Personal Finance

dowell | Moment | Getty Images As stocks continue to hit record highs, you may be thinking about taking up investing. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, investors have been piling into stocks and alternative investments such as cryptocurrency. Fully 15% of current retail investors began playing the stock market in 2020, according to a Charles

New travel app Elude matches users and their budgets with affordable trips. Herman Sheer | Elude Thinking about finally taking that vacation, yet all you’re sure about is your budget? How about just your preferred activities, or that you want to pay for it with loyalty points? There are now travel apps for that —

Joan Bronson, of Chalmette Louisiana, is being treated for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, U.S., August 10, 2021. Kathleen Flynn | Reuters Persistent fatigue. Shortness of breath. Migraine headaches. These are a few of the symptoms that long-haul Covid-19 sufferers face. For some, it can make it impossible

Hero Images | Getty Images You may know that once you reach age 65, you’re eligible for Medicare. What surprises many people, say experts, is the cost. Even as Democratic lawmakers in Congress want to expand the health insurance program to cover dental, vision and hearing as part of their $3.5 trillion budget plan, those

Vstock LLC | Getty Images Federal stimulus and enhanced tax credits have provided benefits to millions of Americans. However, some low-income workers may not receive a boost. The earned income tax credit, known as the EITC or EIC, offers a write-off for low- and moderate-income families. To qualify, taxpayers must have earned income — wages

New York City housing advocates and tenants march to demand Gov. Andrew Cuomo cancel rent amid the pandemic on Oct. 10, 2020. Andrew Lichtenstein | Corbis News | Getty Images A U.S. judge rejected on Friday a request by landlord groups to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new eviction moratorium. The decision

In this article TREE darekm101 | Getty Image Big-city dwellers may dream of slashing expenses by moving to the country. But owning a home in a small town can be just as costly as a major metropolis — and in some cases, properties may be pricier. That’s according to a study from LendingTree, which analyzed

andresr | E+ | Getty Images “The Great Resignation” is apparently still going strong across America. In fact, some people want to quit their jobs so badly, they are willing to go into debt to do it, a survey from Credit Karma found. Currently, 38% of U.S. workers are seeking employment elsewhere and 41% are

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22, 2021. Demetrius Freeman | Pool | Reuters The Senate approved a $3.5 trillion budget resolution early Wednesday after 14 hours of debate. Voting along party lines, Democrats blocked an amendment from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa,

10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images New Consumer Price Index data points to a possible 6.2% cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security recipients for 2022, according to the latest estimate from the Senior Citizens League. That’s up from a 6.1% estimate the nonpartisan senior advocacy group projected last month. Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment is

Alex Potemkin | E+ | Getty Images Being ultra-tech-savvy apparently isn’t enough to protect you from online scams, a new report suggests. The number of individuals age 20 or younger — members of Generation Z who have grown up on smartphones and the internet — reporting they are victims of cyber-fraud has surged 156% over

Getty Images Young investors are flocking to social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Reddit for financial advice. In fact, one-third of Americans trust social media to help them make financial decisions, and 32% trust social media influencers and celebrities’ financial advice, a survey from investment firm TIAA found. Navigating the slew of recommendations can

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images There’s about a week left for anyone who’s uninsured to see if they qualify for free or low-cost private health insurance through the public marketplace. A special enrollment period that will end on Aug. 15 allows you to use healthcare.gov to sign up for a plan, which could come

Halfpoint | iStock | Getty Images Many Americans are looking to Labor Day with dread. That’s when some 7.5 million of them will stop receiving their unemployment benefits. The number is more than five times the 1.3 million people who lost aid in December 2013 as the country walked away from the Great Recession. Although

Tara Moore | Getty Images When the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic sent shock waves through the U.S. economy, its also prompted worries about how the ensuing downturn could affect Social Security. The program’s trust funds were already running low. At the same time, the Social Security Administration was faced with the unprecedented task of

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., second from right, speaks at a news conference in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 2021. Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images As the Senate races for its summer recess, Democrats hope to pass two priorities: a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan and a budget resolution allowing them to skirt Republican

Those who hire a lawn-care company will reap time and energy savings for a relatively small monthly cost. davidf | E+ | Getty Images During our working years, saving for the future is critical to one day achieving financial independence. At the same time, we are working to meet other financial goals, such as paying

With schools and parents divided on mask and vaccine requirements, many school districts are planning to be fully in person in the fall — and hoping for the best. “We are all in this together,” said Michael Lubelfeld, superintendent of North Shore School District, just north of Chicago.   Lubelfeld said he will follow Illinois

The Biden administration announced Friday it will extend the payment pause for federal student loan borrowers through January 2022. Since March 2020, borrowers have been given the option to press the pause button on their monthly bills, without interest accruing on their debt. Some 90% of borrowers have been doing so. The pause was scheduled

More than 11 million Americans continue to report being behind on their rent. How much renters owe varies greatly from one state and county to the next, according to data provided to CNBC by Surgo Ventures, a nonprofit organization focusing on health and data. Across the country, the average renter in arrears owes $3,700. The

It might be time, again, to protect your credit. An estimated 1 million U.S. and global credit cards were released by a Russian criminal organization on the so-called dark web, according to analysts at cybersecurity firm Q6. The group, which calls itself “All World Cards,” offers stolen credit card information to other criminals. Although there’s

FG Trade | E+ | Getty Images Sometimes, older Americans discover that retirement just isn’t a good fit. Whether due to needing more income or wanting personal fulfillment, many older Americans head back to work after calling it quits. Of workers age 65 or older, 40% had previously retired at some point, according to a

kate_sept2004 | E+ | Getty Images Many Americans were financially squeezed even before the Covid-19 pandemic began. As of 2019, 41% of households ages 25 to 64 said they did not have enough saved to cover an unexpected $400 expense, according to Federal Reserve data. One reason they may have had trouble setting aside cash:

Joe Raedle | Getty Images News | Getty Images Most states are re-imposing a requirement to look for work as a condition of getting unemployment benefits — and the holdouts may soon do the same. So-called “work search” rules have long been a condition for the jobless to receive income support from the government. It

No-Mad | iStock | Getty Images The Biden administration is expected to announce a new federal eviction moratorium on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. The eviction ban will be targeted at areas of the country experiencing high levels of coronavirus infections. The protection will last for 60 days until Oct. 3,

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images A Senate infrastructure measure unveiled this week would pull $31 billion from a Covid disaster-loan program for businesses. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program was one of the mechanisms Congress used to help ailing businesses stay afloat during the pandemic. It was initially plagued by issues such as delays

pcess609 If nothing changes, the federal government’s break from payments for student loan borrowers will come to an end next month. For the first time since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. and crippled the economy, millions of borrowers will have to resume paying their monthly bills. The typical federal student loan

Bill Oxford | iStock | Getty Images Although the national ban on evictions is now over, a number of states have issued their own protections for renters that will last for months more. These local policies can buy tenants time to get approved for federal rental assistance and help them to stay in their homes.

Los Angeles County Regional Food Bank workers help with food distribution in Willowbrook, California on April 29, 2021. FREDERIC J. BROWN | AFP | Getty Images Millions of jobless Americans are poised to lose Covid-era income support in about a month’s time. This impending “benefits cliff” appears different from others that loomed this past year,

d3sign | Moment | Getty Images Around 4 million children in low-income families are at risk of not getting a monthly payment of the expanded child tax credit this year, according to a report published Thursday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The IRS began issuing monthly payments of the tax credit on