Personal finance

Blueflames | Getty Images The rate of inflation has come down from pandemic era highs. Yet many Americans still say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to new research from Bank of America. That may apply whether household income is less than $50,000 or more than $150,000. How tight household budgets are is a

Betsie Van der Meer | Getty Only one cohort of shoppers thinks they have enough financial runway to spend cash this holiday season without rolling into debt — and even so, many in that group anticipate struggling. About half, or 52%, of shoppers with incomes of $100,000 or more believe they can “easily afford” holiday

Nazar_ab | E+ | Getty Images For most people, buying a home will be the biggest financial transaction they will make. It’s also generally considered a path to build wealth and increase your net worth, financial experts say. In the second quarter of 2024, U.S. homeowners with mortgages had a net homeowner equity of over

Getty Images If you’re weighing a year-end Roth individual retirement account conversion, waiting too long could be risky, financial experts say.   Roth conversions move pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which can start tax-free growth. The trade-off is upfront taxes on the converted balance, which boosts your adjusted gross income. The strategy has

As the run-up to the U.S. presidential election has highlighted, there is a growing share of “childless cat ladies” in this country. There is also a larger share of single women with children. As marriage rates fell, the number of women heading families rose. Often, this comes with financial challenges. Many single mothers shoulder the