Personal Finance

SolStock | E+ | Getty Images Looking for a meaningful holiday gift? Consider putting money toward a child’s future education costs. Nearly half of parents (45%) may ask family and friends this year to contribute to a 529 college savings plan for their kids, according to a survey from the College Savings Foundation. That compares

MoMo Productions | Stone | Getty Images Amid the “Great Resignation” and ongoing pandemic, millions of Americans are quitting their jobs to become their own bosses. In October, there were about 9.44 million unincorporated self-employed individuals in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since April 2020, the number of

Vladimir Vladimirov | E+ | Getty Images After a weekend of holiday shopping, Americans will be shelling out for charity on Giving Tuesday, which produced $2.47 billion from U.S. donors in 2020. But many don’t realize there’s a tax break for cash gifts in 2021, even if they don’t itemize deductions on their federal return.

Americans are spending a little less this holiday season — but still more than they can afford. Total spending on Black Friday, both in stores and online, fell slightly from a year ago — the first decline on record — in part because holiday shoppers started their shopping earlier in face of supply chain setbacks

Getty Images Want to make more money? You may want to consider switching jobs. Some 24% of Americans said that changing jobs is the best way to get a pay boost, according to a recent online survey from MagnifyMoney of nearly 1,000 working adults. In addition, millennials were more likely than their older coworkers to

Time is running out for families with kids to make any changes to information the IRS has on file for their last child tax credit payment of the year. Families have until Monday, Nov. 29, to reach out to the agency and have it reflected in the final monthly payment, set to go out on

Zephyr18 | iStock | Getty Images During the pandemic, rents across the country dropped – but they’re quickly bouncing back. That means many tenants, especially those who nabbed a place at a discounted rate in the last year or two, will be in store for an unpleasant surprise come lease renewal time. “Unfortunately, many renters

Jennifer Sutton, pictured with her children, quit her job this year to open Guest Haus Juicery & Matcha Bar in Park City, Utah. Courtesy: Jennifer Sutton Jennifer Sutton was burned out. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the 37-year-old advertising executive suddenly found herself juggling work and remote schooling for her two young children. Even when

The University of Maryland The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images Across the country, colleges are in crisis. Fewer students went back to school again this year, dragging undergraduate enrollment down another 3.5% from last year, according to a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Combined with last autumn’s declines, the

A sign reading “Shop Local” with closed restaurants and shops on Main Street on April 10, 2020 in Livingston, Montana. William Campbell | Getty Images While Black Friday may be the biggest shopping day of the Thanksgiving weekend, about half of American consumers are expected to turn out for Small Business Saturday. A survey from

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images When it comes to shopping for a new car, this isn’t your typical Black Friday. Deals and discounts that were once plentiful this time of year are harder to come by. An ongoing global shortage of microchips — key components needed for today’s autos to operate —

A pizzeria in North Babylon, New York, advertises available positions for wait staff and delivery drivers. Newsday LLC | Newsday | Getty Images It turns out the “Great Resignation” is more of a “Great Reckoning,” according to a survey by consulting firm Mercer. In other words, the movement is more about who is quitting their

Tijana Simic | iStock | Getty Images Medical debt is a growing burden among Americans, with more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults carrying a balance, according to a 2021 Healthcare.com survey. The findings also revealed that more than 6 in 10 adults with overdue bills received care knowing they couldn’t cover the costs, and more

Second Harvest Heartland workers distribute food in a recent truck to trunk event. As Covid-19 cases in Minneapolis surge, so has the demand for food, said CEO Allison O’Toole. Courtesy: Second Harvest Heartland The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year prompted millions of Americans to wait in long lines for food assistance in the

lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Millions of American families with kids are set to receive the last of six advance monthly child tax credit payments Dec. 15. Yet, just a few days earlier, Dec. 3, the U.S. government is set to shut down if Congress doesn’t approve more funding to keep it open through

Brothers91 | E+ | Getty Images If you lack health insurance, it may not be as out of reach as you might think. An estimated 10 million individuals who are uninsured could qualify for financial help with private insurance through the public marketplace, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 7 million could

krisanapong detraphiphat | Moment | Getty Images Black Friday and Cyber Monday are almost here — and consumers shopping for the winter holidays should be on the lookout for online scams. U.S. sales online are expected to hit $207 billion this holiday shopping season, between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Adobe. That’s a

blackCAT | E+ | Getty Images It’s easy to ignore finances during the holiday season. But with five weeks left in 2021, there’s still time for year-end moves to slash tax bills or boost refunds, experts say. While tax planning is a year-round process, the last couple of months may offer the chance to finalize

Audiologist examining a patient’s ear. Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Some significant changes to Medicare could be on their way. With the House passage of the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better Act on Friday, provisions that would improve Medicare have moved a step closer to becoming law. The Senate must still pass its version

House Democrats on Friday passed their $1.75 trillion spending package with a temporary increase for the limit on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. The bill would boost the limit to $80,000 from 2021 through 2030 before dropping it back to $10,000 in 2031. Without changes, the current $10,000 cap

Michael Tubbs, former mayor of Stockton, California. Nick Otto | AFP | Getty Images Michael Tubbs had the odds stacked against him while growing up in Stockton, California, as the son of a young single mother and an incarcerated father. Tubbs, 31, felt the expectations for his life as a Black man in America were

A worker helps a customer at the Presidente Supermarket in Miami on April 13, 2020. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Workers across the U.S. are wondering how rising inflation might be impacting their take-home pay. Inflation has risen more than expected. In October, consumer prices increased 0.9% and pushed the year-over-year gain to 6.2%, hitting

Chesnot | Getty Images As the end of the year approaches, there are still ways to reduce cryptocurrency tax bills, financial experts say. The IRS generally defines cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes, and investors must pay levies on the difference between the purchase and sales price.  If there’s a profit on assets held for less than

Student debt balances among 2020 graduates remained at an all-time high. Last year’s borrowing graduates in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Delaware owed close to $40,000 for their bachelor’s degree, on average, according to a report by the Institute for College Access and Success. More from Personal Finance:How to shop early and still get the best

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks at a press conference, along with House Democratic leadership, after the House passed the Build Back Better Act on Nov. 19, 2021. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday that would make the child tax credit fully refundable

Getty Images Many Americans are having a crisis of confidence when it comes to whether their savings will meet their retirement goals. To that point, 52% of working Americans feel they are behind on their retirement savings, according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. They may be on to something. There’s a $4 trillion difference

David Espejo | Moment | Getty Images Many Americans are suffering from sticker shock after seeing prices rise in recent months. A new survey from Country Financial finds that 88% of Americans are highly concerned about inflation. That’s as consumer prices soared to a more than 30-year record high in October, as measured by a

MoMo Productions | DigitalVision | Getty Images Retirees are coming out of retirement, and that’s a good sign for the labor market. Early retirements among older Americans were among the many labor distortions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to economists, as health risks and other factors led many to leave their jobs. But there’s

Amid the nationwide labor shortage, businesses are tapping an unlikely pool of talent: teenagers. Alonzo Soliz, who runs two Tropical Smoothie Café franchises in Cedar Park, Texas, said teens now comprise 90% of his workforce. “We couldn’t get anyone to apply and when we did start hiring people, everyone wanted higher wages,” he said. Soliz

Ty Wright | Bloomberg | Getty Images If you’re nearing the end of your car lease, don’t assume another one is your best option this time around. While many consumers go from lease to lease — which puts them in a new vehicle every few years — the pandemic has upended the auto industry. This