Category: Cost of Living
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Winter shutoff protections start November 1 in at least eight states, Arkansas to Montana
Utility companies in at least eight states have to hold off on cutting power or gas to homes for much of the winter, and the first date on the calendar is Sunday, November 1. The federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse, which is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, lists date-based winter shutoff protections starting…
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Kroger plans a $5 billion investment in lower prices through 2029, with new everyday shelf prices reaching about 250 stores by year-end
Kroger, the Cincinnati-based grocer, says it will put $5 billion into lower prices through 2029, and the first wave of new everyday shelf prices is due at about 250 stores by the end of this year. The company laid out its first multi-year plan at an investor update on October 20, 2026. The catch for…
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Home heating oil averages $6.19 a gallon as Trump’s Energy Department lends up to 315,000 barrels from its Northeast reserve, with deliveries due by November 13
The Energy Department said on October 21 that it will lend up to 315,000 barrels of fuel oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, a step aimed at easing a supply disruption before winter. The loan comes as the U.S. Energy Information Administration puts the national residential price of heating oil at $6.19 a…
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Texas food stamp households paying only for a phone get a $64 utility allowance
A Texas food stamp household whose only utility cost is a phone bill gets a smaller allowance than one that pays for electricity or gas. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission lists that figure as $64, in a Texas Works Handbook revision effective October 1, 2026. The handbook calls it a “telephone standard deduction…
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Broward County homeowners who use a wheelchair or are legally blind have until March 1 to file for the full disability exemption that capped income at $37,712
Broward County owners who are totally and permanently disabled have a second property tax break to consider this winter, and it comes with its own income test. For the 2027 tax year, the Broward County Property Appraiser says the full disability exemption is open to owners who use a wheelchair or are legally blind, with…
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Indiana deposits food stamp benefits once a month by last name, from the 5th for A and B to the 23rd for W through Z
Every Indiana household on food stamps gets its money on a fixed day, and the day depends on the first letter of the last name. The state’s Division of Family Resources deposits SNAP benefits once a month, starting on the 5th for last names that begin with A or B and finishing on the 23rd…
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Food stamp rules in Texas set a $464 standard utility allowance from October 1
Texas food stamp caseworkers started the month with a new set of numbers. A revision to the Texas Works Handbook, effective October 1, 2026, sets the SNAP standard utility allowance at $464, along with a refreshed list of the other deductions that go into a household’s benefit. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission publishes…
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Older, disabled and homeless food stamp recipients can buy restaurant meals in nine states, with Illinois limited to Cook and Franklin counties
A SNAP card works at a restaurant in only nine states, and only for certain people. The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Administration lists Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia as running a Restaurant Meals Program. In Illinois the program covers Cook and Franklin counties only. Everywhere else, the…
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California homeowners must file by February 15 to get the full $7,000 homeowners’ exemption taken off their home’s taxable value
California’s homeowners’ exemption takes $7,000 off the taxable value of an owner-occupied home, and a first-time filer has to get the claim in by February 15, 2027, to receive the full amount for the coming tax year. The state Board of Equalization describes it as a reduction in value, not a $7,000 cut in the…
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Broward County homeowners 65 and older have until March 1 to file for the low-income senior exemption, which capped 2026 income at $38,686
Older Broward County homeowners with modest incomes have until March 1, 2027, to apply for the low-income senior exemption on their 2027 property tax bills. The Broward County Property Appraiser lists $38,686 as the household income limit, measured against 2026 income. The exemption has to be applied for every year, so last year’s approval does…