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 mass data breach that swept through the MOVEit file-transfer software in 2023 has produced another payout, this one tied to Bank of America customer records. A class-action settlement now lets affected individuals claim a flat cash payment without documenting a loss, along with two years of identity-theft protection. The catch is a firm deadline…
Anyone who filled a prescription at a Kroger-owned pharmacy and paid with insurance may be owed a small refund. A $17 million class-action settlement resolves allegations that the grocery chain reported inflated prices for prescription drugs, leaving insured customers paying more at the counter than they should have. The window to claim a share is…
Adding a grown child’s name to the deed of the family home is one of the most common do-it-yourself estate moves, usually done with good intentions — to make inheritance simpler or to sidestep probate. On paper it looks free and effortless. In practice, the federal government treats it as a gift, the tax code…
When a homeowner dies, the family house is often the asset that drags the estate into probate — the court-supervised process that can take months, run up legal fees, and play out in the public record. A single legal document is designed to route the home around that entire proceeding. A transfer-on-death deed names in…
A parent who quietly signs over a chunk of savings to a grandchild, or forgives a loan, or deeds a share of the house to a child, often believes it is a generous and harmless move. Years later, when that same parent needs a nursing home and turns to Medicaid to pay for it, the…
Most of an estate can be tied up for months after a death, frozen while a probate court validates a will, notifies creditors, and signs off on who gets what. A checking or savings account does not have to sit in that line. A single form on file at the bank, naming who inherits the…
A settlement now moving through federal court is offering cash to tens of thousands of people whose private medical and insurance records were exposed in a 2023 breach at a Nashville health-benefits administrator. The offer is unusual because one path requires no receipts, no paperwork, and no proof of harm at all. The catch is…
Heating a home in winter and cooling it in a heat wave are two of the costs that hit older Americans hardest, because they cannot be skipped without real risk to health. A long-standing federal program exists to help cover those bills for low-income households, and seniors are among the groups it is designed to…
The country’s largest anti-hunger program is shrinking fast, and the change is being felt at the grocery register by some of the households least able to absorb it. A wave of new rules tied to the 2025 tax-and-spending law has already pushed roughly 4 million people off food assistance, and the tightening is still rolling…
Comcast is paying out on a $117.5 million settlement tied to a 2023 breach that exposed the personal data of tens of millions of Xfinity internet customers. Eligible customers can claim a flat $50 cash payment without submitting a single receipt, or seek up to $10,000 if they can document losses traced to the breach….