No, you didn’t hit the $520 million Mega Millions jackpot. The lottery game’s top prize has climbed to a whopping $600 million for Tuesday night’s drawing, following no ticket matching all six numbers drawn Friday night. The amount marks the 8th-largest jackpot in lottery history. And Powerball’s jackpot, meanwhile, is an estimated $470 million for […]
Anyone who graduates with a massive pile of student debt has some tough choices to make. Refinance to a seemingly cheaper private loan? Keep your federal student loan and pay it off in the standard way? Take advantage of forbearance to put payments off? A look at three new doctors, each facing $250,000 in debt, […]
President-elect Joe Biden will ask Congress to immediately cancel $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers and to extend the payment pause that’s scheduled to lapse this month, an aide told reporters Friday afternoon. The $900 billion pandemic aid package passed in December didn’t include an extension of the payment pause for student loan borrowers […]
Not everyone has access to a 401(k) plan through a job, so if your employer happens to offer one, you might consider yourself lucky. That said, not all 401(k)s are created equal, and while they do come with much higher annual contribution limits than IRAs, they’re not your only retirement savings option. Here are a […]
Here’s a retirement planning tip for 2021: Think of your retirement savings plan as a ship passing through ocean waves. You are the captain. And it’s your job to keep that ship off shoals that could sink it. It’s your job to avoid nasty currents that can delay its progress. How can you do your […]
In the stimulus package signed into law last month, the national ban on evictions was extended through January and a $25 billion pot of money was established for renters struggling amid the health and economic crisis. That money will help to keep many of the 14 million Americans who are behind on their rent in their homes during the coldest months of […]
You’ve likely heard financial experts tout the wisdom of delaying retirement. A few extra years of working can deliver higher Social Security income and a fatter savings balance. But the real question is, what’s the dollar value of those outcomes? If you’re at all worried about making ends meet once your paycheck goes away, you […]
Making 401(k) contributions is often autopilot investing, which can be a good thing. You’re practicing dollar-cost averaging, which means you automatically invest regularly whether stocks are up or down. Because you fund a 401(k) through payroll deductions, you probably don’t even miss the money you invest. But you don’t want to go into complete hands-off […]
After a year as challenging as 2020, with a pandemic and other economic stressors, many people turned to retail therapy as a way to soothe temporary frustrations. Or maybe you engaged in a trend that has been dubbed “guilt gifting”—sending more gifts than usual to people because you feel bad for them or what they’re […]
When a loved one receiving Social Security benefits passes away, you may wonder how the government knows to stop sending that monthly money. Or, maybe there’s a surviving spouse or dependent who relied on that income and wonders whether some sort of payment can continue. While Social Security rules can be complicated, the bottom line […]
By the time you hit age 40, you should have a decent amount of cash saved up — both for emergencies and your future retirement goals. But saving is hard. It takes concerted time and effort, and for best results? You need to start early. Have you started saving for your future yet? Just want to […]
If your new year’s resolution includes a savings goal, consider the 52-week money challenge. The increments you save are meant to be so small that you barely notice you’ve been saving money. Is it a gimmick? Absolutely—but it works. The 52-week money challenge explained The challenge is quite simple. Each week you put an increment […]
