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 only the minimum on a card near 21% interest can nearly double what a purchase costs
With the average credit-card rate now sitting close to 21%, the small “minimum payment” line at the bottom of a statement has quietly become one...
Naming a minor directly as a life-insurance beneficiary can freeze the payout in court
A grandparent who names a young grandchild as the beneficiary on a life-insurance policy usually pictures the money arriving quickly to help raise the child....
An old debt can pass its statute of limitations, but one payment can restart the clock
An old debt does not disappear because it is old, but its legal teeth can. Every state sets a statute of limitations — a window...
Money-market funds are paying near 4%, often beating a big bank’s savings account
Cash sitting in a large bank’s ordinary savings account has been earning almost nothing, often a fraction of a percent, while short-term interest rates have...
U.S. savings bonds stop earning interest after 30 years, so cash the old ones
A U.S. savings bond stops earning interest exactly 30 years after it was issued, which means an old bond tucked in a drawer or a...
A no-penalty CD lets you lock a rate near 4% and still pull the money if you need it
A no-penalty certificate of deposit offers a rare combination for cautious savers: the ability to lock in a fixed interest rate while keeping the option...
Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pits are recalled, and owners can get a full refund
Owners of a Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pit can get a full refund after federal regulators announced a recall of about 48,700 units. Southern Telecom, the...
A partnership long-term-care policy lets you keep extra assets and still qualify for Medicaid
A special class of long-term-care insurance, sold under state Long-Term Care Partnership programs, carries a benefit ordinary policies do not: for every dollar the policy...
High-yield savings accounts still pay near 4% while big banks pay almost nothing
Two savers can hold identical balances in identical products and earn wildly different amounts, and the only thing separating them is which bank holds the...
FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor, and beneficiaries can multiply it
The $250,000 figure attached to FDIC insurance sounds like a flat ceiling, and many savers treat it that way, quietly assuming a household with more...
Home-insurance non-renewals are climbing as insurers retreat from high-risk states
The home-insurance squeeze has a second edge that never shows up on a premium quote. Beyond the rising cost of a policy, a growing number...
State unclaimed-property programs are holding billions in forgotten money for the taking
Across the country, state treasurers sit on billions of dollars in unclaimed property that once belonged to ordinary people who simply lost track of it....
Home insurance now averages about $3,057 a year and rivals the mortgage for many owners
The cost of protecting a home has quietly become one of the fastest-rising line items in a retiree’s budget. The average U.S. homeowners policy is...
Money-market funds can pay retirees more than a big-bank savings account while staying liquid
The cash a retiree keeps for emergencies and monthly bills does not have to sit in an account earning almost nothing. A government money-market fund,...
The Fair Credit Reporting Act lets you dispute credit-report errors for free and force a fix
A wrong entry on a credit report is not just an annoyance; it can raise the interest on a mortgage, sink a rental application, or...
Old debt can pass a statute of limitations, after which a collector can no longer sue you for it
Every unpaid debt carries a hidden expiration date on the lender’s ability to take you to court. Once a debt’s statute of limitations runs out,...
You can demand written proof of a debt within 30 days, and a collector must pause until it delivers
A debt collector’s call can feel like a final verdict, but federal law treats it as an opening claim that still has to be proven....
CHAMPVA can cover the spouse and children of a permanently disabled veteran
When a veteran is rated permanently and totally disabled, the health-coverage question does not stop with the veteran. Their spouse and children face the same...
A long-term-care partnership policy lets you protect extra savings and still qualify for Medicaid
Long-term care is the expense most likely to drain a lifetime of savings, and the usual advice is grim: buy insurance you may never use,...
I bonds pay a rate that rises with inflation and defer federal tax until you cash out
Series I savings bonds occupy an unusual corner of the savings world: they are backed by the U.S. Treasury, adjust with inflation twice a year,...