Independent consumer education
Consumer guides from the filings, not the ads
Insurance, credit, and lending in plain English. Figures come from federal series and from what carriers file with regulators. We name a company when a filing or a complaint record names it. We do not rank carriers.
Browse guides
What moves a premium, and which levers actually lower one.
How much coverage a household needs, and for how long.
What a debt costs, and which balance to clear first.
Both insurance guides, and why they are kept apart.
Who writes this, how it is sourced, and how it is funded.
Top story
-
Monitoreo de crédito vs informes gratis en AnnualCreditReport
Qué le da ya la ley federal en AnnualCreditReport.com, cuándo un monitoreo de pago aún puede tener sentido, y cómo no mezclar ambos trabajos.
Latest Guides
-
How much life insurance, and for how long: the arithmetic behind both answers
Ten times income gives a 34-year-old with toddlers and a 58-year-old with grown children the same answer. The…
-
Term or permanent life insurance: match the product to the shape of the need
Whole life produced $23.4 billion of the life insurance industry operating gain in 2025 and term produced $10.2…
-
HELOC rates: prime plus margin, and what a rate move does to the payment
A HELOC rate is an index plus a margin, and only one of them moves. What prime is,…
-
Getting out of debt faster: the order of operations, with the math
Highest rate first beats smallest balance first by $490 on a $10,000 example, not thousands. The full arithmetic,…
-
How to lower your car insurance rate, ranked by what actually works
Federal data shows prices easing, but easing prices do not reach your renewal on their own. An 18-year…
-
No-exam life insurance: what you trade for skipping the physical
Skipping the medical exam is a trade, and the insurer sets the terms. What accelerated underwriting, simplified issue…
-
HELOC or home equity loan: the question is whether you know the number
Both borrow against the same equity. The choice is not about rate, it is about whether you know…
-
Debt consolidation or a balance transfer: where the breakeven actually sits
On an $8,000 balance a transfer beats a consolidation loan by a wide margin, until the payment drops.…
-
Usage-based insurance: who actually saves money, and who pays more
The ads say save up to 40%. Maryland’s insurance regulator counted 263,703 real telematics policies: about 31 percent…
-
Most 20-year term policies bought at 60 expire before they pay. Here is how to buy one anyway.
The federal life table says about 60 percent of men and 71 percent of women who reach 60…
-
5 ways to lower your auto insurance premium this week
Five moves that may lower your auto insurance bill this week, not after a six-month monitoring period: the…
-
Who actually pays for credit card rewards, and how to tell if you come out ahead
Cash back cards are now the most common general purpose card in America, and consumers paid $160 billion…
Browse by topic
How we work
Every guide explains how a product category works: the mechanics, the typical costs, and the questions worth asking before you commit. Figures come from federal agencies and state regulators, and each article lists its sources. Read our editorial and review policy
How we are funded
ConsumersWeek is supported by advertising and affiliate partnerships. We disclose how we make money, label sponsored content clearly, and keep paid placements separate from editorial conclusions. Read our advertiser disclosure