Personal finance

Steve Debenport | E+ | Getty Images People who got raises last year might not see their paychecks stretch much farther. That’s because those increases in pay are up against the worst inflation in 40 years. Employers struggling to retain talent amid the so-called Great Resignation anticipated giving out larger pay increases and bonuses in

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs and rethinking what they want when it comes to work and work-life balance. Companies are responding, meeting their employees’ needs in areas like remote work, flexible hours, four-day workweeks, compensation and more. This story is part of a series looking at the

JGI/Jamie Grill If you save for retirement through a 401(k) plan, you may have noticed changes to it over the years — for example, automatic increases in your contributions and “catch-up” amounts for the over-50 crowd. A couple more tweaks, which were included in a 2019 retirement bill called the Secure Act, could also become

A job seeker receives information from a recruiter during a job fair in Miami on Dec. 16, 2021. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images Long-term unemployment fell significantly in January, continuing a downward trajectory from its pandemic-era peak after having plateaued in recent months. The number of Americans out of work for at least six

courtneyk | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has warned about “challenges” this tax season, and a slew of automated notices are already causing distress for filers. Some taxpayers who sent last year’s return and paid their balance have received a CP80 notice saying they may lose their credit for payment if they don’t file

Pekic | E+ | Getty Images The $1.7 trillion outstanding federal student loan market tends to get most of the headlines, but another type of education debt has also been on the rise: private student loans. Many college students have likely heard about the financing option. “Private lenders advertise all over, including on TV, radio

Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images Used-car prices may be starting to soften, research suggests. After surging through the pandemic by as much as 50%, prices in the used-car market showed some easing in the last three weeks of January, according to car-shopping app CoPilot, which tracks daily prices at dealerships across the country.

Getty Images The roughly 50 million American consumers who either don’t have credit history or have a limited record are in luck.   In recent years, many financial services companies have come out with programs to establish and build credit for those who have struggled to access the traditional banking system. There are even ways

Jeffrey Coolidge | Photodisc | Getty Images Tax season has kicked off, and the IRS has already warned filing mistakes may cause delays amid staffing shortages and a massive backlog. While electronic filing offers the best chance for faster refunds, other moves may invite IRS scrutiny, according to tax experts.  The IRS closed 452,515 individual audits

designer491 | iStock | Getty Images By the looks of it, state-run retirement programs for private-sector employees are generally working as intended. Those with no access to a 401(k) plan or similar workplace option have collectively saved more than $400 million in individual retirement accounts through such programs. To date, there are three states that

Tetra Images | Tetra images | Getty Images This tax season, millions of American families who received advance child tax credit payments are calculating what they got in order to submit their 2021 returns. Some may be worried that they were sent more money than they were owed in the monthly payments from July to

Even cupid is coming out of quarantine. Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $23.9 billion in 2022, the second-highest year on record, according to the National Retail Federation. On average, Americans will spend $175.41 on candy, cards, flowers and other romantic gifts, up from $164.76 in 2021. Those in a relationship will shell out

Kwangmoozaa | iStock | Getty Images Student loan payments have been on pause for nearly two years. Come May, they’re scheduled to resume. Many of the tens of millions of borrowers will find themselves in a different financial situation then they were in March 2020, and a different payment plan may make more sense for

pixelfit | E+ | Getty Images Women earned just 84% of what men made in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. And that difference — dubbed the gender wage gap — has stayed consistent for about 15 years. The discrepancy is often attributed to education, occupation and experience. However, research from economists at the

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images January has been a rough month for stocks. But while the market is down, it’s actually a great time to start investing toward your retirement, according to James Royal, analyst at Bankrate.com. A Bankrate survey found that almost 36% of respondents have never had a retirement account. Those investors

A woman shovels her car out of the snow during a major snowstorm on Jan. 29, 2022 in Stony Brook, New York. Andrew Theodorakis | Getty Images After a few months of winter and two major snowstorms pounding much of the eastern U.S. in January, many Americans may be realizing they’re in for elevated heating

Jamie Grill | Getty Images In a competitive job market, equity compensation such as stock options — the chance to buy stock in the company that employs you at a specific price — can be an incentive to sign on and stick around. It can also be nerve-wracking when these assets underperform.  “Part of the

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images Bonds take on a bigger role in retirement, as investors take chips off the table to protect their nest egg. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get tripped up — namely, by chasing returns and taking too much risk, according to financial advisors. “Bonds are the single biggest mistake I

More than 45 million Americans collectively owe over $1.7 trillion in student debt.  Economists say this mounting total worsens generational inequality, slows economic growth and exacerbates racial disparities. On a micro-economic level, borrowers also face serious consequences in their day-to-day lives.  According to CNBC + Acorn’s recently released Invest in You Student Loan Survey conducted

Going out is not only less common these days, it’s also a lot more expensive. In general, the prices that consumers pay for goods and services recently notched their largest year-over-year jump since 1982. Gas prices, alone, are up a whopping 58.1% over the past year, and that’s just to get to where you are going.