Should crypto be a part of your overall investing strategy? Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I’m 40, married with two kids and gainfully employed. I’m wondering how aggressively I should be investin...
Tag: Personal finance
Weekend reads: Prepare for a big week — a crucial Federal Reserve decision, tech-company earnings and a GDP report
It was mostly a week for stocks, particularly a rebound in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, as companies topped expectations on second-quarter earnings. The coming week brings a heavy dose of t...
Advisors turn to alternative investments to further diversify clients
Marko Geber | DigitalVision | Getty Images After battling downturns in the stock and bond markets, more financial advisors looking to further diversify their clients are turning to alternative investm...
TIPS, I Bonds Are Smart Ways to Buy Inflation Protection
Illustration by Liam Eisenberg Text size As a consumer, it is almost impossible to escape the ravages of inflation, which rose at a 9.1% clip in the 12 months ended June, based on the U.S. Consumer Pr...
My wife inherited a 401(k)–what’s the best way to avoid a big tax hit?
Q.: My wife inherited a 401(k) from my mom who died recently. How do we handle this? If she takes her share out will it count as income for us on our taxes? I read that we can’t roll it over into our ...
10 of the smartest things Suze Orman has ever said about saving money
Financial author Suze Orman Getty Images For years, the rates paid out on savings accounts were abysmal, but we are finally seeing rates going up. Indeed, the Fed has now raised rates numerous times t...
The wealthy now have more time to avoid estate taxes
If your family has significant wealth, it’s now easier to avoid federal estate taxes, thanks to recent changes from the IRS. The IRS improved a strategy known as “portability,” used ...
How to avoid the ‘siren song’ of a credit card sign-up bonus
Virojt Changyencham | Moment | Getty Images Nearly half of consumers holding a credit card with travel perks opened the card to chase the rewards — and a big share of them blew their budgets in the pu...
Americans Are Getting the Stock Market Really Wrong
A reason more people consider real estate to be a better investment than stocks, bonds, gold, cryptocurrency or a bank account is the value of an average American home grew by more than 20% between th...
How to buy your first car without going broke
Buying your first car after graduation (or while you’re still in college) can be tricky — especially at a time like this when prices are soaring. The average price of a new car was $46,000 in Ju...
Adjustable-rate mortgage vs. fixed-rate mortgage: Which one is better for you?
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...
Is my financial advisor just putting up with me because my mother is rich?
The advisor has invested my money in funds I don’t understand, but I don’t feel like I have the power to question her. Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I have roughly $500,000 in assets, including m...
The Fed’s next interest rate hike ‘might be the biggest in decades.’ So we asked 6 real estate pros: What might that do to mortgage rates?
What might happen to mortgage rates soon? Getty Images/iStockphoto Word on the street is that the Federal Reserve may raise rates by 1% at their July 26 meeting — as they try to quell inflation that n...
Before you ‘chase dividends,’ here’s what to know
With increased fears of a possible recession, investors seeking steady income may turn to stocks paying quarterly dividends, which are part of company profits sent back to investors. Historically, div...
We have $1.5 million we don’t intend to ever use in retirement – how do we invest it if we plan on giving it to our kids one day?
I’m 59 years old, and my wife is older (retired early). I will be retiring next year after 40 years of Naval service and government contracting. After the recent market crash in 2022, we still have a...
‘I feel like I’m investing just to afford taxes and broker fees.’ I’m 72, have a cushy amount of money invested and was withdrawing 4% a year, but once I pay fees and California taxes that won’t be enough. Should I ditch my financial adviser?
How to figure out if your adviser is worth what they’re charging you. Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I have a comfortable balance in my investment account but have a question about only taking out...
What travelers need to know as airlines deal with lost, delayed bags
Tim Boyle | Getty Images News | Getty Images Air travel has been rocky this summer — and baggage problems factor among many other issues for travelers like flight cancellations and delays. Nearly 220,...
What happens to my funds if a crypto exchange goes bankrupt?
Bankruptcy filings from Celsius and Voyager have raised questions about what happens to investors’ crypto when a platform fails. Rafael Henrique | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Trader...
Some older workers are being welcomed back to the workforce
Tad Greener’s career and expertise was mostly related to electric and natural gas utilities. Toward the end of 2019 he unexpectedly found himself subject to a “reduction in workplace” at the universit...
Bear Market Have You Down? Here Are 3 Tips for Managing Anxiety During Tumult.
While investors and retirement savers grapple with a host of stressors from a bear market to surging inflation, financial advisors and psychologists say there are steps to take to ease anxiety. Illust...
Why Retirees Should Worry More About Longevity and Less About the Markets
A research paper by Wenliang Hou finds that retirees have an exaggerated sense of market volatility. Dreamstime Text size Market volatility may keep retirees up at night, but the biggest risk to retir...
Why the bond market should be given the benefit of the doubt
The bond market’s rout has gone too far, so look for interest rates to decline in coming months. If that happens, it certainly would be good news to beleaguered retirees and near-retirees who have an ...
7 financial planning steps to take in the decade before retirement
The decade leading up to your retirement is one of the most critical periods for retirement planning. There are a number of financial planning issues to consider during this time period to help ensure...
I’ll be 65 soon, have $320,000 in retirement savings and a paid-off home but I’m $46,000 in debt – should I take more money out of my investments?
I’ll be 65 in a couple months. I retired at 63 and am currently receiving survivor Social Security payments (from my late husband). I plan on switching over to my Social Security at 70. I receive abou...
The 15 housing markets in America that are now actually more affordable than they were in 2005
“Worsening affordability appears to be having an impact on demand, which could lead to prices plateauing or even correcting modestly in some markets,” one pro told MarketWatch Picks. Getty Images/iSto...
A psychologist’s 5 steps to stop panicking about your 401(k)
In the fall of 2008, when global stock markets were imploding, I happened to be in New York. I switched on the TV in my hotel room and saw financial commentator Suze Orman on Larry King Live. She took...
A ‘who’s who of American business’ — big Wall Street names are marking the end phase of the bear market, says adviser
The good news about this bear market in stocks is that we’re more than halfway through it. The bad news is that we’re getting close to the final stage, when “everything must fall.” That’s according to...