Money Management

Subtle or not, discrimination is discrimination. 

Before we sold our home and moved out of state last year, we were just getting to know a new family in the neighborhood. They are amazing humans, and frankly, having them as neighbors made our decision to move more difficult.

Once, as we sat swapping stories, the subject of the hot housing market came up. I asked how house hunting was for them, given the competition for homes. I was surprised by the husband’s answer, which only goes to show how easy it is to allow privilege to cloud my worldview.

The new family is Black. The husband and wife are both professionals, and their two daughters are funny, smart, and engaging college students. The husband told us that for their family, our neighborhood represented what they hoped to achieve. They wanted to buy a house in a nice, safe area, make it a home of their own, and become part of the community.

They remained in a more modest home for years. He said that was okay, though, because it gave them more time to plan and save for the down payment on the house that would become their permanent family home.

Discrimination can be subtle

According to the couple, they had trouble finding a real estate agent who would show them homes in our neighborhood. Agents weren’t obvious about why they didn’t think our area was a good fit for them, but several agents encouraged the family to look at homes in other parts of town. The husband said that once they were denied a showing, they would simply move down the list and call another real estate company.

Once they landed the right agent, the husband told us that buying the house they wanted was a breeze. After all, they’d planned and saved for it for years.

By pushing the family to buy in areas of town that are traditionally Black, agents set up hurdles. It was subtle, but it was discrimination.

Discrimination can be difficult to identify

Whether you’re hoping to rent a home or buy, discrimination due to your race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or the fact that your household includes children is illegal. If you have a gut feeling something is wrong, take notes. Be specific about who it is you’re dealing with and what they say to you.

Here’s a sample of the common ways discrimination rears its ugly head.

For home buyers

A real estate agent puts you off when you ask to tour a home in a neighborhood where you are a minority.An agent shows you homes only in neighborhoods where you’re the majority.Once you make an offer on a home, your agent drags their feet presenting that offer, giving someone else time to purchase the property.Your mortgage lender repeatedly asks you to jump through the same hoops. For example, they may require you to provide proof of income more than once or claim that you did not provide documents that you know you provided.

For renters

A landlord runs a discriminatory ad. For example, “House available. No children allowed.”A landlord sets the minimum required credit score, security deposit, or rent high in an effort to prevent you from qualifying.Management or a landlord refuse to respond to your questions.Management or a landlord refuse to provide you with a rental application.

If you believe you’re a victim of housing discrimination

You don’t have to go it alone. There are organizations designed to help you prove your case and hold the other party responsible.

National Fair Housing Alliance

National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is dedicated solely to ending discrimination in housing. You can find the contact information for your state or local fair housing center on the NFHA website. Because it can be so difficult to prove, NFHA may send testers to find evidence of discrimination with the mortgage lender, real estate agent, or landlord you dealt with.

HUD

HUD’s Fair Housing Equal Opportunity (FHEO) is rich with resources and offers you these options:

Speak directly with an FHEO intake specialist by calling 1-800-669-9777 or TTY: 1-800-877-8339.File an online complaint. You can also find the form in Spanish.Download this form and email it to your local FHEO office. The email address can be found here.

In addition to English and Spanish, the complaint form is available in Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, and Vietnamese.

There’s nothing fair about discrimination, but thanks to anti-discrimination laws, you don’t have to fight it on your own.

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It’s worthwhile to do what you can to boost your salary. 

If you spent much of 2022 dipping into your savings and carrying credit card balances to cope with inflation, you may be at a point where you can’t afford another financial hit. And if you can’t cut back on expenses, boosting your income could be a great solution.

In many cases, though, increasing your pay will require you to get a new job. And a recent survey by the American Staffing Association found that 28% of workers plan to search for a new job with a higher salary to combat inflation.

But if your goal is to enjoy a bump in pay, then you’ll need to approach the process of finding a new job strategically. Here’s what to do.

1. Do your research

Maybe you earn $60,000 a year right now and really want a $5,000 pay boost to better handle your expenses. That’s all fine and good. But before you embark on a job search, you’ll need to make sure a $65,000 salary offer is realistic for what you do.

Spend some time digging up salary data online to see what people in your role commonly make. Also, try to narrow your search by your geographic region, since wages can vary from one part of the country to another.

If you find that the salary you’re looking for is out of reach, you’ll know to boost your skills so you can position yourself for a different role that does pay what you want. And who knows? In the course of your research, you might also find that you could potentially ask for an even larger bump in pay than you were initially looking for — for example, a $70,000 salary instead of $65,000.

2. Load your resume with numbers

A good way to convince a new employer to extend a job offer — and a generous one at that — is to give them a reason to believe they’ll get their money back and then some by hiring you. To that end, put numbers in your resume where appropriate that show how much value you bring to the table.

Let’s say you’re looking for a role as a staff accountant. If you note on your resume that you saved your company $52,000 last year through cost-cutting measures, that might catch a new employer’s eye.

3. Network extensively

The more contacts you reach out to within your industry, the better your chances of learning about new job opportunities, some of which might come with a much higher salary than what you’re making right now. But don’t just limit yourself to people within your industry. Rather, contact anyone you might think can help you find a job, whether it’s old classmates from college or your neighbors.

A higher salary could make inflation much easier to cope with. Use these tips to snag yourself a boost in pay — and more financial breathing room.

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You don’t need to be a member of Costco to take advantage of their low prescription prices. 

When it comes to prescription drugs, cost is one of the most important factors to consider. Fortunately, there are two major retail chains that offer competitive prices on both generic and brand-name prescriptions — Costco and Walgreens. But which one should you choose?

Costco vs. Walgreens: Convenience

I was recently traveling out of state and forgot to pack my medication. Luckily, there was a Walgreens right around the corner and after a few short calls, I was able to pick up my meds quickly. In terms of convenience, Walgreens wins hands down. There are 583 Costco locations in the U.S. compared to 9,021 Walgreens locations in the U.S., almost 16 times more than Costco! Walgreens also has an advantage in terms of hours. Many locations are open 24/7 while some Costco locations close early or aren’t open on Sundays or holidays.

Both do offer mail delivery. So if you don’t need to worry about visiting a location to pick up your medications, then the number of locations may not matter. But if you need to pick up your medication in person outside of regular business hours or don’t have a Costco near you, then Walgreens might be a better option for you.

Costco vs. Walgreens: Prices

When it comes to pricing, Costco has a clear advantage over Walgreens. Like their other products, Costco has lower prices across the board. In addition, you don’t need to pay for a membership to enjoy the perks of Costco’s savings and get your prescription filled at Costco.

However, Costco offers the Costco Member Prescription Program, which is a prescription drug discount card program that provides even a larger discount for prescription meds. You have to be a Costco member to join and the discount card does not pay or provide reimbursement for prescription drug purchases like health insurance does. It only provides you with better prices on that medication. Also, participants are required to pay the discounted price for the prescription in full at the time of purchase.

You will need to take into account how much money you spend to see if it is worth both the cost of membership as well as the program. One important thing to note is to see if your insurer has a preferred store they want you to use. Some have individual deals they have with various pharmacies, so you should find out which one offers the best prices.

When it comes to prescription drugs, there are pros and cons to both Costco and Walgreens. When it comes to prices and saving more money, Costco has an edge, but Walgreens wins when it comes to convenience. Ultimately though, which store works best for your needs will depend on what type of medication you need as well as how often (or how quickly) you need it — so do your research before making your final decision.

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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 Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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These could all leave you kicking yourself. 

The money you have in the bank most likely isn’t money that landed there because you won the lottery or came upon an unexpected windfall. Rather, it’s money you most likely worked for by toiling away at your job, and maybe even a side hustle on top of that.

That’s why it’s so important to pay close attention to your bank accounts — and make the time to check up on them. It’s also important to avoid these big mistakes — both in 2023 and in general.

1. Not shopping around for a better interest rate on your money

The interest rate you earn on your savings account or in a CD might vary significantly from one bank to another. Even if your bank seems to be paying a pretty generous amount of interest, it still pays to do some research and see what other banks are paying — especially these days.

A year or so ago, this advice wouldn’t have really held up. Back then, banks were paying such a minimal amount of interest that there was almost no point in putting in the time to earn an extra $0.72 in interest in the course of a year.

But these days, banks are paying a lot more interest. You might easily, for example, snag an interest rate in the 3% range in a high-yield savings account and a rate in the 4% range for a CD. So if your bank is paying 3.2% on regular savings but there’s a bank out there paying 3.7%, that’s a big difference.

2. Paying overdraft fees in your checking account

A growing number of banks are doing away with overdraft fees, which can be costly. But some banks will still charge you for overdrawing your checking account. And if yours does, then you may want to consider either making a switch or managing your money very carefully.

It’s possible to avoid overdraft fees by simply making sure you have enough money in your checking account to cover your purchases. If you make a point to review your checking account balance every few days, you might avoid losing money to fees.

3. Not making a plan for CDs that come due

If you put money into a CD in 2022, it may be maturing in 2023 (that is, if you opted for a six-month or 12-month term). Some banks will automatically roll a maturing CD into a new one with the same term if you don’t take action. But that’s not necessarily what you want to do with your money, so rather than let your bank make that call, be the decision-maker yourself.

You may decide that you don’t want to roll your maturing CD into a new one because you want more flexibility with your money. Or, you may find that another bank is offering much better CD rates, which should prompt you to make a switch. The key, either way, is to not just sit back and let your CD roll over automatically.

Mistakes happen. But these three in particular could be detrimental to your finances in 2023 — and beyond. So it pays to avoid them at all costs.

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Don’t despair if your savings have taken a beating. 

You never know when life might throw you a curveball, whether it’s the loss of your job, a car that stops running, or a home repair that pops up out of the blue. That’s why it’s so important to have a decent-sized emergency fund. Without money in your savings account, you risk racking up costly debt when things don’t go your way.

But many Americans are now sitting on less money in savings than they were a year ago. Specifically, 47% say their savings have dwindled over the past 12 months, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.

Now there may be different reasons for this trend, but it’s easy to point a finger at high inflation as a driving factor. For all of 2022, consumers had no choice but to grapple with sky-high living costs. And so it stands to reason that many had no choice but to dip into their savings just to stay afloat.

If your savings balance took a dive in 2022, you may, at this point, be eager to build it back up. Here are a few ways to go about that.

1. Get on a tight budget

Following a budget can be an eye-opening experience. That’s because seeing your expenses mapped out for you might inspire positive changes that make it possible to spend less without depriving yourself of the things you consider important.

Once you get on a budget, you might have an easier time limiting your spending in certain expense categories. And the less you spend, the more money you can stick in the bank.

2. Turn your holiday gifts into cash

Chances are, you’re sitting on at least some holiday gifts you’re willing to part with (or don’t even like). Rather than let unwanted sweaters and kitchen gadgets take up space in your closets, try selling them.

The same holds true for gift cards. There are different websites that allow you to trade in a gift card for cash. And while you generally won’t get the full face value of your gift card, you’ll get something. So if, for example, you have a $100 gift card to a clothing store you’re not a fan of, you might be able to get $80 for it. That’s not as good as $100 — but you can’t deposit an unwanted $100 gift card into your bank account.

3. Work a side hustle

If you already maintain a busy schedule, the idea of getting a second job may not seem so appealing. But you don’t have to hold down that side job indefinitely — you just need to work at it until your savings balance is in a better place. That could mean holding down a side hustle for just a few months.

And who knows? If you take on a side gig and end up liking the work, you might choose to keep it to give yourself extra income.

It’s not surprising to learn that nearly half of Americans have seen their savings decline over the past year. But the good news is that there are steps you can take to replenish your savings and give yourself the peace of mind that goes with that.

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One of these metro areas could be your new home. 

I’m sure a lot of people would love to forget about the state of the housing market in 2022, but unfortunately, we’ve probably still got a ways to go before things significantly improve from high prices and high mortgage rates. And since two-thirds of Americans plan to buy, sell, or refinance a home in 2023, there is a lot of money at stake as we stare down the 2023 housing market.

Realtor.com’s economic research team recently released data on the top 10 real estate markets for 2023. These are metro areas where prices haven’t topped out, and in fact, these markets didn’t see the same explosive growth that many places experienced in the pandemic buying boom of 2020 and 2021. If you’re looking for a place to get a mortgage in 2023, consider these cities and their surrounding metro areas.

1. Hartford, Connecticut

Median sale price in November 2022: $224,950

If you want to move to a state capital, put Hartford on your list. The city is home to many large corporations, notably insurance companies (ever heard of The Hartford?), and offers 17 distinct neighborhoods to choose from.

2. El Paso, Texas

Median sale price in November 2022: $235,750

This border city is a great place to live if you enjoy the great outdoors. You’ll have easy proximity to the Rio Grande for boating and fishing, and the city boasts several notable organized athletic events every year.

3. Louisville, Kentucky

Median sale price in November 2022: $224,950

If you like horses, have I got a city for you! Louisville is world famous for its annual Kentucky Derby, as well as its bourbon producers. Louisville also has an up-and-coming restaurant scene, perfect for foodies.

4. Worcester, Massachusetts

Median sale price in November 2022: $385,000

Want proximity to Boston without Boston real estate prices? Consider Worcester, as it’s just an hour’s drive away from Beantown. Worcester has world-class higher educational opportunities and culture to spare.

5. Buffalo, New York

Median sale price in November 2022: $200,000

Despite New York’s reputation for being unaffordable, if you look upstate, you’ll find charming cities and great home prices. Buffalo is the second largest city in the state and offers major sports teams and the majesty of Niagara Falls nearby. If you can handle the weather (Buffalo sees an average snowfall of 95.4″ per year), the Queen City might just be for you.

6. Augusta, Georgia

Median sale price in November 2022: $198,000

If golf is your game, you might want to give Augusta a closer look. Then again, Augusta is also a great place to live for young families as well as those who enjoy culinary experiences and the arts as a whole.

7. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Median sale price in November 2022: $252,500

Grand Rapids is a city on Michigan’s Grand River, and if you work in healthcare (or aspire to), it might be a fit for you. This city also has a lot to offer for craft beer enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys a larger city with a small-town feel.

8. Columbia, South Carolina

Median sale price in November 2022: $240,000

If you like the vibrancy of a college town, Columbia could be a good place to check out. The University of South Carolina is headquartered there. In addition, Columbia residents enjoy opportunities to soak up art and culture at the city’s many museums.

9. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Median sale price in November 2022: $305,000

Chattanooga offers city amenities with beautiful natural surroundings. If you’re a hiker, biker, climber, or boater, you’ll find lots to like. Trendy shopping spots are also on abundant offer in Chattanooga.

10. Toledo, Ohio

Median sale price in November 2022: $116,000

You can enjoy a low cost of living and a host of family-friendly activities in Toledo. Local businesses and cuisine are prized in Toledo, so if you make the move, expect to find unique buys not available anywhere else.

You might be looking at the emerging 2023 housing market with trepidation — and with good reason! But if you consider the above 10 cities, you just might find a great deal as well as a great place to live.

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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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