How to effectively use credit cards for summer travel
Klaus Vedfelt | Digitalvision | Getty Images If you plan to spend money on travel as the days get longer, sunnier and warmer, be careful: It could leave you with high-interest debt you will still be paying off through the fall and winter. Almost half (45%) of Americans plan to take a summer trip requiring […]
How to calculate capital gains taxes when selling your home
Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images As home values climb, more Americans owe capital gains taxes when selling property. But knowing how to calculate your home’s profit could reduce your bill, experts say. Most Americans do not owe taxes for selling a primary residence because of a special tax break — known as the Section […]
How to reduce capital gains taxes on your home sale
The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty Images More Americans are paying capital gains taxes on home sale profits amid soaring property values — but there are ways to reduce your bill, experts say. In 2023, nearly 8% of U.S. home sales yielded profits exceeding $500,000, compared with about 3% in 2019, according to an […]
Americans can’t stop ‘spaving’ — here’s how to avoid this financial trap
Spending more to save more is an all-too common pitfall. The opportunities for so-called “spaving” are nearly everywhere, whether it’s the lure of a “limited-time deal” or “buy one, get one free” or tacking on additional items to get a bigger discount or simply to reach the free shipping threshold. But spending to save can lead […]
How to avoid the ‘survivor’s penalty’ before a spouse passes
Jessie Casson | Digitalvision | Getty Images It’s hard to lose a spouse, and a costly surprise makes it even more difficult, especially for older women — higher taxes. But financial experts say there are several ways to prepare. In 2022, there was a 5.4-year life expectancy gap between U.S. sexes, according to data from […]
The Budgetnista Tiffany Aliche: How to start budgeting
A young woman in her early 20s riding a chopper cycle. Karan Kapoor | The Image Bank | Getty Images Having a strong budget can help you build financial wellness. “A budget is a picture of what your money is doing,” Tiffany Aliche, also known as The Budgetnista, told CNBC during a Women & Wealth […]
Here’s how to take advantage
TikTok‘s latest financial trend, “loud budgeting,” has been gaining steam, and experts say it’s easier to accomplish than many might think. The concept encourages consumers to take control of their finances and be vocal about making money-conscious decisions, rather than modeling purchase behaviors after celebrities and their bottomless pockets. It can be as simple as […]
How to make the most of it
Just months ago, we were coveting Loro Piana cashmere baseball hats and $300 Smythson notebooks in the name of “quiet luxury” and justifying such expensive purchases using “girl math.” But in 2024, there’s a new idea taking hold that overtly rejects the urge to overspend and promotes speaking up about saving money — welcome to […]
It’s easy to get 5% yields. How to soften the tax hit on your big income payers
Uncle Sam is about to take his share of those juicy yields you’ve been earning through 2023. This year, investors didn’t have to work terribly hard to get paid high yields from their income-paying investments. The Crane 100 Money Fund Index touts an annualized 7-day yield of 5.2%. For those willing to sacrifice some liquidity, […]
Bond yields will come down in 2024. How to prepare your portfolio
In 2023, you could plop money into a high-yield savings account and get a yield nearing 5% with little effort. Expect to work a little harder for those fixed income returns in the new year. The Federal Reserve’s series of interest rate hikes, which kicked off in 2022, made idle money profitable. One-year certificates of […]