Thanks to SWIFT, a freelance writer in Chicago can get paid by a client in London, an American retiring in Mexico can buy a house in San Miguel de Allende, and a multinational corporation can transfer money from headquarters to local operations. Individuals, businesses, banks, and governments rely on SWIFT to get things done. The focus has always been on speed and security. SWIFT is owned by its member banks and led by the National Bank of Belgium, the country where SWIFT is headquartered....

Learn more about the factors impacting the federal budget deficit, how it’s calculated, and whether you should be concerned. The Deficit As a Percentage of GDP While debt is sometimes measured as a dollar amount, it’s often measured as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected in February 2021 that the year’s deficit would be 10.3% of U.S. GDP. After the American Rescue plan, that percentage was increased to 15....

But, when you take your vehicle back to the lender or dealership before they send the repo man for it, that’s called voluntary repossession. You might consider voluntary repossession if you can no longer afford your auto loan payments and other options aren’t viable. The major benefit of a voluntary repossession is that you won’t have to face the auto lender’s cost of repossessing the vehicle. Voluntary Repossession Can Reduce Fees When a lender repossesses your vehicle, they don’t knock on the door and ask for the keys....

Employee Protections For employees, workers’ comp protects them from: Medical expenses for injuries sustained during the course of their jobLost wages for any time they cannot work due to those injuries It also provides lost wages to an employee’s family if the employee dies in the course of their work. Employer Protections Workers’ comp also protects employers in the following ways: It prevents employees from suing them for workplace injuries (although there are some limits we’ll discuss below)....

If possible, start with commodities in which you might already possess some professional knowledge. After that, it’s a good idea to evaluate, then re-evaluate, your propensity for risk. How to Select Good Commodities to Trade Most professional traders concentrate on one, or just a few, commodities to trade. There is sound logic behind this approach as you intimately get to understand all the little quirks of a commodity that many traders miss....

What the Law Says About a Hit-and-Run First, here’s a look at what a hit-and-run driver should do after an accident. Then we’ll consider the possible fallout for leaving the scene. Legal Requirements In most states, drivers in an accident with another vehicle are legally required to move quickly to a safe spot and then park. That’s if the vehicle is not too broken. Next, you should check on the health and safety of any victims in the other vehicles or in the vicinity....

In fact, 41% of employers look for college-educated workers for positions that formerly required only a high school degree. Employers in the survey said that a college-educated workforce leads to high work quality, productivity, communication, and innovation, among other benefits. But just having a degree does not mean that getting your first job out of college is automatic or easy. Here are seven things you can do during college to heighten your likelihood of getting a job quickly—plus, a look at entry-level job titles, and jobs by major....

Even if you don’t get a job offer, negative emotions don’t have to be the last stop of your application process. Here’s some tried-and-true advice on how to respond, and bounce back, when you’re rejected from a job that you really wanted. Don’t Stop Your Job Search One of the best ways to cope with rejection is to have more job opportunities in the hopper. Don’t stop job searching until you have a firm offer that you’ve accepted....

While there may be some guidance from human resources, is generally up to you to decide what you should do with your retirement savings when you change jobs. So, what happens to your 401k plan when you leave a job? 401(k) Plan Options When You Leave a Job If you have an employer-sponsored 401(k), you will likely be faced with four options when you leave your job. Stay in the old employer’s planMove the money to a new employer’s planMove the money to a self-directed retirement account (known as a rollover IRA)Cash out...

Here are five things you need to know about the ACA. Everyone Has Access to the Marketplace The ACA went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. It put several protections in place, including requiring insurance plans to cover those with preexisting health conditions, giving young adults the option to stay on a parent’s plan until age 26, and making it illegal for health insurance companies to cancel your coverage because you’re sick....

What the Interviewer Really Wants to Know Questions about your successes allow an employer to learn more about your work ethic, and your previous accomplishments. Your responses to questions about failures show the hiring manager how you work through challenging workplace situations. Read below for tips on answering interview questions about both your successes and failures, as well as sample answers for each type of question. How to Answer “What Were Your Biggest Successes and Failures?...

Payees need this information to report income on their personal or business federal and state income tax returns. The form is also filed with the IRS for verification purposes. The information provided on Form 1099-MISC includes the amount of payments made, and federal and state income taxes withheld (only in specific cases). Must I Submit Form 1099-MISC for a Small Amount of Payment? You must provide Form 1099-MISC to individuals and businesses who you paid $600 or more during the past year, $10 or more of royalties paid, and direct sales of $5,000 or more of consumer goods for resale....

Some homes are worth the full asking price if the pricing is fair, even when surrounding homes might be selling for less than the list price. It often comes down to just how much the home is worth, and a few other influences. Irrational Sellers Sellers can be irrational. Many think that their homes are worth much more than they actually are. Just count the number of MLS listings that sell at their original listing price and you’ll find that a large percentage of them have had price reductions....

Effect on Social Security You need only be married for one year for your spouse to be able to collect Social Security spousal benefits, but it might not be a good idea to file just yet, depending on your spouse’s age. You should both be at full retirement age before collecting benefits—age 66 or 67, depending on your birthdates. What if you’re collecting benefits based on your late spouse’s work record?...

While you can’t time the market perfectly, you can improve your returns by getting better at reading the business cycle. You then can adjust your asset allocation to take advantage of the phases. 4 Phases of the Business Cycle The business cycle has four phases: Current Business Cycle The U.S. economy entered the contraction phase of the business cycle in February 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state governments closed non-essential businesses in March....

There are the ring, the venue, the food, the flowers, the invitations, the cake—and plenty else. Take a look at all of the expenses involved with a wedding so that you can develop an idea of how much, realistically, you might end up spending. Major Factors to Consider in Your Wedding Budget There are many costs to think about, but here are some of the most common expenses that can make or break your wedding budget:...

No matter what your current financial situation may be, using the right estate planning tools makes a huge difference in making sure your final wishes are met. A solid plan can also make life (and taxes) much easier for the people you care most about. In this article, learn all of the reasons why estate planning is important not just for you and your assets, but for those loved ones you leave behind when you die....

You might hear this question asked jokingly or semi-seriously, but regardless of the context, it’s worth considering. If something were to happen to you unexpectedly, and you were unable to communicate your wishes regarding medical care, who would be your voice? Who would make life or death decisions on your behalf? This is why you may need a health care proxy. What’s a Health Care Proxy? A health care proxy, also called a durable medical power of attorney, authorizes a person of your choosing to make critical health care decisions on your behalf if you’re incapacitated or unable to communicate....

When a cashier swipes your credit card, the payment system communicates with your credit card issuer to determine whether your credit card is valid and you have enough funds available for the transaction. If everything is fine with your credit card, the system sends back an “approved” message and your transaction completes. However, in some cases, the credit card issuer sends back a message declining your credit card transaction....

However, as good as that sounds, it’s important to keep in mind that those high CD rates came with high inflation and interest rates. For that reason, savings may not have been quite as robust as they may have appeared on the surface. Fast inflation can strip value out of CD earnings very quickly. Below, you can compare historic CD rates for six-month, one-year, and five-year CD yields between 1984 and 2022, based on data collected by Bankrate....