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
Workers 50 and older can add $7,500 more to a 401(k) in 2026
Retirement savers who have reached their 50s gained a little more room to shelter income in 2026. The standard limit on elective deferrals to a...
The Saver’s Credit hands lower-income workers up to $1,000, or $2,000 per couple, for retirement contributions
The federal tax code quietly rewards lower- and moderate-income households for setting money aside for retirement, yet the break remains one of the least-claimed lines...
A Medicaid-compliant annuity turns a couple’s excess savings into income and speeds a spouse’s coverage
When one spouse needs nursing-home care and the other remains at home, the couple’s savings can become the obstacle to getting help paying for it....
A new federal plan caps student-loan payments at 1% to 10% of income but stretches forgiveness to 30 years
A federal repayment option that took effect on July 1, 2026 reshapes the math for anyone still carrying student debt, and the tradeoff sits right...
Owners of 1.8 million recalled attic ladders can claim a free repair kit
Millions of American homeowners keep a folding attic ladder tucked into the ceiling, and federal safety regulators now warn that one widely sold line of...
Georgia SunTrust customers charged overdraft fees between 2006 and 2014 can claim a payout by September 14
For more than a decade, customers of SunTrust Bank in Georgia paid overdraft fees on small debit-card and ATM transactions, a practice a class-action lawsuit...
A bipartisan bill would let SSI recipients keep $10,000 in savings, up from a $2,000 cap frozen since 1989
A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to lift a savings rule that has trapped some of the country’s poorest older and disabled residents for more...
If a 401(k) plan offers it, a newer law lets workers pull up to $1,000 for an emergency without the usual penalty
Workers can use a newer federal exception to take as much as $1,000 from a 401(k) or another eligible retirement plan for an immediate personal...
A veteran’s widow can get tax-free VA survivor pay of $1,699.36 a month
The Department of Veterans Affairs pays an eligible surviving spouse a 2026 base Dependency and Indemnity Compensation rate of $1,699.36 a month. DIC is tax-free,...
The PBGC insures a failed company pension up to $93,477 a year for a 65-year-old retiree
A private company’s failure does not necessarily erase a traditional pension. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation takes over covered single-employer plans and pays benefits within...
A free national database can turn up a deceased relative’s forgotten life-insurance payout
A family can settle an estate without knowing that an old life-insurance policy exists. Coverage may have been purchased decades earlier, the insurer may have...
FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category, and trust beneficiaries can raise that limit as two banks have failed in 2026
Two federally insured banks have failed in 2026, according to the FDIC’s current record, giving depositors a fresh reason to understand what the familiar $250,000...
Your first required IRA withdrawal can wait until April 1, but doubling up two withdrawals can spike your taxes
The first required minimum distribution carries an unusual choice: an IRA owner can take it during the year it belongs to or delay it until...
A bigger single-life pension can leave a surviving spouse with nothing
A pension election can trade a larger monthly check today for the disappearance of that income at the retiree’s death. The single-life option pays only...
Filed a tax extension? Your 2025 return is due October 15, though any tax owed was due back in April
The federal extension gave most calendar-year individual filers six additional months to finish a 2025 return, but it did not provide six interest-free months to...
Itemizers can deduct qualified medical costs above 7.5% of adjusted gross income, including Medicare and age-limited long-term-care premiums
A retiree’s largest recurring medical bills may be tax-deductible, but the federal rule applies only after two gates. The expense must qualify and remain unreimbursed,...
