Credit counseling agencies are often nonprofit organizations that can offer you a range of services, including setting up debt management plans with creditors. But don’t confuse them with debt settlement firms. Debt settlement firms are for-profit and negotiate with creditors on your behalf to reduce the principal balance owed. However, they can lead to serious credit and tax implications. When deciding between credit counseling or debt settlement, it’s important to understand how each one works....

The failing grade highlights the struggle Americans have in understanding the complicated scoring system that helps determine how much you can take out on a loan and at what interest rate, how much your auto insurance might cost, and even whether you will get the job or home you want. Zillow surveyed more than 2,000 people across the nation between Feb. 11 and Feb. 19. Which of these things does not typically impact on your credit score?...

Learn the key terms that apply to depreciable business assets, and how to tell them from assets that can’t be depreciated. What Are Depreciable Business Assets? A depreciable business asset is a form of business expense that applies to items with set lifespans. These assets break down over time, and businesses can continue to receive tax write-offs throughout the assets’ lifespans. Depreciable business assets include most forms of property, including buildings, machinery, vehicles, furniture, and computers....

In 2005, Senator Elizabeth Warren and her daughter Amelia Warren Tyagi penned a book titled “All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan” that proposes a viable way to distinguish between wants and needs. In the book, the pair introduced the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. This method of budgeting, which calls for devoting half of your net income to your needs and then splitting the difference on the remainder between wants (30%) and savings (20%), is often cited as a reliable way of managing expenses....

Updating Your Estate Plan After Divorce If you and your former spouse created an estate plan together during your marriage, then you probably have an idea of what goes into it. Many of the same estate planning components you created during the marriage will have to be updated once you’re divorced. The most important documents to revisit are your: WillTrustPower of attorneyLife insuranceFinancial accountsGuardianship After a divorce, your wishes for who you want to inherit your assets, and who you want making decisions for you if you’re incapacitated will likely have changed....

A Woman’s Impact According to a number of studies in recent years, there is increasing evidence that women in executive positions and on corporate boards can have a positive impact on a company’s performance. A more diverse C-suite, these studies conclude, is connected to higher margins, bigger profits, and better total return to shareholders. “We find clear evidence that companies with a higher proportion of women in decision-making roles continue to generate higher returns on equity, while running more conservative balance sheets,” according to a 2016 report from Credit Suisse....

Some students are simply not ready for the college experience, or they may want to explore the world a little more before settling into the college routine. Others use the opportunity to earn money to help pay down some of the costs of a college education. Along with that, there might be an interest in getting to know yourself before you commit to a costly college education. In the end, though, some students might decide that they want to attend college after their gap year....

Learn more about who needs a CPAP machine, what insurance or Medicare covers when it comes to a CPAP machine, and how to determine what your costs will be should you need a CPAP machine for yourself. Who Needs a CPAP Machine? Have you noticed you feel tired after a full night’s sleep, or you’ve been told you snore loudly? You could be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that narrows or blocks your airway when you sleep....

Laws Vary by State Workers’ compensation laws vary from state to state. In most states, businesses with any employees are required to purchase insurance. A handful of states require insurance only if a business employs at least a specified number of employees. Examples are New Mexico (three workers) and Alabama (five workers). In many states, employers must include corporate executives when counting employees. Federal law also requires companies hiring contractors overseas to purchase Defense Base Act insurance, which is an extension of workers’ compensation....

What Medicare Does Not Cover You may not know that private provider Part D prescription benefits are suspended after you reach a certain dollar amount. This interrupted period is referred to as the “Medicare donut hole.” After you reach your plan’s deductible for prescription expenses, Medicare will pay for a certain percentage of your prescription drug costs. They cover a portion of the costs until you reach the donut hole level of costs....

The main difference between the two is that a Fannie Mae HomeStyle Loan is a conventional mortgage, while an FHA 203(k) loan is a government-backed option with more lenient qualifying requirements. Learn more about how your renovation goals, timeline, and financial status can help you determine which is best for you. What’s the Difference Between the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Loan and the FHA 203(k)? Trying to decide between a Fannie Mae HomeStyle Loan and an FHA 203(k)?...

FDR proposed the New Deal to reverse the downward economic spiral. The goals were relief, recovery, and reform for those who were hardest hit. New Deal Policies FDR launched the New Deal in three waves from 1933 to 1939. Congress passed dozens of programs to stabilize the U.S. financial system. They provided relief to farmers, and jobs to the unemployed. They also built private-public partnerships to boost manufacturing. FDR’s New Deal policies introduced Keynesian economic theory....

Still, when it’s your job to advise people day-in and day-out on money management, it’s only natural that you develop a philosophy to apply to your own finances. We asked some of the country’s top financial advisors to pull back the covers on their own money habits—and we have some suggestions for applying those expert habits into your own life. Keep Consistent Track of Your Spending Eat your vegetables, get some exercise, make a budget—there’s a reason we hear this advice over and over (and over)....

It’s important to understand the rules for using your Roth IRA to buy a home. Otherwise, you could owe taxes and fees. It’s also important to consider other factors, such as how a withdrawal will affect your retirement goals. In this article, you’ll learn how to use your Roth IRA money toward a first-time home purchase, as well as the pros and cons of doing so. How To Use Your Roth IRA To Buy a Home While Roth IRAs are designed primarily for retirement savings, you can also withdraw up to $10,000 of your account’s earnings for a first-time home purchase....

The good news is that you don’t have to buy an entire share at a time. A strategy called “fractional investing” allows you to purchase portions of a share. Here’s how it works. What Is a Fractional Share? As you probably inferred, a fractional share is a fraction of a full share. Depending on the company you invest in or the broker you use, it’s possible to buy a portion of a share....

The bank forecasts the unemployment rate to fall to 4.1% by the end of the year, from last month’s 6.2% and much better than the Federal Reserve’s December forecast of 5%. The Wall Street Journal’s survey of 60 economists shows a forecast of 5.3% . Goldman said the hiring boom will come with the reopening of the economy as vaccines roll out, fiscal stimulus gets passed, and pent-up savings start getting spent....

Westend61 / Getty Images According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 86.6% of non-employer businesses were sole proprietorships as of 2021. If you’re thinking about running this type of small business, it’s important to understand how a sole proprietorship operates—including how these businesses pay taxes. What Is a Sole Proprietorship? A sole proprietorship is the default business type unless the owner registers with their state as another legal structure. A sole proprietorship is easy to form....

Who Is Authorized To Work in the United States? Several categories of foreign workers are permitted to work in the United States, including permanent immigrant workers, temporary (non-immigrant) workers, and student and exchange workers. These include: U.S. green card holderExchange visitor visa Temporary work visas (non-agricultural)Temporary worker visas (skilled workers)Seasonal agricultural worker visas How To Get a U.S. Work Visa You must obtain a visa from the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country or the country that’s closest to your residence abroad prior to coming to the U....

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that it’s opening a wide-ranging inquiry into what it calls “exploitative junk fees” charged by banks and financial companies. The initiative will probe late fees, overdraft fees, payment processing fees, stop payment fees, check imaging fees, mortgage closing costs, and credit card balance transfer fees. It will focus on fees that might hide the true cost of a financial product or that might be more expensive than what the service is really worth....

The expected spike in home heating costs is due both to soaring prices for natural gas (the most common heating method for U.S. households) and a forecast for a relatively cold winter, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. A colder-than-expected winter could boost that cost further to $1,096 for October through March, a 51% increase compared to the same period last year. Energy costs have been a major source of overall inflation that’s running close to its highest in four decades eating into household budgets....