Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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More than 41,000 Taleco baby swings and jumpers are recalled for a full refund
Parents and grandparents who bought a baby swing or jumper from Taleco Gear in the past few years should stop using it now. Federal regulators have announced a recall of more than 41,000 of the units over fall, impact, and strangulation hazards, following dozens of reports of the products failing. The remedy is a full…
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Home insurance premiums have climbed 46 percent since 2021, outpacing inflation threefold
The homeowners insurance bill is one of the fastest-rising costs many households face, and it has quietly reshaped the math of owning a home. Premiums are up about 46 percent since 2021 — roughly three times the pace of overall inflation over that stretch — and 2026 is on track to be the fifth straight…
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Medicare’s yearly cap on out-of-pocket drug costs rises to $2,100 in 2026
For anyone on expensive prescriptions, Medicare now has a firm ceiling on what a year of covered drugs can cost. The Part D out-of-pocket maximum rises to $2,100 in 2026, up from $2,000 in 2025. Reach it, and your plan pays 100 percent of your covered drugs for the rest of the year. It is…
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Divorced after at least 10 years, you can claim up to half an ex-spouse’s Social Security
One of the most overlooked benefits Social Security pays is one many divorced people assume they lost in the divorce. If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you may be able to claim a benefit worth up to half of your ex-spouse’s full retirement amount — and doing so takes nothing away from your…
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You can now deduct up to $10,000 of car-loan interest on your 2026 tax return
Car-loan interest has been a dead end at tax time for decades — a real cost with no deduction behind it. That changes for recent buyers of certain new vehicles. A new tax break lets you write off up to $10,000 a year in interest on a loan for a qualifying vehicle, and unlike most…
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New rules let workers deduct up to $25,000 in tips and $12,500 in overtime pay
Two of the most talked-about tax changes of the past year are now real, filed on a new form, and aimed squarely at people who work for tips or clock overtime. Eligible workers can deduct up to $25,000 in qualified tips and up to $12,500 in overtime pay from their taxable income. The catch is…
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A Trump order opens the door for 401(k) plans to hold private equity and crypto
The menu of investments inside a 401(k) may be about to widen, and not everything on the new menu is simple. A Trump executive order directed federal regulators to make it easier for workplace retirement plans to offer alternative assets — private equity, real estate, and digital assets like crypto — and the Labor Department…
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ACA health plan payments more than double in 2026 as a boosted tax credit expires
The extra help that held down Affordable Care Act premiums for the past several years is gone, and the difference is showing up as a much bigger monthly bill. The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, and the health-policy research group KFF estimates that the amount marketplace enrollees pay out of…
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A hospital leaving your Medicare Advantage network can push your out-of-pocket cap from $5,421 to $9,825
A Medicare Advantage plan comes with a promise most people rarely test: a hard ceiling on what a bad health year can cost you. What fewer members realize is that the ceiling has two heights, and which one applies depends on whether your care stays inside the plan’s network. When a hospital drops out of…
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Social Security can now withhold half your monthly check to recover an overpayment
If a letter from Social Security says you were overpaid, the amount it can take back out of your next check is no longer a small slice. For overpayment notices dated on or after April 25, 2025, the agency’s default is to hold back up to half of a retirement, survivors, or disability benefit each…
