Are you as diversified as you think?
Giant technology companies have grown so large that they now dominate the S&P 500, and that is changing how some investors think about index funds. As of…
Category: Money & Personal Finance
A historic boom, and no one knows where it ends
The same giant companies that dominate the stock market are pouring almost unimaginable sums into artificial intelligence, and the figures are hard to…
Can government help when rents are too high?
Rents feel too high in a lot of cities, so governments worldwide keep stepping in to push them down. The results have been mixed, and rarely what the…
A budget you can build with one sheet of paper
The bills that wreck a budget usually aren’t the monthly ones. They’re the expenses that don’t arrive every month but always arrive eventually — car…
Mystery deposit from your credit union? It’s your share of the profits
If you bank with a credit union, you may notice a deposit appear once a year labeled something like “descriptive deposit rebate.” It is not a mistake. It…
“Free $1,000” insurance from the bank
Your bank or credit union may have already sent you an announcement that you are covered for $1,000 of accidental death and dismemberment insurance. It’s…
Can you fund retirement without stocks?
Some want zero stock market exposure when they retire. Maybe they were burned in 2008. Maybe they remember the decade from 2000 to 2009, when the S&P 500…
The two-week trouble of payday loans
Payday loans are legal in most states, but illegal or capped at very low rates in about 21 states and the District of Columbia. If your state allows them,…
The SALT deduction: a bigger break for homeowners
If you pay significant state income taxes or property taxes, a change in federal tax law probably made you plenty happy with 2025 taxes and your luck will…
What parents (and grandparents) need to know about child tax credits in 2026
If you have children in your household, two federal tax credits could put real money back in your pocket, and both have changed enough in 2026 to be worth…