In the months before the pandemic pause on student-loans payments, interest and collections, Jennifer Booth regularly received unpleasant phone calls from her student-loan debt collector that fueled anxiety and doubt. They’d ask her questions like, “Why would you go to school at all?” Booth recalled in an interview. Outside of those phone calls, Booth felt…
I have been married for eight years. My husband and I have had our ups and downs, as most married couples do. We got married young — he was 26 and I was 25 — which was probably not the best idea, as we had only known each other about a year and a half….
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking steps toward removing all medical debt information from Americans’ credit reports, a move meant to help the millions of Americans whose credit scores drop after bills for expenses like unexpected hospital visits go unpaid. While the information surrounding most unpaid medical debts has already been removed from credit…
First, think about where you are in your career and what you need most when it comes to support from your employer.
When it comes to stuff I obsess about, here’s a short list: Why can’t I get a decent piece of pizza in New York City anymore? (I blame the dollar-slice industry.) Which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is his crowning achievement? (I’ve become convinced it’s “Evita,” not “Phantom of the Opera” or “Cats.”) And…
Dear Quentin, I have a question that might appear like a simple one, especially for all the advanced money-management folks out there and for people with more money than I have. I am 50, have very little savings, and I would like to invest $50,000. What is a good type of account to start with?…
“ Organizations bear the responsibility to foster an environment of transparency for their whistleblower programs to succeed. ” In the years leading up to the eventual collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, insiders blew the whistle about the company’s severe governance and regulatory issues. The flouting of internal control requirements and commingling of client funds…
Tony the Tiger may not have much reason to wake up with a smile. American families no longer appear to be gathering around the breakfast table, munching on Frosted Flakes and drinking orange juice. Only 35% of Americans eat that sort of traditional breakfast seven days a week, according to a recent study by CivicScience,…
Dear Quentin, I was involved in a workplace accident that rendered me disabled and recently received a lump sum of $185,000 after deductions for lawyer fees etc. In 2011, when I was injured, I was facing foreclosure and couldn’t take care of our minor children, so life for me fell apart. In 2014, I began…
Striking United Auto Workers want better wages, improved job security, retiree pay increases, and a 32-hour work week that could turbocharge broader acceptance of shorter work weeks. Right now, nearly 13,000 UAW workers have walked off the job at Ford Motor Co. F, -0.08%, General Motors Co. GM, +0.86% and Jeep and Chrysler parent Stellantis…
Elsa Ortega and her husband, David, are expecting a child at the end of October, and the couple closed on a home in El Paso, Texas, this summer. But when they thought about selling their three-bedroom single-family home for a larger three-bedroom house, they initially were hesitant. The listing went up on a Thursday. “I…
For those with philanthropic interests, charitable giving can be beneficial to the charity and to you as the donor. In today’s tenuous world, everywhere we turn in our country, a fire, flood, landslide or other disaster is leaving families homeless. Youth are avoiding higher education because of the cost. Disease is breaking apart families. Houses…
American workers are feeling the pinch. The median annual household income in the U.S. was $74,755 in 2022, a 0.8% decline from the previous year after adjusting for inflation, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. The decline in income is “disappointing,” said Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy…
In his 30-year military career, Dick Power managed billion-dollar budgets for computing and other logistics projects. Then he got his master’s degree in business administration and spent years as an executive at a Fortune 500 company. Now, as an 82-year-old volunteer financial planner, he video chats with veterans, patiently helping them log into online accounts…
Is the U.S. stock market a poor performer between the two holidays that mark the start of the Jewish new year? In other words, should you “sell Rosh Hashanah and buy Yom Kippur?” A Wall Street adage indeed suggests that the stock market is weaker over the 10 days these two holidays are observed. Belief…
My husband never goes out, and he only reluctantly takes holidays — except if we stay in a cabin in the mountains, and even then he doesn’t see why we should be paying for our mortgage and paying to rent somewhere else too. He has never bought me a single piece of jewelry in my…
Managing finances is a crucial aspect of any partnership, especially in a marriage. Disagreements over money can strain relationships, causing stress and conflict. To mitigate such challenges, couples often find establishing clear roles and responsibilities beneficial when managing their finances. One popular approach is to divide financial tasks into the roles of Chief Financial Officer…
The Internal Revenue Service will stop processing new claims on a pandemic-era credit for businesses that has become prone to questionable claims and hard-sell tactics from some companies that say they can land payouts for clients. The tax agency said Thursday that its moratorium on processing new employee retention credit claims will continue at least…
Home buyers, beware. With mortgage rates at multi-decade highs, business has dried up for mortgage lenders. Few home buyers are keen to take on a 30-year mortgage with a rate of over 7%, and even fewer homeowners find the need to refinance, having secured ultralow rates from the pandemic days. To drum up business, some…
At a time when Americans are saddled with more credit-card debt and higher interest rates, a new bill is seeking to cap credit card annual percentage rates at 18%. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, this week unveiled the Capping Credit-Card Interest Rates Act, highlighting how APRs have been climbing. “Americans are being crushed…
“‘While high prices continue to hit family budgets, hardworking Georgians deserve real relief and that’s why I signed an executive order today to deliver it directly to them at the pump.’” — Georgia Governor Brian Kemp That’s Gov. Brian Kemp declaring a “state of emergency” Tuesday for the Peach State and announcing a one-month halt…