Author: troyashbacher

Christmas is almost here, and if you still have a name or two left on your list, the clock is ticking. The toughest part of last-minute gifting is not the rush. It is sorting through flashy sales that turn out to be duds, especially when you want a present that feels thoughtful, useful and worth the spend.To search more easily, I combed through Walmart’s tech deals to find real savings on top-tier brands. Whether you are shopping for an Apple loyalist or a Bose audiophile, Walmart has a surprising number of solid markdowns right now.So if you are like me…

It’s not a big enough dip to really make a difference, but mortgage interest rates are lower today.The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage ticked down to 6.06% APR, according to rates provided to NerdWallet by Zillow. This is eight basis points lower than yesterday and nine basis points lower than a week ago. (See our chart below for more specifics.) A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.Though this wasn’t much of a move, if you’re shopping for a home or thinking about refinancing, this might be a sign to start following rates a bit…

Published: Dec. 12, 2025 at 11:43 a.m. ETThis has been a banner year for generative artificial intelligence, with billions of people making use of ChatGPT and competing chatbots, such as Google’s Gemini.But as hyperscalers — companies such as Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Meta Platforms Inc. META and Oracle Corp. ORCL that are footing the bill for construction, expansion and upgrades of data centers — increase their borrowing, their stocks could rerate and begin to trade at lower price-to-earnings ratios. This possible pressure on the hyperscalers was behind a warning from Savita Subramanian, Bank of America’s head of U.S. equity…

Ramit Sethi thinks “you should be spending less than one hour a month on your money.” That might feel impossible with bills to pay, expenses to track and savings, debt and retirement to worry about. Nope. Sethi says it’s all about setting up a process and automating what you can. “Delete your financial apps,” Sethi told me. “You don’t need them if you set your system up right.” Sethi is full of advice that cuts against the grain on his Netflix show “How to Get Rich,” his “Money for Couples” podcast and his social media channels. He has more than…

Investors are facing a period of historically high concentration in the S&P 500 Index headed into 2026, with a small number of mega-cap technology and AI-related companies dominating the index’s performance and risk.That’s leading more investment managers to advise clients as part of an annual portfolio review process to pay extra attention to opportunities to broaden holdings within the U.S. market, and across both value and overseas stocks. “The big theme for us is making sure we have resiliency built into the portfolio and the way we are going about that is diversification,” Kathmere Capital CIO Nick Ruder said on…

Each week, in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter Editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week she’s looking at eight questions on IRAs, 401(k)s and required minimum distributions. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)1. First RMDQuestion: I turned 73 earlier this year, and I am retired. I know I must start taking required minimum distributions (RMD) from my traditional IRA. Can you explain the rules to me? Joy Taylor: You are correct that people 73 and older must take annual RMDs from their traditional IRAs. (Note that…

The T-Mobile Visa Card is the wireless company’s first co-branded credit card. Issued by Capital One, the $0-annual-fee card is ideal for those already in the T-Mobile ecosystem. That’s because, like most branded cards, the T-Mobile Visa’s rewards and benefits are most useful for brand users — in this case, T-Mobile network users. Image courtesy of T-Mobile. The card’s most notable feature is that it earns an impressive 2% back in rewards on most purchases. Those rewards can be redeemed toward your T-Mobile bill which, along with the card’s $5-per-line autopay discount, can result in some serious savings for families.…

Last Updated: Dec. 12, 2025 at 9:34 a.m. ETFirst Published: Dec. 12, 2025 at 6:25 a.m. ETIt was not so long ago that news of any OpenAI-related deal would spark a big bump in a tech company’s stock. It’s fair to say that the vibe has changed, and investors now appear much more wary of AI promises.And to make it all the more worrisome the sector now faces the ‘front cover curse’ after Time Magazine named a group of AI proponents as its Persons of the Year. Indeed, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who is one of Time’s chosen, must be particularly…

(Image credit: Getty Images)To help you understand the trends surrounding AI and other new technologies and what we expect to happen in the future, our highly experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you abreast of the latest developments and forecasts. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe.) You’ll get all the latest news first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Here’s the latest…It’s increasingly common to see appliances and other household gadgets powered by AI. The problem is that buyers aren’t that interested in purchasing…

Before you buy your first (or next) real estate deal, you need to know one thing—how to calculate cash flow on a rental property. The problem? 99% of investors do this wrong and get burned as a result. That’s why after buying dozens of rental properties, we’ve come up with arguably the most accurate way to calculate real estate cash flow, and today, we’re showing you how to do it, too.Joining us is Ashley Kehr from the Real Estate Rookie podcast, who’s been buying rentals routinely for over ten years now. We’ll use the BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator (which you can…