Personal finance

The one-year grace period for student loan borrowers who miss a payment expired this week. And yet, millions of Americans are likely unprepared to give up that key safety net. The goal of the 12-month “on ramp” to repayment was to give borrowers some breathing room as they worked student loan payments back into their budgets. Although interest still accrued on

Baona | E+ | Getty Images As year-end approaches, you may be eyeing Roth individual retirement account conversions. The strategy, however, boosts your income, which can have other tax consequences, experts say. Roth conversions shift pretax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which provides future tax-free growth. But the converted balance boosts your

Catherine Delahaye | Digitalvision | Getty Images Federal spending on children climbed to a peak of $11,690 per child in 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, there has been a “steep decline” in those expenditures, which fell to $10,190 per child in 2022 and then to $8,990 per child in 2023, adjusted

Republican vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally at Radford University on July 22, 2024 in Radford, Virginia. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images Many voters ages 50 and up say two issues — Social Security and Medicare — could decide how they cast their ballots this November.

Port of Miami dockworkers strike near the port entrance and demand a new labor contract, on October 1, 2024 in Miami, Florida.  Giorgio Viera | Afp | Getty Images A dockworker strike at seaports along the U.S. East and Gulf coasts is expected to cause massive problems for global supply chains and the economy. American consumers will likely