Personal finance

If you’re hoping to score a good deal on a new car during July Fourth sales events,  it will be a mixed bag. While manufacturers and dealerships are offering special deals on some models to prop up sales amid the pandemic, inventory is down due to coronavirus-related disruptions in manufacturing. “We’ve seen incentives continue to

swissmediavision The seemingly endless nationwide pandemic lockdown has resulted in a lot of pent-up travel demand. As the second major long holiday weekend of summer gets underway, people looking to celebrate Independence Day are getting in their cars and campers for road trips — deemed by many a safer bet than air or cruise travel. 

With only two weeks left until this year’s tax filing deadline, now is the time to take the opportunity to make some key moves, which could translate into nice tax savings. The Covid-19 crisis led the federal government to extend the due date for submitting your 2019 federal income tax return to July 15, which

The Senate is giving entrepreneurs more time to apply for emergency funding. But it might not be enough for small-business owners. The Paycheck Protection Program, the forgivable loan program that was established through the federal CARES Act, was originally intended to cover eight weeks of payroll costs, plus mortgage interest, utilities and rent expenses. June

Playing games with coins is one way to teach kids about money Source: Diana David Joseph School may be out for summer, yet you can still find the time to teach your kids about money — and it doesn’t have to be boring. “Some parents think they need to have the ‘money talk,’ but it’s

Bobby Bonilla of the New York Mets looks on before a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 15, 1999 at Shea Stadium in New York. Mitchell Layton/Getty Images Bobby Bonilla, who retired as a baseball player in 2001, hasn’t played for the New York Mets since 1999. Yet Bonilla is among the highest-paid

Pedestrians in Washington pass a “We Are Open” restaurant sign during the Covid-19 outbreak on May 12. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters When it comes to the next coronavirus stimulus package and providing more direct financial aid, the question on most Americans’ lips is, “Will they or won’t they?” One political analyst predicts it’s likely lawmakers

Joseph Wardenaar was an executive chef in Portland before the coronavirus hit. Now he’s pursuing a career in computer programming. Source: Joseph Wardenaar Before the coronavirus crisis, Joseph Wardenaar was a successful chef in Portland, Oregon. At 36, he had worked his way up from line cook to executive chef at Irving Street Kitchen. Then,

ROBERTO SCHMIDT It’s impossible to think about racial injustice in the U.S. without looking at the distribution of dollars.  In many ways that Americans work to establish themselves financially — through the stock market,  net worth and homeownership — Black families trail White families. “To put it simply, we don’t have a level playing field,” said Evelyn Brodkin, an

Maskot/Getty Images Uncle Sam has heard your requests for more time to file your taxes – and they have been denied. The Treasury Department and the IRS will stick with the July 15 deadline for 2019 income tax returns and taxes owed for that year, the agencies said. The announcement came less than a week

Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines outside the Kentucky Career Center for help with their unemployment claims on June 19, 2020 in Frankfort, Kentucky. John Sommers II/Getty Images The financial aid that jobless workers have been receiving to shore up household income during the coronavirus pandemic is poised for a dramatic reduction

Klaus Vedfelt If you took a mandatory distribution from an inherited retirement account this year, the IRS will let you put the money back. The CARES Act, which became law on March 27, allowed individuals to skip required minimum distributions for 2020. This is the annual withdrawal you must take from your individual retirement account and

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. Ralf-Finn Hestoft | Corbis | Getty Image The bill, called the Student Recovery Eligibility for Low-Income Individuals to Exact Funds (RELIEF) Act of 2020, would make students receiving Pell Grants eligible to receive $1,200 stimulus checks. Federal Pell Grants are need-based funds given to low-income students to help them complete their

Protesters donned masks during a rally to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. China News Service There’s no doubt Americans are feeling stressed and anxious these days. Money concerns hit many hard as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the economy. There are also fears about the virus itself, as well as the pain it’s

A patient arrives to Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, on April 5, 2020. Bryan R. Smith | AFP | Getty Images An unfortunate side effect can accompany a job loss: no more employer-subsidized health insurance. For people age 65 or older in that situation, Medicare is generally the solution. While some in that age

The reception desk at luxury boutique property Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern in Saugerties, New York, features sneeze guards. Guests and staff must wear face masks in public areas. Gina Hornbeck/Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern Like most components of travel in the Covid-19 era, hotel check-in has changed — perhaps, in many ways, for good.

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Deciding when to take your Social Security retirement benefits is a crucial decision no matter when you make it. Making that call during the coronavirus pandemic can raise the stakes. That’s because the age at which you decide to claim will lock in the amount of monthly income you

Up until recently, an old-fashioned certificate of deposit was a reliable way to lock in a decent return.  Now, some CD rates are hitting all-time lows and could still fall further, according to Ken Tumin, founder of DepositAccounts.com. “Since March, rates have taken a nosedive,” he said. “I’m not sure where they will bottom.” In the wake of

In the wake of Covid-19, colleges will likely outsource more of the student housing needs to companies such as DMG, which owns apartment complexes such as this one in upstate New York serving Cornell University. Source: DMG Investments The days of cramming undergraduates into shared rooms with a communal bathroom down the hall may be

Sam Seagraves Source: Sam Seagraves Almost all of the money Sam Seagraves used to make as an actor in Portland, Oregon, went toward her monthly student loan bill of $1,083.  Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. With many production companies postponing or cancelling operations, Seagraves hasn’t been hired for a role since March. The CARES Act granted