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by Catherine HilesContributor Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more Americans have been working from home. And a recent survey from FlexJobs found that 77% of full-time workers identified the ability to work remotely as one of the most important benefits, right behind salary. A whopping 57% of survey respondents said that they would leave their job if they weren’t offered remote benefits from their employer. After

by Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorIf you’ve been following stock market news in 2022, you’ve probably heard that we’re nearing bear market territory. A bear market is a prolonged drop in the stock market of 20% or more.Bear markets may seem terrifying, particularly if you monitor your retirement accounts and other investments daily. But bear markets tend to be short, and they’re actually quite common. If you take a few steps

by Quinten PlummerStaff WriterExperience is important in finding a job, and so are the skills you bring to the table. Before making a hiring decision, employers will review your experience and try to determine if you’ve developed the right set of skills needed to do the job successfully.For just about any job out there, employers will want to hire someone with a mix of hard and soft skills. Knowing the

by Quinten PlummerStaff WriterYour personality and experience matter a lot to prospective employers. But before they make a hiring decision on you, they want to make sure you have the right technical skills to do the job reliably.Some skills are absolutely necessary to do the job. Others may be wishlist items employers would simply like you to have in order to minimize the need for on-the-job training.The more relevant technical

by Kent McDillContributorYou are relatively flush, financially speaking. Your debit accounts all have funds in them, and your credit card payments are up to date. There are no notices on your credit report that would cause any transaction to be dinged by your credit card company or your bank.But, your debit card got declined last night when you tried to buy pizza. Or, worse, you were hosting a party of

by Alex MahadevanData JournalistSummer is on its way. Wahoo!That also means it’s time to start planning affordable family nights, now that the kiddos are home and don’t have homework to worry about. But that seems to be getting harder and harder, especially with inflation raising the price of seemingly everything, including entertainment..That’s why you should consider the closest drive-in movie theater.Drive-ins aren’t merely a relic of the past — you

by Tiffany ConnorsEditor/WriterIf you think you can’t get financial aid for college because your parents make too much money, it’s worth your time to fill out the FAFSA, aka the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.Why?Eligibility for financial aid depends on a number of factors (we’ll explain in a minute), but families who assume their income is too high to qualify for need-based aid could be leaving a pile of

by Nicole DowSenior Writer You scour the internet for the best deals on flights and lodging when planning a trip. So don’t throw all your financial cares to the wind once you’re on vacation — particularly when it comes to putting food in your mouth. It can be easy to overspend on food when you’re away from home. You’ve got to eat, and food just seems to be more expensive

Real Answers for Life’s Money Challengesby Robin Hartill, CFP®Senior EditorMy son and daughter-in-law got married in a courthouse and then later went to some island to have a wedding ceremony just for them. After they got home, my new daughter-in-law set up a reception where the bride got 25 people and the groom got 25 people to attend. So a lot of my son’s relatives did not get invited. A few