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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

Target recalled 211,000 Cat & Jack sandals and is offering full refunds

Target recalled about 211,000 pairs of Cat & Jack children’s sandals after receiving reports that decorative pearls detached, creating a choking hazard. The remedy is...

Smart Spending

Walmart and Sam’s Club cut prices on thousands of summer essentials

Walmart and Sam’s Club are promoting thousands of lower summer prices, stretching from groceries and beverages to pools, toys and apparel. The announcement is broad,...

Smart Spending

The FTC is mailing 9,419 checks after a deceptive marketing case

The FTC’s Trend Deploy refund is unusual because affected buyers do not have to discover a settlement website and submit a claim. The agency is...

Insurance & Protection

A shared nursing-home room now runs about $9,581 a month, and Medicaid steps in only after savings fall below $2,000.

Families with an aging parent who needs round-the-clock care face a brutal math problem. A shared nursing-home room now runs about $9,581 a month, yet...

Insurance & Protection

Owners of recalled Flaunt MagSafe power banks can collect a $65 refund or an $80 store credit over a fire risk.

Anyone who bought a Flaunt MagSafe Battery Charger power bank now faces a direct safety warning: the lithium-ion battery inside can overheat and catch fire....

Credit & Debt

Paid medical debts and those under $500 stay off your credit report, even after a federal rule was struck down.

Consumers who have already paid off medical bills or owe less than $500 on medical collections can still expect those items to stay off their...

Smart Spending

Florida returned $88 million in unclaimed money this year, and a free state search shows if any is yours.

Floridians collected $88 million in unclaimed property in February alone, a record monthly disbursement announced by Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. The money, which had...

Budgeting & Saving

New York returned a record $163 million in forgotten money to residents this year, and a free state search shows if any of it is yours

New York State sent back a record $163 million in forgotten funds to residents this year, driven largely by a fast-track program that mails checks...

Smart Spending

Walmart shoppers can get full refunds on recalled Marketside salads in a nine-state outbreak

If you bought a Marketside salad from Walmart in the past few weeks, check your refrigerator before your next meal. Nearly 2,000 people across nine...

Budgeting & Saving

A Series EE savings bond doubles in value if you hold it 20 years

Savers who buy a Series EE bond from the U.S. Treasury today receive a fixed interest rate that, on its own, may look modest compared...

Insurance & Protection

Naming account beneficiaries sends money straight to heirs, skipping probate whatever your will says

Anyone who dies with a bank account, retirement plan, or life insurance policy that carries a named beneficiary will send that money directly to the...

Smart Spending

Recalled salmonella-linked eggs at Kroger and other stores can be returned for a refund

Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. has recalled more than 1,589,577 dozen shell eggs tied to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 98 people across six states...

Budgeting & Saving

Certificates of deposit still pay around 4%, but cashing out early forfeits months of interest

Savers who locked money into one-year certificates of deposit are still earning annual percentage yields near 4 percent, well above the sub-1 percent returns common...

Smart Spending

Tom’s of Maine buyers can claim part of a $2.9 million marketing settlement

Consumers who bought Tom’s of Maine toothpaste between November 21, 2020, and March 6, 2026, can now file claims against a $2,900,000 class action settlement...

Insurance & Protection

A disabled adult can save in an ABLE account without losing Medicaid or SSI, sheltering up to $19,000 a year plus its earnings

Disabled adults who receive Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid now have a federally protected way to build savings without triggering benefit cuts. An ABLE account,...

Smart Spending

Ford is fixing more than 565,000 Broncos free after wiring that can catch fire, and owners who already paid for the repair get refunded

Ford is recalling more than 565,000 Bronco and Bronco Raptor vehicles sold in the United States because engine compartment wiring can overheat and catch fire....

Insurance & Protection

A funeral with burial now runs about $8,300, and a payable-on-death account can cover it without tying up your family’s cash

When someone dies, the bills start before the grief settles. Funeral homes, cemeteries, and casket suppliers expect payment within days, and families that rely on...

Insurance & Protection

Home-insurance premiums for older homeowners are climbing faster than Social Security’s raise, and insurers are quietly stripping the loyalty discounts that held them down

Retirees counting on Social Security to keep pace with rising household costs face a widening gap on one of their biggest fixed expenses. The 2.8...

Insurance & Protection

A homeowner can keep up to $752,000 in home equity, and over $1.1 million in some states, and still qualify for nursing-home Medicaid

Families planning for long-term care face a stark divide depending on where they live. Federal law allows states to set their own home-equity ceilings for...

Insurance & Protection

$129,000 a year is what a private nursing-home room now costs, one of the fastest drains on a retirement nest egg

Families facing a nursing-home stay for a parent or spouse now confront a median annual bill of roughly $127,750 for a private room, a cost...

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