Money Management

In some parts of the country, a cheese pizza is costly. Pizza eaters in this state pay an average of $26.94 for a large cheese pizza. Find out which state. 

I’m a big fan of pizza. I usually order a pizza at least twice a month. It ‘s definitely not the healthiest dinner choice, but the cheesy goodness makes even my most challenging day more delicious. The cost of a pizza can vary greatly depending on what part of the country you live in, the restaurant you order it from, and your preferred topping choices.

Pizza ordering and delivery platform Slice, which has a reputation for supporting independent pizzerias and not charging consumers extra fees, conducted a study to examine 2022 pizza prices nationwide. It turns out some states have much higher pizza prices.

The national average pizza cost in 2022 was $17.81

Slice conducts a yearly “Slice of the Union” report. The study explores America’s pizza-ordering habits and researches the prices pizza lovers pay for their pies. Slice analyzed the prices for a large cheese pizza to determine the average pizza cost in each state.

It’s no secret that everyday costs, including essential pizza ingredients, have increased. For this reason, many of us pay a pretty penny for our favorite pie. But if you don’t pay close attention to your spending habits, you may not realize how much your pizza habit has cost you lately. That’s why it’s a good idea to use budgeting apps to monitor your spending.

The national average cost of pizza in 2022 was $17.81. But one state won the No. 1 spot for the most expensive average pizza cost. Can you guess which state tops the list? The answer may shock you. According to the most recent “Slice of the Union” report, Oregon has the most expensive pizza, costing an average of $26.94 per pie.

Washington was next on the list, with an average pizza cost of $23.34. Alaska was the third state on the most expensive pizza list, with an average price of $21.74. I don’t know about you — but I expected California to top the most expensive pizza list. It turns out my guess was wrong.

This state has affordable pizza prices

Slice found that Oklahoma has the lowest pizza prices on average. Residents of this state pay an average cost of $12.70 per pizza. That’s more than $5 cheaper than the national average cost for a pizza and over $14 cheaper than what average price pizza fans are paying in Oregon. Talk about a deal!

How to save money while satisfying your pizza cravings

For many consumers, spending $20 or more on a pizza will impact their personal finances. But you can slice into savings by being strategic when placing your next pizza order.

The following tips can help you keep your pizza spending in check to avoid credit card debt:

Pick up your order: If you’re craving pizza for dinner, you may want to place a pickup order instead of getting it delivered. If there is a pizza shop near your home, avoiding delivery fees can help you keep more money in your checking account.Look for deals and discounts: Another way to save money on pizza delivery is to review deals in your area before ordering. Some pizza shops have special deals on specific nights of the week. You can also use coupon code apps to save more money.Pay attention to fees: If you plan to use a food delivery app, review the fees before you order. Many apps charge high delivery fees and display higher prices for menu items than you’d pay if you ordered directly from the pizza shop. When using a mobile app like Slice, the pizza shops set the prices, and Slice adds no additional fees.Use a credit card that earns rewards: Finally, you may want to consider using a cash back credit card to earn rewards the next time you order your favorite pie. Rewards credit cards make it easy to earn rewards on everyday purchases.

No matter what type of pizza you’re in the mood for, don’t forget to consider your finances before placing an order. If you can find a way to get a good deal on your next pizza, you’ll have more money left over to stash in your savings account.

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Buying a home remains tough. Read on for tips to navigate the housing market. 

It’s more than fair to say that 2023 has, at least so far, not been an easy year to buy a home. Not only have mortgage rates been elevated, but housing inventory has been low across the board.

In fact, as of the end of April, there was only a 2.9-month supply of available homes nationally, according to the National Association of Realtors. It can often take a six-month supply of homes to meet buyer demand in full, so clearly, a 2.9-month supply is far from ideal. It’s not surprising, then, to learn that 39% of people think today’s real estate market favors sellers, according to recent data from Bank of America.

The less housing inventory there is, the more sellers can get away with commanding higher prices for their homes. And also, limited inventory tends to lead to bidding wars, which can drive home prices up. That benefits sellers, but clearly, not buyers.

If you’re struggling to buy a home, you’re most likely in good company. Here are some ways to cope with a housing market that sorely lacks inventory.

1. Get pre-approved for a mortgage

A mortgage pre-approval letter won’t necessarily help you avoid a bidding war. But it could help you win one.

A pre-approval letter sends the message to sellers that you’re a serious buyer whose finances have already been looked at by a mortgage lender. If you’re duking it out with a few other buyers for the same home and you’re the only one with a pre-approval letter in hand, the seller might choose you if your offer is as competitive as the others.

2. Know when to walk away from a bidding war

You may be inclined to put up a fight for a home you really love that you can see yourself being happy in. But there comes a point when it’s best to walk away from a bidding war. If you don’t, you might end up paying a lot more than the home in question is worth.

Before you even begin to engage in a bidding war, turn to your real estate agent (assuming you’re working with one) for advice. Ask them what the home you’re after is really worth and let that guide your offer strategy.

And also, think about your budget. It’s one thing to bid $550,000 on a home that’s initially listed for $500,000 if you can afford up to $600,000. But if $535,000 is the top end of your budget, be prepared to back out of a bidding war that has you spending more.

3. Set priorities for your dream home

You may want a house on a large lot with four bedrooms, a two-car garage, an updated kitchen, and a finished basement for extra living space. But if most of the homes for sale in your target neighborhood don’t seem to be offering all of those features, figure out which are most important to you and focus on those in the course of your search.

When real estate inventory is low, your chances of getting everything you want as a buyer are lower. Accept that and focus instead on the features that are truly worth going after.

It might still be a seller’s market today, but that doesn’t mean you’re doomed as a buyer. Follow these tips to increase your chances of winning a bidding war and finding the right place to buy. At the same time, be mindful of your budget so you don’t go over it, and know when a home is no longer worth bidding on.

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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.Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Maurie Backman has positions in Bank of America. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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The SBA helps business owners secure up to $350,000 to grow and expand their enterprises. Here’s how it works. 

When it comes to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) “Small Loan,” the term is relative. Small Loans are available up to $350,000 and can make all the difference for a business on the verge of growth. Here, we’ll tell you all about the SBA Small Loan and what a business owner needs to do to qualify. More importantly, we’ll cover how a Small Loan can alter the future of a growing business.

Success that builds on itself

Here are some of the ways a single SBA Small Loan can change the trajectory of a business:

A business owner with a solid plan will have the funds to expand operations.Expanded operations can lead to increased revenue.Increased revenue leads to increased profits.A thriving business can stand on its own, expanding more if the owner so wishes.With each on-time loan payment made, the business builds a stronger credit history, opening up even more opportunities.

How it works

The SBA offers seven types of small business loans, each with a specific goal. The Small Loan is for business owners that want to grow and expand their operations. It may be a business that’s been around for years, and the owner needs an influx of cash to take it to the next level, or a side hustle that grew more quickly than the owner expected it to.

No matter the type of business, a Small Loan works the same.

Application

An owner visits the SBA website to find an SBA-approved lender in their area. There may be several. Once they’ve found the lenders they want to check out, the business owner applies for a loan guaranteed by the SBA.

With that SBA guarantee in hand, lenders know that if the business owner fails to make payments, the SBA will cover the loan up to 85% for loans up to $150,000. For loans greater than $150,000, the SBA guarantees 75%.

Collateral

There is no collateral required for loans up to $25,000. For loans over $25,000, up to and including $350,000, the lender will follow its own established collateral policy. In other words, if a company of the same size as yours applies for a loan without SBA backing, any collateral rules that apply to it will also apply to you.

At the very least, the lender will take a first lien on any assets purchased with loan proceeds. It must also take a lien on all your business’s fixed assets, including real estate. However, a lender is not required to take a lien on your real estate if you have less than 25% equity.

For example, if the building in which you do business is worth $200,000 and you still owe 75% or more ($150,000 or more), the bank is not required to place a lien.

The final steps

As the business owner, you negotiate the interest rate with the lender. It cannot exceed the interest rate maximums set by the SBA.

Once you’ve agreed to the terms of a loan and signed on the dotted line, the SBA will ensure you have loan proceeds in your business checking account in five to 10 business days.

Eligibility

Not all businesses will qualify for a Small Loan. To be eligible for loan assistance, a business must:

Demonstrate a need for the loan (unable to secure a loan without SBA backing)Operate for profitFit within the SBA’s definition of a small businessBe based in the U.S. or one of its territoriesUse the money borrowed for a legitimate business purposeHave no outstanding debts to the U.S. governmentBe able to demonstrate that it can repay the loan

How the money can be used

The Small Loan can be used in a variety of ways, including:

As working capitalAs revolving fundsTo purchase equipment, supplies, furniture, fixtures, or other materials needed to grow the businessTo buy real estate for the company, including land and buildingsTo construct a new building or to renovate the existing buildingTo start a new business, acquire another business, or expand the existing businessUnder certain conditions, a Small Loan can be used to refinance existing business debt

What you’ll need to apply

You should be set to apply once you’ve gathered the following:

SBA Form 1919Personal financial statements (depending on the lender)Business financial statementsList of names and addresses of ownersResume for each principalBusiness license or certificate (if applicable)Record of any other business loans you’ve applied forBusiness income tax returnsBusiness overview and historyBusiness lease (if applicable)

As a small business owner, you’re responsible for everything from public relations to payroll. And that’s where the SBA comes in. The SBA attempts to help smooth the bumps in the road so your business does not stall.

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Debt doesn’t go away if you leave the country. Find out what would happen if you took on a large amount of debt, moved away, and stopped paying it back. 

Once you have a decent credit score, it’s easy to borrow money. There are plenty of credit card companies that give out high credit limits and lenders offering personal loans. It’s not uncommon to be able to borrow $50,000 or more, without putting up any collateral.

If you’re able to get access to that kind of money, what if you decided to rack up debt and leave the country? It sounds a little like something out of a movie. One score, and then you disappear to a beach somewhere, drinking mai tais and living as an outlaw. A white-collar outlaw, but still an outlaw.

You’re still legally responsible for debt whether you’re in the United States or not. You can also continue making payments on it, and if you do, you won’t have any issues. If you abandon your debt, it won’t follow you to a new country, but it can lead to other issues.

It will ruin your credit score

Not making debt payments does serious damage to your credit score. Creditors report when your account is delinquent and when they’ve sent it to collections.

You might be thinking “who cares about my credit score? I don’t live there anymore.” That’s true, unless you need to move back.

Let’s say you can’t find work in your new home, which is a common challenge for expats. If you move back to the United States, then your low credit score will be an issue. For example, when you look for housing, bad credit will make it very hard to get approved to rent a place to live.

Your creditors could sue you and garnish U.S.-based assets and wages

Creditors can and will take you to court for unpaid debt. Even if you’re not around, the court can enter a summary judgment against you. The creditor or collection agency may then be able to garnish U.S.-based assets, including:

Bank accountsBrokerage accountsWages paid by U.S.-based employers

So, if you were planning to ditch your debt and continue to work at a U.S.-based remote job, you could end up having your wages garnished. And if you have a brokerage account, a savings account, or anything else with money in it, your creditors can probably go after it (there are some types of retirement accounts that are protected from creditors).

You’d essentially need to make a clean break from your home country. That means finding a job wherever you move, which also means getting a work visa there. And you’ll need to set up new financial accounts.

Nobody’s going to come looking for you

In all likelihood, the consequences of not paying your debt will only apply in the country where you incurred that debt. INTERPOL’s not coming after you because you didn’t pay off your credit cards.

You could “get away with it,” in a sense. There are limits to what creditors will do to recover their money. They may file a lawsuit against you and try to get whatever they can out of your assets in the United States. But they’re not going to chase you abroad.

Not a good financial move

I won’t bore you with how paying back your debt is the right thing to do. Let’s look at this idea entirely from a personal finance perspective.

You could theoretically rack up debt, leave the country, and avoid paying it back. But how much could you get this way? It would need to be unsecured debt, such as credit cards and personal loans. For the typical consumer with good credit, it might be possible to get $50,000 to $100,000, and that’s probably being generous. No small sum, but it’s not the type of money that leaves you set for life.

In exchange, you need to start a whole new life in another country. Your unpaid debt will be a problem if you come back. And you won’t be able to use U.S. accounts, because then creditors could garnish your assets.

As someone who lives outside the country, I’ll let you in on something not all Americans realize — U.S. financial products are excellent, especially when compared to those from most other countries. Here are a few examples of why I’d never want to give up access to the U.S. financial system:

The rewards credit cards are much better than what’s available in most countries. They offer much bigger bonuses and higher rewards rates.High-yield savings accounts earn better interest rates than you can get elsewhere.There are also generous bank account bonuses you can earn for opening a new account and completing bonus requirements.Stock brokers give you access to all kinds of investment options. And the U.S. stock market has historically made an average annual return of about 10% before inflation, something not every country can say about its market.

Giving that up for some supposedly easy money would be a textbook example of killing the golden goose. If you learn how to make the most of rewards cards, bank accounts, and investing through brokerage accounts, that can pay off far more than a shortsighted attempt to game the system.

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It’s no secret that affordable housing is scarce in the U.S. Here, we take a look at the reasons why. Read on for what we uncover. 

Other than the early 1900s, when home buyers had to come up with a 50% down payment and pay the entire mortgage off in five years, it’s hard to remember a time in U.S. history when it was tougher to buy a home. We are in no way comparing today’s housing crisis to 2008, when the entire market seemed to be sucked down the tubes simultaneously. But for those hoping to buy a home, it feels like a crisis just the same.

How did we arrive in a place where the average household cannot afford what was once considered an average home?

Just as it’s rarely one thing that leads to a romantic breakup, many factors have lead us to the current housing crisis.

Global pandemic

For most of us, COVID-19 was the first time we experienced a pandemic, a virus that killed nearly 7 million people worldwide. It’s natural that so few people knew how to deal with such an event. Governments were unsure of what to do, local officials were clueless, and everyday citizens anxiously awaited direction.

Those who were able were asked to work from home to minimize the number of COVID-19 cases. And once some of those folks became accustomed to working from home, they realized they could live wherever they wanted.

But the pandemic impacted housing prices in several other ways too, including supply and demand and material and labor shortages.

High demand

Workers in high cost-of-living areas could move to less expensive cities, buy homes, and settle down. A steady stream of coastal residents headed for the less-expensive interior of the country, and suddenly, Midwestern and Southern cities were in demand. Home prices soared as competition heated up. Buyers were desperate enough to waive important contingencies and even take money from their retirement accounts to increase their offers.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve wanted to keep the economy humming along, so it lowered the prime rate, which in turn, dropped the mortgage rates to a record low. Those low interest rates drove even more home buyers into the market, and competition became scorching hot.

Low inventory

There were two groups squaring off: Those who wanted to reinvent their lives in a new area and those who did not want to sell their homes in the middle of a pandemic and fight to purchase another property.

Unfortunately for those in the market, there were far more buyers than sellers. Inventory in some areas was nearly non-existent, and homes that did sell were often under contract within hours.

The law of supply and demand came into play as the scarcity of homes continued to price many out of the market. Any time there’s a shortage of anything, you can count on the price increasing.

Supply chain issues

One of the eeriest parts of the pandemic was the sense that everything shut down around the same time, and it had. Businesses across the globe were ordered to close to slow the spread of the virus. As a result, small local businesses could not remain open, and once-thriving areas looked like ghost towns.

Those shuttered businesses had once supplied the building industry with the materials they needed to construct new homes, but now, production had come to a halt.

By the time August 2021 rolled around and builders had returned to the job site, building material prices had risen 19.4% year over year. Again, it was a matter of supply and demand.

It would take months for manufacturers to get back to 100% production and months for shipping companies to catch up on deliveries.

Builders who spent more on lumber and other materials were forced to pass the higher cost along to buyers.

Employment issues

Another expense passed on to consumers was the cost of labor. Simply put, fewer construction workers were available as the pandemic began to slow, and it became more expensive to employ those who were available.

Between the labor and materials shortage, building a home began to take more time than it had pre-pandemic. The longer it took to build a house, the fewer homes were available.

Interest rate increases

The Federal Reserve is facing an economy that is now too hard to maintain. While the Fed had been forced to lower interest rates two years earlier, the rates now had to be ratcheted up to slow spending and cool inflation. It has been a slow, painful process, and mortgage rates have more than doubled.

Today’s mortgage rates are still below the national historic average. However, it is impossible for many households to take on a mortgage once both inflated home prices and a rising interest rate are involved.

Household formations

A rarely discussed issue is the role newly formed household formations have played. In 2022, the U.S. experienced the highest level since 2012, with 2.06 million new households coming together.

Whether the new households consist of a newly married couple, grandparents moving into a guest room, or a group of adults splitting the cost of housing, new households put pressure on a building industry that’s already miles behind where it needs to be to satisfy demand.

Zoning laws

Local zoning laws are often outdated and do nothing to address the housing shortage in the country. For example, some zoning laws require a neighborhood lot to consist of one single-family home, even if it could easily accommodate two or more. Large lots are nice, but when enough areas strictly limit the number of allowed housing units, it further widens the housing gap.

Zoning laws are also responsible for the number of areas that don’t allow construction of multi-family properties like apartments, condos, townhouses, or duplexes. New multi-family housing units would not only offer more buying options, but more units would also drive down the cost of rent as landlords compete for new tenants.

Aging in place

There was a time when a person “of a certain age” sold their home and downsized or moved into a retirement community. In fact, the Silent Generation (those born before 1946) were pretty dependable when it came to selling later in life and either downsizing, moving in with family, or into an assisted-living facility.

Given the high cost of buying a new home and the exorbitant cost of assisted-living facilities, it makes sense that today’s older adults are choosing to stay put, many in homes they’ve paid off.

The issue is that, historically, enough of those homes have come on the market to give younger buyers a great number of options. Now that fewer are choosing to move, it’s one more factor adding to housing woes.

Competition from investors

It’s a David versus Goliath situation when it comes to the average household competing with well-funded investors. According to real estate investment firm Norada, investors purchased a record number of homes as competition and prices heated up. If a buyer has their heart set on a specific home, but an investment firm decides it would make a great addition to its rental property portfolio, the investment firm will likely win a bidding war.

In some parts of the country, it’s foreign investors buying homes for their children to live in while studying in the U.S. or simply to add to their portfolios. From April 2021 to March 2022, international buyers purchased $59 billion worth of U.S. real estate, up 8.5% from the previous year.

There are many factors responsible for the housing crisis

If one single issue led to the current housing crisis, it would be much easier to fix. Instead, we’ve experienced a host of issues, each needing its own solution.

Ideally, with time, low inventory will become a thing of the past, and regular people can get back out and find the home of their dreams at a price they can afford.

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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.
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Being a smoker could make life insurance more expensive. Read on to learn how it might affect your premiums. 

Smoking is a fairly expensive habit to uphold. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $8, according to World Population Review. If you smoke a pack a day, that means that in the course of a year, you’re spending $2,920 on cigarettes — and that assumes you only smoke one pack daily and that your cigarettes don’t cost more.

But smoking may not just wreak havoc on your budget by virtue of the money it costs to purchase cigarettes. It might also result in you paying a lot more for life insurance.

A habit that could cost you

When life insurance companies write their policies, they take on risk — namely, that the people they’re insuring will pass away and they’ll need to pay a benefit to those named on their policies. And the more risk an insurer thinks it’s taking on, the more it’s likely to charge someone seeking out insurance. That’s where smoking comes into play.

If you’re a smoker, you may be more likely to pass away at a younger age than someone who doesn’t smoke. This doesn’t mean that you’re guaranteed to die earlier. But from a life insurance company’s perspective, they’re more likely to have to pay out on your policy than for a non-smoker. Because of this, you should expect to be charged more.

In fact, Forbes says that people who smoke can pay nearly four times more for a life insurance policy than those who do not smoke. Plus, you could be denied a policy altogether if you smoke — especially if you have other conditions that increase the likelihood of your untimely demise.

Of course, whether or not you smoke isn’t the only factor that life insurance companies will consider when determining your premium rates. Your costs will also hinge on factors that include:

Your ageOther pre-existing conditionsYour line of work (hazardous jobs can raise your premium rates)The amount of coverage you’re looking for (a $1 million policy will cost more than a $500,000 policy, all other things being equal)

But as an example, Forbes says that a 30-year-old non-smoking man will pay an average of $303 a year for a $500,000, 20-year term life insurance policy. That same policy would cost a 30-year-old smoking male $828 a year.

It pays to quit before you apply

Quitting smoking is not an easy thing. You most likely won’t just snap your fingers and magically stop getting those urges.

However, if you are able to quit smoking before applying for life insurance, you may find that you end up saving a lot of money on your premium costs through the years. Some health insurance companies will cover the cost of a smoking cessation program, and there may be free resources available to you through your state.

Quitting smoking could do a lot more than just make life insurance less expensive for you. It could also extend your lifespan, save you money on healthcare, and free up room in your budget for other things that bring you joy. So all told, quitting has a lot of potential upside.

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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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