Who Decides How Much You Pay for College? Here’s How Tuition Costs Are Set.

Schools turn to little-known consultants, owned by private equity firms, to find applicants and calculate scholarships. Here’s how that affects the price you pay.

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The Treasury Secretary Is Wrong About How Most Retirees See the Stock Market

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The Treasury Secretary Needs Better Data on How You Save for Retirement

Scott Bessent said on television that most people kept 401(k) money in a 60 percent stock fund. It’s not quite that simple.

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Tempted by Trump’s Tariffs to Panic-Buy? Don’t.

A census of Costco carts on Thursday revealed little fear. Tariffs could go as fast as they’re coming, and our columnist is not stuffing his pantry.

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Charlie Javice Found Guilty of Defrauding JPMorgan in $175 Million Acquisition

Federal prosecutors convinced a jury that Ms. Javice, along with one of her executives, had faked much of her customer list before selling her start-up, Frank, to the bank.

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Medicaid Is a Middle-Class Benefit. Here’s What to Know.

If you have a parent short on savings, a disabled adult child or a minor with special needs, Medicaid may be your backstop. Plenty of people are unaware.

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A Personal Finance Reporter Ponders His Own Climate Change Risk

A Times reporter co-wrote a guide to buying a home in an era of record heat, floods and billion-dollar disasters.

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What Happens to Student Loans if the Education Dept. Closes?

The White House released an executive order instructing the secretary of education to begin shutting down the department — but not to cancel your debt.

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Why You Should Sign Up for an I.R.S. Identity Protection PIN

With employees from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency poking around in agency systems, faith in data security isn’t what it once was. The tool, an identity protection PIN, can help.

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Jimmy Carter Was Right About Materialism but, Alas, Wrong About Us

“Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption,” he said in his 1979 “Crisis of Confidence” speech. If only we had listened.

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