To rent or buy a home is a significant decision. It involves your financial situation, personal preferences, lifestyle considerations, and market conditions. While homeownership offers the potential for equity growth and stability, renting provides flexibility and lower upfront costs. This article discusses the factors involved in the rent-versus-buy decision-making process, equipping you with the insights necessary to make an informed choice. 1. Financial Situation And Stability Income And Employment A stable and secure income is a crucial factor when considering homeownership. Mortgage lenders evaluate job security and income consistency to determine loan eligibility and interest rates. Individuals with steady employment…

As your business grows each year, it may also feel like your tax bills keep growing more painfully. Generally speaking, America has a progressive tax system, which means most people pay less taxes on their first dollar of income than their last. Proactive tax planning is a great way to ensure you increase your take-home pay without working more hours or adding more clients (unless you want to). Business owners’ most valuable tax deductions come from expenses they already pay. Over 296 million cars were registered in America for the year 2024, which led this certified financial planner to believe…

The new Consumer Price Index — CPI for short — data is out. It shows some slowing, but there is still enough to remain wary. You can bet the Federal Reserve will. The month-over-month so-called all-items price growth between January and February was 0.2%. Comparing last month to February in 2024, the inflation rate was 2.8%. The details of different inflation are important. If you didn’t know, the U.S. maintains lists of goods and services consumers typically purchase. Each takes up a percentage of the theoretical shopping basket. Government analysts check prices in many parts of the country monthly to…

Earlier this week, the Department of Education announced mass firings of its employees. The dramatic reduction in staff will likely have significant impacts for millions of student loan borrowers in repayment, those who are seeking student loan forgiveness, and college students applying for federal student aid. Department of Education officials indicated on Tuesday that they had fired more than 1,300 employees. Another roughly 600 employees had been previously laid off or had accepted buyout offers. That represents a reduction of approximately half of the department’s 4,100 total employees. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon suggested that the reduction in staff would…

President Trump’s advisor Elon Musk went on TV the other day to say he’d cut up to $700 billion in fraud and waste from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He can’t. The inevitable result: He’ll have to either slash benefits for program recipients or fall far short of his goals for cutting government spending. Or, perhaps, both. The Trump White House insists Musk will cut only waste and fraud and not hurt program participants. But that’s equally unlikely. Where The Money Is To understand why, take a close look at these three programs: Social Security benefits go to individual older…

Your money never sleeps. Before the world wakes, artificial intelligence (AI) driven systems are already scanning markets, seizing opportunities, and securing profits. This isn’t the future—it’s happening now. AI and blockchain—the twin engines of autonomous finance—aren’t just digitizing money; they’re rewiring finance itself. Blockchain is the trust engine, enforcing transparency and enabling atomic settlement—no middlemen required. AI is the intelligence engine, continuously learning, predicting, and executing trades in real time through autonomous agents. These agents optimize capital flows with unmatched speed, but their rapid evolution introduces structural risks—algorithmic instability, security vulnerabilities, regulatory blind spots, and the potential for cascading failures…

Even in the world of ransomware attacks, the 2023 ransomware attack on MGM Resorts was exceptional in many ways. Personal information of 37 million people was compromised in the data breach which was perpetrated on September 9, 2023 and was discovered by MGM the next day. MGM has resorts in the United States in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Detroit as well as resorts outside of the United States in China and Japan. Las Vegas MGM resorts include the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Mirage and Luxor hotels. The ransomware attack affected 30 MGM Resort properties causing immediate tremendous disruption that lasted…

Social Security Overpayment Introduction In a move that could affect millions of Americans, the Social Security Administration is tightening its rules on Social Security overpayment. Starting March 27, beneficiaries who have been accidentally overpaid may see 100% of their monthly Social Security check withheld until the debt is recovered – a drastic jump from the previous 10% cap on withholdings​. This stricter clawback policy applies to Social Security retirement, survivors, and disability benefits and could leave some people with no benefit payment in the interim. The change has sparked concern among advocates and lawmakers, who fear it will cause severe…

Imprint’s cloud-based ledger system allows retailers to micro-target rewards. Does it have a shot against big branded-card issuers like Synchrony and Capital One? By Jeff Kauflin, Forbes Staff Having cycled through jobs as a corporate lawyer, financial services consultant at McKinsey and vice president of operations at WeWork, Daragh Murphy was determined to do a fintech startup–something, perhaps, to help credit unions get up to date. But in April 2020, he got a call from Gaurav Ahuja, a venture capitalist at Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital, with an alternative plan. As Murphy tells it, Ahuja said, “We hear you’re working on…

Education Department Massive Layoffs The Education Department is preparing to lay off roughly half of its employees, according to multiple reports, including CNN and ABC News. An internal memo, obtained by CNN, ordered that “all Department of Education offices will be closed” Tuesday evening and Wednesday for unspecified “security reasons,” instructing staff to take their laptops and leave by 6 p.m. By Thursday, the agency plans to resume work with a drastically reduced workforce. “Nearly half of the department is expected to be eliminated,” sources told ABC News, with reduction in force notices expected to go out at 6 p.m.…