Advertiser Disclosure
The credit card, banking, and other financial offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us – for example, when you click a link, are approved for a product, or open an account. This compensation may influence how and where offers appear on the site, including the order in which they appear on category pages. It does not influence our evaluations, ratings, or opinions, which are ours alone. We do not include every bank, credit card company, or offer available in the marketplace.
Insurance, fraud, lawsuits, estate documents, and your rights as a consumer. Guard what you have against loss.
Put HealthSpring’s Medicare Supplement plans on your quote list if price comes first. Its Plan G for a 65-year-old woman came in below the median policy in all three markets we checked, and 3rd of 41 in Columbus. Weigh that against a complaint rate above the Medigap average before you apply.
Choose an AARP Medicare Supplement plan if you want the largest Medigap insurer, sold in every state, with fewer complaints than its size predicts. Don’t judge it by the price at 65, though. That price carries an enrollment discount that shrinks after 68, so ask what you’ll pay at 75 before you apply.
Get a State Farm Medigap quote if you want a local agent to handle your application and an insurer that draws few complaints. It offers no household discount, so couples should price it against insurers that do. Before you apply, ask the agent about your state’s latest rate increase.
Stealth wealth means letting your spending stay quieter than your income. Every visible sign of money, from a new car to news of a windfall, invites loan requests, higher quotes, and scam pitches. Keep balances and big purchases to yourself, and put what you’d have spent on appearances into savings.
Purchase approvals only protect your kid’s own account. A phone, tablet, or game console signed in to yours bills your saved card, with only your purchase settings in the way. Before you hand one over, make sure no purchase on it, in-app ones included, goes through without your password or approval.
Applying for student loan forgiveness or a new repayment plan costs nothing on StudentAid.gov or through your loan servicer. Never pay a company to file for you, and walk away from anyone who charges upfront or monthly fees, promises fast forgiveness, or asks for your StudentAid.gov password.
When a charity you don’t know asks for money after a disaster, spend five minutes checking its ratings and complaint record before you give. If it wants payment only by gift card, wire, crypto, or a payment app, walk away. If it checks out, donate through its own website, not the link or caller that reached you.
When an airline cancels or significantly changes your flight within, to, or from the US, it owes you a cash refund of your fare and any extras you paid for. Say no to the voucher and the rebooking unless you want them, because accepting either can cost you that refund.
Thieves steal outgoing checks from home mailboxes, wash off the ink, and rewrite the payee and amount. If you still pay by check, move every bill you can to electronic payment. Drop the checks you must mail in the slot inside the post office instead of leaving them under a raised flag.
When you hire movers for an out-of-state move, get a binding estimate in writing before anything goes on the truck. A binding estimate fixes the price for the move it describes. A non-binding one is only the mover’s best guess, and the final bill can run higher.
End of content
End of content
