Personal Finance
Day-to-day money decisions for individuals and households. Practical guidance on budgeting, saving, spending, credit, debt management, and financial planning.
Latest in Personal Finance
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...
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...
$73 billion in forgotten money sits in state treasuries, and a free national search turns up any filed under your name
Billions of dollars in old paychecks, dormant bank accounts, and forgotten insurance payouts sit in state treasuries across the country, waiting for the people who...
Medicaid lets a healthy spouse keep the family home and one car when a partner enters a nursing home
Married couples face a stark financial threat when one partner needs nursing-home care: Medicaid requires applicants to spend down most of their assets before coverage...
A durable power of attorney lets a trusted person manage your money if illness leaves you unable
Millions of Americans already handle money or property for a family member who can no longer do it alone, and the single document that keeps...
Wartime veterans and their surviving spouses can qualify for an Aid and Attendance pension worth up to roughly $2,900 a month
Wartime veterans who can no longer dress, bathe, or feed themselves without help, along with their surviving spouses, stand to collect a VA pension of...
One in seven Americans has unclaimed money waiting, and a free national search turns up any funds filed under your name
Billions of dollars in forgotten refunds, old paychecks, and dormant bank accounts sit in state treasuries across the country, and most of the people owed...
Assisted living now runs a median $6,200 a month, and Medicaid steps in only after your savings run down
Families searching for assisted living face a national median price tag of $6,200 a month, a 5 percent jump in a single year that pushes...
If a former employer’s pension plan shut down, the federal PBGC may hold a benefit waiting in your name
Workers who changed jobs years ago and lost track of a former employer’s pension plan could have retirement money sitting unclaimed at a federal agency....
Medicaid covers in-home care in many states, an alternative to a nursing home
Adults who need daily help with bathing, dressing, or meal preparation can receive paid assistance at home through Medicaid in dozens of states, bypassing the...
Owners of millions of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles can get a free airbag fix under a stop-driving order
Owners of roughly 225,000 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles still carrying unrepaired Takata airbag inflators have been told by federal regulators to stop driving...
Medicaid can bill your estate for nursing-home care after you die, though your home is often shielded
Families who rely on Medicaid to cover a parent’s or grandparent’s nursing-home stay often discover, only after the person dies, that the state can file...
$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...
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...
Two nights “under observation” instead of admitted can cost thousands and block nursing-home coverage
Medicare beneficiaries who spend two nights in a hospital bed can still be classified as outpatients under observation, a designation that shifts costs onto patients...
Nearly 5 million cars still carry unrepaired Takata airbags; replacement costs nothing
Nearly five million vehicles on American roads still contain Takata airbag inflators that can rupture during a crash, firing metal fragments at drivers and passengers....
Macy’s is closing 150 stores through 2026, so shoppers should spend gift cards and rewards before their store shuts
Shoppers holding Macy’s gift cards or loyalty rewards face a shrinking window to use them. The retailer disclosed plans to close approximately 150 locations over...
A healthy spouse can keep up to $162,660 in savings when a partner enters a nursing home on Medicaid
Families facing the prospect of a spouse entering a nursing home on Medicaid in 2026 can protect a significant share of their joint savings. Federal...
Workers 55 and older can add $1,000 to an HSA each year
Workers who turn 55 by the end of a tax year and carry a high-deductible health plan can deposit an extra $1,000 into a health...
You can pull all three credit reports free every week at the official annualcreditreport.com
Every person with a credit file in the United States can now pull a free report from each of the three major bureaus, Equifax, Experian,...