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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

$5,000 FMC breach-loss claims close August 31

FMC Services class members can seek up to $5,000 for losses connected to a 2022 data incident, but the settlement also offers an estimated $75...

Smart Spending

$50 St. Joseph MyChart claims close August 14

St. Joseph Hospital’s proposed MyChart privacy settlement offers a simple $50 payment, but the class definition is more important than the amount. Eligibility depends on...

Smart Spending

AH Media customers are getting new Zelle payments after $5.2 million in refunds

AH Media’s “free trial” case has moved through checks and PayPal and is now reaching missed recipients through Zelle. The Federal Trade Commission says earlier...

Smart Spending

The FTC is sending 1,623 second payments totaling more than $136,000

The Sales Mentor refund fund still had money after its first distribution, so the Federal Trade Commission is sending 1,623 follow-up payments worth more than...

Smart Spending

$27,074.99 can help eligible disabled veterans buy a specially equipped vehicle

The Department of Veterans Affairs can pay up to $27,074.99 toward a specially equipped vehicle for a veteran whose service-connected disability meets the program’s functional...

Smart Spending

BMW owners can seek antenna-repair reimbursement through August 27

Owners and lessees of certain 2019 and 2020 BMW sport-utility vehicles have until August 27 to seek repayment for eligible past repairs involving the roof-mounted...

Smart Spending

Mission Community Hospital breach claims close August 12 with cash and monitoring available

Mission Community Hospital’s proposed breach settlement offers four forms of value—documented-loss reimbursement, a California payment, medical-data monitoring and a residual cash share—but every route runs...

Smart Spending

Ciuni & Panichi breach claims offer about $125 or up to $5,000 by August 18

Ciuni & Panichi class members face a choice between a roughly estimated cash share and reimbursement tied to proof of actual loss, and the two...

Smart Spending

$25,000 is the Flagstar Bank breach-loss ceiling before August 11

Flagstar Bank’s proposed data-breach settlement places a high ceiling on documented losses, but the $25,000 figure is not a flat payment and the August 11...

Smart Spending

Ring customers are getting new Zelle payments after more than $5.4 million in refunds

Ring’s newest refund round uses Zelle to reach eligible customers who missed earlier payments, extending a privacy settlement that has already returned more than $5.4...

Smart Spending

University of Phoenix students are getting new Zelle payments after $49 million in refunds

The newest University of Phoenix refunds are arriving through Zelle, but they are not a fresh application round and they are not the same relief...

Smart Spending

The FTC is mailing 62,893 Handy workers checks totaling more than $2.7 million

A $2.7 million refund program for Handy workers is moving through ordinary paper checks, making the mailbox—not an application portal—the decisive point of contact. The...

Credit & Debt

A 529 plan can pay $10,000 of one beneficiary’s student loans tax-free

A 529 balance left after college can retire part of the beneficiary’s education debt without turning the withdrawal into taxable income. Federal rules treat as...

Credit & Debt

Student-loan interest can cut taxable income by up to $2,500 without itemizing

Interest on education debt has an unusual place in the tax code: a qualifying borrower may subtract as much as $2,500 before taxable income is...

Smart Spending

Target gives teachers and college students 20% off one purchase through September 12

Target is offering verified teachers and college students 20% off one storewide purchase through September 12, 2026, extending a large one-transaction discount beyond the retailer’s...

Smart Spending

August 5 is the deadline for Sprouts shoppers to claim money from a $5 million receipt settlement

Sprouts shoppers have only through August 5 to seek a payment from a proposed $5 million settlement over card-number information allegedly printed on store receipts....

Smart Spending

Who can claim a share of Google’s $68 million Assistant settlement by August 27?

A $68 million fund is open to two overlapping groups affected by Google Assistant, but owning a Google device is only one route into the...

Smart Spending

Delta, United and American still offer discounted fares of up to 25% for travelers 65 and older

The airline senior discount has not disappeared, but it has gone into hiding. Delta, United and American still quietly offer reduced fares to travelers 65...

Smart Spending

Older flyers without a Real ID now pay a $45 TSA fee, good for just 10 days, to board

Air travelers who show up at security without a Real ID-compliant license or another acceptable document now face a $45 charge to board, and the...

Smart Spending

Billions in life-insurance payouts go unclaimed, and a free national locator can find a lost policy

Billions of dollars in life-insurance and annuity benefits sit unpaid across the country, usually for a mundane reason: the people entitled to the money never...

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