Warren Cohen

Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.

Shopping in grocery department of store Man holds a beef meat in a white plastic tray

The USDA raised its 2026 grocery forecast and now sees beef climbing 12.1% this year

American grocery shoppers face steeper bills for the rest of 2026 after the USDA’s Economic Research Service raised its annual food price forecast on May 22, 2026. The agency now projects food-at-home prices will climb 3.2 percent this year, with beef and veal leading all categories at a projected 12.1 percent increase. The revision reflects…

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A federal judge ordered the Customs commissioner to court Tuesday to explain when 330,000 importers get their $166 billion in tariff refunds

More than 330,000 importers are waiting on roughly $166 billion in tariff refunds, and a federal judge has now demanded that the Customs and Border Protection commissioner appear in court Tuesday to explain exactly when those payments will arrive. The order escalates a legal standoff over refunds tied to Trump-era tariffs that the U.S. Supreme…

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New federal student loans taken out after July 1 will carry RAP as the only income-driven repayment option

Students borrowing federal Direct Loans after July 1, 2026, will face a sharply narrowed set of repayment choices. Under the reconciliation law signed on July 4, 2025, the Repayment Assistance Plan is the sole income-driven repayment option for those new borrowers, replacing every legacy IDR plan that existed before. The change, enacted as P.L. 119-21…

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Quarterly estimated taxes are due in 7 days — self-employed and gig workers who underpay by June 15 owe 6% IRS interest, compounding daily

Self-employed workers and gig contractors face a hard deadline in seven days. June 15, 2026, is the cutoff for the second quarterly estimated tax installment, covering income earned from April 1 through May 31. Anyone who underpays will owe the IRS interest at a 6% annual rate, and that interest compounds daily on the prior…

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Student loan borrowers have 23 days to leave the SAVE plan — miss July 1 and the government auto-enrolls you in Standard Repayment by September

Federal student loan borrowers still enrolled in the SAVE plan face a hard deadline: servicers will begin sending transition notices on July 1, 2026, and anyone who does not pick a new repayment option within 90 days will be automatically placed into a different plan. The clock is already ticking, and borrowers who earned just…

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Finance fighting and couple with laptop with bills stress and internet banking issue in debt Home payment due and anxiety from mortgage tax audit or invoice with conversation about savings

The 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500, and a backdoor Roth still works above the income cap if you hold no pre-tax IRA balance

High earners who want to fund a Roth IRA for 2026 face a narrow but well-defined path. The IRS confirmed that the annual IRA contribution limit rises to $7,500 for 2026, the same combined cap covering both traditional and Roth accounts. For taxpayers above the Roth income phase-out, the backdoor conversion strategy still works, but…

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The child tax credit is locked at $2,200 per child under 17, with up to $1,700 refundable for working families

Families with children under 17 will receive a child tax credit capped at $2,200 per qualifying child for tax year 2026, with no more than $1,700 of that amount available as a refund to households that owe little or no federal income tax. Those figures, locked into federal law through the FY2025 reconciliation process, set…

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