Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
If you don't remember learning anything about basic financial literacy in school, you're not alone—that's the common sentiment among those who have passed through the American school system. This video explains the history of financial education in the US and points out what can be done in the future to make the financial lessons children learn in school stick with them past recess. Watch it here.
Several of America's founding fathers—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton—espoused various financial platitudes during their lives. According to the financial publication Kiplinger, much of their advice holds up in modern times. This article rounds up a few wise words from the founding fathers (and even one first lady) about compound interest, taxes, and education. For money-management tips from America's early days, click here.
Though every worker wants to retire, only some have retirement accounts. Data from the Census Bureau shows those who currently own such accounts are disproportionately white and Asian men in the Baby Boomer generation, suggesting access to these crucial retirement plans is not equal. Dive into the numbers and get a sense of who has retirement accounts here.
Should you get a 401(k)? To make sense of this obscure piece of tax code, here’s a beginner’s guide to one of the more common forms of retirement savings in the US. Learn the history of the 401(k), how to sign up for one, the different types, and more in this well-organized and concise explainer from Investopedia.
For the first century of the existence of the United States, direct income tax wasn't legal. Now it forms the basis of federal revenue. First instituted under the Lincoln administration to help pay for the Civil War (and later repealed), the 1913 ratification of the 16th amendment is generally viewed as the origin of the income tax in the country. The modern income structure was born in 1942, under Franklin Roosevelt amid World War II, which increased income tax receipts by more than a factor of five. In 2022, the federal government brought in around $2.6T in income tax, and about 55% of total revenue. See a timeline of America’s embrace of the individual income tax with this infographic.
While traditional parenting roles are changing, mothers do a ton of work at home, from cleaning and cooking to managing household finances. This quick calculator estimates the salary a mother (or caregiver) should receive based on number of...
A quick and digestible visual guide to some of the significant tax numbers in the US.
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The United States is home to more than 33 million businesses, the vast majority of which are small businesses, with millions being created (and others closing shop) every year. These businesses often rely on loans, provide the goods and services that keep the economy flowing, and sometimes even grow large enough to enter public markets or provide private investment opportunities. Explore key topics central to business and finance, from the role of the Federal Reserve to how initial public offerings work, how millions of American students finance higher education, and more.