Exclusive | Barter boom: Cash-strapped New Yorkers are trading beauty services — no cash, no credit, no problem

Exclusive | Barter boom: Cash-strapped New Yorkers are trading beauty services — no cash, no credit, no problem

In 2026, money talks — but increasingly, so does a blowout, a brow tint, or a fresh set of lashes. Across social media feeds and salon chairs nationwide, a very ancient idea is making a very 2026 comeback: bartering.  Only this time, it’s not barley for labor or tools in Mesopotamia — it’s eyelash extensions … Read more

Americans are spending their higher tax refunds on the basics versus luxury items: survey

Americans are spending their higher tax refunds on the basics versus luxury items: survey

According to a new study, tax refunds are continuing to increase year-on-year — but half said they’ve had to spend it all on necessities just to get by. The poll of 2,000 U.S. taxpayers who have received their tax refund this year found the average person got $2,825 back, a healthy increase from $2,300 from … Read more

Many can’t afford summer vacation due to increasing travel costs: survey

Many can’t afford summer vacation due to increasing travel costs: survey

Four in 10 Americans will not be taking a single trip this summer, with cost as the biggest reason why. The survey of 5,000 Americans, split evenly by state and generation, looked at respondents’ 2026 travel plans, and it revealed 37% will not be traveling this summer. For these respondents, the majority are unable to … Read more

Exclusive | Med Spa USA! How Botox havens have taken over millions of square feet across America

Exclusive | Med Spa USA! How Botox havens have taken over millions of square feet across America

America didn’t lose all its malls to the internet. It traded them in for Botox. Walk into any strip center worth its rent in 2025 and you’ll find the same thing: a med spa where the shoe store was and an IV drip lounge where the electronics store used to be.  Now there’s data to … Read more

Dear Abby: My husband wants me to finance the house renovations while not being apart of the will

Dear Abby: My husband wants me to finance the house renovations while not being apart of the will

DEAR ABBY: I have been married to my husband for 10 years. We live in a house he already owned before I moved in with him. He wants to make renovations to the house to increase its value. He says the house will go to his four children (all adults) when he passes. My issue … Read more

Why Americans are spending less on travel this year: survey

Why Americans are spending less on travel this year: survey

Americans are scaling back travel spending this year, with 58% planning to spend less than they did last year, according to new research. The online survey of 2,000 Americans, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of CheapCaribbean Vacations, found that rising costs are reshaping travel habits, with budgets down an average of 23% compared to … Read more

The financial topics parents find most difficult to teach their teens: survey

The financial topics parents find most difficult to teach their teens: survey

Parents think teens should have their first debit card before their 16th birthday, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 parents of teens ages 13 to 17 revealed that not only should today’s teens have a debit card (at age 15.5, on average), they should also have a checking account around the same age … Read more

Meet Wall Street’s baby-faced new finance bros — they flash $10K Rolex watches, wear Celine suits and say life in NYC costs too much

Meet Wall Street’s baby-faced new finance bros — they flash K Rolex watches, wear Celine suits and say life in NYC costs too much

Their stocks are up. Interview magazine has profiled four young Wall Streeters for its March issue — with the baby-faced bankers dishing on their dating lives, fledgling finance careers and favourite places to blow off steam in the city. The cashed-up quartet, who all live in Lower Manhattan, also posed for pictures at FiDi steakhouse … Read more

Dear Abby: My partner no longer loves me because of my health and finance issues

Dear Abby: My partner no longer loves me because of my health and finance issues

DEAR ABBY: I’m a senior male who has been married and divorced twice. For the last eight years, I have been in a relationship with an amazing woman. She has always had some control issues, but because of the love we share, I was able to look past them.  I’ve always been the one who … Read more

High-yield savings accounts less familiar to many Americans, new survey reveals

High-yield savings accounts less familiar to many Americans, new survey reveals

Most people have savings accounts, but according to a new study, many are unaware of how their money actually grows. Commissioned by LendingClub and conducted by Talker Research, a new survey of 2,000 Americans revealed that 89% are at least familiar with one type of savings account, with the most well-known among them being standard … Read more

YouTuber MrBeast claims he has ‘negative money right now’ — despite billionaire status

YouTuber MrBeast claims he has ‘negative money right now’ — despite billionaire status

Is MrBeast broke? The famous YouTuber, 27, made wild claims about how much money he has in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal. “It’s funny talking about my personal finances because no one ever believes anything I say, because they’re like, ‘You’re a billionaire,’” MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, said. “I’m … Read more

How the economy badly hurt Gen Z in 2025 — and the hacks they’re using to try to save money

How the economy badly hurt Gen Z in 2025 — and the hacks they’re using to try to save money

Financial challenges have a wide-reaching impact, and in a recent study, Gen Z reported that their social lives (72%), mental health (67%), and physical health (62%) have suffered due to money constraints in the last year. The survey of 2,000 Gen Z hourly workers also found that more than a third (36%) are working multiple … Read more

Frugal influencers share top money-saving tips for 2026 — but critics clap back: ‘You can’t budget yourself out of poverty’

Frugal influencers share top money-saving tips for 2026 — but critics clap back: ‘You can’t budget yourself out of poverty’

They’re not buying this “no buy” advice. A slew of TikTok influencers are sharing their best money-saving methods for the New Year — but critics say cutting back on indulgences won’t make you a millionaire. Rach, a content creator who shares videos about her “frugal” lifestyle, went viral this week with her advice on “how … Read more

Americans dreading financial hangover waiting for them after the holidays, survey shows

Americans dreading financial hangover waiting for them after the holidays, survey shows

Holiday shopping is well underway, but for many Americans, a financial holiday hangover is waiting for them in 2026. This was revealed in a survey of 2,000 Americans who celebrate a winter holiday, which found that 35% of respondents are planning to use a credit card for holiday purchases. With only 17% of these respondents … Read more

Millennials logged into this side of TikTok the most in 2025: survey

Millennials logged into this side of TikTok the most in 2025: survey

The average FinTok user spent over 400 hours scrolling through their feed in 2025, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 Americans split evenly by generation who use FinTok — the financial side of TikTok — revealed that they spend an average of eight hours per week watching videos, totaling 416 hours this year. … Read more

Nearly 1 in 3 expect to slip into debt this holiday season

Nearly 1 in 3 expect to slip into debt this holiday season

Sixty-five percent of Americans say it’s nearly impossible to know how much to “safely” spend this holiday season in a recent survey. The survey of 2,000 Americans who celebrate winter holidays uncovers Americans’ financial strain, all the pressures they face when it comes to spending on gifts and “putting on” the holidays, and the resulting … Read more

Paris Jackson’s claim against father’s estate thrown out, but she’s ‘not going to give up’: Sources

Paris Jackson’s claim against father’s estate thrown out, but she’s ‘not going to give up’: Sources

Paris Jackson rolled the dice against her father’s powerhouse estate — and it turned out to be a bust. The only daughter of pop king Michael Jackson has been ordered to pay the same high-powered attorneys she accused of mishandling money in a court filing last month. A judicial referee struck nearly the entire petition she … Read more

Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck when cashing in spare change

Here’s how to get the most bang for your buck when cashing in spare change

One man really felt the force of his accumulated coins when he finally cashed in his Star Wars piggy bank. In a viral Threads post, Eli Piatt (@jsun4hees) shared a photo of his Coinstar receipt from a grocery store in Portland, Oregon, showing he walked away with $597.45 after dumping a decade of collected coins … Read more

Gen Z deems cash as ‘cringe’ in new study — saying people who still use it are ‘out of touch’

Gen Z deems cash as ‘cringe’ in new study — saying people who still use it are ‘out of touch’

They’re saying “nil” to dollar bills.  Money makes the world go round. But when it comes to Gen Zers, the cold-hard stuff just makes them frown, according to new data, which reveals that tech-obsessed 20-somethings consider cash “cringe.”   “More than half of Gen Z (53%) are using physical cash as a last resort when paying,” … Read more

‘The Godfather’ director forced to sell watches after losing millions on passion project

‘The Godfather’ director forced to sell watches after losing millions on passion project

“The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola is selling off several luxury watches from his personal collection, including one custom timepiece worth over $1 million, after losing most of his wealth financing his decades-long passion project, “Megalopolis.” The 86-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker reportedly invested $120 million of his own fortune into making the epic science fiction movie, which … Read more