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.
Two names on a deed can quietly settle, years in advance, exactly what happens to a house the moment one owner dies. When a deed states that the owners hold title “as joint tenants with right of survivorship,” the surviving owner becomes sole owner the instant the other dies — no judge, no probate filing,…
A brokerage statement showing a lower balance after a rough month in the market can feel like exactly the kind of loss investor protections are supposed to cover. They are not. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation exists for a narrower and more specific event: a brokerage firm collapsing financially and customer securities or cash going…
Consumers who bought bacon or other raw pork products at grocery stores between 2014 and 2018 have until October 29 to file for a cash payment under a $117 million antitrust settlement, and no receipt is required to apply. The payout resolves consumer claims that five of the nation’s largest pork processors conspired to restrict…
Federal law gives anyone shopping for a funeral a right that few callers know to use: a funeral home must answer questions about prices over the phone, item by item, without first demanding a name, address, or return phone number. The protection comes from a decades-old Federal Trade Commission regulation built specifically for a moment…
Identity thieves who get hold of a Social Security number rarely need much else to open a new credit card or loan in someone else’s name. One of the strongest defenses against that is also one of the cheapest: a credit freeze, which by federal law costs nothing to place, nothing to lift, and does…
Clorox is recalling about 6.3 million bottles of Mistolin and Lestoil cleaning products sold in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after the company found the cleaners could be contaminated with bacteria. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says consumers should stop using the affected bottles immediately, and a refund is available for anyone who…
Disney has agreed to put $50 million into a settlement fund to resolve claims that it drove up the price of live TV streaming packages sold through YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream, and the deadline for eligible subscribers to file a claim is September 8, 2026, just days away. Millions of current and former subscribers,…
Health insurers selling Affordable Care Act marketplace plans have requested a median premium increase of about 15% for 2027, according to KFF’s analysis of preliminary rate filings from 276 insurers across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The proposed increase, still subject to state regulatory review before it is finalized, would mark the…
Equifax has won preliminary court approval for a $100 million settlement over claims that a coding error caused the credit bureau to send lenders artificially lowered credit scores for millions of applicants in 2022. The deal, believed to be the largest settlement in the history of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, still needs final approval…
The idea of a $2,000 check funded by tariff revenue has circulated since late 2025, and it resurfaces every few weeks on social media as a rumor that a payment is imminent. Nearly ten months later, the underlying facts have not changed: no law authorizing such a payment exists, no agency has announced how to…