Money Management

You can fulfill your childhood dream of living it up like Kevin McCallister at The Plaza Hotel. Read on to see what you can get with this package offer. 

Many of us have a favorite holiday movie we rewatch year after year. The nostalgia and warm sense of familiarity that comes from curling up with a blanket and some cocoa to watch a story we know so well can be an indulgence worth looking forward to year-round.

But if you’re looking to take that indulgence to — or maybe beyond — the next level, The Plaza Hotel in New York City has a big-ticket splurge to consider.

Add the Home Alone 2 package to your stay

Guests of The Plaza can add a variety of packages onto their reservation when they stay at the historic hotel. One of the options is called “Home Alone 2: Fun in New York.” This is a play on the title of the beloved 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. If you’re familiar with the movie, you may have fantasized about experiencing Kevin McCallister’s luxurious stay for yourself, from the amazing suite to the private limo ride around the city. And now you can — hopefully with no run-ins with the Wet Bandits, though.

Booking the package provides you with:

A limousine ride around New York City with stops at well-known attractions like the Empire State Building and Rockefeller CenterA large cheese pizza (or as Kevin would say, “A lovely cheese pizza, just for me!”)The Home Alone Sundae, featuring 16 scoops of ice cream and an indulgent assortment of toppings

The Home Alone 2 package is available year-round, subject to availability, though it seems most fitting to take advantage of it around the holiday season so your experience can be as close to how it appeared in the movie as possible. Just know that if you’re charging the whole thing to your dad’s credit card, as Kevin did, you’ll likely be in a heap of trouble. The price can vary depending on the room type you reserve, but can cost around $1,800 — on top of the cost of your room reservation. (Cue the Kevin mirror scream.)

You don’t have to splurge to enjoy the holidays

While it can be incredibly fun to treat yourself to such a unique experience, your personal finances might take a major hit in the process. If you can’t afford such a pricey experience this year, worry not. You can still put together a memorable holiday vacation without taking on a bunch of credit card debt.

If you’re planning to travel this winter, be it for Christmas, the turn of the New Year, or another time, look for ways to save. You can use a travel credit card to earn cash back on any flights or accommodations you book, which will help offset your vacation costs. And if you have credit card points or miles saved up already, use them when booking your travels to cut the costs even more.

And if you’re sticking around town while your entire family disappears to Paris or Florida without you, look for some staycation treats to help pass the time. Follow Kevin’s lead and go ice skating (while outrunning Harry and Marv), explore a local park (and feed the birds), or check out a live holiday music show with your kindly neighbor.

Merry Christmas, ya fil…well, you know the line

It can be a rare treat to experience your favorite childhood movies in real life, and if you have the means to comfortably afford the Home Alone 2 package, I’m sure it will be as sweet as you hoped. But there are plenty of ways to enjoy some holiday magic without spending a sleighful of cash. Just watch out for booby traps.

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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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Early holiday shoppers may not understand why some people would wait to shop. See why those last-minute shoppers may just be on to something. 

For those of us who begin asking for Christmas wish lists in August, it’s difficult to imagine waiting until the last minute to shop. However, for some people, it’s not the Christmas season unless they’re rushing around, looking for just the right gifts.

Eleventh-hour shopping is not for everyone, but it certainly has its advantages.

1. Potential discounts

According to Boston University, last-minute shoppers don’t always score a good deal on their purchases. However, there are exceptions. Each year, there are specific items that are expected to be “hot” so retailers stock up on them. Who can forget Cabbage Patch dolls or Furby fever?

However, not every product that hits the shelves can be a winner, and sometimes, retailers are left with stock they’re suddenly desperate to sell. Only those who dare to shop last minute have access to such desperation deals.

2. More time to save up (and plan)

A Gallup poll found that Americans plan to spend an average of $975 on Christmas gifts this year. Since it’s not possible for everyone to simply withdraw the funds from a checking or savings account, last-minute shopping means more time to save up, and also to create a purchase plan that fits with their household budget.

Depending on the length of your Christmas list, you can probably empathize with anyone who spends weeks trying to figure out what to buy. After all, it’s a real victory when a gift perfectly fits a recipient. Last-minute shoppers have more time to come up with the ideal gift for each person on their list.

3. Less decision fatigue

Last-minute shoppers rarely find shelves stocked full with potential gifts. In fact, shelves may be nearly empty by the time those shoppers make their way into stores. And that’s a good thing.

Speaking on an American Medical Association (AMA) podcast, Dr. Lisa MacLean discussed what we all need to understand about decision fatigue. According to MacLean, by the time the average person goes to bed, they’ve made over 35,000 decisions. That’s in a single day. Each decision, no matter how small, requires energy. And all that energy depletes us. The more decisions we are pressed to make, the more fatigue sets in.

One consequence of decision fatigue is impulse buying, and impulse buying is infamously hard on bank accounts. It may be easier for last-minute shoppers to make rational decisions when there are fewer options from which to choose.

4. No time to peek

For anyone with a partner who checks their credit card statement to ferret out where their Christmas gift was purchased, or a child who can root out gifts like a pig hunting for truffles, there’s less time for prying eyes to figure out what they’re getting for Christmas.

Simply put, the later a person shops, the less chance their gift secrets will be revealed.

5. Lots of Christmas spirit

Despite all that’s going on in the world, Christmas can bring out the best in people (Black Friday excluded). There’s something about strolling through a store, holiday music playing, and a sense of excitement in the air. It’s a unique atmosphere, no matter how often you experience it.

If you’re the first person in the office in the morning, someone who’s four hours early to the airport rather than two, and have your Christmas gifts wrapped and ready by the end of October, the idea of last-minute shopping may give you hives. However, with so many potential perks associated, it may just be that last-minute shoppers are onto something.

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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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Checking a bag can make travel even more expensive. Learn five flight attendant-approved tips for fitting your belongings into a carry-on. 

The cost of plane tickets can send your budget into a tailspin during the holidays. Baggage fees make traveling an even bigger hit to your personal finances. Though the costs of checking a bag vary by airline, you can expect to pay about $30 to $35 each way for a domestic flight when you fly economy.

Packing efficiently so you don’t have to check bags can save you money on travel costs. Flight attendants are pros at packing lightly, as they usually avoid checking bags to save on time. Here are five tips for smart packing, courtesy of my sister, a longtime flight attendant for a legacy carrier.

1. Roll your clothing instead of folding it

One trick flight attendants swear by: Roll clothing items instead of folding them. Tightly rolled clothing is more compressed than folded clothing, which frees up baggage space.

Note that rolling works best for lighter, casual items, like T-shirts, jeans, and swimsuits. You can also avoid wrinkles when you roll these pieces because you’ll avoid the crease you create by folding. For bulkier items, like blazers, and coats, folding actually tends to be more efficient than rolling.

2. Wear your bulkiest items

Speaking of your bulkiest item: You probably shouldn’t be packing it in the first place.

Wearing heavy items like coats and hiking boots to the airport can free up serious space in your bag, though it may be a slight hassle when you go through security. As long as you can easily fit your heavy item under the seat in front of you, there shouldn’t be any problem on your flight.

You can also wear multiple layers of clothing so that you don’t have to pack the items. Just be sure to consider whether you’ll be comfortable when flying. If you get hot easily, this might not be a good option, but considering that temperatures are often freezing on flights, extra layers may actually make you more comfortable.

3. Stuff things inside your shoes

When you don’t want to check a bag, you have to make every square inch count inside your carry-on. So take advantage of the space inside any shoes you pack by stuffing smaller items, like socks and underwear, inside.

4. Put foundations and creams in contact lens containers

Lugging around lots of products (like foundation, moisturizers, and eye creams) can take up significant space in your carry-on. Many flight attendants put just enough makeup and creams into contact-lens containers to last for the duration of their trip. Contact-lens containers are leak-proof, so you won’t have to worry that your products will spill onto the other items you’ve packed.

5. Choose a personal item with plenty of room

To avoid checking a bag, bring a personal item that fits plenty of stuff in addition to a good-size carry-on. Because airlines often require passengers to check their carry-ons at the gate when flights are full and overhead bin space is lacking, your personal item should contain all your must-haves. This includes your wallet, phone, passport, prescription medications, laptop, and a change of clothes. In the event your bag gets lost, you’ll have the bare essentials. Just make sure that your personal item is small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you.

How to avoid baggage fees when you travel

Cramming everything into a carry-on and personal item won’t always be possible, especially if you’re taking a longer trip. If you travel frequently, you may want to try one of the following strategies:

Choose an airline that gives you a free checked bag: Southwest Airlines allows you to check up to two bags for free, while JetBlue gives you a free checked bag for all fares other than Blue Basic. Some airlines that don’t offer free checked luggage for domestic flights do offer this perk for international flights. Check with your airline about its policy.Earn elite status: Earning elite status with an airline doesn’t happen overnight, but doing so will score you numerous perks, including a free checked bag on many flights.Apply for an airline credit card: Many of the best airline credit cards allow you (and sometimes your travel companions if you booked on the same reservation) a free checked bag.

But in some cases, you may need to shell out the extra $30 or $35 for a checked bag and budget for the expense. Packing lightly can save you money — but not if you pack so lightly that you wind up having to buy the things you didn’t pack while you’re traveling.

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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.Robin Hartill, CFP® has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Raiding a retirement fund to pay for college can be tempting. Read on to see why it may not be the best move. 

If you’re worried about the ever-rising cost of college, you’re no doubt in good company. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the average cost of tuition and fees at a public in-state college is $10,662, says U.S. News & World Report. And it only gets more expensive from there if you go to an out-of-state public college or a private university.

If you have multiple children, you may be especially concerned about your ability to cover their higher education costs in full — even if you’ve been saving consistently for that purpose since they were young. If you have a pile of money sitting in your IRA, you may be tempted to take a withdrawal to cover some college expenses.

Normally, IRA withdrawals taken before age 59 1/2 are subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty. But there’s an exception for funds used to pay for college. So technically, you may be able to get away with taking money out of your IRA without an immediate financial hit. But if you go this route, you might face a really scary long-term financial hit.

You don’t want to end up short in retirement

Any funds you take out of your IRA before retirement are funds you won’t have available for your senior years. But do remember that it’s not just the money you remove itself that you won’t have later on. You’ll also lose out on growth in your brokerage account. And that’s where you might really get hurt.

Let’s imagine you’re $15,000 shy of being able to pay for your kids’ college in full, so you remove that money from your IRA at age 50. Let’s also assume that you’re planning to retire at age 67, and that your IRA investments deliver an average annual return of 9%, which is a little bit below the stock market’s historical average.

In that scenario, you might say to yourself, “Well, I guess I’ll have to get by on $15,000 less in retirement. But in reality, you’re looking at a shortfall of about $65,000 when you account for lost investment gains.

And there lies the danger of tapping your IRA ahead of retirement, even if it’s for a good reason. You don’t want to end up in a situation where you don’t have enough money to pay your senior living expenses because you were putting your kids’ education first — even though that’s a noble thing to do.

Talk to your kids about college expenses and set expectations

Maybe you consistently put money into a savings account or a 529 plan for your kids’ college, but you can’t quite swing the cost of the schools they’re looking at. At that point, rather than raid your retirement account, have a conversation.

Explain that you only have a certain amount of money to allocate to college expenses, and so your kids have a choice — they can either opt for a less expensive school, try to get scholarships, work during their studies to pay as they go, or borrow money to cover that shortfall. All of these are reasonable approaches to take.

You may also want to encourage your kids to start at community college, which tends to be a lot less expensive than a four-year college. Many college students spend their first few semesters knocking out required classes. Your children might as well do that at community college at a fraction of the cost and then transfer those credits over.

Of course, you’ll need to make sure that’s an option. But if it is, it could spare all of you a world of expense. And it could make you feel a lot better about leaving your retirement savings alone.

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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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