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 pitch arrives as good news. A caller, a Facebook message, or an official-looking email announces that a retiree has been selected for a federal grant of several thousand dollars, free money that never has to be repaid. There is only one catch: a processing fee, a tax, or a delivery charge has to be…
Guardianship and conservatorship exist to protect older adults who can no longer manage their own affairs. But the same legal authority that lets a guardian pay a senior’s bills also lets a dishonest one write checks to nobody, sell a home below market, and bill the estate for hours never worked. Because a court has…
A pitch has been reaching cash-strapped homeowners, many of them retirees on fixed incomes: take a lump sum today, make no monthly payments, and simply share a portion of the home’s future value when the house is sold or the term ends. It is marketed as an “investment” rather than a loan, which makes it…
A single rule cuts through nearly every version of the account-takeover scam aimed at older savers: a real bank will never ask a customer to read back a one-time passcode. That short string of digits, texted or emailed during login, is the lock a criminal is missing. Anyone on the phone requesting it, no matter…
The phone rings, the caller ID shows the exact number printed on the back of a debit card, and a calm voice says the bank has spotted fraud. It is a convincing setup, and it is increasingly a lie. Criminals can now fake, or “spoof,” a bank’s real phone number so it appears legitimate on…
The strongest single defense against having a loan or credit card opened in someone else’s name costs nothing and takes only a few minutes at each credit bureau. It is called a security freeze, and since 2018 federal law has made it free to place and free to lift for everyone. For retirees, whose Social…
Hidden inside the finances of most nonprofit hospitals is a program that can slash a medical bill to a fraction of its face value, or erase it entirely, for patients who cannot afford to pay. It is called charity care or financial assistance, and it is not a favor the hospital may grant at its…
A medical bill that lands with a collection agency feels final, and the instinct for many older Americans is to pay whatever number appears on the letter as fast as possible to make it go away. That instinct can be expensive. Medical debt is one of the most negotiable balances a person carries, riddled with…
A data-breach settlement tied to the Arrowhead Regional Computing Consortium is paying eligible people cash and free credit monitoring, but only for those who file a claim before the window closes. The consortium, known as ARCC, notified affected individuals that their personal information may have been exposed, and the resulting settlement sets a firm deadline…
By the time a family realizes an older relative has been drained by a scam, the money has usually already left the country. Funds sent by wire transfer or converted to cryptocurrency move in minutes and land in accounts that domestic law enforcement cannot reach, which is why investigators say the realistic goal is not…