Personal finance

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Health care, long an ailing stock market sector, has recovered over the past six months, with currently robust vital signs and strong growth projections. The recovery comes after the sector failed to make good on positive expectations for 2022 based on estimates of pent-up demand for physician

Morsa Images | E+ | Getty Images If you work for a publicly traded company, you may have access to discounted company shares via an employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP. While the benefit can be valuable, you need to know the rules and risks before opting into your company’s plan, financial experts say. In

If TikTok is any guide, more women are taking a traditional approach to romantic partnerships: Some say they are even opting out of the workforce entirely in favor of the so-called “soft life,” centered around their home, their family and their own wellbeing. (Re-)enter the “tradwife,” one of social media’s growing trends. It shows a

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on canceling student debt on February 21, 2024 in Culver City, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Joe Biden has announced his student loan forgiveness do-over plan. Biden rolled out the details of his Plan B less than a year after the Supreme Court struck

Eva-katalin | E+ | Getty Images It is common folklore, a fairy tale of sorts, that middle-class Americans received perpetual relief in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. First, property taxes generate 32% of state and local income, and U.S. median single-family home property taxes have risen by more than 25% since 2019.

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images Wage growth has cooled from its scorching pandemic-era pace. But there are still pockets of heat. Workers are getting relatively big annual raises in occupations like legal, dental, child care, cleaning and sanitation, and medical information, for example, according to a new analysis by job site Indeed. Nationally, wages

The federal tax deadline is here — and experts have tips as the IRS braces for a flood of last-minute returns. “On a day like today, April 15, we might see a million returns come in every hour,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” As of April 5, the IRS received

Few college admission cycles have been as hard on students as this one. National College Decision Day — the deadline most schools set to decide on a college — is just two weeks away. But many college hopefuls are still unsure of where they stand financially, as problems persist with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The American Dream — which for many people involves some combination of owning a home, getting married, having kids and making enough after expenses to save for retirement and spend on leisure — is becoming increasingly expensive. “The benchmark of a six-figure salary used to be the gold standard income,” Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist,

Aleksandarnakic | E+ | Getty Images When it comes to retirement, Americans have a new number in mind — $1.46 million — for how much they think they will need to live comfortably, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual. That estimate is up 53% since 2020, when Americans said they would need $951,000, as

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks as he announces a new plan for federal student loan relief during a visit to Madison Area Technical College Truax Campus, in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S, April 8, 2024.  Kevin Lamarque | Reuters The Biden administration on Tuesday released the draft text of its new student loan forgiveness proposal, which could reduce or eliminate

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks about healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 26, 2024. Peter Zay | Anadolu | Getty Images President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have released their annual tax returns, and there are lessons within for average Americans, according to tax experts. The president

Janina Steinmetz | Digitalvision | Getty Images When it comes to dating etiquette, one question seems to inspire more anxiety than most: Who pays for the first date? Dating experts think there’s a clear answer for heterosexual couples. “The man should pay for the first date,” said Blaine Anderson, a dating coach for men. Erika

US President Joe Biden speaks about student loan relief at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024.  Andrew Caballero-reynolds | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden on Monday unveiled a new student loan forgiveness plan — and any of that relief dispensed in 2024 wouldn’t trigger a federal tax bill. But borrowers

If you’re having money problems, someone on TikTok has a solution. Between “cash stuffing,” the “100 envelope” method or the “no-spend” challenge, there’s no shortage of suggestions to better your financial standing. “The gamification can be kind of fun,” said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate. But like any other quick fix, these can

Riska | E+ | Getty Images It may be a while longer before the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, experts now say. That means savers can still earn the best returns on their cash in years, following a “nuclear winter for the better part of the last 15 years,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Inflation jumped in March as prices for consumer staples such as gasoline edged higher and those for housing remained stubbornly high, suggesting inflation may be a bit stickier than it seemed just a few months ago, economists said. The consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, rose 3.5% in March

The Federal Reserve is in no rush to lower its benchmark rate. Earlier expectations that the central bank was planning multiple cuts before the end of the year seem less likely. On the heels of Friday’s strong jobs report, Wednesday’s consumer price index increased at a faster than expected pace in March. Both suggest that inflation is staying

Cavan Images | Getty Images If you need more time for your taxes, there’s a quick, free way to file a federal tax extension online, according to experts. This season, 1 in 4 Americans don’t feel prepared to file their taxes — and 29% admit to procrastinating — according to a January survey from IPX1031,

US President Joe Biden speaks about student loan relief at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024.  Andrew Caballero-reynolds | AFP | Getty Images The Biden administration is moving ahead quickly with its new student loan forgiveness plan, with hopes of starting to wipe out people’s debts as soon as this fall. That