The financial news that actually matters
A general consumer finance category covering everyday money decisions, budgeting, saving, debt management, credit behavior, and personal financial improvement strategies.
Fifty-three attorneys general are splitting $70 million in penalties from Google, while a separate pool of about $630 million is set aside for people who bought apps and in-app content on the Google Play Store. The consumer money is meant to arrive automatically through PayPal or Venmo. The court held its final hearing on April…
Buyers of seven iPhone models have until December 21 to file for a share of Apple’s $250 million settlement over the Siri features it promoted with Apple Intelligence. Nothing is paid that day, or soon after. U.S. District Judge Noël Wise in San Jose decides at a February 24, 2027 hearing whether the deal becomes…
Anyone who worked on a beef or pork processing line at a covered company between January 1, 2000 and February 27, 2024 may be in line for a share of $202.7 million in wage-fixing settlements with Tyson, JBS, Cargill and other meat companies. The Justice Department wants the judge to withhold approval of those deals,…
The IRS says nearly 1 million Americans are each being sent $500 because they were overcharged for Obamacare coverage. The count appears in an October 14 Treasury and IRS announcement, release IR-2026-121, which credits the figure to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Whether a household gets a check depends on where it…
Hawaiian Airlines’ Huakaʻi by Hawaiian program now includes two free checked bags on Neighbor Island travel, according to Alaska Air Group’s third-quarter earnings release on October 20. The same release says an Atmos debit card launches in early 2027. Both announcements arrived in a quarter when the airline group lost $147 million, while fuel costs…
A New York Medicaid enrollee whose coverage is about to close gets a warning at least 15 days ahead, the state says. If the coverage does end, there are 90 days to send information for review and possibly get it back. Those steps will matter more starting January 1, when the work rules in a…
Molina Healthcare ended September with 4,372,000 Medicaid members, down from 4,568,000 at the end of 2025. In its third-quarter results, released October 21, the insurer said nothing about the federal work rule, but on the earnings call its executives told analysts that coverage losses tied to the rule will start showing up in 2027. For…
New Jersey is telling Medicaid members something that changes the cost of a mistake. Adults who lose NJ FamilyCare because they did not meet the work rule that starts January 1 cannot get financial help to buy a plan through Get Covered NJ, the state marketplace, the state says. They can still shop there, but…
Four states with very different Medicaid programs have set the same start date for the same two changes. New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Oklahoma will begin asking covered adults aged 19 to 64 to show 80 hours of work, school or volunteering a month, or $580 in earnings, on January 1, 2027. Those…
Sunday, November 1, is the date USDA’s waiver list gives for SNAP shoppers in Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia to stop buying candy, soda and other sweetened drinks with their benefits. Eight other states already enforce limits of their own. The list was last updated October 13, and two of the four November…