How inflation can hurt and help consumers, according to economists

A person shops for groceries on March 10, 2022 in the Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood of Brooklyn. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images Inflation hit a new 40-year high in June...

IRS Gives Wealthy Families More Time to Shelter Assets from Estate Tax

The federal government is giving widows and widowers more time to deal with the intricacies of the estate tax after a spouse dies. When one spouse dies, their partner often inherits all or part of the...

Social Security Benefits Projected to Rise the Most in 42 Years

Text size A 10.5% COLA would boost the average benefit for retired workers by $175, according to The Senior Citizens League. Dreamstime Social Security recipients are projected to receive a double-dig...

Inflation at highest since 1981. How does your personal rate compare?

Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022. Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images Inflation jumped to a new 40-year high in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesda...

10 U.S. real estate markets that are cooling the fastest

David Ryder | Getty Images After staggering growth during the pandemic, the U.S. housing Boismarket is starting to cool — and it’s happening fastest along the West Coast. The quickest-cooling re...

The toughest challenges for cryptocurrency lie ahead

More than a third of millennials and half of Generation Z would be happy to receive 50% of their salary in cryptocurrencies, revealed a study. Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images With more than $1 trillion ...

‘I work just 10 hours a week’

When I created my money and lifestyle blog Making Sense of Cents in 2011, I had no idea what I was doing. I was a 22-year-old financial analyst making $40,000 a year and struggling to pay off my stude...

We have 25 years until retirement and are saving 25% of our income — are we doing it right? And are we saving too much?

My wife, 33, and I, 40, have our own 403(b)s, Roth accounts (maxing their contributions this year for the first time) and pensions as part of our retirement plan.  My wife contributes 14% of her pay t...

Here’s what that means for travelers

A customer reaches down to pick up a bottle of water from a street vendor in Paris on June 17, 2022. Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images The value of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar has sunk ...

Housing Market: Mountain of Woes Just Keeps Rising

The housing market is not a pretty thing right now.  Soaring prices and mortgage rates have made homes unaffordable for many buyers, and sales are falling as a result. Here’s the latest piece of bad n...

Will Coinbase go bankrupt? Crypto CEO says there is ‘no risk of bankruptcy’

““We have no risk of bankruptcy.”” That’s a quote from Brian Armstrong, chief executive and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase COIN, -10.63%. In a series of tweets on May 10, Arms...

‘Good deals for the bold:’ How the rest of 2022 might play out for hopeful homebuyers

This is reprinted by permission from .  The first half of 2022 was a catastrophe for home buyers. Skyrocketing mortgage rates and home prices made homeownership unaffordable for millions of renters. A...

These 4 mid-year tax strategies can trim next year’s bill from the IRS

seksan Mongkhonkhamsao | Moment | Getty Images 1. Review tax withholdings When starting a new job, you fill out Form W-4, covering how much your employer withholds from your paychecks for federal taxe...

‘My friends and family say I’m rich.’ I’m 26 and make $100K a year living in St. Louis, where I pay $850 in rent. But I can’t afford to buy a home, and am losing money when I invest. Would hiring a financial adviser be a smart move?

Is a financial adviser needed if you feel overwhelmed about money? Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I am a 26-year-old pharmacist earning approximately $100,000 a year — take home pay is about $5600...

Experts answer three tricky questions about Series I bonds

The demand for Series I bonds, an inflation-protected and nearly risk-free asset, has skyrocketed as investors seek refuge from soaring prices and stock market volatility. While annual inflation rose ...

Why deal experts say you might want to skip it

Prime Day prices may not be Amazon’s best-ever offer Just because something is discounted on Prime Day doesn’t mean it’s the best deal you’ll see anywhere, or even all year. Na...

Paid Off College and the Mortgage? Here’s How to Allocate Your Freed Up Cash.

Retirement savers who’ve paid off their mortgage or have made their last college payment should take a moment to celebrate. Then they should get busy putting their newfound windfall to work.  Given th...

How Corn and Soybeans Affect These 3 Biodiesel Stock Plays

Beans and corn have caught my attention, and this time it’s not just because ShopRite put summer succotash on sale. Prices for America’s two biggest cash crops are well off recent highs. Corn is down ...

10+ Frequently Asked Tax Questions – Top CPAs Answer

Are you looking for some good summer reading? TheStreet has you covered with tax tips from some of the leading CPAs and tax experts across the country.   Contents Make sure you bookmark this page, we&...

I’m the chief economist for a $5 billion real estate data and title company. Here are 5 things you need to know about the housing market now

Mark Fleming Housing has become increasingly unaffordable to millions of Americans — with home prices and mortgage rates continuing to rise (see the lowest rates you may qualify for now here). So – as...

Opinion: Medicare is broken — and not in the way you might think

For nearly every retiring American, Medicare is both universal and universally complex. Yet, Medicare is broken – and not in the way most people think.  Every few years, news organizations raise the a...

These 10 stocks from a sector that is a bear-market bulwark have upside potential of up to 30%

During times of uncertainty, it can help to look at what happened during other down cycles for stocks. True, we don’t know when the stock market will hit bottom during this cycle, or if it already has...

Your retirement portfolio is fundamentally flawed: GMO

All across America, retirees and near-retirees are reeling. They were assured by simplistic “McMoney” financial advisers that bonds were “safe,” that bond returns were steady and predictable, and that...

Involuntary part-time worker numbers dip to lowest level in 21 years

Momo Productions | Digitalvision | Getty Images The number of Americans who want to work full-time but are forced to work part-time jobs declined in June to its lowest in more than 20 years, according...

How Paula Pant quit her job to teach people how to afford anything

Paula Pant didn’t follow the same career path as most people in her community and family. She disappointed many when she decided to quit her job as a newspaper reporter to travel the world. Pant...

‘How much would I end up spending?’ I’ve got $10 million in assets, and am thinking about hiring a financial adviser. How much will this really cost me though?

Are you paying your financial adviser in the right way? Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: What is an appropriate wealth management rate? I’d have assets under management of $10 million, and I’m assum...

The IRS audited ex-FBI director James Comey and former deputy Andrew McCabe. What are the odds?

In recent years, the Internal Revenue Service has been processing around 150 million to over 160 million tax returns annually, doing the work with a shrinking staff and an inflation-adjusted budget th...

As prices rise nationwide, how to calculate your own inflation rate

Skynesher | E+ | Getty Images It’s likely no surprise to hear that prices have been rising across the U.S. economy, whether at the grocery store or the gas pump. But just how much have your pers...

Here’s how much cash you need for a recession, according to advisors

designer491 | iStock | Getty Images With the threat of a recession looming, more financial experts are sharing how to prepare — including how much cash it may be smart to set aside.   The end of June ...

The DOL has a new IRA rollover rule for advisers to follow

IRA rollovers are common, whether they’re from an old 401(k) or just one account to another, but a newly implemented Department of Labor rule says financial advisers suggesting the move have some expl...

Hot job market and Great Resignation persist despite recession threat

Mixetto | E+ | Getty Images Workers are still reaping the benefits of a hot labor market characterized by few layoffs, ample job openings and a high level of voluntary departures, according to U.S. De...

Watch out — this one mistake could cost you thousands when you rollover your 401(k) to an IRA

Here’s a pro tip that can hardly be said often enough. When you change jobs and you think about rolling over your old company’s 401(k) to an IRA…watch out for all the extra fees. “Thousands of dollars...