Personal finance

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the price of higher education is an even bigger consideration for students and their families than usual. At the same time, the cost of a four-year college or university has never been higher. For the 2020-21 academic year, average tuition and fees increased 1.1% for in-state students at four-year public colleges, reaching $10,560,

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images Car shoppers hoping to cash in on Memorial Day weekend sales events may want to rein in their expectations. On top of reduced inventory due to a shortage of microchips — key parts needed for today’s autos to operate — and unrelenting consumer demand pushing prices higher, there

STR | NurPhoto | Getty Images Cryptocurrency has increasingly become a factor in divorce settlements as bitcoin, dogecoin and other types gain mainstream acceptance and values spike.  More than 20 million Americans may own cryptocurrency, industry groups estimate, and the digital currency market value rose to $2 trillion for the first time in April.  Whether

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Joe Biden proposed a 39.6% top tax rate on capital gains and dividends for millionaires when he released his fiscal 2022 budget request to Congress on Friday. That’s in line with the top rate the administration outlined in April as part of tax increases on

U.S. President Joe Biden. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden has a problem with broad student loan forgiveness. In a recent interview with New York Times columnist David Brooks, Biden said: “The idea that you go to Penn and you’re paying a total of 70,000 bucks a year and the public should

lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Parents anxiously awaiting the July 15 start of the monthly child tax credit payments should start planning how they’ll use the extra money now. The child tax credit got a boost from the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. The new enhanced credit

People wait to visit a house for sale in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, on Sept. 6, 2020. Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Mortgage interest rates are near historic lows. Yet if you want to take advantage of those rates, check your credit score first. That three-digit number determines whether you can get

In this article SPCX DOGE.CM= Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing on systemic risk and market oversight on Capitol Hill in Washington May 22, 2012. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Amid a boom in special-purpose acquisition companies, better known as SPACs, the Securities and Exchange Commission is

sturti | E+ | Getty Images A new batch of $1,400 stimulus has been sent, bringing the total number of payments almost 167 million, for a total of approximately $391 billion. Since the American Rescue Plan Act was passed by Congress in March, the IRS, Treasury Department and Bureau of the Fiscal Service have announced

Kmatta More than half of Americans support states’ move to end a $300 weekly supplement to unemployment benefits months before it officially expires, according to a Quinnipiac University poll issued Wednesday. At least 23 states have announced an early end to federal unemployment programs in recent weeks. Self-employed workers and the long-term unemployed will lose

Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock for many older workers. Even so, most do not plan to delay their retirement dates as a result, according to a report from Pew Charitable Trusts. In April 2020, the unemployment rate for workers ages 65 and up climbed to 15.6%, the highest

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images Working families who struggle to pay for child care may get some relief from 2021 changes to flexible spending accounts. The American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden‘s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, boosted child-care assistance through temporary changes to dependent-care FSAs.  The law increased 2021 dependent-care FSA limits to $10,500

Kim Churches Courtesy of American Association of University Women It’s a statistic that prompts a double-take: Women owe two-thirds of the country’s $1.7 trillion outstanding student loan balance. On average, women borrow more than $31,000 to finance their education. Black women take out more than $41,000. Men, meanwhile, borrow around $29,000. But those differences are

Rattanakun Thongbun / EyeEm/Getty Images Some of your behavioral tendencies might be causing harm to your financial wellbeing, research suggests. Regardless of factors such as age, income and education, there’s a connection between certain biases and financial health, according to a Morningstar study about behavioral finance released on Tuesday. The research shows that high levels

In this article BCH.CB= Dado Ruvic | Reuters Bitcoin‘s trademark rollercoaster ride is back — and doesn’t look to be letting up anytime soon. On Monday, bitcoin rebounded and traded up roughly 14% near the 38,000 level after slumping to less than $32,000 on Sunday. The choppy movement comes just days after bitcoin plunged 30%,

Martin Barraud | Getty Images If you’re retired and worried about how inflation could hit your wallet, there may be strategies you can employ to minimize the impact. One option could be to invest in Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS. Like typical Treasury bonds, they are issued and backed by the U.S. government — which

Birdies shoes sold out in late 2020, leaving the company unable to meet the year-end demand. Source: Bianca Gates As women across the country ditched their heels during the pandemic, shoe company Birdies thrived. The direct-to-consumer brand touts itself as a “stylish flat that’s secretly a slipper.” The result: 300% year-over-year growth in April 2021.

fstop123 | E+ | Getty Images It’s a sure bet that no one — regardless of age — enjoys handing over any of their income to the IRS. In retirement, though, doing so can feel like even more of a sting. Assuming you’ve left work earnings entirely behind you, any amount owed to Uncle Sam

In this article FIS Although the pandemic isn’t over, many retirement savings accounts are back to pre-Covid highs. Retirement account balances, which took a sharp nosedive almost exactly one year ago when the coronavirus outbreak caused economic shockwaves, have now bounced back entirely, according to the latest data from Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Prices are picking up faster than usual, and the threat more investors are talking about is inflation. Inflation presents challenges for investors in a number of ways, experts say. Most simply, as the cost of living goes up, your returns don’t go as far. That’s a particularly vexing problem