Your Money Actually: Daily

The shelf price isn’t always what you pay

Steve Rhode — Fri, 13 Nov 2026 16:44:51 GMT

The price on the tag isn’t always the price that rings up, and $40 million is set aside for shoppers who paid the difference.

Your Daily Dad Joke

How many programmers does it take to change a light bulb?

None, that’s a hardware problem.

Check the screen at checkout

You grab the paper towels because the tag says they’re on sale. Then the dish soap, a box of cereal, something for the kids’ lunches. At the register, you’re bagging, counting out cash or tapping your card, and nobody is watching the little screen. Why would you? The price was right there on the shelf.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen the news this week that Family Dollar agreed to a $63 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states. The FTC and the states allege the chain “routinely charged customers more at the register than the prices displayed on shelves, price tags and advertisements.” The FTC also says state and local inspectors cited Family Dollar for thousands of pricing violations over the last five years, and that the app’s coupons often didn’t give people the price they showed.

So the fair question is, does any of that money come back to me?

Some of it is meant to. Family Dollar has to set up a $40 million fund for eligible shoppers and a $20 million discount program, according to the FTC. It also has to post notices in its stores and on its app and website telling people about the fund. The FTC hasn’t said yet who qualifies or how you’d apply, and a judge still has to sign off on the order. So I wouldn’t spend it in your head. If you shop there, I’d keep an eye out for that notice.

Here’s the bigger thing. This isn’t one store’s problem. The FTC sued Dollar General in October over the same kind of pricing, and that case is still going. Prices change in the system, and sometimes the tag on the shelf just doesn’t get changed with it. You pay the difference, a little at a time, and never know.

A quarter here and a dollar there doesn’t feel like much. On a tight week it’s the difference between getting everything on the list and putting something back.

The one thing I’d do. Next time you check out, anywhere, watch the screen as things ring up, or glance down the receipt before you leave the store. If something rang up higher than the tag, I’d say so right there. Most cashiers will fix it on the spot. It takes about thirty seconds, and it’s a lot easier at the register than after you get home.

Anyway, I wanted you to have this before your next run to the store.

Have you ever caught a price ringing up higher than the tag? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Catching one wrong price won’t change your life. But it’s your money, and noticing where it goes is how you start keeping more of it. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: why a small payment on an old debt can hurt you in some states, the $183.5 million Acima rent-to-own settlement and two things to check before you raise your 401(k) contribution for 2027.

A longer video from me: What to Say When a Debt Collector Calls (Don’t Mess This Up!). It’s lesson one of my free class, and the heart of it is one calm sentence: “Can you please send me the validation notice in writing?”

Today that included the Acima rent-to-own settlement.

SEE A SCAM? SAY SOMETHING. If one has landed on you or someone you love, tell me at tips@getoutofdebt.org. The ones that can warn other people may show up here. Leave out account numbers and passwords.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

A 10% cap on your credit card rate? Here's what's real.

Steve Rhode — Thu, 12 Nov 2026 16:48:27 GMT

Your card rate isn’t getting cut to 10% any time soon, but one cap you can use already exists.

Your Daily Dad Joke

My sister bet me $100 I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti.

You should’ve seen her face when I drove pasta.

What’s real about the cap

The statement comes in. You skip past the balance and the minimum and land on that little interest line at the bottom. It’s more than you hoped. Then you hear somebody on the news say credit card rates are going to be capped at 10%, and for a second it sounds like help is on the way.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

We’ve seen this before. It’s important to know what’s real and what isn’t, because headlines can paint a misleading picture. Stick with me and I’ll tell you what I see.

You may have seen the headlines this week about a 10% cap on credit card interest. After the election, Senator Elizabeth Warren said she wants to work with President Trump on it, and that Democrats “have the bills ready to go.” The President called for a one-year 10% cap back in January.

So the question is a fair one. Is my rate about to drop?

Not today. Nothing has passed. The Senate bill for a 10% cap, S.381, still shows one step on its record: introduced. PolitiFact rates the cap promise “Stalled” because no 10% bill has even come up in committee. And the banks say a cap would backfire: lenders would close cards or turn people away, mostly people with lower credit scores.

My bet? I don’t think it has a chance in hell of becoming reality. Banks have too much lobbying power. That’s just how it is.

Here’s the part that is real. There’s already a cap on card rates, and most people have never heard of it. Federal credit unions can’t charge more than 18% on credit cards and most of their loans. Their regulator, the NCUA, kept that ceiling at 18% through September 10, 2027.

It isn’t 10%. But if your card is in the mid-20s, 18% is a real difference, and you don’t need Congress for it. You do need to join the credit union and get approved, so it isn’t automatic.

The one thing I’d do. I’d find the interest rate on my latest statement this week. It’s in the section called Interest Charge Calculation, next to the letters APR. Write that number down. If it’s well over 18%, you know two things you didn’t know yesterday: what you’re actually paying, and that a cheaper home for that balance exists. Calling the number on the back of the card to ask for a lower rate costs a few minutes. The worst they can say is no.

Anyway, I wanted you to hear this before the next headline makes it sound like the rate cut is already in the mail.

What rate does your card charge right now? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

You don’t have to wait on Washington to make this a little better. Knowing your own number is the start, and that part is already in your hands.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what I’d check before taking a private student loan settlement offer and what October’s hot inflation report means for CDs, HELOCs and a mortgage rate lock.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

I let AI shop my insurance. I saved $2,000.

Steve Rhode — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 14:31:36 GMT

It took about 30 minutes of my time, and the one page that did the work is already in your policy paperwork.

Your Daily Dad Joke

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Because 7 8 9.

Six emails and one page

The renewal notice shows up, in the mail or in your inbox. The price is a little higher than last year, same as the year before. You think about calling around. Then you picture the afternoon it would take, on hold, spelling your name for one stranger after another. So you pay it and get on with your day.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a headline this week from MoneyTalksNews saying car insurance switching hit a record this year, and yet nearly 87% of drivers didn’t shop around at all. The article says the numbers come from a J.D. Power report done with TransUnion. In the third quarter, it says, 13.2% of drivers shopped and 5.1% switched.

I don’t think most people skip it because they don’t care what they pay. My guess is it’s the afternoon.

This fall I tried it a different way. I let AI do the asking.

I pulled out the declarations pages for my homeowners policy and my car policy. That’s the page or two at the front of a policy that lists what you’re covered for, how much, and your deductibles. I marked out the policy numbers and anything else sensitive that an insurance agent didn’t need.

Then I asked AI to find local insurance agents, from different companies, that offered both home and car insurance. In my case it was ChatGPT, on a paid plan, connected to my Gmail. I asked it to write a letter saying I was looking for quotes, this was my current coverage, and I’d like a like-for-like price. I also asked each agent to tell me, from their experience, whether I had the right coverage.

It wrote a personal email to each of six agencies, attached the marked-up pages, and sent them. I read the first one, then let it send the rest. It was a very polite and nice email. That was about 30 minutes of my time. The answers came back over the next few days.

Five of the six came back and the price wasn’t a whole lot different. One, a national company, came back about $2,000 a year lower for my home and car insurance together, for the same coverage. I switched.

Here’s the part I’d want you to hear. Five out of six answers told me I was already paying about what everybody else would charge. That’s worth knowing, too. So I can’t tell you there’s $2,000 waiting for you. What I can tell you is that the asking turned out to be a small job.

And it doesn’t take AI. The page does the work. It tells an agent exactly what coverage to price, and the same short letter works if you type it and send it yourself. If letting a computer send email for you isn’t your thing, skip that part.

Like-for-like is the whole point, though. A lower price for less coverage isn’t a saving. It’s a different policy. The MoneyTalksNews piece adds one caution worth repeating: line up the new policy’s start date before you cancel the old one, so there’s never a day without coverage.

The one thing I’d do. I’d find that declarations page this week. That’s all. It usually comes in the packet the insurance company sends at renewal, and it’s often in your online account with the policy documents. I’d put it where I could find it again and look at the renewal date on it. Once the page is in your hand, the hard part is done, and the asking can wait for a quiet half hour.

Anyway, I wanted you to hear how small the job turned out to be before your next renewal shows up.

When did you last get a second price on your home or car insurance? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

A second price is worth having either way. It comes back lower, or it tells you the one you’ve been paying is fair, and that’s one less thing to wonder about the next time the envelope comes.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when you’re in a debt settlement program and collectors are still calling, what a Boeing layoff means for a 401(k) loan, severance and unemployment, what to do with a Children’s Place gift card or return now that the company filed for bankruptcy, the real math on chasing a $200 Walmart Spark driver bonus, and what loanDepot’s new SEC filing says about two more class action lawsuits.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Prices rose again. What's your own number?

Steve Rhode — Tue, 10 Nov 2026 15:13:54 GMT

This morning’s price report has one number missing, and the one that matters most is already in your kitchen.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What do you call a dog that can tell time?

A watch dog.

The number on your receipt

You get to the register with the same few things you always buy. The total comes up, and it’s a little more than it was. You don’t stop to figure out why. You tap the card, the receipt goes in the bag, and you get on with your day.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen this morning’s headline on Fox Business that consumer prices rose faster than expected in October. Other outlets are saying prices continue to climb. Both are true as far as they go. The government’s report, out at 8:30 this morning, says prices overall went up 0.4% in October, after 0.6% in September. Fox reports that economists had expected 0.3%.

A few pieces of it land right in the house. Groceries rose 0.4% for the month. Beef was up 0.9% and snacks 1%. Electricity rose 0.9%. Not everything went up: piped natural gas went down 0.8%, and so did used cars.

Here’s the part most of the coverage skips. There’s no “compared with a year ago” number this time. Last fall, during the government shutdown, nobody collected prices for October 2025. So the government says it simply can’t publish the 12-month change for most of this report. This month, nobody can tell you how much more you’re paying than a year ago, except your own receipts.

And honestly, even in a normal month, that national number is an average of everybody. Someone who drives a lot and eats out has a different month from someone who mostly buys groceries and pays an electric bill. Your number could be well above it or well below it.

These are numbers, but the most important number is how your expenses feel to you. Did they go down last month, or even over the last year?

The one thing I’d do. I’d pick three things I buy almost every week. Milk, coffee, a pack of chicken, whatever’s always in the cart. Then I’d look at what they cost this week next to a receipt or an online order from a few months back, or last fall if it’s still there. Three pairs of numbers on the back of an envelope. That’s your own inflation rate, and it’s more useful to you than anything in the report.

If one of the three jumped, that’s the one to shop around on. If they didn’t move much, that’s good to know too. It means the squeeze you feel might be coming from somewhere else, like a bill that crept up.

Anyway, I wanted you to hear about the missing number before somebody tells you prices are up “X% from last year” this week.

Did your three things cost more than last fall, or about the same? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Nobody needs a degree in economics to run a household. You already know more about your own prices than the report does, and looking at three receipts is enough to feel a little more in charge of them by tomorrow.

— Steve

New on my Your Money Actually podcast: “Check your power bank and your French press,” the two recalls from yesterday’s letter, told as a story with the sound, for anyone who’d rather listen. It’s on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Check your power bank and your French press

Steve Rhode — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 14:55:08 GMT

Two safety warnings touch things a lot of us own: a cheap power bank, where the seller decides if you’re paid back, and the French press.

Your Daily Dad Joke

I used to work at a cat shelter, but I had to quit.

They reduced meowers.

Two things worth a look this week

Most of us have one rattling around somewhere. The little battery pack in the bottom of a work bag, the car console, a kid’s backpack. You bought it for twenty bucks because your phone kept dying, and you haven’t thought about it since.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen the government’s warning last week about HAIARA power banks. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it knows of 600 reports of fire, explosion and other overheating, including three burn injuries and nine reports of property damage. It counts about 210,000 of them sold on Amazon.com and Newegg.com from January 2025 through October 2026, and it says to stop using them now.

So is yours one of them? Here’s the part that trips people up: the brand name may not be on the device at all. The CPSC says the HAIARA name shows up on some receipts. On the power bank itself, look for three things. It’s black, it says “20W” on the front, and “Model: W5 PRO” on the side. The warning covers the ones with no date code on the side (a string of eight numbers, written year, month, day).

Now the part the headlines mostly skip. The same power bank was sold by different sellers, and whether you get your money back depends on which one you bought from.

Mitrytech recalled about 11,000 of them that it sold on Amazon from May 2025 through September 2026, for $18 to $22. Its recall offers a full refund. You email HAIARArecall@outlook.com, send a photo of the power bank with the word “recalled” written on it in permanent marker, and confirm you got rid of it properly.
Woot, another Amazon seller, has refused to do a recall, the CPSC says.
Geralde-US hasn’t answered the CPSC’s requests at all.

I know. Same battery, same risk, and one buyer gets paid back while the next one gets nothing. That’s how it works when a seller won’t cooperate, and it’s worth knowing before you spend twenty minutes chasing money that isn’t coming.

The one thing I’d do. Pull up your order history and search “power bank.” Open the order and look at who it says it was sold by. If it was Mitrytech, ask for the refund. Whoever sold it, stop using it. And here’s the catch most people would never guess: the CPSC says not to put it in the trash or the recycling bin, and not to sell it or give it away. It goes to a household hazardous waste drop-off, and the CPSC says to call ahead first.

And while you’re in the kitchen. If you make coffee in a glass French press, there’s a good chance it’s a Bodum. The recall notice says they’ve been sold since 1974, at Target, Walmart and coffee shops, for about $15 to $65. On October 29, Bodum recalled 5.9 million of them, the 8-cup and 12-cup ones with a replaceable glass carafe (the Bistro, Brazil, Caffettiera, Chambord, Crema, Java, Jesper and Kenya). A damaged or cracked carafe can break while it’s full of hot coffee. Bodum has had 70 reports of carafes breaking during use, and 48 people burned.

Here’s what nobody expects: you don’t get your money back or a new carafe. The fix is a free plastic stirring spoon and a warning label. The CPSC says to stop stirring with a metal spoon right away, because metal can crack the glass, and the label says not to use a cracked or damaged carafe. You can ask Bodum for the spoon at 888-879-8213 or Bodum3302@sedgwick.com. The name is on the frame and engraved on the glass, so it takes about ten seconds to check.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about both before one of these ends up in someone’s stocking.

Which one turned up at your place, a power bank or a French press? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Nobody reads the “sold by” line on a twenty-dollar charger or the fine print on a coffee pot, and nobody should feel bad about that. A two-minute look on a Monday is enough, and then that’s one less thing to wonder about this week.

— Steve

Also on the site since Friday’s issue: what to do if you rented from Progress Residential, now that the $49.75 million FTC settlement is announced, what to do when an eviction on your record has every landlord saying no, and Damon Day’s real math on driving Lyft Black and Uber in the rain on Halloween.

New podcast episode, out now: The $10,000 IRS Trap and Listener Questions Answered. You can also watch it on YouTube or listen here.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Owed money on an Amazon return? Check by Dec. 1

Steve Rhode — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 16:18:46 GMT

If you ever sent something back to Amazon and the refund came up short, there’s a December 1 deadline that may matter to you.

Your Daily Dad Joke

I hate how funerals are always at 9 a.m.

I’m not really a mourning person.

The refund that never quite showed up

You box something up, print the label, drop it off, and move on with your week. Maybe the refund lands. Maybe it lands a little light, or late, or you get charged for the thing you sent back. Most of us never go looking. Who keeps track of a return from 2019?

That’s why I wanted to pass this along before the weekend.

You may have seen the headlines back in January that Amazon agreed to pay $309.5 million to settle a class action over returns and refunds, and it’s back in the news this week. In the court papers, Amazon denies doing anything wrong. The official settlement site says the deadline to file a claim is December 1, 2026.

So does any of that money belong to you? The court’s notice says it might, if you started a return or asked for a refund on a physical item bought on Amazon.com and delivered in the U.S., any time from September 5, 2017 on, and you didn’t get the refund, got it late or got the wrong amount, or got refunded and later charged again for the same item.

Here’s the part the headlines mostly skip. There are two groups, and which one you’re in decides what you do.

Group A, the settlement papers say, is people Amazon’s own records already flag. You don’t file a claim. You’re paid automatically, though the papers say you’ll be asked to pick how you want the money (PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a check, Amazon credit and a few others).

Group B is everyone else in the class. You only get paid if you file a claim by Dec. 1 and show it’s more likely than not that a return of yours went wrong.

And one more thing I’d want a friend to know. Under the settlement agreement filed with the court, Group A shares 92.7% of what’s left after fees and costs, and Group B shares 7.3%, so a Group B claim may come back as a small slice of what you were out. It’s still your money to ask for. Just keep the expectation honest. Nothing gets paid until after the judge’s final approval hearing, set for March 16, 2027.

The one thing I’d do. Search your email for “ReturnSettlement” or “Amazon Return Policy Litigation.” If a notice came, it tells you which group you’re in. If there’s nothing, and you remember a return that never got made right, the official site is the place to check before Dec. 1. Your Amazon order history shows your returns, so the order number is a couple of taps away.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it while there’s still time.

Have you ever had a return go missing, with Amazon or anywhere else? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Little amounts slip by all of us, and nobody’s a bad person for not tracking every return. Checking once, on a Friday with a cup of coffee, is enough. Have a good weekend.

— Steve

New podcast episode, out now. A scam call landed on my phone this week, a calm voice saying my student loan was in default and my bank account would be frozen unless I pressed 7. I’ve never had a student loan. So I played the real call and took it apart, line by line, so you can spot the next one: How to Spot a Student Loan Scam Call (A Real One I Got). It’s also on the Your Money Actually podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Your Prime food delivery perk changed today

Steve Rhode — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 17:03:10 GMT

If your home has Prime, free restaurant delivery moved today, and it now starts at a $25 order.

Your Daily Dad Joke

I went to the library yesterday and asked, “Do you have any books on shelving?”

The librarian said, “Yes, all of them.”

Your free delivery moved

It’s late, nobody wants to cook, and somebody opens an app to get dinner brought to the door. The food looks like one price. By the time the fees and the tip land, it’s a different price.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along, if your home has Amazon Prime.

You may have seen the news this morning. Amazon announced that Prime members now get a $0 delivery fee on restaurant orders placed through Amazon, with Uber Eats doing the delivering. Amazon says you order on its site or app, and no Uber account is needed. Digital Trends reports that it replaces the Grubhub+ perk Prime members had, and that Prime members lose that Grubhub+ access.

So does this save you money? That depends on how your home orders.

If you order dinner for the family, it can. Amazon says the $0 delivery fee applies to restaurant orders of $25 or more, so a real dinner order gets there easily.

If it’s usually lunch for one, it may not kick in at all. A $14 sandwich and a drink don’t reach $25, and adding a dessert just to cross the line is how a lunch turns into a $30 lunch.

Two things the headlines skip. Amazon’s announcement is about the delivery fee. It doesn’t say the service fee or the tip go away, so the checkout total is still the number that counts. And the “save more than $175 a year” line? Amazon says that’s its own estimate, based on what it calls a typical number of orders. Your number is yours.

There’s a launch deal too. Amazon says new users get $20 off each of their first two orders of $25 or more, if they’re placed within the first 14 days.

The one thing I’d do. The next time you order, look at the total on the checkout screen, not the “free delivery” line, and jot down two numbers: what the food cost and what you paid. That gap is the real price of having it brought to you. Some nights it’s worth every penny. It’s just nice to know the number.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before your next takeout night.

When your home gets takeout, do you have it delivered or go pick it up yourself? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Free is a nice word, and I’m glad when it’s real. Knowing what you’re actually paying is what lets you enjoy the nights you do order, without the little sting when the bill shows up later.

— Steve

Coming later today, a new podcast episode. A scam call landed on my phone this week, a calm voice saying my student loan was in default and my bank account would be frozen unless I pressed 7. I’ve never had a student loan. So I’m playing you the real call and taking it apart, line by line, so you can spot the next one. It’s on the Your Money Actually podcast: on Substack (subscribing there sends you no extra emails), Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. If you missed the first episode, on why you can quit a streaming service and come back, it’s here.

A longer video from me: Why I’m Afraid of Getting Monetized on YouTube. About 20 years ago my website made $28,000 a month from Google ads in its biggest months, and I didn’t control any of it. Why that still scares me, and the one question I’d ask about any check you depend on.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

You can quit a streaming service and come back

Steve Rhode — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 16:36:59 GMT

The streaming service you pay for and rarely open will wait for you.

Your Daily Dad Joke

This is my step ladder.

I never knew my real ladder.

Rotate, don’t stack

There’s a night most of us know. You sit down, scroll past four or five apps you pay for every month, and end up watching the same show you always watch. The others just keep charging, quietly, in the background.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen Fortune add it up this fall: eight of the big streaming services, without ads, now come to $139.41 a month at list prices. Most homes don’t pay for all eight. But two or three, added one good show at a time, is a real line on the card bill.

So why do people keep paying for the ones they don’t watch? Usually it’s one worry. If I cancel, I lose my list, my history, everything I set up.

Here’s the part most people don’t know. At least for Netflix, you lose almost nothing. I checked Netflix’s own help page. You keep watching until the end of the month you already paid for. Netflix keeps your viewing history, your ratings and your recommendations for 24 months after you leave, so if you come back next spring, it’s all still there. Restarting is a button on the account page.

That changes how you can think about these. They aren’t memberships you have to defend. They’re month-to-month. You can keep one or two, and switch when the show you’re waiting for comes back.

Two catches worth knowing. If you pay yearly, or the service comes bundled with your phone or internet plan, cancelling works differently and you may not get money back for the unused months. And every service has its own rules, so read its help page before you cancel, the way I did with Netflix.

The one thing I’d do this week. Look at your last card or bank statement and find every streaming charge. Pick the one you watched least last month and cancel it today. You’ll still have it until the month runs out. Then put a note on your calendar for the show you’re waiting for, so coming back is a decision and not a guilty surprise.

I know. Cancelling something feels like giving something up. It isn’t, really. It’ll be there when you want it.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about this before the holiday shows start piling up.

How many streaming services does your home pay for right now, and how many did you actually watch last week? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Taking five minutes to look at what you pay for every month is a kind thing to do for yourself. You don’t have to give up the things you enjoy. You just get to choose them on purpose, one month at a time.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday

What to do if a creditor is garnishing your military pay, a lawsuit over 18% interest on medical bills, and how to check yours, whether your bank really has to refund a Zelle scam, and Damon Day on the math of a 26-stop Walmart Spark offer.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Before the holiday shopping starts, pick one number

Steve Rhode — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 14:17:48 GMT

Do you really want to go further in debt for the holidays?

The January bill

The holiday shopping starts before anyone says it has. A sale email on a Tuesday. A cart you meant to look at later. Nobody sits down and decides to borrow for the holidays. It happens one reasonable gift at a time.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a headline last week saying nearly half of Americans expect to borrow for holiday shopping. It comes from a survey by ICSC, a shopping center trade group, which asked 1,003 adults online in late September. 49% said they expect to borrow money to cover purchases they can’t pay for in full. And 23%, nearly one in four, expect to still be paying for this year’s holiday purchases in 2027.

Here’s the part the headline leaves out. These are plans, not receipts. Nobody has spent that money yet. A plan is still something you can change.

So is putting the holidays on a card really that bad? Not always. A card you pay off when the January bill comes is just a convenience. The trouble is the balance that’s still sitting there in February, and in March, and next fall, with interest adding to it the whole time. By then the gift is long unwrapped and you’re still paying for it.

If you’re feeling squeezed, you’re not alone. Half of the people in that survey said their debt will affect what they spend this year, and 47% expect the holidays to slow down paying off debt or saving.

The one thing I’d do before the first gift. Pick one number: how much you can pay off in full when the January statement comes. I’d write it where I’d see it, on my phone or on the fridge. Anything past that number isn’t really part of the gift budget anymore. It’s a loan, and you get to decide on purpose whether you want it.

That’s all. No spreadsheet. I know, putting a number on Christmas feels a little unfestive. But the people who love you would rather have you rested in January than still paying in 2027.

If you want to go deeper, Damon Day and I talked last December about saying no without guilt and starting a January Fund so next year is easier.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you saw this before the sales really get going.

This year, is it cash only for the holidays, or will some of it go on a card? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

Picking that number now, before anything is in the cart, is a kind thing to do for whoever opens the January bill. That’s you. The holidays people remember are rarely about what things cost, and a plan made today is one less thing to carry into the new year.

— Steve

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Isn’t a Big Mac the same price everywhere?

Steve Rhode — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 14:21:17 GMT

I bet you don’t know you can get a cheaper meal with a little research. The Hamburglar does.

Your Daily Dad Joke

I changed all my passwords to Kenny.

Now I have all Kenny Loggins.

Same burger, different price

You pull into the drive-through for the same thing you always get. The total comes up, and it’s more than you remember. Maybe more than the place by your work charged last week for the exact same meal.

You pay it. You’re hungry, there’s a car behind you, and it’s lunch, not a mortgage.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a headline last month that McDonald’s was sued over an AI tool that recommends prices. I read the whole complaint, all 31 pages, because the first question it raised for me is probably yours too.

Isn’t a Big Mac the same price everywhere?

No. And that surprises a lot of people.

About 95% of the roughly 14,000 McDonald’s in the U.S. are owned by separate business owners, franchisees, not by the company. McDonald’s says those owners set their own menu prices. Its U.S. president wrote in 2024 that “our franchisees... set menu prices for their restaurants.” So two stores ten minutes apart can charge different amounts for the same meal, and they’re supposed to be competing with each other for you.

That same year, McDonald’s own numbers showed its average menu price had gone up about 40% since 2019. A medium fries went from $2.29 to $3.29 on average. The company said rising costs for food, workers and packaging drove it.

Here’s where the lawsuit comes in. It was filed by a man in DeKalb, Illinois, who orders a Quarter Pounder with cheese, fries and a Coke, and sometimes goes for breakfast with his wife on Sunday. He says he noticed different prices for the same items at stores near his home.

His lawyers say those prices aren’t as separate as they look. They say McDonald’s runs a pricing engine that pulls in sales data from every store, including the owners’ private numbers, and recommends a price for each item at each restaurant. Citing Reuters, they say it measures “customer willingness to pay in your area” and nudges an owner to raise an item once about 30% of stores already have. And they say that since January 2026, owners have been required to work with the company’s approved pricing tools.

McDonald’s says that’s wrong. It says the owners, not AI, set prices, and that its tools “do not automate, coordinate or fix pricing in any way.” It called the lawsuit “filled with inaccuracies.” None of this has been proven. There’s no money to claim and nothing to sign up for.

But you don’t need to wait for a judge to use the part that’s already true. The price of your usual order depends on which store you pick.

Me? McDonald’s feels like it is now so expensive that I almost never go anymore. I will go out of my way to visit a chain like Cook Out here in the South where you get noticeable value and good food.

So here’s the one thing I’d try before your next run. If you use the McDonald’s app, put your usual order in, then switch the restaurant to the next closest one and look at the total again. CBC did exactly that and found different prices across one city. It takes a minute, and if one store is consistently cheaper, that’s the one on your way.

I know. It’s a burger. But a couple of dollars a few times a week is real money over a year, and the same habit works anywhere prices are set store by store.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you knew it isn’t just you. Prices really are different from place to place.

Have you ever noticed the same order costing different amounts at two places near you? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If this was important to you, share it with someone you care about.

When everything costs more, it’s easy to feel like you’re bad with money. You’re not. Some of it is being decided somewhere you can’t see. Noticing that, and checking one price this week, is a good start to the week.

— Steve

Also on the site since Friday’s issue:

A longer video from me: The 6 Emotional Traps Keeping You in Debt. After thirty years of watching people try to get out of debt, I think debt is math wrapped in emotion. These are the six feelings I see keep people stuck the longest.

Got a money question of your own? Send it my way, and watch for the answer on my Facebook page.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Your car may have been telling on you

Steve Rhode — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:17:12 GMT

GM is paying $220 million over driving data it sold, and none of that money goes to drivers. There’s one free thing you can do about it.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What do you call a security guard outside of a Samsung store?

Guardian of the Galaxy.

The car that kept notes

You hit the brakes hard because somebody cut you off. You took a corner a little fast on the way to pick up the kids. You drove home late from a shift. Nobody saw any of it. It was just you and the car.

Except the car was paying attention.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen that General Motors agreed to pay $220 million to settle with 36 states. Oregon’s attorney general, who co-led the case with Washington, says GM collected data from cars through its Smart Driver program from 2016 to 2024: trips, hard braking, speeding. The states say GM sold it to data brokers who used it in products for insurance companies, and that some insurers raised people’s premiums because of it.

The states also say GM’s app told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled when they were. And they say some dealership employees clicked yes for customers, with bonuses for signing people up. GM said the settlement reinforces privacy steps it has already taken.

So your first question might be: do I get any of that $220 million?

From what I can see, no. I read the state announcements, and none of them mentions a payment to drivers. The money goes to the states. Oregon gets more than $10.4 million. Maine gets about $2.8 million.

What you do get is a delete button. Under the settlement, GM has to get a clear yes before it collects this kind of data, collect less of it, and delete a driver’s data when that driver asks. That’s the part that can actually help you.

Here’s the one thing I’d do this week if you’ve driven a GM car or truck since 2016. Fill out GM’s privacy request form at consumerprivacy.gm.com and ask it to delete your driving data. If you’d rather call, the number is 1-866-697-7482 (1-866-MYPRIVACY). GM says it doesn’t take these requests by email.

I know. One more form. But it’s a few minutes, and it’s the difference between that data sitting somewhere and it being gone.

If you want to see whether anything already reached the companies insurers buy reports from, LexisNexis lets you ask for your consumer disclosure report for free. I wrote more about how this all came out when the FTC banned GM from selling driving data to the companies that build those reports, if you want to go deeper.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before the weekend.

Did you know your car could share how you drive, or is this the first you’ve heard of it? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

Nobody reads the fine print on a car’s app while the salesperson waits with the keys. If your data got out, that happened to you; you didn’t cause it. Taking a few minutes to ask for it back is a good decision, whatever the answer turns out to be. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday:

A longer video from me: The $470K Romance Scam Her Family Doesn’t Know About Damon Day and I take a real confession about a romance scam and talk through what she can still do. It’s also this week’s podcast episode if you’d rather listen.

If any of this was new to you, somebody you know hasn’t heard it either. It’s free at yourmoneyactually.com, and I don’t sell the list. The places I actually use for my own money, and what I get out of telling you, are on one page where they’ll always be.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

That checkout box you never checked that costs you money

Steve Rhode — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 14:03:21 GMT

A two or three dollar fee can ride into your online order already checked, right as the holiday ordering starts.

Your Daily Dad Joke

Did you hear about the guy who invented the knock-knock joke?

He won the “no-bell” prize.

The box you didn’t check

You’ve got the gift picked out. Card’s in, address is right, and the total is a couple of dollars more than you figured. Tax, probably. Or shipping. You hit Place Order and move on with your day.

Sometimes those couple of dollars are a line called “shipping protection” or “package protection.” And the little box next to it was checked before you ever got there.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along before the boxes start piling up on porches.

I mentioned this in August. Since then a court has weighed in, and I learned a couple of things you should know.

You may have seen that shoppers are suing Route, a company whose widget adds that protection line to checkout pages at a lot of online stores. In their complaint, they allege the box comes pre-checked, that shoppers take it for part of shipping, and that Route itself recommends stores leave it that way, saying 98% of its merchants do. In the shoppers’ own orders the fee was $2.95 in one and $1.55 in the other. Route hasn’t been found liable for anything. It’s a lawsuit, not a ruling.

But a ruling did come in a similar case. A federal judge in New York refused to throw out a suit against Thursday Boot over a $2.98 “Shipping Protection” fee the store added to orders automatically. The shoppers there also pointed out that the store’s shipping carrier already covered lost or damaged packages, up to $100. Nothing has been decided about who’s right. The judge just said the case can go forward.

So your first question might be: is this a scam?

Not by itself. It’s an optional product, and for a pricey package left on a busy porch, some people would rather have it. The problem is buying it without ever deciding to. A box somebody else checked isn’t your yes.

Some of this is already changing. AfterShip, which sells a competing protection product, told its stores that Shopify’s new rules require apps to show the cost and get a clear yes from the shopper before adding anything like this. That covers a lot of stores. It doesn’t cover every website you’ll buy from this season.

If a package never shows up and you didn’t buy the protection, you’re not out of luck. Start with the store. And if you paid with a credit card, an order that wasn’t delivered as agreed is a billing error you can dispute. The FTC says your letter has to reach the card company within 60 days after the first bill with the charge was sent to you. That process is for credit cards, not debit cards.

Here’s the one thing I’d do this holiday season. Before you hit Place Order, read every line in the order summary, and uncheck anything you didn’t choose. It takes about ten seconds.

I know. It’s two or three dollars. But it’s two or three dollars on every order between now and New Year’s, for something you never meant to buy.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before the holiday orders start.

When you spot that protection fee at checkout, do you usually keep it or uncheck it? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

Nobody reads every line of every checkout page, and missing a pre-checked box doesn’t make anybody careless. Catching it once this season is enough. After that, your eyes will find it on their own.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday:

A longer video from me: Costco or Amazon Prime: Is Either Worth It If Money’s Tight? I do the break-even math on both memberships with you, and show which one I’d cancel first if one has to go.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Was Dollar General just nailed overcharging you?

Steve Rhode — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:36:07 GMT

If you shop at Dollar General, your receipt may say more than the shelf tag did.

Your Daily Dad Joke

Once I asked a hotel receptionist for an early morning wake-up call.

She called me at 6 am and asked: “What are you doing with your life?”

The tag and the receipt

Most of us don’t check the receipt at a store where nothing costs much. There’s a line behind you, the prices flash by on a little screen, and it’s a few dollars anyway.

I get it. Nobody wants to be the person holding up the line over forty cents.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen CBS News report that the Federal Trade Commission and 20 states sued Dollar General on Monday. They allege its stores routinely charged people more at the register than the price on the shelf, the tag or the ad.

That’s real. But it’s not the whole story. The part that matters to you happens at the register.

In the complaint, the FTC says its investigators made undercover purchases at Dollar General stores in four states this year, and every one rang up more than the advertised price on multiple items. The extra on each trip was a few dollars. At one Cleveland store, the complaint says, 13 of 58 items rang up at a different price than the tag.

A few dollars is exactly why it’s easy to let go. And it’s why it adds up. The complaint says households earning $35,000 or less make up 60% of the company’s revenue, and that Dollar General logged at least 29,265 complaints about a marked price not being honored between January 2023 and March 2026.

So is money coming back to you? Not yet. This is a lawsuit, and nothing has been decided. The FTC and the states are asking the court for refunds, but there’s no claim form and no settlement. Dollar General told CBS its goal is “100% accuracy between shelf and register prices in every store” and that it will defend the case.

Here’s the one thing I’d do. Before I left the parking lot, I’d glance at the receipt for the two or three things I bought because of the price. It takes about ten seconds.

If one of them is wrong, go back and ask for the shelf price. The complaint says Dollar General’s own policies require stores to honor the lowest price, and state settlements in Colorado and Pennsylvania require signs saying so.

And if a tag looks like a real deal, I’d snap a quick photo of it. Earlier this year a class settlement offered money to Dollar General shoppers who could document an overcharge with a receipt or a photo of the shelf price. That claim window is closed now, but the photo habit works at any store.

I know. It feels small. But small is the whole point here.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before your next quick trip.

When the register rings up more than the tag, do you usually say something or let it go? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

Letting a few cents slide doesn’t make you careless. It makes you a busy person standing in a line. But that money is yours, and asking for the price on the tag is just asking for what you were promised.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when you can’t pay the IRS and they want an answer, and whether to buy Anthropic stock at the IPO, starting with your 401(k).

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Before your Medicare plan renews for 2027

Steve Rhode — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 12:57:36 GMT

If you’re on Medicare Advantage, your premium may dip next year while your pharmacy bill goes up.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a tricycle and a well-dressed man on a bicycle?

Attire.

Your drugs next year

I was going through next year’s coverage on my Medicare Advantage plan, the one I told you I love. It’s going to cost me more out of pocket.

And I’m left wondering where all those promises of lower drug costs went. That stings for retired folks, sure. Maybe even more for the younger families who are already struggling.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen CNN’s report last week on Medicare Advantage for 2027. A review of government data found that nearly three out of four people on those plans will pay more for their prescriptions.

Here’s the part that’s easy to miss. Your drug coverage really comes down to three numbers.

The first is the monthly bill, what you pay just to have the plan. That’s the premium, and for a lot of people it’s going down next year.

The second is what you pay at the pharmacy counter before the plan starts helping. That’s the deductible, and for a lot of people on these plans it’s going up.

The third is the most you could pay in a whole year, even in a bad one. That’s going up too.

Your first thought might be: my monthly bill went down, so I’m fine. Maybe. But if you pick up a few medicines every month, a smaller monthly bill can still add up to more money out of your pocket. And the deductible comes first, right at the start of the year.

If you have Original Medicare with a separate drug plan, it’s a different story with the same ending. Medicare says the temporary help that held those plan premiums down ends this year. And the most you can pay for covered drugs in a year goes up to $2,400, and the top deductible goes up too, according to Medicare’s 2027 numbers.

Here’s the one thing I’d do this week. Your plan mailed you a letter in September called the Annual Notice of Change. I’d find it and look at two lines next to this year’s: the drug deductible and the most you could pay in a year. If either went up, I’d put my actual prescriptions into Medicare’s plan finder before December 7. If the letter has gone missing, you can call the number on your plan card and ask them to send another.

I know. Nobody wants to read a Medicare letter. But Medicare says if you do nothing, your coverage simply continues, with next year’s costs.

If you’re not on Medicare yet, this may still be your story. A lot of times it’s the grown kid who ends up helping Mom or Dad sort it out.

To go deeper, I wrote about why a plan’s star rating won’t tell you what you’ll pay.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it while there’s still time to switch.

Did your plan’s drug costs go up or down for next year? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

Got a money question of your own? Send it my way, and watch for the answer on my Facebook page.

Ten minutes with that letter isn’t fun. But it’s a lot better than a surprise at the pharmacy in January, and you don’t have to understand all of Medicare. Just your two lines.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when a hospital denies your charity care and the bill heads to collections, what the Defense Production Act order does and doesn’t change at the pump, what the Treasury yield drop means for your CD, still paying for last Christmas, and why cash flow comes first, and Damon Day’s per-mile math on two Walmart Spark orders.

A longer video from me: Can ChatGPT Really Fix Your Credit? I Graded It. I typed eight credit questions into ChatGPT the way a worried person types them at midnight, then graded every answer against the law.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Public service student loan forgiveness FINALLY got some good news

Steve Rhode — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:58:04 GMT

If you work in public service, your years of student loan payments can now count toward forgiveness.

Your Daily Dad Joke

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

Your years still count

If you teach, nurse, work for a city or a county, serve in the military or work at a nonprofit, and you’ve been making student loan payments for years toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, last year may have put a knot in your stomach. A new rule said the government could decide that some employers no longer counted. A lot of people quietly wondered whether their years were about to disappear.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a headline this week that the administration dropped its legal fight over that rule. Here’s what it means for you.

Do my years still count? Yes. Two federal courts threw the rule out in June. Yahoo News reported that the government’s appeals in those cases have now been dropped, and California’s attorney general says it also dropped its appeal in the case brought by 22 states. So the old rules are still the rules. If your employer qualified before, this fight didn’t change that.

You may also have heard that the program never really forgives anybody. For a long time that was close to true. Yahoo reported that by 2021 only about 7,000 borrowers had been forgiven. It also reported that the program has now written off loans for more than 1 million people.

I know. Nobody needs a court fight hanging over the one promise that made a smaller paycheck easier to take.

The one small thing I’d do this week: log in to the PSLF Help Tool at studentaid.gov and certify your current employer, if you haven’t in a while. It puts your count on record now, instead of finding a problem in year ten. You don’t need anybody’s help to do it, and I wouldn’t pay anybody to do it for you. If someone calls offering to “protect your forgiveness” for a fee, hang up.

If you want to go deeper on what the judges said in June, I wrote about it here.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it, especially if you’ve been carrying that worry since last year.

How many years of payments do you have in, or who in your life is counting theirs? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

If you’ve been carrying this one around, you can set it down for the weekend. Years of showing up for other people still count, and so does the time you just spent checking. I’ll see you Monday.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: why age alone won’t end old federal student loans, the court ban on the Accelerated Debt Settlement operation, who can claim in the Coast Dental calls and texts settlement, the ViaPath (Telmate) data breach settlement, and Damon Day’s first Instacart shop and the math on it.

The newest podcast episode is Still Paying for Last Christmas? The Holiday Debt Trap, if you’d like something to listen to before the shopping starts.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Who's helping you pick your Medicare plan?

Steve Rhode — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:52:50 GMT

You have until December 7 to change your Medicare plan for next year, and the first help you find may not be on your side.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What do you call a factory that makes OK products?

A satisfactory.

Picking a plan before December 7

I’m on a Medicare Advantage plan, and I love it. This year mine gives me a $4,000 allowance for dental care. Amazing.

But picking the right Medicare plan for you is complicated. Every plan is a different mix of doctors, drugs, extras and costs, and what works for me might be wrong for you.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along now. Open enrollment started October 15 and runs through December 7, and Medicare.gov says that’s the window to join, drop or switch plans for coverage that starts January 1.

You may have seen a warning this month that Medicare scammers are buying their way to the top of search results. That one comes straight from the FTC, which says “scammers and dishonest businesses sometimes pay to appear at the top,” with web addresses that look like the government’s when they aren’t.

So your question is probably a fair one. Who do I trust to help me pick?

Here’s what I’d tell a friend. Medicare itself and the insurance companies offer excellent research material to help you decide. Type medicare.gov into your browser yourself instead of clicking the first thing a search shows you, and scroll past anything marked “Ad” or “Sponsored.” The plan finder there lets you put in your own drugs and doctors and compare.

I’ve also seen people pick a plan by whatever an agent or broker told them. Keep in mind that agents and brokers are generally paid by the insurers, so they might not have your best interest in mind. Plenty of them are honest. But the same reporting says an agent who doesn’t offer every plan in your area has to tell you that. It’s a fair thing to ask.

If you want a person to walk through it with you, every state has a free counseling program called SHIP. SHIP describes itself as one-on-one help “at no cost to you” from “a trusted, unbiased source,” and the number is 877-839-2675.

And if someone calls you out of the blue asking for your Medicare number, hang up. Michigan’s regulators told WDIV to call 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) yourself to check, because caller ID can be faked.

I know. Nobody wakes up excited to compare insurance plans.

So here’s the one thing I’d do this week. Sit down with your plan’s paperwork, or your parent’s, and run it through the plan finder at medicare.gov. If you want to know what a plan will really cost you, this is what I’d look at past the star rating. It’s always best to do your own research and decide what works best for you.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it while there’s still plenty of time before December 7.

Who helped you pick your Medicare plan, or who would you ask? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

A plan you chose on purpose, after looking for yourself, is worth more than one somebody sold you on a phone call. You’ve got time to do this right. I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: Snap Finance canceling $662 million in charged-off lease balances in 17 states, who qualifies for T-Mobile’s price-guarantee deal with New York, what to do when a hospital bill insurance should have paid ends up in collections, Village Capital’s servicemember case and the 6% cap letter, and Damon Day’s worst gig night in a long time.

A longer video from me: The Fastest Way Out of Debt Nobody Recommends. Everyone has a list of ways out of debt, and bankruptcy usually comes last, if anyone mentions it at all. I walk through each option, what it really costs you, and why the one nobody recommends is often the fastest way out.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

The Apple lawsuit claim form: does your iPhone count?

Steve Rhode — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:05:14 GMT

If you bought one of the newer iPhones in the U.S. between June 2024 and March 2025, a few minutes this week could put money back in your pocket.

Your Daily Dad Joke

When I was growing up I wanted to be a monk...

but I never got the chants.

The phone in your pocket

I’m still carrying the iPhone 15 Pro Max I bought. It works fine. But there’s a new one out that folds in half, and I’ll admit I’ve been looking at it.

You know how that goes. The new one shows up, and the one in your hand starts to feel old even though nothing about it changed.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along before anybody, me included, buys anything.

You may have seen a headline about Apple paying $250 million to settle a lawsuit over Siri. The people who sued said Apple sold the iPhone 16 and some iPhone 15 models on the promise of a smarter, AI-powered Siri that didn’t show up. Apple denies doing anything wrong and settled anyway.

If you’ve been subscribed to my videos and this email, we already talked about the money Apple was going to owe you. That’s why you should subscribe for free right now.

Your first question is probably: does my phone count?

Here’s who’s in, according to the settlement details Engadget laid out. You bought a new iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model (the 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max) in the U.S. between June 10, 2024 and March 29, 2025. And you were the original buyer.

Here’s the part the headline left out. A plain iPhone 15 doesn’t count, and neither does a 15 Plus. Only the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max from that year are in. If you bought the phone used, or somebody else bought it and handed it to you, it isn’t your claim.

The payment is per phone, so if you bought three eligible phones, you file for three. Engadget puts the estimate at about $25 a phone. It can go up or down depending on how many people file, with a top of $95. And nobody gets paid until the judge gives the settlement final approval, so this is money that shows up later, not this week.

I know. Twenty-five dollars won’t change your life. But it’s your money, and it takes a few minutes.

So here’s the one thing I’d do. If your phone is on that list, open Settings, then General, then About, and copy down the serial number. Then file at SmartphoneAISettlement.com by December 21. You don’t need anybody’s help to do it, and I wouldn’t pay anybody to do it for you.

I filed mine this morning. It was easy and painless, and honestly it took me less than two minutes. You can pick to be paid by PayPal or Venmo, and a paper check is always an option.

And if you’re shopping for a new phone like I am, here’s the test I’m using on myself. The people who sued said they paid for features that hadn’t arrived yet. The phone I’ve been eyeing, the iPhone Duo, arrives in stores Friday, and Apple’s own announcement says it starts at $1,999, or $83.29 a month for 24 months. The same announcement says Apple Pencil support comes “later this year.”

So I’m pricing it on what it does the day I’d buy it. If a feature is “coming later,” I’m treating it like it isn’t coming at all. If it shows up, that’s a bonus. And $83.29 a month for two years is still about $1,999 for a phone. It just doesn’t feel like it.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before the holidays eat December. It’s a short form, and the deadline is easy to forget.

What’s one thing you bought for a feature that never quite showed up? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

The phone you have is probably doing more for you than the ad for the next one says. Whatever you decide, deciding it on purpose is the good part. I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when a debt collector keeps calling about someone else’s debt, the myth that you can just wait out the IRS’s 10-year clock, Instacart’s $5 million settlement, which is about job applicants, not shopper pay, Damon Day’s night of DoorDash math, and a second robocall lawsuit against American Debt Protection.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

Walmart's $120 bundle is a deal only if you'd buy both

Steve Rhode — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:19:19 GMT

If you pay for both Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Plus, Walmart says part of that money may be coming back to you.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What’s ET short for?

Because he’s got little legs.

Two memberships, one bill

The renewal charge shows up on your card, and you do the quick math in your head. Did I use that enough this year to make it worth it? Some years the answer is yes. Some years you’re not sure, and you let it ride, because canceling feels like one more thing to do.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a headline that Walmart is putting Walmart+ and Sam’s Club Plus together for $120 a year, which it says is almost $100 less than paying for the two separately. It started today.

Your first thought might be: is that a deal for me?

It depends on what you pay now. Here’s how Walmart’s announcement lays it out.

If you already pay for Sam’s Club Plus, Walmart says you can turn on Walmart+ at no extra cost.

If you pay for both today, Walmart says you link the two accounts, and most members are eligible for a prorated refund on Walmart+.

If you have the regular Sam’s Club membership, Walmart says it’s $60 more a year to move up to Plus, and Walmart+ comes with it. If you pay for Walmart+ by the year, it says it’s $22 more to add Sam’s Club Plus.

New members pay $120 a year. Fox Business reports there’s no monthly option and no free trial, so that’s $120 up front.

Here’s the part the headline left out. The “almost $100 less” only counts if you were going to pay for both anyway. By Walmart’s own numbers, if you only use Walmart+, the bundle costs you $22 more a year than you pay now. If you rarely use either one, $120 is still $120.

The perks come with fine print, too. According to Walmart’s announcement, free delivery needs a $35 order at Walmart and $50 at Sam’s Club. The streaming is the version with ads, Peacock or Paramount+, and you pick one. The gas discount is 10 cents a gallon at participating stations. And the 2% back in Sam’s Cash tops out at $750 a year.

I know. A membership has a funny way of making you feel like you should shop more to get your money’s worth. That’s the part I’d keep an eye on.

So here’s the one thing I’d do. If you pay for Sam’s Club Plus and Walmart+, link the two accounts in the Walmart or Sam’s Club app this week, and look for that refund on Walmart+. If you only have one of them, look at your last renewal charge and ask yourself whether you’d have bought the other one anyway. If the answer is no, the bundle isn’t a saving for you, and that’s fine.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure you heard about it before your next renewal comes around. If you’re paying twice for the same thing, you shouldn’t have to.

What’s one membership or subscription you pay for that’s worth every penny to you? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

You don’t need every perk somebody wants to sell you. You need the ones you’ll actually use, and you’re allowed to decide which those are. I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: what to do when a debt collector calls your job, homeowners suing Unison over home equity agreements, and Damon Day’s $73 Instacart order that paid $10.67.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

That Equifax email you deleted may be worth money

Steve Rhode — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 14:06:27 GMT

If an email about Equifax showed up this fall and you deleted it, the claim it offered is still open until December 28.

Your Daily Dad Joke

My wife asked if our kids were spoiled.

I said “No, I think most kids just smell that way.”

The Equifax email you may have deleted

You apply for a car loan, or a credit card, or a better rate on your insurance. The answer comes back no. Or yes, but at a number that stings. Most people take that quietly. They figure that’s just their score, and that it’s their fault.

For some people in the spring of 2022, it wasn’t.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a write-up this week saying the $100 million Equifax settlement is now taking claims. Back in August I told you about this case, and I told you there was nothing to claim yet and to wait for the notice. The notice has gone out.

Here’s what it’s about. The lawsuit claims that a coding error in one of Equifax’s computer systems sent wrong credit information to lenders, insurers and others between March 17 and April 8, 2022. That’s from the settlement papers filed with the court. Equifax says in those papers that it didn’t break the law, and the settlement doesn’t decide who was right.

And no, this isn’t the 2017 data breach. That was a different case. According to the court papers, this one is about scores and credit details that came out wrong for about three weeks in 2022.

So the question is the one you’d ask me. How do I know if I’m in it?

You don’t decide that, and neither do I. According to the court papers, Equifax’s own analysis from 2022 decides who is in the group. The people on that list were supposed to get a notice by email, or by mail when no email address could be found. The notice has a claim number and a PIN on it, and the claim form on the settlement website asks for them. The court papers say a reminder goes out later to people who haven’t filed.

How much is it? Nobody knows yet. After lawyers’ fees and costs, the rest gets split evenly among the people who file a valid claim, so the more people file, the smaller each share. And nothing gets paid until the judge gives final approval. That hearing is set for January 22, 2027.

I know. A three-week glitch from 2022 feels like a long time ago. But a no from a lender sticks with people longer than they let on.

Here’s the one thing I’d do. Search your email, including the spam folder, for “Equifax” from the past few weeks, and look through the mail you set aside. If you find it, go to the settlement website by typing the address in yourself, and file your claim before December 28. If nothing came and you think you should have gotten one, the site has a contact page for that. And nobody legitimate will charge you a fee to file.

Anyway, I’m the one who told you to wait, so I wanted you to hear from me that the wait is over.

Have you ever been turned down for something and found out later it wasn’t your fault? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

A credit score is a calculation somebody else ran about you, and calculations go wrong. If one went wrong on you, the no you heard was never a verdict on who you are. Have a good week, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Steve

Also on the site since Friday: 10 things to do after you file bankruptcy and why the 3.6% COLA isn’t 3.6% for every military retiree.

It’s Monday, so if you have a money question you’d like me to answer, send it my way and watch for the answer on the Get Out of Debt Guy Facebook page.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.

The check that looks like a scam may be real

Steve Rhode — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 14:08:35 GMT

If a scammer ever had you send money from a Walmart counter, the FTC says it’s mailing refund checks, and each one has 90 days to be cashed.

Your Daily Dad Joke

What dessert has antlers?

Chocolate moose.

The check that looks like a scam

An envelope shows up with a check in it from a company you’ve never heard of. Most of us have learned to be suspicious of that. Good.

But some of those checks are real this fall. And the people getting them have more reason than anyone not to trust them.

The grandson who calls from jail and needs bail money. The sweetheart overseas who just needs help with one more fee. I’ve seen so many men and women who were older, lonely and most needed their retirement savings fall for these scams. It never ends well.

That’s why I wanted to pass this along.

You may have seen a story this morning about the Federal Trade Commission sending checks to people who were scammed through Walmart money transfers.

That’s real. The FTC says it is mailing 65,022 checks totaling more than $9.8 million to people who sent eligible money transfers at Walmart between January 2015 and December 2024.

The money comes from a $10 million settlement Walmart reached with the FTC in June 2025. The FTC alleged Walmart didn’t train its employees properly, didn’t warn customers, and didn’t have good enough anti-fraud procedures for money transfers. Back when it sued, the FTC said scammers used Walmart locations to collect money from grandparent, romance and other scams.

So how would you know if a check like that is the real thing?

Start with what the FTC won’t do. The FTC says it never requires people to pay money or provide account information to get a payment. It will never threaten you, tell you that you must transfer money to “get a refund,” or promise you a prize. Its page lists no form to fill out. The checks just come in the mail.

So a real one asks you for nothing. A fake one always gets around to asking for something.

How much is in one? The FTC hasn’t said. Divide the total by the number of checks and it averages out to about $150. I know. That may be a lot less than what was taken. But money sent this way is usually gone for good, and the head of the FTC’s consumer protection bureau said exactly that when Walmart settled: “once it’s sent, it’s gone for good.” So any of it coming back is rare.

Here’s the one thing I’d do. If you, or someone in your family, ever sent money from a Walmart counter to someone who turned out to be a scammer, watch the mail for the next few weeks. Before you toss an envelope you don’t recognize, look up the FTC’s refund page yourself and call the number you find there, not the one on the letter. And if the check is real, cash it within the 90 days printed on it.

If it happened to someone you love, this might be an easier way to bring it up. A check is a lot easier to talk about than the loss.

I put the details in my guide, including what the FTC’s pages don’t say.

Anyway, I wanted you to hear it from me before one of those envelopes ends up in the trash.

Have you ever gotten a check or a letter you were sure was a scam, and it turned out to be real? Share it in the comments so we can all learn from it. I read every comment.

Getting taken by a scam isn’t a character flaw. It happens to careful people on a bad day, often to people who thought they were helping someone they loved. Sometimes, years later, a little of it finds its way back. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.

— Steve

Also on the site since yesterday: my money advice for strippers, escorts and OnlyFans creators, my lawyer dropped me and kept part of my deposit. Can they do that?, what happens to student loans when the borrower dies, if your paycheck depends on a work permit, the money calls to make before it expires, and the University of Phoenix settlement isn’t student loan forgiveness.

On the podcast this week: Damon and I walk through the 10 things you must do after bankruptcy.

This is what I’m telling friends like you over coffee. But remember, you do you.