Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington, April 2, 2021. Erin Scott | Reuters Most American workers dream of a comfortable retirement. Yet many find their money falls short of meeting that goal when they reach their golden years. Much of the problem has to do
Personal finance
New cars are getting increasingly expensive. But they’re also more durable than before, which means drivers have a better chance of getting their money’s worth. As the average transaction price for new cars reached an estimated $45,872 in November — the highest on record, according to a joint forecast from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive —
Marko Geber | Digitalvision | Getty Images Some men may need a bigger push than women when it comes to participating in their workplace retirement-savings plan, new research suggests. In 401(k) plans with automatic enrollment — meaning employees must opt out if they don’t want to participate — 93% of both men and women remain
10’000 Hours If you’re expecting a tax refund in 2023, it may be smaller than this year’s payment, according to the IRS. Typically, you get a federal refund when you’ve overpaid yearly taxes or withheld more than the amount you owe. Your annual balance is based on taxable income, calculated by subtracting the greater of
Holger Scheibe | The Image Bank | Getty Images The rate of job cut announcements at U.S. employers in November was more than five times greater than a year ago, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Overall, U.S.-based firms announced 76,835 job cuts in November, led by the technology sector. So far this
Americans are increasingly finding alternative ways to satisfy their holiday wish lists as they continue to grapple with high prices and inflation. In many cases, that means opting for flexible payment plans. On Black Friday through Cyber Monday, buy now, pay later payments through companies such as Klarna, Zip, Zilch, Affirm and Afterpay jumped 85% compared with
Consumers spent a record $9.12 billion online shopping during Black Friday and another record $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday, according to the most recent data from Adobe. So far this November, consumers have spent $107.7 billion online overall, up nearly 10% from last year. Yet roughly 60% of Americans were living paycheck to paycheck heading into the month. “Shoppers
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Digitalvision | Getty Images In between eating leftover turkey and hunting for bargains amid holiday sales, be sure to review your Medicare coverage, if you haven’t already. The program’s annual open enrollment period, which began Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7, is when you can make changes, which will take
Thomas Barwick | Digitalvision | Getty Images Many families struggle to come up with the cash when faced with an unexpected $400 expense. That lack of emergency savings may force them to borrow money at high interest rates to pay for the surprise expense, putting their financial security at risk. Now Congress has a window
President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images It’s been almost three years since people with federal student loans have had to make a payment on their debt, and the Biden administration recently announced that borrowers have even more time. In March 2020, when the
People shop at a grocery store on June 10, 2022 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images The average American household is spending $433 more a month to buy the same goods and services it did a year ago, according to a Moody’s Analytics analysis of October inflation data. While down slightly from
Prostock-studio | Istock | Getty Images In the rush at the store checkout this holiday season, you may be tempted to say yes when asked if you want to apply for a store credit card — especially if you’re offered extra savings on that day’s purchase. But there is good reason to think twice this