Personal Finance

The 401(k) plan gives 90 million Americans a way to make tax-deductible contributions to a retirement account directly from their paychecks with 71% of them believing that there are no fees at all associated with their plan. Nothing could be further from the truth! The vast majority of plans are characterized by huge commissions, expensively managed funds, and layer upon layer of additional – and often hidden – charges

There are always warnings of upcoming financial crises if you know where to look and this article identifies 4 leading indicators of financial stress and/or economic confidence that are both easy to monitor and worth monitoring.

Americans aren’t getting their medical money’s worth - not by a long shot! According to an annual Bloomberg analysis in almost 200 economies the U.S. will cost you the most for treatment, both in absolute terms and relative to average incomes.

The share of adults who are middle class varies widely across U.S. metropolitan areas. Our newly updated calculator lets you find out which group you fit in, first compared with other adults in your metro area and among American adults overall, and then compared with other adults in the U.S. similar to you in education, age, race or ethnicity, and marital status. Are you in the American middle class?

Today's infographic dives deep into the rabbit hole of fees associated with the investing products sold to most people saving for retirement, while also showing that these same Wall Street products often can’t beat the performance of the market.

Bron Suchecki, in an interview with Gregor Gregerson, discusses: •gold confiscation (like when FDR issued Executive Order 6102 in 1933), •how likely it is to happen again and •the possible impact of the occurrence of a gold confiscation event on different assets: bullion, jewelry, mining stocks and numismatics.

Although the median household income in 2016 was $60,000, the average American family actually owes more than $100,000 in debt. Habitually buying more than you can afford, and juggling bills or relying on loans and credit cards...could get you to the point where it feels like you’re working simply to pay bills. No one wants to feel that way. Therefore, you need to break the debt cycle and start living within your means. Just how do you do that? There are a lot of ways you can get there, but here are a few suggestions:

Many investors have seen their net worth...decline sharply as a result of the current stock market correction. If you are among them, don’t panic. While there is nothing you can do to avoid the stock market from crashing you can take steps to prevent further losses and get back on the road to recovery. Here is a 7-step plan.

Today’s infographic from Thermosoft uses data from a survey of 2,000 Americans to show what “making it” means to them – and in the process, it gives us a baseline for what success means to the average person.

When a company matches the money you contribute to your 401(k) plan, up to a certain amount, these matching funds can be a very powerful way to save money over time for retirement and, as such, it's important to take advantage of a company's full 401(k) match if you can. Every company has different policies regarding these matching funds, and things can often be confusing for new investors. Here are some key things to know.