Personal finance

Westend61 | Getty More than 72.5 million Americans will see a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment in their Social Security and Supplemental Security Income checks in 2025. Before then, beneficiaries can expect to receive a notice detailing how their monthly checks will change. In December, the notices will be available online for beneficiaries who have My Social

Mementojpeg | Moment | Getty Images The Biden administration has forgiven a record amount of federal student debt. But in about two months, President-elect Donald Trump, a vocal critic of student loan forgiveness polices, will enter the White House. Under Trump, the U.S. Department of Education is likely to abandon its efforts to deliver wide-scale

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024. Allison Robbert | Via Reuters Congressional lawmakers will soon debate expiring tax breaks and new promises from President-elect Donald Trump. Agreeing on cuts and spending, however, could be a challenge. With a

Boogich | E+ | Getty Images Lenders often encourage federal student loan borrowers to enroll in automatic payments. It can seem like a good idea to do so: Borrowers don’t need to worry about missing a payment and often get a slightly lower interest rate in exchange. However, the decision can backfire in a lending

This week, the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid expanded its “phased rollout“ so all students can now apply for aid for the upcoming academic year. Up until Monday, the 2025-26 FAFSA was only available to limited groups of students in a series of beta tests that began on Oct. 1. Now, the form is

Oscar Wong | Moment | Getty Images John Healy began investing in exchange-traded funds when he was about 18 years old. Back then, Healy said he worked as a security guard in a beach club earning an hourly wage of “$12 a pop” and relied on message boards on the internet to figure out what to

If you still haven’t booked your holiday travel plans, take note: Prices tend to rise the closer you get to the days you’re looking to travel.  To afford holiday trips, about 50% of respondents are cutting back on other expenses while 49% are picking up discounts and deals, according to the 2024 Holiday Travel Outlook

Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/Picture Alliance via Getty Images The number of older Americans who report losing more than $100,000 to fraud in a given year has more than tripled since 2020, according to the Federal Trade Commission, a trend that experts say represents a grave and growing threat to older adults’ financial security. In 2023, about 4,600

Baona | E+ | Getty Images Americans are determined to travel this holiday season — and certain workarounds are helping them take those trips.  The ability to work remotely is a major leg up when planning out itineraries. About 49% of employed travelers are “laptop luggers” — those who plan to work at some point

A customer visits Macy’s Herald Square store in New York City during early morning Black Friday sales, Nov. 24, 2023. Kena Betancur | Getty Images Typically, the five days beginning Thanksgiving Day and ending Cyber Monday are some of the busiest shopping days of the year. This year, the number of people shopping in stores

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a voting location in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 5, 2024. Samuel Corum | Afp | Getty Images When asked, “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” the answer for many older voters ages 50 and over was “no,” according to a new post-election

Izusek | E+ | Getty Images Despite a strong year for the stock market, you could still be sitting on portfolio losses. But you can leverage down assets to score a tax break, experts say. The tactic, known as “tax-loss harvesting,” involves selling losing brokerage account assets to claim a loss. When you file your