Money Management

Cleaning your home is much easier when you simplify. Here’s how you can purchase everything you need online without damaging your monthly budget. 

Ask anyone with a clean home what their secret is, and they’re likely to tell you it’s easy. They keep it simple. Some make their own cleaning supplies, but if that doesn’t appeal to you, it’s as easy as going online to find everything you’ll need to bring out the sparkle in your home with as little effort as possible.

If your goal is to save money rather than spend it on bottle after bottle of different products, look for cleaning supplies that do more than one job. Here are a few cleaning products that can be used in different ways, along with some tips on how to buy supplies online.

Microfiber cleaning cloths

Microfiber cloths are remarkably useful. They’re super soft and non-abrasive and work equally well with dry and liquid cleaners. They’re durable (soaking up to eight times their own weight) and leave behind a streak-free, lint-free shine. Best of all, they’re far less expensive than rolls of paper towels. For example, this 24-pack of microfiber cloths can be reused hundreds of times and is only $13 on The Home Depot website.

All-purpose disinfectant spray

Why drain your checking account by buying a different cleaning product for every single job in your house? Instead, opt for a great all-purpose cleaner that is also a disinfectant. Method makes an all-purpose antibacterial cleaner that can be used to clean counters, tile, stone, (sealed) wood, toilets, bathtubs, showers, and more. Some people also use it to clean glass, but you may find that it’s not the right move for you (more on that in a moment).

A 28-ounce spray bottle of Method Antibacterial Cleaner (made from 100% recycled plastic, minus the nozzle and cap) sells for $4.69 on Target.com.

Window cleaner

BobVila.com suggests skipping the multi-purpose cleaner when it comes time to clean the glass in your home and looking for a product specifically designed to work without streaking.

With more than 900 reviews, Method Glass Cleaner has a nearly five-star rating. Users say it’s streak-free. Along with suggesting you buy a product specifically designed to clean glass, Bob Vila offers this tip: Use a lint-free cloth rather than paper towels to avoid leaving residue behind. A 28-ounce bottle of Method Glass Cleaner sells for $4.39 at Target.com.

Stainless steel cleaner

It may seem counterintuitive, but according to Architectural Digest, to fight greasy fingerprints, you need a cleaning product with oils in it. The publication suggests a product like Koala Eco Glass Cleaner for all your stainless steel needs, from refrigerators to dishwashers, stoves, and microwave ovens. At $13.90 for a 17-ounce bottle, it’s more expensive than some other cleaners listed here, but if you’re just using it for stainless steel, you shouldn’t have to replace it too often.

Magic eraser cleaning sponges

If you haven’t been introduced to magic cleaning sponges, you’re missing out. They can do darn near anything. These things clean scuff marks like they’re nothing, remove tough grime from nearly any surface, and make wall smudges disappear like magic. Better yet, they won’t set you back much. For example, you can pick up 100 Magic Sponge Erasers for less than $15 on Walmart.com. Those of us who’ve been using them for a while have learned to extend the life of a box by cutting each sponge in half.

Dishwashing soap

Unless you’re in the habit of throwing away your dishes after eating (and who among us has not been tempted?), you frequently find yourself up to your elbows in dishwater. The dishwashing soap you choose can determine how much time and effort you must put into cleaning those dishes.

That’s why a product like Dawn Dishwashing Liquid is so popular. For $4.79 for 28 fluid ounces, Dawn does more than clean the pots, pans, and dishes of your life. It can also help remove laundry stains and microwave messes. It’s great for degreasing cabinets, cleaning makeup brushes, and breaking down oil stains on the driveway. This stuff does it all, including saving wildlife following oil spills.

Total costs

If you were to buy each of these cleaning items individually, you would spend around $53. However, it will be months before you need to splurge again on microfiber cloths or magic sponge erasers. That means when you run out of the other cleaning products, you’re looking at a total bill of $25 to replace them. And that’s not bad for a clean, disinfected home.

Tips for buying cleaning products online

We all have different preferences when it comes to cleaning supplies. To find the perfect cleaning products for you (and your finances), here are a few tips:

Read reviews: As you may have noticed, people do not hold back when they’re writing a review. Unless a person has been paid for their opinion or received a product in exchange for a glowing review, they’re pretty honest. Consider eco-friendly options: There was a time when eco-friendly products were so much more expensive than “normal” cleaning products that it was tough to justify the cost. That’s not typically the case anymore. While some eco-friendly products are a bit more expensive, many are competitively priced. If you want to minimize chemical exposure while helping protect the planet, keep your eyes peeled for biodegradable, plant-based products. Shop around for the best price: Once you figure out which products are your favorites, occasionally shop around to make sure you’re still getting the lowest price. Let’s say you save a few dollars a month. That’s a few more dollars you have to pay down debt or invest.

Not everyone enjoys cleaning their home, and that’s OK. What we can all agree on is how good it feels once the job is done.

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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.Dana George has positions in Target and Walmart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Target and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Having sufficient insurance is important any time you drive. Find out if you need to have your own car insurance policy when you rent a car. 

If you have a car and your own auto insurance policy, that also covers you when you rent a car. Your policy will protect you in your rental car just like it does in your own. Many popular credit cards also have complimentary rental car insurance for damage and theft that can provide extra protection.

But what if you don’t own a car or have your own car insurance? Without an insurance policy that will cover damage and liability issues, you could be at risk of a financial disaster.

Do you need car insurance to rent a car?

In most states, you don’t need car insurance to rent a car. That’s because most states have laws requiring that rental car companies provide a minimum amount of liability insurance. You’ll be covered by that liability insurance, even if you don’t have insurance of your own.

Keep in mind that liability insurance only covers property damage and injuries to other people when you’re at fault for an accident. It doesn’t cover anything that happens to the rental car. For that, you’ll need collision and comprehensive coverage. You can purchase that through the rental company. Or better yet, pay with a credit card that offers collision and theft coverage.

A few states have different rules regarding rental car liability insurance. In Missouri and Utah, rental companies only need to provide liability insurance if the driver doesn’t have it. You’d still be covered in that case to rent a car without insurance.

However, in California and Texas, rental companies aren’t required to provide liability insurance. To drive a rental car in either state, you need to either have your own liability insurance or purchase it through the rental company. Insurance from a credit card wouldn’t be enough, because it covers the rental car. Credit cards don’t include liability insurance.

The rental car company might not check that you have insurance. But it’s illegal to drive without it. You’d be risking a ticket if you’re pulled over, and potentially a huge bill if you were found at fault for an accident.

Minimum rental coverage might not be enough

Even though you can rent a car without your own insurance in most states, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Remember that the rental company is only required to meet the legal minimum. This varies by state, but it often isn’t much.

For example, here are New York’s minimums for liability coverage:

$25,000 minimum for bodily injury sustained by one person not resulting in death, or $50,000 for any injury resulting in death$50,000 minimum for bodily injury sustained by two people not resulting in death, or $100,000 for any injury resulting in death$10,000 minimum for damage to another party’s car or property

In a serious accident, medical bills can easily exceed $25,000. And with today’s car prices, $10,000 may not be nearly enough to cover repair or replacement costs.

Imagine you’re in an accident and you total another driver’s car. The average new car price was over $48,000 last year. If your insurance caps out at $10,000, you could be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in damages.

Protecting yourself when renting a car

It’s in your best interest to have sufficient insurance when renting a car. At a minimum, you should have enough liability insurance to cover the potential cost of an accident, and also coverage for the rental car itself.

Drivers who already have policies through quality car insurance companies are covered. If you don’t have auto insurance, there are a few ways to get it for a car rental:

The rental car company: This is the most convenient option, but it could be expensive.Third-party rental car insurance: Companies that offer this include Allianz, Bonzah, and Travel Guard.Non-owner car insurance: This is liability insurance for people who don’t own a car but drive often. You’re likely better off with one of the first two options, unless you rent cars regularly.

To find the right option, first figure out exactly what insurance you need. If you have a credit card that will already cover damage and theft of the rental car, then you can stick to just liability insurance. If you don’t have any credit cards with rental car insurance, then you’ll need a policy with liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage.

Once you know what type of insurance to get, check prices with the rental car company compared to third-party providers. Prices and plans vary, so take a little time to compare options.

Insurance will add to your car rental costs, but it’s well worth having. With how much an accident can cost, you don’t want to leave yourself at risk.

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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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Itemizing deductions could help some people save a ton on their taxes. Here are seven of the most overlooked deductions for 2023. 

Whether you’re one of those people who’s cheering the end of Christmas music or saddened by it, I think we can all agree that what’s coming next is worse: tax season. Soon, we’ll all have to get out our calculators and explain to the IRS what we did with our money in 2023 and cross our fingers that it doesn’t decide to audit us.

We’d all like to pay as little as possible, and for many, that means claiming the standard deduction for their tax-filing status. But sometimes, itemizing deductions can save you even more. If you qualify for a few of the six itemized deductions below, you might consider going this route on your 2023 taxes.

1. Out-of-pocket medical expenses

You’re allowed to deduct out-of-pocket medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income in 2023. For example, if you earned $60,000 in 2023, 7.5% is $4,500. So you couldn’t deduct out-of-pocket expenses of $4,500 or less. But if you had $10,000, you’d be able to deduct $5,500 of this on your taxes this year.

Medical expenses don’t just include doctor and hospital visits. You can also deduct costs like birth control pills, breast pumps, dental and vision care, nursing care, wheelchairs, and more. But you can only deduct what you actually paid. You cannot write off anything your insurance paid on your behalf.

This type of deduction could be valuable for those who had serious accidents or illnesses in 2023 that led to high medical bills. But you’ll need receipts proving what you paid.

2. Charitable donations

Those who donated to charity in 2023 can write these donations off on their taxes as long as they gave the money to a qualifying tax-exempt organization. It’s usually possible to write off donations of up to 50% of your AGI. But certain private foundations have a 30% cap.

You can claim deductions for non-cash items too. This might include old clothing or household goods you donated as well as food you gave to a local food bank. But you’ll need receipts proving your donation. If it was worth more than $250, you’ll also need a written acknowledgement from the charity.

And if your noncash donation was valued at $500 or more, you’ll need an appraiser to verify the value of the goods. Keep in mind, the fair market value of the donated items may not be the same as the original purchase price.

You may also be able to write off mileage and other transportation-related costs if you traveled while you were working for a charity and were not reimbursed for these expenses. But again, you’ll need to keep your receipts.

3. Home office expenses

Those who work from home and are self-employed can write off home office and business-related expenses. This can include computers, home internet, office supplies, and business software or subscriptions. The value of this deduction varies significantly depending on the individual in question and the type of business they run, but it can be fairly substantial for some.

4. Mortgage points

Those who paid mortgage points can deduct these on their taxes. You should get a form from your lender showing how much you paid in mortgage points and mortgage interest during the year. All you have to do is provide this to your tax professional or enter it into your tax-filing software and let them do the rest.

5. Property taxes

Homeowners can deduct state and local property taxes on their primary residence to lower their tax bill, as well. The size of this deduction will vary depending on the value of the lot and its location. Homeowners should get a notice from their city or township indicating how much they owe in property taxes each year.

6. Gambling losses

Gamblers can deduct up to the amount of their winnings for the year. This means that if someone lost at least as much as they won while gambling, these losses would effectively cancel out the effect that their win would have on their taxes.

It’s important to recognize that it’s not possible to deduct more than your winnings. So if you lost a bunch of money and didn’t win anything, you won’t be able to claim a gambling loss deduction.

This isn’t a comprehensive list of tax deductions, but it should give you some idea of the types of things that could help you save on your taxes. Your tax software should ask you questions to help you determine which tax deductions you qualify for and whether itemizing deductions is the way to go. But if you have any questions, consult a tax professional who can advise you on your specific situation.

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Improving your finances doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Read on for ways to better yourself in five minutes or less. 

The start of a new year is a popular time for people to work on improving their personal finances. And if you’ve resolved to better yourself financially this year, you’re not alone.

In 2023, The Ascent’s research team found that two-thirds of Americans were making financial resolutions for 2024. But the reality is that the more complicated and time-consuming your resolutions are, the harder they might be to uphold. With that in mind, here are a few savvy financial moves you can make at the start of 2024 that should take five minutes or less of your time.

1. Boost your emergency fund with an automatic transfer

We all need money in the bank for unexpected expenses. And recent data from SecureSave reveals that 63% of Americans are not equipped to cover an unplanned $500 bill. Ouch.

If your emergency fund needs work, you’ll definitely want to prioritize it in 2024. A good way to set yourself on a successful path is to set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account now. Doing so should only take a few minutes, and it’s okay to be conservative with the amount you’re comfortable moving over automatically.

If you feel you can only swing a $25 transfer each month off the bat, so be it. At the end of the year, you’ll be $300 richer. But the key is to set up that transfer ASAP so you know for sure that some amount of money is getting moved into savings.

2. Save for retirement with your employer’s plan

If the company you work for offers a 401(k) plan, you have a prime opportunity to start building retirement savings. All you need to do is sign up through your benefits portal (or whatever system your company uses) and allocate a specific amount of money to contribute out of your paychecks. That sum may be just $50 a month to start with — but it’s a start nonetheless.

Best of all, signing up for a 401(k) shouldn’t take long. And because those contributions will come out of your paychecks directly, there’s no further work to do beyond filling out an initial form.

Plus, many employers that sponsor 401(k)s also match worker contributions to some degree. So putting $50 a month into your 401(k) might mean also getting an additional $50 from your employer for long-term savings purposes.

3. Reduce your spending by making it harder to complete online transactions

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to spend less, you’re no doubt in good company. And an easy way to achieve that goal is to make it harder on yourself to complete online purchases.

To that end, take two or three minutes to remove your saved credit card information from your phone, tablet, and the websites you use most often. If you don’t have that information stored, you may find that you’re less likely to complete transactions if it means having to get off the couch and go dig up your credit card number every single time.

Some New Year’s resolutions are harder to keep than others. But if your goal is to boost your savings, start a retirement nest egg, or reduce your discretionary spending, then you should know that a few quick and simple moves on your part could really set you up for success.

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Staying away from car debt is great. But not at the expense of siphoning off all of your savings. Here’s why one writer regretted a car purchase made in cash. 

Years ago, I was hunting for a used SUV to replace my wife’s old sedan. Her salmon-colored 1994 Lincoln Town Car was undoubtedly a sight to behold, but with broken power windows and an out-of-commission air conditioner, it was far beyond its prime.

I scoured the internet for weeks to find a suitable replacement and finally landed on a used SUV that I thought was a great fit for my family. Tons of space? Check! Within budget? Check! Too good to be true? TBD. I thought it was perfect, though, especially since it was priced at about $8,000 — the amount I had in my savings account at the time.

If memory serves me correctly (and it’s doing less of that these days) I paid for the SUV initially with an auto loan or even put the amount on a credit card, but within days, I drained my savings account and put all my cash toward paying off the car.

I patted myself on the back for not taking on any debt. Then, I quickly realized how bad it is not to have any extra cash for emergencies.

The car was a dud, and so were my finances

The SUV worked fine for a while, but it slowly became clear that the engine had problems. It randomly wouldn’t start, leaving my wife temporarily stranded until the vehicle decided it did, in fact, want to turn on.

It was only annoying at first, but the mechanical problems eventually got worse. At the same time, draining our savings to pay for the SUV made our financial situation more difficult than it needed to be.

Thankfully, we could still cover routine maintenance and car insurance expenses for the vehicle, but there were times when money was much tighter than it would have been if we hadn’t spent all of our money on the vehicle.

There was no wiggle room for unexpected home repairs, and we had no extra cash for major emergencies. We kept the SUV for a few years, but eventually had to sell it because of its odd mechanical problems, and I didn’t have the patience — or money — to find out what they were.

What I did differently the next time

I replaced yet another used car a few years ago, but this time I took a different approach. I made a down payment of several thousand dollars toward the vehicle, then financed the rest with an auto loan with the intent of paying it off early.

Even with the loan, I made sure that my monthly car payments were very manageable and that I could easily afford the insurance and any maintenance costs that might pop up.

My goal was to pay off the loan early, which we did by making additional payments and putting any extra money we received toward the loan. Thankfully, this approach worked far better than our previous car-buying experience, and we were able to pay off the car two years early.

Keep a savings cushion no matter what you do

For some people, paying for a car all in cash can still be a good idea. Doing so can help you avoid debt, and with interest rates still elevated, you can save a lot by not taking out an auto loan.

But whether you go that route or choose to use a loan, make sure you leave some money in your bank account. Having at least $1,000 in your savings could go a long way toward handling financial emergencies.

And if you’re finding it difficult to manage your current car payments, consider either selling the car and buying a cheaper one or finding other ways to reduce costs. For example, car insurance prices rose 19% over the past year, so shopping for a different car insurance company might help you significantly reduce that expense.

However you decide to pay for your next car, take it from me and leave a little extra cash in your account if you can. Oh, and if the price of the vehicle you’re about to buy seems too good to be true, well, you know why.

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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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Making the right investing moves could help you to grow your brokerage account balance. Learn about some steps to take to achieve success. 

Investing is one of the best ways to get richer, but you need to be smart about how you do it.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to become a great investor who ends up with a big nest egg. In fact, making just four simple investing moves in 2024 could help to set you on the path to future success. Here’s what they are.

1. Increase the amount you’re investing

The more money you invest, the more returns you can potentially make and the more you benefit from compound growth when you reinvest those returns. Compound growth happens when you earn interest on returns, as you’re earning extra money on the funds your investments already generated.

Increasing your investments by a small amount can make a big difference in the size of your nest egg over time. Consider what would happen if you invested an extra $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000 annually each year for 30 years and earned a 10% average rate of return.

It is well worth trying to increase how much you’re investing — especially if doing so could leave you with almost $1 million more. See if you can cancel a few streaming services or other memberships and redirect that money to investing, or if you’re getting a salary bump, put your raise directly into your brokerage account.

2. Check the investment fees you’re paying

Investing fees can leave you with a lot less money, because even small fees add up to huge sums over time.

Say, for example, you had $25,000 invested and earned 10% average annual returns. Here’s how much you’d end up with after 20 years if you picked an investment that charged either a 2.5% fee or one that charged a 0.12% fee (which is the asset-weighted expense ratio for passive ETFs or those tracking a financial index).

Actively managed investments (professionals pick stocks for you) tend to charge much higher fees than passively managed ones, with an asset-weighted average expense ratio of around 0.62% and some charging much more. And often the return on investment for actively managed investments is the same or lower than for investments that just track financial indexes. So, find a low cost ETF with an expense ratio below 0.12% to end up with more money in the end.

3. Commit to an investing strategy that makes sense

There are lots of different ways to invest. For most people, investing in ETFs using dollar-cost averaging and holding them for the long haul is the best approach. This means picking a fund — like one tracking the performance of the market — and buying the same dollar value worth of shares at a set interval, such as buying $500 in shares a month.

If you use this technique and choose a safe, reliable investment, you don’t have to try to time your purchase to the market. Since you’re always buying the same dollar value, you end up buying more shares when the cost is lower anyway. Then, if you leave your money alone, you should be able to recover from any downturns that might happen and earn a good return over the long term.

Now, there are other investing strategies that can work too — but the important thing is to research your options carefully, know the risks, and make an informed choice.

4. Automate your investing process

Finally, you should aim to automate the investing process so you will reliably contribute money. Sign up for a workplace 401(k) or have money transferred out of your bank account to your brokerage account each month so you don’t miss a contribution. This takes the guesswork out of investing, and will ensure you don’t forget to move the money over.

By making these four moves, ideally you will see great investing success in 2024 and beyond.

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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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