Holiday spending came in at the high end of projected ranges for 2025 despite numerous economic challenges. According to Mastercard, U.S. retail sales (excluding automotive) increased 3.9% year-over-year from Nov. 1 through Dec. 21, 2025. CNBC and the National Retail Federation published a similar increase, reporting holiday sales grew 4.1%…
Maca and Naca/GettyImages The average tax refund tends to be just over $3,000, but that number might climb to north of $4,000 in 2026, thanks to the massive tax bill that became law in 2025. That law included a higher standard deduction amount, more generous tax brackets and other changes…
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…
Trending
Spotlight This Week
More Articles
Personal Finance
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…
Featured Articles
You’ve heard of home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans, which let you borrow against the value of your home, getting ready cash for renovations, debt consolidation or anything else. But jumping through the income-qualification hoops that characterize much home-based financing may…
Dept Managmnt
2. Coaching and Tutoring Take stock of your areas of expertise – maybe you speak a second language or solving math equations comes…
Banking
OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANKBankers wants to discuss AI strategy. They’re excited about chatbots, machine learning models, generative AI tools, and AI…
Credit Cards
All News
Images by GettyImages; Illustration by Hunter Newton/Bankrate Key takeaways A no-down-payment mortgage allows you to finance 100 percent of your home, but you’ll likely still have to pay closing costs — or roll them into your mortgage. VA loans and USDA loans don’t typically require a down payment. If you…
Key takeaways Financial literacy is the ability to handle everyday money basics — budgeting, paying bills on time, building a starter cushion and using credit responsibly. Financial fluency is a step beyond literacy: You understand financial concepts well enough to solve problems and deliberately use tools like credit, refinancing and…
Cash may no longer be king these days, thanks to the convenience of electronic payments, although you might occasionally want some bucks to slip into a birthday card or tip a driver. Accessing your money keeps getting more expensive, however, if you’re using out-of-network ATMs. In fact, the average total…
Drazen Zigic / Shutterstock While on duty, members of the military are protected by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), a federal law designed to provide financial and legal protections to active-duty military members, reservists and members of the National Guard. They also get some of the best credit card…
shapecharge/Getty Images; Illustration by Issiah Davis/Bankrate You’ve carefully planned for retirement and secured a steady stream of income with an annuity. But then life throws a curveball at you. Maybe your dream vacation home goes on the market, an unexpected medical emergency or you need to help a child with…
Key takeaways: Many Gen Xers are stretched thin trying to meet both their elderly parents’ financial needs and their own. As many Gen Xers already report low retirement savings and emergency funds, the cost and time commitment of caregiving can make it even harder to meet financial goals for themselves…
designer491/GettyImages; Illustration by Hunter Newton/Bankrate Key takeaways VA loans don’t usually require a down payment, but you may have to make one in certain circumstances. Making a down payment on a VA loan can help reduce your funding fee and monthly payments, and you’ll build equity in your home more…
When I finished graduate school, I had $72,000 in student loans weighing me down. But less than a year after graduation, I’d paid it all off, thanks to the debt snowball method and some hefty determination. It was aggressive and at times downright exhausting, but I’ve stayed debt-free for years…
The Chase Slate® is no longer accepting new applications as of March 2020. Those interested in the Chase Slate® can check out the Chase Slate Edge℠* instead. Key takeaways Balance transfers can reduce interest costs by moving debt to a lower or 0 percent intro APR card. Watch for transfer…
Real estate is still one of the most reliable ways to build wealth in America. It’s also a popular choice among investors, with 24 percent reporting that real estate was their preferred long-term investment, according to a 2025 Bankrate survey. But in recent years, a wave of real estate investing…
Editor's Pick
