Investors feeling giddy about last week’s sharp rally for stocks might want to give a listen to Tom Waits’ song, “Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard” from 1978, to sober up for the dangers that still lurk a...
Tag: Consumer affairs
‘Voters are looking for help’: With control of Congress too early to call, here are 3 burning tax questions
A day after midterm elections, it remains uncertain whether either party will end up with Congressional control or whether it will be a divided Congress — and that has consequences for these tax quest...
If I sell my rental I can pay off my primary mortgage and be debt-free. Is that a good idea in this housing market?
Dear MarketWatch, I have a rental property that’s worth $175,000, and I owe $53,000. My primary home is worth $265,000 and has $108,000 left on the mortgage. My question is this: Should I sell my ren...
‘This has gone on too long’: The bank paid itself $18,000 in fees. My late father’s trust has not been distributed. What recourse do I have?
My father’s father set up a trust at a major bank with my father and the bank’s trust department as co-trustees. My father died at the end of last year; upon his death, the trust was supposed to be di...
‘Am I being ripped off?’ I moved into my husband’s home. I pay for groceries. The rental income from my apartment goes into our joint savings.
I read one of your previous columns regarding the boyfriend who wants the letter writer to move in. My case is similar, but we have already made a decision on how to structure our finances as they rel...
40% of households will pay no federal income tax this year. Why that’s good news.
Millions of workers are bouncing back — and making enough money to pay Uncle Sam. Some 72.5 million households or 40% of households will pay no federal income tax this year, down from the pre-pandemic...
‘When we dated for 5 years, he implied he was financially secure’: My husband was always hesitant about his finances. Now I know why.
Dear Quentin, My husband and I make about the same salary, and live modestly. Six months after we married, I found out my husband’s net worth is virtually zero. He owes more money than he has assets (...
Millions of working Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck — and running out of cash as another recession looms
Inflation is taking its toll on people’s emergency funds. The share of workers who say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck has surged among middle- to high-income earners — 63% and 49%, respectively ...
My boyfriend has a nicer house, and says I should live with him. My mortgage is paid off. He believes I should pay half of his monthly costs. Is that fair?
Dear Quentin, My boyfriend owns a house with a 30-year mortgage balance of $150,000 on a 4% interest rate. He has $275,000 in cash and retirement accounts. He is retired. My house is paid off. I have ...
Personal savings have plunged — how to boost your savings in case of a recession
As red flags go, this is a big one. The personal savings of Americans have plunged this year, hitting $629 billion in the second quarter of 2022, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St....
IRS releases new federal tax brackets and standard deductions. Here’s how they affect your family’s tax bill.
America’s high inflation rate will produce a 7% increase in the size of the standard deduction when workers file their taxes on their 2023 income, according to new inflation adjustments from the Inter...
Do you have problems with the IRS — or does the IRS have a problem with you? Read this before you act.
How do you deal with a problem like the Internal Revenue Service? And how do you deal with your own tax problems as they pertain to the IRS? To be clear, I’m not talking about major problems like righ...
New IRS tax brackets and standard deduction could save families hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Now, for the bad news.
In a time of rising costs, the Internal Revenue Service just raised income-tax brackets through new inflation adjustments for next year. It might feel tough sometimes to link the IRS with the concept ...
How to save a bundle on your tax return
This is Part Two of our list of suggested year-end strategies. Part 1 discusses gaming the federal standard deduction, and managing capital gains and losses. The tax environment is getting friendlier ...
Why stock market investors should wait for the 10-year Treasury to ‘blink’
When a key part of the U.S. bond market starts shrugging off new Federal Reserve interest rate hikes or tough talk on inflation, it’s probably time to buy stocks, according to James Paulsen, the Leuth...
What bank earnings tell us about how consumers are doing with high inflation, recession worries — ‘It’s not a crack in current numbers’
For all the worries about inflation’s pinch and the chance of a recession, just-released earnings reports from big banks indicate the wallets of many regular Americans are generally holding up as they...
‘The mood has turned darker’: Desperate to outrun inflation, people are making big (and easy) changes to their habits. You can too.
We never were the same after last summer. Stubbornly high inflation rates in recent months and several interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve are impacting consumer behavior. That’s according...
American households and businesses are seeing their savings deteriorate as ‘financial fragility’ rises
After socking away savings during the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, American households and businesses are watching their financial cushions rapidly deteriorate as prices have soared and the Feder...
If Hurricane Ian destroyed your home, take these critical first steps for disaster relief and insurance
The full financial and human price of Hurricane Ian’s destruction is still unknown, days after it lashed Florida, and now with the Carolinas fresh off its wrath. But even with the immediate search-and...
‘I would not have been able to do it without him’: I built a property portfolio with 23 units while we were dating. How much should I give to my fiancé in our prenup?
I’m about to marry a wonderful man. I built an investment portfolio of 23 units while we were dating. Now we’re questioning how to create a prenuptial agreement. Over the years, I have identified, pur...
Brace yourselves, the Fed is about to inflict ‘some pain’ to fight inflation — here’s how to prepare your wallet and portfolio
The Fed is ready to bring the pain. Are you prepared? Weeks ago, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned there would be “some pain to households and businesses” as the central bank jacks up inte...
Home values in August saw their largest monthly decline since 2011. Some cities see house prices drop by 3%.
Home values are edging down as buyers remain spooked by high mortgage rates, according to a new report. The typical value of a home in the U.S. fell 0.3% in August from the previous month, according t...
‘She never explained anything’: I’m a senior citizen and I lost $100,000 in the stock market this year. Can I sue my financial adviser?
I am a senior citizen and have suffered major losses to the tune of $100,000 in the recent stock market turmoil. Can I sue my financial adviser? I understand the dynamics of the market as far as its u...
What will people do after getting $10,000 or $20,000 in student debt forgiven? MarketWatch asked readers — here’s the No. 1 answer.
Americans’ student debt loads are poised to lighten up and people are making plans on what’s next for their freed-up cash. Borrowers appear to have two prime targets in mind: getting current on their ...
Another sign of a looming recession? Americans’ ‘financial health’ fell for the first time in five years
Are you late paying for your utilities? Do you have enough set aside for a rainy day? Less than one-third (31%) of Americans are “financially healthy” in 2022, down 3% from a year ago, according to th...
‘It’s a touchy subject’: My in-laws live in our basement. They gave us our 20% down payment. Should we charge them for renovations?
Last year, my husband and I approached my in-laws to see if they wanted to live with us. We had learned that my father-in-law had terminal cancer but could still live five to seven years in remission,...