Americans are traveling again in big numbers. If you’ve sat in holiday traffic, struggled to find a parking space at the airport, or searched for a hotel only to find “No Vacancy,” you’ve probably noticed.
Walk down almost any grocery aisle today and you’ll notice something that would have been hard to imagine a generation ago: retailers are increasingly competing against national brands with brands of their own.
Here’s the first thing to understand: most food date labels are about quality, not safety. Manufacturers use many of these dates to tell you when a product is expected to have its best flavor, texture or freshness. Consumers, however, often assume the date means the food has become dangerous. Manufacturers care about quality. Consumers care about safety. Those are two very different things. And can the average shopper really tell the difference?
With half the year already behind us, July is a natural checkpoint to review your spending, boost your savings, and make sure you’re still on track to meet your financial goals before year’s end.
With half the year already behind us, July is a natural checkpoint to review your spending, boost your savings, and make sure you’re still on track to meet your financial goals before year’s end.
International travel is evolving. For years, the rule of thumb for many American travelers was simple: if you had a valid U.S. passport, you could travel just about anywhere. However, the rules for international travel are becoming more complicated. Here's what you need to know.
You’ve seen these commercials hundreds of times. Generic footage of generic people in a beautiful (but generic) neighborhood. Everything is in slow motion. Impossibly clear close-ups. Everyone is laughing. The streets are spotless. The weather is perfect. And then there’s... the bank.
No one hires a lawyer over a $10 overcharge, a $25 junk fee, or a hidden charge buried in the fine print. But what happens when that same charge affects 100,000 people? Or 10 million? Now that’s a different story.
Florida has replaced its hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday with permanent exemptions on some hurricane supplies. But the state may have also lost something more meaningful: its biggest hurricane preparedness campaign.
A mysterious illness appears to be sweeping through the music industry. The symptoms? Suddenly canceled tours, postponed concert dates, and disappointed ticket holders left wondering what happened.
Americans are doing more to prepare for retirement but feel less confident they’ll actually be ready for it. That’s one of the key findings from new reports examining the financial outlook of workers and retirees. Despite increasing contributions to retirement accounts and nearing experts’ recommended savings targets, confidence in having enough money to live comfortably in retirement continues to slide.
Effective May 18, Bank of America says a new arbitration provision in its Online Banking Service Agreement will go into effect. The clause, applicable to many customers with personal banking accounts, governs how future disputes will be resolved.
College students hate AI. I mean, they love the fact that AI helps them with writing papers, creating study guides, and answering all sorts of absurd questions – no, college students hate AI because to them, AI is eliminating their entry-level jobs.
This story isn’t about doom and gloom; it’s not a prediction, and it’s not a declaration. It’s a look at some of the more unconventional ways economists, analysts, and everyday observers have tried to read the economic tea leaves – long before official numbers come in.
In the next few weeks, schools will let out, Memorial Day weekend will come and go, the frenzied pace of spring will be a memory, and families will ease into summer mode.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump told CBS News he has a goal of suspending the federal gas tax “for a period of time.” Trump’s comments come as gas prices have surged since the U.S. and Israel entered a war against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026.
While employers continue adding jobs nationwide, entry-level opportunities have become harder to find, leaving many young adults anxious about their financial future just as they start to pay off their student loan debt.
Years ago, searching for yourself or your family online might have seemed creepy. Today, experts say it’s essential. A simple search can reveal just how much of your personal information is publicly available – from addresses and phone numbers to relatives and past residences.
Unclaimed funds – sometimes called unclaimed property – are financial assets that belong to people but have been lost, forgotten, or left inactive for a period of time.
From overqualified grads to delayed retirements, the job market in 2026 isn’t working the way it used to. Americans are rethinking work – not by choice – but because the career path they once envisioned is shifting.
On Feb. 20, in a 6-3 decision, the court ruled the Trump administration had overstepped its authority by using a 1977 emergency law – the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA – to impose sweeping tariffs on imports. More than 3,000 companies have filed suit against the government to secure those refunds; some suits were filed before the ruling was handed down.
If you’re planning a late spring or summer trip and it involves a plane ticket – and you haven’t booked it yet – I have some bad news.
As dogs, cats, and other pets increasingly take on the role of family members, some couples are planning for the possibility of a breakup before it ever happens. So-called “pet prenups” – agreements that spell out who gets custody of an animal and how expenses are handled – are gaining traction as a way to avoid costly and emotional disputes down the road.
Have you ever told your friend “I’ll bet you $5 so and so wins a game” or “Who do you think is going to win an election?” That’s the thought process behind prediction markets.
We all know about the adage that spring cleaning is a great time to reset yourself for the year to come. Like spring cleaning your house, there’s something to be said for spring cleaning your finances as well.
Before you get too down about tax season, here’s some good news: for many Americans, filing this year will be easier – and cheaper – than ever.
February marks National Financial Aid Awareness Month, a time when students and families across the country turn their attention to one of the most important – and sometimes intimidating – steps in paying for college.
If it feels like your credit card points don’t stretch as far as they once did, you’re not imagining it, because even if you’re earning the same number of points or miles, their value has quietly been shrinking.
The Washington Post is undergoing one of the largest and most dramatic layoffs in its 148-year history, a stunning reversal for a newspaper long considered one of the most powerful institutions in American journalism.
Over the past decade, dozens of household-name retailers have either collapsed entirely or retreated into a fraction of their former selves. Some liquidated. Others tried – and sometimes failed – to reorganize in bankruptcy. Do any of these names sound familiar?
As the health care system strains with fewer doctors and more patients, two alternative models for family medicine have emerged, moving from the fringes into the mainstream: direct primary care and concierge medicine. Both promise fewer patients, longer visits, and faster access, but at a price. Welcome to fast pass health care.
Garnishments were suspended during the global pandemic but now, they’re back and a lot of folks are about to receive some unpleasant news.
A viral TikTok trend known as the “Kia Challenge” helped fuel a nationwide surge in thefts of certain Hyundai and Kia models beginning in 2021.
About few weeks ago, President Donald Trump floated the idea on social media of 50-year mortgages, proposing loans that would stretch a homebuyer’s payments to half a century.
This has been a year of firsts. The Catholic Church elected its first pope born in the U.S. Donald Trump became the first American president in the modern era to return to office after losing re-election. And Americans spent more money on Black Friday, yet brought home fewer items.
States across the country are issuing their own guardrails on artificial intelligence, and President Trump wants it to stop. But as AI drives soaring demand for raw processing power, data centers are rapidly reshaping communities and indirectly having a negative effect on some people’s wallets.
ALICE is not “a” woman or “a” man, but could be. ALICE really isn’t old or young, but could be. ALICE is a lot of people you probably already know... in fact, you could be ALICE and not even realize it – at least not until now.
As 2025 winds down, a viral TikTok trend known as “The Great Lock-In” is pushing people to make the most of the year’s final stretch.
Basically, because new job hiring has shown little growth as of late (we’re actually not 100% sure because there is no “official” monthly jobs report because of the government shutdown), those with jobs are holding on to them tighter – in essence “hugging” the current jobs until something better comes along.
In the spring of 2020, the global lockdown, a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, led to the closure of countless businesses worldwide. Among those hit hardest: the cruise industry.
With the average price of a new car hitting over $50,000 for the first time ever, does the old saying that a new car loses roughly 15% of its value as soon as it is driven off the lot remain largely true in 2025?
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S. credit card debt has climbed to $1.209 trillion in the second quarter of 2025, up 2.3% ($27 billion) from Q1, and 5.87% higher ($67 billion) than last year’s Q2 debt.
Most Americans are paying record-high health care premiums, deductibles, and cost shares. One trend contributing to rising health care costs that most people didn’t have on their bingo card: accelerated adoption of Artificial Intelligence.
Like just about everything else, payday lenders have gone digital, with trips to a physical storefront replaced by the convenience of an app. When it comes to the fundamental risks of a payday loan, to borrow from Led Zeppelin, “the song remains the same.”
Each fall, millions of Americans face an important decision: what kind of health coverage will protect them and their families next year? It’s open enrollment season, the annual window to review, renew, or adjust your health insurance benefits.
After a surge in cord-cutting and rapid adoption of streaming services both during and after the pandemic, many Americans are now experiencing what can be described as “entertainment overindulgence.”
Spirit Airlines passengers are facing fewer choices this fall, as the ultra-low-cost carrier begins cutting service to eleven cities across the country and trimming its workforce to stay afloat.
The federal government’s clean vehicle tax credit, which has been helping drivers shave up to $7,500 off the cost of a new EV (or up to $4,000 on qualifying used models), is set to expire on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
