You’ve got a workplace retirement plan. Fabulous! But there’s plenty your employer likely isn’t telling you — or doing for you —that’s costing you money. Here’s how your employer might be letting you down: We probably set you up to leave money on the table. Most workplace plans offer an employer-matching contribution, based on some sort […]
The surge in mortgage demand from homebuyers over the past two months appears to be waning, even as mortgage rates continue to drop. Mortgage applications to purchase a home fell for the second straight week, down 1% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Purchase volume was still 15% […]
When you consider the big costs in life—paying for college, buying a house, retiring—the numbers seem impossible. How, you may think, can any one person expect to save $1 million or more for retirement? How can anyone hope to put away enough money to pay for college without taking on student debt? For some privileged […]
Apple on Monday added a new feature to its Apple Card to help those who were previously rejected from opening a card. Called Path to Apple Card, the new program sends those who have been rejected details on why their application was not approved, which the company says is much easier to understand than the […]
IF YOU’VE LOOKED AT your bank account lately, you may have had a question turn over in your mind more than a few times. Am I getting a second stimulus check? There has been talk about another one coming, and in fact, on May 12, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act, short […]
Regrets are a part of life. Money regrets have a particularly sharp tang, though. It’s difficult not to look back and calculate just what that past misstep is costing you now. Nadia Malik, 36, a personal finance blogger in Dallas, wishes she’d saved more in her early 20s. “I had already been working along [going […]
For Americans knocked back by the coronavirus recession, here’s a burning question: if House and Senate lawmakers agree to send a second stimulus check before 2020 is done, how big a payment could you get? Over the coming weeks, White House advisers and members of Congress will begin to debate if a second round of […]
The economic upheaval witnessed in 2020 could shake up things even more when it comes to 401(k) plans. A small group of employers, including many in hard-hit industries such as retailing, have ratcheted down or eliminated some matching 401(k) contributions for employees during the latest recession. We saw these type of 401(k) adjustments during the […]
A divide-and-conquer approach to managing a household seems essential during COVID-19. For married and partnered couples with kids, juggling work (or the anxiety of a layoff), home schooling and the emotional and physical challenges of shelter-in-home is insanely demanding. Relying on one’s significant other to handle X and Y while you nail down A and […]
Social Security has undergone quite a few changes over the years since the federal program was established in 1935. For decades, most of these changes involved expanding the program to cover more people and offer more benefits. Some changes, though, did negatively some Social Security recipients, including taxing benefits in some cases and increasing the […]
Many people relate to 401(k) and 403(b) plans, which feature optional employer matching contributions. (There are other plan types such as the SIMPLE plan, which offers an employer match, which we are leaving out of this article.) Some employees say that if the company does not match their contribution, they simply won’t save. But a […]
For more than eight decades, the Social Security program has played a critical role in providing a financial foundation for our nation’s retired workers. According to the Centers for Budget and Policy Priorities, it singlehandedly pulls more than 15 million retirees out of poverty every year. But it’s also a program that’s facing serious financial […]
