How to pay for reparations in California? ‘Swollen’ wealth could replace ‘stolen’ wealth through taxes
The panel responsible for the nation’s first state-level exploration of reparations for Black Americans discussed an important question this weekend: How will the state pay for reparations?The California reparations task force listened to testimony from experts who suggested possible sources for compensation, after previous meetings had touched on the potential for hundreds of thousands of […]
Getting divorced? 3 financial obstacles couples face now
January is traditionally known as “divorce month” because couples stick out the holidays and then call lawyers as soon as they get back to work in the new year. But after a financially brutal 2022, many couples that want to call it quits are having a hard time with the math. “Everything is topsy-turvy. There’s […]
‘As he reminds me, it’s not his house’: My boyfriend lives in my house with my 2 kids, but refuses to pay rent or contribute to food and utility bills. What’s my next move?
Dear Quentin, My boyfriend and I come from completely different backgrounds. I am in my mid-30s and he is 40. We both own our own homes, and had a life built prior to meeting. We have now been together for five years and we have lived only at my house for the last 2.5 years. […]
I ruined my family’s finances by withdrawing from my 401(k) to buy a house — and I regret it
I recently made a panic decision to withdraw all my money from one retirement account and I am now closing on a house in February (about $200,000). I am 36 years old, married and have a 1-year-old. Half of me is regretting it, and I’m worried about next year’s taxes due to the withdrawal and […]
My husband and I rent our second home to our son and his wife. Now we want him to own this house, but keep our 2.5% mortgage rate. How can we do that?
My husband and I bought a second home two years ago, for $160,000, with a 30-year mortgage at 2.5%. We bought it with the sole purpose of renting it out to our son and his new wife. They were recent college graduates, and just starting their careers. They’ve made this house their home. And it’s […]
The effects of inflation may be felt for decades to come: Americans are hitting pause on retirement savings
Most of us are feeling the pain of inflation now, but the rising cost of almost everything may be impacting our future selves as well: People are cutting back on saving for retirement as a result of inflation. The majority of Americans say current financial issues are more pressing than preparing for the future. Two […]
I’m 65, retired and have a $2,000 pension. Should I sell my rental properties?
Dear MarketWatch, I’m a 65-year-old married man in Southern California. I retired about 5 years ago, and have very little in pension payments of about $2,000 from my old job, without any medical benefits. But I have rental income from about a dozen single-family homes that I collected during my professional career as a civil […]
Retiring early can trigger financial shortfall
Retiring three years earlier than expected significantly increases the chances of not meeting retirement income needs, putting greater emphasis on the benefits of working longer or working part time in retirement years. Each year of early retirement before age 65 significantly increases the chance of running out of money in retirement, according to new research […]
‘This has bugged me all my life’: My estranged father gave me $1,000 a month to buy a house in California. My brother cried foul, and told me to stop. Who’s right?
This has bugged me all my life. My father left my family when I was 7. I’m not sure how much in child support he paid my mother. Soon after I graduated college, he visited me for the first time since he left the family. He told me that he wanted to send me money […]
All the ways Wall Streeters are suffering from slashed bonuses
The princes of Wall Street are losing their crowns and tightening their belts.Massive layoffs and diminished bonus checks promise to put a crimp in the high-flying styles of stock brokers, money managers, investment bankers and once-untouchable hedge-fund geniuses. Bloomberg BusinessWeek described Wall Street as being in “retrenchment mode.” Thousands of layoffs either came or are coming and […]