise their credit scores. “This is one actionable thing buyers can do to save a little bit of money in this market,” said Amanda Pendleton,

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images There are just 13 years before Social Security may not be able to pay full benefits, according to a recent annual report from the program’s trustees. In 2035, just 80% of benefits will be payable if Congress doesn’t fix the program sooner. Shoring up the program will generally mean

Anti-abortion activists demonstrate outside the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, June 13, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters Residents of Georgia may now claim embryos as dependents on their state income tax returns. Any “unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat,” may qualify for a $3,000 state income tax deduction for 2022, effective

In this article TREE For parents already stretching budgets to pay for groceries and gasoline, stocking up on school supplies will be a little harder this year. “Back-to-school shopping is stressful even in the best economic times,” said Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst at LendingTree. “With inflation running rampant and supply chain issues lingering,

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images Would-be travelers looking to fly this fall may want to book their plane trips now, with travel app Hopper reporting that airfares are dropping this month from peak summertime prices. “September and early October will be the cheapest times to travel, while August and early September will be the

Insta_photos | Istock | Getty Images Many Americans are pessimistic about the future of Social Security, and the pandemic has made it even worse. A recent survey found 59% of people now worry more about Social Security running out of funding than they did before the onset of Covid-19, according to Nationwide Retirement Institute. And

In this article LC Inflation has been causing economic hardship for workers across all income levels. As of June, 61% of Americans — roughly 157 million adults — lived paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report. That’s up from 58% who reported living paycheck to paycheck in May. A year ago, the number

Designer491 | Istock | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education is expected to lose close to $200 billion from federal student loans made over the last 25 years, due in part to pandemic-era relief pausing the bills for borrowers. Originally, the Education Department estimated these loans would generate around $114 billion in income; they

A customer shops in a Kroger grocery store on July 15, 2022 in Houston. Brandon Bell | Getty Images As experts debate whether the U.S. is on the brink of an economic downturn, many Americans are already bracing themselves for a recession. To that point, 66% of Americans worry that a major recession is right

Nirunya Juntoomma | Istock | Getty Images It’s no secret that households with sufficient emergency savings are more the exception than the norm. Two proposals in the Senate aim to change that. And, experts say, tackling the problem could lend itself to workers saving more for their golden years. “One of the best ways to

Getting a job after graduation isn’t a given. While the labor market is strong and college grads are still more employable — and earn more — than their high-school counterparts, the choice of major, and degree, goes a long way toward determining how hirable you will be. A bachelor’s degree in mathematics gives students the

. Mike Segar | Reuters Sure, someone may beat the odds and land the $1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot that’s up for grabs in Friday night’s drawing. To be clear: The chance of a ticket matching all six numbers drawn is roughly 1 in 302.5 million. Nevertheless, in between daydreaming about how you would spend

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images As individuals and families grapple with surging prices, there’s one category that has a history of rising faster than inflation: prescription drugs. Now, the new Senate reconciliation bill put forward by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., aims to help give Americans relief from

Getty Images Finding extra cash to set aside can be tough amid the record high prices prompted by historically high inflation. But the Federal Reserve’s announcement on Wednesday that it will again hike interest rates by 0.75 percentage point will mean savers can get better a better return on the money they sock away. The

A record number of workers have quit their jobs, looked for new ones and renegotiated along the way. But with all the opportunities the current labor market offers, there are challenges, too — especially when it comes to standing out in a sea of job applicants. About one in five workers, or 22%, said they

Americans want to know: Is this a recession or not? Officially, the National Bureau of Economic Research defines recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.” In fact, the latest quarterly gross domestic product report, which tracks the overall health of the economy, showed

AJ Watt | Getty Images As many Medicare beneficiaries know, having a doctor’s appointment via video on a laptop or tablet became standard when the pandemic hit. That method of delivering remote care — known as telehealth — to many retirees and most people in the over-65 crowd may have some staying power, at least

And-one | Istock | Getty Images With credit card debt on the rise, as Americans’ budgets are squeezed from inflation and interest rates tick up, many people may be eager for ways to reduce their balances. One place they may look is to their retirement accounts — and specifically their 401(k) plan. Many people have

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images As the Federal Reserve again raises interest rates to combat soaring inflation, some advisors are shifting clients’ investment portfolios. The central bank on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive three-quarters of a percentage point interest rate increase, aiming to curb rising prices without triggering a recession. The move

Getty Images Young adults may be hearing the save-for-retirement drumbeat loud and clear, a new study suggests. Generation Z workers — defined in the study as those ages 18 to 25 — are socking away, on average, 14% of income for their golden years, according to new research from BlackRock. That compares with 12% for