Andy has run Saving to Invest since 2008, covering personal finance topics around tax credits & refunds, retirement accounts, and government payments/benefits. Every figure and deadline here is sourced from primary data -- the IRS, SSA, USDA, and Department of Labor -- and re-verified before each update. Questions or corrections are always welcome.
The maximum SNAP benefit for a California (CA) family of four is $994 per month in fiscal year 2026 — up from $975 last year. Benefits load onto your Golden State Advantage Card (EBT) 1st–10th. But 2026 is a more complicated year than most for SNAP. The One Big Beautiful…
The maximum SNAP benefit for a Connecticut (CT) family of four is $994 per month in fiscal year 2026 — up from $975 last year. Benefits load onto your Connect Card (EBT) 1st–8th. But 2026 is a more complicated year than most for SNAP. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB)…
Every state, U.S. territory, and D.C. sets its own maximum weekly workers' compensation benefit — the highest amount an injured worker can receive, regardless of how much they earned before the injury. These caps are recalculated every year (and sometimes twice a year), tied to each state's average weekly wage,…
The USDA has officially announced that SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) emergency allotments, which were implemented as a temporary increase to monthly SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic have officially ended. End of SNAP EA Benefits This means for remaining residents in states who received a USDA waiver to participate…
The maximum SNAP benefit for a Pennsylvania (PA) family of four is $994 per month in fiscal year 2026 — up from $975 last year. Benefits load onto your Pennsylvania ACCESS Card (EBT) 3rd–14th. But 2026 is a more complicated year than most for SNAP. The One Big Beautiful Bill…
For the locality of "WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE-ARLINGTON - (DC, MD,VA, WV, PA)," (DMV area) the latest GS pay scale table is shown below, which incorporates the 4.7% GS base pay increase and locality payment adjustment of 16.82%. This brings the total 2024 pay increase for this geography to 4.99%. GradeStep 1Step 2Step 3Step 4Step 5Step 6Step 7Step 8Step 9Step 10125684265462739928251291022960130447312983133232128228880295673052431332316863261833551344833541536347331512325623361334663357133676337813388643991440964435373365523773138909400884126742445436244480345982539576408954221443533448524617147490488095012751446644117455884705948529500005147152942544125588357354749025506595229353928555625719658831604656209963733854292561025791159721615306334065149669596876870578959966619656396465962679616996071959739587595677955106603668237704387263974840770407924181442836438584411725537497277390798088222684644870628948191899943171286962898609275995657985551014531043521072501101481130471310340910685611030411375111719812064612409312754113098813443514122198126272130345134419138492142566146639150713154787158860151437361485271533181581091629001676901724811772721820631868542024 WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE-ARLINGTON -…
Summer EBT — also called SUN Bucks — is now a permanent federal program that puts grocery money on a card for kids during summer break, when school meals aren't available. It's in its third year in 2026, and the benefit amount and list of participating states have both changed…
For tax year 2025 (filed in 2026), H&R Block is the strongest mid-market alternative to TurboTax — meaningfully cheaper across every tier, with a comparable guided interview experience and one thing TurboTax cannot offer: the option to walk into a physical office if you want a human to take over.…
Every December, I go through the same three-step process on my taxable brokerage accounts: figure out where my realized gains and losses stand, decide what to sell to offset them, and recheck the numbers before December 31. It's one of the simplest, most repeatable tax moves available to any investor…
TurboTax is still the most widely used tax software in the country. For tax year 2025 (filed in 2026), it has made some real changes worth knowing before you pay — or decide to go elsewhere. The product lineup has been simplified, there are new deductions under the One Big…
If you've been claiming the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) at the reduced post-pandemic level for the past few years, there's good news: it just went up again, and this time it's meant to stay. Starting with the 2026 tax year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)…
Home energy costs keep climbing, and for households on the lower end of the income scale, that's not an abstract budgeting problem — it's a choice between heating the house and paying for something else. The good news is that federal and state energy assistance programs exist specifically to help.…
After submitting your tax return, you may see a message referencing code 1242 and Tax Topic 151 when you check your IRS refund status. Naturally, this can cause stress and worry about what happens next. Here's what it means, next steps, and the expected timeline. Get the latest money, tax…
The 2026 federal poverty guideline is $15,960 for a single person and $33,000 for a family of four, effective January 13, 2026. These numbers, published annually by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are what determine eligibility for a wide range of federal and state benefit programs —…
