Smart Spending
Consumer trends, deals, price changes, subscription services, comparison shopping, and making smarter purchasing decisions in everyday life.
Latest in Smart Spending
A federal weatherization program pays to seal and insulate a low-income home to cut the energy bill for good
The U.S. Department of Energy is currently funneling $325 million toward sealing drafts, adding insulation and tuning up heating systems inside homes owned by people...
Free IRS-certified volunteers file taxes for seniors and lower-income households
Two federal programs quietly prepare millions of tax returns for free every filing season, yet Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly...
Kroger pharmacy customers who paid with insurance can file a claim by December 21
Kroger customers who used prescription insurance at a Kroger-owned pharmacy any time between December 9, 2018, and August 23, 2026, now have a court-cleared path...
A prescription discount card can beat an insurance copay at the pharmacy counter
At many pharmacy counters, the price on an insurance copay isn’t automatically the cheapest option available. Federal regulators moved years ago to stop pharmacies from...
The Earned Income Tax Credit can add thousands to a lower-income worker’s refund
The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the few federal tax breaks capable of turning a modest return into a refund worth thousands of...
Prepaying a funeral can lock in today’s price against years of rising costs
Funeral costs have climbed steadily for years, and a casket, service, or plot priced today will almost certainly cost more by the time it’s actually...
Airlines must now refund a canceled flight in cash, not just a voucher
For years, an airline that canceled a flight could steer a passenger toward a travel credit or voucher by default, leaving many travelers to assume...
States are holding billions in unclaimed money, and a free official search can reunite you with it
State governments are currently holding more than $70 billion in unclaimed property nationwide, money and assets that once belonged to ordinary people before contact with...
Google is automatically paying 102 million app buyers through PayPal or Venmo, with no claim to file
A federal court in the Northern District of California granted final approval on April 30, 2026, to a $700 million settlement resolving a five-year antitrust...
A Casely power-bank recall follows a reported death, and owners can get a free replacement
Casely will send a free replacement power bank to owners of about 429,200 recalled MagSafe wireless chargers, an offer that has stayed open since mid-April...
Walmart re-recalled 165,000 tip-over dressers and is offering full refunds
Walmart is offering full refunds on another 165,250 Mainstays nine-drawer fabric dressers after regulators discovered that dressers from an earlier recall of the same product...
Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pits are recalled, and owners can get a full refund
Owners of a Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pit can get a full refund after federal regulators announced a recall of about 48,700 units. Southern Telecom, the...
State unclaimed-property programs are holding billions in forgotten money for the taking
Across the country, state treasurers sit on billions of dollars in unclaimed property that once belonged to ordinary people who simply lost track of it....
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...