Personal Finance
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Latest in Personal Finance
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,...
ABLE accounts let a disabled beneficiary save without losing Medicaid or SSI
For people with disabilities, saving money has long carried a cruel penalty: accumulate more than $2,000 and the assets can disrupt Supplemental Security Income and...
Hospitals must post their prices online so patients can compare before care
Every hospital in the country is now required to publish what it charges, a rule meant to let patients see a price before they agree...
E. Mishan cookware buyers can file for a payout with no proof of purchase by September 25
Buyers of certain Gotham Steel, Granite Stone and Bell & Howell cookware have until September 25 to claim a payout from a class-action settlement without...
For 44% of homeowners, insurance now costs about as much as the mortgage, and non-renewals have surged
The cost of insuring a home has climbed so steeply that, for many owners, the annual premium now rivals the mortgage itself. A first-of-its-kind national...
Free IRS and AARP programs will prepare a senior’s tax return at no cost
Paying a commercial preparer to file a straightforward retirement-era return can cost well over a hundred dollars, and for a fixed-income household that is money...
Closing an old credit card can shorten your history and drop your score
Closing a credit card that has gone unused feels like tidying up, but it can quietly cost points on a credit score at the worst...
Home insurance premiums keep climbing in 2026, adding to fixed-income costs
Home insurance premiums are projected to rise again in 2026, extending a multi-year run of increases that has turned a routine bill into one of...
You can pull a free credit report from each bureau every week
Every American is entitled to a free credit report from each of the three nationwide bureaus once a week, a right that turned from a...
A new “No Surprises” law bars most surprise out-of-network bills for emergency care
A trip to the emergency room used to carry a hidden financial risk that had nothing to do with the treatment itself. Even at an...
Treasury bills can pay retirees more than a big-bank savings account, no state tax
A short-term Treasury bill has recently paid interest in the neighborhood of what a certificate of deposit offers, while the typical savings account at a...
Oppenheimer brokerage customers who say idle cash earned too little can file for part of a $70 million settlement by September 17
Oppenheimer & Co. has agreed to pay $70 million to settle claims that it shortchanged customers on the interest owed for cash sitting idle in...
Long-term-care insurance can spare a healthy spouse from spending down savings for nursing care
When one spouse needs years of nursing care, the bill does not stop at that spouse’s share of the savings. Long-term care is one of...
A Hartford insurance unit would mail $11 million in refund checks for a premium-tax overcharge, with no claim to file
A former Hartford life-insurance business has agreed to an $11 million settlement over premium-tax charges it allegedly miscalculated, and eligible policyholders would not have to...