Smart Spending
Consumer trends, deals, price changes, subscription services, comparison shopping, and making smarter purchasing decisions in everyday life.
Latest in 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...
$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...
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...
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...
$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...
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...
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...
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...
$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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
$78.5 million will settle a case over defective Toyota airbag control units, and some owners can file a claim
A $78.5 million settlement is resolving claims that certain Toyota vehicles carried defective airbag control units that could fail to deploy the airbags in a...
Owners of some Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid refrigerators can get a free repair or cash for a defective part
A class action settlement over an allegedly defective wire harness in certain Whirlpool-manufactured refrigerators is now open for claims, and owners of covered Whirlpool, Maytag,...