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The Money Overview

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

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Budgeting & Saving

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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....

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

$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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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....

Smart Spending

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

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...

Credit & Debt

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,...

Smart Spending

Shoppers are suing Amazon and Costco to get unrefunded tariff surcharges back

Consumers who paid tariff-related surcharges on purchases from Amazon and Costco are now taking both retailers to court, demanding refunds for fees that were collected...

Insurance & Protection

Home insurance climbs to about $3,057 in 2026, and Florida seniors now pay over $3,600

American homeowners will spend an average of about $3,057 on property insurance by the end of 2026, a 4 percent increase that follows a sharp...

Smart Spending

Kia is recalling EV6 and EV9 models over a battery-fire risk, with a free battery replacement

Kia owners of certain EV6 and EV9 models face a direct safety risk after federal regulators flagged a traction battery defect that could lead to...

Credit & Debt

FICO’s new 10T model weighs 24 months of your credit history, and buy-now-pay-later loans now count

Homebuyers and consumers who have used buy-now-pay-later services face a new reality: FICO Score 10T, now adopted by FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises for mortgage...

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