Tag: Personal Finances

Labor Department Proposes New Fiduciary Rule to Protect Investors

It seems like an issue everyone can agree on: Financial professionals should be required to handle our retirement money with the utmost care, putting investors’ interests first. But that type of care comes in degrees, and deciding exactly how far advisers should go has been the center of heated debate for nearly 15 years, pitting […]

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The State Had One Woman’s Unclaimed Funds. It Turned Out to Be a Windfall

Early in 2022, Sarah F. Cox got wind that someone named Connie was looking for her. The stranger wanted to reunite Ms. Cox with some lost money under her name that the State of New York was holding. It sounded like a scam, so she didn’t bother following up immediately. But months later, Ms. Cox […]

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Retirees’ Pensions Were Restored. Debate About It Hasn’t Died.

Cathy Green has never paid much attention to what goes on in Congress. But when she learned that a federal law would allow her pension to be cut by as much as 30 percent, she became alarmed. Ms. Green, of Lake Stevens, Wash., had claimed her benefit in 2015 after people in the plan were […]

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Insurers Report Rising Hail Damage Claims

Golf balls, tennis balls, softballs. All sound like the stuff of fun games — except when they are used to describe the size of the hailstones that often accompany severe thunderstorms. Those hailstones can cause significant damage to homes and cars, a growing worry as warming temperatures fuel more destructive storms. This month, baseball-size hail, […]

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In the Markets, a Tug of War Between Big Tech and the Fed

It isn’t much of a stretch to claim that the fate of the U.S. economy and stock market this year — and, maybe, even the November elections — will be determined by the forces arrayed at two consequential meetings held 3,000 miles apart. One was a sales conference on artificial intelligence that filled a San […]

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Why Are Americans Still Down on the Economy?

Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Honestly, I didn’t think Republicans were going to try replaying Ronald Reagan’s famous line, since so much of the G.O.P.’s 2024 strategy depends on a sort of collective amnesia about the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency. Is it really a good idea to […]

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Nvidia Stock Market Value Would Be Bigger Than the World Economy

It’s not a household name quite yet, but anyone who follows the stock market knows at least a little about Nvidia. The company is the wonder of the year, a stock by which all others are measured. Nvidia designs the chips that make artificial intelligence work, and because A.I. is being hailed as the most […]

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Closing Costs for Buying a Home Have Risen Along With Rates

A pricey housing market and higher interest rates have made it harder to afford a house, but related expenses known as closing costs also add to the home-buying challenge. Typical loan closing costs when completing a home purchase — for items like loan origination fees, discount points, appraisal and credit report fees, and lender title […]

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Inside the World of People Placing Bets on Oscar Winners

On Feb. 23, John Richards traveled more than 100 miles to place bets on the Oscars. He took a train from Washington, D.C., to Wilmington, Del., and then hopped into an Uber car to take him to a truck stop in New Jersey. Once in that state, where bets are legal, he opened his DraftKings, […]

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What History and Economics Suggest About Biden-Trump, Round 2

Politics and economics have always been intertwined, often in ways that were mystifying in real time. We’re living in another of those perplexing moments. With the Super Tuesday primary results and a couple of important Supreme Court rulings behind us, it looks as if voters will face an election rematch between President Biden and his […]

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Car Deals Are Easier to Find but Lenders Are Tightening Their Terms

New cars are more available this spring, and manufacturers have even begun offering deals to entice buyers. But at the same time, lenders have been tightening the terms of car loans as they deal with a rising number of delinquencies. That has made it harder for some people to get affordable loans. Access to auto […]

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What You Need to Know for the 2024 Tax Season

Filing your tax return serves as an annual reminder of just how tediously complex the American tax code is — and this year is no exception. It’s not as messy as the pandemic years, but there are plenty of new provisions taking effect, and some changes could potentially land midseason. Procrastination may cost you: Interest […]

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A Tax Sunset Will Change What You Owe the I.R.S.

Navigating the byzantine U.S. tax rules and completing your return may be enough of a headache. But you can count on fresh tax stress coming from Washington not far down the road. On Dec. 31, 2025, critical parts of the 2017 federal tax law are scheduled to expire. After that sunset, they would revert to […]

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Report Helps Answer the Question: Is a College Degree Worth the Cost?

Most people go to college to improve their financial prospects, though there are other benefits to attending a postsecondary institution. But as the average cost of a four-year degree has risen to six figures, even at public universities, it can be hard to know if the money is well spent. A new analysis by HEA […]

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At BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, Millions of Investors Are Getting a Voice

Index fund investing has swept the world. In December, for the first time, U.S. investors entrusted more money to index funds than actively managed funds, in which a manager picks stocks or bonds for you. There’s a good reason for the index funds’ popularity. For most people, owning a little piece of the entire market, […]

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At BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, Millions of Investors Are Getting a Voice

Index fund investing has swept the world. In December, for the first time, U.S. investors entrusted more money to index funds than actively managed funds, in which a manager picks stocks or bonds for you. There’s a good reason for the index funds’ popularity. For most people, owning a little piece of the entire market, […]

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Looking for a Lower Credit Card Interest Rate? Good Luck.

Credit card debt is rising, and shopping for a card with a lower interest rate can help you save money. But the challenge is finding one. Smaller banks and credit unions typically charge significantly lower interest rates on credit cards than the largest banks do — even among customers with top-notch credit, the Consumer Financial […]

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The Loophole for Grandparents in the New FAFSA Rules

It is a miserable year to be applying for financial aid. Millions of families probably won’t get a final price tag for college until at least April, because of a series of Education Department delays in rolling out the new FAFSA financial aid form. Students with parents who do not have a Social Security number […]

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A Mortgage After 65: A ‘No Brainer’ or a Big Risk?

Conventional wisdom dictates that retiring with debt — especially a debt as large and significant as a mortgage — is financially dicey at best and potentially ruinous at worst. That’s not how Brian Lindmeier sees it. “It just doesn’t make any sense at all to pay off the house,” he said. Mr. Lindmeier, 80, a […]

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The $50K Scam: F.T.C., C.I.A. and Amazon Weigh In on NY Magazine’s Charlotte Cowles

When New York magazine’s finance advice columnist dropped an article that went viral on Thursday about falling victim to a $50,000 scam, my heart skipped a beat. My own financial planner had gone to jail years ago, which I’d chronicled in a few columns. Nearly all of us are vulnerable to scams, at least sometimes. […]

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He Grew Up in the Shadow of the ‘Wolf of Wall Street.’ Then He Got Into Debt Settlement.

In the early 1980s, 19-year-old Jordan Belfort — who would go on to become known as the Wolf of Wall Street, a title he bestowed on himself in a tell-all memoir — had a fortuitous encounter on Jones Beach, on Long Island, with another teenager selling ice cream named Stephen Drescher. The two became friends. […]

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Some Colleges Are Pivoting as FAFSA Delays Drag On

The University of California and California State University systems on Wednesday became the latest of a growing list of schools to give applicants extensions on their intent to register, now that colleges won’t get federal financial aid data until at least March. At least 25 schools will no longer require commitments by May 1, since […]

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A New Perk for Some Student Loan Borrowers: A 401(k) Match

Student loan borrowers who are lucky enough to have access to a 401(k)-type plan, but are too stretched to save in it, may soon be helped by a new workplace benefit: Paying off their student loans can generate retirement savings contributions from their employer. Starting this year, workers with student loans can receive employer matching […]

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The Markets Want Rate Cuts but The Fed Is Taking Its Time

U.S. economic reports have been sparkling. The economy appears to be booming, the labor market looks strong and inflation seems to be on the decline. Yet this seemingly propitious combination has locked the Federal Reserve into inaction. At its policymaking meeting this week, the Fed decided to do precisely nothing. It held the main policy […]

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How Some Families Are Breaking the Rules to Complete the FAFSA

Here’s the good news: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, website is now open 24 hours a day, seven days a week after a yearslong effort to simplify the process of seeking financial assistance. This month, I watched two high school seniors and their college counselor start the forms from scratch and […]

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More Tenants Can Now Add Rent Payments to Their Credit Score

About a third of American households rent, yet in most cases their credit score doesn’t reflect their on-time payments. That’s beginning to change. Renters can increasingly choose to have their timely monthly payments reported to the credit bureaus, with the goal of improving their credit profile to qualify for loans. A bevy of third-party services […]

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Keeping a Midlife Crisis From Wrecking Your Retirement Plan

The midlife crisis is easy to poke fun at — especially if it’s someone else’s. The stereotype, as portrayed in movies and on TV, is familiar: A middle-aged man has a meltdown upon turning 40 and ditches his wife for a younger woman and a sports car. Or maybe just the car. In real life, […]

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Even if They Didn’t Apply, Some Students Get College Admission Offers

Some high school seniors have already received offers of admission to college for the next academic year — even though they didn’t formally apply. Under so-called direct admissions programs increasingly being tried by states, colleges and third-party services, seniors who meet minimum academic qualifications are receiving unsolicited notifications of admission. Once they are identified as […]

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