I’m a single female in my late 40s with no children. At 50 years old, my federal agency will allow me to retire with a full pension. I’m planning to, as I have a significant amount saved in my thrift ...
Tag: Consumer affairs
Workers in California and Washington State will get more pay transparency
Do you know how much your job is worth? Millions of Americans are finally getting the answer. Starting Jan. 1, California and Washington state will require employers to include pay ranges with their ...
‘I dug myself out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle’: Should I use my bonus to pay off my mortgage, put it in a savings account or Vanguard?
Dear Quentin, Over the last couple years I dug myself out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, and I am making good money. I never learned about stocks, investing, etc. I do not have a 401(k) at work. M...
Democrats release six years of Trump’s tax returns, and CPAs have questions: ‘The personal tax return is just the tip of the iceberg.’
The nonpartisan committee’s findings also raised several red flags related to the filings, namely Trump’s carryover losses, loans to his children that may or may not also be considered taxable gifts, ...
5 things not to buy in 2023
It’s been a year of contradictions. The recession drum beats on, interest rates are rising, and the stock market has taken a tumble, and yet retail sales have risen 6.5% in the last 12 months, trailin...
‘Auto makers are building more expensive vehicles’: Why you should not buy a new car in 2023
There are always good reasons for most people not to buy a new car. Such a purchase can set you back for years, as high monthly payments delay the buildup of savings and investments that will be neede...
With this simple year-end change to your retirement accounts, you can reap significant tax rewards
If you are a middle-income earner, you may be in a much better position tax-wise than you realize. That’s good news: You may be able to take advantage of that better position to strengthen your retire...
Are high-deductible health plans worth it? Here’s who can benefit the most.
Hello and welcome to Financial Face-off, a MarketWatch column where we help you weigh financial decisions. Our columnist will give her verdict. Tell us whether you think she’s right in the comments. A...
10 ways American finances actually improved in 2022, despite high interest rates and a slump in stocks
Many Americans are ending the year feeling gloomy about their finances, and you don’t need to be a psychiatrist to figure out why. Runaway inflation gnawed through household budgets as prices soared o...
D.C. spending deal sets way for employers to help workers build cash savings
As people watch their savings sink under inflation’s pressure, one provision in the congressional year-end spending deal aims to make it easier for workers to save money for life’s unexpected expenses...
IRS pauses rule requiring people to report PayPal, Venmo transactions over $600. Here’s what went wrong.
To avert taxpayer confusion in the upcoming tax season, the IRS is delaying a rule that would have required e-commerce sites and payment platforms like eBay EBAY, +0.12%, Etsy ETSY, -0.32% and PayPal ...
New tax rule for eBay and Venmo will cause ‘significant confusion,’ CPAs say
As Congress concludes 2022 with a sprint to pass laws and a spending deal, tax accountants are joining a chorus of e-commerce companies and pay platforms who say a revamped tax form is about to cause ...
My mom spent $90K on bitcoin and gifts in a romance scam. Can the tax code help her?
My mom went into debt to buy bitcoin for a scammer because she thought she was in a romantic relationship with him. She also racked up credit-card debt to mail computers and gift cards to the scammer....
Vanguard sees a recession in 2023 — and one ‘silver lining’ for investors
The last 12 months was a year of fast-rising inflation, fast-rising interest rates and fast-rising questions about a future recession. Prices went up while stock markets and savings account balances w...
Gas prices are now lower than at this time last year. Could they fall below $3 a gallon in the months ahead?
Gas prices on Thursday were slightly less on average than they did one year ago — with a slim one-cent margin — but experts say there could be cheaper gas in the weeks and month to come. Thursday’s na...
I sold my late mother’s home for $250,000. I make $80,000 and have $220,000 in student debt. I want to buy a house. Should I use all my inheritance for a down payment?
My mom passed away, and left me her house, which I just sold and will net $250,000. I’m 41 years old with no real retirement savings. I make $80,000 a year, and I am maxing out contributions to my emp...
Dear Tax Guy: Our accountant charged us $486 for a simple gift-tax return. Why on earth would it cost so much?
We gave our daughter money towards a down payment on a home and learned we had to file a gift tax return. Our accountant charged us $486 for this. Why can’t you just add a form to your regular tax ret...
The U.S. job market is strong, but layoffs are on the rise. Is this a good — or bad — time to ask for a raise? Experts weigh in.
Is this an opportune time to ask for a raise? Or, given the recent spate of tech layoffs, is it better to lie low for a while? The good news: Employers are giving pay raises. The increase in wages ov...
Hardship withdrawals from 401(k)s reach ‘concerning’ all-time high, Vanguard says
Amid stubbornly high inflation, a record-breaking share of Americans are turning their 401(k) accounts into emergency piggy banks, according to Vanguard. Dissecting data from a sample of the approxima...
Suze Orman says, ‘We’re heading downhill very fast,’ unless employers start providing this lucrative benefit to their workers
Americans trying to save some cash for unforeseen expenses are up against a lot — months of red-hot inflation, wages that don’t keep up, the sheer difficulty of delayed gratification in a time when pe...
More people use ‘buy now, pay later’ for holiday shopping, but experts say that’s a double-edged sword
Online purchases using the BNPL rose by 13% year-on-year in November, according to Adobe Analytics. That figure does not take into account Thanksgiving or Black Friday spending. “In an uncertain econo...
‘Most economists are predicting a recession in 2023’: I own a rental property. Is it a good time to take out a bank loan and renovate — or should I wait?
Dear MarketWatch, Along with a sibling, I own a rental property of more than 40 rooms in the Caribbean, where we do weekly rentals. It’s near downtown but in need of repairs and renovation. Is this ...
Apple iPhone wait times have doubled in 4 weeks to 38 days, UBS says
It’s too late to buy an Apple iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max in time for Christmas, as supply disruptions have caused wait times to double over the past four weeks, according to UBS research. As a result, i...
I got laid off by a big tech company. What’s my next career move?
Being let go from a job is hard, especially at a moment when the cost of living is rising and a recession is looming. This Thanksgiving, tens of thousands of recently laid-off tech workers will be ask...
‘My elderly relative determined she could no longer care for herself’: Are her assisted-living facility costs tax deductible?
I have an elderly relative in an assisted-living arrangement in Indiana. She was basically directed to go there from a rehabilitation post-surgery, because they determined that she could no longer car...
FTX victims are setting up GoFundMe fundraisers to try to get their money back
People who say they have lost money in the collapse of crypto exchange FTX are turning to strangers to cover their losses by setting up GoFundMe fundraising pages. They include a man who says that he ...
Black Friday surprise: Jeff Bezos tells people not to buy cars, refrigerators and other big-ticket items. Critics call him out.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos, who founded the e-tail behemoth Amazon, has some spending tips as Americans gear up for the holiday shopping season — amid four-decade-high inflation and recession worries. Her...
FTX bankruptcy: Can account holders expect to get their money back?
FTX, the unraveling cryptocurrency exchange, has plummeted from its high-profile perch straight into bankruptcy court. On Friday morning, FTX and related entities including Alameda Research, its affil...
‘I can no longer be an executive at a high level’: Workers with disabilities, including long COVID, are finding their place as companies become more flexible
Dana Pollard started a new job at the end of 2022, after spending three years recovering from a 2019 stroke. Pollard, 56, lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife. After the stroke, he could not reco...