Personal finance

Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images Over the last three years, while student loan payments were on pause, many borrowers probably thought, “I could get used to this.” Fortunately, you may be able to finish paying off your student debt sooner than you thought, experts say. They shared tips on how to make that

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images You may want to think twice before scanning that QR code. The codes — a digital jumble of black and white squares, often used for storing URLs — have become seemingly ubiquitous, found on restaurant menus and in retail stores, for example. However, they can pose risks for the

A simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid is set to roll out by the end of the month. However, the new FAFSA may launch with outdated inflation figures, which could mean many students “will get less financial aid than they deserve,” according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “It is a pretty big deal,” he said. “We are

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images Millions of people move money from a workplace 401(k) plan to an individual retirement account each year. Such “rollovers” are common when workers retire or take new jobs at different employers. More than 5.6 million people rolled a combined $618 billion into IRAs in 2020, according to the latest

Young people using cellphones. Filippobacci | E+ | Getty Images Gen Z women are driving spending trends on TikTok. Women in their 20s spend more time on the short-form video app than male peers of their generation, and it’s exposing them to a financial risk. “TikTok is a Gen Z women-centric app and it is

Vesna Andjic | E+ | Getty Images With roughly one month left in 2023, there’s still time to reduce your tax bill or boost your refund, experts say. Typically, you can expect a federal refund when you overpay annual taxes or withhold more than the total owed. The average refund for 2023 was $3,054, as

JGI/Jamie Grill If you funneled cash into money market mutual funds in 2023 amid rising interest rates, you may have a surprise tax bill in April, experts say. Investors and institutions have piled $5.84 trillion into money market mutual funds, as of Nov. 29, according to the Investment Company Institute, and many funds are paying

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images As 2023 comes to an end, you may have just a few weeks left to use any leftover money in your health-care flexible savings account.  Employer-sponsored FSAs allow you to save pretax dollars and use the funds for qualified medical expenses. An individual can save up to $3,050

Pedestrians walk in front of the IBM building in New York. Scott Mlyn | CNBC IBM, which decades ago helped lead the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, recently told U.S. employees it will be scrapping its 401(k) match in favor of funding what it calls a “retirement benefit account.” Other companies

Black Friday shoppers leave the Nike store as other shoppers wait in line to shop as retailers compete to attract shoppers and try to maintain margins on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, New York, U.S. November 24, 2023.  Vincent Alban |

Getty Images If you’re planning to donate to charity on Giving Tuesday, it can be tricky to claim a deduction on your taxes, experts say. Americans funneled an estimated $3.1 billion to their favorite organizations in 2022, a 15% increase from 2021, according to GivingTuesday. While tax breaks generally aren’t the main reason for giving,

Team of millennial colleagues sharing ideas for new business start up, togetherness, innovation, diversity 10’000 Hours | Digitalvision | Getty Images More workers are getting access to a Roth savings option in their 401(k) plans. In 2022, 89.1% of employers that sponsor a 401(k) plan allowed workers to set aside money in a Roth account,