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
1 in 10 Americans has been targeted by an AI voice clone scam — and it only takes 3 seconds of audio for the software to copy your voice
A phone rings. The voice on the other end sounds exactly like your daughter, your boss, or a government official you trust. The panic in...
Workers cut 401(k) contributions for the first time in 3 years — except Gen Z, who raised theirs to 6.2%
After three years of steady increases, American workers are pulling back on 401(k) contributions. The average deferral rate across all age groups slipped to approximately...
Hackers asked an AI code editor to build a dashboard for their 345,000 stolen credit cards — the AI created a public directory instead, exposing the entire operation
A group of hackers reportedly used an AI-powered code editor to build a management dashboard for what secondary reports and cybersecurity forum discussions describe as...
The IRS is running 125 AI models to flag tax returns in 2026 — up from 54 in 2024 — and high-earner audit rates are climbing back toward pre-2010 levels
If you reported more than $10 million in income on your most recent tax return, the IRS is screening it with tools that barely existed...
44% of used EVs sold for under $25,000 in March — making a secondhand electric cheaper than the average used gas car for the first time
A used Chevy Bolt EUV for $18,500. A three-year-old Nissan Leaf for $14,900. A 2022 Tesla Model 3 listed just under $25,000. Prices like these...
Spirit’s collapse erased 809,000 booked seats overnight — four airlines capped emergency fares at $200, but only until May 10
Spirit Airlines told every one of its remaining passengers the same thing on Monday morning: do not come to the airport. The carrier canceled its...
April was the S&P 500’s best month since November 2020 — a 10% gain — while inflation hit 3.5% and the personal savings rate fell to a 2008 low
The S&P 500 closed April 2026 with a gain of roughly 10%, its strongest single month since November 2020, when news of effective COVID-19 vaccines...
75% of millennials have put off building an emergency fund because of credit card debt — and the average balance just hit $6,580 at 21.52% APR
Roughly three out of four millennials say credit card debt has delayed or derailed their efforts to build an emergency fund, according to Bankrate’s annual...
Social Security’s 2.8% COLA added $56 a month — but the Medicare Part B premium hike swallowed nearly half of it, leaving retirees with just $38 more
The Social Security raise for 2026 was supposed to put $56 more per month into the average retiree’s pocket. Instead, most beneficiaries are seeing about...
The “K-shaped economy” is back in the data — more Americans are either superprime (780+ credit score) or subprime (below 600), and the middle is hollowing out
Open two credit card offers side by side and the American economy splits in half. One envelope promises a $750 sign-up bonus, airport lounge access,...
I bonds just reset to 4.26% — the highest rate since October 2023 — and the 0.90% fixed rate locks in for 30 years
If you have been waiting for a reason to revisit Series I savings bonds, the U.S. Treasury just gave you one. On May 1, 2026,...
15% of tariff refund claims have already been rejected — and small businesses say the CAPE portal requires a customs broker or lawyer just to file
A small-business owner who imports kitchen supplies spent two days trying to file a tariff refund claim through the federal government’s new online portal. She...
Florida home prices are down 5.1% and Texas is down 2.4% — while Rust Belt cities are surging in the weirdest housing market split in a generation
Two years ago, a three-bedroom ranch in Tampa’s Seminole Heights neighborhood might have drawn a dozen offers and sold above $400,000. Today, similar homes in...
30-year mortgage rates climbed to 6.20% this week — up 11 basis points — as Iran-driven inflation fears erase the spring rate dip
The spring discount on mortgage rates is gone. Borrowers shopping for a 30-year fixed-rate loan this week face a rate of 6.20%, according to the...
The Buffett Indicator just hit 217% of GDP — higher than the dot-com peak of 150% — and Warren Buffett has said anything above 90% is overheated
Warren Buffett spent the better part of two years doing something that made Wall Street uncomfortable: selling. By the end of the first quarter of...
Apple just posted $111 billion in revenue — a record — and authorized a $100 billion buyback in what was effectively Tim Cook’s last earnings call as CEO
Tim Cook’s last earnings call as Apple’s CEO ended the way he probably would have scripted it: with the biggest fiscal second quarter in the...