For most of your working career, the focus of your retirement planning is on accumulating savings and investing that money wisely. As you approach retirement, more attention will go to estimating your income after you stop working, and the kind of lifestyle that this will support. The way to do…
Photography by Getty Images; Illustration by Bankrate The tax deadline will be here before you know it. The good news is that there are a few different options to file your taxes for free in 2026 — and many of them offer guided support to make sure you file your…
Key takeaways Figuring your AGI is a crucial step on the path to calculating your taxable income and, in turn, your tax bill. Your AGI determines your eligibility for a variety of tax deductions and tax credits. (Sometimes, your modified adjusted gross income comes into play — more on that…
Key takeaways The standard deduction is a specific dollar amount that you can use to reduce your taxable income. You have to choose between claiming the standard deduction and itemizing (that is, claiming expenses that you paid). The standard deduction amount usually increases each year for inflation. Also, the standard…
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The nation’s 75 million Social Security recipients will receive a 2.8% cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase in their benefits…
Historically Black colleges and universities are on the frontlines of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s new limits on parent…
The big new fees JPMorgan Chase is planning to charge some financial technology companies may well trickle down to consumers,…
With artificial intelligence beginning to eat away at many white-collar entry-level jobs, and the unemployment rate for recent college graduates…
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Key takeaways Several airline credit cards offer discounts on tickets for your traveling companions when you meet certain criteria. Available discounts range from flat-rate fares to fully comped tickets (minus taxes and fees). Take note of your card’s eligibility requirements so you can maximize your…
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Tip 3: Learn How to Create a Better ‘To Do’ List When we make resolutions, we tend to resolve to do certain things.…
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These entrepreneurs, traders and investors are making an outsized impact in fintech, crypto and traditional financial services.By Jeff Kauflin, Hank Tucker and Nina…
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Everyone needs insurance, right? And nobody should exploit that need to line their own pockets. Sadly, that’s just what many insurance companies do! So you have to be on the lookout for the sneaky expenses they slide into their packages that drive up your insurance bill. By making a few…
Imagine. Mary Poppins floats down onto your front lawn to attend a party. She snaps shut her umbrella and strolls in for some games and hors d’oeuvres. But before she can even reach the charcuterie board, she trips on a stray croquet ball and smashes her tailbone, shouting supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Next thing you…
Key takeaways You can legally buy property when you reach the age of majority, or the age at which you are legally considered an adult. However, that age differs by state — in most states, the age of majority is 18, but in a few it’s older. Even once you’re…
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If you’re a business owner, you can take an immediate expense deduction for the purchase of certain property — like machinery and equipment — through the Section 179 tax deduction. Rather than depreciating the property over time, the Section 179 deduction allows business owners to deduct the entire cost as…
Remember the good ol’ days when getting gasoline for your car cost you under $1 a gallon? Okay, maybe not. Some of us weren’t even born or driving a car yet (hi there, 1988).1 But those sure sound like nice times. Meanwhile, back in June of 2022, gas prices hit a…
Hispanolistic/Getty Images “Unlock the value that’s sitting in your home!” “Open a line of credit, get the money you need fast!” “Tap into your hard-earned equity for renovations, debt consolidation, or whatever you need!” If you’re a homeowner like me, your mailbox has probably been flooded with postcards and letters…
Roth IRAs are known for tax-free growth and distributions in retirement. However, inherited IRAs come with their own rules and limitations that can complicate the picture. Whether you can convert an inherited IRA to a Roth IRA depends on both your status and current IRS guidelines. By understanding IRS law,…
When it comes to building wealth, you can’t overestimate the importance of having a great financial advisor. More than half of investors (55%, to be exact) who work with a financial advisor said they saved more for retirement than they would have on their own.1 The National Study of Millionaires…
Images by Getty Images; Illustration by Bankrate Key takeaways AVM stands for automated valuation model, a computer algorithm that uses available data to estimate a home’s value. Different AVMs might provide different estimates for the exact same home, depending on how they’re programmed. A professional home appraisal will typically estimate…
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