Author: Money Front Staff
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Borrowing From Your 401(k): The Real Price Tag
A 401(k) loan looks cheap because the interest goes to you. The real costs are missed growth, repayment rules, and what happens if you leave your job.
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Card Company Raising Your Rate? Your 45-Day Warning
Federal law makes card issuers give 45 days’ notice before raising your rate, and gives you the right to reject the increase. How to use it.
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SBA Microloans: Small Dollars for a First Business
SBA microloans lend up to $50,000 through nonprofit lenders, and the average loan is about $13,000. How the program works and who it fits.
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Decoding Your Electric Bill: Every Charge Explained
Supply, delivery, customer charges, riders and taxes: what every line on your electric bill actually pays for, and where you have room to push back.
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Register Your Appliances: The Recall Notice You Want
Most recalled products never get fixed because companies cannot find their owners. Registering your appliances puts the safety notice in your mailbox.
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Debt Settlement Companies: The Promises to Question
Debt settlement firms promise to shrink what you owe. The advance-fee ban, the risks they downplay, and the cheaper routes to the same result.
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Injured Spouse Relief: Reclaiming Your Half of a Refund
If a joint tax refund was seized for your spouse’s old debt, Form 8379 can recover your share. Who qualifies, how to file, and how long it takes.
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Pension Buyout Offers: Comparing Lump Sum to Monthly
A pension buyout trades lifetime monthly checks for one payment now. The taxes, spousal rights, and lost protections to weigh before you sign.
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Hurt on the Job: How Workers’ Compensation Works
Workers’ compensation pays medical bills and part of lost wages after a work injury, no fault required. How claims work, who runs them and the deadlines.
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First-Time Buyer Help: The Programs That Are Real
FHA, VA, and USDA loans, state housing agencies, and free HUD counseling: the first-time homebuyer help that actually exists and how to reach it.
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Package Never Came? The Refund Rules on Your Side
An online order that never arrives triggers real federal rights: the FTC’s 30-day shipping rule, a seven-day refund clock and card dispute protections.
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What Actually Puts a Tax Return on the Audit Pile
IRS audits are rare and mostly done by mail. How returns really get selected, what a DIF score is, and the difference between an audit and a CP2000.