Money Management

Here’s why you may want to rethink this insurance coverage. 

If you’ve ever purchased an Apple device, you may know that the company offers a paid service called AppleCare+. Apple products come with a limited warranty that covers defects and technical issues for up to one year, so the AppleCare+ program offers an extra layer of protection available. But what is this service and is it worth the cost?

What is AppleCare+?

AppleCare+ is an extended warranty program offered by Apple. Most Apple hardware products come with a one-year warranty and up to 90 days of free technical support. AppleCare+ allows you to extend your coverage by two to three years from the date of purchase. In addition, AppleCare+ gives you additional features such as 24/7 priority tech support, battery service coverage, and accidental damage protection. AppleCare+ is available on all new Apple devices and Apple Certified Refurbished devices.

Apple also offers AppleCare+ with a Theft and Loss plan for its phones. This includes all the benefits of the AppleCare+ and up to two incidents of theft or loss coverage every 12 months. This means if you lose your device or it gets stolen, then Apple will cover it as long as you pay the deductible and have the Find My app enabled on your device at the time it is lost or stolen.

How much does AppleCare+ cost?

Costs vary depending on the type of Apple product you have. Here are the starting prices for the AppleCare+ plan. Prices will also differ based on what model you purchase.

AppleCare+ for Mac: From $34.99 annually or $99 for 3 yearsAppleCare+ for iPad: From $3.49 monthly or $69 for 2 yearsAppleCare+ for iPhone: From $3.99 monthly or $79 for 2 yearsAppleCare+ for Apple Watch: From $2.49 monthly or $49 for 2 yearsAppleCare+ for Apple Display: From $49.99 annually or $149 for 3 yearsAppleCare+ for Headphones: From $29 for 2 yearsAppleCare+ for Apple TV: From $29 for 3 yearsAppleCare+ for HomePod: From $15 for 2 years

You can buy coverage on a fixed-term plan or on a monthly plan that will automatically renew until canceled. The AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss plan is offered only for Apple phones and costs an extra $70.

Is it worth it?

The plans are not cheap, and depending on the product, can cost more than a quarter of what you’ll spend for an iPad, iPhone, or Mac. An iPhone 14 Pro, for example, starts at $999. The cost for the AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss is $269 for two years. Even with the plan, you will have to pay a deductible of $149 for theft and loss, $99 for other accidental damage, and $29 for screen or back glass damage. So if your phone is lost or stolen, it would set you back $418.

Your Apple device may be covered by renters or homeowners insurance or your mobile carrier may offer its own version. In addition, the value of electronics also depreciates fast. And if you are worried about accidental damage, a good protective case may reduce the chances that your phone gets damaged. Apple’s Find My app also adds a layer of protection to give you great peace of mind. AppleCare+ is a form of insurance, and you want to avoid paying to overinsure your device.

However, an AppleCare+ Plan may be worth it if you own expensive Apple products like the Pro Display HDR, which costs around $6,000. In this case, paying several hundred dollars to protect your investment may be worth it. Plus, if you live near an Apple store, having access to trained professionals for support and repairs can be invaluable.

At the end of the day, whether AppleCare+ is worth it depends on your individual situation and budget constraints. While it does provide some additional peace of mind thanks to its coverage, it is expensive, and there may be cheaper ways of protecting your phone or other device. Ultimately, only you can decide whether or not AppleCare+ is right for you — so make sure to do thorough research before making a purchase decision!

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 positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More 

Bonus: you can also avoid the temptation to spend your vacation fund on other things. 

There’s something wonderful about having an upcoming trip to look forward to. A vacation is one of the most rewarding experiences to plan, budget, and save up for, in my humble opinion. But what if you could grow your saved vacation fund just by moving it to a new bank account?

If you’ve been scrimping and saving and now find yourself sitting on a pot of money for a future trip, it’s a good idea to stash it in the right place. I’d recommend against keeping it in your checking account, as it’ll be too easy to spend, plus it won’t earn much (if any) interest. A high- yield savings account is certainly a great place for cash you need in the near term. But a certificate of deposit (CD) account could be even better, especially if you’re still six months or more from your dream vacation. Let’s talk about CDs and how they work, and why one might be a great place for your vacation fund.

What’s a CD?

A certificate of deposit, or CD, is a special type of bank account that pays you a fixed rate of interest on the money you put in one in exchange for keeping the money in place for a set term. CD terms vary, but six months to five years are the most common terms you’ll find. When you’re choosing a CD term, bear in mind that you’ll be charged a penalty (often, you’ll have to forfeit one or two months of your precious interest that you’ve earned on the money) for pulling your money out early. So make sure you really don’t need the money before the term is up.

Many banks offer CD accounts, including online-only banks, which have been paying very generous APYs on savings, money market, and CD accounts lately. If your vacation is in six months, you can open a CD with a six-month term. The best ones are paying as much as 5% right now. Let’s say you stash $3,000 in one of these accounts. In six months, your money will have grown to $3,074.09. If your dream trip is a year away and you get the same APY, you’ll end up with $3,150. Not too bad.

Why might a CD be a good place for your vacation savings?

In addition to getting a little bit of interest growth, there are a few other reasons to consider keeping your vacation fund in a CD account.

While you may snag a comparable APY on a savings account these days, you can of course access the money in your savings account pretty much whenever you want (bearing in mind that you may be limited to six or fewer convenient transactions if your bank is enforcing Regulation D). This makes a savings account an excellent place for your emergency fund, but if you want some incentive not to spend the cash you have earmarked for your trip, the threat of losing some of your interest might just be enough for you to leave that money alone. Plus, a CD account won’t charge you a monthly maintenance fee, and your savings account might.

Speaking of keeping your cash safe, if you open a CD with an FDIC-insured bank, up to $250,000 of your money will be returned to you in the event of a bank failure. The recent collapse of SVB is weighing on everyone’s mind lately, so knowing your CD account is protected will give you peace of mind. You can use the FDIC’s BankFind tool to see if the bank you’re considering is under the FDIC umbrella.

All in all, CDs have some pretty cool perks. And if you’ve got a chunk of money put aside for any goal in the not-too-distant future, be it a much-needed vacation, a car purchase, or buying a home, they’re worth considering to help grow your money and keep it safe.

These savings accounts are FDIC insured and could earn you 13x your bank

Many people are missing out on guaranteed returns as their money languishes in a big bank savings account earning next to no interest. Our picks of the best online savings accounts can earn you 13x the national average savings account rate. Click here to uncover the best-in-class picks that landed a spot on our shortlist of the best savings accounts for 2023.

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 

So many protections it’s like a helmet for your finances! 

The best credit cards have a lot of benefits over other payment types. For one thing, a good rewards card can be worth its weight in cash back or points.

But that’s not the only reason to use your credit cards. There are also security features, purchase protections, and various insurances that can make them a far more valuable payment method than many people realize.

That’s why, no matter how else you like to spend, you should use your trusty credit cards for these purchases.

1. Common carrier travel expenses

There are a few good reasons to always charge your travel expenses. For one thing, travel is expensive, so there are a lot of rewards to be earned here.

But more importantly, there’s the travel insurance. If you have a travel rewards card, there’s a good chance it comes with some form of travel insurance. This can be absolutely priceless for nonrefundable travel expenses should something go wrong.

For example, trip interruption/cancellation insurance can reimburse you for nonrefundable flights and hotel stays if your trip is cancelled due to things like illness or severe weather. And that bag the airline lost? Lost bag insurance can reimburse you for the contents (up to the coverage limit).

2. Electronics and appliances

Here’s another pricey expense that’s worth putting on your cards. When a new washing machine can cost you upwards of $500, the rewards alone are worth the swipe.

Then there’s the purchase protection. Depending on the card you use, you may have purchase protections that can reimburse you should your new electronics get stolen or break within the first few months of ownership. Two of the most popular issuers both have quality purchase protection policies on several of their cards:

American Express purchase protectionChase purchase protection

And let’s not forget the extended warranty protection. Many rewards cards also offer an extended warranty perk that can increase the duration of the manufacturer’s warranty for an extra year or more. Since appliances seem to always break a week after their warranties expire, this can give you a little extra peace of mind.

3. Online purchases

Have you ever made a purchase online only for it to be nothing like was promised — or, worse, to never show up at all? If you used your credit cards, you have an option your debit card may not provide: chargebacks.

Credit card companies offer the option to dispute charges on your card when the merchant doesn’t hold up their end of the transaction. So, if the merchant doesn’t deliver, you can potentially get your money back.

That’s not the only reason to use a credit card instead of a debit card, though. There’s also the security. If your credit card information is stolen and used fraudulently, your liability is capped by law at $50 (and most issuers have $0 fraud policies).

Debit card protections are based on when you notice and report the problem; if you wait too long, you could lose your entire checking account balance without recourse.

4. Cellphone bills

So far we’ve mentioned a number of credit card protections, like travel insurance and extended warranties. But there’s one we haven’t mentioned yet: cellphone insurance.

Several great rewards cards also come with cellphone protection, which kicks in when your phone is lost, stolen, or damaged. This coverage caps out around $800. But the deductibles are small — around $25 to $100, depending on the card — so it’s still an awesome deal.

What’s more, it’s easy to qualify. All you need to do is pay your cellphone bill with your eligible credit card every month.

5. Large purchases

While we touched on electronics and appliances, the same reasonings apply to any large purchases, including the purchase protections and warranty extensions. But I want to focus a bit more on the rewards here. With the right card, the rewards you can earn on, say, a $2,000 sofa purchase could be worth $100 or more.

And this goes double for new cards with nice sign-up bonuses. Most rewards cards come with a bonus for new cardholders who can reach a set spending requirement within the first few months. These bonuses can be worth hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. Even better, they stack with the regular purchase rewards, giving you even more opportunity to earn.

There’s one more big reason cards can be awesome for large purchases: intro APR offers. If you can qualify for a card with a 0% introductory APR offer, you could have a year or more of interest-free financing to pay off your purchases. If you can pay off the full balance during the introductory period, you’ll avoid any interest fees.

Even if you have a little left over, only your remaining balance will accrue interest (unlike deferred-interest store offers, which charge you interest on the full amount if you have any balance left when the offer expires).

Pay in full for best results

Alright, so we’ve talked a lot about the benefits of paying with your credit card — and there are many. But it all comes with a giant asterisk: interest.

Credit cards tend to have very high interest rates (the average APR is around 20%). If you carry a balance on your card for a few months, that interest can add up quickly.

Unless you have an intro APR offer, it’s best to only charge things you can pay off in full during the grace period (the time between when the statement ends and the bill is due). This will allow you to avoid high interest fees.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until 2024

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 until 2024, 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.American Express is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Brittney Myers has positions in American Express. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

 Read More 

It’s harsh criticism, to say the least. 

Consumers have been forced to grapple with rampant inflation for well over a year now. That’s forced many people to raid their savings and rack up scores of costly credit card debt just to stay afloat.

Meanwhile, on March 22, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25%, marking the second increase of that nature this year. The Fed’s goal in raising interest rates is to encourage a pullback in consumer spending. Once that happens, it can narrow the gap between supply and demand that’s been causing inflation to surge all this time.

The problem, though, is that the Fed’s latest rate hike, coupled with the recent banking industry meltdown, could really deal a blow to consumer confidence and cause a more rapid decline in spending than the central bank wants. And that could be enough to spur a full-blown recession — and cause millions of Americans to lose their jobs in short order.

A move that’s been met with criticism

The Fed’s job is to control monetary policies and do its best to create conditions that lend to a stable economy. Right now, inflation is the Fed’s No.1 enemy, and the central bank has made it clear that it can’t slow down on rate hikes until that situation improves.

However, some experts think the Fed got it wrong with regard to its most recent rate hike. As it is, rate hikes have dealt a blow to banks. And in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, the last thing the industry needs is added turbulence.

But it’s not just additional bank failures to worry about. Even before the recent banking industry crisis erupted, many financial experts have feared that rapid rate hikes by the Fed would lead to a near-term recession. And that’s a concern Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed following the most recent rate hike.

Warren told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is doing a “really terrible job.” She also went as far as to say that the Fed is “trying to get two million people laid off.” Ouch.

When good intentions go awry

Let’s be clear — the Fed wants nothing more than for inflation to cool down so consumers can feel confident about the economy and things can stabilize. The central bank is not, by any means, looking to promote an uptick in job loss.

But a series of rate hikes in 2023 might lead to that scenario, even if that’s not what the Fed wants. That’s why workers need to be really careful right now, and take steps to shore up their finances while they’re still gainfully employed. That means boosting savings account balances and, if possible, chipping away at high-interest debt.

The Fed is not in the business of encouraging layoffs, but it does want consumer spending to decline. And some experts feel that a dip in spending is apt to lead to a larger number of lost jobs — it’s just inevitable.

Ideally, the Fed will manage to strike a balance that cools inflation without driving the economy into a freefall. But only time will tell how things actually pan out.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until 2024

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 until 2024, 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 

Minnesota has become the fourth state to make meals available to students for free. 

Food insecurity continues to be a problem throughout the United States. According to Feeding America, an organization that works to reduce hunger nationwide, 1 in 8 kids are at risk for hunger. Some cities and states have free breakfast and lunch programs to ensure children don’t go without food. Minnesota recently passed legislation allowing all students in the state to get free breakfast and lunch beginning next school year.

All Minnesota students will get free meals this fall

According to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, an organization that works to fight hunger in the state, food pantry visits rose significantly between 2021 and 2022. Throughout 2022, there were 1.9 million more visits than in 2021. Recently signed legislation may help to get food to more children in the state.

A recent bill has become law, and it includes plans to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota students, regardless of household income. The bill passed through the state Senate and House and was signed by Governor Tim Walz on March 17, 2023.

Free meals will be available to all students starting the 2023-2024 school year. The law will require all schools throughout the state to provide each student with one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day, regardless of their ability to pay. Students will no longer need to prove that they need aid or be required to apply for free meals.

State leaders hope that this will help Minnesota families save money. Senate Majority leader Kari Dziedzic estimates that this legislation will save a family of four in the White Bear Lake District around $1,900 annually. Advocates note that making free meals available to all students will also reduce the stigma surrounding free and reduced meals.

This law will also help more children get the nutrition needed to learn. Proper nutrition is vital for childhood development, and hungry students don’t perform as well in school. Minnesota isn’t the first to enact such a law. California, Colorado, and Maine have also passed legislation to make meals available to students at no cost.

High food costs impact household finances

Food costs rose 10.4% between December 2021 and December 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With this statistic in mind, it’s no surprise that many Americans struggle to afford enough food. Higher price tags at the grocery store can worsen existing financial struggles for many households.

Filling up your fridge can be difficult when there’s only so much money in your checking account and your expenses keep rising. If you struggle to afford food, please know you’re not alone. Here are a few resources to explore if you need extra help putting food on the table.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program available to eligible low-income individuals and families. If you qualify for benefits, you can get nutrition benefits to help cover the cost of food. You can apply for benefits online or at your local county assistance office.

School Food Pantry

Nearly 4,000 food pantries are available nationwide through the Feeding America School Food Pantry program. Some pantries welcome students outside of their district and community members even if they don’t have kids at the school. If there are no school food pantries in your area, you can contact your local food pantry to learn how to start one at your child’s school.

Community food bank

Another option is to visit a food bank in your community. By picking up essentials at your local food bank, you can ensure that you have enough food to feed your family. The Feeding America website has a search tool you can use to find nearby food pantries.

Don’t be afraid to lean on resources like these. If you’re looking for guidance on how to improve your financial situation, check out our free personal finance resources.

Alert: highest cash back card we’ve seen now has 0% intro APR until 2024

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 until 2024, 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