Personal Finance
After years spent studying, weeks of final exams and afternoons spent booing commencement speakers when they brought up artificial intelligence, the class of 2026 has graduated into an economy in which consumer sentiment is near all-time lows. New college graduates are entering “the real world” without rose-colored glasses. At 76%,…
Overcoming the feeling that small amounts are pointless is the hardest part of building a cash cushion. Stashing $50 feels trivial and pointless. The flaw in that logic is that while $50 may be a drop in the ocean, regularly putting away that amount is not. Overcoming inertia Overcoming the initial…
Consumer prices fell 0.1% in March, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This is the first monthly drop since July 2022. Annual inflation increased 2.4% compared to a 2.8% increase registered in February. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food…
The Federal Reserve is keeping rates steady at its targeted range of 4% to 4.25% and is waiting to see how President Donald Trump’s administration’s tariffs will impact the economy. For now, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank is in the right place to monitor the…
Americans have trillions of dollars of wealth locked up in their homes, and passing it on at death can get messy quickly. The typical way of outlining who should get the house in a will can cause delays after death—so much so that most states have set up a new…
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” cleared the House and is making its way through the Senate. Still, critics point out the bill, which is over 1,000 pages, will add trillions to what is already ballooning government debt hovering at $36 trillion and deficits. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent…
Using “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) has become increasingly common in recent years as people look to split up and finance purchases they make. According to Credit Sesame financial analyst Richard Barrington, some key steps people should take as they utilize BNPL include budgeting beforehand, reviewing the terms of the…
Retirement account balances dipped in the first quarter due to stock market turbulence. Still, people kept socking away money for their retirement, according to new data from Fidelity Investments. The financial services company analyzed more than 50 million retirement accounts, finding that the average balances of 401(k), IRA and 403(b)…
Managing one’s finances can be challenging, especially when faced with conflicting — and often wrong — information fed to people, especially on social media. Buying into common misconceptions surrounding money can be harmful, putting someone on their back foot when it comes to financial health. Jonathan Kim, a personal finance expert…
How people tackle their finances can vary but, according to new research from PYMNTS, there are two ways that are most common. PYMNTS found just 40% of American consumers are “planners,” meaning their strategy for money had more foresight. That figure has gone down compared to the roughly half who tackled…
