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
A few hundred dollars a year buys a $1 million umbrella policy covering lawsuits your home and auto insurance won’t
A single car accident or a guest’s fall on a homeowner’s property can produce a lawsuit that exceeds the liability limits on a standard auto...
Gap insurance pays off your car loan if a new vehicle is totaled and you owe more than it’s worth
Car buyers who finance a new vehicle and total it within the first few years of ownership can find themselves owing thousands of dollars more...
Raising your home-insurance deductible to $2,500 can cut the yearly premium sharply
Homeowners watching their annual insurance bills climb have a straightforward option that state regulators across the country keep pointing to: raise the deductible. Choosing a...
A no-penalty CD pays around 4% yet still lets you pull your cash early without a fee
Savers hunting for yield without sacrificing access to their cash are turning to no-penalty certificates of deposit that advertise annual percentage yields near 4 percent....
An ABLE account lets people disabled before age 26 save up to $19,000 a year without losing benefits
Americans whose blindness or disability began before age 26 can shelter savings in a tax-advantaged ABLE account, keeping money that would otherwise push them past...
A power of attorney and health directive keep your money and care under your control if illness strikes
A stroke, a car accident, or a sudden diagnosis can leave someone unable to sign a check, authorize a medical procedure, or communicate treatment preferences....
Americans trimmed credit-card balances by $25 billion in the first quarter, though the total still sits near $1.25 trillion
American households paid down roughly $25 billion in credit-card balances during the first quarter, a seasonal pullback that still leaves the national total near $1.25...
A long-term-care partnership policy shields a matching amount of your savings from Medicaid spend-down
Families with moderate savings face a sharp financial cliff when a loved one needs nursing home care or extended home health services. Medicaid, the primary...
Replacement-cost home insurance rebuilds at today’s prices, not a depreciated value
Homeowners who suffer a total loss from fire or storm face a sharp financial divide based on a single policy detail: whether their coverage pays...
Stop most pre-screened credit-card and insurance offers for free through OptOutPrescreen
Consumers who receive stacks of unsolicited credit-card and insurance pitches in the mail can shut most of them off for free through OptOutPrescreen.com or a...
Many life-insurance policies let a terminally ill policyholder draw cash from the death benefit while still alive
A terminally ill policyholder facing mounting medical bills and lost income can often tap cash from the same life-insurance policy that was supposed to pay...
4.26% is what Series I savings bonds pay through October, adjusting with inflation
The U.S. Bureau of the Fiscal Service announced that Series I savings bonds purchased from May 1 through October 31, 2026, will earn a 4.26%...
Many veterans can get VA health care with no monthly premium and low or no copays, depending on income and service
Veterans across the United States can enroll in VA health care without paying a monthly premium, but what they owe in copays, if anything, depends...
$2,874 a month, tax-free, can go to wartime veterans who need daily help
Wartime veterans who cannot dress themselves, stay clean, or avoid daily hazards without help can receive up to $2,874 a month in tax-free pension payments...
Top high-yield savings accounts and CDs still pay around 4%
Savers who park cash in a standard bank account are leaving hundreds of dollars on the table each year, even as the Federal Reserve holds...
$1,000 extra a year can go into a health savings account once you turn 55
Americans turning 55 gain access to an extra $1,000 a year in health savings account contributions, a fixed statutory amount that does not change with...
A Series EE savings bond is guaranteed to double in value in 20 years
The U.S. Treasury has committed to a simple promise for anyone buying a Series EE savings bond: the bond will reach at least twice its...
Disputing an error on your credit report is free, and the bureau must investigate and fix or remove it within about 30 days
One in five consumers had an error on at least one of their credit reports, according to a Federal Trade Commission study, and five percent...
Paying your credit-card bill before the statement closes, not just by the due date, can lower the balance that shapes your score
Millions of cardholders who pay their full balance by the due date each month still see their credit scores fluctuate, sometimes dropping right before they...
Scanning your bank statement for forgotten free trials and auto-renewals can quietly save hundreds of dollars a year
Millions of Americans are paying for subscriptions they forgot to cancel, and a new federal rule now on the books aims to make walking away...