U.S. homeownership rate tumbles to 1980s levels

High prices for everything from groceries to gas aren’t the only things making this year feel like a throwback to the 1980s. After almost a decade of gains, homeownership in the U.S. also has slipped ...

‘It could be the difference between an approval and denial’: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion remove fully-paid medical debt from credit reports. Will this help your credit score?

Paid medical debt is rolling off consumer credit reports in an overhaul that the credit bureaus say will improve people’s financial wellbeing. In a time of rising interest rates and increased costs wi...

Gas prices edge down just in time for July Fourth travel — here’s why

It’s a cool breeze during a hot moment, but it’s not the summer weather. As record-breaking numbers of Americans pack their cars and travel to Fourth of July barbecues that will cost them more than la...

The 60-40 portfolio is supposed to protect investors from volatility: so why is it having such a bad year?

The first half of 2022 has been a historically bad stretch for markets, and the carnage hasn’t been limited to stocks. As stocks and bonds have sold off in tandem, investors who for years have relied ...

Should You Roll Over Your 401(k) to an IRA? It Can Cost You Tens of Thousands.

Text size Retirement savers would do well to check the fees on fund holdings in 401(k) accounts held at former employers before rolling over to an IRA. Workplace savings plans tend to have more favora...

‘I wouldn’t be successful at my job without her’: My friend cleans, cooks and cares for my child. I pay her $50 a day. Am I taking advantage of her?

I’m a working-from-home mom and my supervisors have no intentions of bringing me back to the office at this time. In order to actually get work done, I have pieced together childcare using the help of...

Soulbound Tokens and the Rise of Decentralized Society

June 28, 2022, 10:48AM EDT • 11 min read Quick Take In the previous piece, we provided a primer on Souls and soulbound tokens (SBTs), covering topics about how they can encode identity and individuati...

Here’s how much your Social Security check is likely to go up next year

Good news — sort of. If you’re retired or just about to retire, next year’s Social Security checks are likely to see one of the biggest bumps on record as a result of surging consumer prices. The aver...

How long will stocks stay in a bear market? It hinges on if a recession hits, says Wells Fargo Institute

When the S&P 500 officially dropped into a bear market on June 13, closing down more than 20% from its last peak, it stirred debate about whether investors should hold tight or think about buying ...

Smith & Wesson stock soars as Supreme Court ruling boosts ‘pretty big’ part of gun maker’s business

Shares of Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. rallied again Friday, as better-than-expected earnings and a dividend hike followed a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down a New Y...

Juul Ban Will Send Altria’s Strategy, and $13 Billion, Up in Smoke

Altria Group disastrous investment in Juul Labs is taking another turn for the worse. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Food and Drug Administration is preparing to remove Juul e...

Here’s how much the average working boomer has saved for retirement

Three news items that say a lot about the retirement crisis facing Americans and what we can do about it—if we want to. The first is a survey of 1,000 working Americans conducted recently showing much...

Pornhub Parent Company’s CEO, COO Are Departing as Scrutiny Builds Over Alleged Nonconsensual Content

Two top executives at the parent company of major pornography site Pornhub have resigned, the company said Tuesday, amid scrutiny of alleged nonconsensual sexually explicit videos hosted on the site. ...

Millennials Are Right to Expect Cuts in Social Security. What to Do Right Now.

Text size Millennials need to save more over the course of their careers, according to a new report. Dreamstime Millennials will probably collect less in Social Security than older generations, but a ...

Is the Stock Market Closed on Juneteenth?

U.S. stock markets will be closed to observe Juneteenth for the first time in history.  The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq will shut down on Monday, June 20, in observation of the newest federal h...

What the Fed’s biggest rate hike in decades means for the bear market in bonds

Historically bad. That’s how the mammoth $53 trillion U.S. fixed-income market has performed this year as the Federal Reserve works to curtail high inflation threatening to wreck the economy. To turbo...

Hot Housing Market Keeps Home Foreclosures at Bay

The U.S. moratorium on home foreclosures ended nearly a year ago, but the sizzling housing market is still protecting many delinquent mortgage borrowers from losing their homes. The pandemic that wipe...

‘I feel bad that I’ll be taking most of his income’: I make twice what my boyfriend does. He pays me $300 in rent, but I want him to pay $800. Is that fair?

Dear Quentin, My boyfriend and I have been together seven years, and in that time I bought a house. I used my own savings and spent about $10,000 on renovations. My house is a three-bedroom family hom...

3 markets in which housing is more affordable than its historical average

Here’s where housing is relatively affordable. Getty Images Home prices have skyrocketed in recent years, with CoreLogic revealing in its latest report that home prices grew by 20.9% year over year in...

3 crucial financial moves to make now after the Fed’s biggest rate hike since 1994

In a matter of months, it’s become more expensive to carry a credit card balance, a car loan or a mortgage as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have seeped into borrowing costs. It’s tough med...

Fed’s biggest rate hike since 1994 means millions more homebuyers may be priced out of the housing market

Pity those first-time house buyers. On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points to a 1.5% to 1.75% range, the biggest increase since 1994 as it tries t...

Crypto crash FOMO? ‘I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time has come. Is it time to go big or go home? I have another 25 years of a boring 9-to-5 job, and I just want out.’

I read a letter from a reader last year who was suffering from crypto FOMO, and I have been following the crypto markets ever since. I felt like I missed the bus on Bitcoin, but now feel like my time ...

Puuvilla Society: Is the new Klaytn-based NFT collection here to sink or swim

The undisputed rulers of the NFT world are Ethereum [ETH]-based NFTs. In recent times, Solana-based NFTs have also managed to establish a decent position. However, the Klaytn-based NFT project Puuvill...

‘The goal is never to seek the top’: The wild, hair-raising ride of a 30-something investor who battled against NFT hackers and dodged the crypto crash

Vinny Zane has a taste for life — and an appetite for risk. The 38-year-old teacher and father of a 2-year-old son on Brooklyn’s Coney Island got into crypto in 2017 with $4,000 worth of Bitcoin, and ...

‘I respect every profession equally, but I feel like so many people look down on me for being a waitress’: Americans are tipping less. Should we step up to the plate?

I read your article about tipping. I’ve been serving and bartending for almost 16 years now, since I was 18. Waiting tables is so hard on your body, and a lot of people don’t appreciate all of the wor...

Dow tumbles as inflation reading triggers market shock waves: What investors need to know

From Wall Street to Main Street, fears that the U.S. economy could be sliding into 1970s-style “stagflation” have been percolating. References to the sticky situation appeared in news headlines all we...

What are Soulbound Tokens? Building Blocks for a Web3 Decentralized Society

With Web3 trending toward hyper-financialization and commoditization, leading lights in the space have proposed an alternative model built upon emergent networks by bottom-up communities with rich soc...

‘I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband’: I pay all the bills and gave the down payment for our home, and all he does is buy stuff and contribute to his 401(k)

I’m being taken advantage of by my own husband. I have been married for almost 10 years. When my husband and I were first married, he convinced me to stop working after the first year or so, which I r...

I put $200K toward a down payment for a condo unit with my boyfriend. He is on the title, but not on the mortgage. How do I protect my equity investment now?

Dear Quentin, I recently sold my apartment and put the equity earned (over $200,000) toward a new condo unit I own with my partner. My partner — we are not married — is on title, but not on the mortga...

Apple is offering ‘buy now, pay later.’ 4 reasons to think twice before signing up

After months of speculation, Apple AAPL, -0.45% finally unveiled its buy now, pay later offering this week, wading into an industry that’s experienced explosive growth. But consumers should be wary of...

My parents-in-law sold their home and bought an RV. They have $200K in the bank. How can they protect their assets from being used for nursing-home costs?

My father-in-law has health issues. While he is not quite ready for a nursing home, that may be a necessity in the near future. He has state retirement benefits and a very small Social Security check....

Home affordability has ‘collapsed’ in 2022. What to expect next, according to BofA

The double whammy of surging mortgage rates and skyrocketing home prices has led to “collapsed” housing affordability in America, according to Chris Flanagan’s team at BofA Global Research. The situat...