Personal finance

Erik Isakson | Tetra images | Getty Images Americans want their summer vacations. After a year of being pent up during the pandemic, 80% said they are ready to travel, according to a recent survey by tourism market research firm Destination Analysts. However, with that demand comes higher prices. Airline tickets are up 7% for

In this article IRSA3-AR Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images Jeff Lavigne plans to use a tax refund this year for long-delayed medical help. Yet his refund, almost $2,700, has been in limbo since mid-March, when Lavigne filed his tax return, records show. The IRS flagged the return for potential identity theft — as it did

nortonrsx | iStock | Getty Images Not all debt is the same. So how should you decide which to repay first? Amid the coronavirus pandemic last year and ensuing economic recession, debt grew for many Americans. In 2020, consumer debt ballooned to a new high of $14.88 trillion, a 6% increase from the previous year,

The beach at Wildwood, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore on May 27, 2021. Spencer Platt | Getty Images Certified public accountants have a message for New Jersey-based clients: It’s time to move to a lower-cost state. That’s according to a recent survey from the New Jersey Society of CPAs, which found that 70% of

Icicles hang off the State Highway 195 sign on Feb. 18, 2021 in Killeen, Texas. Joe Raedle | Getty Images The threat of climate change is shifting some older Americans’ retirement plans. Extreme weather such as hurricanes, flooding, freezing temperatures and wildfires has prompted some to rethink where they will spend their golden years. “Clients

NASA There’s a new potential risk investors need to watch out for, and it’s out of this world. Exchange-traded fund provider ProcureAM this week submitted a regulatory filing with the SEC citing a new unprecedented risk: unidentified aerial phenomena. ProcureAM — which provides a space-themed ETF that trades under the ticker symbol UFO — added

Women would be among the biggest winners of student loan forgivness. Ines Fraile | iStock | Getty Images Certain critics of student loan forgiveness have argued that the policy would largely benefit the relatively well-off, pointing out that college degrees lead to higher earnings. However, new research finds that the biggest benefits of cancelling student

Jack Taylor | Getty Images News | Getty Images Cryptocurrency is known for volatility and some experts say crashes tend to happen on weekends. “This has been a phenomenon in crypto for several years,” said Stephen McKeon, associate professor of finance at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and partner at Collab+Currency, a cryptocurrency-focused

Image Source | DigitalVision | Getty Images More than 2.3 million new stimulus checks have been sent, representing over $4.2 billion in payments to Americans, the government announced on Wednesday. In total, more than 169 million payments worth about $395 billion have been issued since Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in March. That

Samuel Corum | Getty Images News | Getty Images The top 1% would see their federal taxes rise by more than $213,000, on average, next year as a result of President Joe Biden’s tax plan, according to an analysis published Wednesday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Such households, which earn about $800,000 or more

An activist calls for an increase of federal taxes on the wealthy and big corporations. Bob Levey | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images If the Biden administration gets its way, wealthy households are going to face higher tax rates. Many millionaires appear to be OK with that. More than half — 60% — of

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the May jobs report in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Joe Biden wants to raise taxes on inheritances to help fund his lofty infrastructure plans. The proposals call for taxing capital gains on inherited property at death, treating the transfer like a sale. Heirs may exclude

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images Individual investors glued to social media helped push the shares of one new company name — Clover Health — up more than 100% on Tuesday. Yet when it comes to the broader markets, the question on many people’s lips now is, “What’s the next big story?” according to JJ

Shoppers maintain safe distance in a checkout line in Torrance, Calif. Al Seib | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images The coronavirus pandemic is subsiding, but the new normal might not look the same as 2019. One reason why: The prices of some goods and services have crept up due to inflation and could continue

Older couple meeting with a financial advisor Getty Images Inflation is a top concern as investors fret about the rising cost of groceries, housing, gasoline and other living expenses. The May Consumer Price Index, a key inflation gauge, will be revealed on Thursday and may be higher after an alarming spike in April.   “Clients are

Uwe Krejci | DigitalVision | Getty Images The IRS on Monday announced it has started sending letters to more than 36 million American families who may be eligible for the expanded child tax credit and monthly payments set to begin in July. The maximum enhanced credit, which was established by the American Rescue Plan in

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images President Joe Biden’s 2022 budget could give the Social Security Administration a $1.3 billion — or 9.7% — boost in funding. In total, the president is calling for $14.2 billion for the agency for fiscal year 2022. The proposed increase comes as the Social Security Administration expects to pay

When the market was crashing in March 2020, financial advisor Ivory Johnson, founder of Delancey Wealth Management, decided it was time to introduce cryptocurrencies to his clients. “I did it because I saw how active the Federal Reserve was and how much they were diluting the dollar,” which would be incredibly inflationary, Johnson said. A

The Money Plot by Frederick Kaufman Source: Other Press What is money? Why do we need it? These are some of the big questions writer Frederick Kaufman explores in his book “The Money Plot: A History of Currency’s Power to Enchant, Control, and Manipulate,” which was published in the thick of the pandemic. Kaufman, a

Chef Matt Bolus Source: Kelli LaMatia Like many restaurant owners, Matt Bolus, executive chef of The 404 Kitchen in Nashville, had to get creative when the city shut down due to Covid-19 mandates last spring. He kept some of his core staff busy by cooking meals for the local food bank, private dinners and other