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If you have a credit card, then you know what it’s like to receive a surprise email, phone call or text message from your bank asking if you really just bought snow boots in Poughkeepsie — or brake pads in Omaha or dental work in Sacramento. By Andrew Lisa Find Out: Unplug These Appliances That Hike Up Your Electricity BillTips: 16 Budgeting Tips Every Single Woman Needs To Know When you receive a credit fraud alert asking about potentially suspicious activity on your account, the first reaction is usually a combination of annoyance for the bother, dread about who has your card number and what they’re doing with it, and relief that your bank has your back....

If you ask most kids what they want as a gift, few, if any, will say “stocks.” Generally speaking, kids tend to ask for more tangible items, like toys or video games. Yet, stocks might very well be the perfect gift for the kid who has everything. On a completely practical level, kids generally abandon most toys within a relatively short period of time, moving onto the next shiny object. This is particularly true for those fortunate kids who seem to have everything....

The U.S. economy shrank at a rate of 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which measures economic activity in the country, can indicate a healthy, growing, or recessionary economy. By Dawn Allcot Discover: States Whose Economies Are Failing vs. States Whose Economies Are Thriving More: 6 Signs You Can’t Afford To Retire Based on the most recent figures, which showed a greater decrease than expected, experts believe the U....

With supply chain chaos and rising inflation, those who are eager to deck the halls this holiday season may find themselves up against some financial challenges. In a time when spending is not only encouraged — but expected — it can be tough to stick to a budget and still feel like you got the most out of the yuletide. Those hosting holiday dinner parties may feel especially under pressure to put on a decadent show and go the extra mile to make everything perfect — even if it requires spending extra....

Elon Musk made waves in early 2021 when he announced that Tesla was buying $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and accepting the world’s most popular cryptocurrency as payment for its vehicles — yet another first for Musk in the auto industry. By Andrew Lisa Companies Accepting Bitcoin The revolution was short-lived. What is often left out of the discussion about bitcoin is how terrible it is for the environment. The powerful, specialized computers that are needed to mine bitcoin gobble up enormous amounts of energy, which is why most of it is mined in China, where electricity is dirt cheap and regulations are lax....

The cruise industry was nearly decimated by the pandemic, and for a while it didn’t look like this particular niche of the travel sector would ever get back to safe waters. Lately, however, consumer interest has been picking back up significantly, and it looks like business will return to pre-pandemic levels (or somewhere close to them) after all. By Nicole Spector Take a Look Back: 2022 Year in ReviewImportant: Unplug These Appliances That Hike Up Your Electricity Bill...

Tax season started 17 days earlier this year than last, and the IRS adjusted the calendar for one reason and one reason only. 2022 is shaping up to be a mess, and the earlier people file their taxes, the smoother things will go for all parties involved. By Andrew Lisa “The filing deadline to submit 2021 tax returns or an extension to file and pay tax owed is Monday, April 18, 2022,” said Robbin E....

If you’re planning on renting a house to ring in 2022, you might want to check out Airbnb’s new rules. By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy See: Swimply App Is ‘Airbnb for Pools’ — Could Earn Owners Up to $10K Monthly Find: How To Make Money on Airbnb Amid a surge in COVID cases and a fast-spreading Omicron variant, Airbnb is cracking down on what it calls “disruptive NYE parties,” and is banning one-night New Year Eve bookings in entire home listings for guests without a history of positive reviews....

See if you’ve heard this one before: Americans are worried about how a global pandemic will impact travel plans, so they are feverishly looking into cancellation policies at major airlines and hotel chains. By Vance Cariaga American Airlines Delta Air Lines Inc. United Airlines Hilton Hotels and Resorts Hyatt Hotels Marriott Bonvoy Radisson See: How Travel Cancellation Policies Are Changing With the COVID-19 Vaccine RolloutExplore: 10 Smart Things To Do With Your Canceled Vacation Budget...

After providing assistance to more than 36,000 Colorado households since Aug. 2021, the state’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) will stop taking applications for its short-term COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in less than two weeks. By David Nadelle See: How Much Does a Person on Social Security Make?Find: Jaw-Dropping Stats About the State of Retirement in America In a statement issued on Oct. 27, DOLA announced that the $300 million in federal funding the state received through congressional acts will soon be depleted, according to 9NEWS, NBC’s Denver affiliate....

Crypto platform Bakkt, which enables consumers, businesses and institutions to buy, sell, spend, send and redeem digital assets, went public today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BKKT.” By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy See: Starbucks, Best Buy and More: Using the Bakkt App To Pay With BitcoinFind: Bitcoin at $60K Thanks To (Probable) Bitcoin Futures ETF Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Google, which enables users to add their virtual Bakkt Visa Debit Card into Google Pay to purchase goods and services online or in-store....

Last week’s U.S. inflation report dimmed hopes that consumer prices will ease anytime soon, which likely means that in 2023, Social Security recipients will get their highest cost-of-living adjustment in more than four decades. By Vance Cariaga See: 10 Reasons You Should Claim Social Security EarlyFind: 27 Ugly Truths About Retirement Inflation for May rose 8.6% from the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index, released on June 10....

President Joe Biden has tried a little bit of everything to tame rising gas prices — from releasing emergency oil reserves to urging gas companies to ramp up production — but prices at the pump keep setting new record highs, regardless. Now the president is considering a federal gas tax holiday, according to The Hill. By Vance Cariaga Discover: 6 Signs You Can’t Afford To Retire More: How Biden Is Impacting Social Security in 2022...

Fourteen states border the Atlantic Ocean. Among them are five of the 11 least expensive states to buy gas in all of America. By Andrew Lisa Food Stamps: States Extending SNAP Emergency Allotment Money Through October 2022 Check Out: This Credit Score Mistake Could Be Costing Millions of Americans Home to all 13 of the original colonies, the East Coast states now host more than 112 million people — more than one-third of the U....

Production officially began on Cadillac’s first fully electric vehicle, the Lyriq at General Motors’ Spring Hill, Tennessee plant on Monday, March 21. By David Nadelle See: Tesla Hikes Prices as Musk Says There is ‘Inflation Pressure on Raw Materials’ Find: Ford Splits EVs From Legacy Cars to ‘Generate Industry-Leading Growth’ With a starting retail tag of $59,990, the Lyriq is GM’s third electric vehicle, after the compact Chevrolet Bolt and the high-end GMC Hummer, and is one of more than 20 models GM plans on producing in the U....

TGIF, and also TGITFAGITK (thank goodness it’s time for another GO in the Know). We’re back with the lowdown on some of the top financial stories of the day. Take a break, catch up, then go enjoy your weekend! By Gary Dudak The Big Lead: Student Loan Debt Federal student loan borrowers will have to wait a little longer to find out how President Biden intends to deal with mounting student debt in the United States....

Beef — it’s what’s for dinner. If you can afford it. The price of meat has skyrocketed in recent years, beyond the already high 9.1% inflation rate. By Selena Fragassi Learn: SNAP Updates To Know for Summer 2022Find: Fed Raises Interest Rates 75 Basis Points Again in July – What Does The Increase Mean for You? According to Vox, animal products including milk, eggs and meat have seen some of the highest surges, with beef increasing by nearly 15% from April 2021 to April 2022....

The U.S. birth rate has been steadily declining for years, but fairly recently it has tipped over into an alarming category. The estimated “replacement fertility rate,” or the number of births required to maintain or increase the population, is 2.1 live births per woman. While the fertility rate was just above this limit in 2007, at 2.12, it fell all the way to 1.64 in 2020. In 2020 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that American births fell by 4% to the lowest number of births since 1979....

To combat the social isolation aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people got pets to keep them company. Unfortunately, inflation has made it impossible for some to keep the furry friends they acquired during the pandemic. Some people might have to move into smaller apartments, or apartments that don’t allow pets, forcing them to give up their animals. Or, the rising cost of pet supplies has simply gotten too high, and there’s no room left in the budget....

The pandemic led to one positive realization for many folks: Watching movies at home has its perks. You can pause whenever you want. You can eat whatever you want. The only annoying people talking are yourself and your family or friends. However, the quintessential, surround sound movie theater experience was still missing. By Sam DiSalvo Read: 9 Bills You Should Never Put on AutopayCheck Out: 9 Safest Investments With the Highest Returns...