Personal finance

Piranka | E+ | Getty Images The season of fall foliage and pumpkin spice lattes is approaching. Meanwhile, the job market might also turning over a new leaf. A “September surge,” or the idea that more job postings become available after Labor Day, is tied to an end of a summer slowdown as job recruiters

Xavier Lorenzo | Moment | Getty Images A lack of attention to taxes may be costing investors big bucks. Many investors are probably familiar with the concept of asset allocation, which entails selecting the right mix of stocks and bonds (say, 60/40) to balance investment risk and return. But where those assets are held —

Getty Images When cracks start to show in the labor market, young adults are often the first to feel it. To that point, about 16% of 18- to 24-year-olds are not employed and not enrolled in high school or college, according to a recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which refers

Images By Tang Ming Tung | Digitalvision | Getty Images Employers are increasingly putting workers’ 401(k) plan savings on autopilot. But the positive impact of automated retirement savings is more muted than initially thought, new research finds. Previously “underexamined” factors — like workers cashing out 401(k) balances when they leave a job — “meaningfully reduce”

The U.S. Department of Education announced additional details about the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the upcoming year, which may address some of the issues that plagued last year’s college aid application cycle. The 2025-26 FAFSA will be available to limited groups of students in a series of beta

PN_Photo | Getty Images So far, 2024 has been a huge year for data breaches. There had already been more than 1 billion personal records compromised before the National Public Data breach that has been making headlines, according to Michael Bruemmer, head of global data breach resolution at consumer credit reporting company Experian. National Public

A Dollar General store in Germantown, New York, on Nov. 30, 2023. Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images Three of the nation’s largest retailers — Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Kroger — charge fees to customers who ask for “cash back” at check-out, amounting to more than $90 million a year, according to the Consumer Financial

Without financial aid, the price tag at some four-year colleges and universities — after factoring in tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation, and other expenses — is now nearing $100,000 a year. But even though college is getting more expensive, students and their parents rarely pay the full amount. Aside from their income and savings, most families rely on

Source: Getty Images During a strong year for the stock market, a lesser-known strategy could help rebalance your portfolio and save on future taxes. The tactic, known as tax-gain harvesting, involves strategically selling your profitable brokerage account assets during lower-income years. That could include early years of retirement or periods of unemployment. As of Aug.

Shaunl | E+ | Getty Images Consumers in the market for a home have been patiently waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates — a move it seems poised to make in September. But without action from Congress, there could be another change at the end of that month that makes it temporarily

Grace Cary | Moment | Getty Images Travelers, be warned: The federal government may revoke your passport if you ignore a big tax bill. Such punishments have become more frequent in recent years, experts said. Federal law requires the IRS and Treasury Department to notify the State Department if an American has a “seriously delinquent

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images There’s still time to boost 401(k) contributions and max out your plan account for 2024, but not everyone should, according to financial advisors. For 2024, employees can defer up to $23,000 into 401(k) plans, up from $22,500 in 2023, with an extra $7,500 for workers age 50 and older. Some

Stefanie Kiser Book: “Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant”. Cover design by Jillian Rahn/Sourcebooks. Courtesy: Stefanie Kiser Stephanie Kiser came to New York City in 2014 as a new college graduate, hoping to become a screenwriter. Instead, she spent the next seven years as a nanny for wealthy families. Kiser’s new memoir, “Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant: How

Glowimages | Getty Images You may have never heard of National Public Data, yet your personal information may have been compromised in the company’s recent massive data breach. The background check company, which is owned by Jerico Pictures Inc., recently released details of the breach after a proposed class action lawsuit alleged 2.9 billion personal

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Friday gave the clearest indication yet that the central bank is likely to start cutting interest rates, which are currently at their highest level in two decades. If a rate cut comes in September, as experts expect, it would

Taiyou Nomachi | Digitalvision | Getty Images Remote work, a trend that sprang to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, appears to be an entrenched fixture of the U.S. labor market, according to economists. The work-from-home revolution is “one of the major shifts in the U.S. labor market in the last couple decades,” said Nick Bunker,

Minnesota Governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz at the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. Charly Triballeau | AFP | Getty Images Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night. In his speech, Walz credited

Yale University. Yana Paskova / Stringer (Getty Images) The cost of attendance at some colleges is now nearing six figures a year, after factoring in tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation and other expenses. Among the schools appearing on The Princeton Review’s “The Best 389 Colleges” list, eight institutions — including New York University, Tufts, Brown,

Aire Images | Moment | Getty Images Retirees may have income from Social Security, a pension, a retirement plan or other sources — and they typically must either withhold taxes or make quarterly payments to avoid IRS penalties. For 2024, the quarterly estimated tax deadlines are April 15, June 17, Sept. 16 and Jan. 15,

Although the fate of federal student loan forgiveness is up in the air, college students may be borrowing more for the coming year in part because of the expectation that their debt may get forgiven, recent research suggests. With few families able to shoulder the sky-high tuition tab, students and their parents are increasingly leaning