Personal Finance

Annie Nova Annie Nova | CNBC I was raised by a single mother who had no time for the kitchen, and although I wanted to be different, I wasn’t. I became dependent on Grubhub, and the tiny oven in my Manhattan apartment could go months unused.  Since I never had a teacher, cooking intimidated me.

When a loved one passes away, it’s not unusual for the person to leave some unpaid debt behind. The question for the surviving spouse or other heirs is often: What happens to those obligations? Generally speaking, it depends on both the type of debt and applicable state laws. When someone dies, their assets — no

Father-daughter team Steve and Leah Kim model the masks their New York City alterations business, Master Tailor, started making when the coronavirus hit. When New York City largely shut down last month due to the spread of Covid-19, it was a devastating blow for some businesses. That included the Master Tailor, an alteration shop on

Fabian Videla Source: Fabian Videla In March, Fabian Videla realized that his 20-year-old construction and renovation company, Smarter Remodeling,in Jacksonville, Florida, might not survive the coronavirus outbreak.  “People started canceling sales appointments,” Videla, 49, said. “Current customers were apprehensive about letting crews in their houses. All of a sudden, it was a massive shutdown.” Soon,

Employee Linda Tarkenton holds a blank U.S. Treasury check before it’s run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility in Philadelphia. Getty Images People who receive benefits through either the Department of Veterans Affairs or Supplemental Security Income who have children have a new deadline if they want to get all of the

Getty Images More than 88 million individuals received a stimulus check from the IRS in the last three weeks, according to data from the federal agency. The Treasury Department and the IRS have distributed a total of $157.9 billion in so-called Economic Impact Payments. The federal government began depositing the cash into taxpayers’ bank accounts

Images By Tang Ming Tung The financial hardships many Americans are now facing may have an unintended effect on their children — it may actually help their kids develop a money mindset very early. Just like children of the Depression emerged as frugal spenders, those experiencing the coronavirus pandemic may also learn important financial lessons.

CNBC | Jaden Urbi On March 25, the Trump administration announced that during the coronavirus pandemic it would stop garnishing the wages of struggling student loan borrowers.  “These are difficult times for many Americans, and we don’t want to do anything that will make it harder for them to make ends meet or create additional

(Credit: Getty | PeopleImages) When the government launched a web tool on April 15 so that eligible Americans could find out the status of their coronavirus stimulus payments, Jake Koepke was eager to log on. But the central Wisconsin resident, 34, was disappointed to find himself shut out after three failed attempts to get onto

U.S. households that already were less prepared to weather a financial storm are getting hit hardest from the recent rash of job losses across the country, research shows. Adults with lower income (under about $37,500 annually) and middle income ($37,500 to $112,600) comprise a greater share of those who have lost their job or taken

The sun sets behind a crude oil pump jack on a drill pad in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S. November 24, 2019. Angus Mordant | Reuters Stay-at-home orders aren’t only hitting mom-and-pop businesses. They’re also a driver behind the cratering price of oil. For example, the cost of a futures contract for

freemixer | E+ | Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries who do not typically file tax returns have until tomorrow to tell the government to include their dependent children in their stimulus payments.  The U.S. government is in the process of deploying one-time checks of up to $1,200 to Americans who qualify, including those receiving Social

Kupicoo | Getty Images If you’re wondering about getting any tax breaks on your work-from-home expenses, you are probably out of luck. Blame the IRS. “Even if you are required to work remotely due to the quarantine, unfortunately employees are not allowed to take a tax break for any home-office expenses,” said Gail Rosen, a

Raymond Boyd Some big restaurant chains have gotten called out in recent days for using a loophole in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief law to access loan money earmarked for smaller businesses. Potbelly Sandwich Shop, for example, got a $10 million loan from the Paycheck Protection Program — the upper lending limit. Ruth’s Chris Steak House got

One conundrum that some investors face is how to capture the safety of bonds while trying to get in on riskier stock-like returns. Enter convertible bonds. These hybrid investments are corporate-issued bonds that pay interest — generally higher than U.S. Treasury rates but lower than those on regular corporate bonds. After a predetermined length of

miodrag ignjatovic Younger Americans are eager to eat and drink out in public again. They will, however, likely shy away in large numbers from festivals, sports venues and international trips for a while once conoravirus lockdowns are lifted across the U.S., perhaps preferring to shop online from home while waiting to see how vaccine trials

NoDerog | iStock | Getty Images Millions of Americans received stimulus checks from the U.S. government this week to help stave off the negative economic effects of the coronavirus. But many people are still asking: Where is my money? If you haven’t received your payment yet, take heart: Millions more Americans are slated to receive

andresr/Getty Images This week was supposed to include Tax Day, when personal income taxes are traditionally due. Instead, it marked a different big milestone: the beginning of the coronavirus stimulus payments. Now, Congress has updated its timeline on when subsequent rounds of payments can be expected. Here’s the latest, according to the House Ways and

Lyft driver Steven Smith uses a sanitizing wipe to disinfect his vehicle as he waits to get a call from a passenger in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Smith and other Lyft drivers have seen a decline in ridership amidst the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place in response to the global outbreak of the

Wondering where your coronavirus stimulus payment is? The delay could be due to a glitch related to your tax preparation service. A new report from The Washington Post on Thursday estimates that millions of Americans could still be waiting to see their stimulus money if they previously filed their taxes with companies like TurboTax, H&R

Damir Khabirov | iStock | Getty Images Some Americans who are eagerly awaiting their coronavirus stimulus payments may be in for an unwelcome surprise: less money than they had expected. News that $1,200 payments are coming to individuals and $2,400 for couples has made headlines since Congress passed the CARES Act in March. Dependents are

Under normal circumstances, failure to pay any type of insurance premium results in a loss of coverage fairly quickly. These aren’t normal times. In addition to insurance companies offering relief to customers who are struggling to pay their premiums, a handful of states are requiring insurers to provide extra time for people to make those

Yuka Ioroi, co-owner of Cassava restaurant on Balboa Street in San Francisco manages take-out orders on April 8, 2020. San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images Nearly 7.5 million small businesses are at risk of closing their doors permanently over the next several months if the coronavirus pandemic persists, according to a survey. Around two-thirds

Photo by Supoj Buranaprapapong The federal government has begun depositing the first round of coronavirus relief payments promised as part of the $2.2 trillion stimulus program. Now that the cash is on its way, how are people planning to spend the much-needed money? Two surveys point to paying for necessities such as housing, food, and

Getty Images If you’d planned on making a payment to the IRS on April 15 and now want to reschedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, you’re running out of time. In March, the IRS and Treasury Department announced it would give taxpayers until July 15 to file their 2019 income tax returns and make any necessary payments.

10’000 Hours We are still shopping. But we’re shopping differently. Walmart is selling more tops and fewer pants. Jigsaw puzzles are having a moment. Streaming subscription services are offering longer free periods, and demand is sky-high. In the beginning, people were also panic-buying groceries to be sure they were stocked up. “Now that the normal

The U.S. economy is taking a beating from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and, like most everyone, you’re probably feeling some impact from the stock market’s volatility. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged in March before soaring again, jumping 400 points on April 9. It’s still down, though, from its high of 29,551 on

Jetta Productions | Iconica | Getty Images As the economy craters, small businesses are among the hardest hit. When unemployment claims began to jump nationwide in March, layoffs among small business spiked 1,021% compared to the month before, according to exclusive data compiled by human resource provider Gusto, based on more than 100,000 small businesses nationwide.

A new government tool to file for coronavirus stimulus checks is here, and that’s good news for some Social Security recipients. The government is urging certain individuals to apply using that tool now to make sure they receive timely payments and the full amounts for which they are eligible. This week, the Treasury Department and

kate_sept2004  If you’re paying a financial advisor to guide you through current market havoc, groups representing those professionals want you to nab a tax break for those fees. A quintet of groups representing financial advisors is calling upon Congress to restore a tax deduction for advisory fees. “We think it’s good public policy at any