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Author

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

Retirement Planning

Workers who earned over $145,000 must make their 401(k) catch-up contributions in after-tax Roth dollars starting in 2027

Higher-earning employees over age 50 who rely on pre-tax 401(k) catch-up contributions will lose that option beginning in 2027. Under final regulations issued by the...

Social Security & Medicare

Medicare’s QMB program bars doctors from billing enrolled seniors, yet many are charged anyway

Millions of the lowest-income Medicare recipients are shielded by federal law from paying deductibles, coinsurance, and copays, yet doctors and hospitals keep sending them bills....

Fraud & Scams

No court or federal agency will ever tell you to pay a bill through a Bitcoin ATM

Federal courts across at least three states and two national agencies have issued direct warnings to the public: no legitimate court, law enforcement office, or...

Government & Policy

New York now lets towns cut up to 65% off a senior’s home value for property taxes, if you apply

Homeowners aged 65 and older across New York State can now qualify for a property-tax exemption that shaves as much as 65 percent off their...

Retirement Planning

Rolling a 401(k) straight into an IRA avoids the automatic 20% tax withholding a check in your name triggers

Anyone leaving a job with a 401(k) balance faces a decision that can cost them thousands of dollars before they even open a new account....

Social Security & Medicare

Scammers can reroute your Social Security deposit online, and locking your account stops them in about two minutes

Someone who steals enough personal data to log into a my Social Security account can change the bank routing number on file and divert an...

Retirement Planning

The 401(k) limit is projected to reach $25,000 in 2027, with an extra $11,750 allowed at ages 60 to 63

Workers saving through employer-sponsored retirement plans are set to gain significantly more tax-advantaged contribution room over the next two years. The IRS confirmed the 2026...

Government & Policy

Texas homeowners 65 and older can now shield $200,000 of their home’s value and freeze their school taxes for life

Texas homeowners who are 65 or older now qualify for a combined $200,000 school-district homestead exemption, effectively removing that portion of their home’s assessed value...

Retirement Planning

Roth 401(k) accounts no longer force required withdrawals during your lifetime

Workers and retirees with Roth 401(k) or Roth 403(b) accounts no longer face mandatory withdrawals during their lifetimes. Congress eliminated the required minimum distribution rule...

Fraud & Scams

A Connecticut woman lost $900,000 in retirement savings to a scammer who prayed with her before draining her accounts

Jacqueline Crenshaw of East Haven, Connecticut, lost nearly $1 million after a scammer built an online romantic relationship with her, prayed with her over the...

Tax Changes & Deadlines

April, not December 31, is the real deadline to fund an IRA for the 2026 tax year

Taxpayers who stop thinking about IRA contributions after December 31 are leaving months of extra time on the table. Federal law ties the contribution deadline...

Credit & Debt

Paying your credit-card bill before the statement closes can lower the balance that sets your credit score

Credit-card holders who pay only by the due date may be unknowingly inflating the balance that credit bureaus use to calculate their scores. The figure...

Social Security & Medicare

Medicare’s negotiated 2027 price cuts Ozempic to $274 a month, a 71% drop for the seniors who use it

Medicare Part D enrollees who rely on Ozempic to manage type 2 diabetes will pay $274 for a 30-day supply starting January 1, 2027, a...

Loans & Lending

Nearly 7 million borrowers on the SAVE plan must switch to a new repayment option as older plans disappear

More than 7 million federal student loan borrowers enrolled in the now-defunct SAVE repayment plan face a forced transition starting this month, with loan servicers...

Smart Spending

Kia will repair 462,869 vehicles free after power-seat motors were found to overheat and catch fire

Nearly half a million Kia Telluride owners now face a direct fire risk from a defect in their front power seats, and federal regulators want...

Tax Changes & Deadlines

Oregon is returning more than $1.4 billion to taxpayers through a record kicker credit this year

Oregon taxpayers who filed a 2024 state return are set to receive a combined $1.41 billion back from the state through the largest personal income...

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