‘No, no, no, no, no!’ My wife and I are close to retirement, but we want to buy a house. Should I empty my 401(k) for the down payment?

Dear MarketWatch, My wife and I have been renting for many years, and we think it’s time to buy our first house. We live in Westchester County, N.Y., and we are looking for a home in the $450,000 to $...

‘We do not want him to receive anything from our estate’: How do we ensure our son-in-law does not get his hands on our money?

Dear Quentin, My wife and I are in our 70’s and have one daughter as the sole beneficiary to our estate. We live in Ohio. She is separated from her husband, and it doesn’t appear that they will be get...

The party’s over for AMC and GameStop investors — but the luckier meme-stock winners are now bracing for a massive tax bill

When Jason Gutierrez kept refreshing GameStop’s performance between work tasks during the wild, early days of 2021, he admits future tax obligations weren’t his No. 1 priority. “It was in the back of ...

The ‘best job in America’ pays $145,000, has 14,000 job openings — and offers a generous work-life balance

A six-figure salary and the option to work from home? It sounds too good to be true. Job openings are rising, while workers continue to quit. The number of vacant jobs hit 10.9 million in December, up...

Opinion: The Fed is determined to stop wages from rising

AUSTIN, Texas (Project Syndicate)—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has now committed to putting monetary policy on a course of rising interest rates, which could boost the short-term rate (on feder...

‘The company is a household name’: My husband’s tech firm gave him stock. It’s now 40% of our net worth. Should we diversify or hold?

Dear Quentin, My husband and I disagree as to whether he should diversify his tech stock. He was granted this stock during his five years employed with a tech company. It wasn’t worth much at the time...

‘No one is above the law’: Oil tycoon tried to stiff his ex-wife in a bitter divorce — now he’s going to prison for tax evasion

Todd Kozel made his riches in the oil fields of Kurdistan and now will have to pay the price. The once-jet-setting co-founder and chief executive of Gulf Keystone Petroleum is headed to prison for fiv...

Opinion: The party’s over: The Fed and Congress have pulled their support from workers and investors

Even as the government reports the fastest economic growth in nearly 40 years, the historic gains in income and wealth that inflated the economy in 2020 and 2021 are fading fast. The air is coming out...

Fed rate hikes are coming — how to tackle your savings, mortgage, car payments and credit-card debt in advance

Wall Street investors and Washington D.C. lawmakers are closely listening to what Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says Wednesday about the central bank’s next steps in its fight against decades...

‘Waiting for the perfect moment may not be the best strategy’: 3 things Americans can do right now as stock markets plunge

Americans woke up Monday morning to a stock market in sharp decline. In many ways, it was a replay of what investors have seen in recent weeks. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.57%...

Can Microsoft acquisition cure Activision Blizzard’s toxic workplace?

Besides concerns about antitrust scrutiny and a record $68.7 billion price tag, Microsoft Corp.’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. also raises a key question: How will it deal with the ...

First-time home buyers are selling crypto to fund down payments — here’s what to know before you do it

Many Americans are using their tendies to tap into the American Dream — and the trend doesn’t show signs of stopping. Nearly 12% of first-time buyers indicated that selling cryptocurrency holdings con...

I’m buying a home with my 74-year-old mother, but the mortgage will be in my name. How should we title the house?

Dear MarketWatch, I would like to see if you can provide me with some advice on purchasing a home with my mother who is 74. I will be putting down $240,000 — using the proceeds from the sale of my own...

Retiring early this year? Look through Affordable Care Act plans now before the deadline Saturday

Healthcare is one of the largest expenses in retirement, and one of the biggest risks for people who retire before age 65.  Retirement Tip of the Week: Before the open enrollment period ends on Jan. 1...

Bad news for home buyers: Mortgage rates have soared to their highest levels since March 2020

Interest rates are surging on the heels of data showing a concerning outlook for inflation — and home buyers are set to pay the price. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.45% for the week endin...

‘She has no life insurance, savings or money’: My brother died, leaving his wife with $20,000 in debt. How can I help her?

Dear Quentin, My sister’s husband died last week. They had both lived with us for the previous nine years before moving into an independent living facility. They were there for two and a half months b...

I’m 26, make $300K a year and have saved over $275K. Should I buy an apartment — or just keep renting?

I’m a single 26-year-old who’s been renting in downtown Atlanta for almost 5 years and want to buy my first home. My lease only allows me to enter the market once a year. If I find a deal, should I br...

I’m 68, my husband is terminally ill, and his $3 million estate will go to his son. I want to spend the rest of my days traveling – will I have enough money?

Please help me. I am a 68-year-old woman married 17 years to the love of my life. Our finances have always been separate, and I signed a prenuptial acknowledging that his son will inherit his estate h...

‘The Fed might have to really stop on the brakes’: Mortgage rates surge to highest level in over a year

Mortgage rates rose markedly in the first week of 2022 — potentially setting the tone for a year in which economist expect interest rates to move steadily higher. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage avera...