Money Management

Because of the news of recent price hikes, you might wonder if streaming services will continue to become more costly. Find out whether that’s a possibility. 

Lately, it feels like the cost of everything has become more expensive. When the price of goods and services rises, it impacts your bank account. Minor price changes may not feel like a big deal, but when you add up every price increase over the last couple of years, you realize how much more you’re spending. Every increase can make your credit card bill more expensive.

Several streaming service companies have increased their prices over the last few years. Subscribers have had to decide whether to keep these services and pay higher prices, downgrade to a cheaper plan, or cancel their subscriptions to save money. Keep reading to find out whether streaming service prices could continue to increase in 2024.

The following streaming platforms increased prices in 2023

Unfortunately, price increases are now the norm, especially for streaming services. Every few months, another company announces an upcoming price increase. This year alone, several streaming services hiked their subscription prices as a way to boost their profits. Here are a few examples.

Spotify

Earlier this summer, Spotify premium plan prices went up. Premium users now pay an additional $1 to $2 monthly, depending on their plan. Luckily, prices remain affordable, especially compared to other popular streaming services.

The most expensive plan that Spotify offers is Family Premium, which allows up to six household members to stream music without advertisements. This plan costs $16.99 per month — $1 more than before. Since six users can share the plan, that’s a reasonable price.

Netflix

Just last month, Netflix increased prices for two of its streaming plans. The ad-free Basic plan now costs $11.99 per month instead of $9.99. This plan is no longer available to new subscribers, but some users still have this plan. The ad-free Premium plan also has a higher price. Users now pay $22.99 per month instead of $19.99 per month.

Hulu

Hulu also made pricing changes recently. As of Oct. 12, Hulu’s ad-free plan costs $17.99 monthly, a $3 increase. The Hulu with Live TV plan also costs more. Users now pay $76.99 per month — a $7 increase from earlier this year. A Hulu with Live TV without ads subscription also costs more. The $7 per month price hike results in an $89.99 monthly subscription price.

Streaming app prices could continue to rise

Based on what we saw this year, streaming service prices could continue to rise. Of course, we don’t know how soon that will happen or which might be impacted by price changes. If you’re a subscriber, you should know that prices can change anytime and with short notice.

Before another one of your favorite services hikes prices again, consider the maximum amount of money you’re willing and able to pay for services like this. This way, if a price increase happens, you’ll know what action to take immediately.

If your budget is already tight, it may make sense to cancel some services to free up some of your cash for other expenses. If you need help monitoring your spending and want to improve your budgeting skills, check out our list of the best budgeting apps.

We’ll have to wait and see if streaming services become more costly. For now, all we can do is make careful spending decisions with our finances in mind. For additional money tips, check out our personal finance resources.

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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.Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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If you want to become rich, try to master the money habits of the wealthy. Take a look at the habits that can help you succeed. 

If you want to become rich, it can help to adopt the habits of people who are already wealthy. The good news is, this may be easier than you think. Follow these simple tips to adopt the money habits of the rich and you’ll be on track to a bigger bank account and a more secure future.

1. Prioritize the purchase of stock

The wealthiest 1% of U.S. adults own 53% of all stocks, while the top 10% of U.S. adults own 88.6%. By comparison, the bottom 50% of the country in terms of wealth own just 0.6% of stocks, according to a Gallup poll.

Rich people have more spare money to invest, so it’s not surprising they own most of the stocks. But, part of why they become and stay rich is that they put their money to work for them. If you want to become wealthier yourself, you must adopt the money habit of putting your money to work.

You don’t need to become the next Warren Buffett and do in-depth research into the stock market to do this either. If you open a brokerage account and stick your money in an index fund that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 (a financial index made up of the 500 largest U.S. companies), you can likely grow your wealth over time. Over the long-term, the S&P 500 has returned an average of 10% per year.

If you invest $400 a month and earn a 10% average annual return for 35 years, at the end of that period, you’d have $1,431,008.6. That net worth would make you pretty wealthy.

2. Use debt as a tool

Rich people are not afraid of debt. In fact, they borrow more than poor people do. The top 1% hold 4.6% of all debt in the U.S., while the bottom half of the country only holds 36%. But they don’t borrow to fund necessities or to pay for a lifestyle they can’t afford. Rich people borrow to grow their wealth. Specifically, they borrow to:

Buy properties that go up in value, especially since mortgage interest is tax-deductibleEarn a degree or start a business that helps them make more moneyUse credit cards to earn rewards but pay them off in full before owing interest

You can also use debt wisely. For example, borrowing to buy an affordable home can make good sense rather than continuing to spend money on rent and ending up with no assets to show for it. And paying off your mortgage early is often a bad idea because you can get a higher return by paying only what’s required and investing the difference.

You’ll want to avoid borrowing for anything that won’t make you richer in the long-run, though, as paying interest can have a detrimental impact on your efforts to get rich. Before you borrow, ask yourself if whatever you’re buying is going to be an asset that increases your net worth. If not, don’t buy the item until you can pay for it in cash.

3. Develop multiple streams of income

Rich people don’t rely on an employer to provide them with all their money. After all, a job can easily be lost.

Instead, they often have multiple income streams and make money from sources including dividend income, real estate rental income, business profits, interest income from savings and CDs, and capital gains from selling assets at a profit.

You should also consider looking into ways to earn money outside of your nine-to-five. Starting a side hustle, opening up your own business, and buying different kinds of income-producing assets like CDs and stocks can all help you make more money and reduce your risk of losing everything if you become unemployed.

By mastering these three habits, you should be well on your way to becoming wealthy. Start working on them today.

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Need a loan? Read on to see why a personal loan may be a more optimal choice than a 401(k) loan. 

It’s not so unusual to run into a situation where you need access to money. Maybe your car needs a lot of work and it’s more cost-effective to make repairs than buy a new one. Or maybe you have a home renovation project you really can’t put off if you want to be able to live comfortably.

When you need to borrow money, you could sign a personal loan, which allows you to borrow for any purpose. But if you already have savings of your own in a 401(k), you may be more inclined to take out a loan against your balance.

The upside of taking out a 401(k) loan is that you’re borrowing money from yourself. And so when you make payments on that loan, you’re simply putting your own money back as opposed to padding an outside lender’s cash reserves.

But while it’s easy to see why you might find the idea of a 401(k) loan appealing, here are a few reasons why you may be much better off borrowing with a personal loan instead.

1. You won’t have to worry about an early withdrawal penalty

Failing to repay a personal loan can have consequences. You’ll risk costly fees and extensive credit score damage.

But if you fail to repay a 401(k) loan, it will be treated as a withdrawal from your retirement plan. And if that withdrawal happens before you reach the age of 59 1/2, you’ll be penalized 10% of the sum you’ve borrowed. So for a $10,000 loan, you’re looking at losing $1,000, just like that.

2. You might get more time to pay it off

The amount of time you get to repay a personal loan can vary, but often, you’ll have two to five years to repay one of these loans. Some lenders might even give you up to seven years to repay a personal loan.

Admittedly, you might get a good number of years to repay a 401(k) loan, too. But once you leave your company, that window could get whittled down to just a few months. And even if you don’t have plans to leave your job, you may be forced to leave if your company downsizes. That will still mean having to repay your 401(k) loan in short order or otherwise risk having your loan turn into a withdrawal, subjecting you to a penalty.

3. You won’t have to worry about being short on funds later in life

The money you borrow in personal loan form isn’t coming out of your personal cash reserves. As such, you don’t have to worry about it leaving you short on funds later in life.

If you take out a 401(k) loan you fail to repay, in addition to potentially facing a penalty, you’ll risk retiring with less money. And that’s a pretty big risk.

Many seniors find it difficult to hold down a job due to health or mobility issues. So a seemingly innocent loan-turned-withdrawal in your 30s or 40s could mean struggling financially in your 70s or 80s.

It’s easy to see why you may be inclined to borrow against your 401(k). But before you go that route, consider a personal loan instead. If you have great credit, you may find that you’re able to snag a pretty competitive interest rate on a personal loan targeted to those with higher credit scores. And if you shop around with different lenders, you might manage to eke out extra savings there, too.

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

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Does your investment portfolio lack variety? Believe it or not, that’s OK in some cases. Read on to learn more. 

A friend of mine who has been investing for many years recently asked me to look at her portfolio and offer up some suggestions. When I took a look at her holdings, I saw that the bulk of her portfolio was in an S&P 500 ETF.

“I guess I’m a boring investor,” was her response after I pointed that out. But I was quick to reassure her that in this case, a lack of variety wasn’t necessarily hurting her.

When you diversify the easy way

The problem with being a “boring” investor who doesn’t branch out into different assets is that a lack of diversification within your portfolio could limit its growth and potentially subject you to losses during periods of stock market volatility. That’s why, for example, you wouldn’t just want to buy shares of Apple, or Amazon, or any other individual company and call it a day.

Imagine you own $10,000 worth of Apple stock and shares fall 20% following an earnings report. Suddenly, your portfolio value is going to plunge to $8,000, just like that.

But the one time it is OK to hold just a single investment is when you’re buying S&P 500 ETFs. Basically, when you go this route, you’re investing your money in the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the market today. Only you’re not going out and buying shares of 500 different companies. Rather, you’re buying shares of a single fund that allows you to invest in that index.

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When I saw that my friend’s primary investment was an S&P 500 ETF, I didn’t worry the way I would’ve had she had most of her assets in a single stock. In fact, because I know that my friend isn’t interested in researching stocks and following different companies, I told her not to change a thing.

How much wealth can you grow with S&P 500 ETFs?

Over the past 50 years, the S&P 500’s average annual return has been 10%. That accounts for years when the index did fabulously and years when it lost value.

So let’s say you’re 40 years old and have $15,000 in an S&P 500 ETF. If you leave that investment alone until age 70 and it generates an average annual return of 10%, you’ll end up with close to $262,000. That’s almost 18 times your starting balance.

Normally, I recommend assembling a diverse mix of stocks when you’re investing on a long-term basis. But I’m also a big fan of keeping things simple on the investing front when that’s what suits you best.

If you’re not someone who’s particularly interested in following the stock market, then investing in S&P 500 ETFs could be a good way to go. And while you might think that approach is pretty boring, know this: Once you’re retired and living largely off of your savings, you’re likely to care much more about your portfolio balance and less so about what you did to get there.

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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 and Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Buying too many toys for my young child was the biggest holiday shopping mistake I ever made. Find out why I won’t do it again. 

Shopping for the holidays can do a number on your bank account — especially if you don’t make wise choices about how to allocate your dollars.

Unfortunately, one Christmas I made a major mistake when doing my holiday shopping. It cost me about $800, and it’s a mistake I absolutely will not make again.

This was my biggest holiday blunder

The biggest holiday error I ever made happened when my son was 27 months old. It was the first Christmas when he was really excited about the thought of Santa Claus and getting presents.

I wanted to embrace his excitement and make the season really memorable for him since he had been too young to really know what was going on during the first two festive seasons. He was also going to be getting a little sister in March, so it was our last Christmas with him as an only child, and I was probably feeling a little bit of mom guilt about that.

For all of those reasons, I broke out the credit cards and went crazy buying him stuff from us and Santa. I not only got him a ride-on excavator that had a digger that really worked, but dozens of other toys including games, remote control toy cars, and a ton of other stuff that I can’t even remember now.

The problem was, all of this stuff was super overwhelming for him. He didn’t know what to play with first and he ended up running frantically from toy-to-toy without ever really taking the time to enjoy anything. He was also absolutely terrified when the ride-on excavator moved when he pushed the pedal (and he’s just starting to enjoy that toy now).

This shouldn’t have been a surprise given that studies show too many toys can overwhelm and overstimulate kids. But I didn’t realize just how crazy I had gone until I saw all the stuff under the tree — and the big bills that I had to show for it.

How I’m avoiding repeating my mistake

After spending a ton of money on toys that didn’t really get played with and ended up stressing out my kid, I’ve made a big change in how I approach holiday shopping.

I now have a strict limit. I follow the Want, Need, Wear, Read policy. My kids get something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. They get this from us (their parents) as well as from Santa so they get about eight presents each in total. Then they also get a few little things from the Dollar Tree as stocking stuffers and that’s it.

This has slashed my spending on the holidays and it’s made the day much more enjoyable. The kids are excited about their holiday PJs, they get two really cool toys that they can focus on playing with, and they get a book that we can read together on Christmas night. I plan to stick with this every year so it becomes a tradition, and they’ll know exactly what to expect over time.

If you’re a parent, you can learn from my mistake and avoid a big holiday blunder. Don’t go overboard on gifts as it won’t make your kids — or your personal finances — happy.

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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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