The Trump administration has already begun carrying out its plans to close parts or all of the Department of Education, which is responsible for underwriting student loans, disbursing college aid and ensuring equal access to education. President Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to “find and remove the radicals who have infiltrated the federal Department of Education,” and suggested
Personal finance
Asiavision | E+ | Getty Images Collectively, Americans now owe a record $1.21 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new quarterly report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card balances jumped by $45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven in part by holiday spending, and
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Sorry, lovebirds, but that chocolate you’re buying for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day probably comes with a bigger price tag. Candy is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift, beating out other tokens of affection like flowers, cards and jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation. Additionally, chocolate accounts for
Cavan Images | Cavan | Getty Images More than 3.2 million individuals scored a legislative victory due to a new law that will increase the Social Security benefits for which they are eligible. However, many of those individuals now face a lengthy wait for the extra benefit money coming to them. The Social Security Fairness
Artistgndphotography | E+ | Getty Images As millions of Americans gather paperwork to file their returns, many could see a tax form for business payments “for the first time ever,” according to the National Taxpayer Advocate. For 2024, if you had more than $5,000 in business transactions from apps such as PayPal or Venmo, along
Sanja Radin | E+ | Getty Images It seems that love is in the air, and so is the spending as more people are apparently getting into the Valentine’s Day spirit this year. Americans shopping for their significant others are expected to spend $14.6 billion this year, according to the latest annual survey by the
A customer at a food market in Palma, Mallorca, Spain. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images As economists ring alarm bells over the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy on consumers and the U.S. economy, there’s a group of Americans who may benefit: tourists traveling abroad. That’s due to the impact of tariffs on the
Prapass Pulsub | Moment | Getty Images If you have a tax bill or bigger than expected refund this season, it may be time to update your paycheck withholding, which can be tricky, experts say. Typically, there’s a refund when you overpay taxes throughout the year, and a tax bill when you don’t pay enough.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to a crowd gathered in front of the U.S. Treasury Department in protest of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency on Feb. 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. Anna Rose Layden | Getty Images U.S. senators expressed concern on Friday that Elon Musk’s cost-cutting effort, the Department of
Chappell Roan at the 67th GRAMMY Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Christopher Polk | Billboard | Getty Images With a Grammy win for best new artist, Chappell Roan is at a career high. A few years ago, she was one of the millions of Americans without
Coroimage | Moment | Getty Images Many workers value remote work to such a degree that they’d take a pay cut to be able to work from home, even on a part-time basis, studies show. The prevalence of remote work ballooned during the Covid-19 pandemic. Many experienced telework perhaps for the first time in their
Freshsplash | E+ | Getty Images Despite the Federal Reserve‘s recent cuts, credit card interest rates have been hovering near record highs. A new bipartisan bill would cap them at a dramatically lower figure, but experts say it may not be a win for consumers. Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a
President Donald Trump takes questions during a press conference with unseen Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Thursday met with Republican lawmakers to outline his tax agenda, including plans to
Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images Tax season has kicked off, and the IRS has issued roughly 3.2 million refunds this year as of Jan. 31, the agency reported. This represents current-year returns filed. The average refund was $1,928 over the first four days of the filing season. However, the IRS expects more than 140
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Trump’s nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies before a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Jan. 29, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters Americans’ credit card balances soared to a record $1.17 trillion in 2024 — and even the wealthy are
A person walks past the New York Stock Exchange at Wall Street in New York on Feb. 3, 2025. Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images A “torrid two-year stretch” prompted the S&P 500 to gain around 70%, but that momentum is stalling, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management said in its investment strategy research this week.
US 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 Former President Joe Biden forgave more student debt than any other president. However, the country’s education debt tab still grew during his presidency. Outstanding federal
Many consumers are rightfully concerned about escalating trade tensions. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and 10% tariffs on goods imported from China. He also signaled that tariffs on the European Union could be next. While Trump has agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days
An American flag and a U.S. Department of Education flag fly outside the US Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 1, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | Reuters With the Trump administration looking for ways to close parts or all of the U.S. Department of Education, many of the country’s 42 million federal student
A truck drives on its way to enter the United States at a border crossing at the Canada-U.S. border in Blackpool, Quebec, Canada, on Feb. 2, 2025. Andrej Ivanov | Afp | Getty Images Tariffs set to take effect Tuesday may mean consumers won’t get a reprieve from high borrowing costs this year, according to