Money Management

Almost anything is better than waiting at the gate. 

One of my favorite travel rewards card perks is airport lounge access. And for most travel cards, lounge access is basically synonymous with Priority Pass membership.

In most cases, this is fine. Priority Pass is a pretty decent network, with lounge options in most major airports. But there are still airports — or, in some cases, terminals — that lack Priority Pass-accessible lounges.

You may not be entirely out of luck, however. What some people may not realize is that the Priority Pass network isn’t exclusive to lounges. It also contains a few non-lounge options in select airports.

Minute Suites

Dubbed “The Traveler’s Retreat” on its website, Minute Suites are sort of like tiny hotel rooms (except you’ll usually find a wide couch/daybed instead of a bed with a mattress). Minute Suites often have computers and televisions, and may even have access to showers (additional fees for showers may apply).

You can find Minute Suites in 10 different U.S. airports, including:

Atlanta (ATL)Baltimore/Washington (BWI)Charlotte (CTW)Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)Detroit (DTW)Houston (IAH)New York (JFK)Nashville (BNA)LaGuardia (LGA)Philadelphia (PHL)

An eligible Priority Pass membership gives you access to a one-hour stay in a Minute Suite. In other words, one Minute Suite stay for one hour counts as one lounge visit. You can stay for additional time at the rate of $34 per additional hour. Up to three guests can stay with you in your Minute Suite at no additional charge.

Restaurants

Another non-lounge option for some members are the dozens of restaurants that are part of the Priority Pass network. You can find options in both domestic and international airports.

Essentially, your Priority Pass card will act as a payment card in the restaurant. The main member will receive a $28 credit toward their bill in participating restaurants. In most restaurants, you can also get up to $28 in credit for a guest, as well.

(I had a lovely meal in Washington D.C. during a layover, just steps from my gate, and the credits covered everything but the tip! I recommend tipping on the full bill amount.)

Note that if you’re traveling alone, you only get one credit; you can’t double dip if you don’t have a guest on your bill. Some restaurants may allow more than one guest, but that seems to be rare in my experience.

It’s generally good etiquette to mention you’ll be using your Priority Pass card when you’re seated. Some restaurants will swipe your card upfront, while others will wait until the end of your meal.

Unfortunately, not all Priority Pass memberships include restaurant access. You’ll need to have received your membership from your Chase credit card, or have purchased an eligible membership directly from Priority Pass. (Capital One used to offer restaurant access as part of its Priority Pass membership, but that ended last year.)

A great perk made even better

Airport lounge access is an amazing card perk that I cannot recommend enough. (At this point, I enjoy lounges so much I’d probably pay for them if I didn’t have access through my cards.) But when airport lounge access isn’t an option, my Priority Pass membership can still save the day — or, at least, the layover.

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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.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Brittney Myers has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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It’s a problem that doesn’t seem to want to go away. 

It’s hardly a secret that living costs have been extremely high for well over a year now. And it’s putting a strain on a lot of people.

A recent survey by SecureSave found that for 65% of respondents, inflation is the one factor that’s impacting their finances the most. And when everything from your groceries to your utilities is costing more, it’s easy to see why you might be walking around in a state of perpetual stress.

If inflation is messing with your finances — and peace of mind — then there’s one essential step to take to combat it. It may not be an easy one, but it’s definitely worth doing.

Build up some cash reserves

The aforementioned survey found that 67% of Americans don’t have enough money in a savings account to cover a $400 emergency expense. If that’s the boat you’re in, then building yourself some cash reserves is a wise idea.

First of all, if you don’t leave yourself with savings to fall back on, you might immediately have to resort to racking up a credit card balance the next time an unplanned bill hits. And that could end up putting a huge strain on your finances and costing you lots of money in interest. But also, if you’re able to build up some cash reserves, it could give you more leeway to cope with rising expenses.

Let’s say you’re maxing out your paycheck month after month because your bills are just so much higher than they were a year ago. Now, imagine if your savings balance were to grow by $500. Suddenly, you’d have a lot more wiggle room.

If your grocery bills were to increase by $10 a week, you’d have savings to dip into to cover that extra cost. And if your rent were to go up by $50 a month, you’d have the means to dip into savings to tackle that increase for a while.

How to build savings while inflation is surging

It’s hard enough to build savings in general. But it can be even more difficult to do so at a time when living costs are up across the board. That’s why your ticket to amassing some cash reserves may have to boil down to picking up a side hustle.

The idea of working a second job on top of your main one may not be so appealing. After all, having downtime is important. But if you’re willing to work a side job for a period of time — long enough to grow your savings nicely — then you can always drop that second job if it becomes burdensome, all the while knowing you’ve set yourself up with some money in the bank.

Of course, you could also try cutting your spending to boost your cash reserves. But let’s face it — if you’re already barely paying for extras, how much will that really help? That’s why picking up extra work may be a better choice, even if it’s not the easiest one.

Unfortunately, rampant inflation could be with us for quite some time. But if you build up some savings, you may have a much easier time coping with it.

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It only takes a few minutes, and you’ll be glad you did it. 

If you’re like most people, you probably prefer to spend as little time as possible looking at your credit card bill, especially if you’re carrying a balance or spent more than you intended to last month. It’s easy to just make note of the balance or minimum payment and then toss the notice aside. But if you do this, you could be missing out on valuable information. Here are four things you should check every time you receive a new credit card statement.

1. Payment due date

Credit card statements display the payment due date pretty prominently, so this isn’t too difficult to find. You must pay by this date if you hope to avoid late payment fees and interest charges. Set a reminder for yourself so you know when this bill is due and be sure you make at least the minimum payment by then.

2. Minimum payment

Ideally, you’d be able to pay your credit card bill in full each month. This will stop your balance from accruing interest and becoming unmanageable. But for those already struggling with credit card debt, the more important number is the minimum payment. This is the smallest amount you can pay without incurring late fees or running into trouble with the credit card issuer.

Minimum payments are generally at least $25, but they can be much higher depending on the card issuer and your balance. Whenever possible, try to pay more than this, even if you know you won’t be able to pay the bill in full.

3. Changes to the credit card’s terms

Credit card issuers have to notify you before they make certain changes to your card, like raising the interest rate. But these notifications are often buried in the fine print of your credit card statement. You can easily miss them if you’re not checking your statements thoroughly.

Look over each credit card statement for any mention of upcoming changes to card interest rates or other terms. And don’t hesitate to reach out to the company if you have any questions about a notice on your credit card statement.

4. Purchases you didn’t make

Your credit card bill should contain an itemized list of all purchases made during the last month, including the retailer and the dollar amount of the purchase. It’s good practice to review this every month to ensure you’re not the victim of identity theft.

Look for any purchases that are unfamiliar, especially if they occurred in a place where you don’t live and haven’t traveled to. Sometimes, the name on your credit card receipt may not correspond with the name of the retailer you’re familiar with. Using the information on your statement and your knowledge of your recent purchase history, try to determine if this was a legitimate buy or not.

If you notice any unusual activity on your credit card, notify the card issuer immediately. A representative will go through your recent purchase history with you to identify other fraudulent purchases and then they will cancel your card and issue you a new one with a new number.

Doing the four things above shouldn’t take you a lot of time, and they can help you avoid a lot of unpleasant surprises. If you need to, set reminders for yourself to take these steps at first until they become a habit.

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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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This one piece of advice will give you the financial breathing space you need. 

Financial guru Suze Orman has gone on record stating there’s “one unifying principle” to being a smart borrower. That principle is simple: Live below your means, but within your needs. In other words, don’t spend more than you earn, and borrow the least amount possible that will provide for your needs. This approach can help create more financial breathing space and ultimately lead to better decisions in the future. Here is what Orman means and how it can help you become a smarter borrower.

What does living below your means mean?

Living below your means is not just about spending less than you make; it’s also about managing debt responsibly by borrowing only what is necessary to fulfill your basic needs. Sounds simple enough right? However, according to the Federal Reserve, credit card balances in the fourth quarter of 2022 hit an all-time high of $986 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of $927 billion.

This doesn’t mean giving up all of the luxuries that life has to offer. It simply means understanding where you can afford to spend, where you need to save, and when it makes sense to borrow money. This will vary from person to person based on their individual financial situations and goals. Fortunately, you can easily set up a budget using apps like Mint and Rocket Money that can track this for you. The key is understanding what you need and how much you can realistically afford without taking on too much debt.

How much debt is too much?

There are many rules of thumb when it comes to how much debt you should have. The debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is an important financial measure often used by banks when assessing a customer’s eligibility for borrowing money. It is typically expressed as a percentage and is calculated by dividing your total monthly debt payments by your monthly gross income. So if your income is $5,000 per month and your total monthly recurring debt payment is $1,000, then your DTI is 20%. Anything over 35% if considered too high, so your goal should be to keep it as low as possible.

Another rule of thumb is keeping your credit card utilization rate below 30%. This rate is calculated by dividing your total debt by your total available credit. For example, if you have three credit cards with a total available credit of $10,000 and you have $5,000 in credit card debt, your utilization rate is 50%. Having a low utilization rate can be beneficial for your credit score since it makes up 30% of it. It can also help you qualify for better loan terms when you need to borrow money.

The benefits of living below your means

When you live below your means, you are setting yourself up for future success. By focusing on spending less than you earn and borrowing only what is necessary for your current needs — not wants — you can use the extra money to build an emergency fund, save for retirement, or invest in yourself. You can even invest in something that can bring value into your life, such as starting a business. Plus, living within your means helps ensure you don’t take on too much debt at once.

Living below your means may not be easy at first, but with discipline and careful planning it is achievable. When done properly, this strategy allows borrowers to stay out of debt while still meeting their basic needs and having some left over for savings or investments. Suze Orman’s one unifying principle to being a smart borrower should be at the top of everyone’s list. Live below your means but within your needs! Doing so will help ensure healthier finances now and into the future.

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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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