One lucky Powerball winner in California is sitting with the $1.08 billion ticket drawn Wednesday night and 36 others, across various states, won $1 million on individual tickets. The jackpot for Friday’s Mega Millions is approaching $750 million.  Lottery fever is sweeping the country. If you are the lucky one…

Despite economic volatility, retirement account balances increased in the first quarter of 2023 for the second quarter in a row, according to the latest data by Fidelity Investments.  The average IRA balance increased to $109,000 in Q1 2023, a 5% rise from Q4 2022.In addition, the average 401(k) balance jumped to…

A recent Bankrate.com survey revealed that 39 % of U.S. adults have a side hustle, and 44% of those with a side hustle believe they will always need one to maintain their lifestyle. This includes 28% of side gig workers who say they will always need to have an additional source of…

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a notice that warned borrowers to beware of scammers.  The FTC said scammers will likely start sending out mass texts and robocalls, promising help on repaying loans, often charging…

More Americans are planning a summer trip this year compared to last year, but plan to spend less overall, a recent survey said.  Half of Americans said they would travel this summer, up from 46% last year, according to a Deloitte survey. Much of that activity is still driven by…

In light of recent bank shutdowns and economic uncertainty, Americans said they are looking to their financial services providers for more advice, according to a survey by Morning Consult.  “There’s been an uptick in the share of customers who have reached out to their banks, credit unions and credit card…

Even though about 75% of financial professionals say workers should invest bonuses in their 401(k) plans, only 17% of employees do so, according to a recent survey by Empower.  Nonetheless, bonus amounts vary widely. When asked how much they received in bonus payments, 36% of respondents said less than $500,…

Most Americans agreed that the economy is in or near a financial crisis. Still, many believed that having a plan will help them through it, according to a recent Nationwide survey. Eighty-eight percent of Americans said that having a plan for their investments made them feel more confident that they could…

In March, only 2.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency, according to the loan performance insights report by CoreLogic. That marked a 0.3 year-over-year percentage point decrease and the lowest level in more than two decades, CoreLogic said.  The organization defines delinquency as being…

Many Americans plan to save less than $5000 this year and are relying on their tax refunds to build rainy day funds, according to a recent survey. The majority of Americans (59%) saved about the same last year, according to the TaxAct survey. Financial experts recommend that consumers have roughly three…