Money Management

Still need to complete your Christmas shopping? There’s still time to buy meaningful presents. Find out which amazing gift items can be delivered by email. 

We’ve reached the final shopping days before Christmas arrives. This time of year can be hectic. You may have end-of-year work projects, gatherings with friends, and other life happenings that make it challenging to carve out enough time to shop for presents.

The good news is it’s not too late to find amazing gifts for your family and friends. If you’re looking for inspiration for what to buy right before Christmas, you’ve come to the right place. Here are some last-minute gifts you can order online and have sent to your favorite folks by email.

1. Instacart+ membership

This gift will be appreciated by your favorite person who has minimal free time. You can give the gift of convenience by sending your loved one an Instacart+ membership. With an Instacart+ membership, they can enjoy free grocery delivery on eligible orders of $35 and save on service fees. There are three options available, and all can be delivered by email:

3-month membership ($29)6-month membership ($59)12-month membership ($99)

2. Virtual Redbox gift card

You may think I still live in prehistoric times with this suggestion, but I promise I’m not. Believe it or not, Redbox is still a thing. While the physical kiosks are more limited, you can rent and buy movies at Redbox.com, and the movie options are plentiful.

If you have a cinephile on your Christmas list, you can email them a virtual Redbox gift card. Gift card values range from $5 to $150, so you won’t risk draining the funds in your bank account when buying this present.

3. Audible membership

Did you know you can gift an Audible membership to your favorite bookworm who loves audiobooks? With this present, they can choose whatever books they want. Each membership includes Audible credits, which can be redeemed for audiobooks (one credit per title), and Audible Plus access, which offers unlimited streaming of Audible Plus content.

The following memberships can be purchased as a gift:

1 month: 1 credit and Audible Plus ($15)3 months: 3 credits and Audible Plus ($45)6 months: 6 credits and Audible Plus ($90)12 months: 12 credits and Audible Plus ($150)

4. Virtual Grubhub gift card

When life gets busy, sometimes the easiest dinner option is takeout or delivery. You can send virtual Grubhub gift cards to your pals and have them sent to their email inboxes. This present could save the day in the future. Gift card amounts start at $10.

5. ESPN+ streaming subscription

This is the perfect gift for the sports-obsessed person on your list. You can easily give an ESPN+ subscription via email. A one-year subscription costs $109.99. With this subscription, your loved one can access live games and other video content.

6. Gift the gift of travel

You have many options if you’re looking for a great last-minute gift for your favorite traveler. You’ll want to avoid booking a hotel or buying a plane ticket on their behalf because you don’t know where they want to go or what their schedule is like. Instead, consider the following virtual gift card options, which can all be purchased online and delivered by email:

Uber (starts at $25)Airbnb (starts at $25)Southwest Airlines (starts at $50)Hotels.com (starts at $10)

7. Virtual Amazon gift cards

Finally, you can give an Amazon gift card of any amount and have Santa deliver it via email. Alternatively, you can choose one of the many other virtual gift cards available on Amazon. Some options include Starbucks, Chewy, Apple, Bath & Body Works, Lowe’s, Cinemark, and GameStop. Minimum gift card value amounts vary by retailer.

Make spending choices that align with your financial goals

As you finalize your holiday shopping, make sure you keep your finances top of mind. Don’t feel pressured to overspend beyond your means. You don’t want to rack up debt because you spent too much money on holiday gifts. Remember: It’s the thought that counts, not the dollar amount spent. Check out our personal finance resources for additional tips.

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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. Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Starbucks, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Frustrated with persistently high grocery bills? Read on to see why relief may be in sight. 

When inflation started surging in 2021, one area where consumers immediately felt the pain was grocery prices. Food is, after all, an essential expense, and one that can be hard to reduce.

Now, the good news is that in October, the cost of groceries was only up 2.1% on an annual basis, according to that month’s Consumer Price Index. But we may be headed for a period of shrinking food prices — says Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.

In November, McMillon said, “We may see dry grocery and consumables start to deflate in the coming weeks and months.” And if he’s right, countless U.S. households may get relief.

But general deflation aside, you can take a few steps to save money on groceries. Here are some strategies to employ if you’ve been struggling with the cost of putting food on the table.

1. Take advantage of discount grocery stores

For a discount grocer like Aldi to work for you, you need to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone with brand names. But if you’re willing to go off-brand to save some money, then shopping at discount grocers is a smart strategy.

In many cases, buying pantry staples made by a company you’ve never heard of won’t mean compromising on taste or quality. For example, let’s say your family eats a lot of pasta. Pasta, by nature, is going to taste like whatever sauce you put on it. So if you can spend $1.05 per box at a store like Aldi versus $1.49 at your regular grocery store, why not go with the former?

2. Buy in bulk when it makes sense

If there are food products your family eats regularly, then it pays to seek out opportunities to buy those items in bulk. You’ll often snag a discount for buying bulk quantities, and you don’t necessarily need a membership to a store like Sam’s Club or Costco to do so.

Regular supermarkets often carry certain items in bulk, though the selection may be limited. Amazon stocks different grocery items in bulk, too, from granola bars to chips and popcorn.

You may want to make a list of non-perishable items your family consumes the most. Then, spend a little time comparing prices at different retailers to see which option results in the most savings for you.

3. Read the supermarket circular

Your grocery store circular may not seem like the most compelling read. But sometimes, supermarkets discount staple items in a big way. That allows you to stock up while the price is right. Do yourself a favor and spend two minutes seeing what’s on sale before you toss that circular in the trash.

If you have a month when your grocery bills aren’t as large, you may want to specifically take the money you didn’t spend, move it into your savings account, and earmark it for stock-ups. That way, for example, if your kids’ favorite cereal goes on sale from $3.99 a box to $1.99, you’ll potentially have the option to buy five boxes at a time, even if your grocery budget normally only allows for one box.

If you’ve been struggling to put food on the table, you aren’t alone. We could see a period of lower food costs in the near term if the aforementioned projection winds up being accurate. But even if not, you can still take some steps to save on your own.

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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. Maurie Backman has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Costco Wholesale, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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You can get a mortgage loan from many different types of lenders. Learn whether an online lender or a local bank is the best bet to buy a home. 

I’m so close to starting the home-buying process, I can taste it. At this point, I only need to wait to get tax documents and have my 2023 tax return filed (necessary because I’m self-employed, so I’ll have to jump through more hoops to qualify for a mortgage loan). While I wait these last few agonizing months, I’m continuing to save money and keep my credit score as shiny as possible.

Getting a mortgage loan is a major part of buying a home, and when I have that tax return in hand, I’ll be contacting the lender I’ve chosen to get the ball rolling. Shopping around for a good mortgage lender is a cornerstone of the home-buying process, and I recently spent a few hectic days contacting with four mortgage lenders — two that are online-only and two based in my city. Keep reading to learn the benefits of each type of lender — and how to choose the best one for you.

What do online lenders offer?

First and foremost, online mortgage lenders offer a world of convenience. You can submit all your financial documents online — and in fact, you might even be able to complete the entire mortgage process online, right down to an online closing and even working with a remote notary to sign all your paperwork.

Speaking of convenience, it can also be very easy to keep track of all your information if you decide to buy with an online lender. After I got pre-approved with one, the lender generated an online “dashboard” for me, where I could find my rate, the amount I was pre-approved for, and more.

All of these features make an online lender perhaps a better fit for someone who is experienced in buying homes and doesn’t require a lot of hand-holding. If you’re a first-time home buyer (or if, like me, it’s been over a decade since you last owned a home), a local lender might be a better fit for you due to the features and perks they offer.

What do local lenders offer?

A local mortgage lender can be found in your town or city, and you can meet with a real live human, or get them on the phone during regular business hours, without accounting for a different time zone or wending your way through a phone tree at a call center. That kind of access can be worth its weight in gold to a nervous or inexperienced home buyer.

And if you need a peek into the workings of your local housing market, you can likely find it offered by a local mortgage lender, like a bank or credit union with headquarters or a branch location in your city. If you live in a small town (or even a small city), the best and brightest among local real estate agents will likely be able to recommend a local lender by name. They live in your city, too, and have a vested interest in making sure good people find good homes.

While you may have to go to your loan closing in person — and give your signing hand a real workout getting through that pile of paperwork — a local bank or credit union’s mortgage expert might be the best friend you can make as a first-time buyer. Online lenders are the newfangled future, but local lenders have been writing mortgages for years and years, and if you’re hoping for the personal touch in the home-buying process, you might want to work with one.

Weigh all your wants and needs to decide

Ultimately, the choice of whether to buy a home with an online mortgage lender or a local one is yours to make. As for me, I’ve decided to go with a local bank. I spent almost an hour on the phone with the mortgage originator who works there, and he was very forthcoming and reassuring about the process. And having a smooth experience is very important to me — my first home purchase more than a decade ago was a huge mistake, and I feel as if I have a lot to make up for this time. Plus, I’m buying a house on my own, and the more allies I have in the process, the better it will be.

Finally, while mortgage rates aren’t as high as they were a few months ago, they are still higher than they were during the buying frenzy centered around the COVID-19 pandemic. As of this writing, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage loan is 7.03%, according to Freddie Mac. A rate like that will make my mortgage payments much more expensive than they would have been in the past few years. To add insult to injury, there’s still a low supply of homes available, and finding a good one will be harder as a result. Having a lender I can trust is important.

Your needs and wants are likely different from mine — every home buyer is unique. So consider the points above to decide which type of lender is best for you. And even if you decide to go with a local one, I recommend also talking to an online lender or two (or vice versa). Having a range of mortgage rates to choose from can help you get the best deal in a difficult market.

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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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A credit card issuer is within its rights to close your account in certain circumstances. Keep reading to see how to keep your cards in good standing. 

If you’re going to go to the trouble of opening a credit card account, you likely would prefer that it not be closed out from under you. Especially because closing a credit card account can hurt your credit score. This isn’t a guarantee — there are a lot of factors involved, including the age of the account, the credit limit, and how strong your credit score is otherwise.

For example, I closed my oldest credit card account earlier this year, and lost a measly two points from my credit score — but the account had a low limit and my credit score is over 800, so this was no big deal. But I recently received a letter from another card issuer noting that my current oldest account was in danger of being closed, so I had to act fast to prevent that from happening and keep its decent credit limit as a part of my financial profile.

Here are four reasons why a credit card issuer might close your account, as well as a few tips to keep your credit cards in good standing.

1. You’re not using the card

This was the reason I was just threatened with an account closure. It had been over a year since I paid off that credit card, and I hadn’t used it since. It’s not ideal to have credit cards that you don’t use, but since some cards are good for a certain type of purchase and not others, you might have a few that you only break out on infrequent occasions. As for my card, I’ve had it so long that its benefits have changed. But I still keep it for the age of the account. And because it has a solid credit limit, it lowers my credit utilization ratio.

If you’re not using a given credit card, it makes sense that the issuer would be inclined to close the account. After all, it’s not making any money from you in the form of interest charges, and it’s also not making money from swipe fees at merchants where you make purchases.

2. You’re not making payments on your balance

If you stop making payments on a credit card with a balance you owe, you could find yourself with an account closure. If a card issuer doesn’t think it’ll be paid back for the money you borrowed, it’ll close your account to keep you from making additional purchases with the card. If you default on a credit card, you’ll also find yourself in trouble when the card issuer turns your account over to collections. Your credit score will take a substantial hit along the way, too.

3. Your credit score dropped

If your credit score drops significantly, it could impact your open credit card accounts. According to Experian, card issuers periodically check cardholders’ credit scores to see how they’re doing with debt management. A check might be spurred by a missed or late payment, so if you think your card issuer doesn’t notice (other than charging you a late fee), you’re wrong.

4. You breached the terms of your card agreement

Remember all the paperwork you received when you opened the account? A lot of it dealt with terms and conditions in the cardholder agreement, and by getting that card, you were agreeing to abide by certain rules about how you’d use the card. This includes the rewards program — misusing it (such as by excessively making cash-adjacent purchases like gift cards to earn more rewards) could result in an account closure.

How can you keep your credit cards in good standing?

For starters, if you’re struggling with your finances (maybe you got laid off or are otherwise facing an income drop), reach out to your card issuer for help. You may qualify for a hardship program that lets you make smaller payments or even pushes them off altogether for a period. This is far preferable to pretending you don’t owe money and ending up in collections.

And if you’ve been a bit lax about using some of your credit cards, the solution to avoiding an account closure is to simply use your cards. Don’t use them to make purchases you can’t afford, but if you need or want to buy something anyway, use the card that’s gathering dust and then turn around and pay it off again. When I heard from my card issuer that I had 30 days to keep my account from being closed, I hopped on Etsy and bought myself a little something. Then as soon as the charge officially hit my account, I paid it off. No muss, no fuss.

It’s a good idea to regularly review your open credit card accounts to be sure you’re up to date on payments and don’t have any suspicious charges that could be a sign of fraud. Doing this can also ensure you’re not at risk of having an account closed by the issuer.

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

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Want a higher credit card limit? That could both help and hurt your financial situation. Read on to see why. 

When you sign up for a credit card, you’ll often be asked to disclose your income. And that number can help determine what spending limit you’re given.

Credit card companies need to be careful when extending credit to borrowers. So if you earn $150,000 a year, you might get a higher spending limit than someone only earning $50,000, since you’re more likely to be in a position to pay off a larger balance.

But the credit card limit you start out with isn’t necessarily set in stone. Over time, it may be possible to get that limit raised by virtue of being a cardholder in good standing. And if your income rises notably, that alone will often do the trick of scoring you a higher spending limit — though you’ll generally have to reach out to your credit card issuer and ask for an increase in that situation.

You may be tempted to get your credit card limit raised. But before you do, consider the pros and cons.

Pro No. 1: More spending power

The higher your credit card limit, the more options you get to charge expenses. That could come in handy if you’re forced to cover a major home or car repair in a pinch and don’t have enough money in an emergency savings account to pay for that expense in full.

Plus, there are periods during the year when your spending might increase, such as during the holidays. Not having to worry about maxing out a credit card could make times like that less stressful.

Pro No. 2: It might help your credit score improve

One big factor that goes into calculating your credit score is your credit utilization ratio. That ratio measures how much of your available credit you’re using at once.

A ratio of 30% or less is usually favorable from a credit score perspective. And raising your credit limit could help that ratio shrink.

Let’s say you only have one credit card and owe $3,500 on a $10,000 limit. That’s a credit utilization ratio of 35%. But if you get your credit card limit raised to $15,000, that $3,500 balance only represents about 23% utilization, which is far better from a credit score perspective.

Con No. 1: You may be tempted to spend more

The more spending power your credit card gives you, the higher a balance you have the potential to rack up. That could cost you a lot of money in interest.

If you’re someone who’s had trouble keeping their spending in check in the past, then you may not want to ask for a credit card limit increase — even if you’re confident you can qualify for one. You don’t need to open the door to temptation and set yourself up to land in a pile of debt.

Con No. 2: Your credit score might take a dive

If you raise your credit limit and then your spending on your card follows suit, it may not help lower your credit utilization ratio at all. And if anything, it might put you in a position where you then can’t make your minimum monthly payments. That could really damage your credit score, since your payment history carries even more weight in calculating that number than your credit utilization ratio.

Be careful either way

It’s one thing to ask for a credit card limit increase because you feel you need extra spending power, or because you want to improve your credit score by virtue of a lower credit utilization ratio. But if you don’t need the added leeway to charge expenses and your credit score is already in good shape, then it could pay to just let things be.

And if you do decide to ask for a credit card limit increase, try, in your mind, to stick to your former limit anyway. That could lower your chances of getting into a bad financial situation.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until 2025

If you’re using the wrong credit or debit card, it could be costing you serious money. Our experts love this top pick, which features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, an insane cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee.

In fact, this card is so good that our experts even use it personally. Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.

Read our free review

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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