Accessibility links
Your Money NPR coverage of personal finance, money, investing, taxes, retirement, mortgages and housing markets, wealth management, and stock market news. Download NPR podcasts and RSS feeds.

Your Money

Friday

Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rates

President Obama, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at his side, calls on Congress on June 21, 2012, to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling. He is going to make that appeal again Friday. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Susan Walsh/AP

It's All Politics

Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rates

Interest rates on government-backed college loans are set to double July 1 — unless Congress agrees on a fix before then. The president is expected to urge Congress on Friday to block that increase.

Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rates

Listen · 3:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/187401450/187459747" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

How A Trip To Costco Can Work As An Investment Strategy

A recent trip to Costco cost NPR's Uri Berliner $303.53. The haul included razor blades, cans of soup and tuna fish, laundry detergent, heartburn relief medicine and dog treats. As an investment, it will pay off if he uses what he bought — and if the price tag for the same items is higher if he returns in a year. Mary-Elizabeth Berliner hide caption

toggle caption
Mary-Elizabeth Berliner

Dollar For Dollar: Adventures In Investing

How A Trip To Costco Can Work As An Investment Strategy

As part of his investing adventure, NPR's Uri Berliner tries his hand at bulk buying. The idea: Stock up on goods now that you know you'll need later. It's a hedge against inflation. But figuring out what to buy and how much isn't so easy.

How A Trip To Costco Can Work As An Investment Strategy

Listen · 5:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/186450423/187228559" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

What's Under Youngstown May Help What's On Top

By leasing land for drilling, city leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, hope to generate funds to demolish vacant buildings. M.L. Schultze for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
M.L. Schultze for NPR

Business

What's Under Youngstown May Help What's On Top

WKSU

City leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, are hoping that by leasing land to drilling companies, they might generate funds to demolish vacant homes and buildings. Some refer to this as "frackmolishing," and opponents worry the drilling will cause environmental damage.

What's Under Youngstown May Help What's On Top

Listen · 4:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/185804016/187090619" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Beauty Shop

Is Motherhood Killing Wall Street Careers?

Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones sparked a firestorm of debate after he said motherhood was a career killer in his industry. Host Michel Martin discusses the backlash and new information about women in the workplace with the journalists and commentators of the Beauty Shop: NPR's Jennifer Ludden, Time Magazine's Rana Foroohar, and policy analyst Michelle Bernard.

Is Motherhood Killing Wall Street Careers?

Listen · 12:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/187049439/187049434" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Instead Of Snoozing In Savings, Let's Put $5,000 To Work
Robyn Mackenzie/iStockphoto.com

Dollar For Dollar: Adventures In Investing

Instead Of Snoozing In Savings, Let's Put $5,000 To Work

It's a hard time to be a saver. The return on a savings account doesn't even keep up with inflation, and that has led many savers to ask: What should I do with my money? NPR's Uri Berliner takes $5,000 out of his own personal savings and explores various investment opportunities.

Instead Of Snoozing In Savings, Let's Put $5,000 To Work

Listen · 4:09
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/184201335/185965460" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Money Coach

Market At Record Highs, Why Is Investment At Record Lows?

The stock market is hitting record highs. But stock ownership is at record lows, according to a Gallup poll. Host Michel Martin speaks with Roben Farzad of Bloomberg Businessweek about how low participation rates could hurt struggling Americans.

Market At Record Highs, Why Is Investment At Record Lows?

Listen · 7:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/185788201/185788178" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

The Tricky Business Of Retirement: Hidden 401(K) Fees
iStockPhoto.com

The Tricky Business Of Retirement: Hidden 401(K) Fees

Fresh Air

You could end up with a lot less savings at 65 than you ever anticipated because of fees charged by the financial institutions managing your retirement accounts. Robert Hiltonsmith, who researches retirement security, says those fees were disclosed to 401(k) plan participants until only recently.

The Tricky Business Of Retirement: Hidden 401(K) Fees

Listen · 29:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/184221956/184482828" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

National

Managing The $30 Million 'One Fund' To Aid Boston Victims

Days after the marathon bombing, officials established the One Fund for Boston to assist victims and their families. Attorney Ken Feinberg, who managed similar funds after Sept. 11 and Virginia Tech and is managing this fund, says there's no easy way to decide who gets how much of the $30 million that's been donated.

Managing The $30 Million 'One Fund' To Aid Boston Victims

Listen · 30:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/184524656/184524619" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Stay-At-Home Dads, Breadwinner Moms And Making It All Work

Dawn Heisey-Grove hands off Zane to Jonathan after a midday feeding. The couple were both working full time when Jonathan lost his job as a graphic designer two years ago. Kainaz Amaria/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Kainaz Amaria/NPR

The Changing Lives Of Women

Stay-At-Home Dads, Breadwinner Moms And Making It All Work

For decades, the role of breadwinner was reserved for men, but today, more than a quarter of American working women earn more than their spouses. That means more fathers are opting to stay home with the kids.

Stay-At-Home Dads, Breadwinner Moms And Making It All Work

Listen · 7:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/180300236/184132937" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Money Coach

Why Should We Care About The Stock Market?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently shot beyond 15,000 points for the first time ever. But to ordinary Americans, it might not seem relevant — given unemployment rates and stagnant wages. Host Michel Martin speaks with personal finance guru Alvin Hall about why the stock market matters.

Why Should We Care About The Stock Market?

Listen · 7:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/183924817/183924810" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Economy

Is The Housing Recovery Just A Mirage?

Experts say the housing market is recovering, but the percentage of Americans who own homes is lower than it was a decade ago. Host Michel Martin speaks to Time's Rana Foroohar who looks at this and other paradoxes in the housing market, and asks if the recovery is really just a mirage.

Is The Housing Recovery Just A Mirage?

Listen · 11:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/183628281/183628263" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript