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
Heirs who inherit an IRA now have just 10 years to empty it, and many owe yearly withdrawals along the way
Millions of Americans who inherited retirement accounts after 2019 now face a compressed deadline to withdraw every dollar, and the federal government is about to...
Medicare charges a hospital deductible topping $1,600 each time you’re admitted in 2026
Medicare beneficiaries who need hospital care in 2026 will pay $1,736 out of pocket each time a new benefit period begins, a $60 increase over...
A Florida woman lost $200,000 to scammers before police staged a sting to catch the courier at her door
A Florida woman handed over $200,000 in cash to scammers who contacted her through fraudulent calls and electronic messages before local police set up a...
3 million investors are owed $10 billion in forgotten stocks and funds, and a free search reunites them
Roughly three million people own stocks, mutual funds, or other securities they do not know about, with the combined value of those forgotten holdings reaching...
Retirees who filed a tax extension face an October 15 deadline, and missing it stacks penalties on any balance
Retirees who used Form 4868 to push back their federal tax filing deadline now face an October 15 cutoff, and any balance still owed after...
Banks must make at least $225 of a deposited check available the next business day under federal rules
Anyone who deposits a check at a bank or credit union is protected by a federal floor that limits how long the institution can withhold...
Retirement savers who turn 73 must take a minimum withdrawal by December 31 or risk a 25% penalty
Americans who turned 73 this year face a hard deadline: withdraw the required minimum distribution from their retirement accounts by December 31 or owe the...
$2.4 billion in life-insurance payouts sits unclaimed, and a free national locator finds a policy left in your name
Families across the United States are missing out on billions of dollars in life-insurance benefits because no one told them a policy existed. Multistate settlement...
$25,000 in combined income is when Social Security benefits start getting taxed, a limit frozen since 1984
Millions of retirees now owe federal income tax on their Social Security checks because of a dollar threshold that Congress set more than four decades...
A surviving spouse often jumps into a higher tax bracket the year after a partner dies, the widow’s penalty
Surviving spouses across the United States face a sharp, often unexpected tax increase in the years after a partner’s death. The shift happens not because...
A growing list of burn-pit illnesses now qualifies veterans for disability pay
Thousands of post-9/11 veterans who were previously denied disability benefits now qualify for compensation after the Department of Veterans Affairs expanded its list of presumptive...
82% of retirees facing Social Security garnishment could stop it by claiming hardship
Roughly four out of five retirees whose Social Security checks are being reduced to cover defaulted student loans qualify for relief they have never claimed....
Grocery prices climbed 2.7% over the past year, and the government expects another 2.8% rise in 2026
American households are paying 2.7 percent more for groceries than they did a year ago, and the federal government expects that pressure to intensify. The...
Government impersonation scams drained nearly $798 million last year, and no real agency demands gift cards
Americans lost $789 million to government impersonation scams in 2024, part of a record $12.5 billion in total reported fraud losses that year. The Federal...
Social Security ends paper checks this year, but a hardship waiver lets some keep receiving one by mail
Americans who still receive Social Security payments by mail face a hard deadline: the federal government will stop issuing paper checks after September 30, 2025....
New York is sending $2 billion in STAR property-tax relief to homeowners this year
Nearly 2.78 million homeowners across New York State will receive a combined $2.1 billion in STAR property-tax relief checks this summer and fall, according to...