Personal finance

krisanapong detraphiphat | Moment | Getty Images American consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud last year, up from $3.4 billion in 2020 (an increase of more than 70%), the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday. Almost 2.8 million consumers filed a fraud report to the agency in 2021 — the highest number on

Getty Images If you recently made a profit selling your home, it may come with a costly surprise this filing season: capital gains taxes on your windfall. In 2021, the average U.S. home seller scored a profit of $94,092, up 71% from $55,000 two years ago, according to ATTOM, a nationwide property database. While many

In this article DAL MAR WH IHG-GB H LUV AAL An Alaska Airlines jet lands at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 7, 2022. Alaska’s Alaska Miles topped NerdWallet’s ranking of airline programs for 2022. George Rose | Getty Images Ever wonder if you’ve been loyal to the right airline, hotel or other travel provider

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images The Social Security Administration recommends beneficiaries visit its website as the first stop for service as the agency works to reopen its field offices. But many people are reluctant to apply for benefits online. Only about half of retirees have used that method since 2013, according to the Center

U.S. speed skater Apolo Ohno competes in the 2010 Winter Olympics at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. Jamie Squire | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images When Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno hung up his skates for good in 2010, finding a path forward wasn’t exactly easy for him. In fact, the eight-time medalist calls

Russell Toll and his wife, Heidi, when he returned from service in Iraq in 2009. Russell Toll When the child tax credit checks started to be delivered in July of last year, Russell Toll saw it as an investment in his family. With the help of the credit, the Dallas-area resident was able to speed

Getty Images The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted millions of Americans to put plans, including weddings, on hold. As 2022 unfolds and, we hope, the worst of the pandemic is behind us, nuptials are expected to take place in record numbers. The Wedding Report, a wedding market research firm, projects there will be 2.5 million weddings

Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday pledged a crackdown on student loan servicers that flout rules on loan forgiveness for public servants. The government agency said it “plans to prioritize” oversight of student loans in the coming year, with a “specific focus” on monitoring how servicers are engaging with

PeopleImages | iStock | Getty Images There was a time not too long ago when holding “AMT-free” municipal bond funds might have made perfect sense for many investors. These days? Maybe not so much. With a small share of taxpayers subject to the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, since a federal tax overhaul took effect

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Long-term care expenses are growing, with sizable hikes for home-based services as the industry struggles to meet soaring demand from aging Americans.    That’s according to Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey, a yearly report covering nationwide senior caregiving. While the median yearly costs rose across all provider types, home-based

Getty Images Just months after a federal $15 minimum wage failed to take shape, Californians may get the chance to vote on even higher minimum hourly pay. A measure to raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 began to collect signatures in February. If the campaign, called the Living Wage Act of 2022, gets 700,000

VALERIE MACON | AFP | Getty Images When Charlene Latsha calls the Social Security Administration, she’s placed on hold for so long that she hangs up. Latsha, 70, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, has been trying to reach the government agency about her husband’s application for retirement benefits. Though he has been disabled and unable to work

SEC chairman Gary Gensler testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Sept. 14, 2021 in Washington. Evelyn Hockstein-Pool/Getty Images The Biden administration is lending a more cautious eye to private equity and other “alternative” investments like hedge funds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Labor have

Hass avocados are displayed in the produce section at a United Market on Feb. 7, 2022 in San Anselmo, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images The Federal Reserve is set to hike interest rates this year for the first time since 2018 to address the worst inflation in 40 years spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

Andrii Zastrozhnov | iStock | Getty Images If you’re retiring and signing up for Medicare, there’s a chance you’ll be assessed extra monthly charges — at least at first. While most enrollees pay the standard premium amounts for Part B (outpatient care) and Part D (prescription drugs), about 7% of Medicare’s 63.3 million beneficiaries end

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc Finding a competitive interest rate on your emergency savings has become even more difficult amid record high inflation. But there is good news. The Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising interest rates. When they do, that will kick up the interest you can earn on your cash. Some accounts may

In this article EFX Scyther5 | Getty Images Your ticket to free credit monitoring for four years may be sitting in your inbox. If you signed up for this service a couple of years ago as part of the settlement from the 2017 massive data breach at credit-monitoring firm Equifax, you should have received information

In this article PRU Willie B. Thomas | DigitalVision | Getty Images Thought saving for retirement was hard? Spending that money — and ensuring it lasts through old age — is even harder. It may not sound tough at first blush. But consider all the unknowns: how long you’ll live; the need for costly health

Passengers board an Airbus passenger jet operated by Icelandic low-fare carrier Play. Play Startup low-fare Icelandic airline Play announced new transatlantic service out of a third U.S. airport, Stewart International in New Windsor, New York, to begin June 9. (Stewart lies about 65 miles north of New York City.) Play, which launched last July with

Tom Werner | DigitalVision | Getty Images There’s a growing list of essential things for taxpayers to know as the IRS embarks on a challenging season with limited staffing and a backlog from 2021 that’s still millions of returns deep. There were 6 million unprocessed individual returns as of Dec. 31, according to the IRS,