Smart Spending
Consumer trends, deals, price changes, subscription services, comparison shopping, and making smarter purchasing decisions in everyday life.
Latest in Smart Spending
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...
Brookstone tabletop fire pits are recalled for a burn hazard, and owners can collect a full refund
About 48,700 Brookstone-branded tabletop fire pits have been recalled, and the remedy is a full refund rather than a repair or a partial credit, which...
Duke Energy must return $90.5 million to customers, about $5.62 a month on a typical bill
Florida regulators have ordered Duke Energy Florida to hand back $90.5 million it collected from customers but never needed to spend, and the money is...
People who got two or more unwanted robocalls or texts can claim up to $160 from a settlement by September 14
Up to $160 apiece is available to people who fielded unwanted marketing calls or texts pushing Farmers Insurance policies, part of a $1.25 million settlement...
True World Holdings data-breach victims can take a no-proof $50 payment before September 8
A no-questions-asked payment of $50 is available to people caught up in a 2024 data breach at True World Holdings, a national seafood distributor, but...
Parents whose children used apps carrying Google’s AdMob ads can file a no-proof claim from an $8.25 million settlement by September 14
An $8.25 million fund set up by Google and its AdMob advertising arm is now open to a group few would expect to hold a...
Anyone who paid out of pocket for the stop-smoking drug Chantix can claim part of a $44 million Pfizer settlement by September 14
A $44 million fund now sits open to a broad group of Americans: anyone who paid out of pocket for the stop-smoking pill Chantix over...
The FTC is mailing $23.8 million in Grubhub refunds to 640,000 customers, and the checks expire in 90 days
The Federal Trade Commission began mailing 640,038 payments worth more than $23.8 million to Grubhub drivers and diners on August 12, 2026, closing out an...
Walmart and Target dropped price matching, ending one way shoppers trimmed their bills
A familiar money-saving tactic just lost two of its biggest venues. Walmart and Target have both pulled back from price matching, the practice that once...
Airlines must send an automatic cash refund when they cancel or badly delay your flight
Air travelers who once got stuck with a voucher after an airline scrapped their flight now hold a firmer right to cash. Under a federal...
Billions in unclaimed cash sit with state treasurers, and one free search covers most states
Across the United States, state treasurers and unclaimed-property offices are holding tens of billions of dollars that belong to ordinary people who lost track of...
Anyone on SNAP or Medicaid can cut a phone or internet bill by $9.25 a month through the federal Lifeline program
A federal program that predates the smartphone quietly knocks up to $9.25 off a phone or internet bill every month for households that already receive...