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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

Smart Spending

Lyft will pay $272.5 million to settle California misclassification claims, with at least $237,075,000 reserved for drivers who worked from April 2016 through December 2020

Lyft has agreed to pay $272.5 million to settle California claims that it misclassified its drivers as independent contractors, and at least $237,075,000 of that...

Smart Spending

Under a Federal Trade Commission order, Amazon started paying the next round of Amazon Prime refunds on October 1 by Venmo, PayPal or check, with more due by April 2027

A new round of Amazon Prime refunds began on October 1, sent by Venmo, PayPal or mailed check to a group of customers the Federal...

Smart Spending

Anyone who bought a listed generic drug between May 2009 and December 2019 has until March 8, 2027 to claim from $320,560,180 that 48 attorneys general secured for consumers

Consumers who bought a generic prescription drug on the settlement website’s list between May 2009 and December 2019 have until March 8, 2027 to submit...

Budgeting & Saving

A 3.10% savings account leaves $1,170 a year behind a six-month Treasury bill

Ally Bank’s Online Savings account paid 3.10% APY on Oct. 1, 2026, the date stamped on its own rate page. Treasury’s daily yield curve for...

Smart Spending

A Cuisinart grill-brush recall pays 20% more when the refund is taken as store credit

Conair LLC’s recall of Cuisinart grill brushes carries an unusual feature for a product-safety remedy: an owner who declines cash can take store credit at...

Smart Spending

Amazon’s returns settlement makes the proof-required claim tier show screenshots and an attestation

Amazon’s $309.5 million returns settlement sorts its class into two groups, and only one of them has to produce anything. Members of Subclass A are...

Smart Spending

Tuna settlement checks could not be cashed, and the administrator mailed replacements on Sept. 28 with an extra $20

Some class members in the packaged-tuna antitrust settlement could not cash the checks mailed to them in September, and JND Legal Administration, the claims administrator,...

Insurance & Protection

An existing flood policy can be handed to the buyer by name substitution if the program lapses

A flood policy that is already in force on the day a house sells can pass to the new owner, and the paperwork is shorter...

Smart Spending

Dollar Tree recalled 360,500 balloon pumps after one caught fire and one exploded

Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. is recalling about 360,500 electric balloon pumps after three customers reported overheating, including one pump with flames inside the unit and...

Smart Spending

Amazon Prime refunds now reach shoppers who used 11 to 20 benefits, a group the first round skipped

The Federal Trade Commission has widened its Amazon Prime refund program to a group the first round left out: consumers who used 11 to 20...

Insurance & Protection

Federal flood insurance loses its authority to write or renew any policy on Dec. 11

The National Flood Insurance Program loses its statutory authority to write or renew policies on Dec. 11, 2026, about ten weeks from now, after Congress...

Credit & Debt

Parent PLUS borrowers have until Dec. 31 to cut their rate by a full point

The Education Department has pushed the enrollment deadline for a temporary student loan interest rate cut from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, 2026, giving borrowers...

Credit & Debt

More than 5 million people have been in default on a student loan for over six years

The Treasury Department announced on September 30, 2026 that more than 5 million borrowers have been in default on a federal student loan for over...

Credit & Debt

Only credit reports Equifax sent between March 17 and April 8, 2022 qualify for its settlement

Equifax’s settlement of the credit-score coding error is open to claims until December 28, 2026, but only a narrow slice of consumers sits inside it....

Budgeting & Saving

The poorest fifth of households now spend 9.86% of their income on electricity and gas, up from 9.38%, NEADA says

A household in the lowest income fifth spent $1,705 on electricity and natural gas in 2025 against income of $17,291, which works out to 9.86%...

Insurance & Protection

Kia owners who never paid for a window repair can still take a $40 dealer service card, with claims due Nov. 23

A $40 dealer service card is on offer to current owners of certain 2016-2017 Kia Optima and 2017 Kia Sportage vehicles, including owners who never...

Credit & Debt

Student loan borrowers still on SAVE have 90 days from their servicer’s notice to pick a new plan, with notices going out through October

A borrower still on the SAVE plan has 90 days from the date of the servicer’s notice to choose a new repayment plan, and those...

Smart Spending

Aldi’s fall price cuts, worth $86 million, put chicken breast at $1.99 a pound through Nov. 3

Kirkwood chicken breast family packs are priced at $1.99 a pound at Aldi stores from Sept. 23 through at least Nov. 3, the centerpiece of...

Budgeting & Saving

Homes heated with electricity face winter bills about 9% higher, while propane users face an 8.7% rise, NEADA says

Households that heat with electricity are projected to pay 9.0% more this winter, and propane users 8.7% more, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors...

Insurance & Protection

About two-thirds of large employers expect to raise workers’ share of health premiums in 2027, Marsh says

Among employers with 500 or more workers, about two-thirds expect to increase the share of health premiums that employees pay in 2027, according to a...

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