Personal Finance

Getty | Westend61 Everyone has to save for retirement. If you have a job with a company that offers retirement savings, you are in luck. You sign up (or you might be enrolled automatically) and then contribute through your paycheck. You don’t have to do a thing. But when you’re an independent entrepreneur, you have

Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England. Max Mumby | Indigo | Getty Images Royals aren’t the only ones leaning on family. As Prince

Aimstock | Getty Images It’s the gift that everybody wants: the ability to get a do-over when you make a mistake. In golf, it’s called a mulligan, or the chance to redo a stroke. With Social Security, it’s called a withdrawal of application. However, the circumstances under which you can exercise this option are limited.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (R) participate in the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University on January 14, 2020 in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott Olson | Getty Images Social Security policy has already prompted some presidential contenders to resort to fighting words. But for many

Low-angle view of the facade of Tesla Motors dealership with logo and sign in Pleasanton, California, July 23, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Smith Collection/Gado This week’s mania around Tesla stock, which saw the share price of the automaker and sustainable energy company hit its biggest one-day gain in six years, likely has some

A pedestrian wears a face mask while pushing a stroller past the Tiffany & Co. luxury goods store at Times Square in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong, China, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Bloomberg Here’s a comforting fact as the market grapples with the coronavirus: Your 401(k) plan is pretty resilient. The alarming

Sirinarth Mekvorawuth / EyeEm LendEDU, a website that compares loans, credit cards and insurance for consumers, engaged in a pay-to-play scheme that saw the online marketplace accept money from financial firms in exchange for higher ratings and post fake customer reviews, according to the Federal Trade Commission. LendEDU and three company officers deceived the public

Young female barista has a disappointed expression on her face as she counts her tips at the end of the day. Steve Debenport | E+ | Getty Images When it comes to tipping, most Americans believe they are better than average. But some may be overestimating just how generous they are. A new survey from

Thomas Barwick Health savings accounts can be a great tool for retirement medical costs — if you don’t make any mistakes using them. These accounts work alongside high-deductible health plans and they offer three major tax benefits. First, you can make pretax or tax-deductible contributions to your HSA. Second, your funds will grow tax free

Rob Daly | OJO Images | Getty Images The last decade has seen a surge in the number of gig workers, indicating broad economic and demographic shifts and raising concerns around long-term financial security for a growing share of the workforce, according to some experts. “We’re just going to keep seeing more of it,” Kerry

The Burj Khalifa looms over Dubai, United Arab Emirates. owngarden Back in early 2012, I bounded up to the ticket booth at the then-new, 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa in Dubai, hoping to snag a last-minute elevator ride to the top of the world’s tallest skyscraper. Taking a seven-hour tourist detour from a business stay in neighboring

Foreign travelers wearing masks walk past a departures information board at Beijing International Airport in Beijing, China as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, February 1, 2020. Jason Lee | Reuters When the market makes big moves, you might be tempted to make big decisions. However, having a one-size-fits-all approach

Jackie Beck says a vision board helped her realize a dream trip to Africa. Source: Jackie Beck Here’s a great way to save money when what you really want to do is enjoy the moment. Just close your eyes. Now think of something you really want: a trip to Europe, college for your kids, a

Cassidy Claire Risien, 34, is a resident at the Haven co-living community in Venice, California. Source: Kalen Hayman Cassidy Claire Risien, 34, is an actor and artist living in Los Angeles but, even with her day job as a spin instructor, her budget is tight. Despite that, she lives in a newly renovated townhouse in

Dean Mitchell | E+ | Getty Images If you wait until you’re 70 to think about long-term care, you’re already late. With the national annual median cost of a private room in a nursing facility at $102,200, according to insurer Genworth’s 2019 Cost of Care Survey, lacking a thought-out plan can be a costly error.

Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain. Ihor_Tailwind | iStock | Getty Images When Petra Ahmann decided to uproot her life in New York and move to Barcelona, she was motivated by the same reason as many other expatriates. She fell in love with the city. “I felt like I could live here,” Ahmann said. An initial trip

If your weekend plans include dropping a bet on the Super Bowl, don’t forget that Uncle Sam wants a piece of anything you win. Americans are expected to wager about $6.8 billion on Sunday night’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Miami. And no matter where you place your bet

Home concept,Businessmen holding home keys krisanapong detraphiphat Many people entering the traditional home-buying years already have debt – student loans, of course. And those loans can make landing in a new house trickier. “Although many Americans have student loans, mortgage companies will still evaluate these outstanding debts while making their decision to approve or deny

Anfisa Kameneva | EyeEm | Getty Images Many workers don’t have access to retirement savings programs. That is changing. Now, efforts on both a national and state level aim to give more individuals access to plans. In December, Congress ushered in the Secure Act. Among the changes included in the legislation are new ways for

For retirees on Medicare who head back to work, the move could provide the option of employer-based health insurance. And given the various costs associated with Medicare, the employer’s plan might be cheaper. Yet before you drop parts of Medicare with the idea of picking them up down the road, be aware that there could

The Federal Reserve‘s decision Wednesday to keep interest rates steady came as a relief to many. For good reason. Although the federal funds rate, which is what banks charge one another for short-term borrowing, is not the rate that consumers pay, the Fed’s moves still affect the borrowing and saving rates they see every day.

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Tax season is starting off with a whimper, as 1 in 5 people predict they will owe the IRS this tax season. Those were the findings from a recent survey by NerdWallet. The personal finance website polled 2,002 adults online from Nov. 18 through Nov. 20, 2019. Taxpayers who

Kathy Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The agency created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from abuse is being gutted from the inside, according to some consumer advocates and legal experts. A new enforcement policy at the Consumer Financial Protection

If you can clear a few hurdles, high health care costs might help lower your 2019 tax bill. The deduction for medical expenses is one of the few tax breaks currently available to individuals, due to tax-law changes in effect from 2018 through 2025 that doubled the standard deduction and eliminated most other write-offs. As

Hero Images | Hero Images | Getty Images Many Americans believe they will live longer than their parents. For younger generations, that has led to a big concern: how they will provide financially for those extended years. That’s according to a new online poll from the Longevity Project and Morning Consult, which surveyed 2,200 U.S.

Jetta Productions Inc Bring out your box of receipts. Tax season begins today. Eager taxpayers can start filing their 2019 tax returns on Monday, Jan. 27. The IRS expects it will receive more than 150 million returns. People with elaborate returns can ask for a six-month extension to file, but they have until April 15

ferrantraite “Adulting” with your money. You’ve got this. Your money is like anything else you need to learn. It seems crazy complicated at first, then bit by bit you learn more, until you realize it’s more accessible than you thought. Even though the adult world has many confusing concepts, remember that most people are not

If you were hoping to keep your bitcoin stash under wraps from the IRS, think again. As the 2019 tax season kicks off on Jan. 27, the taxman is expecting you to disclose whether you had any cryptocurrency transactions last year. The IRS asks the following question on the first page of Schedule 1 of

From a 401(k) plan to pet insurance for Fido, in today’s tight labor market, workers expect far more than just health insurance from their employers. For small businesses, that’s been a problem. There are more small companies and startups than ever before yet, because of their size, these firms have traditionally been at a disadvantage when

Just because the IRS is auditing fewer tax returns, don’t assume you can dupe the taxman. With much of the agency’s systems automated to spot certain discrepancies, and some parts of tax returns typically generating more scrutiny than others, the risk of hearing from the IRS still remains. “A lot of this is done by