Personal finance

Afternoon commuters sit in traffic on southbound Interstate 5 near downtown San Diego on March 12, 2024. Kevin Carter | Getty Images “Rush” hour isn’t what it used to be. As more commuters settle into flexible working arrangements, fewer workers are making early morning or early evening trips compared to pre-pandemic traffic patterns The traditional

President Joe Biden announces a new plan for federal student loan relief at Madison Area Technical College Truax Campus, in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters President Joe Biden may try to forgive student debt again as early as next month, in a sweeping redo effort that could impact tens of

Hero Images | Getty Images Since most Americans aren’t eligible for Medicare before age 65, many younger retirees rely on Marketplace health insurance, which offers lower monthly premiums through the end of 2025 thanks to boosted tax breaks. But retirees can face a costly tax surprise without proper planning, experts say. As of open enrollment

Many American workers are optimistic about their retirement goals, but most believe it will be challenging for them to retire comfortably.  Almost half, 44%, of workers in a new CNBC poll are “cautiously optimistic” about their ability to meet their retirement goals, and 27% say they are “realistic” about that happening.  Even so, 82% of

In this article PRU Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Mario Martinez | Moment | Getty Images Seniors looking to reduce expenses while also boosting their quality of life may find the idea of settling abroad appealing, financial experts say. To that point, nearly one-third of retirees have relocated either domestically or outside the country

Thomas Barwick Molly Richardson, 35, regularly contributes to her 401(k) plan, but the structural engineer says she isn’t too worried about retirement yet. “It’s always something I felt like I could wait until I’m 50 to figure out,” she said. Like many other working adults, Richardson says she has more pressing expenses for now, such

Cooper Union’s Foundational Building, left, and 41 Cooper Square facility, right, in New York’s Greenwich Village. Image source: Mario Morgado In a move years in the making, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science announced Tuesday a return to full-tuition scholarships for all graduating seniors. The New York City-based private college, founded in 1859,

The U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. Caroline Brehman | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Seven Republican-led states have sued the U.S. Department of Education to block the Biden administration from carrying out its sweeping new student loan forgiveness plan. In the lawsuit, the states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota

President Joe Biden visiting a library in Culver City, California, on Feb. 21, 2024. Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images As the Biden administration prepares to forgive the student debt of tens of millions of borrowers — a move experts say could happen as soon as October — it has issued new

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Picture this: You walk into a big grocery store and everything is deeply discounted, said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Sun Group Wealth Partners in Irvine, California. “What would you buy that you know that your household would need for the future?” she said. “That could be

Ezra Bailey | Stone | Getty Images The unemployment rate jumped in July, and there’s a detail in the data that has alarmed some economists. So-called “marginally attached workers,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are those who are available to work and want a job, but have not searched for a job in

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, seen in Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2024, and Vice President Kamala Harris, seen in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2024. Jim Watson, Chris Kleponis | AFP | Getty Images Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 presidential election. That choice could

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on Aug. 02, 2024. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Recession fears led to a sharp stock-market selloff in recent days, with the S&P 500 index posting a 3% loss Monday, its worst in almost two years. Weaker-than-expected job data on Friday

Getty Images Nearly half — 48% — of student loan borrowers expect debt forgiveness in the future. Many of those borrowers anticipate that the government will excuse them from their education loans, according to Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report. (Between April 8 and May 14, global market research company Ipsos conducted the

With college more expensive than ever and a new financial aid application that’s been problematic from the start, families are, understandably, having a hard time figuring out how to pay the tab. As a new academic year gets underway, more students and their parents are turning to a familiar resource: student loans. How families pay

Jeremy Poland | E+ | Getty Images American consumers claimed $8.4 billion of Inflation Reduction Act tax breaks tied to boosting the energy efficiency of their homes in 2023, according to Internal Revenue Service data, a sum that exceeded officials’ projections. More than 3.4 million U.S. households claimed at least one of two tax breaks

Vice presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz looks on during a campaign rally with U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., August 6, 2024.  Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters As many retirees struggle to afford the basics, there’s been bipartisan support to exempt Social Security from income taxes. That policy

Credit card debt is on the rise. Americans now owe a record $1.14 trillion on their credit cards, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday. The average balance per consumer stands at $6,329, up 4.8% year over year, according to a separate quarterly credit industryinsights report from TransUnion. Credit card delinquency rates are also higher

A voter fills out a ballot at a polling station on Election Day in Falls Church, Virginia, U.S., November 7, 2023.  Kevin Lamarque | Reuters When it comes to the November election, there is one issue that is at the top of voters’ wish lists: Social Security. Despite political division, most Americans — 87% —

Lisa5201 | E+ | Getty Images Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked legislation that would have expanded the child tax credit, a key tax break for millions of families. Despite strong bipartisan support for the House bill passed in January, the legislation met resistance from Senate Republicans. Thursday’s procedural vote wasn’t expected to clear the 60-vote