Personal finance

Americans now owe $1.08 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card balances spiked by $154 billion year over year, notching the largest increase since 1999, the New York Fed found. “Credit card balances experienced a large jump in the third quarter,

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen outlines the improvements the IRS will deliver to taxpayers in 2024, during remarks at IRS Headquarters in Washington on Nov. 7, 2023. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday announced IRS goals for the 2024 tax filing season and shared agency updates amid continued scrutiny from some Republican

In this article ZIP Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Commuters arrive from Metro North Railroad trains in Grand Central Station in New York. Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images Rising pay transparency is causing a new kind of competition among employers — and it’s not necessarily for talent. Instead, the shift in

Peopleimages | Istock | Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries will soon get notices showing exactly how much money to expect in their monthly checks for 2024. Those recipients are slated to get a 3.2% boost to their benefits starting in January with the 2024 annual cost-of-living adjustment. Retirement benefits are expected to go up by

Arik Armstead of the San Francisco 49ers at the NFC Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 29, 2023. Kevin Sabitus | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images It’s no secret that professional athletes are often higher earners — but one football player revealed his pay stub on social media to show how much

Miniseries | E+ | Getty Images Homebuyers are dealing with record-high costs this year amid interest rate hikes and shrinking supply. While shopping for homes is increasingly competitive, prospective buyers should consider an additional factor when weighing the pros and cons of a given property: the homeowners association, or HOA. Homeowners associations are run by

Turner worker working on drill bit in a workshop Rainstar | E+ | Getty Images The Social Security retirement age is currently moving to age 67, and some lawmakers have called for pushing it even higher. But that may be a problem for a certain cohort: older workers in physically demanding jobs, according to a

Morsa Images | Digitalvision | Getty Images Retiring early is out and “soft saving” is in — at least according to Gen Z. Younger American adults are taking a more relaxed approach to their long-term financial security, a recent Prosperity Index study by Intuit found.  In the current climate, newly minted adults between the ages of

Jobseekers wait in line at a Nov. 2, 2023 career fair in Los Angeles. Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images The job market continues to show signs of cooling, but alarm bells aren’t ringing just yet, economists said. The U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

A man walks by the Bank of America headquarters in New York on July 18, 2023. Eduardo Munoz | View Press | Getty Images Customers at several big banks on Friday wrestled with direct deposit delays stemming from an industry-wide processing issue. There was a surge of “outages” reported by banking customers Friday morning, including

In this article ZIP Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Filadendron | E+ | Getty Images Applying to multiple job openings can increase your chances of landing a new gig. However, if you’re thinking of sending out what one economist called a “firehose of applications” all at once and then just waiting for responses, think

Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona answers questions during the daily briefing at the White House Aug. 5, 2021. Win McNamee | Getty Images As student loan bills restarted in October for tens of millions of Americans, the companies that service those loans made errors that potentially violate federal and state consumer protection laws. In

This month, more than 200,000 first-generation American and low- and middle-income high school seniors will receive something unexpected: proactive college acceptance letters. As part of a strategy aimed at expanding college access, roughly 1 in 8 first-year students with a Common App account will get at least one offer of admission before they even apply.

Getty Images For millions of people, it’s time to compare benefits and prices and pick health coverage on the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces. Open enrollment on those plans started on Nov. 1 and typically lasts through Jan. 15, though that will be extended to Jan. 16 in 2024 due to a federal holiday.

Fotostorm | E+ | Getty Images Morgan Lindsay didn’t mind that student loan bills were resuming in the fall. She’d applied for a new repayment plan over the summer, and her calculated monthly bill came to $0. But then, on Sept. 11, she found that her servicer, Mohela, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority,

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has announced new 2024 investor contribution limits for 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and other retirement accounts. The employee contribution limit for 401(k) plans is increasing to $23,000 in 2024, up from $22,500 in 2023, and catch-up contributions for savers age 50 and older will remain unchanged

High inflation and higher interest rates continue to weigh on American households. As of September, 62% of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a new LendingClub report. The figure is unchanged from last year. “Living paycheck to paycheck remains the main financial lifestyle among U.S. consumers,” the report said. More from

In this article GM STLAM-IT F Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT United Auto Workers members and supporters rally at the Stellantis North America headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Sept. 20, 2023. Bill Pugliano | Getty Images News | Getty Images While predictions across the board about employee pay are forecasting slower wage growth

Jewel Inostroza was very excited when she bought her home in Newnan, Georgia, in 2008. “It seemed like it was a very nice, cozy, close-knit community,” said the 54-year-old. “Then it started turning into a horror story.” Inostroza is the only one listed on the deed, but she and her husband Enrique, 48, share financial

State and local pay transparency laws enacted over the last few years have more employers disclosing salary ranges in job descriptions. Yet, wages aren’t growing as expected. The growth of advertised wages for new hires is slowing, according to a report from job posting service ZipRecruiter — and in some cases, it’s reversing, with companies now