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.
The Department of Veterans Affairs now pays $1,621.00 for each full month of full-time study under Chapter 35, the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program. The new table took effect today, Oct. 1, 2026. Spouses and children who qualify through a veteran’s death or total disability are the only people it covers. For a student…
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ monthly Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty rate for full-time study at an institution of higher learning is $2,601.00 for beneficiaries with three or more years of service, and the new figure takes effect today, Oct. 1, 2026. That is $83 more than the $2,518.00 the same category has received since…
A federal money-laundering complaint alleges that one cryptocurrency wallet controlled by a Vietnamese national received about $53.3 million and sent out about $53.2 million over nearly seven years, including a transfer traced to a single American who lost about $16 million in a pig-butchering scam. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri…
Anyone who bought Dr. Squatch products in the United States between Nov. 1, 2018 and Aug. 29, 2026 can file a claim in a settlement over the company’s “natural” labels, with a Nov. 27, 2026 deadline. The class period ended Aug. 29, 2026, two days before the court-approved notice was published. Payments will be shared…
Commerce Department officials set a 94.36% weighted-average dumping margin on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells from Indonesia in a final determination published Sept. 16, with companion determinations for Laos and India the same day. Separately, the 30% federal credit that once trimmed the price of a rooftop system does not apply to property placed in service…
Owners of certain 2015 to 2020 Ram, Jeep and Dodge vehicles with 3.6-liter engines have until 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Oct. 12, 2026 to file for reimbursement of money already spent on failed valve train repairs. The settlement reaches California and ten designated Section 177 states rather than the whole country. An extended warranty on…
Kroger shoppers who paid for prescription drugs using insurance have until Dec. 21, 2026 to submit a claim form in a class settlement over the chain’s pharmacy pricing. The long-form notice puts the fund at $17 million and the class period at Dec. 9, 2018 through Aug. 23, 2026. Claims totaling $8,000 or more must…
A $250 million settlement over Apple’s delayed Siri features is taking claims from U.S. buyers of seven iPhone models until Dec. 21, 2026. The class covers phones bought between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025, and the claim window opened Sept. 21, according to the settlement website. Payments are not expected until after a…
Credit Acceptance Corporation, a subprime auto lender, agreed on Sept. 18 to a $694 million multistate settlement that rewrites how it lends going forward. Beginning Nov. 2, 2026, the company must run a five-year “off-ramp” program that forgives most of the balance on certain loans that fail quickly, and it must hold vehicle prices to…
The Federal Trade Commission says a second wave of automatic Amazon Prime settlement payments begins Oct. 1, 2026, reaching consumers who used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in a 12-month period. The group was left out when the first round paid only lighter users, and the per-consumer maximum rises to $200. According to the FTC,…