Earlier this week, I wrote about Instacart using an AI-enabled experiment that can charge customers up to 23 percent more for the same item ordered from the same store at the same time. Now, Instacart is in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission. Instacart will pay $60 million in refunds to consumers to settle allegations that the company engaged in unlawful tactics that harmed shoppers and raised the cost of groceries for Americans.

It’s coming up soon – 2026, a chance to take a look at your finances and make them work better for you. You can start planning a budget for the new year by defining your financial goals. Then, follow these steps offered by WalletHub, a personal finance website, to build a personalized plan: Set financial goals: Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Instacart, enabled by the artificial intelligence pricing software Eversight, is running large-scale, hidden price experiments on unsuspecting customers, a new investigation by the Groundwork Collaborative, Consumer Reports, and a More Perfect Union shows. The report analyzed live shopping data from more than 400 Instacart shoppers across four U.S. cities. The findings show many U.S. shoppers who order grocery pickup and delivery through Instacart are unknowingly enrolled in AI-enabled experiments that can charge up to 23 percent more for the same item ordered from the same store at the same time.

If you’re looking to get insurance from the Health Insurance Marketplace, you have until Jan. 15 to sign up. But dishonest companies sometimes advertise comprehensive health insurance when it’s really a medical discount plan or a health plan with limited insurance benefits. And, sometimes, an insurance “offer” is just a scam. As you compare your options, here are some things to consider:

My trip to visit my niece in San Diego for a dinner party for monthly donors to Wildlife Madagascar went well. However, after I arrived home Saturday, I started to develop a really bad headache. I didn’t know if it was a migraine or sinus infection. I’ve had the problem in my travels of getting a respiratory infection after a plane trip.

Yes, reducing fuel standards, and making vehicles less efficient, will cost consumers more for gas. The Trump administration has announced it will begin the process to rollback the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards for passenger cars, SUVs, and heavy-duty pickups and vans. “Rolling back fuel efficiency standards is another Trump policy that will increase costs for Americans, this time at the pump," Will Anderson, policy advocate for Public Citizen’s Climate Program, said in a statement.

It's unlikely the bailout for farmers will result in any savings for consumers. The Trump administration has announced another multibillion-dollar round of trade-war-related bailouts for the agricultural industry. The $12 billion the administration is set to give out will likely once again go to the largest and wealthiest farm operations in the country, according to the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, an advocacy organization.

The financial times these days are challenging. Increasing prices everywhere. Housing costs going up. It’s harder and harder to save money. Sign up for my newsletter, called Helpful Money Tips for You, and you’ll receive 10 financial tips every week in an email. The tips in my newsletter will help you get through your financial week. Readers appreciate the brief, to-the-point tips.

Remember to prioritize safety during the holiday season. Shop only from trusted stores and online retailers to protect your family from holiday-related hazards, recommends the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC. Most unsafe or counterfeit products sold through unverified third-party sites can come from foreign countries such as China and can have devastating and sometimes fatal consequences for families.

Americans are carrying more than $1.3 trillion in credit card debt, a huge amount that continues to climb. The average U.S. household now owes more than $11,000 in credit card debt. However, credit card debt isn’t impacting everyone equally. To find out where Americans are having the most problems managing their debt, WalletHub, a personal finance website, analyzed TransUnion credit data to estimate the cost and time needed to pay off median credit card balances in more than 180 U.S.

Recently, I wrote about the savings I made at Black Friday sales this year where I saved $300 – actually $300.25. I was elated. When I made my Christmas card, pictured above, this year on the Walgerens website, I made a point to get it done on Saturday, before a 60 percent off deal on cards expired. It made me think of how much I appreciate getting money off regularly, not just on the big holiday sales.

The average price of a new car is more than $50,000, the highest in history, placing added stress on car shoppers to make sure they’re making a smart choice on a model that will hold up well over the long term and be safe. “Affordability continues to be a top concern for Americans, with prices rising on everything from groceries to cars,” Phil Radford, president and CEO of Consumer Reports, a consumer testing and advocacy organization, said in a statement.

They’re known as Porch Pirates. You see them almost nightly on TV news, stealing packages off people’s porches. It’s so convenient to order everything online. Unlike the old days, delivery people don’t take the time to ring the doorbell and hand you the package. Nor do they take it back to a warehouse and try to deliver it again when you may be home.

Last week, I was really fortunate to save a lot of money on six Black Friday purchases. All items were things I’d been planning to buy, except SD cards that I can always use since I’m a photo journalist. The sandals were the best deal. They price was $180 and were on sale for $49. I was thrilled they fit. Unfortunately, the boots I tried on, with a much lesser discount, didn’t fit.

Photo: Wildlife Madagascar My niece Debra Erickson is embarking on a fantastic, challenging project. Debra’s founded a group called Wildlife Madagascar. Madagascar, an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa, is known for its unique wildlife. Some of its most well-known animals are lemurs, which are only found in Madagascar. Of the 112 lemur species, 98 percent are endangered with about a third considered critically endangered.

For years, I’ve been working on providing consumer and financial information to people to help them make smart financial choices. Since I’m in the process of setting up a new website, Unlocking the Power of Your Money, I’d appreciate your financial support. In early July, I received an announcement from Typepad, the platform which had hosted my blog for more than a dozen years, that it was going out of business.

For many people, myself included, a good portion of the day is spent preparing food, shopping for it, eating it, and cleanup after cooking. In fact, I just finished lunch and cleaning the kitchen. We spend a lot of time dealing with food, but many people don’t realize how much food they throw away every day – from uneaten leftovers to spoiled produce to parts of fruits and vegetables that could be eaten or repurposed.

You may be exhausted from Thanksgiving celebrations, Black Friday bargain hunting, and Small Business Saturday shopping. So, it seems easy to sit in your armchair today or on Cyber Monday and order lots of stuff online. However, you could get trapped in some of the pitfalls that are common on Black Friday. Probably the biggest problem is buying things that really aren’t on sale.

After writing about tips for Small Business Saturday shopping, I headed to downtown Olympia to see what was up. I found no mention of Small Business Saturday, few bargains, and a moderate number of shoppers. The biggest crowd I saw was outside the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. A performance must have just been concluding. I did take my own advice and I shopped for something on my list.

While it’s great to support your favorite small business on Small Business Saturday, there’s no need to break your holiday shopping budget in the process. Here are some tips to help you save money today as you shop: Check your list of holiday purchases to see which ones you may be able to buy at your favorite small shops. Go to the website of small shops in your area to see what might be on sale.

On Black Friday, you can get some of the best bargains of the year. However, consumers also can be tricked. A recent study found 36 percent of items offer for sale on Black Friday had no savings compared with their pre-Black Friday prices. Be sure to compare prices continually to make sure you’re actually getting a bargain. In addition, stick to your budget.

On this day of thanks, I hope you and your loved ones are able to gather together and celebrate the positive things in your life. This afternoon, I enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with members of my church. The food was fabulous. I got a kick out of a note on pans of gravy that said “Costco gravy,” because I’d written about how to make gravy and what to do if you have lumps.

Each year, the U.S.PIRG Education Fund, a consumer group, tests toys prior to the holiday season to let parents know problems they may encounter. For the group’s 40th “Trouble in Toyland,” it looked at: Four toys that contain A.I. chatbots that interact with children. The group found some of these toys will talk in-depth about sexually explicit topics, will offer advice on where a child can find matches or knives, act dismayed when you say you have to leave, and have limited or no parental controls.

For years when I was growing up, my family went to Cashmere, Washington, from Orondo, to my great aunt Mable Kenyon’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving. The meals were fabulous. After I was married and had kids, I could cook a pretty great Thanksgiving meal, with all the trimmings, myself. Learning to cook and provide tasty food is a big farm tradition.

With airline travel, you never know what’s going to happen. As I tell my daughter, who I go to visit in Spain frequently, there are a dozen things that can go wrong. I breathe a sigh of relief after each step: little traffic on the way to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, having your documents and ticket, getting through security, making it to the gate in time, changing planes in time, and more.