Personal Finance

Ngampol Thongsai / EyeEm Americans’ health may not be the only thing at stake as the coronavirus continues its unrelenting spread in the U.S. The virus could also prove financially crippling for many individuals. “There are all kinds of pathways for people to be financially affected by this,” said John Graves, an associate professor of

GSO Images When the stock market goes haywire, gold often becomes the “gold” standard in the eyes of everyday investors. True to form, gold is coming off its best week since 2016, as fears around the global spread of the coronavirus led to a sharp selloff in the stock market and nudged investors to retreat to what they perceived

Jim McGuire | Getty Images As the market hits the skids, experts are warning that you shouldn’t make rash moves with your portfolio. And that includes one retirement income source you might turn to for safety: your Social Security benefits. A recent survey from SimplyWise, a retirement income technology provider, found that 1 in 4

Tetra Images Like millions of American women, I’ve experienced widowhood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2019, there were almost 15 million widows and widowers in the country. About 77% of these individuals, or 11.4 million, were women. (Some widowed people later remarry, so the total number of individuals experiencing widowhood is actually

The recent stock market meltdown may have dented Americans’ retirement savings, but there’s a silver lining: The downturn made one common retirement strategy less costly for investors. The strategy, known as a Roth IRA conversion, involves changing a traditional, pre-tax retirement account — such as a 401(k) plan or a qualified individual retirement account — to an

 Think twice before celebrating that large refund check from Uncle Sam. The IRS had doled out 45.5 million refunds as of Feb. 28, with the average refund check totaling $3,064. That amount is just $4 less than last year’s average refund. Filers have reasons to celebrate their small windfall. Most have ambitious plans for their

If you’ve been considering overseas retirement spots, the rapid spread of the new coronavirus around the globe might be giving you pause. That may not be a bad thing, say some experts. While it’s tricky to predict where and when any contagion — whether this coronavirus or another pathogen — will emerge, a key consideration

No pain, no gain … no risk, no reward. As with most platitudes, you’ve likely heard those lines so many times that by now they’ve lost their meaning.  Most of us understand that to amass enough savings to buy a first home, send a child to college or retire before 70, we have to surrender

Damircudic | Getty Images When it comes to saving for retirement, many working women are falling short.  Almost one-fifth, or 19%, of working women have nothing saved for retirement, according to a new CNBC/SurveyMonkey Women at Work Survey. The poll surveyed 1,068 working women in the U.S. from Feb. 10-14. “It’s not because women don’t

sturti | Getty Images If your phone rings and someone says it’s the Social Security Administration, it probably isn’t. By now, you may have received one of those calls, or know someone who has. And because these scams, which try to dupe unsuspecting individuals into coughing up money are becoming more prevalent, the government is

golero | Getty Images Longevity. Leaving work to care for kids or parents. Earning less. These are the headwinds most talked about among women when it comes to the retirement challenges many of them face. Women have retirement balances that are half the size of men’s, according to data from the Vanguard Center for Investor Research.

Pink piggy bank on top of stack of books with dark blackboard or chalkboard background using as cost of knowledge and education, savings for college or scholarship concept. Nuthawut Somsuk With the stock market tumbling amid the coronavirus outbreak, you might be worried about meeting your financial goals. And if you had hoped to tap

Having $1 million in the bank has often been considered the gold standard of retirement savings. In some places, that kind of stash can stretch over 40 years. But in higher-priced cities, it may only last a decade — or less.  Considering that Americans, as a whole, aren’t saving nearly enough for retirement, GoBankingRates measured how far $1

Zelma Brezinska / EyeEm New York’s new ban on plastic bags is, on its face, an effort to reduce consumer waste. It likely also offers an important lesson on consumer psychology and how we think about money. As of Sunday, most businesses in the state can no longer offer single-use plastic bags to consumers. Several

JGI/Jamie Grill Just because you’re due a tax refund, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get it. As we approach the middle of tax season, the IRS has been doling out money to those who overpaid. The federal agency has issued 37.5 million refunds, with checks averaging $3,125, according to IRS data for the week ending

PeopleImages Americans nearing retirement are among the many casualties of the coronavirus, as fears around its global spread and resulting economic damage caused a steep selloff in the stock market last week that potentially upended the retirement outlook for many individuals. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite — which serve as barometers

Cristiano Oliveira, co-founder and CEO of Olivia AI. When I got my first iPhone about 10 years ago, I didn’t think much of it. It was just like my old-school flip phone, but more brick-like and better at stretching out the pockets in my jeans. This was, of course, extremely shortsighted. More than 80% of

Jane Bryant Quinn, personal finance expert and author. Jane Bryant Quinn In an era when everyone with a checkbook fancies himself a money guru and blogger, it’s refreshing to see “How to Make Your Money Last” by Jane Bryant Quinn updated and reissued. Jane eschews the typical and bland bromides, such as “eat ramen” and

Communal living space in California Source: Haven There’s a new solution for millennials struggling with rising rents, but it has a familiar feel. Communal living, or co-living, brings together a group of people, likely strangers, in a shared space. Often, there are private sleeping quarters but the kitchens and work areas are communal spaces. It’s

If you plan to travel abroad and are worried about medical coverage due to the coronavirus outbreak, there may not be a need to panic — or cancel your trip — just yet. Travel insurance policies that include emergency medical and evacuation coverage are still available, although the situation is fluid and could change as

AscentXmedia When it comes to your 401(k), there’s one piece of advice that most financial experts agree on in market routs like this: Stay the course. That means fighting the natural temptation to log into your investment account and react to the market’s big swings. However, many investors are not taking that advice, according to

Democratic presidential hopeful Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders participates in the tenth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 25, 2020. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images A bill introduced by Sen. Bernie

Kenneth Montgomery is the head team physician with the New York Jets, as well as the president and co-founder of OrthoNations, a nonprofit aimed at training surgeons in developing nations around the world. Each year, Montgomery and his group travel to countries like Vietnam, where they’re headed next, to teach medical professionals a range of

Woman figuring out her finances. stefanamer If there’s any silver lining to the interest accumulating on your student debt, it’s that it can knock down your tax bill. The IRS allows certain borrowers to deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest each year from their taxable income, and it can come from payments to

Democratic presidential candidate, former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg speaks to supporters at a rally on February 20, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. George Frey | Getty Images Billionaire Mike Bloomberg’s income tax return might not tell us much. It depends on how much of it he releases. If returns are heavily redacted,

MartinPrescott When market volatility is high, financial advisors often suggest investors review — and possibly re-balance — their portfolios rather than make an emotional or impulsive move. Yet as the stock market plunged at the beginning of this week, trading activity in 401(k) plans skyrocketed. And, data show that many investors moved money out of

It goes without saying that death and taxes are two of life’s certainties. But what many people don’t know is that their Social Security retirement benefits might be taxed. And that means that they haven’t been using strategies proactively to reduce those levies and extend their income over their retirement years. William Meyer, founder of

John Fedele The annual income of older Americans could drop significantly from one year to the next for a variety of reasons. It might be retirement or the death of a spouse, perhaps, or the sale of a business. Yet it might take Medicare — which charges higher earners more for premiums — a couple

Oliver Furrer | Cultura | Getty Images The spread of the coronavirus helped to sink the Dow Jones Industrial Average more than 900 points when the market opened on Monday. And if that decline goes past 1,000 points, it could be the biggest one-day drop since 2018. If you’re like many investors, you may be

An Austrian train was halted in Munich, Germany, after carrying two women with suspected coronavirus from Venice, Italy. picture alliance Global markets are suffering. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all traded sharply lower. Don’t hit the panic button just yet. Within six months, stocks are usually on