Personal Finance

People walk past a restaurant, with a hiring sign outside, in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 5, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images The unemployment rate, which has remained low for two years, has been inching higher in the first half of the year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For

10’000 Hours | Digitalvision | Getty Images There are areas in the U.S. that are considered to be the least difficult places to buy a home, according to a new real estate indicator. When the counties are sorted by index rank, Iroquois County, Illinois is the least difficult market to buy a home, according to

Leopatrizi | E+ | Getty Images More built-for-rent single-family homes are being constructed in the U.S., according to the National Association of Home Builders, and experts say this is in part due to the housing affordability crisis. “When mortgage rates move higher, and it’s harder to buy a home, renting becomes more of an option,”

TikTok is chock-full of tips for building wealth. The latest money-saving trend taking over is the “no-spend month,” which encourages TikTok users to cut out all non-essential purchases for a set period. But, in this case, even the best intentions can backfire. Here is what you should know before swearing off unnecessary spending. The no-spend rules The

Danny Werfel, IRS commissioner, speaks after being ceremonially sworn in at the IRS headquarters in Washington on April 4, 2023. Ting Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images The IRS will deny billions of dollars’ worth of claims for a pandemic-era tax break while working to process lower-risk filings, the agency said on Thursday afternoon. Enacted

Lourdes Balduque | Moment | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Education may extend eligibility of a popular student loan forgiveness program to early childhood educators. The Department on Thursday announced that it was issuing a request for information on potentially broadening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to include workers in early childhood education

Tanja Ivanova | Moment | Getty Images Student loan borrowers have until the end of June to meet a deadline that could lead to quicker debt forgiveness. Some could even see their debt cleared immediately. Those with several student loans who apply for so-called loan consolidation by June 30 — a move that packages multiple federal

Joe Biden and Donald Trump Getty Images Voters, ages 50 and up, will have a strong influence on the November election. And politicians who want to win their vote would be wise to emphasize personal economic issues that affect them, particularly Social Security, according to a new AARP poll of likely voters from the 44

Car payments have skyrocketed in recent years due to a combination of high prices and high interest rates. While some relief may come soon, industry insiders say prices may still remain high for quite some time. As of May, customers were paying, on average, $760 a month for an auto loan, according to Moody’s Analytics.

A potential buyer walks in to view a home for sale during an open house in Parkland, Florida, May 25, 2021. Carline Jean | Tribune News Service | Getty Images Owning a home can provide a way to build wealth that will transfer from one generation to the next. But more than $32 billion in

Halbergman | E+ | Getty Images Most people know very little about the Uber drivers who take them to work, school and wherever else they need to go. In Jonathan Rigsby’s new book, “Drive: Scraping by in Uber’s America, One Ride at a Time,” he takes the reader into the driver’s seat. Despite Rigsby’s job

Andresr | E+ | Getty Images With trillions of dollars in tax breaks scheduled to expire after 2025, financial advisors are working with clients to prepare for the looming tax cliff.     Enacted by former President Donald Trump, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or TCJA, included lower federal income tax brackets, bigger standard

A customer shops at a Safeway store on June 11, 2024 in Mill Valley, California.  Justin Sullivan | Getty Images The rate of price increases for food has subsided in recent months, according to the latest government inflation data. However, shoppers still report feeling burdened by the prices they’re seeing in the grocery store aisles.

The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged last week and signaled that only one cut is expected before the end of the year. That means anyone who carries a balance on their credit card won’t be getting much of a break from sky-high interest charges. “Consumers need to understand that the cavalry isn’t coming anytime soon,

Goodboy Picture Company | E+ | Getty Images More homeowners are listing their homes for sale — but properties are taking longer to sell as potential buyers face high prices and interest rates. New listings from home sellers jumped in May, up 13% from a year ago, according to the latest market report by Zillow.

D’Aungilique Jackson, of Fresno, California, holds a “Cancel Student Debt” sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after the nation’s high court struck down President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program on Friday, June 30, 2023. Kent Nishimura | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images It took Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin around

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images The second-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2024 is June 17, and you could owe a penalty if you don’t send a payment, according to the IRS. You typically owe estimated tax payments for income without withholdings, such as from contract jobs, freelancing or gig economy work, or if you

zimmytws | iStock | Getty Images A protester interrupted a January congressional committee hearing to consider a bill that would create a bipartisan commission to address Social Security. “A vote for a commission is a vote to cut Social Security,” the man shouted before he was escorted off the floor. While there was a protest

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc To gauge your retirement preparedness, you may compare your 401(k) balance with other savers’ progress. But you might find that people in your field are a better comparison point than those in your age group. Recent data from Fidelity finds that 401(k) plan investors on the firm’s platform had a $125,900

In this article SCHW Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Eternity In An Instant | Stone | Getty Images Gen Z is getting an early start with investing — and experts say that’s to their advantage. Gen Z adults began investing and saving at age 19 on average, according to the 2024 Schwab Modern Wealth

Director of the National Economic Council Lael Brainard speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 11, 2024. Drew Angerer | Getty Images President Joe Biden‘s top economic advisor on Thursday unveiled plans to address trillions in expiring tax breaks enacted by former President Donald Trump. After 2025, several provisions from the Tax Cuts and

Pixelseffect | E+ | Getty Images Consumers saw prices for some goods and services deflate in May, amid a backdrop of broadly easing inflationary pressures. Whereas inflation is a measure of how quickly consumer prices are rising, deflation is the opposite: It gauges how quickly they’re declining. There are currently some “micro pockets” of deflation

U.S. 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 Mishima Hughson filed for bankruptcy in December, joining the ranks of hundreds of thousands of Americans who undergo the process each year. Along the way,

Chris Wattie | Reuters The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will leave interest rates unchanged. Fresh inflation data issued earlier in the day showed that consumer prices are gradually moderating though remain above the central bank’s target. The Fed’s benchmark fed funds rate has now stood within the range of 5.25% to 5.50% since

Joe Biden and Donald Trump 2024. Brendan Smialowski | Jon Cherry | Getty Images Presumptive nominees President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both pledged to extend expiring tax breaks for most Americans — but questions remain on how to pay for it. Trillions in tax breaks enacted by Trump via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Sturti | E+ | Getty Images It’s no secret that buying a home has gotten more expensive in the U.S. But the cost of keeping and maintaining a home has gotten significantly pricier, too, which might come as a surprise to some buyers.  The “hidden costs” of homeownership add up to an average $18,118 annually, or

Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images If you’re living and working abroad and still need to file 2023 taxes, the deadline is only one week away. While the regular tax deadline was April 15 for most taxpayers, there’s an automatic two-month extension to June 17 for those U.S. citizens and resident aliens, including dual citizens,

Experts are torn about where exactly the housing market is headed in the latter half of the year. “Mostly, we think the housing market is going to improve over the next half of the year,” Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, a real estate brokerage site, said on a May 22 appearance on CNBC’s “Money

Justin Paget | Digitalvision | Getty Images The work-from-home trend is here to stay. Many companies have continued to let employees work remotely for at least some of the workweek — four years on from the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic — due to the win-win nature of the arrangement: Remote work is more

The original house used in the “Home Alone” movies on Nov. 8, 2021. Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images An array of iconic homes are for sale — and buyers will almost certainly pay extra for that pedigree. However, that premium is hard to quantify since some uber-wealthy buyers will pay almost anything