Personal finance

A shopper scans coupons in a grocery store in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 2024.  Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images The pace of inflation is coming down, which continues to point to a lower Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for retirees and other beneficiaries in 2025. The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or

US President Joe Biden and former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. Andrew Caballero-reynolds | Afp | Getty Images Presidential election outcomes don’t significantly affect market performance, but many investors still feel nervous

Getty Images The share of people with medical debt in collections that shows up in their credit reports has fallen in the past decade. Yet unpaid balances due to health care costs continue to burden individuals and families. In 2013, 19.5% of Americans had medical debt in collections, while 10 years later, in 2023, that

Two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday at the urging of several Republican-led states blocked President Joe Biden’s administration from further implementing a new student debt relief plan that lowers payments. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden could try to forgive the debt of millions of federal student loan borrowers

Inflation is slowing down, but prices are still high — and likely to stay that way. That’s generally considered good news. The economy is expanding amid a lower rate of price growth and a strong job market. However, even a broad pullback in price increases underscores another bitter reality: We’re still paying more for many goods and

Svetikd | E+ | Getty Images Roth individual retirement account conversions are a popular way to reduce future levies on pretax 401(k) or IRA withdrawals — and you can smooth out the upfront tax hit with a “Roth conversion ladder,” experts say. Roth conversions transfer pretax or nondeductible IRA money to a Roth IRA, which offers future tax-free

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images I was packing up to head home from work last week when I noticed something that made my stomach sick. The space in my backpack normally occupied by my wallet was empty. I searched every nook and cranny of my bag and even crawled under my desk to search

In this article CVX Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Students study in the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas at Austin on February 22, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images A number of recent developments could spell trouble for student loan borrowers, experts say. The Republican-led legal challenges to the

Grace Cary | Moment | Getty Images Whether you’re mid-career or nearing retirement, it’s important to know where you’re investing — and how those accounts could impact future taxes, experts say. Many workers are heavily concentrated in tax-deferred savings via a pretax 401(k) plan or traditional individual retirement accounts, which incur regular income taxes on

Ridvan_celik | E+ | Getty Images Employment scams surged last year, as criminals leveraged artificial intelligence to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting job seekers, experts said. Consumer reports of job scams jumped 118% in 2023 from the prior year, according to a recent report by the Identity Theft Resource Center. Thieves generally pose

Two winters ago, we vacationed to a hot-spot resort in the Caribbean with our family. Around the perimeter of its casino concourse, a variety of attractions buzzed for our consumption. We found an art installation to climb on, faux floral arches to position ourselves around and giant milkshakes topped with full desserts in sugar-rimmed glasses

Vanessa Acosta marries Sam Roberts in their backyard in Pasadena, California, on May 25, 2024. Courtesy: Vanessa Acosta Last year, Vanessa Acosta and Sam Roberts found their dream venue for a black-tie wedding. But a series of family events made the couple reconsider their plans: “We don’t need to do this big thing where we’re

pixelfit | E+ | Getty Images Young, wealthy investors don’t want their parents’ investments. If you’re between the ages of 21 and 43 and have at least $3 million in investable assets, your preferred investments likely aren’t your traditional mix of stocks and bonds, according to new research from Bank of America. Nearly one-third of

Erin Collins, national taxpayer advocate at the Taxpayer Advocate Service, speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 19, 2021. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images There’s a pileup of tax identity theft cases at the IRS — but the agency is working on a “range of improvements” to speed up

Theatrical one-sheet for THELMA, a Magnolia Pictures release. Courtesy: Magnolia Pictures In the movie “Thelma,” 93-year-old Thelma Post receives a frantic call from what sounds like her grandson saying he’s in jail with a broken nose following an accident and needs $10,000. Assuming the call is truly her grandson, Thelma, portrayed by June Squibb, follows

Former President Donald Trump, left, and President Joe Biden face off in the first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign, in Atlanta, June 27, 2024. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images The recent U.S. presidential debate saw both candidates trade barbs related to the economy. High pandemic-era inflation was among the grievances.

Damircudic | E+ | Getty Images Millions of student loan borrowers were looking forward to a smaller monthly bill come July, until a legal challenge to the Biden administration’s new relief plan got in the way last week. But on June 30, a federal appeals court gave the U.S. Department of Education the green light

Eva-katalin | E+ | Getty Images Retirees are still feeling the impact of higher prices. Yet one buffer for the effects of inflation — the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, — may be lower next year. As the rate of inflation moderates, the Social Security COLA for 2025 might be 3%, according to the

Johner Images | Johner Images Royalty-free | Getty Images Many retirees don’t think about taxes until it’s time to withdraw funds from a pretax account, which can be a costly mistake, financial experts say. Only 3 in 10 Americans have a plan to reduce taxes on retirement savings, according to a Northwestern Mutual study from January

Tolgart | E+ | Getty Images Cybercriminals are targeting wealth accounts by tapping into a victim’s emotions. So-called romance scams involve building a relationship and trust with the victim so that the target willingly provides access to their accounts or transfers money to the criminal, explained Tracy Kitten, the director of fraud and security at