‘My degree has not led to greater income.’ Can I get rid of old student loans?

How to get out of student loan debt Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I have a degree, and I’ve been paying the student loan for about 25 years. I switched to income-driven repayment in 2011. The loa...

What we learned from Biden, Harris tax returns, according to experts

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden signed H.R. 55, the “Emmett Till Antilynching Act,” in Washingtonon March 29, 2022. Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images...

How to choose a health insurance plan that saves money

Most Americans struggle to figure out which health insurance plan will save them money. It is a process that can be confusing, time-consuming and costly. A study of almost 24,000 employees at a major ...

Biden administration launches student loan review, says 40,000 borrowers will see debt canceled

The Department of Education announced Tuesday a new review of its student debt portfolio, which it says will correct for past mistakes that denied 3.6 million borrowers credit toward student loan forg...

Opinion: Do poison pills work? A finance expert explains the anti-takeover tool that Twitter hopes will keep Elon Musk at bay

Takeovers are usually friendly affairs. Corporate executives engage in top-secret talks, with one company or group of investors making a bid for another business. After some negotiating, the companies...

I have a government job and a small pension. I’m planning to work a few more years. Should I file for Social Security now or wait?

A recent reader email introduced the very common question: Should I file for Social Security now or wait? Here’s the email: I am turning 66 in June, approaching full retirement. I am a federal employe...

These 20 highly rated stocks are expected to rise at least 70% over the next year

A sliding stock market means many companies are on sale, which spells opportunity for investors with investment horizons of several years. A list of the most favored names among analysts, along with c...

4 housing market predictions for 2022, from economists and real estate pros

We asked home and mortgage experts and economists what they predict will happen this spring. Getty Images/iStockphoto We asked home and mortgage experts and economists what they predict will happen in...

A $1 million Powerball ticket expires soon. Many prizes go unclaimed

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Powerball players may want to make sure they’re looking more closely at their numbers after each drawing. In about two weeks — on May 5 — a ticket purchased in Mic...

Cut Your Retirement Spending Now, Says Creator of the 4% Rule

For decades, retirees have relied on the 4% rule to determine how much was safe to spend in retirement. Now, the rule’s inventor says current market conditions may require an even more conservative ap...

These states poised to pass personal finance education laws this year

Lee Jimenez, a teacher at Indian Hill Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio, discusses credit cards and methods of payments with his 3rd grade class using online financial education curriculum SmartPa...

Why consider the Dow transports when they point to a slowing economy? Because these 7 stocks are cheap

The Dow Jones Transportation Average has long been considered a good forward indicator of the direction of the U.S. economy. With early signs that an economic slowdown is coming, this might be an obvi...

My ex-husband encouraged me to drop out of college after a year, and now I’m struggling to repay my student loans. Is there anything I can do?

It’s also important to make sure you don’t neglect the emotional impact of this situation. Getty Images/iStockphoto Question: I took out a student loan in 2006, but my ex-husband was very controlling,...

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...

These money and investing tips are what you need when markets aren’t giving what you want

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 Americans of all ages are fail...

Here Are Some Answers to Common Questions on Social Security Disability and Spousal Benefits

Photo illustration by Barron’s Staff; (reference) Dreamstime (4) Text size Have a question about saving for retirement or your personal financial situation? Whatever the question, Barron’s Retir...

Utilities Plan Huge Electric Grid Upgrades, Adding to Power Bills

American utilities are planning their biggest spending increases in decades to upgrade aging grids, prepare for electric vehicles and make the transition to renewable energy—moves poised to further bo...

Fight to protect consumers from bad investment advice advances slowly

William F. Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at a press conference on Sep. 10, 2018. Galvin championed a state rule governing investment advice, which a judge invalidated in Marc...

This is where property taxes increased the most last year — it’s not in California or New York

Today’s home buyers could be in for a shock when the tax man comes calling. In 2021, around $328 billion in property taxes were imposed on single-family homes across the country, according to a new re...

This is how much you made if you bought into the oil crash 2 years ago

If you want to retire rich, the late, great Dan Bunting has some advice for you. “Always buy the market (i.e., stocks or even just the index) after a spectacular bankruptcy,” my old friend Bunting, a ...

Why a Yield Curve Inversion Might Actually Be Good News for Investors

Text size Dreamstime About the author: Ashwin Alankar is the head of Global Asset Allocation at Janus Henderson Investors. The recent trend by the market to frame new developments in a negative light ...

You Made $700 From an Online Side Hustle. Now the IRS Will Know.

Now that your 2021 taxes are done—or at least under way—it’s time to focus on a key tax change for 2022 affecting millions of Americans making money through platforms like eBay , Etsy , Airbnb , Venmo...

A retired nurse lost $43,000 to bitcoin — watch out for red flags online

A New York retired nurse lost $43,000 of her life savings to bitcoin scammers, after transferring the money to them through a malicious computer pop-up – an unfortunate reminder to be vigilant when it...

Inflation is raging, but these 16 companies have pricing power

Decades of deflationary forces that helped feed booming prices for U.S. stocks are over, at least for now. But some companies are countering the trend, by a combination of holding down expenses and ra...

‘Please help!’ It seems like I have been paying my child’s student loan forever. How much longer must I pay it off?

Dear Quentin, It seems like I have been paying my Parent PLUS Loan forever. Someone told me that when my husband passed away, even though we were divorced at the time, I wouldn’t have to keep paying t...

Worried about rising inflation? Nearly risk free I bonds may soon pay 9.62%

Eakgrunge | Istock | Getty Images Less risk often means lower returns. But that’s not the case with I bonds, an inflation-protected and government-backed asset, which may soon pay an estimated 9...

Mortgage rates soar to highest level in over a decade — even wealthy home buyers are feeling the pain

Mortgage rates are soaring, and no one is being spared. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5% as of the week ending April 14, representing an increase of 28 basis points from the pr...

4 big expenses you should factor in for retirement

Retirement planning is part savings, part guessing game. While many of your day-to-day expenses will remain the same, there are big-ticket categories that can take a large bite out of your savings. Th...

Here’s why health savings accounts may contribute to inequality

The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images A popular way to save for out-of-pocket medical expenses might be contributing to health-care inequality, new research suggests. Health savings accounts...

When Does a Senior Citizen on Social Security Stop Filing Taxes?

Key Takeaways • If the only income you receive is your Social Security benefits, then you typically don’t have to file a federal income tax return. Our TurboTax Live experts look out for you. Ex...

As mortgage rates climb, one big thing homebuyers should consider doing now

Is a mortgage rate lock right for you? Getty Images Mortgage rates will likely rise throughout 2022, many experts predict. Indeed, both Holden Lewis, home and mortgage expert at Nerdwallet, and Jeff O...