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Money Management

The 3 Most Unexpected Outcomes of Donating Your Car

By Money Management No Comments

Donating a car to charity is a wonderful act of kindness, but it doesn’t always give you a tax break. Learn more about the IRS rules for car donations. 

Image source: Getty Images

Donating a car to charity is a generous thing to do, and it can also be a win-win: Your favorite nonprofit gets money, and you can get a tax break for your charitable donation (and save yourself money on insurance costs). But don’t assume that a car donation is automatically going to mean big bucks for you at tax time. Due to IRS rules, there are a few complexities when donating your car.

Here are a few unexpected outcomes to watch out for when donating a car to charity.

1. Your car might be worth less than you think

When you donate your car to charity, the typical minimum tax deduction you can claim is $500. If your car is old, in bad shape, or needing to be scrapped, that $500 might feel totally fair to you. But if your car is in better condition, the amount of your tax deduction will depend on:

The sale price of the vehicle (assuming that the nonprofit sells your car to get cash), or:The “fair market value” of the vehicle (if the nonprofit keeps the car to use in support of its mission).

Don’t assume that your used car is going to sell for big money. The used car market goes through ups and downs. Sometimes, used cars are in demand and fetching high prices, and other times there are plenty of used cars looking for new homes — causing prices to go down. If you want to see how much your car is worth before you decide to donate, use tools like Kelley Blue Book to find the estimated value of your car based on current market trends in your area.

2. You might not qualify for a big tax deduction

If you want to get a break on your taxes for donating your car, IRS rules require you to donate the vehicle to a qualified tax-exempt nonprofit organization, called a 501(c)(3) charity. Before you donate, make sure that your charity of choice is up to date on its 501(c)(3) status. Even if you are connected to a local charity or community service group that you love, if it hasn’t filed the right paperwork to become an officially tax-exempt 501(c)(3), you won’t get a tax break for that donation.

Also, the exact amount of the tax deduction that you qualify for will depend on how the charity uses your donated vehicle. It can either sell the car for cash, or keep it for certain purposes, such as using the vehicle to deliver meals, or donating the vehicle to people in need. You won’t know the actual amount of tax deduction that you can claim until the charity gives you a tax receipt, known as Form 1098-C. Depending on how the charity uses your vehicle, and how much your car is worth, your deduction amount on that Form 1098-C might be lower than you expected.

3. You might not get money back at tax time

In recent years, IRS rule changes have made it less possible for most taxpayers to be able to claim deductions on charitable contributions. That’s because you have to itemize your deductions in order to get tax deductions for charitable contributions — and most taxpayers don’t do this. Instead, people tend to take the standard deduction.

According to IRS data, as of 2020, 87.3% of tax returns took the standard deduction. Taking the standard deduction might often be a better deal for your overall tax situation, if it lets you reduce your taxable income by more money than if you itemize. But taking the standard deduction won’t let you get an extra tax break for donating your car.

Bottom line: Donating your car to charity is a wonderful act of generosity, but don’t expect it to make a big difference to your tax refund. If you’re thinking about donating your car because it’s too expensive to own and you’re tired of paying for auto insurance, you might want to sell it or trade in your car instead. Check out the estimated value of your car before you decide to donate it, and make sure you understand how much of a tax deduction (if any) you’re likely to receive.

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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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4 Ways to Maximize Your Miles and Boost Frequent Flyer Status

By Money Management No Comments

Frequent flyer status can get you upgrades, free checked bags, and more. Here’s how you can earn more miles and get to the highest status tiers. 

Image source: Getty Images

If you travel often, it’s nice to have frequent flyer status with your favorite airline. Many airlines, including all the top U.S. carriers, have frequent flyer programs. Once you qualify, you get special perks, which can include upgrades, bonus miles on flight bookings, and free checked baggage.

Program rules and status requirements vary from airline to airline. Most airlines base your status on either how much money you spend with them, the number of flights you take, or a combination of the two.

Frequent flyer status can be valuable, especially if you make it to the highest program tiers. The benefits can make for a better travel experience and be good for your personal finances. Fortunately, there are a few ways to speed up the process of getting to those high status tiers.

1. Pick the right airline

Unless you fly all the time, you’re probably not going to get frequent flyer status with multiple airlines. It wouldn’t make much sense to try, either. You could end up spreading yourself too thin. Instead of reaching a high status with one program, you might get a lower status, or no status at all, in multiple programs.

You’re better off focusing on maximizing your status with one airline. For that reason, it’s important to choose an airline you can use often. Here’s how:

Pick an airline with plenty of flights out of your home airport: For example, if Atlanta is your closest airport, Delta Air Lines would be a good choice, as it has its main hub there.Make sure the airline has flights where you want to travel: Some airlines have much more coverage than others. If you’re planning to travel to Europe or other international destinations, you wouldn’t want to choose Southwest Airlines, because most of its routes are within the United States.

Once you’ve chosen an airline, fly with it whenever possible. By funneling your air travel spending to that airline, you’ll have an easier time qualifying for frequent flyer status.

2. Earn miles through partner airline bookings

Most airlines are part of airline alliances. An alliance is a group of airlines that are all partnered with each other. When you have a frequent flyer account with one airline, you can also earn miles with it when flying on any of its partners.

Let’s say you have a United MileagePlus® account. United is part of the Star Alliance, which currently has 26 members, including Air Canada, Avianca, and Lufthansa. If you fly with any of United’s partners, make sure to add your frequent flyer number with United when making your reservation. That way, you earn United miles, and those flights can count toward your MileagePlus® status.

3. Consider opening an airline credit card

When you’re loyal to an airline, getting one of its airline credit cards could be a good idea. These cards normally include lots of airline-specific perks. They often have similar benefits to those you’d get with frequent flyer status, such as free checked baggage and priority boarding.

Many of them also earn points that qualify toward the requirements for frequent flyer status. So, not only can you earn miles that you use for free flights, but you can also earn points that help you move up that airline’s loyalty program. To find the top credit cards with your airline of choice, check out these lists:

American Airlines credit cardsDelta Air Lines credit cardsSouthwest Airlines credit cardsUnited Airlines credit cards

4. Be mindful of how long you have to qualify

With frequent flyer programs, you have a one-year period to meet status requirements. Once you qualify for a status tier, you keep it for the rest of that year and the following year. The qualification period is typically the calendar year, but not always. For example, with American Airlines, it’s the 12-month period starting March 1 of every year.

Make sure you know the deadline to qualify for frequent flyer status in your program of choice. And if you’re planning to get an airline credit card, it could also pay to be strategic about when you open it.

Let’s say you’re looking at an airline card with a sign-up bonus of 60,000 points. You’re 80,000 points away from the status you want. It’d be a waste to get that card and earn the bonus right before the deadline, because you still won’t qualify. It’d be better to earn the bonus early in next year’s qualification period. You can start the year with 60,000 points, and you’ll have plenty of time to earn the rest.

Your frequent flyer status largely depends on how much you fly and spend with an airline. However, there are still ways you can raise your status as much as possible. If you follow those tips, you could be on track for a higher status.

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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.Lyle Daly has positions in Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool recommends Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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The Essential Tools for a Hassle-Free Car Donation Process

By Money Management No Comments

Donating a car to charity doesn’t have to be complicated. See how three tools make the car donation process easy — and might save you money at tax time. 

Image source: Getty Images

Do you have an old clunker vehicle that’s taking up space in your garage (or up on blocks on your front lawn)? Or maybe you have a newer vehicle that’s in good working condition, but you’re tired of paying for the rising costs of insuring it. Donating your car can be a great way to support a favorite charity while getting a tax break. But before you donate your car to charity, make sure you have the right information and documents and you understand how the process works.

Let’s look at three essential tools to make your car donation hassle-free — and maximize the benefits to your nonprofit organization and your bank account.

Tool No. 1: Read the IRS rules for car donations

Before you give away your car, make sure you understand the IRS rules for tax-deductible vehicle donations. According to the IRS, the size of the tax deduction you can get for donating your car depends on how your chosen charity uses the vehicle.

If the charity decides to sell the car, you can generally deduct the sale price of the vehicle.But if the charity keeps the vehicle and makes “significant intervening use” of the car (such as a nonprofit that delivers meals or offers free rides to people in need), you can potentially deduct the fair market value of the car.You can also deduct the fair market value of the vehicle if the nonprofit makes significant repairs or improvements to your donated car.

Tool No. 2: Use Charity Navigator to choose a high-performing nonprofit

Want to decide which nonprofit organization will use your donated car to do the most good? Check out Charity Navigator to find eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations on the national level, or local charities near you. The “501(c)(3)” designation is an important tax classification that nonprofits need to have in order to make car donations tax-deductible. Don’t donate your car to an organization unless it has up-to-date 501(c)(3) status.

Charity Navigator can also show you how effective each nonprofit is at using donated funds. Their website ranks hundreds of charities on a range of metrics, such as impact, financial management, organizational culture, and quality of leadership. If you want to make sure your donated car is going to a well-run, highly effective charity that will make a real difference in communities you care about, Charity Navigator is a great tool.

Here are a few national nonprofits that are rated as “four-star charities,” the highest ranking from Charity Navigator, and they all accept car donations.

American Cancer SocietyAmerican Red CrossHabitat for Humanity

You can also use Charity Navigator to look up local charities in your area, such as the United Way or other community organizations. Many nonprofit organizations accept donations of vehicles. Just make sure you’re donating to a reputable 501(c)(3) that can help you get a tax break for your generosity!

Tool No. 3: Calculate your tax deduction — and get a receipt

If your car is old and not in good working condition, or if it’s being sold for scrap, you can probably only claim a deduction of $500 for your vehicle donation. If your car is in better condition and can command a higher sale price, you might want to claim more than that minimum $500 deduction.

In case your car is worth more than $500, the nonprofit organization should give you a tax receipt called Form 1098-C, to show the IRS that you made a charitable contribution of a qualified vehicle. As part of this tax receipt, the nonprofit is required to give you timely notice of how it used the donated car (whether the organization sold it or continued to use the vehicle as part of its mission) so you can get the correct deduction. Keep your copy of Form 1098-C to include with your tax return. (And make sure to cancel your car insurance policy on the donated vehicle, if you haven’t already!)

Keep in mind that according to IRS rules, you can generally claim tax deductions for charitable contributions only if you itemize your deductions. If you take the standard deduction (like most taxpayers do), your charitable giving — although it’s a wonderful thing to do — unfortunately won’t make an impact on your taxes.

Bottom line: Donating your car to charity can be easier than you think! Just make sure you understand the “rules of the road” to prepare for a successful donation.

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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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Surprise Savings: The Best-Kept Secrets of Cheap Winter Travel

By Money Management No Comments

Want to score great deals on cheap winter travel? Keep reading to learn how being flexible can help. 

Image source: Getty Images

Want to take a cheap winter vacation? It’s never too late to find good deals, especially if you can be flexible on travel dates and don’t have a specific destination in mind. There are lots of good options to book cheap winter travel to help you get away for a few days (or weeks)!

A spirit of openness to new inspiration is what cheap winter travel is all about. Sometimes last-minute trips on a limited budget turn out to be the most fun, rewarding, and memorable travel experiences, especially if you use travel credit cards to save extra money and earn points.

Let’s look at a few ideas for how you can book surprisingly affordable winter travel.

1. Try all the travel search tools

Even though the cost of plane tickets has increased in the past few years, we’re still living in the Golden Age of cheap travel search tools. There are great websites you can use to search for affordable flights before you reach for your credit card to book a ticket. Here are two that we recommend.

Google Flights: I always start my airfare searches with Google Flights because it has easy-to-use search features for flexible travel dates and multiple cities. There’s a clear price grid where you can see how your airfare gets cheaper (or pricier) depending on the departure and arrival dates you choose.

Skyscanner: This is another popular search site for airfares and hotels. It has a powerful search engine that can combine multiple airlines and offer a wide range of possible itineraries. Skyscanner also has a new AI-powered “Discover with AI” search tool that lets you brainstorm ideas for cheap winter travel with just a few keywords about the kind of trip you want, like “Birthday trip” or “Cheap European city breaks.”

Both of these search tools let you search for cheap flights to anywhere in the world. This is a great way to quickly find surprisingly cheap winter travel and explore new destinations.

2. Be open to flexible dates, multiple airports, and different cities

Along with being willing to choose “Anywhere” as your destination, a key to finding cheap winter travel is being flexible about dates, airports, and cities. You might get cheaper deals by changing your departure or arrival dates by a few days, or choosing to fly on a holiday. My family once had an affordable winter vacation in Germany because we agreed to fly home on New Year’s Eve. If you’re not particularly sentimental about being on a plane during a busy holiday, you can often score cheaper flights.

You also might be able to get cheaper airfares by searching at multiple airports, even within the same city. When you search flights, make sure you search for a destination city, not just a destination airport. For example, if you want to fly to London, choose “London” the city as your destination, not just “London Heathrow Airport.” You might get better deals by flying into a smaller airport in a major city.

Or depending on where you live, you can often find cheaper airfares if you’re willing to drive to a different city’s airport. My family lives in Iowa, but we’ve taken several international family vacations by flying out of Chicago O’Hare and Minneapolis. Sometimes we saved over $1,000 on airfare by being willing to drive for a few hours. Think about your total vacation budget and how much time you’re willing to spend on the road.

3. Don’t be afraid to combine airlines

Some of the cheapest flights can often be found by combining your trip across multiple airlines, including some budget airlines. You might end up with a wacky-looking itinerary where you have to transfer between airlines. But if the airline tickets are significantly cheaper, this can be worth the hassle — especially if you’re traveling light, with only a carry-on bag and don’t need to worry about your luggage getting lost.

What if you could save hundreds of dollars by switching airlines? Isn’t that worth a little extra hustle during an airport layover? I recently searched on Skyscanner for flights from my home city (Des Moines, Iowa) to London on Jan. 4 to Jan. 10, 2024. The typical price for flights on a single airline was $1,188 roundtrip. But by combining airlines (and accepting a longer trip duration with multiple airport connections), I found a flight for only $779 — a savings of $409.

4. Embrace a long layover (or stopover)

In that same spirit of flexibility, keep in mind that if you want cheap winter travel, a long layover doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Sometimes you can find the cheapest flights if you’re willing to hang out at the airport for a few hours, or even stay overnight in a different city along the way.

Depending on your travel plans, these long layovers and overnight stopovers can be fun! What if you have a 12-hour layover in a big city you’ve wanted to visit? Leave your bags at an airport locker and take a little day trip. An overnight stopover can also give you a chance to explore a new place.

My family once got to have a wonderful European vacation because we agreed to an unusual flight connection that had us stay overnight in Madrid, Spain, on the way home. But we loved it! It was a fun chance to see Madrid, we stayed in a cute Airbnb, and we got to eat Madrid’s famous tortilla española (potato omelet) for breakfast.

Bottom line: Even during times of rising airfares, cheap winter travel is totally doable. Just go into it with a sense of openness. You might need to accept a longer flight itinerary, connect through multiple airports, switch airlines, or stay overnight in a different city along the way. But good travel is all about curiosity. You can save money on flights and find joy in the journey!

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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.Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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5 Christmas Gifts Delivered Instantly to Someone’s Inbox

By Money Management No Comments

No more wait. Get instant delivery with one of five digital gifts this Christmas. Read on for details. 

Image source: Getty Images

I floundered in the sea of shoppers swimming through Del Amo Mall, one of the biggest malls in the United States. Oh, right, I thought, dodging paper bags. It’s that time of year. Last-minute shoppers storm the halls to buy Christmas gifts for loved ones, spawning a second rush hour.

I’m a procrastinating shopper. Buying gifts the week of Christmas was kind of my move…until recently. Now, I buy some of my Christmas gifts online. I get to skip the hassle of last-minute crowds. It makes shopping faster, easier, and, in some cases, cheaper.

Are you also a last-minute Christmas shopper? Look no further for inspiration. Here are five Christmas gifts that can be delivered instantly to someone’s inbox — no shipping or in-person shopping required.

1. Audiobooks

I’ve got a friend on an absolute tear right now, ripping through audiobooks like my Labrador rips through her squishy chew toys. My friend buys her books through Audible, Amazon’s popular audiobook platform.

I’m gifting her a couple of books through the platform. You can do so easily by paying with your Audible credits (for current subscribers) or your credit card on Amazon. (Start at the Audible gift center for the smoothest experience.)

You can purchase one month of Audible membership plus one audiobook credit for $15.

I’ve scheduled the books to be delivered to her inbox on Christmas day. All she needs to do is click the link to access her fresh reads. Tip: If you’d like to surprise the giftee, check if they have a public Goodreads wish list. Many book lovers do, including my friend and me.

2. Streaming services

So your gift recipient wants to watch a show but doesn’t want to shell out for another subscription. It’s your time to shine, gift-giver. Big streaming platforms make it easy to gift subscriptions in seconds.

Netflix lets you buy “gift cards” for new accounts. YouTube Premium lets you purchase annual subscriptions that don’t auto-renew (or you can gift a Google Play card that they can spend toward a Premium subscription). Hulu lets you give gift cards that keep an account active until the funds expire. Your giftee can redeem them with clicks and codes.

3. Mindfulness apps

It’s been a rough year. Many folks are struggling with the aftershocks of inflation, plus the tough housing market. I’ve found solace in the mindfulness app Waking Up, one of many such popular apps on the App Store. It keeps me grounded and relieves stress.

Some apps let you gift subscriptions. You can give a year’s or lifetime access to the Calm app, a popular mindfulness app with over 100 million subscribers. Alternatives include Waking Up, a secular mindfulness app by Sam Harris, and Pray, a Christian meditation and sleep app.

4. Groceries

Is your giftee busy, doesn’t like to shop, or orders out frequently? A subscription to a grocery delivery app may be in order. Instacart, Doordash, and Amazon deliver groceries fast. They let you gift subscriptions and gift cards through their websites.

Just be sure your friend is OK with paying slightly higher prices online. It’s typically more expensive upfront to have groceries delivered. But the time savings might be worth it. One of my friends has two kids and uses Instacart, and she loves not having to schedule in-personshopping.

5. Games (digital)

Tons of people game online, myself included. If you and your giftee are friends on Steam, you can easily give them a specific game through the online gaming platform. Steam will ask you who the gift is for as part of the checkout process — it’s super easy. You can even schedule the delivery.

Note: If your giftee plays games on the Epic Games store, you can’t gift them games like you can on Steam. But you can buy Fortnite gift cards on Amazon, which they can redeem online. Likewise, you can gift Roblox players digital Roblox gift cards on Amazon.

Keeping it personal

Digital gifts are great, but nobody wants to attend Christmas empty-handed. One way to add the “unwrapping” factor is to wrap printouts of digital cards in boxes. That way, your giftee feels the holiday vibes when receiving your gifts. Keep it merry, and all that jazz.

Even better — many digital gifts can be purchased for less than $25, a common holiday budget. Many audiobooks, games, and memberships offer a range of prices to meet your needs.

The holidays should be fun. It’s kind of the point. Lighten your load by looking into a few easy Christmas gifts your giftees will appreciate. But if you’d rather shop in person, check out the four best places to buy wonderful Christmas gifts.

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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.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Cole Tretheway has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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How to Know if You Can Really Afford Your New Mortgage

By Money Management No Comments

The only way to really know if your new mortgage payment is going to be affordable is to practice living with it for a while. Here’s how you can do that. 

Image source: Getty Images

If you are thinking about buying a house, you also need to be thinking about what your mortgage payment is going to look like.

There’s lots of expert advice out there about how much you can comfortably spend on a mortgage loan. Most mortgage lenders want your total housing costs to be below about 28% of your income. Some experts say you should try to keep your payments below 30% to avoid being cost-burdened, while others say 25% is the most you should spend on housing expenses.

With all these numbers thrown around, it’s not surprising if you aren’t really sure exactly how much you should be spending. The good news is, there’s a really easy way to tell if your new mortgage is going to end up being affordable over time or not.

Do this to make sure you can afford your home loan

If you want to make sure that buying a particular home is affordable, the best way to do that is to actually practice making the payment.

Let’s say, for example, that you are currently renting and your housing costs are $1,500 a month. Now, say you’re considering buying a house that would come with a monthly mortgage payment of $1,900 a month including principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance (all the big expenses you’ll be stuck paying as a homeowner).

In this example, you’d be spending $400 a month more on your housing once you purchased your house. So, to see if this is affordable or not, start “making those payments” and do so for around three to six months. Of course, you aren’t going to actually be sending the payments to a mortgage lender. Instead, when you pay your rent each month, force yourself to put an extra $400 into a high-yield savings account and don’t touch the money.

Why is making these practice payments a good idea?

Forcing yourself to actually make your new mortgage payment every month before you commit to it is the single best way to ensure that your new home purchase actually will be affordable and that you won’t end up regretting making the choice to buy (and increase your costs).

If you actually have to live on what’s left over for months, you’ll get a good idea of just how doable this is. If you don’t even notice the extra $400 is gone and can still keep doing everything you want and need to do — like saving for retirement and paying for food and clothes and kids’ field trips without breaking out the credit cards, then you should be good to move forward with the home purchase.

But if you find that you really miss the money and you’re struggling, you’ll know that you need to re-evaluate whether you can afford those higher monthly mortgage costs. You can decide to buy a cheaper home or save more before moving forward and becoming a homeowner so you won’t end up overcommitting yourself to a mortgage that would be hard to pay for years to come.

If you’re planning on buying a home any time soon, figure out today how much it’s going to cost you and start making your practice payments. The sooner you begin doing this, the sooner you’ll be able to make an informed choice about whether to move forward. Plus, that extra money you’re putting in savings can help you to pad your down payment or cover your moving costs so if you find out you’re ready to move forward, you’ll have a little extra cash to do it with.

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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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