Tyler Foster
Latest Articles by Tyler Foster
Federal Lifeline gives qualifying low-income households up to $34.25 off the phone or internet bill every month — but most who qualify never sign up to claim it
Roughly 30 million American households qualify for a federal discount on their phone or internet bill, yet fewer than 8 million are currently enrolled. The...
Imposter calls posing as your utility company spiked 30% this spring — a real utility never demands a prepaid card, gift card, or crypto over the phone
The call comes on a Tuesday afternoon. Your caller ID shows the name of your electric company. A recorded voice warns that your power will...
Wartime veterans and their surviving spouses can claim up to $2,873 a month in Aid and Attendance pension — yet many families miss it because the rules sound too narrow
A veteran’s spouse pays $4,200 a month for a home health aide. A widow on a fixed income drains her savings to cover assisted-living fees....
Marriott is paying $52 million for the breach that exposed 131 million guest records — and not a cent goes to the consumers, only to state attorneys general
For roughly four years, hackers had free rein inside the Starwood guest reservation system, quietly siphoning passport numbers, payment card details, birth dates, and contact...
ACA enhanced subsidies expired January 1 — premium payments for 22 million enrollees just doubled, adding $1,016 a year to the average household’s health bill
On the first Monday of January, millions of Americans opened their health insurance bills and found a number they didn’t recognize. Across the 22 million...
HUD-approved housing counselors review your full mortgage situation for free — homeowners who use one avoid foreclosure at roughly twice the rate of those who go it alone
The letter from the servicer usually arrives about 45 days after a missed mortgage payment. It’s polite, bureaucratic, and easy to set aside. Then a...
A reverse mortgage lets a 62-year-old homeowner tap home equity tax-free — but new HUD rules require both spouses on the loan, or the survivor can be evicted
After 34 years in the same house, a 74-year-old widow in a complaint filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau described learning, only after her...
Most travel credit cards waive the 3% foreign-transaction fee — but your debit card almost certainly doesn’t, costing about $30 extra on every $1,000 spent abroad
A $47 dinner in Lisbon turns into $48.41 on your bank statement. A $200 hotel night in Tokyo posts as $206. None of these overages...
First-time buyers can claim up to $2,000 a year in federal tax credits for life through a Mortgage Credit Certificate — yet fewer than 30,000 borrowers used one in 2025
Consider a hypothetical first-time buyer who closes on a $280,000 mortgage in Texas. At the closing table, her loan officer hands her a document that...
The IRS quietly killed the dreaded $600 Venmo and PayPal tax-form rule — the threshold is back to $20,000 and 200 transactions, freeing most casual sellers
For four years, millions of Americans who sell the occasional item on eBay, take freelance payments through PayPal, or offload used furniture on Facebook Marketplace...
Ashley Furniture is paying $9 million over mattresses that leaked fiberglass into homes — owners can claim a store voucher per mattress through July 17
If you own an Ashley Furniture memory foam mattress and have ever found tiny, irritating glass-like fibers on your sheets, walls, or clothing, you may...
If your 401(k) holds your own company’s stock, the usual rollover can overtax it — a special “NUA” move taxes the gains at lower capital-gains rates
Imagine spending 25 years at a company whose stock price tripled during your career. Your 401(k) now holds $300,000 in employer shares, but the plan...
Some 401(k)s let you stash up to about $70,000 a year and convert it to a Roth — a “mega backdoor” move most plans allow but few employees use
A 45-year-old software engineer in Seattle maxes out her 401(k) every year, funds a backdoor Roth IRA, and still has money left over to invest....
Most taxpayers can file federal returns for free through IRS Free File or Direct File — yet millions still pay $150 or more for software that’s free for them
A married couple in Ohio earning $85,000 a year could file their federal tax return for free this season. So could a single freelance graphic...
A losing stock can still cut your tax bill — sell it, deduct up to $3,000 against your income, and carry the rest forward for years
You bought a stock that is now worth half what you paid. Every time you open your brokerage app, it sits there in red, a...
A federal program covers part of your heating and cooling bills — LIHEAP pays the average household a few hundred dollars, yet most who qualify never apply
Somewhere in Ohio right now, a retired couple is deciding whether to turn the thermostat down to 58 degrees or skip a prescription refill. Somewhere...