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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

Credit & Debt

A 529 plan can pay $10,000 of one beneficiary’s student loans tax-free

A 529 balance left after college can retire part of the beneficiary’s education debt without turning the withdrawal into taxable income. Federal rules treat as...

Credit & Debt

Student-loan interest can cut taxable income by up to $2,500 without itemizing

Interest on education debt has an unusual place in the tax code: a qualifying borrower may subtract as much as $2,500 before taxable income is...

Smart Spending

Target gives teachers and college students 20% off one purchase through September 12

Target is offering verified teachers and college students 20% off one storewide purchase through September 12, 2026, extending a large one-transaction discount beyond the retailer’s...

Smart Spending

August 5 is the deadline for Sprouts shoppers to claim money from a $5 million receipt settlement

Sprouts shoppers have only through August 5 to seek a payment from a proposed $5 million settlement over card-number information allegedly printed on store receipts....

Smart Spending

Who can claim a share of Google’s $68 million Assistant settlement by August 27?

A $68 million fund is open to two overlapping groups affected by Google Assistant, but owning a Google device is only one route into the...

Smart Spending

Delta, United and American still offer discounted fares of up to 25% for travelers 65 and older

The airline senior discount has not disappeared, but it has gone into hiding. Delta, United and American still quietly offer reduced fares to travelers 65...

Smart Spending

Older flyers without a Real ID now pay a $45 TSA fee, good for just 10 days, to board

Air travelers who show up at security without a Real ID-compliant license or another acceptable document now face a $45 charge to board, and the...

Smart Spending

Billions in life-insurance payouts go unclaimed, and a free national locator can find a lost policy

Billions of dollars in life-insurance and annuity benefits sit unpaid across the country, usually for a mundane reason: the people entitled to the money never...

Credit & Debt

Medical debt can no longer appear on credit reports in a growing number of states

A hospital bill that once could drag down a credit score is now barred from consumer credit reports in a growing number of states, a...

Insurance & Protection

Florida home insurance is rising just 2% in 2026 after years of double-digit spikes

After several brutal years of runaway premiums, Florida homeowners are getting a rare piece of good news: home-insurance rates are set to rise only about...

Insurance & Protection

California home insurance premiums are set to jump 16% in 2026, the biggest rise in the nation

California homeowners are bracing for the steepest insurance increase in the country, with premiums projected to rise about 16% in 2026. That is more than...

Insurance & Protection

Anthem will reimburse some California members for denied brand-name drugs if they claim by November 10

Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to reimburse certain California members who paid out of pocket for brand-name prescription drugs their plan should have covered, and...

Smart Spending

$78.5 million will settle a case over defective Toyota airbag control units, and some owners can file a claim

A $78.5 million settlement is resolving claims that certain Toyota vehicles carried defective airbag control units that could fail to deploy the airbags in a...

Smart Spending

Owners of some Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid refrigerators can get a free repair or cash for a defective part

A class action settlement over an allegedly defective wire harness in certain Whirlpool-manufactured refrigerators is now open for claims, and owners of covered Whirlpool, Maytag,...

Smart Spending

YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream subscribers can claim a cash payout from an antitrust settlement

Subscribers who paid for YouTube TV or DirecTV Stream over the past several years can claim a cash payout from a $50 million antitrust settlement...

Smart Spending

Owners of 1.5 million recalled Ocoopa hand warmers can get a refund after fires and one death

About 1.5 million rechargeable hand warmers sold under the OCOOPA name are being pulled from American homes after their batteries were tied to 15 fires,...

Smart Spending

Esse Health patients can claim a flat $50 from a data-breach settlement, no proof needed, by August 4

Patients of Esse Health, a St. Louis physician group, can claim a flat $50 cash payment from a data-breach settlement without submitting any proof of...

Smart Spending

Tinder will pay $60.5 million to California users it charged more for being older, with a payout choice due August 18

Tinder has agreed to pay $60.5 million to settle a long-running lawsuit accusing it of charging older California users more than younger ones for the...

Insurance & Protection

Full-coverage car insurance now averages about $2,496 a year and keeps climbing

The typical driver who carries full-coverage auto insurance now pays roughly $2,496 a year, or about $208 a month, and the figure has been drifting...

Smart Spending

Best Buy recalled Insignia gas ranges because the knobs can turn on by accident, and owners can get free knob covers.

Best Buy has recalled about 3,820 Insignia gas ranges in the United States because their front-mounted knobs can be turned on by accident, creating a...

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