Wealth Management

Solstock | E+ | Getty Images Halloween trick-or-treaters and jack-o-lanterns can be downright scary — for your homeowners insurance policy. There is a 14% jump in homeowners insurance claims on Halloween compared to other days of the year, according to Travelers Insurance. Theft on premises claims jump 46%. Trips or falls, thefts, fire and pet-related accidents

The US Department of Treasury in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2024.  Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced new Series I bond rates.  Linked to inflation, newly purchased I bonds will pay 3.11% annual interest from November 1 through April 30, 2025, which is down from

Blueflames | Getty Images The rate of inflation has come down from pandemic era highs. Yet many Americans still say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to new research from Bank of America. That may apply whether household income is less than $50,000 or more than $150,000. How tight household budgets are is a

Betsie Van der Meer | Getty Only one cohort of shoppers thinks they have enough financial runway to spend cash this holiday season without rolling into debt — and even so, many in that group anticipate struggling. About half, or 52%, of shoppers with incomes of $100,000 or more believe they can “easily afford” holiday

The “phased rollout“ of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid is on track for the upcoming academic year, the U.S. Department of Education says. So far, the 2025-26 FAFSA has been available to limited groups of students in a series of beta tests that began on Oct. 1. It will become available to all students

Getty Images If you’re weighing a year-end Roth individual retirement account conversion, waiting too long could be risky, financial experts say.   Roth conversions move pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which can start tax-free growth. The trade-off is upfront taxes on the converted balance, which boosts your adjusted gross income. The strategy has

Nazar_ab | E+ | Getty Images For most people, buying a home will be the biggest financial transaction they will make. It’s also generally considered a path to build wealth and increase your net worth, financial experts say. In the second quarter of 2024, U.S. homeowners with mortgages had a net homeowner equity of over

As the run-up to the U.S. presidential election has highlighted, there is a growing share of “childless cat ladies” in this country. There is also a larger share of single women with children. As marriage rates fell, the number of women heading families rose. Often, this comes with financial challenges. Many single mothers shoulder the

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images There’s still time to lower your taxes or boost your refund for 2024, financial experts say. Typically, there’s a refund when you overpay taxes during the year via withholdings or estimated payments. You can expect a tax bill when you don’t pay enough. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs

When I was a teenager, I bought my first car. It was a Toyota Tercel with a few hundred miles on it and cost less than $10,000. Granted, this was 30 years ago. Now that I have a daughter turning 17, I envisioned a similar scenario. She has worked — and saved — since the