Do you live in a thrift shop desert? Take heart! Secondhand deals can be found in the strangest places. adriaticfoto / Shutterstock.com
Some of the best secondhand deals don’t come from traditional thrift stores, estate sales, or flea markets. In a nation filled with consumer goods, smokin’ hot deals can be found in the strangest places. Think creatively, look closely and don’t be a afraid to shop outside the box. Here are some weird ways to find brag-worthy secondhand stuff.
The sooner you apply for life insurance, the better. Read on to see why.
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When I was in my 20s, I’ll admit that life insurance wasn’t an expense on my radar. At the time, I was busy getting used to my new mortgage payments and trying to further my career. And since I didn’t have kids, I assumed I didn’t need a policy just yet.
But once my husband and I had our son, we started getting some quotes from life insurance companies and eventually landed on a policy to put in place. By then, we were in our 30s, which meant that we were still able to snag a relatively competitive rate on our coverage. But had we applied in our 20s, our rates would’ve been even lower.
If you’re in a position where you need life insurance, you should know that putting it off could increase your risk of leaving your loved ones in the lurch in the event of your untimely passing. But it could also mean paying more for a policy than you want to.
Some people delay a life insurance purchase because they’re convinced it will cost them a small fortune and they feel they can’t afford it. Before you subscribe to that line of thinking, shop around and see what costs you’re actually dealing with.
I, too, assumed that life insurance would cost a small fortune. And while it costs some money, it’s a more reasonable amount than I had expected.
Realize, too, that the cost of your life insurance policy will depend on the amount of coverage you’re buying. If you feel you only need a $250,000 policy, you’re not going to be looking at the same premium rates as someone in a comparable boat to you wanting $1 million of coverage. So it’s definitely worth getting quotes before deciding you can’t afford life insurance.
The younger you are when you apply for life insurance, the less your coverage is likely to cost. It’s that simple. Ramsey Solutions says that the average cost of a $1 million term life insurance policy for a non-smoking male is $52 a month for a 20-year term at age 28. At age 36, the cost climbs to $64. At 40, it climbs to $84.
Of course, your circumstances may be such that you don’t need to apply for life insurance in your 20s. If you don’t get married until your 30s and aren’t supporting anyone else financially until you tie the knot, then waiting makes sense.
The point, however, is that life insurance tends to get more costly with age. So if you have a need for life insurance, don’t wait to address it.
Not only will delaying your application likely drive up your costs, but it might also lead to a situation where you pass away without having put that coverage in place. So if you’re inclined to buy life insurance, just get it done with. Call different companies to compare rates or get a broker to do that legwork for you. Chances are, you’ll feel a sense of relief after putting a policy in place, like I did.
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If you’re selling a house, you can bet that a potential buyer will hire a home inspector. Read on to learn why you should beat them to the punch.
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It boggles my mind that anyone would buy a home without having it inspected first. And yet many people do just that (even though waiving the inspection is a truly terrible idea).
If you’re on the selling side of the transaction, you might assume that a home inspection isn’t something you should shell out money for, either — after all, you’re moving out of your house, and whatever problems it may have aren’t going to be yours anymore. Besides, according to HomeAdvisor, a home inspection could cost you between $281 and $402.
But not so fast! Here’s why it might be worth taking the time and spending the dough to have a professional home inspector give your home a look from stem to stern.
Remember, knowledge is power, and if you’re getting ready to sell a home, it’s in your best interest to learn absolutely everything you can about your home before strangers arrive and attempt to do the same. If an inspector turns up problems with your home, you’ll have the chance to get them resolved before listing it.
And you’ll be fixing the problems on your own timeline, rather than in a time crunch because a buyer is eagerly awaiting closing. An emergency repair is likely to cost you significantly more than arranging for the work to happen in a few weeks’ time. This also gives you time to shop around and get a few estimates for people to do the repairs, and perhaps save yourself some money in the process.
If your home inspection has turned up a problem and you decide to take the plunge and have it fixed, you could then figure the improvement into your home’s listing price. This is not to say that you can expect a 1:1 return on money put into a home, however. There are only a handful of home projects that can generate that kind of return on investment, and they don’t really fall under the umbrella of repairs and fixes you’d make thanks to a home inspection report.
Alternatively, if it turns out that your home has a big problem and you don’t want to address it yourself, you might consider lowering your listing price by the amount it will cost to fix (get some estimates to arrive at this ballpark) to account for the fact that a buyer will need to pay for it.
While it’s true that a buyer’s home inspector could turn up different issues from the one you hire, having your home inspected ahead of listing it for sale could lead to a shorter closing time.
If you’ve been able to uncover and address certain problems, it’s less likely that a different home inspector will find a huge problem that will be time-consuming (and expensive) to fix. As a result, your buyer’s mortgage loan could close faster, freeing you up to move on with your life after selling a home even sooner.
I should mention one particularly sticky problem you could encounter if you have your home inspected before listing it for sale. In many states, you are required to disclose known problems with your home in the process of selling it — you provide this information to buyers in the form of a Seller’s Disclosure. If your state requires this, it will have a form that you’ll fill out, detailing possible hazards including the presence of lead paint, radon gas, or a pest infestation, among other potential problems with the home.
If your pre-sale home inspector turns up serious issues, even if you have them addressed, you’ll have to put them in this form. That could make it more difficult to sell your home. But the risk of not disclosing problems can be dire — a sale could be canceled or a buyer could even take legal action against you.
Taking the time and spending the money to have your home inspected before selling it is a worthwhile pursuit, especially if you’re a proactive sort of person. It has the potential to make the selling process a lot smoother for you.
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Hoping to retire with $1 million in savings? Read on for ways to get there.
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The average saver has $89,300 socked away for retirement, says Northwestern Mutual, while the average person in their 60s has $112,500. But you might have much loftier goals than that. You may be eager to enter retirement with a $1 million IRA.
Of course, if you only earn an average wage, that goal might seem next to impossible. But actually, if you make these essential moves, you may find that you’re able to wrap up your career with a $1 million nest egg even if your earnings aren’t all that substantial.
Some people put off retirement savings until their 30s, 40s, or even 50s. And that’s understandable.
It’s hard to find the money for IRA contributions in your 20s when you may be grappling with educational and credit card debt. And it’s hard to find money for retirement savings when you’re a new parent and are struggling to cover the cost of child care.
But if you don’t start saving for retirement at a young age, you’ll miss out on years of investment growth in your IRA. And all of that lost growth could lead to less money saved by the time your career wraps up. So try to start funding your IRA as soon as you start collecting a paycheck, even if you can only manage to swing $40 or $50 a month — or even less.
The nice thing about 401(k) plans is that contributions are deducted from savers’ paychecks off the bat so they’re able to stay on track. If you want to retire with $1 million, do the same with your IRA.
Set up an automatic transfer so money moves out of your checking account and lands in your IRA after each paycheck hits. And if you need to start with small contributions, do that and then increase them over time as your earnings pick up.
Some people are scared to invest in stocks because the market can be volatile. But if you don’t invest your IRA in stocks, you might end up with smaller returns — and a smaller balance at the end of your savings window.
Over the past 50 years, the stock market has had an average annual return of 10%, as measured by the S&P 500 index. If you invest $120 a month in your IRA over 45 years at an average annual 10% return, you’ll end up with a little more than $1 million. But if you stick to safer investments, like bonds, you might end up with a much lower return — and less money.
Also, while it’s certainly not easy to part with $120 a month for retirement savings, all told, you’re putting in $1,440 a year. In 2022, the median U.S. household income was $74,580. So we’re talking about setting aside about 2% of your pay for retirement if your salary is in that vicinity.
Many people don’t come close to retiring with a $1 million IRA. But if you follow these tips, you might end up thrilled with your nest egg by the time retirement rolls around.
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Most consumers open new bank accounts sparingly. Check out the reason why one personal finance writer does it on a yearly basis.
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Banking is usually a long-term relationship. Most people don’t play the field much with their bank accounts. They find a checking account and a savings account they like, and they use them for years, and often decades.
I do things a bit differently. I open at least one new bank account every year, and I’ve been doing this for several years now. It might sound strange — who wants to set up a new account that often? It makes more sense when you know about the money that many banks are handing out to new clients.
I’m pretty happy with the bank accounts I already have. But if a bank is going to offer me money to open a new one, I’ll gladly take that deal. This type of deal is available with quite a few banks, in the form of bank bonuses.
Here’s how a bank account bonus works:
You sign up for an account that includes a bonus. Normally, you’ll need to sign up through a specific offer link or enter an offer code during the application process.You must complete the terms of the bonus within the designated time frame. Terms depend on the offer, but some of the most common are receiving a direct deposit or depositing a certain amount of money, such as $5,000.Once you complete the terms, the bank will verify that and deposit your bonus. The amount of time this can take will be specified in the terms. Eight to 12 weeks is common.
There are plenty of bank bonuses worth hundreds of dollars. If you won’t have any trouble meeting the conditions to earn the bonus, then this is a quick, convenient way to make extra money.
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I look for a couple of things when deciding if I’ll sign up for a bank bonus:
How much is the bonus?How easy will it be for me to earn?Does the account have any fees or minimum balance requirements?
If a bonus will be a breeze for you to earn, and it’s at least a reasonable amount, then it could be worth doing. On the other hand, if a bonus is going to be inconvenient to earn, then it needs to be big enough that it’s worth your while.
For example, I recently opened a new checking account. I have several already, so I certainly don’t need another one. But there was a bonus of $250, and the only requirement was to receive a direct deposit of at least $500. I jumped on that, because all I need to do is change my direct deposit account. It took me minutes, and it’s going to earn me $250.
On the other hand, if a bank bonus requires depositing $50,000 and maintaining that balance for three months, I’d stay away. That’s inconvenient, and I’d much rather invest some of that money through my brokerage account than leave it locked up in a bank.
Many banks that offer bonuses have an early termination fee. If you close your account too soon, the bank could take back the bonus. Make sure to review the terms if you decide you don’t want to keep the account.
The other type of fee to avoid is an account maintenance fee. Some banks charge this monthly, although most will waive it if you meet certain requirements, such as maintaining a minimum balance. Only sign up for an account if you’re sure you’ll be able to meet those requirements and avoid a monthly fee. Or, you can also just stick to bank accounts that don’t charge fees like this.
If you don’t mind opening a new account every now and then, keep an eye out for bank bonus opportunities. They can be an easy way to boost your savings.
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Got in an accident that wasn’t your fault? Read on to see how that might impact your auto insurance costs.
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About one year ago, I was driving my children home from school when another car pulled out of a parking spot and rammed into us. When I got out to assess the damage to my car, I realized the other driver was actually a friend of mine. Awkward.
Naturally, she apologized profusely and gave me her auto insurance information right away. And she also offered to help me shuttle my kids around town while my car was being worked on.
Accidents can happen at any time, and thankfully, ours was quite minor. Dealing with my auto insurance company, however, was a bit of a hassle, as was not having access to my car while it was being fixed. But so it goes.
Here’s what irked me about the situation, though. When I asked my insurer if I was at risk of having my premium rate go up for filing a claim on an accident I clearly wasn’t at fault for, I was told that there’s no guarantee that I wouldn’t see an increase.
My first reaction was “Wait, what?” I was driving in a straight line and a car pulled out and hit me. I couldn’t have prevented that in any way. But believe it or not, your car insurance company might raise your costs after a claim — even if it’s for an accident you didn’t cause.
When you cause an accident resulting in an auto insurance claim, it’s very common to see your premium rates rise after the fact. But filing a claim for an accident you’re not at fault for is more of a gray area.
Your insurer might raise your rates, or it might opt not to. However, generally speaking, if your rate goes up following an accident you didn’t cause, it will be a smaller increase than what you’d be looking at for an accident you did cause.
Some car insurance companies offer accident forgiveness programs that protect you from a rate increase following your first accident, or following an accident resulting in damage of a small dollar amount. For example, as of November 2022, in most states, Progressive offers accident forgiveness for claims that total less than $500.
If your auto insurer doesn’t offer accident forgiveness, then it could pay to switch to a policy that comes with this perk. That could protect you from seeing your rates increase in situations where another driver was at fault.
Meanwhile, my auto insurance costs went up quite a bit when I recently renewed my policy because we swapped our aging vehicle for a new plug-in hybrid. We knew that getting a new car would result in a rate hike and we weren’t shocked. And I’ll admit that I didn’t really dig deeper to see if the claim I filed a year ago had any impact on that increase because I knew we were looking at a large hike regardless.
But if you were in an accident you didn’t cause and see your rates increase following that event, it pays to discuss that with your insurer. And if you end up being penalized a lot simply for filing a claim, then you may want to consider buying your insurance elsewhere.
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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 recommends Progressive. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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