Where to Actually Go

Who Is Selling Your Information? Data Brokers Explained

Start here if you want your name out of the people-search sites.

• California DROP — submit one deletion request California residents only. Free. One request goes to every registered broker in the state. Brokers have been required to process requests since August 1, 2026, and they check the list at least every 45 days, so it is not instant.
• California data broker registry (CalPrivacy) The public list of registered brokers. Anyone can browse it from any state. This is your opt-out hit list if your state has no registry.
• Vermont data broker search Vermont Secretary of State. A registry only, with no companion deletion right, but it is another public list of who is operating.
• Texas registry — Texas Secretary of State Search "Texas Secretary of State data broker registry." Linking straight to state portals is risky because they move; going through the agency's own site always works.
• Oregon registry — Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services Search "Oregon DCBS data broker registration." Same reason as Texas.
• Every other state No registry yet. Use the California list above to find broker names, then send opt-outs one at a time. Start with the people-search sites that publish home addresses. Paid services like DeleteMe and Incogni do this for you. Ethel uses one. It is not sponsored, and it is not required.

Same Item, Different Price? Surveillance Pricing Explained

Before you call it price discrimination, rule out the boring explanations.

• Federal Trade Commission The FTC's surveillance pricing study is the source for the "fourth variable." Search the site for "surveillance pricing" to read the findings yourself.
• The three swaps, before you get mad Same delivery zip. Same time of day. Same account age. If the gap survives all three, screenshot both carts with the time and account type visible. That is evidence. A single screenshot is not.

Why Canceling a Subscription Takes So Many Clicks

There is no universal one-click right. There are receipts, and receipts travel.

• FTC Consumer Advice Search "auto-renewal" or "negative option" for the current federal guidance. The nationwide click-to-cancel rule was struck down in court in 2025, so what applies to you depends on your state.
• Your state attorney general Some states require easy online cancellation for auto-renewing subscriptions. Search your state's name plus "attorney general auto renewal" to find out whether yours is one of them.

Insurance: Totaled Cars and Roof Claims

The valuation report and your own policy answer most of this before anyone has to argue.

• Ask for the valuation report On a total loss, ask your insurer for the full vehicle valuation report, not just the offer letter. Then read one section: the vehicle description. Check the trim, the mileage, and the options you actually paid for.
• Find two phrases in your homeowners policy "Replacement cost" or "actual cash value," and your deductible. Those two things explain most confusing claim letters, including whether a second payment exists at all.
• Find your state insurance department (NAIC) The National Association of Insurance Commissioners keeps a directory of every state's insurance department. Your state's department answers questions and takes consumer complaints, and companies tend to respond quickly to letters from them.

Medical Bills and Prior Authorization

Two documents, four numbers, and a policy that is supposed to be posted on a wall.

• Check whether it is a bill at all An Explanation of Benefits comes from your insurance company and usually says "this is not a bill" right on it. Find the line called patient responsibility, then see whether the hospital's bill matches it.
• Ask the hospital two questions "Can I get an itemized bill?" and "Do you have a financial assistance policy, and how do I apply?" Nonprofit hospitals are required to have one. Eligibility varies, and it may not cover doctors who bill separately.
• HealthCare.gov — appeals Search "appeal" for how internal appeals and external review work on marketplace plans.
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The prior authorization timelines that started in 2026 apply to certain plans only. Your plan type is on your insurance card, and that determines which rules cover you.

Medicaid's Work Rule: Who Needs to Prove What?

The requirement is one thing. Being findable in your state's records is another.

• Medicaid.gov — find your state agency Every state runs its own program with its own forms, deadlines, and exemption paperwork. Start here, then go to your state's own site.
• The boring thing that saves the most coverage Confirm your state Medicaid office has your current mailing address. A large share of people who lose benefits lose them to a letter that went somewhere else.

SNAP's 3-Month Clock: Does It Apply to You?

Do not count three months forward from the letter. Ask which months already counted.

• SNAP state directory — find your state office Click your state for contact and application information. Note: USDA's Food and Nutrition Service became the Food and Nutrition Administration on June 1, 2026, so older links may be out of date.
• The one question to ask "How many countable months have I already used in this period, and does the agency have me as exempt?" Write down the answer, who told you, and the date.

Benefits Cliffs: the rest of the map

• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta — search "CLIFF tool" A second opinion, built by economists, with state-by-state modeling. Also an estimate, not an eligibility decision.
• Ask each program directly "Where is the income line for a household my size, and is there a transition or phase-out period?" Some programs step you down. Some stop cold. You need to know which before you decide anything.

Repayment Plans, Default, and Offsets

One login answers most of it, including the question people are most afraid to ask.

• studentaid.gov — log in Check your actual loan status. A lot of people who think they are in default are not, and have been scared for years over nothing.
• Loan Simulator — compare your payment Shows your real payment under the plans you qualify for, side by side. Ten minutes. You are not deciding, you are looking. If you file taxes jointly, look twice.
• Collection status changes. Check the date. Whether involuntary collections are paused or active can change without much announcement. Do not rely on any video, including ours, for a fact with a date attached. Confirm the current status at studentaid.gov before you make a decision.
• Social Security Administration Retirement and disability benefits can be subject to offset for defaulted federal student loans, with limits and a protected minimum. SSI is a different program and is generally protected.

Is That Job Actually Open?

• What counts as a real job opening (BLS) The official definition: the job exists, it could start within 30 days, and the employer is actively recruiting. All three.
• The thirty-second check Open the company's own careers page in another tab. If the job is not there, that is not proof of anything. It is a good reason to spend five minutes instead of an hour.

Tenant Screening and Bank Account Reports

Someone else wrote the report. The landlord or bank only read it.

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Search "tenant screening report" or "checking account report" for your rights, how to request a copy, and how to dispute errors. The CFPB also takes complaints.
• Find the company's name in your denial letter A denial based on a report has to tell you who supplied it, say that company did not make the decision, and tell you how to get a free copy. Ask within the window on the letter.
• Read the identity section first Middle initial, date of birth, past addresses. Same name is not the same person, and a stranger's record is one of the most common real errors in these files.
• Nobody can remove an accurate record for a fee If the record is true, it stays for the period the law allows. Anyone promising to delete accurate history is selling you a dispute you could file yourself for free, or something worse. Ask your bank or credit union about second-chance checking instead.