The financial news that actually matters
For a household on a fixed income, the winter heating bill and the summer cooling bill are the two months that break the budget. A retiree who can comfortably cover an electric or gas bill in April can be staring at a figure two or three times as large in January. Budget billing, offered by…
At farmers markets across the country, the tables of ripe tomatoes, peaches, and fresh greens can feel out of reach for an older shopper counting every dollar of a fixed income. A little-known federal benefit was built for exactly that gap. The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program hands eligible low-income seniors coupons or checks they…
A federal recall of roughly 1.5 million rechargeable hand warmers has landed a popular cold-weather gadget on the government’s danger list, and the notice carries an unusually grim detail: one owner has died. The devices, sold under the OCOOPA brand, can overheat and catch fire because of the lithium-ion batteries packed inside them. For older…
Buying a home comes with a stack of fees at closing, and one of the least understood is title insurance. Unlike the policies that protect against a future fire or storm, title insurance guards against the past — a defect in the chain of ownership that already exists on the day of purchase but has…
Homeowners insurance renewals have been arriving with jarring numbers, as premiums climb across much of the country and some carriers quietly drop policies they no longer want. Many retirees simply pay the higher bill and move on, assuming loyalty earns a fair price. It usually does not. Insurers reprice risk constantly and rarely reward a…
Homeowners who have paid premiums faithfully for decades often assume their policy stands behind them for any disaster. Flood is the great exception. A standard homeowners policy does not pay for damage from rising water, and the gap tends to surface at the worst possible moment — after a storm surge or an overflowing creek…
A bank account is one of the few things a person can arrange to pass to a chosen heir with a single form and no lawyer. The tool is the payable-on-death designation, sometimes shown as POD or “in trust for,” and it quietly overrides the will for that one account. Retirees often assume a will…
An unauthorized charge is not just a nuisance to sort out whenever there is time — it is a countdown. Federal law gives account holders real power to reverse a fraudulent or mistaken transaction, but that power fades on a deadline measured from the statement, not from the day the fraud is discovered. Miss the…
Overdraft charges quietly climbed back toward record levels after a brief retreat, and for a retiree living on a fixed monthly deposit, one misjudged debit-card swipe can trigger a fee larger than the purchase that caused it. What many older account holders were never told is that the most common kind of overdraft is entirely…
Most of the people eligible for a new $5.5 million data-breach settlement have probably never heard of the company paying it. Doxim, Inc. is a behind-the-scenes vendor that prepares account statements and tax forms for credit unions, which means it holds sensitive financial details for members who never dealt with it directly. A December 2023…