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In an increasingly digital world, cybercrime — defined as any malicious activity done via a computer or the internet, such as email scams and identity theft — has become more rampant. There were over 587,600 victims of cybercrime in the U.S. in 2021, with total monetary losses for these crimes adding up to $8.3 billion, according to a recent study conducted by Third Party Trust. By Gabrielle Olya Have Any $200 Quarters Lying Around?...

No matter where you shop these days, you need a strategy to keep the most money in your pocket. Where are the best deals this week? Which store has the best digital coupons? Who marks down meat every morning? By Jami Farkas See Our List: 100 Most Influential Money ExpertsRead: 7 Things You Should Never Do When Planning for Retirement Shop Seasonal Items “Holiday and seasonal items are transitory in nature and do not hold well year from year,” said Heather Kaley, a self-professed “dollar store shopping guru” and mother of three from Winter Garden, Florida....

If you think kids should acquire more financial literacy before graduating from high school, you have plenty of company. The overwhelming majority of U.S. adults say financial education should be required in schools, according to a new survey from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). By Vance Cariaga See: How Financial Literacy Changes Once You’re RetiredFind: Today’s Teens Lack Financial Literacy Skills, Fear Rising College & Trade School Costs...

If you’ve seen posts on Facebook or YouTube proclaiming the imminent arrival of a fourth economic stimulus check, treat them the say way you treat robo-calls about a free vacation in the Bahamas: Walk away and forget about it. Those posts are fake. By Vance Cariaga See: Stimulus Update: New Parents Can Get a $5,000 Refund — Here’s How Find: Stimulus Update: Mortgage Assistance Now Available in Arizona What’s not fake is this: Nobody’s getting a fourth stimulus check unless Congress approves one, and Congress has shown little interest in approving one....

Good financial health isn’t limited to simply being rich. Rather, being in good financial health means being in the right state of mind to make sound financial decisions and being financially stable. Here’s what it means to be in good financial health, along with signs that you are financially healthy and small steps you can take to boost your financial health to the next level. By Heather Taylor What Is Good Financial Health?...

Political campaigns live and perish by the amount contributed, whether the money flows in from small donors or super PACs. And the upcoming midterms are no exception. By Nicole Spector Discover: How Rich Are Dr. Oz, J.B. Pritzker and the Richest Politicians Running in Midterm CampaignsLearn: Midterm Election Funding Is Set To Exceed $9.3 Billion – Where Is The Money Coming From? “What is interesting is how candidates from each party are obtaining their money,” said David Carlucci, a former New York State senator....

Colin Powell, the first Black U.S. Secretary of State and two-time Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient died Oct. 18, at the age of 84 from complications due to COVID-19, news reports say. Powell had a net worth of $60 million at the time of his death, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. He is survived by his wife Alma Johnson, their daughters Linda and Annemarie, and son Michael. By Dawn Allcot See: George H....

Herschel Walker, 60, is an American athlete, businessman and philanthropist who is currently the Republican nominee for the vacant senate seat in Georgia. He is currently battling Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in a run-off election after neither candidate secured 50% or more of the vote as required by Georgia law. Early voting for the Dec. 6 election began Nov. 28 and so far, more than 1.8 million people have turned out to cast ballots....

By Caitlyn Moorhead Read: 3 Easy Tips To Turn Your Credit Woes Into Wows When You Can Redeem Your Kohl’s Cash More From Your Money: Choose a high-interest saving, checking, CD, or investing account from our list of top banks to start saving today. $5 in Kohl’s Cash, if the item is returned Saturday through Monday. 25% off Kohl’s coupon, if the item is returned Tuesday through Saturday. What Is Kohl’s Cash?...

The deadly tornadoes that swept through Kentucky and surrounding states last week served as a stark reminder that natural disasters can hit at any time, and often with little or no warning. Once they have hit, however, there are numerous ways to get federal help for those who have been impacted financially. By Vance Cariaga Disaster Relief Assistance Disaster Unemployment Assistance Food Cost Relief Emergency Help with Utility Bills Mortgages for Homeowners Rebuilding After a Disaster See: How To Avoid Being Scammed After a Natural Disaster Find: How To Prepare Financially for a Natural Disaster...

The days of getting a quarter for a chore are long gone. Now if you want to give your kid an allowance, there’s an app for that. By Emeri Montgomery With the click of a button on RoosterMoney, BusyKids, Greenlight and others, you can assign chores and help your children track their financial goals. Once those dollars add up, parents are teaching their kids how to invest their piggy banks on Wall Street....

You may have received mail from AARP encouraging you to join. But is an AARP membership really worth it? By Claire Tak About AARP Age Requirement Cost of Membership Benefits and Discounts Contact Joining AARP Drawbacks Enrolling Learn: 5 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 What Is AARP? AARP is a nonprofit organization for Americans nearing the age of retirement. Members receive discounts on everything from healthcare and travel to financial services, shopping and entertainment....

No holiday gift or home renovation purchase comes without risk, so it is comforting to know when and how you can return something that doesn’t fit your needs. Returning items at Lowe’s is pretty straightforward as long as you are aware of what time frame to work within. Lowe’s prides itself on helping you with all of your home improvement needs and allows you to return items you are not satisfied with for a refund or in exchange for something better suited to your project....

OpenSea, one of the leading NFT marketplaces, has suffered a so-called exploit — the described exploit enabling users to purchase NFTs from users at well below market value. NFTs with a market value of $1.1 million were purchased in this way in late January, according to a report by Elliptic. Now, OpenSea has refunded about $1.8 million to users who suffered investment losses after confusion about a feature on the platform caused investors to unwittingly sell valuable NFTs far below market prices, according to Bloomberg....

It’s National Bologna Day, but we’re not here to feed you a load of baloney — just the top financial stories of the day. By Gary Dudak The Big Lead: How To Maximize Your Retirement Savings A volatile and bearish stock market makes saving for retirement especially challenging. It also comes amid a major change in contribution limits for retirement savings plans. Read the full story here SNAP Spotlight: New York Gov....

If you’re an Illinois resident and you’ve been approved for cash assistance — or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — then your benefits will be issued monthly via the Illinois Link Card. By Josephine Nesbit Learn: Surprising Things You Can Buy With Food StampsCan’t Miss: If Your Credit Score Is Under 740, Make These 4 Moves Now You can apply for SNAP online through the Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) portal....

Social Security recipients are getting a big raise next year thanks to a 5.9% increase in their monthly payments, which is the highest Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) in nearly four decades. But they still might end up on the short end of the financial stick because of high inflation. By Vance Cariaga Social Security 2022: How the COLA Will Increase Benefits for the Average Senior Couple Social Security Schedule: When the First COLA Checks Will Arrive in January 2022...

Social Security checks are scheduled to go out in early August. Rising inflation has pushed the Social Security cost-of-living increase to 5.9% for 2022, the largest in nearly 40 years, and it’s expected to be even higher for 2023. By Josephine Nesbit See: Social Security COLA Increases Could Cost Seniors Money — Here’s HowFind: 7 Must-Know Social Security Facts for 2022 Here is the August Social Security schedule: If your birth date is on the 1st-10th of the month, your payment is distributed on Wed, Aug....

Several budgetary items and programs could be on the chopping block as President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better Plan,” also known as the reconciliation bill, could be reduced from $3.5 trillion to roughly $1.9 trillion in order to pass by a simple majority vote. With an evenly divided Senate, the bill needs the support of every Democrat to pass, and some moderate Democrats have voiced objections to the hefty price tag....

Record rates of inflation have been hitting all parts of the country hard this year, but certain regions in the South may be experiencing some of the highest spikes. That has spurred some local governments to help residents with stimulus payments over the course of 2022, some of which are ongoing even now. By Selena Fragassi See: 9 Bills You Should Never Put on AutopayFind: 29 Careless Ways Retirees Waste Money...