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.
Meatballs, mozzarella sticks, creamer and cases of bottled drinks made up much of the shopping that put two Pittsburgh restaurant owners in a courtroom. Rachna Anwar and Munir Chaudhri, a married couple, were each sentenced to seven years of probation, with the first year under electronic monitoring. Prosecutors said the food was bought with other…
GEHA has told federal workers and retirees that most of its 2027 health plans will cost no more than they do now. The carrier’s premium page announces “no premium increase for most 2027 G.E.H.A FEHB plans, including Standard, HDHP, Elevate and High.” In a year when the average enrollee share across the Federal Employees Health…
Minimum-wage workers in two Rocky Mountain and Plains states get a raise on Jan. 1, 2027. Montana’s minimum wage goes from $10.85 to $11.20 an hour, a gain of 35 cents. South Dakota’s goes from $11.85 to $12.30, a gain of 45 cents, and its tipped rate rises from $5.925 to $6.15. Both increases follow…
A pound of ground coffee cost an average of $9.33 in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the Labor Department. The exact figure is $9.332 for 100% ground roast, up from $9.139 in September 2025 and $9.299 in August. Coffee rose over the month and over the year in the federal…
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend $13.5 billion on it. That tops last year’s record of $13.1 billion. The average person who celebrates plans to spend $115.14, up from $114.45 in 2025. The increase per person is 69 cents. More people are joining in: 74%…
The average American household plans to spend $1,654 on the holidays this year, up 4% from last year, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail survey. The money is moving toward things that can be wrapped. Spending on retail goods is expected to climb 10%, while spending on holiday activities is expected to fall 4%. The…
Manjit Bedi pleaded not guilty in a Tacoma federal courtroom on April 22. A week later, prosecutors say, he left the country for India. On the night of October 14 he was back in Washington State in the custody of federal agents, with food stamp fraud and wire fraud charges waiting for him. Bedi, 64,…
While the average federal health premium climbs next year, 21 plan options will charge families less. The biggest cut is in Pennsylvania, where the Geisinger Health Plan Standard option drops its enrollee share for Self and Family coverage to $300.28 every two weeks in 2027, from $519.98. That is $219.70 less per pay period, a…
Most SNAP cards in the country still carry a magnetic stripe, the same swipe-only technology that criminals have learned to copy at a gas pump or a store register. Chip cards would close that gap, and congressional staffers told ProPublica the cost of issuing them nationwide would be about $215 million. About 40 states have…
A federal worker with SAMBA High Option family coverage will pay $742.68 every two weeks in 2027, up from $544.05 this year. That is $198.63 more per pay period, a 37% jump, and the largest dollar increase of any plan on the list of steepest FEHB increases. The window to switch plans runs Nov. 9…