Personal Finance

Hero Images | Getty Images If you’re eyeing your 401(k) account to help shore up your finances amid the coronavirus crisis, there are a couple of penalty-free ways you can do it if your employer allows it. Just be sure you’re aware of the long-term implications. Each of the options available — a loan or

Scammers gravitate to tightened finances like moths to a flame. To complicate matters, shelter-in-place restrictions have pushed people to make more online transactions. That means new opportunities for fraudsters to take advantage of seniors who may be new digital accountholders. Between financial worries and health fears about the novel coronavirus, it’s a time to be

Business owners who received a forgivable loan through the Paycheck Protection Program are likely getting more leeway on how to spend those funds.   The Senate passed legislation Wednesday night that restructures how entrepreneurs can use loans issued through a new federal relief program for small businesses ailing from the economic contagion unleashed by the coronavirus

If you’ve taken out a loan against your 401(k) savings account and lose your job, it could generate an unexpected tax bill. While recent economic rescue legislation provided some relief for coronavirus-related 401(k) loans, they still are subject to certain existing rules when you separate from your company, whether by choice or not. And that

Corporate and nonprofit leaders are echoing the anger, pain and frustration expressed by many Americans after the death of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes. On Monday several black leaders in business

For scammers, it’s open season on your stimulus checks. Bolster, a fraud prevention company, turned up more than 145,000 suspicious domain registrations with the term “stimulus check,” according to the firm’s first-quarter analysis of phishing and online fraud. The federal government has issued more than 152 million so-called Economic Impact Payments to individuals, totaling $257.9

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images Millions of Americans are suffering financially amid the gradual reopening of the U.S. economy. And there are multiple ways the U.S. government could extend more relief. The question is which one it will choose — and exactly how much cash could end up in your wallet. As the coronavirus pandemic

The coronavirus may have you thinking more about your mortality. After all, what if…? Pandemic or not, it’s important to consider what would happen to your bank accounts, your home, your belongings — i.e., everything you own — and, perhaps, your dependents, if you’re no longer here. In other words, you should prepare a will

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) after a May 19 closed Senate Republican policy lunch meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Yuri Gripas | Reuters The president is warming up to the idea. Most Democrats are down. But will Republicans get behind the idea of a second round of

Erik Von Weber Many people take an economics class at some point during their education. Most, however, didn’t expect to use what they’ve learned in their own lives. But this graduation season is different. Economics is about making decisions under uncertainty. If there has ever been an uncertain time to start adulthood, it’s now. So

Workers who can do their jobs from home are being forced to do so by the coronavirus, and many of these workers feel fortunate, even if they feel that they are working harder. Miguel Pereira | Getty Images As the coronavirus has forced businesses, restaurants, stores and theaters across the country to shut down, a

If you’d like to make your kitchen or your beach house into your permanent office, think about what it might mean for your taxes. Social distancing orders in light of the coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to send workers home and have them work remotely. The trend might continue. Indeed, 3 out of 4 chief

University of Michigan tiny-al | Getty Images Although the upcoming academic year remains in limbo, the University of Michigan said it is taking steps to bring students back on campus in the fall. “The average student is very anxious to get out of mom and dad’s basement and come back to school,” President Mark Schlissel

For some, this is a chance to save like never before. The personal savings rate hit a historic 33% in April, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday, by far the highest level of saving since the department started tracking data in the 1960s. With Americans largely sheltering at home, this historical spike in

NoDerog | iStock | Getty Images Millions of Americans have received their economic stimulus payments of up to $1,200 a person. But some are taking a look at those sums and wondering what happened. Some are finding that those checks are made out for less than they were expecting. Others may find that they receive

Getty Images Taxpayers marooned at home will now be able to submit amended income tax returns to the IRS electronically. The tax agency announced on Thursday that it would begin accepting amended returns via e-file this summer. Once the e-file option becomes available, filers will only be able to amend their 2019 return. Remember, you

Squaredpixels | E+ | Getty Images If you’re like most Americans, you are probably watching Capitol Hill closely to see if new relief legislation will include another round of stimulus checks. To ensure you get that money, you would also be wise to do something else – file your federal tax returns, if you haven’t

A House bill with bipartisan support would allow 2020 college graduates to postpone their student loan payments for three years without interest accruing.  Meanwhile, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has introduced legislation in the Senate that would do the same.  “Students graduating from college this year are suddenly facing significant hurdles entering the workforce,” Romney said

Justin Horrocks | Vetta | Getty Images Laid-off employees who reject an offer of rehire may wind up being reported to the state unemployment office if their company took a forgivable federal loan. The Paycheck Protection Program is a federal loan program that was established by the CARES Act. It covers up to eight weeks

Certain jobs and industries are benefiting from enhanced unemployment pay more than others — and have the most to gain from an extension of benefits.  Workers in lower-paying sectors of the economy, such as accommodation and food services, benefit more from the unemployment increase than those in finance and insurance that pay workers better. And the difference

Medical workers transport a patient outside a special Covid-19 area at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, on May 17. Johannes Eisele | Getty Images If you’re collecting more on unemployment than what you earned while working, it could affect how much you pay for health insurance. For households that bought coverage through one

Canceled that flight to Cancun or that cruise out of Miami to the Caribbean? You’re not alone. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic and worries over health and safety, many Americans will opt to “staycation” this year and holiday at home or nearby. “We’re seeing a trend overall [that] people are booking trips closer to

We are all getting back to the basics. While it might feel good to bake bread, the best way to get through the coronavirus pandemic could be to stock your emergency fund and learn to “do-it-yourself” with household chores so you can save on expenses.  One bright spot: You might have more time on your

Hero Images | Getty Images Traditionally, parents pay a premium so their children can play capture the flag, drink bug juice and swim in a lake through August. This year, of course, summer camp looks very different. Amid the coronavirus crisis, many camps have cancelled their summer sessions, others have moved online and a few

Lillian Johnson, 77, pictured outside her East Meadow, New York, nursing home. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, her son was unable to visit her for two months. Lamont Johnson Lamont Johnson lives just about two miles from his mother’s nursing home in Long Island, New York. He has not been able to visit her for about

College graduates will soon be hit with their first student loan bill aywan88 | E+ | Getty Images When Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race, it seemed that proposals to tackle student loan debt would go away, too.  They haven’t. Between the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and

More than 38 million people have filed for jobless claims since the coronavirus pandemic started. The unexpected loss in income is causing many Americans to tap their retirement savings just to make ends meet.  And many people who lost a job — or have a spouse or partner whose income has declined — didn’t have

SDI Productions Americans could use a financial boost. How to get that money into people’s hands has been a hot topic of debate. Democrats have proposed expanding unemployment insurance and giving Americans as much as $2,000 per month to get back on their feet. Meanwhile, one Republican proposal has called for giving Americans $11,000 now in

Hispanolistic Over 152 million stimulus checks have been issued to individuals over the last six weeks, according to data from the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service. In all, the agencies have distributed $257.9 billion in Economic Impact Payments. Uncle Sam began depositing the funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts in mid-April. The average payment came

Workers are back on the job at the the construction site of new towers near Government Center in downtown Boston on May 19, 2020. As the state economy cautiously begins to reopen, construction projects resume. (Photo by Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) Boston Globe Another round of coronavirus relief for Americans may hinge