Money Management

Know someone who loves Costco? Read on to learn about a new item that could make an awesome holiday gift. 

Some people don’t mind shelling out money for a Costco membership per se, but they wouldn’t exactly call themselves Costco superfans. Rather, they like saving money on things like groceries and household products, but it’s not as if they particularly look forward to going to Costco, nor do they experience Costco withdrawal when they don’t make it over to the store for a few weeks in a row.

But then there are those Costco fans who absolutely love the store — as in, they count down the days until their next coupon book arrives and they actively roam the aisles looking for new products every time they visit. If you know someone who falls into this category, then Costco’s newest offering may be the perfect holiday gift for them.

Introducing Costco Monopoly

Monopoly is one of those games that people tend to have mixed feelings about. The downside is that it can be long and, frankly, somewhat cutthroat. The upside is that while there is an element of luck involved, players can use actual skills and strategies to improve their chances of winning.

Meanwhile, Costco is selling its own branded Monopoly game right in time for the holidays. The game has players putting up food courts and warehouse clubs instead of the traditional houses and hotels, and the real estate locations on the game board represent Costco locations around the world. The game also features Costco-themed “Chance” and “Community Chest” cards.

Should you buy the Costco Monopoly game?

If you know someone who’s a self-proclaimed Costco superfan, then this game could make for a really unique holiday gift. But do keep a few things in mind.

First, there’s the $44.99 online price tag. That’s a bit steep for a board game. That said, in-store prices are often lower than online prices. So if you scoop up the game at your local warehouse club, you might end up with a lower credit card tab.

Also, while $44.99 is a bit pricey for a board game, it’s not necessarily such a massive amount to spend on someone special for the holidays. So if you have a brother-in-law who lives and breathes Costco and you’d normally buy him a $50 sweater, this game could be a much better gift.

Now you may even be considering buying the Costco Monopoly game to enjoy yourself. And if you can afford it, go for it — with the caveat that you think you’ll end up actually playing it. If you can’t remember the last time you found a two-hour stretch of time to play a board game, then it may not be the best buy.

That said, sometimes unique games have the potential to become collectors’ items down the line — in which case bringing the Costco Monopoly game home and leaving it in its box may not be the worst idea. There’s no guarantee that that will happen in this case, though. So you may want to err on the side of buying the game only if it’s something that interests and appeals to you.

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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Best Buy and Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Want a more robust brokerage account balance? Read on for ways to make that happen. 

Investing your money in a brokerage account could do a lot of great things for your finances. If you’re able to grow your balance nicely, you’ll have the flexibility to cash out investments to meet different goals, like buying a house. Or, you may decide to hang onto your investments and reserve that money for your retirement.

You may have the goal of seeing your brokerage account balance reach the $25,000 mark. And that’s certainly a nice sum of money.

Now, let’s get one thing out of the way. If you’re starting with a balance of $0, or a modest balance of $1,000 or less, then you’re probably not going to magically get to $25,000 in short order unless somebody hands you a massive check. But there are steps you can take to get to $25,000 in a fairly swift manner if you already have a pretty large balance to begin with.

1. Bank a large windfall or bonus

Many companies give out performance or holiday bonuses at the end of the year. If you have, say, a $20,000 brokerage account balance right now and you receive a $5,000 check, banking it all could get you to your goal.

Of course, avoiding the temptation to spend that money isn’t so easy. But it might help to remind yourself of the different things a larger brokerage account balance can do for you — like make it possible to buy a house, put your kids through college, and so forth.

Also, if you got a tax extension and are first submitting your 2022 return in October, you might have a large tax refund coming your way. Banking that could also get you to $25,000.

2. Load up on stocks

Going from a few hundred dollars in a brokerage account to $25,000 isn’t going to happen overnight. And you shouldn’t expect it to — nor should you specifically load up on risky, speculative investments to reach that goal. A better bet is to load your portfolio with quality stocks and hold them for as long as you can.

It’s true that any stock can lose value at any time. But overall, the stock market has delivered an average annual return of 10% over the past 50 years, as measured by the performance of the S&P 500. If you manage to put $500 a month into your account and are able to generate that same return, you’ll be at $25,000 in 3.7 years.

3. Make sure you’re diversified

If you want to increase your chances of scoring a high return in your brokerage account — something that could get you to $25,000 sooner rather than later — then you’ll want to make sure your holdings are nice and diversified. And you can go about that in a couple of ways.

First, you could simply buy a few dozen stocks across a range of different industries. But that’s going to take a lot of legwork. So a smarter bet may be to load your brokerage account with S&P 500 ETFs, or exchange-traded funds. In doing so, you’ll effectively get to own a piece of 500 large companies with a single investment.

It’s important to have realistic expectations about how quickly you can grow your brokerage account balance. But these tips could get you to $25,000 in a much faster time frame than anticipated.

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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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You could save $1,000 annually with an EV. Read on to find out if buying an electric vehicle is right for you. 

Electric vehicles are finally having their day in the sun. EV sales have been climbing over the past few years, and in the second quarter of this year, they reached 7.2% of all light-duty vehicle sales in the U.S., up from 5.7% over the same period last year.

Part of the recent rise in sales has been fueled by more EVs hitting the market. For example, more than 40 EVs are for sale this year in the U.S.

And while some EV owners want an electric vehicle for climate-related reasons, others may be looking at the current surge in gas prices and want their next car to allow them to ditch trips to the pump.

Here’s how much you can save in gas each year by going electric and a few ways to save money if you divide to buy a new EV right now.

How much you’ll save on gas each year

Most of the data out there shows that an EV owner can save about $1,000 each year by charging up their vehicle rather than filling it with gas. Consumer Reports research found that an EV owner who does most of their vehicle charging at home will save between $800 and $1,000 per year.

There will be lots of variations with this, of course, depending on the size of the EV, the cost of electricity and gas where you live, what type of charger you use (public fast chargers can be more expensive than charging at home), and the conditions you drive the EV in.

The Washington Post recently did a deep dive into EV charging cost versus gas prices and found that recharging an EV was cheaper in all 50 states than filling up a gasoline tank. Plus, EV SUV or sedan owners would save about $700 per year, while pickup truck owners could save $1,000, based on 14,000 miles of annual driving.

If you’re interested in diving a little deeper into how much a vehicle may cost you — whether it’s gas or electric — you can view each state’s cost of ownership statistics.

One more way to save money with an EV

It’s no secret that car prices have soared over the past few years because of inflation and supply chain issues. But more recently, EV prices have cooled. Recent data from Kelley Blue Book shows that the average transaction price for an EV in August was down 18% from a year ago, to $53,469.

So if you’re in the market for a new EV right now, it could be a good time to make the move without derailing your personal finances. The good news is that the current EV tax incentives offered by the government could go a long way toward helping you with your vehicle purchase or even lease.

Here are a few details you need to know:

The federal tax credit for electric vehicles in 2023 is $7,500 for a new EV and $4,000 for a pre-owned EV.Not all EVs qualify; check our EV tax credit guide to see which vehicles do.Some states and utility companies may even have incentives for vehicle chargers.If you find a qualifying vehicle, you can fill out Form 8936 to receive the credit.

EVs aren’t exactly cheap to buy, even with the current tax credits. But if you’re already in the market for a new vehicle, then the credits (and saving an average of $1,000 annually over gas-powered vehicles) may be enough to make the transition to an electric vehicle worth the price.

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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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Want to drum up extra cash? Read on to see why renting out your home may not be the best way to go about it. 

Many people like to turn to the gig economy to drum up extra cash. And seeing as how we’re still dealing with lingering inflation, that makes sense.

A side hustle could be your ticket to boosting your savings when your cash reserves have largely been depleted. And if you’re carrying a balance on one or more credit cards, a side gig could make it possible to eliminate it or at least whittle it down.

Now, there are different options you can explore in the realm of side hustles. But one route you may be interested in taking is renting out your home on a site like Airbnb.

If you’ll be traveling for a bit of time, you may be inclined to have someone pay to stay in your home while you’re away rather than simply have your home sit vacant. Or, if you have a separate area of your home you can rent out as you please, like an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), then you may be inclined to list it on Airbnb and hope to find a short-term tenant.

The idea of scoring some cash by renting out your home might seem appealing. But doing so might also backfire on you.

When your tenant refuses to leave

Most of the time, people who rent homes on a short-term basis through sites like Airbnb arrive when they’re supposed to and leave when their stay is up. But you still run the risk of having someone occupy your space and refuse to vacate it when they’re required to.

Such a thing happened to a Los Angeles homeowner named Sascha Jovanovic. Jovanovic rented his accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to a tenant via Airbnb whose stay was supposed to end in April 2022. As of October 2023, that same tenant was still occupying that ADU and hadn’t paid rent in over a year.

Since the ADU in question was subject to different code violations, Jovanovic is not legally allowed to evict that tenant — a tenant who, incidentally, will not allow Jovanovic access to the unit to bring it up to code. Also, Los Angeles recently adopted an ordinance that requires landlords to pay relocation costs for tenants they wish to evict without a legal reason.

You’d think an unplanned extended stay without rent payments would qualify as a legal reason. But apparently, they don’t. And now, Jovanovic is stuck in a major bind.

Be careful when renting out your home temporarily

Renting out a home on a short-term basis might seem like a good way to make quick money. But before you go that route, make sure you’re aware of the repercussions that might ensue.

To be fair, Jovanovic’s case is an extreme one, and there are certain ordinances in place in LA that don’t necessarily apply to where you live. But still, you wouldn’t want to land in a sticky situation where you have a tenant who’s able to argue that they have the right to stay in your home.

If you’re going to rent out your home on a short-term basis, it could pay to spend a small amount of money to have an attorney draft an airtight rental agreement to avoid landing in a situation like Jovanovic. That way, you can have every short-term tenant sign that document before they’re able to occupy your home.

And if you decide that you’d rather not run the risk of welcoming a short-term tenant into your space who doesn’t leave, then you can always look at other side hustles that may be less risky. Remember, renting out your home can be time-consuming because you have to clean it before and after guests arrive and deal with all sorts of logistics. So you may find that you’re able to earn a decent chunk of cash by putting in the equivalent number of hours at a different gig.

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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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