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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

Insurance & Protection

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...

Insurance & Protection

State Farm is returning $5 billion to auto customers, about $100 a vehicle, and former customers get paid too

State Farm has begun paying out $5 billion in cash to its auto insurance customers, the largest dividend in the company’s century-plus history. The payments...

Credit & Debt

Buy-now-pay-later loans now appear on credit reports and can move a retiree’s score

Buy-now-pay-later loans, long invisible to the credit system, have started appearing on credit reports — a shift that can push a retiree’s score up or...

Smart Spending

Billions in forgotten money sits with state treasurers, and one free search finds it

Tens of billions of dollars in forgotten accounts, uncashed checks and dormant balances sit in the custody of state treasurers, waiting for their rightful owners...

Smart Spending

Airlines must automatically refund cash for a canceled or badly delayed flight when you decline a rebooking

A canceled or badly delayed flight no longer forces travelers to fight for their money or settle for a voucher they never wanted. Under federal...

Smart Spending

A free national database can uncover a deceased relative’s forgotten life-insurance payout

More than $10 billion in life insurance and annuity money has been reunited with families through a single free service since 2016, and the sums...

Insurance & Protection

Sentara’s termination notice to Anthem could push up to 380,000 Virginians out of network on January 1

Nearly 380,000 Virginians could wake up on January 1 to find their doctors and hospitals suddenly out of network, after Sentara Health sent Anthem Blue...

Insurance & Protection

State Farm is returning $5 billion to drivers, about $100 a vehicle, applied automatically this summer

State Farm has begun sending $5 billion back to its auto insurance customers this summer, the largest single dividend in the mutual insurer’s century-plus history....

Insurance & Protection

Home insurance is rising about 4% in 2026 to around $3,057, and California premiums jump 16%

Homeowners are on track to pay about 4% more to insure a house in 2026, pushing the national average annual premium to roughly $3,057, according...

Smart Spending

Brookstone tabletop fire pits are recalled for a burn hazard, and owners can collect a full refund

About 48,700 Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pits have been recalled, and the remedy is a full refund rather than a repair or a partial credit, which...

Smart Spending

Duke Energy must return $90.5 million to customers, about $5.62 a month on a typical bill

Florida regulators have ordered Duke Energy Florida to hand back $90.5 million it collected from customers but never needed to spend, and the money is...

Insurance & Protection

Long-term-care insurance can spare a spouse from spending down savings for nursing care

A nursing-home stay is one of the few expenses in retirement large enough to drain a couple’s savings entirely, and long-term-care insurance exists to stop...

Insurance & Protection

State Farm is returning $5 billion to auto customers, about $100 a policy, and the credit is applied with no claim to file

State Farm is sending $5 billion back to its auto insurance customers, the largest dividend in the mutual insurer’s 103-year history. The payout averages about...

Insurance & Protection

Home insurance is rising about 4% this year, a fifth straight annual increase

The bill that arrives with a mortgage statement or a renewal notice is climbing again. Home insurance premiums are on track to rise roughly 4...

Insurance & Protection

The FDIC insures $250,000 per depositor, and beneficiaries can raise that ceiling

The $250,000 figure attached to federal deposit insurance is one of the most repeated numbers in personal finance, and one of the most misread. Many...

Smart Spending

People who got two or more unwanted robocalls or texts can claim up to $160 from a settlement by September 14

Up to $160 apiece is available to people who fielded unwanted marketing calls or texts pushing Farmers Insurance policies, part of a $1.25 million settlement...

Smart Spending

True World Holdings data-breach victims can take a no-proof $50 payment before September 8

A no-questions-asked payment of $50 is available to people caught up in a 2024 data breach at True World Holdings, a national seafood distributor, but...

Insurance & Protection

Home insurance now eats a record 9% of the typical homeowner’s monthly payment

Homeowners who have never filed a claim are still watching their premiums climb, and the cost has now reached a share of the monthly housing...

Smart Spending

Parents whose children used apps carrying Google’s AdMob ads can file a no-proof claim from an $8.25 million settlement by September 14

An $8.25 million fund set up by Google and its AdMob advertising arm is now open to a group few would expect to hold a...

Smart Spending

Anyone who paid out of pocket for the stop-smoking drug Chantix can claim part of a $44 million Pfizer settlement by September 14

A $44 million fund now sits open to a broad group of Americans: anyone who paid out of pocket for the stop-smoking pill Chantix over...

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