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Reports from different entities are constantly published, such as the survey results of people with employer-sponsored insurance by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) / LA Times Survey in 2019. The study found that one in five people surveyed have been contacted by collection agencies, while 9% of those surveyed stated that they had declared personal bankruptcy due to medical expenses. It is hard to tell what the actual impact of medical expenses is with so many different interpretations of study results....

Monetarists (believers of the monetarism theory) warn that increasing the money supply only provides a temporary boost to economic growth and job creation. Over the long run, increasing the money supply increases inflation. As demand outstrips supply, prices will rise to match. Background on Monetarism Monetarists believe monetary policy is more effective than fiscal policy (government spending and tax policy). Stimulus spending adds to the money supply, but it creates a deficit adding to a country’s sovereign debt....

Without help from insurance, you may end up owing a lot of money, which could lead to years of debt. For that reason, it’s crucial to have a plan for paying medical costs that doesn’t break the bank. It may mean paying in small amounts over time to prevent a massive windfall later on. In 2019, adults (not counting the elderly) who did not have a health plan were twice as likely to struggle paying medical bills than were those who had health plans....

With that in mind, you’ll tend to move toward the types of investment products and returns that are right for you. The wide world of mutual fund products can offer you returns, no matter what your goals are. Here are some general portfolio samples for each type of mindset. You can use them as a baseline and gain some insights into the basic methods for building a portfolio. They may not be right for everyone, so adjust them as you see fit for your needs and goals....

How Account Type Affects Taxes There are three primary types of investment accounts. Taxable Accounts Taxable accounts are funded with after-tax dollars. The income, such as dividends and interest, is taxable to the investor in the year it’s earned. Earnings or gains are additionally taxed when the investments are sold. Examples of these accounts include individual brokerage accounts, joint brokerage accounts, and most savings accounts at banks. Tax-Deferred Accounts Tax-deferred accounts are funded with pre-tax dollars....

If you’re a resident of New Mexico and plan to save for your child’s college tuition, it’s important to know the tax benefits of being a contributor to one of the state’s Section 529 college savings plans. These accounts can reduce the stress of applying for financial aid or searching for scholarships. What Is a Section 529 College Savings Plan? Section 529 plans are accounts that offer tax advantages for educational saving and allow families to begin contributing to a child’s college fund as soon as a baby is born....

New York Minimum Wage Different minimum wage rates exist within the fast food industry, on Long Island, in Westchester County, and for employers in New York City. New York City In New York City, the minimum wage is $15.00 per hour, regardless of the size of the industry or the business. Long Island and Westchester Minimum Wage Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties also have a higher minimum wage than the rest of the state: $15....

“Increased uncertainty over taxes and spending could likely weigh on the equity market at least until the intentions of the Biden Administration are given greater definition,” Stoltzfus wrote in a note, referencing the possibility of higher corporate tax rates and expanded government. Plus, he wrote, investors will be skittish “should closely called elections take weeks to determine the winners.” The stock market performs better when the same political party doesn’t control both the presidency and the Congress, according to Stoltzfus, and it “appears to us that the equity markets over the past two months have priced in a Republican victory in at least one of the two,” he wrote....

Medicare and Medicaid Are More Affordable If you have Medicare, the “doughnut hole” gap in coverage is being subsidized thanks to the ACA. There are many other ways that Obamacare affects people differently depending on their situation. The federal government spends $1.27 trillion on health care alone, more than any other budget item. The fiscal year 2023 budget includes Medicare benefits of $847 billion and Medicaid benefits of $536 billion. The U....

Job seekers benefit too: Online interviews save on travel time and can be less stressful than interviewing in person. But although the interview is taking place in your familiar home, you’ll want to make sure to prepare well and familiarize yourself with the different types of online job interviews. Doing so will help you think on your feet and achieve a more successful interview performance. Here’s what you need to know....

ljubaphoto / Getty Images What’s the Difference Between Gold and Platinum? About 190 metric tons of platinum are mined each year globally. The majority of platinum production comes from two countries: South Africa and Russia. Platinum is more difficult to produce than gold, as it’s located deeper in the earth and requires a more difficult purification process. It is a highly dense but incredibly malleable metal with importance for industrial applications, including in catalytic converters for cars and turbine engines for planes....

Learn how prepayment penalties work so you can decide whether or not it makes sense to use a loan with a prepayment penalty. You’ll understand why lenders use these fees, what the charges typically look like, and how you can avoid paying prepayment penalties. What Is a Prepayment Penalty? A prepayment penalty is a fee that lenders may charge when you pay off part or all of your loan balance before the loan’s scheduled maturity date....

Reagan was an advocate of laissez-faire economics, where a government’s role is reduced. He believed that a free market and capitalism would solve the nation’s woes. Reaganomics Policies America was in trouble when Ronald Reagan was elected to office. He inherited an economy mired in stagflation, a combination of double-digit economic contraction and double-digit inflation. He promised to slow the growth of government spending and deregulate business industries. At the same time, he encouraged the Federal Reserve to combat inflation by reducing the money supply....

A prop shop is usually at a physical location where you combine your stake with all the other traders using the prop shop’s facilities. Trades are made in stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies. The advantage of this setup is that as a trader you then have the ability to use the firm’s buying power for your trades. This allows you to avoid having the minimum Securities and Exchange Commission requirement of $25,000 in your account to day trade and gives you 10:1 leverage or more on your stock and options trades....

The purchase contract must specify how each contingency will be met, and released or removed. All of this might sound like a great deal to buyers, but sellers will usually go for an offer that contains fewer contingencies when several offers are on the table. Releasing the Appraisal Contingency Purchase contracts give buyers 17 days to release an appraisal contingency in California, but this is the default option if nothing else is chosen....

There are two types of municipal bonds: general obligation (GO) bonds and revenue bonds. They differ in the sources of cash flows that repay the investors who provide the capital when the bonds are issued. General Obligation Municipal Bonds The general obligation bond is the broadest and often most secure type of municipal bond. These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer. This includes the power of the municipality to tax its citizens....

Consisting mostly of credit card debt, revolving credit balances grew at an annual rate of 11.4%, the largest month-to-month gain since December 2019, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest consumer credit report, released Thursday. May’s increase of $9.2 billion—the third gain in four months—brings balances to $974.6 billion. That’s the highest level in six months, but still well below the pre-pandemic peak of $1.1 trillion. Consumers—focused on their financial health with fewer opportunities to spend—moved away from revolving credit during the worst of the pandemic....

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said Wednesday that it had fined Robinhood $57 million and ordered the company to pay approximately $12.6 million in restitution, plus interest, to thousands of harmed customers. FINRA said in a statement that the amount of the penalties “reflect the scope and seriousness of the violations,” and that it took into account the “widespread and significant harm suffered by customers.” This isn’t the first time Robinhood has run afoul of regulators....

The Massachusetts Securities Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office accused Robinhood of aggressively marketing its trading platform to naive investors and gamifying its app “to encourage and entice continuous and repetitive use of its trading application.” Robinhood did not respond to an email requesting a comment Wednesday night. As of May, Robinhood had about 13 million customer accounts. The median age of clients on the app is 31 years old....

But this rule of thumb doesn’t apply to all people. Learn more about how to use this rule of thumb and its limitations. What Is the Rule of Thumb for Earning Cash-Back Rewards? Using a rule of thumb for cash-back rewards can help you maximize the value of your credit card, while preventing you from piling up debt. Choose a Card That Earns at Least 1.5% on All Purchases Cash-back cards generally fall into two categories: Flat-rate cash-back cards: One cash-back percentage for all purchases....