Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty Images Certain tax credits have been reduced One possible reason for a smaller tax refund is the child tax credit and the child and dependent care tax credit have b...
Tag: Personal finance
This is the No. 1 expense, by far, for retirement-age Americans — and pros say it shouldn’t be
Americans 65 and older spent nearly $1,000 more per month last year than they did just five years prior, according to government data. Getty Images/iStockphoto Average monthly expenditures for those 6...
35% of millionaires say they won’t have enough to retire, report finds
A cool $1 million is not what it used to be. There are more millionaires in the U.S. and globally than ever before, with nearly 24.5 million millionaires nationwide as of 2022, according to the latest...
‘Cash-stuffing’ has 700 million+ views on TikTok. How it can help you save more
What is cash stuffing? Getty Images/iStockphoto Thanks to a mild obsession with so-called “cash stuffing” — which has racked up more than 700 million views on TikTok — Gen Z has made an old-school mon...
‘It has been a nearly continuous plunge.’ My accounts are down 13% this year, but my financial adviser hasn’t made a single adjustment — and is still taking his 1%. Do I even need him anymore?
Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I have heard it a thousand times: “People make more money with a financial advisor, don’t lock in your losses, stay invested,” etc. So I started with a financial adv...
Where BlackRock sees ‘tremendous’ market opportunities for ETF investors in 2023 after damage to stocks, bonds
Hello! In this week’s ETF Wrap, BlackRock’s Gargi Chaudhuri, head of iShares investment strategy for the Americas, discusses ways for investors to play a world of higher rates and elevated inflation i...
Here’s why your tax refund may be smaller in 2023, the IRS says
If you’re expecting a tax refund in 2023, it may be smaller than this year’s payment, according to the IRS. Typically, you get a federal refund when you’ve overpaid yearly taxes or ...
Why labor economists say the remote work ‘revolution’ is here to stay
Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images Remote work surged in the pandemic era — but this trend, borne of necessity for public health, has now become a fixture of the U.S. job market, one that...
‘I wish someone had warned me not to take my current job.’ 1 in 5 employees now reports being ‘miserable’ at work. Sound familiar? If so, this may be the No. 1 money move to make now
Workers are miserable these days Getty Images/iStockphoto Nearly 1 in 5 workers reports being miserable at work, according to Gallup’s recent “State of the Global Workplace: 2022.” And a global study ...
‘Somehow we live check to check.’ We make over $200K a year, but owe $100K on HELOC loans, never learned to save money and feel like we’ll never be able to retire. Do we need professional help?
Do you need a financial adviser? Getty Images Question: My wife and I are looking for help. We have never really learned how to save money, and we are really terrible at it. We both come from poor fam...
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...
The fear of loss can cost investors big-time. Here’s how
The fear of loss is a powerful emotion for investors — and, if left unchecked, can cost them big bucks in the long term due to years of forfeiture of investment gains. That fear is a natural product o...
20 dividend stocks with high yields that have become more attractive right now
Income-seeking investors are looking at an opportunity to scoop up shares of real estate investment trusts. Stocks in that asset class have become more attractive as prices have fallen and cash flow i...
In mid-November, mortgage rates saw their biggest decline since 1981. Here’s what 6 pros say will what happen next
The latest mortgage rates Getty Images/iStockphoto For most of 2022, the trend of mortgage rates was generally up and then up some more. But in mid-November something big happened: Thanks to better-th...
How the BlockFi bankruptcy, FTX collapse may affect your crypto taxes
It is thought the new U.K. government’s mini-budget may have made buying a house even more difficult. Photo by LanaStock via Getty Images Crypto firm BlockFi on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankr...
These money and investing tips can help your portfolio sail through December
Don’t miss these top money and investing features: Sign up here to get MarketWatch’s best mutual funds and ETF stories emailed to you weekly! INVESTING NEWS & TRENDS The only thing investors have ...
6 Preferred Stocks That Offer Safety and High Yields
There still is plenty of yield in the depressed preferred-stock market—even after the recent half-point yield decline in the Treasury 10-year note to 3.7%. Many preferred issues yield 6% or more and o...
Why Deutsche Bank Told Clients to Stay Away From American Banks
It’s always fascinating to observe how Americans are perceived by people from other places — depending on the country and the circumstances, common stereotypes range from unhealthy food t...
‘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 ...
Retailers roll out stricter return policies ahead of the holidays
The holiday shopping season is always closely followed by a spike in gift returning. But this year, it may be harder to bring things back for free or at a low cost. Roughly 60% of retailers said they&...
Amid persistent inflation, cash-strapped consumers are tipping less
The Sweetly Bakery & Cafe in Battleground, Washington Source: Irina Sirotkina It’s the holiday season, yet Americans are feeling a little less generous. With inflation near record highs, cas...
Inflation boosts average household spending by $433 a month: Moody’s
People shop at a grocery store on June 10, 2022 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images The average American household is spending $433 more a month to buy the same goods and services it did a ...
How to Maximize Your Wealth Over the Next Decade
Investors accustomed to blockbuster returns faced a reckoning this year, as the great bull market ended with high inflation, soaring interest rates, and fears of a recession. The uncertainty persists,...
How to Keep Your Retirement on Track in an Unpredictable Market
Retirees and investors on the cusp of retirement are under stress this year. Inflation has spiked to multidecade highs, stocks have tumbled, and bonds—a haven in normal times—have slumped. The traditi...
Opinion: Opinion: High debts and stagflation will bring mother of all financial crises
NEW YORK (Project Syndicate)— The world economy is lurching toward an unprecedented confluence of economic, financial, and debt crises, following the explosion of deficits, borrowing, and leverage in ...