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
Lifetime Brands recalled roughly 75,700 light-up tumblers because children can pry out the button battery inside
Roughly 75,700 BUILT LUUM light-up tumblers sold by Lifetime Brands are now subject to a federal recall after one child pried a button cell battery...
PQL is recalling about 186,520 LED light fixtures because the panels can loosen inside and start a fire
About 186,520 High Bay Linear LED light fixtures sold by PQL are being pulled from commercial use after federal regulators determined that retaining pins inside...
People with disabilities can save in an ABLE account without losing Medicaid or SSI
For the roughly 7.4 million Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the federal government has long imposed a $2,000 cap on countable resources, a...
Leaving a job doesn’t end your health coverage right away — COBRA gives you 60 days to continue it
Anyone who loses employer-sponsored health insurance after leaving a job, getting laid off, or having hours cut faces an immediate question: how long before coverage...
Series EE savings bonds are guaranteed to double in value if you hold them 20 years
Buyers of Series EE savings bonds who hold them for two full decades are guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury to receive at least double their...
Vevor is recalling about 11,650 ice crushers sold on Amazon and Walmart after reports of overheating and a fire
Owners of about 11,650 Vevor ice crushers sold through Amazon and Walmart now face a fire risk serious enough to prompt a federal recall and...
Old U.S. savings bonds stop earning interest after 30 years, and a free Treasury tool finds yours
Americans holding paper savings bonds from the 1990s or earlier could be sitting on certificates that stopped growing years ago. Series EE and I savings...
A new flood insurance policy usually won’t pay for the first 30 days, so buying mid-hurricane-season can leave you exposed
Homeowners who buy a National Flood Insurance Program policy after the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 face a hard regulatory reality: that...
Money in a health flexible spending account is often use-it-or-lose-it by year’s end
Workers who set aside pretax dollars in a health flexible spending account face a hard deadline: spend the money on eligible medical expenses before the...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) or life insurance outranks your will, so an outdated one can pay an ex
A divorced worker who updates a will but forgets to change the beneficiary form on a 401(k) or employer life insurance policy can inadvertently leave...
Closing your oldest credit card can backfire and quietly lower your credit score
Cardholders who close a longstanding credit card to dodge an annual fee or simplify their wallets can trigger a quiet drop in their credit scores,...
Disputing a credit-report error is free, and the bureau has 30 days to act
A wrong account balance, a misattributed late payment, or a debt that belongs to someone else can quietly sit on a credit report for months,...
Avenco and Novilla mattresses sold online are being recalled because they can catch fire and fail federal safety rules
More than 5,300 mattresses sold through Amazon and two brand websites are being pulled from the market after federal regulators determined they can catch fire...
July Fourth airfare is about 2% cheaper this year, averaging $800 round trip
Americans flying for the July Fourth holiday this summer will pay roughly 2 percent less than they did a year ago, with domestic round-trip tickets...
You can now pull all three credit reports free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com
Every person with a credit file in the United States can now check their Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports once a week, every week, at...
Americans with disabilities can save up to $19,000 a year in an ABLE account without losing benefits
People with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income can now set aside up to $19,000 per year in a tax-advantaged ABLE account without jeopardizing their...
Home insurance now eats a record 9% of the typical mortgage payment — and analysts expect another 8% jump this year and again in 2027
American homeowners are spending a larger share of their monthly mortgage payments on insurance than at any point on record, with the average annual premium...
Cancer center City of Hope will pay data-breach victims a $100 cash payment, or up to $5,000 for documented losses
More than 827,000 people whose personal data was stolen from cancer treatment and research center City of Hope now stand to collect either a flat...
Keeping each card balance under 30% of its limit quickly lifts your credit score
Consumers carrying balances on multiple credit cards can see measurable score improvements within a single billing cycle by reducing how much of each card’s limit...
A health savings account is taxed nowhere — not going in, not while it grows, and not coming out for medical bills
Workers enrolled in high-deductible health plans can shelter money from federal income tax at three separate stages through a single account, a benefit no 401(k)...