Money Management

Want to see if Costco is good for retirees? These Costco deals for seniors aren’t “just” for the older crowd; they can help your money go further. [[{“value”:”

Is Costco good for retirees? It depends on your budget and your overall personal finances, but for most seniors, Costco can be a good place to shop. Costco offers low prices on everyday items like groceries and surprisingly good deals on higher-end “affordable luxuries.”

Whether you want to buy furniture, appliances, a new TV, or other big-ticket items, Costco can help people save money at every stage of life. Costco does not offer “senior discounts.” But the same low prices that Costco offers to all shoppers can be an especially good value for retirees on a budget.

Enjoying life in retirement depends on how you want to spend your time and money. A few special types of Costco deals and discounts can provide especially good value for seniors.

(Note: Prices may vary by location; all prices were available online for my local Costco warehouse in West Des Moines, Iowa, as of March 20, 2024.)

1. Costco Travel

If you want to spend more time traveling in retirement, Costco Travel can help you get a better deal on dream vacation packages, rental cars, cruises, and more. Want to take your grandkids to Disney World or stay at an all-inclusive beach resort? Costco Travel can make it happen, with members-only pricing and extensive support to make your vacation a success.

Here’s a great Costco deal for seniors: Paradisus Palma Real — an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic ($200 instant savings plus digital Costco Shop Card; book by March 31, 2024, for Travel from April 1-Dec. 22, 2024).

If you’ve ever wanted to try an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, this Costco Travel deal makes it easy to book — and you can get a digital Costco Shop Card as an extra bonus discount for your travel purchase. The exact pricing will depend on your choice of room, dates, and duration of your stay, but I found rates for seven nights (two adults) in April 2024 at this Dominican Republic resort for $4,595 — and you get a $373 digital Costco Shop Card.

2. Costco prepared meals

Some retirees love to cook meals at home, but others like to let others do the cooking so they have more time for hobbies and other activities. Costco-prepared meals and takeaway food items can be a great deal for seniors, because they provide several portions of delicious food that can be eaten over a few days.

And you get lots of great choices at Costco for easy meals — not just the famous Costco $4.99 rotisserie chicken! Costco offers high-quality frozen pizzas, dumplings, tortelloni, soups, and more.

Here’s a great Costco deal for seniors: Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna, 3 lbs, 2 count ($19.53).

3. Costco Pharmacy

Even if you have good health insurance coverage through Medicare, it’s always good to save money on prescription drugs, annual vaccinations, and over-the-counter medications. Seniors have worked hard for a long time, and they deserve to stay healthy and keep feeling good as they get older. The Costco Pharmacy can help!

Here’s a great Costco deal for seniors: Your exact savings will vary based on which prescriptions you need, but our research found that the Costco Pharmacy could easily save you over $739 per year.

4. Costco Optical

Taking care of our eyesight is important at all ages and stages of life, but it can be especially helpful for seniors who want to stave off macular degeneration or other optical conditions as they get older. Getting the right pair of eyeglasses can help.

Costco Optical offers affordable eye exams from independent doctors of optometry right there at the warehouse store. You can also buy stylish eyeglasses at Costco Optical, in-store or online.

Here’s a great Costco deal for seniors: Buy optical frames at Costco for as little as $59.99 — exact pricing will depend on the type of lenses you need.

Costco Optical accepts most major vision insurance plans. And Costco offers free adjustments for your glasses — whether you bought them at Costco or not.

5. Costco home improvement services

Costco makes it easier to tackle your home improvement projects. Whether you want to spruce up your home, get new countertops, remodel your bathroom, or get trustworthy professional help with a complex project that you don’t want to handle yourself, Costco Home & Installation Services can help.

With these services, you don’t buy directly from Costco. Instead, Costco will connect you with local, Costco-approved contractors. Here’s how it works:

You get a free in-home consultation from the contractorsYou pay the contractors directlyBased on the price of your qualifying purchases, Costco gives you a 10% Costco Shop Card as a “cash back” discount. For example, if you spend $10,000 on services, you could get a Costco Shop Card for 10% of that amount, or $1,000.

Here’s a great Costco deal for seniors: Jacuzzi Bath Remodel (10% Costco Shop Card on qualifying purchases).

Want to upgrade your bathroom, get a more comfortable shower, install grab bars or other features, and otherwise make your bath into a beautiful, functional sanctuary? Jacuzzi Bath Remodel can help — and you can qualify for a 10% discount in the form of a Costco Shop Card.

Bottom line

America’s seniors are living more active, independent lives in retirement than ever before. But as people get older, we all need a little extra help, comfort, and convenience. Costco delivers excellent value for the money, with the right products, services, and experiences that retirees need and deserve. Costco can help your budget in retirement — and can make your retirement years a little more joyful and hassle free.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Having children can be prohibitively expensive. Read on to learn why it’s so much harder to afford kids nowadays. [[{“value”:”

We’re all familiar with the classic American Dream: Get married, buy the house, have kids, retire well. At least that used to be the dream for many. But if you’ve seen any recent headlines, you may be convinced that no one is having kids anymore. And unless you’re very well off, it’s not hard to understand why.

But this massive rift in affordability between those who have kids and those who don’t hasn’t always been quite so pronounced. In fact, there are still tax incentives offered by the government that are designed to favor families. So what changed?

Here’s a quick breakdown.

The high(er) cost of living

It’s expensive to exist, what with all the frivolous costs of food and shelter getting in the way — and, unfortunately, as prices rise, it only gets that much harder. For example, a $100,000 salary in 2014 has the same purchasing power as about a $132,000 salary today, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a significant difference that can shape whether you feel financially ready to have kids or not.

Plus, for those who opt not to have children, child care is one big cost they can avoid. Based on the latest available data, those prices range from $5,357 in 2022 dollars for school-age home-based care in small counties up to $17,171 for infant center-based care in very large counties. (And that’s assuming you don’t live in a child care desert, which would require you to stay home to care for your child, potentially impacting your ability to earn money.)

Stagnating incomes

General personal finance knowledge says that you can expect to earn more money over time. And while that’s true, especially if you ask for raises, that doesn’t mean that the bigger picture isn’t all but frozen in place.

In fact, wages for most workers in the U.S. have essentially stagnated since the 1970s, despite a rise in productivity. Middle-wage workers’ hourly pay is up 6% since 1979, and low-wage workers’ earnings are actually down 5%. Meanwhile, those with very high wages saw a 41% increase, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute. That’s a significant spike in inequality that can make the question of whether you can afford to become a parent a difficult one.

That, combined with the ever-rising cost of living, means that the money you earn isn’t going nearly as far as it used to. And that’s assuming you’re staying debt free.

The other reason people are opting for a childfree lifestyle

The decision to have kids is not just a financial one, it’s also something that will shape the rest of your life. So it makes sense that more people are opting to wait or potentially choosing not to have kids. And as it becomes less affordable, and more common to opt out of parenthood, it also becomes more socially acceptable. And that can certainly feed into each other.

And while it’s doubtful that anyone is seriously making the decision to have kids based on the desire to not have to answer uncomfortable questions at family reunions, the social component is certainly there. And there is something to be said for the cultural shift that’s happened in recent years regarding the “acceptability” of being childfree, enabling more people to make that decision more freely.

Ultimately, having kids is one of those very personal decisions that can’t be made based on your bank account balance alone. Either way, it is an important decision to make to craft a life you love.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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These five tax breaks saved me a five-figure sum. How much could you save? Learn more about each tax break to find out. [[{“value”:”

My tax situation is more complex than most. For starters, I’m technically self-employed and get a few different 1099 forms each year. I also own rental real estate, which is certainly a tax-advantaged form of investing, but makes filing a tax return more complicated. I also manage a small real estate investment partnership, have several retirement and non-retirement brokerage accounts, and more.

However, the complexity of my taxes also helps me get some pretty valuable deductions. Without going into detail on my specific income, spending habits, or investments, here are five of the ways I saved money on my 2023 taxes and how deductions like these can add up to thousands of dollars’ worth of tax savings.

1. Retirement savings

Every year, the deduction I receive for retirement savings is the single largest money-saver on my tax return. As a self-employed individual, I have access to certain types of retirement plans that allow me to set aside far more than a traditional or Roth IRA would. Specifically, I use a SEP IRA, which had a 2023 contribution limit of $66,000.

To be clear, I didn’t contribute that much. But I did set aside far more than the $6,500 traditional and Roth IRA limit.

My wife also sets aside money for retirement through her employer, which adds even more to the deduction. Our strategies complement each other well — I invest aggressively in my SEP IRA, while she contributes money to our state’s retirement system and will receive pension income after retirement.

2. Mortgage interest

To deduct your mortgage interest, you must itemize deductions. For 2023 taxes, itemizing is only worthwhile for couples whose combined deductions total $27,700 or more (the standard deduction).

One of the biggest reasons itemizing makes sense for us is that we have two homes’ worth of mortgage interest to deduct. In addition to our primary home, one of our rental properties is technically considered a second home (we use it more than a certain number of days each year) and some of its mortgage interest is deductible as well.

Now, my mortgage interest deduction is rather low compared with some other homeowners I know, as we bought when mortgage rates were about 3%. If you’re a more recent buyer, you might be surprised at how much this deduction could help.

3. College savings

I invest aggressively in 529 savings plans for my kids’ college education. Unfortunately, I don’t get to deduct contributions on my federal tax return, but they are deductible on my state taxes. With my state’s (South Carolina) income tax rate 6.4%, this adds up to a significant amount of tax savings.

4. Credits for parents

I alluded to this earlier, but I’m a parent of two young children. So, we get to claim the Child Tax Credit, which gives us $2,000 back per qualifying child. In 2023, our youngest attended daycare and our older child was enrolled in after-school care, both of which qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit as well.

5. Generosity pays

Last but certainly not least, we give significant amounts of money to a few charitable and nonprofit organizations. And, because we itemize deductions, we’re able to use them to save on our taxes. We each make donations to the universities we attended, our local animal shelter, our kids’ elementary school, and a few others.

Make tax planning a year-round activity

If I add up the value of all these deductions and credits, the tax savings is well over $10,000 when compared to how much I’d have to pay if I didn’t use any of them.

One important thing to keep in mind is that smart tax planning is a year-round process. Specifically, I wouldn’t have been able to use my retirement account deduction to the extent I did if I waited until the last minute, instead of contributing every time I got paid. The same goes for college savings. And instead of donating to charities and nonprofits only in December (like millions of Americans do), we try to spread it out all year so we can comfortably fit more into our budget.

With some smart planning, you might be surprised at how much you could save on your taxes. And now is a great time to start thinking about it for 2024.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Your 40s are an important decade of life, financially speaking. Find out what you should do during that time to set yourself up well for the future. [[{“value”:”

If you’re in your early 40s, the idea of turning 50 might seem scary. If you’re in your late 40s, you may be more in acceptance mode.

Either way, the financial moves you make in your 40s could be crucial to your 50s and beyond. So aim to do these things before your 50th birthday arrives.

1. Make sure you’re in a good place with retirement savings

Fidelity recommends having six times your salary saved for retirement by age 50. Depending on your current individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) plan balance, that might seem like a tall order. But if you’re able to hit that goal, it might take a lot of the pressure off of saving for retirement during your 50s and 60s.

Let’s say you make $80,000 a year and can sock away $480,000 for retirement by age 50. Let’s also assume you want to retire at age 65. Over the past half-century, the stock market (represented by the S&P 500) has averaged an annual 10% return, so it’s fair to assume that your portfolio might do the same. In that case, if you leave your $480,000 balance invested at 10% a year for 15 years, you’ll end up with just over $2 million, even if you don’t put another dollar into your retirement account during your 50s and 60s.

In fact, if you have kids who will be in college when you’re in your 50s, you may want the option to use all of your spare income to pay for their education. If you save enough by age 50, that option may be on the table.

2. Make a career change if you’re miserable

It’s more than possible to work in the same field for decades without truly being happy. And while you may be resigned to not loving your job, the reality is that you deserve to spend the latter part of your career doing something that brings you joy. You can technically make a career change at any age. But you may have more success making a change by age 50 than doing so in your late 50s or early 60s.

Unfortunately, employers are sometimes hesitant to take a chance on workers who may seem to be on the verge of retirement — and even more so when they’re new to the industry at hand. So take the time to think about how satisfied (or not) you are with your career. And if there’s something else you’ve always wanted to do, take that leap if you can afford to financially.

3. Start thinking about what you want retirement to look like

You don’t need to have a full-fledged retirement plan by age 50. But at that point, it’s good to have a basic idea of what you want your senior years to look like. That could help inform other decisions you make during your 50s.

For example, let’s say you decide you want to relocate to a different part of the country. In that case, you may not have to push yourself to pay off your mortgage in your 50s, since you’ll be planning to sell your house anyway.

Or you may decide that you want to live in a more expensive area. That might motivate you to ramp up your retirement savings in your 50s rather than hold your contributions steady or scale them back.

Getting to age 50 is truly something to celebrate. But before that milestone birthday arrives, assess your nest egg, pursue a career change if you’re not content with your current job, and try to at least get a basic picture of what your retirement plans might entail.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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