Opinion: Why I don’t want bitcoin in my 401(k)

Hooray! At long last, the company managing my 401(k) plan will allow me to bet up to 20% of my retirement funds on a digital Ponzi scheme that generates no income and has no practical use. Fidelity In...

Why a good credit score matters and how to improve your number

You are looking to make a purchase, such as a new cellphone or a car, but you need some time to be able to pay the full amount. Or you might be taking out a new credit card, with no single purchase in...

As office hours return, how to buy new work clothes on a budget

Alxeypnferov | Istock | Getty Images As more people head back to the office, they may not be able to rely anymore on their work wardrobe from more than two years ago. Their tastes or size may have cha...

These are the best and worst U.S. places to die, report shows

Your end-of-life experience may be very different depending on where you live, according to a Policygenius report that ranks the country’s best and worst places to die.  The report gave each sta...

High inflation may prompt consumers to change summer vacation plans

Summer vacations plans could be in flux this year. This time, it’s not because of Covid-19. Instead, high prices due to inflation may prompt prospective travel goers to switch up their plans. In...

How much winners have hauled in over the years

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images There’s a chance — a tiny one — that a Powerball player will manage to turn $2 into $421 million on Monday night. That’s the jackpot amount heading into the ...

Big Pension Sells GM and Nvidia Stock. It Bought Ford and Intel.

Text size GMC vehicles Brandon Bell/Getty Images Alabama’s pension has made some intra-sector trades among its bigger investments. Retirement Systems of Alabama slashed an investment in General Motors...

Here’s why you may want to think twice about that early retirement plan

Kathrin Ziegler | DigitalVision | Getty Images Life may be short but early retirement might be, too, if you don’t have a solid financial plan for life after work. Whether it’s due to pande...

Buy JPMorgan Stock. Despite Losing Some of Its Swagger, Shares Are Cheap.

There is a little less swagger than usual at JPMorgan Chase these days, and that’s probably good news for investors. Shares of the bank, the industry leader in market value and profits, are down 17% t...

What to expect if you’re thinking about buying an investment property

Think about your objective as it will inform what kind of property you’ll buy. Getty Images Many people dream of owning real estate that nets them a rent check each month, but knowing what you might a...

These money and investing tips can be keys to success when stock and bond markets fail

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 4 Earth Day ETFs targeting cle...

Netflix and Disney Stocks Hit a Rough Patch. Don’t Count on a Quick Bounceback.

Netflix hasn’t done much wrong, despite a 35% plunge on quarterly results this past week, and a 22% one back in January. The company has convinced 222 million customers worldwide to hand it an average...

‘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 ...

Six Dividend Stocks to Help Beat Inflation

The hot new investment theme isn’t socially nuanced crypto space finance or metaverse charging networks for virtual vehicles. It’s dividends—cash payments to shareholders. This year, U.S. equity divid...

Netflix is the S&P 500’s worst performer this week — here are the next 14

Investors remained sour for a second consecutive session on Friday as they continued to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell about the prospect for rapidly rising interest rates...

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...

‘I feel deceived’: After 20 years of paying my student loan, I discovered I don’t qualify for forgiveness. My loans total $167,000. What can I do?

I took out loans for professional/graduate school during the years 1993 to 1996. I took out about $54,000 in loans. In 2002, I consolidated all my federal loans. The balance is approximately $167,000....

Weekend reads: How to position your investments before the Federal Reserve causes a bear market

Do you remember all the times Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was quoted as saying inflation in the U.S. was “transitory”? With the Fed now ready to fight inflation, the bond market has quickly...

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...

Cuts to unemployment benefits didn’t spur jobs, says report

A “We’re Hiring” sign hangs on the front door of a toy store in Greenvale, New York, on Sept. 30, 2021. John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images State cuts to pandemic unemploymen...

74% of people don’t think they will ever achieve high-net-worth status

cdwheatley | E+ | Getty Images People have wide-ranging views of what it means to be “high net worth,” according to a survey from digital wealth manager Personal Capital. Yet most people —...

Here’s what to do if you missed the April 18 tax filing deadline

Sergey Mironov | Moment | Getty Images If you missed the April 18 tax deadline, you may cut back on penalties by filing your return promptly, according to the IRS.  While it’s too late to reques...

Here’s how to craft student-loan forgiveness in a way that cuts out those who don’t need help

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday released new analyses on student loans, with one blog post focused on who would benefit from various approaches to canceling such debt — as well as eac...

AT&T Shareholders Who Sell Warner Bros. Stock Face Tax Complexities

Text size AT&T shares have risen 10% since April 8. Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images Since the AT&T spinoff of its 71% stake in Warner Bros. Discovery to its shareholders on April 8, ma...

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 ...

A 28-year-old who made $100,000 in passive income ‘in just one day’ shares 5 books that helped her get started

When people think of what it takes to start a business, words like “struggle” and “stressful” come to mind. But it was rewriting this narrative that allowed me to achieve succe...

Hit with an unexpected tax bill? It’s time to adjust your withholdings

Georgijevic | E+ | Getty Images If you had a surprise tax bill this filing season, it may be time to adjust your withholdings, financial experts say.  Whether you’re a W-2 employee or self-emplo...

‘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 ...

‘Life is measurably better without the burden of this debt’: As Biden reviews student-debt cancellation, young people with debt delay buying a house and even having kids

Young Americans are buckling under the weight of their student debt. A large majority (74%) of Generation Z (ages 18 to 25) and 68% of millennials (ages 26 to 41) who took on student debt delayed a ma...

Dividend Aristocrat stocks can help you keep ahead of inflation. These 15 take top prizes for raising payouts.

Some investors are interested in stocks that pay high dividend yields for a source of income. Others believe it is better to focus on total returns over long periods. The Dividend Aristocrats are a gr...

Supreme Court rejects SALT limit challenge from New York, New Jersey

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference announcing the State and Local Taxes (SALT) Caucus outside the U.S. Capitol. Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images The U.S. Supreme Court h...

Why you should retire with more money than you need

I’m frequently asked some variation of this question: Can I afford to retire? The question seems simple, but it’s trickier than you might think. The simple answer is: It depends on how much you need f...