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Latest in Personal Finance
A brokerage account is protected up to $500,000 if the firm fails, separate from any FDIC bank coverage
When a brokerage firm collapses and cash or securities go missing from a customer’s account, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) replaces up to $500,000...
A federal weatherization program pays to seal and insulate a low-income home to cut the energy bill for good
The U.S. Department of Energy is currently funneling $325 million toward sealing drafts, adding insulation and tuning up heating systems inside homes owned by people...
Free IRS-certified volunteers file taxes for seniors and lower-income households
Two federal programs quietly prepare millions of tax returns for free every filing season, yet Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly...
A Trans Union settlement pays some consumers about $100 automatically by October 30
A $8.31 million settlement is resolving claims that TransUnion sold credit reports carrying inaccurate bankruptcy remarks, and part of it has already started paying out:...
Kroger pharmacy customers who paid with insurance can file a claim by December 21
Kroger customers who used prescription insurance at a Kroger-owned pharmacy any time between December 9, 2018, and August 23, 2026, now have a court-cleared path...
The No Surprises Act bars most surprise out-of-network medical bills
A hospital stay handled entirely by an in-network surgeon can still generate a bill running into the thousands of dollars, because the anesthesiologist who administered...
A prescription discount card can beat an insurance copay at the pharmacy counter
At many pharmacy counters, the price on an insurance copay isn’t automatically the cheapest option available. Federal regulators moved years ago to stop pharmacies from...
The Earned Income Tax Credit can add thousands to a lower-income worker’s refund
The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the few federal tax breaks capable of turning a modest return into a refund worth thousands of...
COBRA can keep employer health coverage for up to 18 months after leaving a job
Eighteen months is the federal floor most workers picture when they hear the word COBRA, and the Department of Labor confirms that figure applies to...
Prepaying a funeral can lock in today’s price against years of rising costs
Funeral costs have climbed steadily for years, and a casket, service, or plot priced today will almost certainly cost more by the time it’s actually...
Airlines must now refund a canceled flight in cash, not just a voucher
For years, an airline that canceled a flight could steer a passenger toward a travel credit or voucher by default, leaving many travelers to assume...
States are holding billions in unclaimed money, and a free official search can reunite you with it
State governments are currently holding more than $70 billion in unclaimed property nationwide, money and assets that once belonged to ordinary people before contact with...
Home insurance is jumping most this year in California, Nebraska, New Mexico and Georgia, with the national average near $3,057
The average annual cost of home insurance is projected to reach roughly $3,057 by the end of 2026, a 4% increase over 2025 and the...
A no-penalty CD lets a saver lock a rate yet pull the cash if rates climb
A certificate of deposit locks a saver’s money in exchange for a fixed rate, and leaving early on a standard CD costs a penalty measured...
Open enrollment for 2027 marketplace coverage starts November 1, and skipping it can forfeit any subsidy
Open enrollment for 2027 Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage begins November 1 and runs through January 15, and anyone who lets the window close without...
A Fed official’s talk of a rate hike is keeping top CD yields near 4%
Savers shopping for a certificate of deposit this week are still finding offers close to 4 percent, even as the broader trend in deposit rates...
The old health-subsidy cliff returns in 2027, and a late-50s couple over the line can lose up to $25,000
The Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and with them went the cushion that had, for several years,...
Long-term-care insurance premiums keep climbing, and insurers can raise them again
Long-term care insurance is marketed around a single reassuring idea: pick a benefit level, lock in a premium, and budget for it for decades. Federal...
About 4 million people could lose marketplace health coverage as enhanced subsidies vanish
About 4 million people are projected to lose Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage as the pandemic-era premium subsidies that lowered their monthly bills stay expired,...
Google is automatically paying 102 million app buyers through PayPal or Venmo, with no claim to file
A federal court in the Northern District of California granted final approval on April 30, 2026, to a $700 million settlement resolving a five-year antitrust...