Daniel Harper
Daniel is a finance writer covering personal finance topics including budgeting, credit, and beginner investing. He began his career contributing to his Substack, where he covered consumer finance trends and practical money topics for everyday readers. Since then, he has written for a range of personal finance blogs and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, straightforward content that helps readers make more informed financial decisions.
Latest Articles by Daniel Harper
Money you’ll need within five years generally has no business in the stock market
Households saving for a home down payment, a tuition bill, or any other expense due before 2031 face a simple but high-stakes question: should that...
AIC will pay data-breach victims about $50, or up to $5,000 with proof, by July 22
People whose personal data was exposed in the American International College breach can expect payments by July 22, with most receiving roughly $50 and those...
$615 is Medicare’s new Part D drug deductible for 2026, up from $590
Medicare beneficiaries filling prescriptions in 2026 will face a higher upfront cost before their drug coverage kicks in. The standard Part D deductible rises to...
Recasting your mortgage after a lump-sum payment lowers the monthly bill without refinancing
Homeowners sitting on a lump sum of cash, whether from an inheritance, a bonus, or the sale of another property, can cut their monthly mortgage...
Scammers are impersonating the FTC’s own chairman to talk people into emptying their savings
Scammers are calling Americans and claiming to be FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, pressuring targets to drain their bank accounts, 401(k) plans, and savings under the...
Rolling an old 401(k) into an IRA can cut fees and unlock far more investment choices
Workers who leave a former employer’s 401(k) plan untouched often pay higher fees and accept a narrower menu of investments than they would in an...
Opting out of pre-screened credit offers at OptOutPrescreen.com is free and cuts identity-theft risk
Every pre-screened credit card offer that lands in a household mailbox carries a quiet risk: if stolen from the mail, it can give a thief...
A free IRS Identity Protection PIN blocks crooks from filing a tax return under your Social Security number
Anyone with a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number can now request a free six-digit code from the IRS that stops fraudsters from...
Federal law gives you 60 days to dispute a credit-card billing error and withhold payment on it
Credit-card holders who spot an unfamiliar charge on their statement have a narrow federal window to act: 60 calendar days from the date the issuer...
High earners pay a bonus Medicare surcharge based on income two years back
Medicare beneficiaries with higher incomes are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more per year in Part B and Part D premiums, and the...
A CD ladder locks in today’s roughly 4% yields with cash coming due each year
Savers who split cash across one- through five-year certificates of deposit right now can lock in annual yields near 4 percent and guarantee that a...
An emergency fund of three to six months of expenses keeps a job loss from becoming credit-card debt
Workers who lose a job without a cash reserve measured in months, not weeks, face a fast slide toward revolving debt. Federal regulators, industry researchers,...
The “rule of 55” lets you tap your current 401(k) penalty-free if you leave that job at 55 or later
Workers who leave their job at 55 or older can pull money from that employer’s 401(k) without paying the 10 percent early-distribution penalty that normally...
A one-time six-month window after you turn 65 lets you buy any Medigap plan without health questions
People turning 65 and enrolling in Medicare Part B get exactly one chance to buy a Medigap supplemental insurance plan on their own terms. Federal...
Heirs who inherit stock or a home get the value reset, erasing decades of capital gains
Families who inherit appreciated stock or a home often owe far less in capital-gains tax than the person who originally built that wealth would have...
Treasury bills pay interest that’s completely exempt from state and local income tax
Investors in states like California, New York, and New Jersey can keep every dollar of Treasury bill interest out of their state and local tax...