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.
A legitimate government refund check creates its own kind of danger: it teaches a reader that unexpected money sometimes really does show up, which is precisely the expectation a scammer needs to exploit. The Federal Trade Commission’s public refunds page currently lists five programs dated August 2026 — real settlements with real payments moving to…
A single deadline sits at the center of the beef import expansion the Trump administration signed into law on August 26: September 30. That is when the first slice of a three-part tariff-rate quota increase closes to new shipments, and whether the remaining two-thirds of the program moves forward depends on a price test built…
A small business in Oregon that sponsors a Providence Health Plan group policy for its employees will not simply wake up one morning to a canceled plan. Federal law requires the insurer to put its intentions in writing to the employer well before the coverage actually ends, and Providence Health Plan did exactly that in…
Providence Health Plan says it will “transition out of most of its health insurance lines of business beginning in 2027,” language that covers the end of every individual and family policy the insurer sells directly. The discontinuation takes effect January 1, 2027, and the company has also decided against writing any new commercial plans that…
USDA’s own tracking page lists twenty-three states that have won federal approval to keep sugary drinks and candy off the list of items a household can buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Fewer than half of those approvals are actually stopping a purchase at the register today. A federal court erased five of them…
About 5.8 million people who financed a car, truck, RV, boat or motorcycle at a dealership had their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers exposed when the credit-check vendor behind those financing applications was breached. 700Credit, LLC, a Michigan company that supplies dealerships with the credit reports and identity checks used to approve…
A federal antitrust settlement resolving claims over how real-estate commissions were structured is now accepting claims from the home buyers it covers, with a filing deadline set for next month. Home buyers who purchased a property listed on a multiple listing service and paid a commission as part of that purchase can seek a share…
The Federal Trade Commission has begun mailing a second round of refund checks to thousands of people who lost money to a business opportunity scheme marketed as a shortcut to financial independence. The payments are automatic, meaning nobody who already accepted a first payment needs to file anything to receive this one. For older readers…
A legal fight over which groceries older Americans and other households can buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits has moved from a district courtroom to a federal appeals court, and the stakes have grown well beyond the five states directly named in the lawsuit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking the U.S. Court…
A new federal rule tells millions of Medicaid recipients they must prove they are working, studying, or otherwise engaged in the community to keep their coverage — but the rule also includes a lesser-known escape hatch. Adults subject to the requirement can satisfy it without logging a single hour of activity if their monthly income…