I have been in my current relationship for almost three years. I’m a young woman, 41, have a great, stable career and make about $100,000 a year. I am ambitious and my prospects have me increasing my ...
Tag: Consumer affairs
‘I’m spending a fortune on home maintenance. I realize my second husband is essentially living in my house for free’: What is a fair way to split costs?
I am a retired 62-year-old woman. I was widowed in 2006 at the age of 46 and raised my two children (now 24 and 27) on my own. I used my husband’s life insurance money (about $500,000) to maintain our...
‘The issues with the IRS are still present and very real’: Millions of Americans are racing to file their tax returns, and filing extensions
Tax Day came and went earlier this week, so if your upcoming weekend plans are just chilling after the last-minute tax time bustle, you might have company. April 18 marked the deadline in most states ...
Stocks got clobbered Friday. Here’s why investors should focus on the long game
The stock market ended a volatile week on a gloomy note Friday, with the three major U.S. indexes plunging as investors got tripped up in worries like inflation, the Fed’s fight against it and fears o...
How to prepare your finances for another recession: ‘We think a hard landing will ultimately be unavoidable’
Two years after the short, sharp pandemic-related recession, Wall Street is once again warning of a new recession on the horizon. That’s not a lot to go on, but financial-planning experts say it ought...
Netflix sheds subscribers and CNN+ will shut down amid competition from Disney, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime and Apple. Have we finally hit peak streaming?
Media companies keep dueling for more streaming subscriptions, but viewers might be tapping out in the clash for their attention — and their cash. Netflix on Tuesday reported a first-quarter net loss ...
‘I’m already feeling guilty’: My uncle is leaving me a large inheritance, but excluding my siblings. Should I gift them money every year, or set up a trust?
Dear Quentin, I am soon to inherit a sizable sum of money from an uncle with whom no one in my family still speaks; I’m the only one who has stayed in contact with him. While it seems a bit grotesque ...
Have fun AND retire rich — a great tax-refund life hack
For the 100 million of you who will get a tax refund this year, the former head of retirement solutions at J.P. Morgan has a great and very simple idea. Don’t spend all your refund. And don’t save all...
‘The graveyard shift is the most understaffed:’ I work as a waiter on the Las Vegas Strip. We are overworked, underpaid, and our drunk customers often don’t tip
Dear Quentin, I currently work at a fast-casual restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip. I have worked at the company for three years. I work at the busiest outlet of this restaurant in the world. During t...
‘The weight of this debt is crushing’: I’m 74, and a retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200K. Am I obliged to pay it off?
Dear Quentin, I have not seen anyone address student-loan debt for people over 70 years of age. I am a 74-year-old retired speech-language pathologist with a student-loan debt of $200,000. I’m on a ...
As food prices hit an all-time high, more Americans have abandoned online grocery shopping and returned to supermarket aisles
More Americans are browsing again — in grocery-store aisles rather than online. With U.S. states abandoning mask mandates in public places, and more retailers dropping requirements for masks — and the...
I’m 61, left my job due to medical reasons, and made $150,000 from the sale of my home. I’d like to work for at least another 5 years. Can I still retire? If so, how?
Dear Quentin, I recently sold my house and had to leave my job due to a medical issue that was easily resolved, and I am now fine. I have approximately $150,000 in my checking account from the sale of...
Do I resist refinancing my $160,000 federal student loan at a lower rate in the hope there will be loan forgiveness? What are the chances it will happen?
I graduated from college in 2017 with more than $210,000 in federal student-loan debt thanks to out-of-state tuition, a master’s program, and not fully understanding this cost at that time. I’ve chise...
My wife and I have $750,000 in savings and earn over $144,000 a year. Can we afford to spend $5,000 per month on housing?
Financial advisers recommend spending no more than 30% of take-home pay on housing. I have always lived by this rule and now have $750,000 in cash savings. But now I need to make a big move. Is there ...
Is a yield curve inversion a foreboding sign for mortgage rates? Does it really signal a recession? Economists weigh in.
For a moment this week, the bond market flashed a signal that some associate with impending recessions. Home buyers need not worry just yet, according to economists. On Friday, the 2-year rate, which ...
My husband and I bought a retirement condo in 2008, and he died two years later. The condo is worth $50,000 more than we paid. Should I sell it now or wait?
Dear MarketWatch, I have a condo in Palm Desert, Calif., that my husband and I were going to retire to. We also have another primary residence in nearby Riverside. We bought the condo in 2008 for $363...
Biden says latest Strategic Petroleum Reserve release could cut gas prices 10 to 35 cents per gallon — but some experts worry about long-term costs
President Joe Biden announced Thursday the daily release of 1 million barrels of oil from the country’s reserves for the next six months as a way to bring down gas prices that have been breaking recor...
‘We do not plan on getting married’: I’m moving into my boyfriend’s home. He bought it a year ago and paid off 25% of his mortgage. How do I get a stake in his home that’s fair to both of us?
My boyfriend and I would like to move in together in the next year or so. He bought his house about a year ago, and he has paid off about 25% of it. We both would like for me to gradually become a par...