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…
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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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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…
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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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Morsa Images/Getty Images Key takeaways The Fortune 500 represents the 500 highest-earning U.S. companies in terms of revenue. Walmart, Amazon and UnitedHealth Group are the top three Fortune 500 companies for 2025. When the list was initially created in 1955, service companies like McDonald’s were excluded, but they now make…
To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, “What’s the deal with debit cards?” Debit cards occupy one of the more boring corners of the financial world. We’re talking about a plain vanilla payment method invented almost 60 years ago. The customer pays with a card and the money comes out of their linked…
Key takeaways Grants are direct funding from a government or organization given to businesses or individuals and do not need to be repaid. It is difficult to obtain a grant and typically requires a competitive application process. If your business fills a need in the community, creates good jobs or…
Corporate bonds are one way to invest in a company, potentially offering a lower-risk, lower-return way to bet on a business’s ongoing success compared to its stock. Bonds offer a regular cash payout, and their price tends to fluctuate less than a company’s stock. For investors wanting a higher return…
Images by GettyImages; Illustration by Bankrate President Donald Trump’s support of crypto markets has led to a slew of changes this year. Regulatory crackdowns have eased and new pro-crypto bills have passed. Lawsuits against major crypto companies have been dropped and Bitcoin has hit a couple of all-time highs, breaking…
Gold seems to be hitting new all-time highs month after month. The yellow metal soared through $3,600 an ounce in early September, and judging by the commodity’s price chart, the sky’s the limit. One major investment bank came out recently with its gold price prediction. Spoiler alert: Gold could continue…
Loren Jerae, a 26-year-old stay-at-home mom in Charlotte, North Carolina, has already begun Christmas shopping. She’ll frequent thrift stores, online marketplaces and clearance racks for the next few months until she’s curated the perfect pile of presents for her 5-year-old son. As a young mom, “I didn’t want our finances…
When a disaster strikes, you’re thinking about the safety of yourself and your loved ones, sometimes followed by the daunting task of rebuilding your home. Taxes are likely the furthest thing from your mind. But when the dust settles, the government does offer some tax assistance for disaster victims in…
Tax credits and tax deductions are two powerful ways to save money on your taxes. Credits cut your tax bill dollar-for-dollar — they’re the most valuable type of tax benefit for most taxpayers — while deductions reduce the amount of income subject to tax, which lowers your overall bill. If…
Key takeaways There are some cards that allow you to automatically earn rewards in your top spending categories without opting in. The advantage for you is that you don’t need to put in an effort to identify certain categories to earn rewards each period. It’s better to use these cards…
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