Personal finance

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images Up to 23 million California residents are about to receive tax refunds of as much as $1,050, thanks to one-time stimulus payments the Golden State began deploying Friday. The payments, which will total $9.5 billion, mark the largest program of its kind in the state’s history. The

Parents and caregivers with the Economic Security Project gather outside the White House to advocate for the Child Tax Credit in advance of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Sept. 20 in Washington, DC. Larry French | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images When Natacha Chavez began receiving monthly child tax

Tempura | E+ | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education has said its application for student loan forgiveness will go live in early October, suggesting it could be ready any day now. With legal challenges to President Joe Biden’s historic move to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for millions of Americans mounting, experts

A storefront in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Aug. 18, 2022. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Long-term unemployment declined again in September amid a continued strong labor market for job seekers. The number of Americans unemployed at least 27 weeks — the official barometer of long-term joblessness — fell

Will Lester | Medianews Group | Getty Images There’s a chance that a Mega Millions player is going to wake up Saturday morning with a $410 million windfall in their lap. That’s the advertised jackpot amount for the lottery game’s next drawing, set for Friday night. It’s the third time this year the top prize

JGI/Jamie Grill Cold, hard cash could be going by the wayside for many Americans when it comes to routine transactions like paying for groceries or gas. Even so, it’s still important to keep some cash in your wallet, experts say. The cashless economy trend is not necessarily new, but it is gaining momentum, according to

JGI | Jamie Grill | Blend Images | Getty 401(k) plans hold a whopping $7.7 trillion in retirement savings. But cash-outs of small accounts pull billions from the system each year and can harm investors’ chances of a secure retirement, research shows. A trio of the industry’s largest 401(k) administrators — Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group

Investors have recently witnessed some of the worst trading days since 2020. Stocks took a dive in September over fears the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike cycle will cause the economy to stall, but with more hikes to come, along with slowing growth, geopolitical unrest and persistent inflationary pressure, this could be a prolonged period

One of the biggest credit card misconceptions is that carrying a balance month to month will give your credit score a boost. To that point, 46% of Americans incorrectly believe that leaving a small balance on their card is better for their credit score than paying off the balance each month, a recent NerdWallet study

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., questions IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig at a Senate Finance Committee hearing. Tom Williams | Pool | Reuters Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has outlined five priorities for the nearly $80 billion in IRS funding enacted in August through the Inflation Reduction Act.  Wyden shared expectations for

Despite stock market gains in the last couple of days, some investors are clearly tired of seeing losses in their retirement accounts this year. New data from Alight Solutions shows last month the vast majority of daily trades in 401(k) plans went from equities to fixed income. “Almost every time Wall Street has a major

Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards TreasuryDirect With record demand for Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has unveiled a front-end makeover for TreasuryDirect, the online platform investors use to buy assets. While the Treasury still plans future system upgrades, Tuesday’s revamp focuses on website navigation, more concise information and

A primary election voter enters a Tampa, Florida, polling place on Aug. 23, 2022. Octavio Jones | Getty Images Most women ages 50 and up plan to vote in this November’s midterm elections, but half of them have not decided which candidates they will vote for, a new AARP poll finds. One key issue they

Finding the right financial advisor to help with your financial needs and goals can be a very complicated process. There are so many things to consider. Every financial advisor has their own area of expertise. The services provided by financial advisors will vary based on the type of advisor but, overall, a financial advisor will

The tens of millions of Americans who’ve been celebrating news of student loan forgiveness are now stuck in limbo as Republicans mount legal challenges to the Biden administration’s plan. In August, President Joe Biden announced that most federal student loan borrowers will be eligible for some forgiveness: up to $10,000 if they didn’t receive a Pell Grant,

Portra | E+ | Getty Images If you’re retired and haven’t made the necessary quarterly estimated tax payments for 2022, there may still be time to avoid late penalties, experts say. Retirees must send tax payments four times per year if they don’t withhold enough from Social Security, pensions, investments or other sources of income. 

Dragos Condrea | Istock | Getty Images A bipartisan bill in the House aims to fix a costly enrollment mistake that some older adults make when they transition to Medicare from an employer-based health plan. Under current rules, workers age 65 or older who leave their job but keep their company’s health insurance as allowed

A recession is a very real possibility. As the Federal Reserve aggressively raises rates to combat persistent inflation, the tough stance could come at a price. Already, falling stock markets have wiped out more than $9 trillion in wealth from U.S. households. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also warned the central bank’s upcoming moves to fight soaring prices may

In this article LC Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Almost everyone has felt the sting of rising prices. As of August, 60% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report — a number that hasn’t budged much since inflation hit 40-year highs. A year ago, the number of adults

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has brought a legal challenge against the President Joe Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, possibly putting the administration’s proposal to wipe out much of the debt of tens of millions of borrowers in jeopardy. “This mass debt forgiveness program is fundamentally unfair, unconstitutional and unwise,” Brnovich said in a