Kara Brandeisky

AT&T and other wireless carriers may continue to offer unlimited data plans, but they're not the great deal they once were.

Almost half of all AT&T mobile customers are still clinging desperately to a grandfathered cellphone plan with unlimited data, according to a survey from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). But that choice is looking particularly unfortunate in light of the Federal Trade Commission’s latest lawsuit.

In a complaint filed Tuesday, the federal agency alleges that AT&T has been slowing data speeds for consumers on “unlimited” plans, in some cases by up to 95%. The practice of reducing data speeds for heavy users, called “throttling,” can make it very difficult to complete routine tasks like browsing the web or using GPS navigation. In some dense metro areas like New York and San Francisco, AT&T allegedly throttled users who consumed as little as 2 GB a month. Altogether, the New York Times estimates, about 25% of AT&T’s unlimited data plan customers were affected.

“AT&T promised its customers ‘unlimited’ data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise,” FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez says in a statement. “The issue here is simple: ‘unlimited’ means unlimited.”

AT&T calls the charges “baseless” and says it warned customers that heavy users could be throttled. But while AT&T’s alleged behavior is particularly egregious, the carrier wouldn’t be the only one to limit data use on so-called “unlimited” plans, as Ars Technica has reported.

For example, Sprint’s My Way plan promises unlimited data for the life of the line of service, but read the fine print: The carrier also throttles the top 5% of its users, as part of its “network management” strategy. Sprint says that users who consume more than 5 GB are generally at risk for throttling, though it varies by month.

Likewise, while T-Mobile has repeatedly said it does not throttle its unlimited customers, its fine print notes that the top 3% of users might see their data slowed “during times and in places of network congestion.”

Similarly, Verizon throttles the top 5% of customers still on 3G. Verizon had planned to slow speeds for the heaviest users on 4G, but it shelved that idea after receiving its own stern warning from the FTC. Maybe Verizon has less to worry about—according to CIRP, it has already moved the vast majority of its customers off unlimited plans.

In fact, Verizon hasn’t sold a single new unlimited cellphone plan in two years. AT&T hasn’t offered an unlimited plan in four years. The two biggest American carriers have been trying to wean customers off of unlimited data plans for a while now, or else the wireless companies risk becoming victims of their own success.

First Unlimited Calls, Then Unlimited Data

The unlimited model was born in the late 1990s, when AT&T launched its first One Rate phone plan, explains Kirk Parsons, senior director of telecom services at J.D. Power. Customers loved the certainty: the same bill, every month, with no separate charges for roaming or long distance calls.

That model still made sense when the phone carrier introduced data plans for smartphone users—so much sense that by 2008, AT&T actually forced all iPhone 3G customers to buy an unlimited data plan. Back then, it was a moneymaker: You could offer unlimited data because people wouldn’t use a lot of it, and it didn’t cost a lot anyways. That’s all changed.

“When smartphones started coming out, the networks weren’t up to snuff,” Parsons says. “You couldn’t actually enjoy the experience of videos and downloads. Once 3G coverage widened, then we transitioned from 3G to 4G, that’s when you really saw people using data on their phones, streaming music, watching shows.”

Now, the carriers have created a nation of data addicts. As of December 2013, Americans consumed 269.1 billion MB of cellphone data a month—far more than double what they consumed a year before. It’s just too expensive to keep up with our insatiable demand. The carriers have to buy or lease radio frequencies all around the country to provide good service, says Logan Abbott, president of Wirefly.com. There’s only so much bandwidth.

“Consider it like a nationwide wifi network,” Abbott says. “If you have everyone in your house on one wifi connection—downloading, streaming Netflix, doing data-intensive stuff—your bandwidth is going to get used up … It’s going to put drag on your network.”

Of course, if AT&T acted as the FTC claims, consumers got a really raw deal. While the other carriers say they throttle just a small fraction of the heaviest users for network management reasons, AT&T is accused of slowing service for 3.5 million of its 14 million subscribers.

Still, limited data is the way of the future. Not that AT&T customers want to hear it—there’s a reason 44% of them haven’t changed cellphone plans in over four years. “It doesn’t necessarily make sense, but they like the security blanket of never being overcharged,” Abbott says. “They have a vintage product, and they don’t want to let go.”

Paying for More Data Than You Actually Use

The truth is, if you’re an AT&T user, it might be time to give up your unlimited plan. The first thing to do is check your account to see how much data you really use—it may not be as much as you think.

Slate has prepared some handy interactive charts that show how much data you’d have to use before an unlimited plan pays off, but this is the main takeaway: If you’re only using 1 or 2 GB of data—like most typical users—you’re likely overpaying for the unlimited option. You simply don’t need that much.

If, on the other hand, you’re using a lot more, the FTC says you’re being throttled—in which case, you might as well shell out a little more money for a data plan that actually delivers the speeds advertised.

Related:

• The 10 Best Cellphone Plans of 2014
• QUIZ: What’s Your Perfect Cellphone Plan?
• Want to Dump Your Cell Service Provider? Do These 4 Things First

Read next: This Is the Best Wireless Carrier for You

With patience, you can pay off large amounts of debt and improve your credit. MONEY wants to hear how you're doing it.

Have you gotten rid of a big IOU on your balance sheet, or at least made significant progress toward that end? MONEY wants to hear your digging-out-of-debt stories, to share with and inspire our readers who might be in similar situations.

Use the confidential form below to tell us about it. What kind of debt did you have, and how much? How did you erase it—or what are you currently doing? What advice do you have for other people in your situation? We’re interested in stories about all kinds of debt, from student loans to credit cards to car loans to mortgages.

Read the first story in our series, about a Marine and mother of three who paid off more than $158,169 in debt:

My kids have been understanding. Now I teach them about needs and wants. The other day, I was coming home from work, and I said, “Do you need anything from the store?” My son said, “We don’t need anything, but we’d like some candy.” If they want a video game, they know they need to save their money to get that video game—and that means there’s something else they won’t be able to get. They understand if you have a big house, that means you have to pay big electricity and water bills. I’m teaching them to live within their means and not just get, get, get to try to impress people.

Do you have a story about conquering debt? Share it with us. Please also let us know where you’re from, what you do for a living, and how old you are. We won’t use your story unless we speak with you first.

Think there's no way to get out from under your obligations? This first in a series of profiles of people getting "Out of the Red" proves that it's possible.

Rachel Gause just wanted to give her three kids more than she had growing up. So, though she was receiving a secure income along with child support, she found herself living beyond her means every month—eventually racking up six figures in debt. With a whole lot of determination and almost a decade’s worth of belt-tightening, she’s climbed most of the way out. This is her story, as told to MONEY reporter Kara Brandeisky.

Rachel Gause
Jacksonville, N.C.
Occupation: Master Sergeant, United States Marine Corps
Initial debt: $179,625
Amount left: $21,456
When she started paying it down: 2006
When she hopes to be debt-free: November 2015

How I got into trouble

“I was just trying to keep up with everybody else. I’m a single parent to three kids, ages 10, 14, and 16. I was always spending extra on Christmas and on birthdays. Also, growing up, I didn’t have new clothes and new shoes at the start of every school year. But I wanted to make sure my kids always did.

Looking back, I wish I would have known not to rely on credit cards. I wish I would have known that it’s okay to keep your car for four or more years, as long as you maintain it.

I started going into debt when my first daughter was born, 16 years ago. I remember I had to get a furniture loan. By 2006, I had $55,848 in credit card debt and $76,711 in car loans. Then there were the personal loans. I had a consolidation loan that I used to pay off my credit cards. Altogether, it came out to $179,625.”

My “uh-oh” moment

“I wasn’t aware of how much debt I was in. The turning point for me was when I hit the 10-year point in the Marines, and I saw other people around me retiring. I wanted to sit down and see where I was at. And that’s when I realized I didn’t want to retire in debt. I didn’t want to be that person.

At the time, I had a Toyota Sequoia, and I couldn’t make payments on it. I knew I was in way over my head.

Even though I had three kids, we didn’t need that big truck. It was going to put my family at a financial challenge. So I spoke to a lady at my church, and I said, ‘I have this truck, and I’m going to trade it in for something smaller.’ And she said, ‘I always wanted a Toyota Sequoia.’ I sold it to her and got into a Corolla instead.

I realized buying that truck was a bad choice, and I knew I needed to develop better habits from there. That was my first step forward.

How I’m getting out from under

Now I put roughly $2,100 a month toward my debt.

For the rest of my income, I use the envelope system. Before I get paid, I do my budget. Then I have 13 envelopes—one for groceries, one for clothes and shoes, one for charity, one for dining out, one for gas, and so on. I go to the bank, take the money out, and divide it between the envelopes.

I don’t spend anything that doesn’t come out of those envelopes. Debit cards are nice, but swiping is less emotional. Cash makes me more aware of what I’m spending my money on. If I run out of money for something that month, I don’t buy it. But I’ve never run out of money for something important—now I’m more aware of how much I’m spending.

That’s because I also got a small composition book from Dollar General to track my spending. Every time I spend money, I write it in that book. Then I compare that to what I’m supposed to be spending, according to my budget.

I also do a quarterly audit on myself to make sure I’m not spending too much more on my cable or cell phone bills.

But it’s not all deprivation. We have a chart that we color in every time we reach a milestone, and we treat ourselves to something nice. For example, recently I went on a trip with my high school classmates to Atlanta—funded totally in cash.

My kids have been understanding about our debt-free journey. They know that mommy has made some bad financial decisions in the past. Now I teach them about needs and wants.

The other day, I was coming home from work, and I said, “Do you need anything from the store?” My son said, “We don’t need anything, but we’d like some candy.”

If they want a video game, they know they need to save their money to get that video game—and that means there’s something else they won’t be able to get. They understand if you have a big house, that means you have to pay big electricity and water bills. I’m teaching them to live within their means and not just get, get, get to try to impress people.

What I’ve learned that could help someone else

My advice would be to sit down, see where you’re at—first, you have to know how much debt you’re in—and then create a spending plan. (Some people are scared of the word “budget.”) You have to tell your money where to go, or it’s going to tell you where to go.

The numbers may scare you in the beginning. It takes two or three months before you can get the budget right.

And you have to be consistent. If you don’t put 100% into it, it’s not going to work. You can’t be half, ‘I’m trying to get out of debt,’ and half, ‘I still want to spend money.’ You have to sacrifice.

My hopes for the future

Once I become debt-free, I plan to build up my emergency fund and then start actively investing and saving for retirement.

Then I hope to get my kids off to a better start.

My daughter will go to college soon. We’ve talked about student loans.

The main reason I joined the military was to obtain my college degree for free. I earned my degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington last year. But while I was there, I saw so many kids taking courses for a second and third time because they were failing and they weren’t going to class.

So I told my daughter, you’ll pay for that first year, and we’ll see how you manage. Then I’ll assist you with your second, third and fourth years. But first, I need to make sure you’re dedicated.

After I retire from the military, I want to become a certified financial counselor so I can help people break the vicious cycle of being in debt and dying in debt. My passion is to put together financial classes for non-profit organizations like women’s shelters, churches, and organizations for military service members. There aren’t that many in this area, and I see a real need. I see so many people struggling to survive, living paycheck to paycheck.

I’ve already started counseling some people who ask for help.

Every now and then, I get a message on Facebook from someone I helped that says, ‘I just paid off another credit card’ or ‘I paid off my car.’ That’s my motivation now. I don’t want to stop – the need is out there.

Are you climbing out of debt? Share your story of getting Out of the Red.

Check out Money 101 for more resources:

• I am unable to pay my debts. What can I do?
• How do I get rid of my credit card debt?
• How can I improve my credit score?
• How do I set a budget I can stick to?

Federal agencies consider new rules about inflight calls.

Young adults aren't saving as much as they think they should for retirement. But paying off debts is just as important.

Millennials are pretty stressed out about their long-term finances, according to Bank of America’s latest Merrill Edge Report. Some 80% of millennials say they think about their future whenever they pay bills. Almost two-thirds contemplate their financial security while making daily purchases. And almost a third report that they often ponder their long-term finances even while showering.

What’s eating millennials? Student loan debt. Even the very affluent millennials surveyed by Bank of America feel held back by student debt—and these are 18-to-34 year-olds with $50,000 to $250,000 in assets, or $20,000 to $50,000 in assets and salaries over $50,000. Three-quarters of these financially successful Millennials say they are still paying off their college loans.

Among investors carrying student debt, 65% say they won’t ramp up their retirement savings until they’ve paid off all their loans. But with that choice comes a lot of guilt: 45% say they regret not investing more in 2014.

Contrary to popular wisdom, millennials are committed to investing for retirement. Bank of America found that the millennials surveyed were actually more focused on investing than their elders. More than half of millennials plan to invest more for retirement in 2015. But 73% of millennials define financial success as not having any debt—and by that measure, even relatively wealthy millennials are feeling uneasy.

Fear not, millennial investors. You’re doing just fine. First off, you’re saving more — and earlier — than your parents’ generation did. A recent Transamerica study found that 70% of millennials started saving for retirement at age 22, while the average Baby Boomer didn’t start until age 35. On average, millennials with 401(k)s are contributing 8% of their salaries, and 27% of millennials say they’ve increased their contribution amount in the past year. Even if you can only put away a small amount at first, you can expect to ramp up your savings rate during your peak earning years.

For now, here are your priorities:

Save enough to build up an emergency fund. You could be the biggest threat to your retirement savings. A recent Fidelity survey found that 44% of 20-somethings who change jobs pull money out of their 401(k)s. (That’s partly because some employers require former workers with low 401(k) balances to move their money.) Fidelity estimates that a 30-year-old who withdraws $16,000 from a 401(k) could lose $471 a month in retirement income—and that’s not even considering the taxes and penalties you’d owe for cashing out early. If you have to make the choice between saving and paying off debt, at least save enough to get through several months of unexpected unemployment without draining your retirement accounts.

Pay off any high-interest debt first. When you pay off debt, think of it this way: You’re making an investment with a guaranteed return. Over the long term, you might expect a 8% return in the stock market. But if you have a loan with an interest rate of 10%, you know for certain that you’ll earn 10% by paying it off early.

Save enough to get your employer’s full 401(k) match. The 401(k) match is another investment with a guaranteed return. Invest at least as much as you need to get the match—typically 6%—with the goal of increasing your savings rate once you’ve paid off the rest of your debt.

Related:

• Should I save or pay off debt?
• Which debts should I pay off first?
• The conventional money wisdom millennials should ignore
• Millennials (with jobs) are super saving their way to retirement

A new study found that major e-commerce retailers show some users different prices or a different set of results.

Do you think you can find the lowest prices by shopping online? Think again.

A new study by researchers at Northeastern University confirmed the extent to which major e-commerce websites show some users different prices and a different set of results, even for identical searches.

For instance, the study found, users logged in to Cheaptickets and Orbitz saw lower hotel prices than shoppers who were not registered with the sites. Home Depot shoppers on mobile devices saw higher prices than users browsing on desktops. Some searchers on Expedia and Hotels.com consistently received higher-priced options, a result of randomized testing by the websites. Shoppers at Sears, Walmart, Priceline, and others received results in a different order than control groups, a tactic known as “steering.”

Overall, the study confirmed what we’ve known for a long time: Online prices are all over the map, even for the same products. Search results can be influenced by a whole bunch of factors, including your search history, what kind of device you’re using, and where you’re located. For example, two years ago Orbitz was found to be “steering” Mac users towards more expensive hotels. Staples charged different prices for staplers based on where the shopper lived.

A majority of Americans think this kind of price discrimination is illegal. Sorry, it’s not.

Rather, as the Northeastern researchers explain, it’s a bedrock economic principle: Merchants should always try to establish “perfect price discrimination,” whereby a customer is always charged the absolute most he is willing to pay for any given product. Some customers are “elastic,” meaning they have very high price ceilings; others are “inelastic,” and if the price of a product increases just a little bit, they won’t bite.

In brick-and-mortar days, retail assistants might have profiled well-dressed customers as price-elastic and subtly directed them toward more expensive merchandise. Coupon-clippers might have received different treatment. Now, thanks to the Internet, retailers can make much more accurate guesses about how much different customers might be willing to pay, by using cookies to track buying patterns across the web.

Of course, retailers say this isn’t discrimination so much as using the tools and technologies at their disposal. “Presenting different booking paths and options to different customers allows us to determine which features customers appreciate most,” Expedia spokesman Dave McNamee told the Wall Street Journal.

Fortunately, you can play this game too. Here’s how to make sure you see the cheapest prices when you shop online.

Delete your cookies. Retailers use cookies to track you and collect information about your preferences. If you want to see unaltered prices, delete cookies by clearing your browsing history.

Browse privately. The problem with deleting your cookies is that information they contain might also work in your favor—remember that users logged into Orbitz or Cheaptickets sometimes saw lower prices than shoppers who were not logged into the site. So look at products using a “private” window, which will not send the website any information about you. See if the price is higher or lower in that mode. (On Google Chrome, go to “File,” then “Open Incognito Window.”)

Wait. Be inelastic. Put an item in your shopping cart, but don’t buy it. Some online retailers will cut the price to close the deal.

Use tools to price-watch. Try CamelCamelCamel.com, which sends you an alert when the price drops on an Amazon product. When MONEY tried it, the price of a vacuum fluctuated between $212 and $268 over the course of a month.

To bargain-shop like a pro, read MONEY’s feature about how to snag the best deals online.

Some candy-market watchers say Ebola is partly to blame.

Hey, all you trick-or-treaters, don’t be surprised if your candy haul is a little bit lighter this year. The cost of Halloween just went up. The consumer price index for candy and gum rose 2.1% in September, the biggest increase in three years.

The price jump shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. Hershey’s—maker of Reese’s Cups, Kit Kats, Kisses, and the eponymous bar—announced an 8% price hike back in July. Mars soon followed suit with a 7% hike on its products, which include M&Ms and Snickers bars. Both candy manufacturers blamed the increases on the rising cost of doing business.

“Over the last year key input costs have been volatile and remain at levels that are above historical averages,” Hershey’s President of North America Michele G. Buck said in a statement. “Commodity spot prices for ingredients such as cocoa, dairy, and nuts have increased meaningfully since the beginning of the year. Given these trends, we expect significant commodity cost increases in 2015.”

Still, until recently the candy index stayed low. Here are 4 developments that may account for the change.

1. Ebola fears caused a temporary spike in cocoa prices. The world’s No. 1 producer of cocoa, Ivory Coast, is surrounded by Ebola-stricken countries. So is the world’s No. 2 producer, Ghana.

Jack Scoville, a vice president of the Price Futures Group, said some market watchers were afraid that if Ebola spread to either country and sickened the laborers who prepare the cocoa harvest, that could spell trouble for the chocolate industry.

“There was a very legitimate fear that the harvest and the merchandising could be disrupted. That spiked prices from $3,050 [per ton] to almost $3,400 in a matter of 10 days,” Scoville said.

Thankfully for everyone involved, neither Ivory Coast nor Ghana has experienced any outbreaks. And the price of cocoa has dropped back down, to around $3,100.

That said, even if Ebola fears don’t change the price of your Halloween candy, Valentine’s Day is another matter. “It takes some time to get the cocoa beans into an exportable position, to process the beans into cocoa and process the cocoa into candy bars,” Scoville explained. “If [Ebola] does become an issue—which is becoming an increasingly big ‘if’—it would be more of an issue around Valentine’s Day or Easter.”

2. A trade spat with Mexico has driven up sugar prices. While the rising cost of cocoa is probably the main reason candy prices are up, sugar has gotten pricier too.

U.S. sugar producers have accused Mexican sugar producers of “dumping” in the United States, selling sugar at subsidized prices that unfairly undercut domestic manufacturers. As a result of the dispute, wholesale sugar prices have risen 40% since March, according to Tom Earley, economist and trade policy specialist at Agralytica.

The trade dispute has yet to be resolved.

3. There’s a lag time before candy gets more expensive. While the retail price of candy remained relatively steady until recently, the cost of raw cocoa has been rising for the past several years:

Still, it’s not surprising that it took a while for you to see the price hike at your grocery store, said Annemarie Kuhns, agricultural economist at the USDA Economic Research Service.

“With the foods that require more processing, there’s a longer time between the change in the price at the commodity level and a change in the price at the retail level,” Kuhns said. “They have more leeway to change their profit margins, and they’re not as quick to change their prices.”

4. Newly prosperous Asian consumers want more chocolate. If you want to know why the commodity price of cocoa is rising, look to Asia. Consumers there are hungry for Hershey’s. Over the past several months, manufacturers have built additional processing facilities in Indonesia to meet the rising demand in China and Southeast Asia. That demand is driving up the cost of chocolate for everyone.

“Over the past year or two, as incomes have risen, [Asian consumers have] discovered chocolate tastes good, and they want more,” Scoville said.

Well, American trick-or-treaters can understand that much.

Almost half of all consumers surveyed are afraid to shop at retailers like Target. They shouldn't be.

This post was updated with news about Target’s new free shipping offer.

Retailers are gearing up for the holiday shopping season, but one thing has some consumers spooked: According to a new survey by CreditCards.com, 45% of respondents say they are less likely to shop at stores that have suffered a data breach, such as Target, Home Depot, or Michaels. Almost 30% say they will “probably” avoid stores that have been hacked, and 16% claim they “definitely” will.

While it’s hard to believe that half of all shoppers will actually skip the sales at major retailers come holiday season, Target did suffer a 5.5% decline in transactions last year after its data breach.

But shoppers, you’re being silly. You don’t need to avoid stores that have been hacked. Here’s why.

1) If someone steals your credit or debit card number, you have very limited liability.

You’ve got at least one reason to thank Congress: The Fair Credit Billing Act and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act cap how much money you’ll lose if someone steals your credit or debit card. If someone steals your card number but not your actual card — which could happen during a data breach — you are not liable for any fraudulent transactions. Read: You won’t lose any money. Just be sure to report any fraudulent debit card charges within 60 days of receiving your statement.

The rules are a little different if someone steals your physical card. With credit cards, you still won’t need to pay anything if you report the loss before a thief uses the card. Otherwise, your liability is capped at $50. With debit cards, you’ll only pay up to $50 if you report the theft within two days, or up to $500 if you report the theft within 60 days of receiving your statement.

There’s another reason to prefer credit over debit. When someone makes fraudulent charges on your credit card, you can challenge the bill when you receive it. But when someone else uses your debit card, that money comes straight out of your account, so it could take a little bit longer to recover your funds.

And if you’re really afraid, just stash the plastic. CreditCards.com reports that 48% of shoppers say data breaches have made them more likely to spend cash.

2) Avoiding these stores won’t protect you from the scariest kinds of identity theft.

When someone steals your credit card number and spends your money, that’s considered “existing account fraud.” Banks and credit card companies have gotten pretty good at identifying abnormal spending patterns, so you’re likely to catch existing account fraud early, and your liability is limited.

But if someone steals your Social Security number, opens a new credit card in your name, provides a new billing address, and runs up big charges, it might take you a while to notice. That’s called “new account fraud,” and it’s a real headache.

To catch new account fraud, check your credit report three times a year. It’s not hard to do, and it’s free. Your report will show all your accounts and debts, as well as your payment history. Check to make sure all of the information is accurate and all of the accounts actually belong to you. (Go. Do it now. Did you catch a problem? Here’s what to do.) If you’re afraid that your social security number has already been stolen, you can put a free fraud alert on your credit file to let lenders know or freeze your credit so that no one else can open new accounts in your name.

But you don’t give out your Social Security number every time you swipe your credit card, don’t worry about going shopping.

3) Safer cards are on the way.

Are you sick of all these data breaches? So are businesses — after all, they’re the ones on the hook for fraud, not you. That’s why Visa and Mastercard are sending out new “chip-and-pin” cards. These cards have embedded microchips, which are more secure than magnetic stripes. If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you might remember what chip-and-pin technology looks like; Europeans have been using this system since the 1990s. While not foolproof, these cards are a great improvement. President Obama signed an executive order last week requiring that all government credit cards use chip-and-pin technology.

Practically speaking, chip-and-pin cards won’t do much more to help consumers at point-of-sale — remember, you have limited liability. But starting Oct. 1, 2015, the liability will shift to whichever business has the oldest technology. If credit card companies don’t update their cards, they will be liable for any fraud; if retailers don’t offer chip-and-pin terminals, they’ll be on the hook. So everyone has an incentive to make payment systems more secure, which is ultimately in consumers’ best interest.

4) Retailers that got hacked are working harder to win back your trust.

Guess which retailer is installing chip-and-pin technology in all of its stores and on all of its branded cards — Target!

Guess which retailer offered free credit monitoring to all its customers — Target!

Guess which retailer just started offering free shipping — Target!

Given that there have been 606 data breaches already this year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, you can probably expect more to come. But the retailers that have already been hacked are beefing up security and offering free identity theft protection services to consumers, so you’re probably safer there than everywhere else.

If that doesn’t put your mind at ease, here are some more steps you can take:

• The one foolproof thing you can do to protect yourself from identity theft
• Is my data safe?
• What should I do if I have been the victim of a data breach?
• How can I protect myself from identity theft?
• What should I do if my identity is stolen?

The president shared a story about his own credit card troubles during an executive order signing at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

First, we heard that the former chair of the Federal Reserve couldn’t get a mortgage. Then we learned that one of the most powerful economic figures in the world makes less money than at least 113 of her underlings.

Now we find out that President of the United States had his credit card declined.

At an event at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today, President Obama said a New York restaurant rejected his card last month. But it wasn’t because he maxed out his credit (or so he says).

“I guess I don’t use it enough, so they thought there was some fraud going on,” Obama said. “I was trying to explain to the waitress, no, I really think that I’ve been paying my bills.”

The President made his remarks while signing an executive order to improve security features on government credit cards. “Even I’m affected by this,” Obama joked.

Luckily, Michelle picked up the tab.

Read on for more help with common credit woes:

• How do I fix a suspicious charge on my credit or debit card?
• What should I do if I have been a victim of a data breach?
• Should I pay for credit monitoring?
• How can I dispute errors in my credit report?
• The one thing you should do to protect yourself from identity theft
• MONEY’s Best Credit Cards

Read next: Obama Signs Order to Secure Government Credit Cards From Data Breaches