This is the first issue of This Week's Receipts. Each week: the rules and numbers from the week's videos, each one linked to a page that quotes its source word for word.

This week's receipts

1. Payments above the minimum go to the highest-APR balance first

Regulation Z sets the order your card issuer applies the extra payment — with two exceptions. The rule and its own worked example.

Source: 12 CFR § 1026.53 (Regulation Z)

2. Your bank needs your opt-in before charging overdraft fees on ATM and one-time debit card transactions

Regulation E's four conditions for ATM and one-time debit card overdraft fees — and the right to revoke. The text, and what it doesn't cover.

Source: 12 CFR § 1005.17 (Regulation E)

3. Card balances rose 37% for borrowers "finding it difficult to get by"

Federal Reserve survey data matched to credit records, 2023 to 2025: over $2,500 for struggling borrowers, $748 overall. Who's in the data.

Source: Federal Reserve, Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 (May 2026)

4. Tickets and hotels must show the total price upfront — the FTC fees rule

Since May 12, 2025, mandatory fees for live-event tickets and short-term lodging belong in the first price you see. The rule's text and its limits.

Source: FTC, Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 C.F.R. Part 464)

5. Credit report disputes: a 30-day reinvestigation deadline, sometimes up to 45

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a consumer reporting agency generally has 30 days from receiving your dispute to finish a free, reasonable reinvestigation — extendable by up to 15 days in limited cases. Here's the text.

Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (Fair Credit Reporting Act), U.S. Code

Word of the week: overdraft opt-in

Overdraft opt-in is the account setting that decides whether your bank may charge an overdraft fee for covering an ATM withdrawal or one-time debit card purchase that would take your balance below zero. Without your opt-in, it may not charge that fee. In the CFPB's words, consumers who do not opt in "will generally have debit card purchases and ATM withdrawals declined with no charge." Checks, ACH payments and recurring debit payments fall outside the opt-in rule.

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The Fine Print Cheat Sheet puts six of these on one page, each with its source listed.

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Consumer information — not financial or legal advice.

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