Could you be waiting too long to quit working? Erika Cristina Manno / Shutterstock.com
Some people view retirement as something that should be delayed as long as possible. They say that, for many older workers, waiting as long as possible to collect Social Security benefits is the prudent choice. Important as this advice is for many of us, it may not apply to you. If you are financially prepared, there are good reasons to consider retiring at the traditional age of 65…
In one market, nearly one-third of investment homes are selling at a loss. Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock.com
These are challenging times for real estate investors. In March, about 1 in 7 homes — 13.5% — sold by investors nationwide did not even recoup the price the investor originally paid for the property, according to a recent Redfin analysis. And things were a little worse than that in February, when 14.5% of investment homes were sold under the original purchase price. It is quite a change from last…
If you travel with kids, your child’s second birthday means your costs are going to go up. Read on to find out why.
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As a parent, I love traveling with my kids. It’s exciting to see new places and show them the world, and I’m always happy to break out the credit cards to buy tickets to someplace we’ve never been.
However, my trips have become a lot more expensive since my son hit a specific milestone, and my costs will go up even further once my daughter does the same. Here’s why my bank account is now getting hit harder with each trip.
Unfortunately, the costs of traveling with children increases substantially once your kids reach the age of two. And there’s a simple reason for that.
Children under the age of two are able to fly on an airplane for free, and they are allowed entrance to many places at no cost — including amusement parks, buffet restaurants, and kids activities like indoor playgrounds.
However, once children turn two, the days of them flying or entering for free are over. You’ll have to pay the full cost of a ticket on an airplane, child prices at buffets, and often the full cost of entry at theme parks. Having to buy another ticket can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a trip — or even thousands if we’re flying someplace far away or doing multiple days at different theme parks.
Although it’s a bummer that I now have to pay for my son and I’m less than a year away from having to pay for my daughter when we go on trips, I don’t want to cut back on my travel. Instead, I’m just preparing for the added expenses associated with this milestone.
I didn’t really realize how big of an impact this would have until my son aged out of being free, so I had to make some modifications to my vacation budget on the fly once places started charging for him. This meant changing some of the activities we participated in. We opted for one less day at a theme park on one of our trips, for example, so we could keep our total admission ticket cost close to the same even though we were now buying for one extra person.
But since I’m now well aware of how much extra everything is with an additional ticket, I’ve increased my budgeted amount for future vacations we’ll be going on after my daughter also turns 2 years old. I’ve made some cuts to my budget in other areas to do this, including dining out less often while we are at home since I would rather be able to enjoy more vacations than eat frequently at local restaurants.
I’ll also be looking for more free activities or for more places that don’t start charging extra until our kids are three, which will at least buy me some extra time before my costs go up. And we’ll be steering clear of buffet restaurants for a while since my kids rarely eat enough to justify the price of a child admission to all-you-can-eat places.
For any parents whose children are facing this upcoming milestone, just be aware of how big of an impact paying for an extra person can have and don’t make my mistake in being caught off guard. Start planning ASAP for when the time comes to pay full freight for the youngest members of your family.
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If you have a Capital One Café near your home or work, you may want to stop by for a cup of coffee. Find out how to get a 50% discount on select beverages.
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If you have yet to visit a Capital One Café and are a Capital One cardholder, you now have the perfect excuse to stop by. The bank currently has 50 Café locations throughout the country. As a cardholder, you can receive 50% off select beverages when you visit and use your card to pay for your order. Who doesn’t love a good deal like that? I know I do.
Capital One Cafés are a blend of the coffee shop and banking worlds. According to Capital One, its Cafés are a community space welcome to all. You can stop in to relax, enjoy the cozy coworking spaces, grab a snack or drink, and utilize the free wifi and outlets. Banking services are available on-site, including ATMs. You don’t have to bank with the brand to visit.
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But that’s not all. Nonprofits, alumni groups, and student organizations can rent community rooms for free. Café ambassadors are available to discuss Capital One products and services. Capital One Cafés also host free educational personal finance workshops.
If you’re hungry or thirsty, snacks, sandwiches, and handcrafted coffee and tea beverages are available for purchase. But make sure you bring your Capital One credit card if you have one. As a Capital One debit or credit cardholder, you can get 50% off handcrafted beverages daily by paying with your card. The savings could add up if you have a Café near you.
That’s not the only deal available at Capital One Cafés. Customers can save $0.25 by bringing a clean, refillable mug. This promotion is available every day to all customers. Capital One also runs other promotions that could save you money. If you have a Capital One Café nearby, don’t miss the opportunity to get a great deal on your next cup of joe.
Are you using all of your credit card perks? Many cardholders don’t know about all of the benefits available to them. Credit card issuers continue to look for new ways to meet the needs of their customers and sometimes add new features. Make sure you’re using your credit card benefits to maximize the value you receive from your cards. Reviewing your card benefits every so often is an excellent way to ensure you’re not missing out on perks.
Getting a discount for using a credit card is a win, but don’t miss out on the chance to earn rewards, too. Many people use credit cards regularly, but not everyone has a rewards credit card in their wallet. Using a rewards card for everyday purchases can allow you to earn cash back or points and miles, which you can redeem for valuable freebies.
If you use your credit card often, the rewards can add up quickly. However, be cautious not to overspend beyond your means. By using your credit cards to only purchase what you can pay off in full, you can avoid expensive credit card debt. Check out our list of the best reward credit cards to find a card that will reward you for your most frequent purchases.
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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
I reduced what I was spending on auto and homeowners insurance by getting an umbrella insurance policy. Here’s why this worked for me.
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Having a sufficient amount of insurance coverage is very important to me. Specifically, I want to make sure I always have enough liability coverage. This is the kind of coverage that pays out if someone were to be hurt on my property or in an accident I caused.
Having a lot of liability insurance protects against out-of-pocket losses, as an insurer will only pay up to policy limits. I did not want to worry about having to drain my bank account if a claim was made against me and my insurance wasn’t sufficient.
To make sure my assets were fully protected, I used to have a large liability policy on both my car insurance and my home insurance. But I was able to cut my costs and actually get better protection by making a simple change. Here’s what I did.
While I previously opted to buy $500,000 in liability protection on my auto insurance and my home insurance, I’ve now reduced the policy limits on both of those policies to $250,000. But, I actually now have $1 million in liability protection in case of either a car accident or an incident at my home. That’s because I opted to buy a different kind of coverage.
The insurance I purchased is called umbrella insurance. It’s a secondary coverage policy that pays out if and only if I have exhausted my primary insurance coverage. And it will pay out for any covered incident, whether at home or on the road.
The premiums for the policy are also very affordable, even for a policy providing $1 million in coverage, since it’s secondary insurance. I’m actually paying less for my umbrella policy than I previously paid in higher premiums when both my home and auto coverage had higher policy limits.
Basically, the way my umbrella insurance works is, the insurer requires me to carry $250,000 in liability protection on my home and auto policies. But if a covered loss happens that results in more than $250,000 of damage to someone else, the umbrella policy pays the uncovered costs.
The umbrella policy thus offers even more protection for my assets since I’d have insurance to pay out up to $1 million if anything went wrong. And it does so more affordably than opting for higher coverage on other plans because it won’t pay out unless there’s a real catastrophe, so the risk is lower for the insurer.
Buying an umbrella policy can make sense for anyone who has a lot of assets to protect and wants to make sure they have ample liability insurance in place. Anyone who does not want to worry about being personally sued in case of an accident should look into whether buying an umbrella policy could be cheaper than having high policy limits on other kinds of insurance.
It’s easy to get umbrella insurance quotes in a matter of minutes, so check today to see if umbrella insurance could provide desired protection at an affordable 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.
Here’s your guide to some of the best gig apps, how they work, and what you can earn through them. SpeedKingz / Shutterstock.com
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder. Gig work can be a great way to make side money, especially if the typical 9-5 isn’t your thing. Several gig apps make it easier than ever to find short-term work. No more scouring Craigslist or working with a temp agency. You’ve probably heard of gig apps like Uber and DoorDash. Others — like Instawork and TaskRabbit — let you…
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