Category: Taxes and Retirement

If you receive Social Security, SSI, or VA benefits on a Direct Express prepaid debit card, you may get a letter or a new card in the mail this year from a bank you've never heard of before: Fifth Third Bank. This is real, not a scam — but it's…

When someone who worked and paid into Social Security dies, their spouse, ex-spouse, children, or dependent parents may be able to claim a monthly payment based on that person's earnings record. The rules around who qualifies and how much they get are more layered than most people expect. Here's how…

If Social Security approves your SSDI claim, don't expect the money to land as a single simple number. Back pay calculations have more moving parts than most people expect, and the terminology alone — back pay, retroactive benefits, waiting period, onset date — trips people up before they even get…

USDA has approved SNAP food-restriction waivers in 23 states as of early August 2026, letting them bar recipients from buying soda, candy, and in some cases entire categories of processed food with their benefits. A federal judge blocked 5 of those states in June, and USDA's deadline to appeal that…

If you get Social Security, your August 2026 payment lands on one of four dates depending on when you started benefits and your birth date. If you get SSI, don't expect a deposit this month at all — your August payment already went out on July 31, and there's no…

July 10, 2026 came and went. That was the deadline the National Taxpayer Advocate flagged for tens of millions of taxpayers who may be owed refunds — or abatements — of penalties and interest the IRS assessed during the COVID-19 disaster period. If you're reading this now, you're probably asking…

If you regularly work overtime, there's a number you need to know right now: $12,500. That's the maximum amount of overtime premium pay you can deduct from your federal income tax for 2025 through 2028, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). For a nurse working regular double…

By early spring 2026, more than 1.4 million taxpayers had received an IRS CP53E notice — a letter that means your approved tax refund is frozen and you need to act. The cause is a new federal policy phasing out paper refund checks, and the window to fix it without…

Perpetual futures — "perps" in market shorthand — are the fastest-growing trading instrument in global finance right now. They started in crypto, stayed in crypto for years, and are now crossing over into traditional Wall Street territory. The CFTC approved Bitcoin perps from regulated U.S. platforms in 2026. Coinbase has…

Congress passed the most significant housing legislation in decades, and after a standoff at the president's desk, it's now the law of the land. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on July 11, 2026 — one day after the constitutional window for President Trump to act on…

On May 27, 2026, Robinhood quietly became the first major U.S. brokerage to hand the keys to retail accounts over to AI agents. I say "quietly" loosely — it made a lot of noise in tech circles — but among the personal finance crowd, I don't think people fully absorbed…

A family of four on SNAP in Wyoming can get up to $994 a month in fiscal year 2026 — up from $975 last year — deposited onto the Wyoming EBT Card 1st–4th. The open question now is what USDA sets for FY2027, expected in late summer. But 2026 is…

Wisconsin's SNAP benefits load onto your QUEST Card (EBT) 1st–15th. The maximum for a family of four is $994 a month in fiscal year 2026, up from $975 last year. The open question now is what USDA sets for FY2027, expected in late summer. But 2026 is a more complicated…