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
A bill would let about 50,000 combat-injured veterans draw both military retirement and disability pay, roughly $1,200 more a month
Under current law, a group of combat-injured service members who were medically retired before serving 20 years cannot collect their military retirement pay and their...
Wartime veterans and surviving spouses can qualify for an Aid and Attendance pension worth up to about $2,900 a month
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs a benefit that many wartime veterans and their surviving spouses never claim, in part because it is buried inside...
A community spouse can keep up to $162,660 in assets when a partner enters a nursing home on Medicaid
When one spouse moves into a nursing home and turns to Medicaid to cover the bill, the partner who stays home does not have to...
A shared nursing-home room now runs $72,000 to $127,750 a year, and Medicaid helps only after savings fall below $2,000
The price of a nursing home has moved well beyond what most retirement incomes can absorb. A shared, semi-private room now costs between $72,000 and...
Medicaid can bill a senior’s estate after death for nursing-home care it paid
Medicaid is often described as the program that pays for nursing-home care once a person’s savings are gone, but that description leaves out the final...
Parents whose children used Google Play apps under age 13 can file a settlement claim before September 14
Families whose children downloaded or used apps from the Google Play Store while under the age of 13 have until September 14, 2026 to claim...
A bipartisan Senate bill would raise VA disability pay for millions of veterans starting December 1
A bipartisan measure moving through the Senate would raise the monthly compensation paid to veterans with service-connected disabilities beginning December 1, 2026, matching the increase...
Fanatics shoppers who paid a handling fee can claim two $5 vouchers before the August 27 deadline
Shoppers who bought sports merchandise from Fanatics and were charged a separate handling fee can now collect a small piece of that money back, but...
A $5,120 slice of the 2026 adoption credit can be refundable
Up to $5,120 of the federal adoption credit may be refundable for 2026, allowing that portion to produce a payment even when a family has...
Small employers can claim up to $600,000 for employee childcare
An eligible small business can claim as much as $600,000 under the expanded employer-provided childcare credit for 2026, four times the old general $150,000 ceiling....
First-time homebuyers can tap $10,000 from an IRA without the extra 10% tax
A first-time homebuyer can use as much as $10,000 from an individual retirement account without the additional 10% tax that usually applies to an early...
Retirement contributions can trigger a $1,000 Saver’s Credit
A qualifying retirement contribution can generate a federal Saver’s Credit of as much as $1,000 for an individual, adding an immediate tax benefit to money...
College costs can produce a $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit
The American Opportunity Tax Credit can turn $4,000 of qualified college spending into a federal credit of as much as $2,500 for an eligible student....
The 2026 adoption credit reaches $17,670 per eligible child
The federal adoption tax credit can reach $17,670 per eligible child for 2026, pairing a larger overall ceiling with a newly refundable portion of up...
Families can qualify for an $8,231 earned-income tax credit in 2026
The maximum federal earned-income tax credit reaches $8,231 for tax year 2026, but only for eligible households with at least three qualifying children and earnings...
IRA savers get a $7,500 contribution limit for 2026
The individual retirement account contribution limit rose to $7,500 for 2026, giving savers $500 more room than in 2025 before any age-based catch-up. The increase...