Personal finance

Viewstock | View Stock | Getty Images Last year, Americans’ confidence that they would have enough money to live comfortably in retirement fell the most since the global financial crisis. New research shows both workers’ and retirees’ confidence has not recovered. But some signs of optimism have emerged, particularly as wage growth now outpaces inflation

A man stands outside his flooded home after heavy rain in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 13, 2023. Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images The warming planet is already proving expensive. U.S. weather and climate disasters cost more than $617 billion between 2018 and 2022 — a record figure, according to the U.S. Department

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel testifies during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the fiscal 2024 IRS budget and the IRS’ 2023 filing season, in the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2023. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images This season, more than 140,000 taxpayers successfully filed returns using IRS Direct

Taylor Swift accepts the Best Pop Vocal Album award for “Midnights” onstage during the 66th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 2024. Kevin Mazur | Getty Images When Taylor Swift on April 19 surprised the world with “The Tortured Poets Department,” a double album complete with 31 self-composed songs, there

Woman doing bookkeeping at home. Guido Mieth | DigitalVision | Getty Images Borrowers hoping for student loan forgiveness have just a few more days to act before an April 30 deadline. Those who request a so-called loan consolidation before the end of this month — which will combine their federal student loans into one new

Enes Evren When you receive equity compensation from an employer, it typically requires a comprehensive financial plan — and restricted stock units are no exception. In 2000, only 20% of public companies granted restricted stock or restricted stock units, primarily for senior executives or higher, according to the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals. That percentage, however, has

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images Health care, long an ailing stock market sector, has recovered over the past six months, with currently robust vital signs and strong growth projections. The recovery comes after the sector failed to make good on positive expectations for 2022 based on estimates of pent-up demand for physician

Morsa Images | E+ | Getty Images If you work for a publicly traded company, you may have access to discounted company shares via an employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP. While the benefit can be valuable, you need to know the rules and risks before opting into your company’s plan, financial experts say. In

If TikTok is any guide, more women are taking a traditional approach to romantic partnerships: Some say they are even opting out of the workforce entirely in favor of the so-called “soft life,” centered around their home, their family and their own wellbeing. (Re-)enter the “tradwife,” one of social media’s growing trends. It shows a

The U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Biden administration issued a final rule on Tuesday that cracks down on the investment advice that advisors, brokers, insurance agents and others give to retirement savers. The U.S. Department of Labor regulation — which follows a rule proposal in October —

US President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt relief at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wisconsin, April 8, 2024.  Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images After the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s first plan to forgive student debt last summer, his administration set out to create a relief package that would

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images The federal tax deadline was April 15 for most filers — and if you missed it, you should file your return and pay your balance as soon as possible, experts say. If you still owe taxes for 2023, you’ll continue racking up penalties and interest until you file