Smart Spending
Consumer trends, deals, price changes, subscription services, comparison shopping, and making smarter purchasing decisions in everyday life.
Latest in Smart Spending
People who received BuyAlerts texts after opting out can claim up to $42.16 by February 16
People who got more than one text message from BuyAlerts after replying “stop,” or while their number was on the Do Not Call Registry, can...
Hyundai and Kia owners have until April 8, 2027, and Toyota owners until December 11, 2028, to claim from airbag-control-unit settlements
Owners of certain Hyundai, Kia and Toyota vehicles can still file claims over defective airbag control units, but the two settlements run on different deadlines....
Lake Compounce online ticket buyers can claim cash from a $500,000 processing-fee settlement
People who bought tickets on Lake Compounce’s website and paid a processing fee can file a claim for cash from a $500,000 settlement fund. The...
Raging Waters customers who paid an online processing fee can claim from an $850,000 settlement by November 24
Anyone who bought admission tickets at ragingwaters.com and paid an online processing fee has until November 24, 2026, to file for a share of an...
Lands’ End data-breach claims close October 22
Anyone Lands’ End notified about its December 2024 data incident has until Thursday, October 22, to file a claim in the class settlement. The settlement...
Prime members who already cashed a $51 Amazon refund can get up to $149 more, and the FTC says the extra payments keep going out through April
Prime members who already cashed an Amazon refund of up to $51 may have more coming. Amazon can issue up to $149 on top of...
SeatGeek customers charged fees on tickets to Nevada events from November 2020 through May 2025 can claim a share of $7.75 million until January 5
People who bought SeatGeek tickets to events in Nevada between November 7, 2020 and May 12, 2025 and were charged fees can claim a share...
Xcel’s average Wisconsin residential electric bill is set to run about $24.91 a month above 2025 levels in 2027
Xcel Energy’s average residential electric customer in Wisconsin is set to pay about $24.91 more a month in 2027 than in 2025, under rates that...
Nicor Gas bills in northern Illinois rise about $2 a month starting in November
Illinois regulators approved a rate increase for Nicor Gas on Oct. 15, and the typical residential customer in northern Illinois will pay about $2 more...
Aldi’s Thanksgiving dinner for 10 costs under $39 this year
Aldi is selling a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people for less than $39 this year, about $3.90 a person, with the offer running from October...
Dollar General agreed to donate $1.875 million in food and goods to settle New York’s price case, after secret shoppers were overcharged on about 14% of items
New York’s attorney general says Dollar General regularly charged shoppers more at the register than the price posted on the shelf. To settle the state’s...
Michigan regulators approved a $139.2 million yearly gas rate increase for Consumers Energy, far below the $240 million it sought
The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a $139.2 million yearly natural gas rate increase for Consumers Energy, well below the $240 million the utility...
The Energy Information Administration projects 2027 household electricity at 18.7 cents a kilowatt-hour
The Energy Information Administration projects that the average U.S. household will pay 18.7 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity in 2027. That would be up from...
Ground beef averaged $6.792 a pound in September, up from $6.323 a year earlier
Ground beef averaged $6.792 a pound across the United States in September, up from $6.323 in September 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That...
Drivers paid an average $4.631 for a gallon of gasoline in September, against $3.481 a year earlier, BLS average price data show
Drivers paid an average of $4.631 a gallon for gasoline in September, up from $3.481 a year earlier. That is $1.15 more per gallon, an...
Heating oil hit $6.27 a gallon in New York and $6.15 in Massachusetts heading into winter, energy assistance directors say
Heating oil reached $6.27 a gallon in New York and $6.15 in Massachusetts as the winter heating season approached, according to the nation’s energy assistance...
myVEGAS and Pop! Slots players who spent money in six states get game coins unless they elect cash by October 21
Players of myVEGAS and Pop! Slots who spent money in six states will be paid in game coins unless they ask for cash by October...
Illinois users of the Skin360 skin-assessment tool can claim a share of Johnson & Johnson Consumer’s $4.7 million biometric privacy settlement by November 25
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. has agreed to pay $4.7 million to settle claims under Illinois’ biometric privacy law over its Skin360 skin-assessment tool, and...
Levoit air-purifier buyers have until Nov. 3 to file for up to $10 from a $15 million ‘True HEPA’ settlement
Buyers of Levoit Core and EverestAir air purifiers and replacement filters have until Nov. 3 to file for a $10 digital payment from a settlement...
John Deere repair customers who want out of the right-to-repair settlement must opt out by December 4, ahead of a January 19 approval hearing
Farmers and other buyers of John Deere repair services who want out of the $99 million right-to-repair class-action settlement have until Dec. 4 to opt...