Personal Finance

In this article FIS Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT In the end, 2022 was not kind to retirement savers. Average 401(k) balances plunged 23% over the course of the year to $103,900, according to a report by Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of 401(k) plans. Individual retirement account average balances sank 20% year
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Adamkaz | E+ | Getty Images Many Americans claim Social Security retirement benefits at the earliest age possible but see their monthly benefit checks reduced for life because they did so. Now, a bipartisan group of senators is proposing two changes to help encourage retirees to wait. The lawmakers include Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Chris
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Pascal Broze | Onoky | Getty Images Lawmakers are hashing out plans to shore up Social Security’s ailing trust funds, and the possible changes will affect the benefits Americans receive. Broadly, that comes down to two key changes: raising the retirement age and increasing the amount of annual wages subject to the Social Security payroll
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Joos Mind | Photodisc | Getty Images Workers who use health care flexible spending accounts likely have at least one important deadline approaching. FSAs, as they’re called, let you stash away pre-tax money to cover your health care expenses (or, separately, dependent-care expenses). Last year, individuals could have contributed as much as $2,850 to their
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Justices on the bench hearing arguments about the student loan forgiveness program. Source: Bill Hennessy There were many tense moments Tuesday as the nine Supreme Court justices grilled the plaintiffs challenging the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan and the government attorney defending the policy. The Supreme Court agreed to hear two challenges against President
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In this article SNAP Follow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT People shop at a 99 Cents store in Santa Monica, California, on Sept. 13, 2022. Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images Food stamp recipients may be in for a shock as temporary pandemic enhancements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expire, leading the average person
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U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar Artist: Bill Hennessey The government’s top Supreme Court lawyer may have saved President Joe Biden‘s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan from what experts considered all but certain defeat. Experts lobbed praise on Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the lawyer who represented the Biden administration in front of the nine justices
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A new Bankrate ranking found the Austin, Texas, metro area is the best for first-time home purchasers. Roschetzkyistockphoto | Istock | Getty Images Prospective buyers looking to secure the purchase of their first home this spring will still face a difficult market. Yet there are signs some areas of the country may provide more opportunity
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Sneksy | E+ | Getty Images For some individuals, the solution for eliminating crushing debt is to file for bankruptcy. While the catalyst for going that route differs from person to person, it’s worth knowing which obligations can and cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. For instance, just last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
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College can be difficult and expensive for all students, but for many young people of color, those challenges can seem insurmountable. The Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, New York, however, has created an alternative path — a one-year program to help students get lucrative tech jobs that typically go to college graduates with a four-year
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A renovated apartment in New York City after The Expert consultation sessions with designers Jessica Gersten and Athena Calderone. The Expert Aside from bingeing Netflix, creating the picture-perfect home may have been the pandemic’s most popular habit. Whether it’s organizing a pantry or adding on a home office, gym or spa-like bathroom, homeowners have been
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Phiromya Intawongpan | Istock | Getty Images Anyone who’s exploring homeownership may know that rising interest rates and elevated home prices are making that goal challenging. The average rate on a typical 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has been zigzagging between 6% and 7% for the last several months — down from above 7% in early November
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Citing inflationary pressures and sinking enrollment, more colleges are set to close in 2023. Already, Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York; Holy Names University in Oakland, California; and Living Arts College in Raleigh, North Carolina announced they will shut down after the current academic year. The consequences of fewer students and less
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Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images Democratic lawmakers in Washington are renewing a proposal to give every American child $1,000 at birth. The “baby bond” funds, called American Opportunity Accounts, would then be topped off with up to $2,000 per year, depending on a family’s income. The accounts would be federally insured and managed by
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Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Eager to take advantage of Presidents’ Day sales, many shoppers may not realize how much holiday discounts on a range of items – from mattresses to home appliances and electronics to new cars – could really cost them. “Consumers should look closely at the fine print and long-term financial
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