Andy | Saving to Invest

The AI Data Center Boom Is Rapidly Raising Your Electric Bill: What’s Happening and What You Can Do

Utilities asked state regulators for $18.6 billion in electricity rate increases in just the first six months of 2026 — already more than half of all of 2025's record $29 billion in requests, with the year not even over. Residential electricity rates are up 7.3% nationally over the past year,…

Can Gig Workers Get Unemployment Benefits? What DoorDash, Uber, and Instacart Drivers Actually Qualify For in 2026

If you drive for DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, or Instacart and lose other income, there's a good chance a straightforward unemployment claim based on that gig work alone will get denied. That's not a glitch in the system, it's how unemployment insurance is built. Regular state unemployment programs are designed around…

Which State Taxes Actually Matter? Income, Property, Sales, and Estate Tax Compared for 2026-2027

Where you live changes what you owe in ways that have nothing to do with your federal return. Nine states charge no personal income tax at all in 2026, but the same nine states often make up the difference through property tax, sales tax, or both. There's no single "best"…

Property Tax Rebates by State in 2026 and 2027: What PA, NJ, TX, NY, GA, and FL Homeowners Can Actually Get

If you're waiting on a property tax break in 2026, the size and shape of it depends entirely on your state — there's no federal program here. Six states have made real news this year: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Texas, New York, Georgia, and Florida, and each one works completely differently.…

SSDI Wait Times in 2026: Faster Decisions, But a Growing Hearing Backlog Expected in 2027

An initial SSDI decision averaged 186 days in July 2026, down from 220 a year earlier. But if your case reaches an administrative law judge, about 362,000 other people are in the same queue. Here's what SSA's own numbers show at each stage, using the most recent data SSA has…

VA Disability Rates 2027: Pay Chart by Rating After the 3.6% COLA

VA disability compensation rises 3.6% for 2027, matching the Social Security COLA that SSA announced on October 14, 2026. A veteran rated 100% with no dependents goes from $3,938.58 to about $4,080.37 a month, roughly $142 more. The new rates take effect December 1, 2026. Because VA pays a month…

Used Car Inspection Checklist: How to Avoid Buying a Lemon

A $150-$200 pre-purchase inspection is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy on a used car. Skip it, and the average undisclosed problem - a bad transmission, hidden frame damage, a flood-damaged interior - runs $500 to $3,500 to fix after the sale is final and the seller is long gone.…

Medicare Advantage Plan Exits for 2027: What 3.8 Million Enrollees Should Do Before Dec 7

At least 3.8 million Medicare Advantage enrollees will have to shop for new coverage for 2027, according to a Modern Healthcare review of CMS data published October 1. That's well above the roughly 2.6 million people who lost their plan for 2026, which makes this the largest forced switch in…

Your SNAP EBT Card Got Skimmed? Here’s Why There’s Still No Federal Reimbursement in 2026 and 2027

Since December 20, 2024, there's been no federal program to pay back SNAP recipients whose benefits are stolen through EBT card skimming. As of August 2026, Congress still hasn't brought it back. That matters because the theft itself hasn't slowed down. Propel, which surveyed more than 8,000 EBT cardholders in…

Average Social Security Check by State for 2027: All 50 States Ranked After the 3.6% COLA

The average Social Security retirement check is about $2,170 a month starting January 2027, after the 3.6% COLA. But where you live tells a different story: Connecticut retirees average about $2,418, while Mississippi retirees average about $1,980. That's a gap of more than $400 a month, or close to $5,000…

Social Security Overpayment Clawback: SSA Can Take 50% of Your Check — Here’s How to Fight It

If an SSA letter says you were overpaid, the clock starts the day the letter is dated, not the day you open it. SSA's default recovery rate is 50% of your monthly benefit, and it starts automatically if you don't respond within 90 days. That 50% is the result of…

Medicaid Work Requirements Start January 1, 2027: Who’s Exempt and How to Keep Your Coverage

If you get Medicaid through your state's Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion, mark January 1, 2027. That's when the federal work requirement in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) takes effect nationwide. Roughly 20 million adults in 43 states plus DC will need to show 80 hours a month of…

Student Loan Default and Social Security: Can They Take 15% of Your Check? (Collections Are Paused for Now)

If your federal student loans are in default, the government can legally take up to 15% of your monthly Social Security benefit through the Treasury Offset Program, but never below $750 a month. Right now that's paused, so check the status below before assuming it's happening to you. This isn't…

Medicare Extra Help 2026: Do You Qualify for Free Prescription Drug Coverage?

If you're on Medicare and drug costs are eating into a fixed income, there's a federal program that quietly covers a lot of that gap — and a meaningful number of people who'd qualify never apply, often because they've never heard of it or assume their income is too high.…