Personal Finance

Americans are experiencing three pandemics right now, according to wellness expert and best-selling author Deepak Chopra. The first is the Covid-19 pandemic and loss of life associated with the virus, he said. The second is the concurrent financial crisis hitting people across the country. “The third pandemic is anxiety and stress and fear of death,”

filadendron Social media isn’t just for selfies and connecting with your coworkers and family anymore — it can also be a great place to learn about managing your money and even find a financial advisor. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram have surged in popularity in the last decade as places to socialize

Cocoa the dog with Sarah O’Brien the personal finance reporter Cameron O’Brien You might think that a person who covers personal finance would be naturally smart about money in her personal life. Er, no. Not at all. Grownup financial stuff? My mistakes have been plentiful. How long has this been going on? I’m closer to

Amid coronavirus and an economic crisis, saving for college may no longer be a priority — or even a necessity. With many families struggling to stay afloat, regular contributions to a 529 college savings plan could take a back seat to paying more pressing bills or daily expenses. At the same time, market volatility as

Carson Noel, right, has been unemployed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Carson Noel Carson Noel is running out of options. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in early March, two full months of work he’d lined up as a freelance journeyman in live events disappeared. “For the past seven months, I’ve been living off

Anxiety around money is spiking in the pandemic. mapodile | E+ | Getty Images Amanda Collins describes the experience of being out of work for seven months in one word: “Maddening.” She was furloughed in March from her job in the I.T. department at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington,

Pascal Broze | Onoky | Getty Images Sometimes, an inheritance lands in your lap when you aren’t expecting it. Whether due to the untimely death of a loved one, or because you were a named heir and didn’t know it, the unplanned event may prompt uncertainty about how to handle the assets. Depending on what

An employee stands on a social distancing marker in an elevator at an office in Dallas, Texas. Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images The number of workers receiving and applying for unemployment benefits declined significantly last week, according to Labor Department figures issued Thursday. That’s good news for workers and the U.S. economy — thousands of

Chadwick Boseman attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2019. Jeff Kravitz | FilmMagic, Inc | Getty Images When “Black Panther” star Chad Boseman died almost two months ago after a four-year battle with colon cancer, he didn’t have a will. Now, the fate of at least part of the 43-year-old actor’s estate

People receive food at a distribution site during the coronavirus pandemic. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Alaska and New Jersey Delays in $300 unemployment Delays are largely attributable to sluggish state administration, which has been hampered by antiquated, decades-old technology and an elevated level of jobless claims. More than 25 million

US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden are seen during the first presidential debate on a YouTube video displayed on a screen of a smartphone. United States presidential election scheduled on November 3, 2020. Pavlo Conchar | LightRocket | Getty Images Don’t let the bitterness of the

SEC chairman Jay Clayton testifies during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets on June 25. Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images Many investments available to mom-and-pop investors aren’t appropriate for that audience to buy, and should instead be held by sophisticated investors, the head of the SEC said

Katrina Wittkamp | Getty Images About three weeks into Medicare’s annual fall open enrollment, voters will choose who’s going to occupy the White House starting in January. While President Donald Trump has taken some steps to ease certain costs for Medicare beneficiaries and has proposed other changes, Democrat challenger Joe Biden has some ideas of

Washington lawmakers are hard at work to see if they can come to a compromise this week to finalize the next coronavirus stimulus relief package. The numbers continue to be a sticking point House Democrats recently passed a $2.2 trillion updated HEROES Act. The White House has reportedly agreed to $1.8 trillion in aid, though

Trump and Biden would approach the student loan crisis very differently. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images Whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins the presidency may have a significant impact on the country’s 42 million student loan borrowers. Student loans have outpaced credit card and auto debt as a burden to Americans, and

As if getting in to a top college wasn’t hard enough, Covid-19 adds a new challenge. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many would-be freshmen have decided to postpone college rather than start their education online.   As a result, colleges and universities are well below their enrollment numbers for the 2020-2021 academic year, a report shows. Overall,

In mid-September, the envelope finally arrived. As Erin Madden opened it and pulled out the debit card with her unemployment benefits on it, all she could think about was the half a year she’d waited for this moment. She had come to feel it would never happen. “I almost didn’t believe that it had finally

Morsa Images | DigitalVision | Getty Images Chances are, you aren’t seriously thinking about how to pay for long-term care when you are older. Most people only think about it at two points in their lives: when their parents need it or when they start to get much older and realize they need to have

Joe Biden and Donald Trump speak during the first U.S. presidential debate on Sept. 29, 2020. Kevin Dietsch/UPI | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have diverging views on the economic rebound that has played out after the coronavirus pandemic upended the country last spring. Trump and administration

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. Sarah Silbiger | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images Americans are hurting financially amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and that includes the nation’s seniors. Now, two House Democratic lawmakers are hoping to help retirees with a bill to increase next year’s Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., is introducing a

izusek | E+ | Getty Images The Social Security Administration announced this week that the cost-of-living adjustment for benefits in 2021 will be 1.3%. For the average retirement benefit, that amounts to just a $20 increase per month. Now, two Congressional Democrats — Reps. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and John Larson, D-Conn. — plan to propose

AJ_Watt | E+ | Getty Images This year, don’t just cram your completed 2019 income tax return into a drawer. Use it as a guideline to help you save more money. Oct. 15 is the deadline for taxpayers who sought additional time to complete the prior year’s return. Bear in mind, the taxes you owed

Amazon Prime Day, which was originally slated for July but postponed due to the pandemic, is turning into one of the biggest shopping events of the year. In fact, even I had to get in on the 48-hour extravaganza before it ends at 3 a.m. ET Thursday. Not surprisingly, Amazon devices, such as the Ring

Prisoners are getting a second chance at receiving the $1,200 stimulus checks the government sent this spring. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently ruled that the government should not withhold those checks from people solely because they are incarcerated. There are roughly 1.5 million incarcerated

Mateusz Slodkowski | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images You’ve probably heard a lot about the best deals on Amazon Prime Day, which started at midnight PT (3 a.m. ET) on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. But there are also certain items you likely want to hold off on purchasing during the sale period,

Getty Images Social Security beneficiaries will see a 1.3% increase to their monthly checks in 2021. The amount was announced on Tuesday by the Social Security Administration, and was in line with previous estimates. Last month, The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan advocacy group for older Americans, projected a 1.3% boost, based on available Consumer

Millions of Americans are hoping another $1,200 stimulus check will make it to their bank accounts. Whether that happens or not depends on Congress. Republicans, Democrats and the White House still have not been able to strike a compromise on how much to spend and where to provide aid for the next coronavirus stimulus package.

It’s that time of year again — open enrollment season is approaching, giving many Americans an opportunity to sit down and go over their employer-sponsored workplace benefits for next year. This year, amid the coronavirus pandemic, more than 70% of employees plan to spend more time reviewing voluntary benefit options offered by their employer, according

James M. Dahle, MD, founder of The White Coat Investor. James M Dahle, MD It has been recognized for years that our health can be affected by our wealth, or lack thereof. Stress is a major contributor to both mental and physical health, and financial issues are one of the biggest stressors around. In my

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act into law on Aug. 14, 1935. FPG | Archive Photos | Getty Images Many people think of Social Security as the program their parents and grandparents rely on for financial support in retirement. For James Roosevelt, Jr., it has a special significance.  His grandfather created it.