The financial news that actually matters
A freelance graphic designer who pocketed $12,000 between April and May 2026 but set nothing aside for taxes is about to find out exactly what the IRS charges for that oversight. The second quarterly estimated tax payment for 2026 is due June 15, and for the millions of self-employed workers, rideshare drivers, and gig-economy contractors…
For years, homeowners paying mortgage insurance had to wait and wonder whether Congress would renew a federal tax deduction that kept expiring. That cycle is over. A provision tucked inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, permanently allows borrowers who itemize their taxes to deduct mortgage insurance premiums…
Hurricane season opens June 1, 2026, and an unknown number of Florida homeowners with properties valued at $400,000 or more will enter it without wind coverage from the state’s insurer of last resort. The reason: they have not purchased a flood insurance policy, which Citizens Property Insurance Corporation now requires as a condition of providing…
A parent who borrowed $50,000 in federal PLUS loans to help a child pay for college could soon face monthly payments north of $700 with no way to lower that bill based on household income. Legislation advancing through Congress would permanently strip Parent PLUS borrowers of access to every income-driven repayment plan after June 30,…
Somewhere between the cap-and-gown photos and the open-house planning, millions of Americans will receive digital party invitations this month. The Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that some of those invitations are traps. In a consumer alert published in May 2026, the FTC warned that scammers are sending fraudulent messages designed to look like…
A borrower carrying $35,000 in federal student loans at 5.5% interest could see their monthly payment jump from roughly $150 under an income-driven plan to about $380 under Standard Repayment. That swing, more than $2,700 a year, is what’s at stake for the millions of people still enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan as the…
Tens of millions of Americans who depend on Social Security, SSI, or veterans benefits could receive an extra $200 per month for six months under a bill filed by Senate Democrats, a temporary supplement that would total $1,200 per person if enacted. The proposal has not passed, no payments have been scheduled, and the bill…
The bond market just slammed the door on cheaper borrowing costs before Labor Day. Federal funds futures tracked by the CME FedWatch Tool now assign a 99.9% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave its benchmark rate untouched when the Federal Open Market Committee wraps its two-day meeting on June 17, 2026. For the millions…
The voice on the line sounds official. The caller identifies himself as a Medicare fraud investigator, recites a case number, and warns that suspicious charges have appeared on the beneficiary’s account. To “secure” it, he asks the person to read back the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier printed on their card. The caller ID even shows a…
A couple starting to save for their first home today, earning the national median income and setting aside money at the average American savings rate, will not have enough for a down payment until 2033. That is the core finding of a May 2025 analysis from Realtor.com: seven years of disciplined saving to reach a…