Money

Our Best Banks 2024-2025 list has officially arrived. This year, we're proud to expand our offerings beyond national, online and regional options to include the financial institutions that provide digital investing options as well.

This morning, The White House released eleventh-hour rules on President Joe Biden's latest attempt at broad student loan forgiveness. Here are 5 key things to know about the proposal: 1️⃣ — The plan, if finalized, would provide one-time debt cancellation for about 8 million borrowers who are experiencing financial hardship. For 6 million, no application will be required. 2️⃣ — Many more borrowers could qualify in the future. The Department for Education is also creating a new "holistic" hardship application that could provide forgiveness to struggling borrowers for "generations to come." 3️⃣ — President Joe Biden's initial student loan forgiveness plan, which sought up to $20,000 of forgiveness per borrower, was struck down last year by the Supreme Court. He tried again soon after with a new, narrower plan called "Plan B." 4️⃣ — Plan B used separate legal justification than the one that was struck down by SCOTUS. It underwent an official rulemaking process that started in February. 5️⃣ — Before Plan B got off the ground, a lawsuit from Republican-led states halted it. That case is currently being battled out in a federal court in Missouri. In the meantime, the Education Department is moving forward with a portion of Plan B that it believes is not subject to the federal court injunction that already blocked it. Call it Plan C. For more about the legal challenges the plan faces and its timeline, read more in my latest for Money. https://lnkd.in/eVnwTGfR

A July study from Northwestern University found that households increased their bets by $1,100 per year while simultaneously decreasing their investments by 14% when states legalized sports betting. This trend in riskier financial behavior has been developing — and accelerating — since 2018. According to Sportsbook Review, that year Americans placed $6.6 billion in online sports bets. So far in 2024, that figure stands at $84.5 billion. As this trend continues to develop, it could lead to concerning implications for household budgets and long-term investment prospects as gamblers continue to divert funds away from the markets. The growing popularity of online sports betting — now legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C. — has been coupled not only with a decrease in traditional investments but also lower credit scores, higher credit card debt and higher rates of account overdrafts. Jordan Chussler reports: https://bit.ly/4dVOYVr

The Internal Revenue Service announced new tax brackets for 2025 on Tuesday. The increases are smaller than they've been the past few years because inflation has cooled. In total, the IRS is making changes to over 60 tax provisions for 2025. The tax bracket changes are essentially inflation adjustments meant to ensure that Americans' effective (or average) tax rates don't increase simply because their wages go up as prices rise. Check the latest bracket margins: https://bit.ly/4hfRwke For single filers, the standard deduction is set to increase to $15,000, up $400 from the current amount of $14,600. The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is double the amount for single filers: $30,000. That's an $800 increase from the prior year. The standard deduction for heads of households will be $22,500, up $600.

Stock ownership is at a 17-year high, but the bottom 50% of American earners only hold 1% of those shares. Legalized sportsbooks could exacerbate that issue. With the increasing popularity of online sports betting, lower-income households are now diverting 41% of their funds away from investments in favor of gambling on everything from Monday Night Football to Chinese table tennis leagues. I dive in with my latest for Money: https://lnkd.in/gkzhhBdE

From former President Donald Trump's proposals to cut taxes for older Americans to Vice President Kamala Harris' plans for lowering prescription drug prices, the two candidates have big ideas on issues that could impact retirement in America. Their campaign platforms both emphasize that they would protect Social Security, the largest source of #retirement income for most older people. But there are several key differences in what they would change about the program. On the topic of health, Harris and Trump have rolled out plans they say would protect Medicare and improve access to quality health care. They're also trying to convince voters they can lower out-of-control drug prices. And that's on top of their proposals related to pensions and retirement accounts. Here's where the candidates stand on major issues that could affect your golden years. https://bit.ly/3Nzmw0L

Thousands of college athletes can now submit claims for part of a multi-billion dollar settlement aimed at paying athletes a share of the revenue colleges made on their performances. The proposed $2.8 billion settlement stems from a landmark case involving allegations that many current and former athletes were wrongfully denied compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). Athletes who played from 2016 onward are covered in the settlement. The biggest payouts from the $2.8 billion-fund will likely go to football players, and the largest individual amount could be as high as $1.85 million. The agreement still has legal hurdles to clear, but a judge granted preliminary approval last week opening the door for the claims process to begin. The settlement website is now live and those who are eligible will begin receiving notifications Friday. Pete Grieve reports: https://bit.ly/40fElK9

Two-thirds of managers in the recently released salary guide from Robert Half said they are “willing” to raise starting salaries for remote jobs if new hires are open to working in the office. The potential pay bumps aren’t insignificant, either: 59% say they’ll offer employees up to a 20% salary increase to be onsite 4 to 5 days a week. Job applicants have to weigh the potential salary bump against the higher costs associated with in-office work. One survey from Owl Labs found that working at the office can come at a $5,000 per year premium versus remote work. That sum includes direct expenses such as driving-related costs like gas, vehicle depreciation, tolls, parking and transit fares, as well as other less obvious things like our tendencies to spend more on lunches out with coworkers and increased shopping budgets for work clothes. Would you give up WFH benefits for a 20% salary increase? https://bit.ly/3U8vENU

Boomers, which were born between 1946 and 1964, have now become the “wealthiest generation that has ever lived,” according to a new global wealth report from Allianz. And it doesn’t look like subsequent generations are going to be able to dethrone them anytime soon. How boomers got so rich, Allianz’s analysis shows, has less to do with financial prudence and more to do with the luck of the draw. In the simplest terms, boomers have benefited the most from the economic gains of the past several decades while suffering the least from the financial crises — especially boomers who live in the U.S. As of the end of June, American boomers had accumulated a staggering $80 trillion of wealth, according to Federal Reserve data. That’s more than half of all household wealth in the nation, despite boomers only making up about 20% of the U.S. population. Adam Hardy has the story: https://bit.ly/4gUfJMC

Looking for part-time work over the holiday season? Companies like Amazon, Kohl's, Target and more are starting to hire for seasonal positions. Overall, the hiring demand for holiday workers isn’t as strong now as it was a year or two ago, when the unemployment rate was under 4% and companies were short-staffed going into the busiest season. But there’s still several opportunities out there if you’re interested. Pete Grieve reports 🛒