Author: Brian Lund
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Circle K customers hit by a data breach can claim up to $2,000, but only through September 3
If you shopped at a Circle K run by Gas Express and later got a notice that your personal information was exposed in a data breach, there is money on the table, but not for long. A class action settlement lets affected customers claim a flat cash payment or reimbursement of up to $2,000 for…
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Millions still in the old SAVE student-loan plan have a short window to switch or get moved to a pricier one
Millions of borrowers who parked their federal student loans in the SAVE plan are being pushed to make a decision, and the clock is short. After courts ruled the SAVE repayment plan unlawful, the Education Department began moving borrowers off it, giving each one 90 days to pick a new plan. Miss that window and…
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Americans 65 and older can deduct up to $6,000 more on their taxes through 2028 under the new law
If you are 65 or older, the tax law passed in 2025 handed you a new deduction that can trim your taxable income by as much as $6,000, and a married couple where both spouses qualify can subtract up to $12,000. It runs for four tax years, from 2025 through 2028, and it sits on…
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Big banks pay about 0.38% on savings while online accounts pay near 4%
Savings parked at a big bank are probably earning almost nothing, while the very same money could be working ten times harder somewhere just as safe. The typical savings rate at the largest banks is a rounding error, yet online accounts that carry the same federal insurance are paying near 4%. Moving your cash costs…
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Americans are owed about $70 billion in unclaimed cash, free to search
Somewhere in a state office, there may be money with your name on it. Across the country, states and some federal agencies are holding roughly $70 billion in cash that belongs to ordinary people who simply lost track of it. Checking whether any of it is yours costs nothing, and the search takes only a…
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Misclassified as a 1099 contractor? You may be owed back overtime and minimum wage
Getting handed a 1099 at tax time can leave you feeling like you signed away your rights as an employee. You may not have. Whether you are truly an independent contractor or an employee who was labeled the wrong way turns on how you actually work, not on the form your company chose. And if…
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Employers must pay time-and-a-half past 40 hours a week, and unpaid overtime can be claimed up to two years back
Plenty of hourly workers put in more than 40 hours a week without seeing the extra pay the law requires, and when that happens the law is usually on their side. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a clear rule for most hourly workers: past 40 hours, your pay rate goes up by half. When…
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A mass layoff usually requires 60 days’ written notice, and workers left out can be owed up to 60 days’ pay
If your job disappears in a sudden round of cuts, you may have more rights than your employer let on. A federal law called the WARN Act often requires big companies to give workers 60 days of warning before a mass layoff or a plant closing, and when they skip that notice, the people left…
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Babies born from 2025 through 2028 can get a $1,000 government deposit in a new Trump Account
A baby born in 2025 or later can now start life with $1,000 already invested in her name, courtesy of the federal government. The catch is that the money does not show up on its own. A parent has to claim it, and right now millions of families either have not done so yet or…
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A payable-on-death name on a bank account skips probate for your heir
One of the most useful estate-planning tools costs nothing, takes a few minutes at the bank, and spares your family a slow, public court process after you die. It is a payable-on-death designation, and adding one to a checking, savings, or CD account lets the money pass straight to the person you name, without a…
