Money Management

Are higher egg prices getting you down? You’re not alone, as prices have continued to rise in recent months. Find out why you’re paying more for eggs in 2024. [[{“value”:”

Have you noticed higher price tags when picking up a carton of eggs at your local grocery store? Unfortunately, egg prices have continued to increase, and you may pay even more for a dozen eggs in the coming weeks. Find out why eggs are getting more expensive and discover what you can do to stay on budget while loading your grocery cart with food essentials.

The price of a dozen eggs continues to rise

Whether buying eggs to bake your favorite sweet treat or a protein-packed breakfast, you can expect to pay more for this grocery item. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $2.51 in December. Meanwhile, the average cost of a dozen large Grade A eggs in November 2023 was $2.14. Egg prices likely won’t stop rising in the coming weeks and months.

More bird flu outbreaks are causing egg-flation

So, why are eggs more costly? One big reason for these price increases is the continued spread of avian flu, or bird flu. The highly contagious disease can spread among ducks, geese, and other migrating birds. As birds migrate, the illness can reach turkey and chicken farms, impacting U.S. farmers.

Whenever the disease impacts a farm, the flock of chickens is killed to limit the spread of the contagious virus. This impacts the overall egg supply. When fewer eggs are available to sell and consumer demand remains high, shoppers can expect to pay more for a carton of eggs.

An early 2022 bird flu outbreak initially impacted the U.S. egg supply. Bird flu cases have declined at various points since then, resulting in reduced egg prices. However, since November 2023, farmers have been dealing with a resurgence in cases. Prices may remain high or continue to rise in the coming months if the nation’s egg supply remains impacted.

Here are a few ways to save money on eggs

You’re not alone if you’re upset about paying more for a carton of eggs. But you should know there are ways to save money on food expenses. By making strategic choices, you can get the essentials you need without depleting all of the funds in your bank account.

Here are a few tips to help you save money when buying eggs.

Use your wholesale club membership perks: If you’re a Sam’s Club or Costco member, buy your eggs at your local club. The prices will likely be more affordable than at other retailers. Be aware that you’ll need to pay a yearly membership fee to become a warehouse club member.Compare prices across retailers: If you’re not a warehouse club member but want to save money on eggs, pay attention to sales fliers. Compare prices across retailers in your area to find out where to shop for the lowest egg prices. Low-cost retailers like Aldi may have better prices.Buy eggs from local farms: There may be local farms nearby where you can purchase eggs. The prices may be cheaper than what you’d pay at the grocery store. Even if they’re not much cheaper, you can support a local business and be in the know about their egg farming practices.

If you’re paying for your groceries using a credit card, don’t forget to use a rewards credit card so you earn rewards. You can review our list of the best cash back credit cards to learn more.

Looking for additional tips to keep more money in your wallet? Check out our free personal finance resources for other ways to save money on everyday costs.

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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.Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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A lot of people assume buying a home is the surest path to becoming rich. But is it? Keep reading to see how investing can make renters rich. [[{“value”:”

One of the more persistent personal finance myths you’ll hear repeated often is “Renting is just throwing money away!” The people who spout this believe that buying a house is the only way to build wealth. Thankfully, it seems that this notion may finally be going the way of the dodo.

According to Zumper’s Annual Rent Report for 2023, 52.7% of those surveyed believe “the new American dream is being untethered to homeownership.” Clearly, these folks have realized the benefits of renting and recognize that taking out a mortgage loan you then pay off over time isn’t the only way to find happiness and financial security. In fact, renting is a perfectly valid way to put a roof over your head — and if you put your extra money to work for you, you can grow wealth.

Renting offers solid benefits

While I am currently preparing to become a homeowner again (and in far better circumstances than the last time I owned a home), I don’t regret all my years as a renter. Renting comes with some pretty sweet perks. For one thing, it’s a lot cheaper than owning a home. The costs of owning are wide and deep, and go far beyond the money you pay a mortgage lender.

You need homeowners insurance, and you’ll have to pay property taxes. You might owe homeowners association fees (depending on where you live), too. But one of the biggest ongoing costs of homeownership is maintenance and repairs. This ranges from the routine and predictable (landscaping, cleaning out your gutters a few times a year, getting your furnace serviced) to the unplanned and often very expensive (like a new water heater or a major plumbing repair). Research from The Ascent found that in 2019, homeowners paid an average of $8,609 more than renters do each year.

Beyond the money savings, renting also offers flexibility — this is the perk I’ve been most grateful for. I spent most of my adulthood in a career that had me moving constantly to gain experience and add to my resume, and if I’d bought and sold homes every time I moved, that would have been a huge net loss to my finances (honestly, even moving so often as a renter was expensive). It’s far easier and cheaper to break a lease than to sell a home.

Buy a house to make a home — not invest

Despite all the extra expenses that come with owning a home, it’s something that many people dream of (believe me, I know, as homeownership is my new year’s resolution). Part of that draw is that when you buy a home, you’re getting an ownership stake in an asset that grows in value in many cases. As you pay down your mortgage, you’re building equity that you can borrow against. And ideally, one day you’ll own your home outright and can sell it at a profit.

That said, all those additional costs you take on mean it’s better to think of buying a house as giving yourself a stable and secure place to live, rather than making an investment.

How much wealth could you grow as a renter?

Investing in the stock market over a long period can be an excellent way to become rich over time, and there are no maintenance costs or homeowners insurance involved.

If you don’t feel as if owning is for you, but you’re wondering how you might do with directly investing instead, try this. Sit down with some realistic estimates of how much more you might pay if you bought a home rather than rented one. It might take some research to arrive at that figure — start by checking out home listings in your area to get prices, see what the average mortgage rate is these days, and ask people you know how much they pay for expenses like property taxes and homeowners insurance.

If you plug those numbers into a mortgage calculator, you can roughly project your monthly costs as a homeowner. (This won’t include how much you might pay for a new roof in a few years, but remember, those unpredictable costs are what make owning a home such an expensive prospect.)

Let’s say you arrive at a figure of $2,500 a month — but you’re renting for $2,000 a month. If you invested that extra $500 a month and earned a return of just 8% (a conservative estimate; the stock market has averaged annual returns of 10% over the last five decades), here’s how much you could grow that money over time:

Yes, you might buy a home and watch its value grow to $685,000 in the time you own it. But you’ll also have to put a ton of money and work into it over that time. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that becoming a homeowner is your only ticket to financial security. Getting serious about investing may get you there, too.

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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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Many travelers use credit card points to help cover their travel costs. Check out the most popular way to use travel points according to a recent survey. [[{“value”:”

There are lots of ways to use travel points, but luxury bookings get the most attention. If you read much about travel credit cards, you’ll probably see stories about using points for expensive business-class airfare or five-star hotel stays. And it’s exciting to hear about how someone saved $5,000, $10,000, or more with travel points.

But as it turns out, redemptions like these aren’t all that common. Travel deal site Going surveyed travelers on how they use their points for its The State of Travel in 2024 study. The most popular option will probably surprise you.

The most popular ways to use points

It’s not luxury travel, but everyday economy flights that people pay for most often with points. Over half (58%) of travelers said they use their points for economy flights. Here’s the full list of options and the percentage of travelers who chose each one:

Economy flights: 58%Hotels: 11%Premium economy flights: 10%Flight upgrades: 7%Business-class flights: 6%Cash back: 4%Haven’t used them yet: 3%

So if you’ve been wondering whether you’re the only person who doesn’t use their points for super expensive travel, rest assured that you’re not alone. Those types of redemptions get attention precisely because they’re far from the norm. Using 25,000 points for a $350 economy flight may not get covered much on travel blogs, but it’s how most travelers redeem their rewards.

Why economy flights can be a smart way to use travel rewards

It’s often said that points are worth more when you use them for more expensive travel. This is generally true. A $350 economy flight may be available for 25,000 points — a value of $0.014 per point. A $2,000 business-class ticket may cost 65,000 points — a value of $0.031 per point.

Except that assumes you value the business-class seat at $2,000. If you’d never pay that much for it, and you don’t care that much about flying business class, then it’s probably not the best use of your rewards. Because even though you’re technically getting more value, you’re still spending 40,000 more points.

For travelers who are fine with flying economy, that’s often the best way to use points. You won’t need to spend nearly as many points per flight, which means you can travel much more. You could potentially book three economy flights for the same number of points it would take to book one business-class ticket.

Now, if you have a big trip planned where you’d like to book higher-end travel, then it’s a good idea to save points for that. For example, if you’re going on your honeymoon and want to fly business class, try to book that with points. This will likely save you more money overall.

How to make the most of your points

The key to using travel points is to learn what your redemption options are first, and the values you can expect to get with each one. Once you know that, you can figure out how to use your points and get a reasonable value from them.

Sometimes, this is straightforward. If you have an airline credit card, it earns miles in that airline’s frequent flyer program. You can use those miles to book flights. If you have a hotel credit card, it will work the same way, earning points in the hotel’s loyalty program.

Other credit cards give you more options. They have points you can transfer to airline and hotel partners, redeem at a fixed rate for travel, redeem for cash back, and potentially much more. You get options like these with credit cards in the following rewards programs:

American Express Membership RewardsChase Ultimate RewardsCapital One Venture RewardsCiti ThankYou Rewards

You’ll usually get a good value for your points as long as you use them for travel. Economy flights, business class, premium economy, and hotels can all be worth it. The only redemption option to avoid is cash back, as travel points are worth much less this way.

Don’t feel like you always need to use your points for an expensive travel booking. If you want to book that anyway, then points can help you save money on it. But there’s nothing wrong with using points for budget travel. If your points are helping you save on travel, then they’re doing their job.

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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.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Mortgage rates have retreated from all-time highs and are expected to keep falling. Here’s what you need to know. [[{“value”:”

Many homeowners who bought homes in 2023 have mortgage rates of 7% or more. Rates peaked at about 8% on the average 30-year mortgage in October 2023, and this caused many buyers to accept mortgage payments that are — to put it mildly — higher than they’d like.

Fortunately, mortgage rates have started to retreat from the highs. As of the latest data, the average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to 6.78%, and mortgage giant Fannie Mae expects this trend will continue, calling for 5.8% rates by the end of the year. This begs the question — when should homeowners with 7% and higher mortgage rates start to consider refinancing?

How quickly can you refinance?

In many cases, you can refinance as soon as it makes sense. If you bought when rates peaked at around 8% in October 2023 and can now get a loan with a 6.5% rate, refinancing could certainly be an option for you.

Let’s take a quick look at the rules. Note that these only apply to rate-and-term refinances, where your only goal is to lower your interest rate. Cash-out refinances often have longer waiting periods (known as “seasoning” rules).

Conventional mortgages have no waiting requirement. You might not be able to refinance with the same lender for six months, but you can certainly shop some of the other top refinancing lenders. FHA loans also have no seasoning requirement for simple rate-and-term refinances. VA loans have to wait at least 210 days (about seven months) before a loan can be refinanced. And USDA loans require a six-month history of on-time payments.

The mathematics of mortgage refinancing

The basic idea is that you need to make sure not only that refinancing will lower your monthly payment, but that the savings you’ll get will justify the cost of refinancing.

If you’ve never done it before, you might not realize that refinancing isn’t free. Your new loan will have closing costs, just as when you took out a loan to purchase your home. So, you need to make sure that the savings justify the expense.

Let’s look at a simplified example. We’ll say that you have a $400,000 mortgage with a 7.5% interest rate that you obtained a few months ago, with a monthly principal and interest payment of $2,797. If you refinance at 6.5%, it would drop your monthly payment to $2,528, a savings of $269 per month.

Now let’s say that the loan has $5,000 in closing costs. Dividing $5,000 by your $269 in savings per month would result in about 19 months until you saved enough money to break even on the cost. But to make refinancing worthwhile, you’d need to stay in the home significantly longer than your break-even cost, so keep this in mind when you’re crunching the numbers.

Of course, this is a simplified example. For one thing, refinancing closing costs are generally rolled into the new loan (so the new loan would have a balance of $405,000 in this case). And this doesn’t consider that you’re refinancing with a new 30-year term, so you’ll be paying your mortgage for a little longer than with your original loan. But this is often a smart way to help determine if refinancing could be a good idea.

As a general rule, if you can refinance with a new mortgage with an interest rate that is at least 75 basis points (0.75%) lower than your existing rate and you plan to stay in the home for at least five years, refinancing could be a smart option. But like most financial decisions, every situation is different.

What if you refinance and rates go even lower?

One common question I get is, “OK, refinancing makes sense now, but what if I refinance and then rates quickly drop even further?”

It’s important to know that refinancing doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-time thing. For example, let’s say that you bought a home last year with a 7.5% mortgage rate and you’ve done the math and it makes sense to refinance at 6.5% now. We’ll also say that rates continue to fall and reach 5.5% by the end of this year, which would make your payment even cheaper.

There’s no rule that says you can’t refinance again if market conditions become even more favorable. As I mentioned earlier, many lenders won’t let you refinance with them a second time within a certain timeframe, but you can certainly shop around. I know several people who refinanced more than once as rates plunged in 2020 and 2021. The same could certainly make sense for many homeowners today if we see a sustained drop in rates this time around.

The bottom line is that if you’re going to be in your home for a while and your expected savings significantly outweigh the cost of refinancing, it could be worth looking into. Homeowners who bought in the past year and a half or so may want to keep an eye on mortgage rates this year to watch for opportunities.

Our picks for the best credit cards

Our experts vetted the most popular offers to land on the select picks that are worthy of a spot in your wallet. These best-in-class cards pack in rich perks, such as big sign-up bonuses, long 0% intro APR offers, and robust rewards. Get started today with our recommended credit cards.

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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