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Even though you put most of your effort into paying off one credit card, you should continue to make minimum payments on all your other credit cards to avoid late payment penalties and to keep your accounts in good standing. The tough part is figuring out which credit card you should focus on paying off first. The Two Basic Ways to Pay Off Credit Cards There are two basic ways to pay off credit cards: either by paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first or by paying off the one with the lowest balance first....

Learn about some common examples of insurtech, and how they’re used by the industry. What Is Insurtech? Insurtech can be any new technology introduced to insurers’ operations to save on costs or streamline processes. Insurtech is a subdivision of fintech—new technology introduced to improve the operations and bottom line for finance companies. Like fintech, insurtech refers to a wide range of technology, so it’s difficult to pin down any one defining characteristic or application....

What’s the best way to practice? Rehearsing is one of the best ways to prepare for a job interview. You can practice with a professional, ask a family member or friend to help out, or practice by yourself. A mock interview with a professional is one way to learn and practice interviewing skills, as well as using an online interview preparation tool. Depending on the resources you use, these may be fee-based options, but you can still practice even if you can’t afford professional assistance....

When you’re asked what you are passionate about during a job interview, it’s an excellent opportunity to tell the interviewer about your hobbies, enthusiasms, or whatever is important in your life. The hiring manager is looking to learn as much as possible about you and what you can bring to the company, in addition to the skills that qualify you for the job. You also want to be honest—interviewers can spot a canned answer instantly....

What Are Inverse ETFs for Bonds? Inverse bond ETFs are exchange-traded funds that are designed to move in the opposite direction as their target bond index. If the bond index is falling in price, the inverse bond ETF will rise in price. Because of the nature of inverse bond ETFs, investors may buy them when they believe that bond prices will fall. Since the performance of inverse bond ETFs is opposite of the target bond index, they can be used as hedges (protection) against losses in the bond market....

The number of job openings fell by more than one million in August to 10.1 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. That’s still far more than the 6 million people who were unemployed that month, but a significant downswing from the record 11.9 million openings in March—and a sign that the job market is losing steam. Not coincidentally, March was when the Federal Reserve began its campaign of interest rate hikes intended to cool the economy and slow today’s rampant inflation....

This isn’t an easy question to answer. Find out why interviewers want to inquire and how to craft a successful response. What the Interviewer Wants to Knows When interviewers ask what makes you angry, they are trying to determine how you might react to stressful situations in the workplace, and how you might handle your personal emotions without letting them affect your performance. This is an example of a behavioral interview question, i....

Here’s a quick look at the most significant economic indicators of the day and what they tell us. New Home Sales Fewer newly constructed homes sold in April than in any month since the onset of the pandemic. Sales fell 16.6% last month to an annualized rate of 591,000, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s the least since April 2020 and significantly lower than the 750,000 economists were expecting....

The hike in premiums means the 5.9% cost of living adjustment retired Social Security recipients will receive next year—the largest since 1982 because of this year’s soaring inflation—won’t actually feel as big. For instance, the average monthly benefit for retirees is set to increase by $92 to $1,657, but with an extra $21.60 each month going to Medicare Part B, it’s effectively an increase of $70.40, or 4.5%, instead. That’s particularly bad news when consumer price inflation is accelerating like it is....

Defense Both presidents spent more on defense than any administration since WWII. Few people are aware that Obama spent more than Bush on defense, roughly $700 billion a year compared to $500 billion by Bush. The military budget is second to Social Security as the largest component in the U.S. government’s budget. Bush launched the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The War on Terror has cost more than $2....

Hill Street Studios / Getty Images The greatest benefit, though, comes when it is time for the student to start applying to colleges. Knowing that there is money already saved for this purpose makes the whole process of applying for financial aid and searching for scholarships much less stressful. Prior to the advent of Section 529 plans, parents who wanted to save for their child’s college education had few options....

Send and Receive Money With the PayPal Mobile App The PayPal Mobile App, like other payment apps, lets you send and receive money to and from other PayPal accounts using just your mobile device. There’s no fee when you send or receive money from friends and family; just enter the recipient’s phone number or email address to send or request payment. PayPal requires you to link a bank account to open an account, but you can add credit cards and debit cards as payment methods once your account is open....

Payroll and Tax Issues When Paying Employees In Cash Employers must withhold employment (federal and state income tax and FICA (Social Security/Medicare) tax) from employee pay. The employers must also report the amount of withholding for each employee to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Employers submit the total of both the employee—withheld from the paycheck—FICA tax and the employer portion of the taxes to the IRS on a scheduled basis....

The Basic Formula for Net Pay In simplest terms, the basic formula for net pay works like this: Statutory Payroll Tax Deductions The law requires that payroll taxes must be withheld from an employee’s paycheck each pay period. Employers must then transmit these withholdings to various tax agencies. Payroll tax deductions include the following: Federal income tax withholding based on the withholding tables in Publication 15 Social Security tax withholding of 6....

Jimmy Carter’s Accomplishments and Policies Carter’s immediate challenge was the combination of inflation and unemployment. President Nixon had created inflation by ending the gold standard in 1971. As a result, the dollar’s value plummeted on the foreign exchange markets. Import prices rose and created inflation. Nixon tried to stop it with wage-price controls in 1971. That cramped business growth and increased unemployment. The Federal Reserve fought the resultant slow growth by lowering interest rates....

How good is your business at generating profit? Is performance getting better or worse? How much better could your business perform? How do you compare to other businesses? Fertile ground for finding answers to these questions lies in computing and analyzing profitability ratios or financial metrics that assess a business’s ability to generate earnings as compared to expenses and costs during a specific accounting period. In most cases, the same or higher value as compared to a previous period or a competitive benchmark is considered to be a mark that the company is doing well....

Learn more about property damage and how it’s covered by business insurance. What Is Property Damage? Property damage typically involves physical damage to tangible property. Tangible property is something that can be touched or felt like a building or computer monitor. Most property damage claims involve physical injury to tangible property owned by the person making the claim (the claimant). For instance, a building owner sues a plumbing contractor for damage caused by a fire that the plumber accidentally started while welding a pipe....

Investments Here’s how the 6.2% compares to what you might earn in a year by investing your money. The inflation rate is more than 100 times higher than the measly 0.06% average interest rate on a savings account (the kind your grandparents used to depend on to help build their nest eggs). It’s a whopping 44 times the 0.14% annual rate on an average one-year certificate of deposit. (And even a really good one-year CD only gets you about 0....

A part-time job and a careful budget can help supplement what you earn over the summer to pay for your classes. Even if you don’t want to work full-time or on a steady basis, you can consider picking up a side hustle to help you earn extra cash and avoid debt. Check with your college to find out about possible jobs and internships in your field. Some internships will pay and can turn into part-time or full-time jobs while you finish up your degree, or can help you make the connections to help you land a job later on....

The chart below shows the change in real GDP under Republican presidencies, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here’s an analysis of the 10 Republican presidents since World War I, their economic policies, and how much they followed Republican tradition. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) Warren G. Harding said, “Less government in business and more business in government.“ During his term, Republicans cut taxes, especially for corporations and the wealthy....