Personal finance

Betsie Van der Meer | Getty If you’re a last-minute holiday shopper still checking off the remaining gifts on your list, beware: You could be putting yourself at risk for fraud. “Procrastination is, quite frankly, one of the keys to success for crooks,” Paul Fabara, chief risk officer at Visa, recently told CNBC. “They assume that

The Good Brigade | DigitalVision | Getty Images After a two-year hiatus on automated collection notices, the IRS said it will soon resume sending such letters — and experts have tips if you receive one.  In February 2022, the agency suspended automated collection notices to devote resources to its backlog of unprocessed correspondence and returns.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Brendan McDermid | Reuters More than a year after single-stock exchange-traded funds hit the U.S. market, risk-seeking investors continue to dive in. Single-stock ETFs were first introduced in Europe in 2018. There are now nearly four dozen single-stock ETFs in the U.S., many of

Maskot | Maskot | Getty Images Both new and used car purchases were expensive for drivers this year, as limited inventory and high borrowing costs affected affordability. “Interest rates have taken such a toll on purchasing power,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds. Yet, consumers might begin to see lower prices in 2024,

10’000 Hours | Digitalvision | Getty Images Consumers pumped record money into annuities in 2023, on the back of higher interest rates and anxiety about the stock market and U.S. economy, experts said. Americans bought about $360 billion of annuities this year, according to an estimate by Limra, an insurance industry group. That would handily

Medianews Group | Getty Images The Powerball jackpot has soared to an estimated $572 million — and the big winner may wonder when the best time is to claim their prize. It’s the fourth Powerball jackpot to exceed $500 million in 2023, and there have been 29 consecutive drawings without a winner. The next Powerball

GlobalStock | Getty Images Workers who turn 62 years old might be tempted to increase their income by claiming Social Security retirement benefits. But those claimants should understand that their Social Security benefits may be temporarily reduced due to the income they earn. That Social Security rule — the retirement earnings test — is “poorly

Inflation may be cooling, but households are still feeling squeezed. After its last policy meeting of the year, the Federal Reserve said inflation has “eased over the past year” while maintaining that prices are “elevated.”  However, the number of households stretched thin has barely budged. As of November, 62% of adults said they are living

Catherine Falls Commercial | Moment | Getty Images The page has almost turned on 2023 — and that means time is running out to make certain tax moves by year’s end, or else risk missing out on their benefits. Here are some tax strategies to consider before ringing in the new year, according to advisors

Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images When it comes to the holidays, there’s one thing most workers don’t want to receive: a pink slip. But that’s exactly what some employees are getting this year. Citigroup is in the midst of layoffs as part of a corporate overhaul. Other companies to recently shed workers include e-commerce

Scott Olson | Getty The Powerball jackpot has jumped to an estimated $543 million without a winner from Saturday night’s drawing. It’s the fourth Powerball jackpot to rise above half a billion dollars in 2023, and there are two grand prize options: a lump sum payout of $272.2 million or an annuitized payout of $543

Bymuratdeniz | E+ | Getty Images In October, the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments expired, and the bills resumed for some 22 million people. Just 60% of those borrowers had made a payment by mid-November, new U.S. Department of Education data shows. In a recent blog post on the findings, U.S. Department of Education