Personal finance

A new Bankrate ranking found the Austin, Texas, metro area is the best for first-time home purchasers. Roschetzkyistockphoto | Istock | Getty Images Prospective buyers looking to secure the purchase of their first home this spring will still face a difficult market. Yet there are signs some areas of the country may provide more opportunity

Damir Khabirov If you’re eager to capture higher yields amid rising interest rates, you may consider a Treasury bill ladder, depending on your goals, according to financial experts. Backed by the U.S. government, Treasury bills, or T-bills, are widely considered a relatively safe asset, with terms of four weeks to 52 weeks. You receive the

Newsday Llc | Newsday | Getty Images If you’re among the people who leased an auto in 2020 and are nearing the end of that agreement, you may want to check what the car is worth before turning it in. The average trade-in value of cars leased in 2020 is 19% more ($3,965) than the

People walk past a mural of George Floyd by the Cup Foods where he was killed by Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images When George Floyd was murdered by police in 2020, the event brought a “scary” time for the Minneapolis neighborhood where it occurred. “Everything was

Shoppers look at items displayed at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2023. Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images A new U.S. government reading showing persistent high inflation rattled Wall Street on Friday. Consumers can expect the rate of price growth will likely stay higher than average through 2023. “Inflation is

MStudioImages | E+ | Getty Images If you’re looking for a relatively safe place for cash, Treasury bills have recently become more attractive, experts say. Backed by the U.S. government, Treasury bills, or T-bills, have terms ranging from four weeks up to 52 weeks, and investors receive interest when the asset matures. Over the past

Pixelfit | E+ | Getty Images Falling behind on federal student loans is likely to trigger other major financial consequences for borrowers, according to new research by The Pew Charitable Trusts. More than 80% of borrowers who experienced default stated that they’d faced at least one additional consequence as a result. The most common impact

Urbazon | E+ | Getty Images Democratic lawmakers in Washington are renewing a proposal to give every American child $1,000 at birth. The “baby bond” funds, called American Opportunity Accounts, would then be topped off with up to $2,000 per year, depending on a family’s income. The accounts would be federally insured and managed by

dowell | Moment | Getty Images If you’re looking for ways to trim your yearly tax bill, experts may check your portfolio, since some assets are more likely to trigger taxes in certain accounts. Your 401(k) account offers tax-deferred growth, meaning you won’t owe levies on yearly income, such as dividends and capital gains. By

Gremlin | E+ | Getty Images There’s often a chasm between theory and practice, what we should do and what we actually do. Yet, when it comes to the long-held advice for renters to not spend more than 30% of their income on housing, the target is increasingly impossible to even try to reach, experts

SDI Productions Despite the cooling market, many homeowners made money selling their property in 2022 — and part of that windfall may be taxable. Home sellers made a $112,000 profit on the typical sale in 2022, a 21% increase from 2021, and a 78% jump from two years ago, according to ATTOM, a nationwide property

Olezzo | iStock | Getty Images There’s no question 2022 was a rough year for investors. With record-high inflation, economic uncertainty and aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve to combat rising prices, stocks took a beating. All three of the major indexes had their worst year since 2008: The S&P 500 Index dropped