Personal finance

US President Joe Biden speaks about the progress in the fight against Covid-19, at the Sportrock Climbing Centers in Alexandria, Virginia on May 28, 2021. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images President Joe Biden released his proposed 2022 fiscal year budget on Friday, which calls for an increase of the top capital gains tax

martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images As the world opens following Covid restrictions, people are also reopening their wallets. For many, it’s exciting to be getting back to some sense of normal. It could also wreak havoc on personal finances, especially if people aren’t careful. “It’s critically important to revisit your budget and how you

Thomas M. Barwick | Getty Images As investors become more interested in cryptocurrencies, financial advisors are feeling a new urgency to offer the investments to clients. About 49% of advisors said clients have asked about cryptocurrencies in the past six months, up from 17% in 2020, according to the Financial Planning Association and the Journal

Getty Images Covid-19 vaccinations are on the rise. Mask mandates are being stripped away. Businesses are reopening. What should you do to get on track with your money during the economic recovery? The U.S. economy is showing signs of life as the country reopens and returns to a new normal following the coronavirus pandemic. Weekly

Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty Images When Jordan Wexler’s niece recently lost her first tooth, he sent her $15 along with a video of himself dancing while dressed up as a Tooth Fairy. The money was not the typical cash kids traditionally receive under their pillows. Instead, Wexler put the money toward an investment on

R.Tsubin | Moment | Getty Images The Biden administration wants to get tougher on tax cheats — and cryptocurrency is an area of interest. Virtual currencies like bitcoin and ethereum, which are collectively valued around $2 trillion, offer investors a way to shield income from tax authorities. In that way, the crypto economy contributes to

Social media personalities Dixie D’Amelio and Noah Beck at Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort on May 2, 2021 in Anaheim, California. Handout | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images The Covid pandemic made the past 14 months a literal roller coaster of a ride for both theme parks and their fans. Parks

Even though they’ve been around for decades, 529 college savings plans are still often misunderstood. The investment vehicles are a tax-advantaged way to save for college or other schooling. Earnings are free from federal tax and the funds aren’t taxed when taken out to pay for qualified expenses. Yet only 36% of Americans can correctly

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the price of higher education is an even bigger consideration for students and their families than usual. At the same time, the cost of a four-year college or university has never been higher. For the 2020-21 academic year, average tuition and fees increased 1.1% for in-state students at four-year public colleges, reaching $10,560,

U.S. President Joe Biden. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Joe Biden has a problem with broad student loan forgiveness. In a recent interview with New York Times columnist David Brooks, Biden said: “The idea that you go to Penn and you’re paying a total of 70,000 bucks a year and the public should

Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images Car shoppers hoping to cash in on Memorial Day weekend sales events may want to rein in their expectations. On top of reduced inventory due to a shortage of microchips — key parts needed for today’s autos to operate — and unrelenting consumer demand pushing prices higher, there

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Joe Biden proposed a 39.6% top tax rate on capital gains and dividends for millionaires when he released his fiscal 2022 budget request to Congress on Friday. That’s in line with the top rate the administration outlined in April as part of tax increases on

STR | NurPhoto | Getty Images Cryptocurrency has increasingly become a factor in divorce settlements as bitcoin, dogecoin and other types gain mainstream acceptance and values spike.  More than 20 million Americans may own cryptocurrency, industry groups estimate, and the digital currency market value rose to $2 trillion for the first time in April.  Whether

lisegagne | E+ | Getty Images Parents anxiously awaiting the July 15 start of the monthly child tax credit payments should start planning how they’ll use the extra money now. The child tax credit got a boost from the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. The new enhanced credit

People wait to visit a house for sale in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, on Sept. 6, 2020. Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Mortgage interest rates are near historic lows. Yet if you want to take advantage of those rates, check your credit score first. That three-digit number determines whether you can get

Douglas Sacha | Moment | Getty Images Almost 60,000 stimulus checks sent to deceased individuals have been returned voluntarily, according to a Treasury Department report issued Thursday. The funds sent back totaled $72 million. The $1,200 Economic Impact Payments were issued to households as part of the CARES Act pandemic relief law passed in March

sturti | E+ | Getty Images A new batch of $1,400 stimulus has been sent, bringing the total number of payments almost 167 million, for a total of approximately $391 billion. Since the American Rescue Plan Act was passed by Congress in March, the IRS, Treasury Department and Bureau of the Fiscal Service have announced

Kmatta More than half of Americans support states’ move to end a $300 weekly supplement to unemployment benefits months before it officially expires, according to a Quinnipiac University poll issued Wednesday. At least 23 states have announced an early end to federal unemployment programs in recent weeks. Self-employed workers and the long-term unemployed will lose

Klaus Vedfelt | Getty Images The Covid-19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock for many older workers. Even so, most do not plan to delay their retirement dates as a result, according to a report from Pew Charitable Trusts. In April 2020, the unemployment rate for workers ages 65 and up climbed to 15.6%, the highest

FatCamera | E+ | Getty Images Working families who struggle to pay for child care may get some relief from 2021 changes to flexible spending accounts. The American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden‘s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, boosted child-care assistance through temporary changes to dependent-care FSAs.  The law increased 2021 dependent-care FSA limits to $10,500