Personal finance

Ponywang | E+ | Getty Images This story is part of CNBC’s College Money Guide 2023, a series to help students and recent graduates understand their money and start their adult life off on a solid financial path. Getting your first full-time job out of college is exciting! It’s thrilling to know that someone wants

Dobrila Vignjevic | E+ | Getty Images Amid a stalemate on federal debt ceiling negotiations, some government officials are warning the Social Security checks sent to more than 65 million beneficiaries each month could be at risk. On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned a “Social Security shutdown” could happen if the U.S.

Sunrise at Laguna Torre in Patagonia, Argentina. © Marco Bottigelli | Moment | Getty Images Travel in 2023 has been expensive. Indeed, some prices — like those for international flights — have hit record highs. Americans are unleashing their wanderlust en masse after a few years of pandemic-era trip delays, making for a busy —

Economists have been forecasting a recession for months, and that looming downturn is one of the most anticipated in U.S. history. But it’s not yet materialized, in part due to strong consumer spending. “Consumer spending represents more than half of the economy,” said Curt Long, chief economist at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions.

Bernard Friel/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images National park tourism is booming. But an idyllic adventure into the great outdoors can be derailed by overlooking an important aspect of trip planning: advance permits and reservations. Some of the most frequently visited parks require people to book ahead for access to popular attractions like heavily

Bernardbodo | Istock | Getty Images New government data shows inflation is cooling, and that means Social Security beneficiaries will likely see a lower cost-of-living adjustment next year. The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2024 could be 3.1%, according to a new estimate from The Senior Citizens League. That’s well below the 8.7% increase to

Kevin Dodge | The Image Bank | Getty Images College is one of the biggest purchases you’ll make in a lifetime, yet few families have a solid plan for how to pay for it. Most often, parents are on the hook for the bill, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report. For

New college grads negotiating their first salary may be in for a rude awakening. In the midst of a historically strong job market, characterized by low unemployment, rising wages and a high degree of job-seeker confidence, those armed with a degree are feeling relatively good about their earning potential. In fact, today’s undergraduates expect to make $84,855

Ja’crispy | Istock | Getty Images As the president of the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member on the Business Cycle Dating Committee, James Poterba helps determine when a recession officially starts and ends. Why is that important? What do those dates tell us? When the NBER was founded in 1920, its economists

Enes Evren Many investors are bracing for the economic fallout of the deadline for the U.S. to raise the debt ceiling or default on its obligations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said that failing to raise the debt ceiling will cause a “steep economic downturn” in the U.S., reiterating the country’s early June deadline.

Orna Guralnik Source: Showtime Not long after I began working as a personal finance reporter at CNBC in 2018, I started psychoanalysis. The form of therapy had long intrigued me, with the intensity of its three sessions a week and its search for answers among our dreams and pasts. Because I’d heard that psychoanalysis was

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on raising the federal minimum wage outside the U.S. Capitol on May 4, 2023. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not changed in nearly 14 years. Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled a new plan to update

Halfpoint | Istock | Getty Images As of the latest tally, 1.4 million more Americans have dropped out of college — although some “stopouts” may reenroll if the Supreme Court affirms President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and their education debt is forgiven, a new report shows. Overall, college enrollment declines have begun to

Protestors take part in a May Day demonstration on Rennes, France, on May 1, 2023. Damien Meyer | Afp | Getty Images An increase in pension retirement age to 64 from 62 in France has sparked ongoing protests. The U.S. could be poised for a similar change with the Social Security retirement age. That shift

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images The following is an excerpt from “This week, your wallet,” a weekly audio show on Twitter produced by CNBC’s Personal Finance team. Listen to the latest episode here. Costs have been off the charts this year for many aspects of travel.   Why? Americans are

Hero Images | Hero Images | Getty Images Whether you’re building an emergency fund or short-term savings, finding the best place for your cash isn’t easy — especially as the Federal Reserve weighs a pause in interest rate hikes. The central bank on Wednesday unveiled another quarter percentage point interest rate increase, with signals that

Getty Images If you’re one of the millions of taxpayers who paid for TurboTax when the filing software should have been free, you may soon receive a settlement check, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Thursday. TurboTax owner Intuit in May 2022 agreed to pay $141 million to lower-income Americans who were “unfairly

Rawf8 | Istock | Getty Images Higher education often costs more than most families can afford. A new report by NerdWallet shows the high school class of 2023 is facing a little more than $37,000 in student loan debt to receive a college bachelor’s degree. Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year

Thomas_eyedesign | E+ | Getty Images This story is part of CNBC’s College Money Guide 2023, a series to help students and recent graduates understand their money and start their adult life off on a solid financial path. Buying your first car as an adult is always a little daunting. But trying to buy in

The U.S. may default on its debt within a month — an event that could threaten severe financial harm for American households and the economy at large, experts warn. To avoid that outcome, lawmakers are trying to find a path forward to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, which would enable the U.S. to pay