ljubaphoto/Getty Images: Illustration by Issiah Davis/Bankrate Key takeaways The interest rate on a mortgage indicates how much interest you’ll pay for the amount you borrow. The annual percentage rate (APR) is the interest rate plus additional fees and any points. When comparing loan offers, it’s best to compare APRs to…
Christina Zelow Lundquist/ Getty Images; Illustration by Austin Courregé/Bankrate Key takeaways A cash-out refinance replaces your current mortgage with a new, bigger one. The borrower receives the difference between the two balances in cash. The terms of your refinanced mortgage might differ from your original loan, including a new interest…
Money is an uncomfortable topic for many, yet it’s an important ongoing conversation to have in a relationship. Financial secrets undermine trust. And for many, it may even feel like betrayal. More than 2 in 5 U.S. adults (43%) believe keeping financial secrets is at least as bad as physical…
Key takeaways Decisions made by the Federal Reserve to increase the benchmark rate do not directly impact auto loans but rather the cost for banks to lend. The higher the Fed sets rates, the higher auto loan rates will likely be. The Fed made its third and last rate cut…
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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 CD early withdrawal penalties typically cost 60 to 365 days of interest, with longer terms carrying steeper penalties. Breaking a CD early may be worth it if you need funds to avoid high-interest debt, make a major down payment, or lock in significantly…
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2. Coaching and Tutoring Take stock of your areas of expertise – maybe you speak a second language or solving math equations comes…
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OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANKBankers wants to discuss AI strategy. They’re excited about chatbots, machine learning models, generative AI tools, and AI…
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Gold hit an all-time high this week, reaching $3,819 per ounce — and, for the first time in half a century, topping its 1980 peak in inflation-adjusted terms.The yellow metal is now up 45% this year, making it by far the best-performing asset class of 2025, outpacing Wall Street’s crown…
If there’s one thing everyone agrees on, it’s that housing is unaffordable. Case in point: the National Association of Home Builders said in March that 60% of U.S. households can’t afford a $300,000 home at a time when the median price is now well above $400,000. For most families, the…
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANKThe 2023 launch of instant payments via FedNow was heralded as a milestone in the modernization of US payments infrastructure. Real-time settlement, once a distant goal, was now a reality. Despite the fanfare, most financial institutions have taken only tentative steps toward adoption. According to…
fizkes/Getty Images: Illustration by Issiah Davis/Bankrate Coming up with a down payment on a home — especially if it’s your first — can feel impossible. But you don’t have to do it by yourself: There are many first-time homebuyer grants that can help. These programs are offered by banks and…
Key takeaways Car prices, monthly payments, and insurance costs all rose during 2024. Good credit scores are key to securing good auto loan rates. APRs are decreasing for super prime and prime borrowers but rising for all other borrowers. Consumers should keep an eye on increased overall costs for new…
As September marks National Preparedness Month, it’s a timely reminder to reassess not only our emergency kits and plans but also the state of our finances. In the face of unpredictable events, financial stability can be as crucial as having the right supplies on hand. Unexpected events like job loss,…
Here’s something credit card experts know but you might not: it’s getting much tougher for the average person to find a great travel credit card that unlocks luxury experiences without the price tag. Major credit card issuers have steadily made premium credit cards more exclusive in recent years. Before, they…
Image by GettyImages; Illustration by Bankrate A sharp pullback in home equity rates, one week after the Fed’s highly anticipated quarter-point rate cut. The $30,000 home equity line of credit tumbled 17 basis points to 7.88 percent, its lowest level in about a year-and-a-half, according to Bankrate’s national survey of…
Key takeaways The SIPC is a federally mandated, private nonprofit organization that helps protect securities and cash in brokerage accounts against the risk of the brokerage becoming insolvent. The SIPC protects specific types of securities, such as stocks, bonds (including Treasurys), money market mutual funds and CDs. The SIPC and…
For the first half of my 20s, I thought about money in the same way you might think about grocery shopping or laundry — a chore, but not requiring more brain space than necessary to get food on the shelves or clean clothes in the closet. As long as there…
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