Personal finance

In this article SCHW Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Eternity In An Instant | Stone | Getty Images Gen Z is getting an early start with investing — and experts say that’s to their advantage. Gen Z adults began investing and saving at age 19 on average, according to the 2024 Schwab Modern Wealth

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc To gauge your retirement preparedness, you may compare your 401(k) balance with other savers’ progress. But you might find that people in your field are a better comparison point than those in your age group. Recent data from Fidelity finds that 401(k) plan investors on the firm’s platform had a $125,900

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, during a hearing in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.  Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images As Congress wrestles with a looming decision over trillions in expiring tax breaks, lawmakers and experts in a Senate Budget Committee hearing debated

Pixelseffect | E+ | Getty Images Consumers saw prices for some goods and services deflate in May, amid a backdrop of broadly easing inflationary pressures. Whereas inflation is a measure of how quickly consumer prices are rising, deflation is the opposite: It gauges how quickly they’re declining. There are currently some “micro pockets” of deflation

Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 11, 2024. Drew Angerer | Getty Images President Joe Biden‘s top economic advisor on Thursday unveiled plans to address trillions in expiring tax breaks enacted by former President Donald Trump. After 2025, several provisions from the Tax Cuts and

Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images The federal government has issued more than $1 billion in tax credits as an upfront cash incentive to buyers of electric vehicles, the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday. The Inflation Reduction Act created a mechanism whereby tax credits for buyers of new and used

U.S. President Joe Biden gestures after speaking about student loan debt relief at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, April 8, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Mishima Hughson filed for bankruptcy in December, joining the ranks of hundreds of thousands of Americans who undergo the process each year. Along the way,

John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images Inflation fell slightly in May, as positive trends like lower gasoline prices were counteracted by others like stubbornly high costs for housing. Trends under the surface suggest the fight against inflation continues to bear fruit, albeit slowly, economists said. The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.3%

Joe Biden and Donald Trump 2024. Brendan Smialowski | Jon Cherry | Getty Images Presumptive nominees President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both pledged to extend expiring tax breaks for most Americans — but questions remain on how to pay for it. Trillions in tax breaks enacted by Trump via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Martonaphoto | Moment | Getty Images A federal benefit program for people with disabilities and older adults made its first benefit payments 50 years ago. In 1974, Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, began sending the first monthly checks starting at around $140 per individual, or $210 per couple. In 2024, the maximum monthly benefit is

Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images If you’re living and working abroad and still need to file 2023 taxes, the deadline is only one week away. While the regular tax deadline was April 15 for most taxpayers, there’s an automatic two-month extension to June 17 for those U.S. citizens and resident aliens, including dual citizens,

Ascentxmedia | E+ | Getty Images It can feel like the U.S. economy has divided consumers into groups of haves and have nots — and retirees are no exception. Research has found a great wealth transfer is underway, with research and consulting firm Cerulli Associates estimating an $84 trillion to shift from older to younger

The original house used in the “Home Alone” movies on Nov. 8, 2021. Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images An array of iconic homes are for sale — and buyers will almost certainly pay extra for that pedigree. However, that premium is hard to quantify since some uber-wealthy buyers will pay almost anything

Joe Biden and Donald Trump 2024. Chip Somodevilla | Alex Wong | Getty Images Trillions in expiring tax breaks are at stake this election season — and those sunsets could raise taxes for most Americans after 2025 without extensions from Congress. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or TCJA, temporarily reduced taxes for most

Maca And Naca | E+ | Getty Images Your student loan bill may get smaller next month. Here’s why: A feature of the Biden administration’s latest income-driven repayment plan that will reduce millions of borrowers’ monthly payments kicks in on July 1. For some borrowers, “it’s a dramatic drop,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Alvaro Gonzalez | Moment | Getty Images Despite a strong labor market, some applicants are facing more competition on the job hunt. But prolonged unemployment and lower income for 2024 could offer the chance for tax planning, experts say. One “silver lining” of a job layoff can be a temporary lower federal income tax bracket,

Justin Paget | Digitalvision | Getty Images The work-from-home trend is here to stay. Many companies have continued to let employees work remotely for at least some of the workweek — four years on from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic — due to the win-win nature of the arrangement: Remote work is more

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images College graduates who recently received their diplomas may be dreading the next milestone: The start of their federal student loan payments. Each year, roughly 2 million people in the U.S. are awarded a bachelor’s degree, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. Roughly 60%, or 1.2

Jamie Grill | Getty Images Mega backdoor Roth conversions can significantly boost tax-free retirement savings — but this maneuver is not available for all investors and mistakes are common, experts say. When investors make too much to save directly to a Roth individual retirement account, backdoor strategies can bypass the IRS income limits. A mega

“Spaving,” or spending more to save more, has become a dangerous habit for cash-strapped Americans amid elevated inflation and mounting debt. Though inflation eased in April, the consumer price index was still up 3.4% from a year prior.  Despite higher prices, Americans continue to spend. To that point, credit card debt reached $1.12 trillion in