Money Hacks
Latest publications
A Debt Collector Added a Payment Fee: How to Check Whether the Charge Is Authorized
A new CFPB advisory opinion puts fresh attention on “pay-to-pay” fees charged for making a debt payment by phone or online. Here is how to read the notice, preserve your records and challenge an unexplained charge without assuming every fee is illegal.
The SAVE Plan Exit Notices Are Still Working Through Borrowers’ Inboxes: A 90-Day Repayment Checklist
Federal student loan borrowers leaving the discontinued SAVE Plan may face a new payment, a final notice and automatic enrollment if they ignore the deadline. Here is how to verify the notice, compare eligible plans and protect your payment records without paying a third party.
The 12-Month Recurring-Expense Map: How to Catch Annual Renewals and Payment Leaks
Monthly subscription scans miss annual renewals, changing bills and charges hidden behind different payment descriptions. A 12-month recurring-expense map shows what is due, where it pulls from and what to verify before money leaves your account.
Cleo Cash-Advance Refunds: How to Check Your Payment and Audit the Subscription Charge
The FTC says more than $15.8 million is being returned to eligible Cleo customers in October 2026. Here is how the payment process works, what the case says about cash-advance app pricing, and how to check your records without falling for a second scam.
Amazon Prime Settlement Refunds Are Expanding: How to Track the Payment Without Losing the Paper Trail
A new October payment phase expands automatic Amazon Prime settlement refunds and raises the potential total to $200. Here is how the program works, what to record, and how to handle a payment that arrives without treating it like ordinary income or a guaranteed windfall.
How to Verify a Subscription Refund Before You Click, Deposit or Share Details
Real refund programs can look surprisingly suspicious. Use the Amazon Prime settlement as a practical model for checking a payment notice, avoiding refund scams and tightening recurring charges without guessing.
After the Fed’s Rate Hike: A Household Interest-Rate Audit for Borrowing, Saving and Cash
The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75%–4%. That does not change every account at once, but it is a useful prompt to inspect variable-rate debt, savings yields, automatic transfers, fees and lock-ins before moving money.
Before You Pay: How the Payment Method Changes Your Fraud and Refund Options
A payment button can hide very different levels of protection. Here is how cards, bank transfers, payment apps and stored balances work, what recent enforcement actions reveal, and which checks to make before money leaves your account.
The five-minute subscription audit: find price hikes, hidden renewals and the real cancel button
A practical way to trace who controls each recurring charge before you keep, downgrade, pause or cancel it.
Buy now, pay later: the return-and-autopay checklist before you split a purchase
A practical checklist for reading BNPL checkout offers without treating them as discounts or financial advice.
Cashback offers before checkout: the five-minute terms check that keeps the rebate real
A practical way to evaluate card-linked offers, shopping portals and promo codes before they change what you planned to buy.
Before paying for a budgeting app, run this one-billing-cycle test
A practical checklist for deciding whether a paid money-tracking app changes behavior enough to justify becoming another subscription.
