Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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Mortgage rates near 6.7% are close to a one-year high, squeezing buyers and downsizers
Anyone waiting for mortgage rates to finally break lower before buying a home or trading down to something smaller did not get the news they wanted in late August. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has settled just under 6.7 percent, hovering close to its highest level in about a year. For anyone…
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A women’s health app will pay $59.5 million over privacy, with a no-proof claim due October 15
If you used the Flo period- and pregnancy-tracking app several years ago, you may be owed a cash payment, and claiming it takes only a few minutes with no receipts or documentation required. Flo Health, Google, and an analytics company called Flurry have agreed to pay a combined $59.5 million to settle claims that the…
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The FDIC has closed five banks in 2026, and insured deposits stay protected up to $250,000
A small Philadelphia thrift called Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank was closed by state regulators on August 21, becoming the fifth U.S. bank to fail in 2026. That is more failures than the country saw in all of 2024 or all of 2025, and the headlines can be unsettling if you keep your paycheck, your bills, and…
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Tech layoffs top 127,000 in 2026 as Apple, Oracle and TikTok cut staff
Job cuts across the technology industry have piled up faster in 2026 than in the year before, with the running total now above 127,000 positions eliminated. The number is drawn from a widely followed layoffs tracker and spans hundreds of companies, from the largest names in Silicon Valley to smaller startups. For anyone working in…
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TrumpRx.gov will sell some prescription drugs directly to consumers at lower cash prices
The federal government has launched a website, TrumpRx.gov, that the administration says will let people see and compare cash prices for prescription drugs — and, in some cases, buy them directly at lower prices than they might pay otherwise. The platform was announced earlier this year and has been expanding since, with the administration positioning…
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The 1099-K tax-form threshold is back up to $20,000, sparing casual online sellers
For the millions of people who sell a few things online or get paid through an app, the threshold that triggers a tax form landing in the mailbox just moved back up — a lot. Under the tax law enacted in 2025, payment platforms only have to send you a Form 1099-K when your payments…
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Millions could lose Medicaid as new work rules and twice-a-year eligibility checks arrive in 2027
A pair of Medicaid changes that take hold in 2027 could quietly cost millions of Americans their health coverage, not because they are ineligible, but because keeping it will take more paperwork than many can manage. Starting January 1, 2027, a large group of adults on Medicaid will have to prove they are working, studying,…
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A letter saying your hospital left your Advantage plan can open a special window to switch — but you must ask
When a Medicare Advantage plan and a hospital system part ways, members get a letter in the mail. It is easy to skim that notice, feel annoyed, and file it away. But buried in that kind of letter can be the key to a rarely used escape hatch: a special window to switch plans outside…
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Defaulted student loans can take up to 15% of a Social Security check, and rehabilitation is the way off the list
Most people assume Social Security benefits are untouchable. For one specific debt, they are not. If you are in default on a federal student loan, the government can reach into your monthly Social Security payment and skim off a portion of it, without a court order and without your agreement. It is a rule that…
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Ohio State’s hospitals leave Humana’s Medicare Advantage network October 1, forcing patients to switch or pay
Patients who get their care at Ohio State University’s hospitals and carry a Humana Medicare Advantage plan are facing a hard deadline. Beginning October 1, 2026, Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center, the James Cancer Center, and OSU-affiliated physicians will be out of network for Humana Medicare Advantage and Humana Medicaid members. That means care you…
