Money Management

California residents may qualify for free financial aid. Read on to learn how to buy good health insurance at a discount. 

It happened. The clock struck 12. Suddenly, I was no longer eligible for health insurance under my parents’ plan. By California law, residents can only stay on parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. After that, you’re on your own.

Reluctantly, I searched for ways to buy my own health insurance. I’m young and healthy, so I only need a basic plan. I wanted to shop for cheap plans and easily compare them.

Turns out, there’s a quick and easy way to apply for health insurance in the Golden State. It took me less than 30 minutes to apply (comparing health plans took a bit longer). Here’s how to buy discounted health insurance in California from the comfort of your home.

Buy health insurance on Covered California

California residents can purchase brand-name health insurance on Covered California, a free online marketplace that connects Californians with health plans. It’s a great resource.

Features:

Filter: Filter by price, company, and type.Compare: Easily compare plans side-by-side.All-in-one: Submit one application to earn discounts.

It’s a super convenient way to purchase insurance. You could qualify for discounted insurance based on your income and a few other factors. You could save hundreds of dollars monthly, especially if you’re low-income. To estimate aid, try the Covered California calculator.

How to earn discounts

To earn discounts, create an account and submit a single application. To do so, you must fill out basic personal information, including estimated household income, number of dependents, and ethnicity. It took me about 15 minutes to complete the straightforward application.

Soon after you send your application, you’ll know whether you qualify for discounted plans. Covered California will message you on the website (I received notice within hours). It’ll tell you whether you can shop around on the website, and if so, how much of a discount you’ll get.

Covered California will also tell you whether you qualify for Medi-Cal. Individuals who earn less than $1,677.00 monthly may be eligible for Medi-Cal, a.k.a. low-cost or free healthcare.

Is Covered California the most affordable?

Covered California may be the most affordable option if you qualify for financial assistance. You can apply for discounts fast and free, so it’s worth a shot. But if you don’t qualify, check if your favorite health insurance company sells cheaper plans. It might.

Full disclosure: I can purchase plans via the Covered California marketplace, but I barely qualify for any financial aid. Even so, the site is so convenient that I bought a health insurance plan through it. It saved me time; comparing plans was easy, and I found a good one.

If you’re new to purchasing health insurance, I recommend checking out Covered California. It makes it easy to compare plans. At the very least, you’ll get a feel for what’s important.

Buy discounted car insurance, too

Speaking of savings, once you’ve tackled health insurance, why not look into bundling other types of insurance for even more discounts?

If you’re a driver, you’re probably on the hook for car insurance. To earn discounts on car insurance, I bundle my policy with my brother. Bundling with other drivers is a great way to shrink premiums. It lowered my monthly payments by 5% to 10%.

Bundle plans to keep those big monthly payments low. You can hop right into it with the best cheap car insurance companies. Or, you can stick with discounted health insurance. Totally up to you — you know your situation better than anyone.

Our best car insurance companies for 2022

Ready to shop for car insurance? Whether you’re focused on price, claims handling, or customer service, we’ve researched insurers nationwide to provide our best-in-class picks for car insurance coverage. Read our free expert review today to get started.

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.

 Read More 

More than half of Americans say they’ve been scammed. Read on for tips on how to avoid being a victim. 

Years ago, I received an email that I thought was from eBay asking me to update my account. I wrongfully assumed it was legitimate and went to the site to update my personal information. Fortunately, I figured out the site was trying to take my information before I entered any bank account details or anything personal.

But not everyone is so lucky. A recent survey from IPX1031 — a qualified intermediary financial company — shows that 29% of Americans were scammed in the past year, with an average of $1,500 lost. And when accounting for all scams Americans fall victim to, the survey results showed that consumers lose $4,000 over their lifetimes.

If the latest data is any indicator, most Americans will be scammed out of money at some point in their lifetime — 55% already have been — so let’s look at which scams are the most common and how to protect your personal finances.

Watch out for these popular scams

According to the survey data, online scammers don’t discriminate too much between age groups. The results showed that 58% of baby boomers had been scammed, followed by 55% of Gen X, 54% of millennials, and 53% of Gen Z.

While there are tons of different ways you can be scammed out of your money online, the top three scams that cost Americans the most money were online shopping scams, identity theft, and credit card scams. Here are a few examples of what each one looks like:

Online shopping scams: This happens when someone uses a website (or even an app) that they think is legitimate to buy a product. But the website or app is actually fake and steals their personal and financial information.Identity theft: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says that identity theft can involve any type of stolen personal information, including your name, Social Security number, or credit card information. Once someone has your information, they may open a new account in your name, get a credit card, or even rent an apartment.Credit card scams: There are many types of credit card scams, including phishing, skimming, mail theft, malware, and many more. You can see an extensive list of credit card scams here.

How to protect yourself from scams

While it may be nearly impossible to protect yourself against every scam, you can take some practical steps to make yourself less vulnerable. Here are some tips to protect yourself, compiled from the CFPB, FDIC, and Experian:

Be careful what information you share: The CFPB recommends not sharing numbers or passwords for accounts, credit cards, or Social Security with others.
Watch out for deals that are too good to be true: An email or phone message with a deal that sounds too good to pass up could be a scam. Avoid these, especially if you’re required to pay a fee to get a promised prize.
Put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry: This won’t help you avoid online scams, but it will help protect you from phone and text scams. You can add your number to the list by going to the Do Not Call Registry.
Scrutinize apps and websites that ask for information: The FDIC says you should be careful with apps and websites that ask for access to contacts, text messages, passwords, or credit card information. A potential red flag is when the site uses poor grammar and has misspelled words.
Be wary of unsolicited emails: If you receive an email that appears to come from a legitimate source, check for typos or mistakes, as recommended by the FDIC. Be skeptical if the email asks for personal or financial information or has attachments that look like coupons or payment forms.
Ensure your online payments are secure: Before making a payment online, see if the website has “https” at the beginning of the website address. This indicates that the site is secure.
Monitor your credit card activity: Experian recommends you keep a close eye on your purchases to spot any discrepancies. Check credit card statements regularly.
Monitor your identity: Signing up for identity theft monitoring can be a good way to keep track of what accounts you have open and whether someone may be using your personal information.

Unfortunately, while getting scammed is common, most people don’t report it. The IPX1031 survey said that 39% of Americans who’ve been scammed didn’t report it, with the top two reasons being that they didn’t think enough money was taken or didn’t know how to report it.

If you think you’ve been scammed. you can answer a simple questionnaire on the USA.gov website to find out where you should report it.

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

 Read More 

If you want to be wealthy, you should focus on earning more money, investing over time, and being smart about how you spend your money. Here’s why. 

Becoming wealthy is a dream for many. Fortunately, it’s a dream that is well within reach. If you want to end up with a large bank account balance and the financial security you deserve, three steps will get you there. Here’s what they are.

1. Focus on increasing earnings

One of the first and most important things you need to do if you want to be rich is to focus on increasing how much you earn.

Far too many people get hung up on trying to reduce spending to build wealth. This is really hard to do. You can only slash your spending by so much even if you make draconian cuts to your budget. You’re still going to buy necessities. It’s also hard to sustain a strict budget for years to build wealth.

If you focus on increasing your income, though, there are no limits to how high you can go. Developing new job skills, negotiating your salary and raises, starting a side business, or forming a successful company of your own could potentially enable you to gain access to much more money that you can use in your wealth-building efforts.

For me, personally, over the past few years, I’ve been able to triple my income. This has given me tens of thousands of dollars each year to use toward future financial goals. I wouldn’t have been able to come close to reducing my spending by that much. I accomplished this by honing my skills within a particular niche, and you can look for opportunities to do the same.

2. Invest steadily

The next key step is to invest regularly. This enables you to put your money to work for you so you can earn returns that grow wealth.

If you are investing, the returns you earn can be reinvested and you can benefit from compound growth. The money in your brokerage account helps you get richer without you having to work for every dollar you earn. And the more time you have for compound growth to work, the more powerful the impact.

Say, for example, you invest $5,000 a year for 30 years and earn a 10% average annual return. That investment will turn into $904,717.12. You would have invested only $150,000 during that period, so all the rest of that money would have come to you because of your investments.

Investing doesn’t have to be difficult. You can open a brokerage account and put your money into an S&P 500 index fund. This would mean it tracks the performance of the Standard and Poor’s financial index of around 500 large U.S. companies. The S&P 500 has consistently produced 10% average annual returns, and finding an S&P fund is as easy as using your broker’s ETF screener.

3. Spend smartly

Finally, the last step you need to take is to be smart about spending. This doesn’t mean living a life of deprivation, but you need to make sure you aren’t spending all that you earn so you have money to build wealth. And ensure your spending aligns with your values — the money you spend should enhance your life.

It’s a good rule of thumb to keep fixed expenses to 50% of your income, save 20%, and spend the rest. If you do that, you should be in good shape to build wealth.

By taking these three steps, you can get on the path to financial prosperity. Get started today by researching salary data for your field to ensure you’re being paid fairly or identifying a new job skill you can learn. Consider opening a brokerage account if you don’t already have one, and take a look at your budget. You’ll be glad you did when you find yourself with a nice nest egg in a few decades.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 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.Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More 

Is your spouse the optimal business partner? Read on to find out. 

Starting a small business can be a rewarding experience. But it’s a good idea to find a partner to embark on that journey with you. That way, you’ll have a sounding board when you’re not sure about a tough decision. And you’ll also have someone to share the load with.

You could go out and try to find yourself a reliable business partner. But what if your spouse is interested in going into business with you?

You may be tempted to partner up with your spouse in the course of starting a business. After all, you clearly already have a level of trust based on the fact that you’re married. And your spouse will clearly be invested in seeing your business succeed, since that could lead to an uptick in household income for both of you.

But while going into business with your spouse might seem like a smart idea, there are certain pitfalls you might encounter. Here are three to seriously consider.

1. Your business might collapse in the event of divorce

Once your business gets off the ground, it’s going to constitute your livelihood. But your business and livelihood might end up sorely compromised in the event that something goes sour within your personal relationship and you wind up filing for divorce.

First, depending on how your business is structured, you may have no choice but to dissolve the business if you and your spouse can’t reach an agreement about who will run it. There goes your income.

Or, you might end up in a situation where you’re forced to share control of your business with your spouse after your marriage has ended. If you find yourselves unable to work well together, your business might collapse for that reason.

2. You’ll have all of your financial eggs in a single basket

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that 18% of small businesses fail within their first year, while 50% fail after five years. The scary thing about starting a business with your spouse is that you’re not diversifying your income. (This assumes neither of you will retain a job on the side.) Rather, you’re putting all of your eggs in one basket. If your business doesn’t succeed, you might take a huge hit.

You’ll often hear that it’s important to maintain a diversified portfolio of investments. But it’s also important to diversify your income streams, or you might end up in a dire situation if your joint source of income doesn’t pan out.

3. You might never get a break from the grind

It can be difficult for small business owners to achieve a decent work-life balance. But if both you and your spouse run a business together, that business might be all you end up talking about.

You also won’t have any stress load diversification. If one of you is stressed about work matters, chances are, the other will be stressed as well. That could make for a pretty crummy existence.

It’s easy to see why you may be inclined to partner up with your spouse in the course of starting a business. But before you commit to that idea, do consider the pitfalls. And make sure you and your spouse discuss them together so you both know what you’re potentially getting into.

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

 Read More 

Costco’s return policy is generous. But read on to see if making too many returns will put your membership at risk. 

One of the nice things about joining Costco, aside from the massive savings, is getting access to great customer service. Costco prides itself on offering customers a great experience in its stores. The warehouse club giant wants customers to walk away happy with the items they’re purchased.

As such, most of the things you’ll buy at Costco are eligible for returns. However, there are limited exceptions, like cigarettes, alcohol, and electronics that are brought back after the 90-day mark.

But what if you end up having to make a large number of returns in short order? Generally, that won’t cause your Costco membership to be revoked. But in some extreme cases, too many returns could get you banned from Costco, especially if your returns are unreasonable in nature.

When enough is enough at Costco

Costco tends to go above and beyond when it comes to customer satisfaction. Members can even receive a refund on open food purchases by virtue of simply not liking the items in question.

For the most part, a string of Costco returns won’t cause you to lose your membership if there’s a good reason for those returns, and your returns are not excessive relative to the number of items you buy at Costco over time. But if you’re constantly making returns to the point where it’s 60% or 70% of your purchases, then yes, you could risk having your membership revoked.

But let’s say you happened to buy a bunch of Costco apparel that you had your kids try on over the course of several weeks (since we all know kids aren’t always so great about sitting still and trying on clothing). It may be that you’re taking back a pair of shorts that didn’t fit one week, an ill-fitting jacket the next week, and poor-fitting pajamas a few days after that. Something like that won’t put your membership at risk — especially if you’re returning the items in good condition with their tags still on.

Similarly, you really don’t have to worry about having your membership revoked due to returning an item that clearly doesn’t work or, in the case of food, has spoiled well ahead of its expiration date. For example, if you buy a bulk pack of cheese with a June 1 expiration date, and come May 1, the package is still sealed but you can see mold growing inside, Costco will take it back without a problem and it won’t reflect poorly on you.

But let’s say you keep on returning Costco food items on the basis of them not meeting your expectations when each time, you’re doing so after having eaten half of the item in question. That’s a pattern Costco is going to flag. And if you keep it up, your membership might get taken away.

Incidentally, Costco’s policy on refunding food is that unless there’s a quality issue, like mold or premature spoilage, you have to be returning at least 50% of the item in question. You can’t bring back a 16-pack of cookies with three cookies left and say they didn’t meet your standards.

The fine print on the matter

It would perhaps be helpful if Costco had an official policy on the books as to what constitutes too many returns. Unfortunately, there’s no such guidance.

However, Costco does say on its website that “membership may be terminated at Costco’s discretion and without cause.” So reading between the lines, if you abuse Costco’s return policy, you’ll put your membership at risk.

That said, remember that Costco wants to retain customers and isn’t looking to cancel memberships without a good reason. So if you make sure your returns are reasonable (meaning, don’t ask for a refund on cake you didn’t like when 90% of it is gone) and not excessive, you should be just fine to continue enjoying the discounted groceries, household essentials, and other low-cost items Costco is known for.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 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.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More 

The typical 60-year-old victim of fraud loses $666 to scammers. Read on to safeguard your finances. 

You may be under the impression that scams are low-budget, sketchy endeavors that anyone can spot a mile away. And in some cases, you’re totally correct. But the data suggests that modern scams may be growing more dangerous.

From 2021 to 2022, fraudsters have tripled the amount they’ve stolen from Americans, from $2.8 to $8.8 billion collectively, according to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). That’s a serious uptick. It seems apparent that fraudsters are becoming more successful.

In 2022, for every four Americans who reported fraud to the FTC, one lost money. But what generation is losing the most? Millennials? Baby boomers? The answer may surprise you.

Typical loss by age

The average victim lost $650 to fraudsters. Turns out, younger folks (Generation Z) were the most likely to lose money to scammers — in other words, they fell for scams most often. But the oldest victims of fraud were most likely to lose more than $1,000. Here are the stats by age.

So, what does that mean for you? If you’re in your 20s, you’re a prime target for scammers. Be on the lookout for unsolicited text messages, too-good-to-be-true investment offers, and requests for personal information from unknown sources.

If you have older relatives, consider asking them to consult you before sending big donations to “strangers in need” or “new investment opportunities” — you could save them hundreds of dollars. Have them text you before wiring big amounts of money or signing up for cards.

Credit card fraud

Over 20% of reports are identity thefts. That’s when a fraudster steals information related to your identity to rob you. Credit card fraud is the most common type of identity theft — almost half of the identity thefts reported were credit-card related.

How do you avoid credit card fraud? Be sure to double-check credit card companies before applying for a new card — you could be getting scammed. To stay safe, stick to lists of best credit cards verified by experts instead of Googling credit card companies.

Invest through legitimate brokers

But the most successful type of fraud tends to be investment-related. For every four victims who reported investment fraud, about three lost money (74%). That’s a huge percentage! Plus, the typical victim of investment fraud loses $5,000, more than than any other type of scam.

Thinking about investing, but don’t know where to start? Beat scammers to the punch by setting up a brokerage account through a legitimate, top-rated stock broker. There are dozens of stock brokers out there, but only a handful of great ones. You can open an account for free.

The fact is, there are people out there who will contact you for the sole purpose of draining your personal finances. It’s unfortunate, but it’s true. The FTC suggests consulting with peers should you ever feel unsure. Keep an eye out for loved ones, and be willing to listen to their own suspicions.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until nearly 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.Cole Tretheway has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Target. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More