Personal finance

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

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. July 31, 2024.  Vincent Alban | Reuters At the National Association of Black Journalists‘ annual convention in Chicago on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump said inflation and high interest rates are “destroying

Sean Gladwell | Moment | Getty Images Even as many Americans go cashless, some don’t have the option to choose that lifestyle. About 6% of Americans were unbanked in 2023, meaning they’re living without access to any traditional financial services such as savings accounts, credit cards or personal checks, according to data from the Federal

Twenty47studio | Moment | Getty Images Workers who pay into Social Security while they’re working should expect benefits from the program when they retire. Yet 72% of adults worry Social Security will run out of funding in their lifetimes, a new survey from Nationwide Retirement Institute finds. Meanwhile, 23% do not expect to receive even

Tom Merton | Ojo Images | Getty Images Job seekers have been sour on the job market for awhile now — and with good reason. “The soft landing in the U.S. labor market is in danger,” Nick Bunker, Economic Research Director for North America for Indeed Hiring Lab, wrote in a statement on Friday. “Yellow

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff descend from Air Force Two in Wilmington, DE, U.S., July 22, 2024.  Erin Schaff | Via Reuters Vice President Kamala Harris‘ personal financial records are under fresh scrutiny now that she is running for the highest office in the United States. Experts say recent tax

Recently I posed this question to my teenage daughter: Aren’t we tired of influencers? “No,” she said. But despite my daughter’s opinion — she’s 16 — I know I’m not the only one fed up with the barrage of things I’m told to buy on social media. Which is why the rise of “underconsumptioncore” came

Victor Dyomin | Moment | Getty Images Many wedding costs, such as meals, invitations and favors, are based on your headcount. The average cost of a wedding ceremony and reception in 2023 was $35,000, according to The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study. The total cost is a $5,000 increase from 2022. “The No. 1 way to save money on

By most measures, the U.S. economy is doing well. And yet, many people would argue otherwise. Roughly 3 in 5 Americans believe that the U.S. is currently in a recession, according to a new survey of 2,000 adults by Affirm. Of those respondents, most said a recession started roughly 15 months ago, in March of

Martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images The IRS has finalized rules on required withdrawals for certain inherited individual retirement accounts and other plans. But heirs could owe more taxes later by only taking minimums now, experts say. In final regulations last week, the agency confirmed most non-spouse beneficiaries have 10 years after the original owner’s

Hinterhaus Productions | Stone | Getty Images Many workers will see their annual raise shrink next year as the job market continues to cool from its torrid pace in the pandemic era. The typical worker will get a 4.1% pay raise for 2025, down from 4.5% this year, according to a new poll by WTW,