Connect with us

Personal Finance

Why now is an ideal time to do a financial reset, advisor says

Published

on

I’ve got all the paperwork here

Delmaine Donson | E+ | Getty Images

More than half of U.S. consumers planned to make a financial resolution for 2025, according to a December poll by Discover Personal Loans. 

Even if you didn’t ring in the new year with some money goals in mind, it’s not too late to set some, experts say. In fact, now is a great time to get started.

“The ideal time for financial reset is usually at the beginning of the year,” said financial advisor Jordan Awoye, managing partner of Awoye Capital in New York City. “You’re able to start from scratch, see what you’ve done the year prior, and just have a clean slate.”

It helps that the 2025 tax filing season will begin on Jan. 27. You can consider your priorities and goals for the year ahead as you review your finances from last year, Awoye said.

More from Your Money:

Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.

Saving and earning more, spending less, improving credit scores, building an emergency fund, and paying off or consolidating debt are among the top resolutions, according to Discover. However, almost all respondents said they anticipate at least one challenge — inflation, the state of the economy, unexpected or current expenses — may prevent them from achieving those goals. 

Morning Consult, on behalf of Discover, polled 2,201 adults in early November.

Focus on what you can control

Don’t allow the state of the economy — which you cannot control — or regret over past money mistakes to prevent you from moving forward. 

“If you’re feeling down on yourself and don’t have that right positive mindset, you might just continue down that downward spiral,” said Corbin Blackwell, a New York City-based certified financial planner with Betterment. “There is no amount too small to just get started. Maybe that’s saving. Maybe that’s paying down debt little by little.”  

Determine your strategy: Save or invest?

Srdjanpav | E+ | Getty Images

Make sure your asset allocation is appropriate for your time frame, said Natalie Taylor, a CFP and founder of The Goodland Group in Santa Barbara, California. Understand market volatility and how it may impact your goals.

Some resolutions, like ensuring you have a fully-funded emergency savings account, are examples of what Taylor calls “base hit” goals. Saving might be the right strategy for these goals, which may be short-term or focus on preserving cash assets.

“You typically don’t want to use more aggressive strategies to achieve those from an investment standpoint,” she said. For cash-based goals, “we’d look at a more standard, diversified portfolio using high-yield savings or [certificates of deposit].”

Other resolutions like fully funding your child’s college education, buying a second home or retiring early may be considered “home run” goals and warrant investing in a diversified stock portfolio and possibly more aggressive strategies, Taylor said. 

The key is to focus on your goals for the year ahead and then plan the steps to achieve them.  

Steps to take now to achieve your financial goals

  1. Build a better budget. Track your monthly spending and how much you save from your take-home pay. Awoye said to ask yourself, “Do you have more money coming in than going out? And if you do not, how do you fix that? What expenses can you drop? What other streams of revenue can you create that work a little bit parallel with the streams of revenue that you have now?” While you must pay for everyday expenses and recurring household bills, you should also aim to stash money away in an emergency savings account. Experts advise setting a goal to save three to six months’ worth of expenses so that you don’t have to tap your credit card for an unplanned expense.
  2. Pay down high-interest debt, if you have any, and build savings. Yes, you can do both at the same time. However, some advisors say the interest rate you’re paying on the debt or earning on your savings can help determine which goal deserves more immediate attention. “Paying off the high-interest debt is pretty much the highest priority,” Blackwell said. “If you have credit card debt, which is probably costing you about 20%, double-digit interest at least, your dollars are probably best served paying that down.” 
  3. Focus on longer-term savings and investing. This is typically money you won’t need for at least 10 years. To invest your retirement savings, you might contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA) and/or 401(k) or workplace retirement plan. Put any extra money to invest in a taxable brokerage account to help turbo-charge your savings. Your time frame can help determine how you invest and what investments you choose.

Completing your financial reset is important, so you’ve set the stage for achieving your goals.

“Ultimately, where you’re going to find financial success is going to depend on what you define as successful,” Blackwell said. 

Continue Reading

Personal Finance

Disability advocates sue Social Security and DOGE to stop service cuts

Published

on

A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025. 

Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

A group of disability advocates filed a federal lawsuit against the Social Security Administration and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency on Wednesday aimed at stopping cuts to the agency’s services.

Recent changes at the Social Security Administration under DOGE — including staff reductions, the elimination of certain offices and new requirements to seek in-person services — have made it more difficult for individuals with disabilities and older adults to access benefits, the lawsuit argues.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The plaintiffs include the National Federation of the Blind, the American Association of People with Disabilities, Deaf Equality, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the Massachusetts Senior Action Council and individual beneficiaries.

“The defendants’ actions are an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on Social Security benefits, concealed beneath the hollow pretense of bureaucratic ‘reform,'” the complaint states.

In nine weeks, the new administration has “upended” the agency with “sweeping and destabilizing policy changes,” the plaintiffs claim, that have shifted agency functions to local offices while slashing telephone services.

More from Personal Finance:
Trump administration loses appeal of DOGE Social Security restraining order
Social Security changes may impact service, benefit payments
Trump pick to lead Social Security faces questions on DOGE

“The result is a systematic dismantling of SSA’s core functions, leaving millions of beneficiaries without the essential benefits they are legally entitled to,” the lawsuit complaint states.

The “mass restructuring” of the agency is unlawful and violates the Rehabilitation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, the lawsuit argues. The changes also violate multiple constitutional provisions, including the First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances, according to the plaintiffs.

With 1.1 million disability claims pending, the recent actions could also be life threatening to individuals who are dying or going bankrupt while waiting for decisions, they allege.

The Social Security Administration did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

“President Trump has made it clear he is committed to making the federal government more efficient,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in an email statement. “He has the authority to manage agency restructuring and workforce reductions, and the administration’s actions are fully compliant with the law.”

Lawsuit alleges reform is ‘administrative vandalism’

People hold signs during a protest against cuts made by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to the Social Security Administration, in White Plains, New York, U.S., March 22, 2025. 

Nathan Layne | Reuters

The Social Security Administration sends monthly checks to around 73 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries.

DOGE, which is not an official government entity, has been tasked with cutting “waste, fraud and abuse” within the federal government. President Donald Trump issued an executive order creating DOGE on Jan. 20, the same day he was inaugurated.

Since then, the Social Security Administration has cut 7,000 employee positions and closed the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity and the Office of Transformation. The Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity handled the agency’s equal employment opportunity and civil rights programs. The Office of Transformation was responsible for coordinating customer service-related initiatives like adding the ability to use digital signatures and electronic documents.

The Social Security Administration has also changed its identity proofing policies for claiming benefits and changing direct deposit information that is expected to require more individuals to visit the agency’s offices in person.

The agency has updated its policy, allowing individuals applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income who cannot use a personal my Social Security account to complete their claim entirely over the telephone, starting April 14. 

The reforms amount to the dismantling of “core functions of SSA, abandoning millions of Americans to poverty and indignity,” according to the plaintiffs’ complaint.

“What the defendants frame as ‘reform’ is, in truth, administrative vandalism,” the lawsuit states.

Beneficiaries face long waits, overpayment issues

The plaintiffs include seven individuals whose experiences, including long customer service waits and, in some cases, demands to repay large sums to the Social Security Administration, are detailed in the complaint.

One plaintiff, Treva Olivero, who has been legally blind since birth, was informed in March 2024 that she had been overpaid Social Security disability insurance benefits for five or six years, prompting the agency to demand she repay more than $100,000, according to the complaint.

Olivero’s Medicaid coverage was also terminated soon after, which left her without income and health coverage. She has since been in an “ongoing struggle” to have her disability benefits reinstated, while also facing almost $80,000 in medical debt, according to the complaint.

Fiserv CEO on the nomination to Social Security Commisioner role

Another plaintiff, Merry Schoch, who received Social Security disability insurance for many years, returned to work to help pay for large medical bills after she was hit by a waste management truck in 2022. She reported her income to the Social Security Administration, and the agency made no changes to her benefit payments, according to the complaint.

Two years later, Schoch stopped working and reported her unemployment to the Social Security Administration. In August 2024, the agency then terminated her benefits and informed Schoch that she owed $30,000 for the disability benefit payments she received while working full time, according to the complaint.

Last September, Schoch was informed she could reapply for benefits. However, she has since struggled to get in touch with the agency over the phone, online and in person. 

Both Olivero and Schoch are members of the National Federation of the Blind, which is also a plaintiff.

The plaintiffs want the court to reverse the Social Security Administration’s recent reforms, including staff reductions, closures of certain offices and policies requiring in-person appointments.

Continue Reading

Personal Finance

Amid trade turmoil, ‘you do not want to time the market’

Published

on

Pres. Trump unveils sweeping tariffs: Here's what to know

As President Donald Trump rolls out sweeping new tariffs on goods imported into the United States, Americans are growing increasingly pessimistic about their financial fate.

Consumers worry that the duties will cause inflation to flare up again, while investors fear that higher prices will mean lower profits and more pain for the battered stock market

As of Thursday morning, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 1,200 points, or 2.8%. S&P 500 futures sank 3.4%, and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 4%.

But sharp drops — or sudden spikes — in the market are to be expected, according to Jean Chatzky, CEO of HerMoney.com and host of the podcast HerMoney with Jean Chatzky.

“With these volatile markets, you do not want to time the market,” she said of the old adage. “Timing the market doesn’t work — it’s time in the market.”

More from Personal Finance:
Tariffs are ‘lose-lose’ for U.S. jobs and industry
Why uncertainty makes the stock market go haywire
Americans are suffering from ‘sticker shock’ — how to adjust

Trade tensions, inflation and concerns about a possible recession have undermined consumer confidence across the board, several studies show.

Still, it’s normal for most Americans to feel unnerved during heightened volatility, Chatzky said.

“There’s very little doubt that consumers are feeling nervous, maybe more nervous than we’ve felt in quite some time,” she said.

Committing to setting money aside in a high-yield savings account, whether by scaling back on dining out or rideshare expenses, will help regain some financial control, Chatzky said.

Top-yielding online savings accounts currently pay 4.4%, on average, well beyond the savings account rates at some of the largest retail banks, which average just 0.41%.

“Taking action is the best way to feel more resilient,” she said.

It’s understandable why some may be hesitant to continue investing, however, when you are investing for the long term, a down market is an opportunity for dollar-cost averaging, which helps smooth out price fluctuations in the market, Chatzky said.

This is also a good time to check your investments to make sure you are still allocated properly and rebalance as needed, so you are not taking on more risk that you are comfortable with, she added.

Timing the market is a losing bet

Talk yourself down from making any sudden financial moves, Chatzky advised.

Trying to time the market is almost always a bad idea, other financial experts also say. That’s because it’s impossible to know when good and bad days will happen.

For example, the 10 best trading days by percentage gain for the S&P 500 over the past three decades all occurred during recessions, often in close proximity to the worst days, according to a Wells Fargo analysis published last year.

And, although stocks go up and down, the S&P 500 index has an average annualized return of around 10% over the past few decades.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Continue Reading

Personal Finance

How to file for a free tax extension if you can’t make April 15 deadline

Published

on

Galina Zhigalova | Moment | Getty Images

If you can’t file your taxes by the April 15 deadline, there’s a free, easy way to submit a federal tax extension online, experts say.  

Nearly 1 in 3 American admit that they procrastinate when it comes filing their taxes, according to a January survey of more than 1,000 U.S. filers from IPX1031, an investment property exchange service. In addition, about 25% do not feel prepared to file their taxes, the survey found.

As of March 21, the IRS received roughly 80 million individual returns of the 140 million expected this filing season, the agency’s latest reporting shows.

More from Personal Finance:
How to spring-clean your finances. It can ‘make you feel more secure,’ advisor says
Tariffs will likely raise much less money than White House projects: economists
The federal government is phasing out paper checks. Here’s who will be affected

Many natural disaster victims have an automatic tax extension, which varies by jurisdiction. Military members serving in a combat zone also have more time to file. 

However, the federal tax deadline for the majority of taxpayers is April 15. It’s possible to push that due date to Oct. 15 by filing for an extension.

But “it’s an extension to file, not an extension to pay,” said Jo Anna Fellon, managing director at financial services firm CBIZ.

“It’s an extension to file, not an extension to pay.”

After the tax deadline, you will start incurring the failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for each month or partial month that your taxes remain unpaid. The failure-to-pay penalty has a maximum charge of 25% of your unpaid taxes.

That’s cheaper than the failure-to-file penalty, which applies when you don’t submit your return by the deadline. The failure-to-file penalty is 5% of unpaid taxes monthly, also limited to 25%.

But you’ll also owe interest on your unpaid balance, which is currently 7% and accrues daily after April 15.

You can estimate your taxes owed by creating a “pro forma return” — or mock version of your filing — using as many tax forms as possible, Fellon said.

The ‘easiest way’ to file an extension

There are a few free options to file a tax extension.

For federal taxes, you can complete Form 4868 and mail it to the IRS. But it’s better to file digitally to avoid processing delays amid the agency’s shrinking workforce, experts say. Paper filing can also increase fraud risk, they say.

The “easiest way” is by choosing “extension” when making a payment for 2024, which automatically submits Form 4868, according to Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner and enrolled agent at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida.

“It takes all of five minutes,” and you can double-check the transaction via your IRS online account, he said.

IRS Direct Pay

Internal Revenue Service

Alternatively, you can file your extension for free online via IRS Free File, a public-private partnership between the IRS and several tax software companies.   

For the 2025 season, you can use IRS Free File for returns if your adjusted gross income, or AGI, was $84,000 or less in 2024. But there’s no income limit to file an extension, Lucas said.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

Tax season is a prime time for scams: Here’s how to protect yourself

Continue Reading

Trending