First-class mail and Priority Mail price increases take effect on Sunday. jmrainbow / Shutterstock.com
You might want to pick up some stamps this week — if you still use them, that is. Come Sunday, stamps will be about 5% more expensive. The price of a first-class stamp — the postage needed to mail a 1-ounce letter — will jump from 60 cents to 63 cents. It’s not the usual blah, blah, blah. Click here to sign up for our free newsletter. This price change is among those that the U.S.
Have any of these ever happened to you?
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Money is a deeply personal subject for a lot of people, and just like religion and politics, sometimes talking about it can generate awkwardness or even ruin a dinner party. Plus, not everyone has enough money, and speaking from experience, dealing with financial inequality in your everyday life can bring up some bad feelings. Talking about money more often (say, with your friends) definitely helps, but we surely have a long road ahead of us if we’re ever to be completely comfortable comparing bank balances and credit scores.
In the meantime, here’s how to field a few common money scenarios that might keep you up at night. Note that some of these can be addressed with a little advance planning, so keep these ideas in mind for the next time you get invited to Thanksgiving or someone’s birthday dinner.
While discussing salaries in the workplace can be good for a lot of reasons, including resolving race and gender-based pay inequalities, this is still an awkward situation to be faced with out of the blue. Plus, you might not be getting this question from a coworker who does the same job as you who is trying to build a case for a raise, but rather from your future in-laws at Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re asked about your pay and you don’t want to discuss it, what should you do?
This is your opportunity to express the politeness that the asker decided to disregard. If the question is from a nosy relative, you can laugh it off and say something like, “I make enough to get by!” At this point, try changing the subject — and hope the asker remembers their manners. If you want to turn it back around on them, try being direct right back. “Why do you ask?” The question may come from a place of genuine concern, especially in the case of future in-laws who may wonder about your financial viability to be coupling with their child.
I’m not saying it’s okay in this case, either, but generational differences and a protective attitude may be spurring the question. In this case, if they continue to pry, you may have to be firmer in your assertion that you don’t want to discuss it. Family holidays can certainly be a minefield, and it’s best to get on the same page with your significant other ahead of time so you have a strategy going into the situation. Good luck.
This is a fun one. You’re out with some friends, possibly for a birthday celebration, and you ordered, say, the chicken — while others in your party went hog wild and got the lobster and a few expensive cocktails. Now you’re being asked to split the bill equally and fork over a chunk of your hard-earned cash to subsidize their dinners. Unfortunately, this is a situation that may have you looking like a jerk at the end, but your bank account will certainly thank you for being responsible with money. And your friends will forgive you, if they really are your friends.
Be the dissenting voice that says, “I only had the chicken and a Coke, and I can only afford to cover what I ordered and my portion of the tip.” Check out the itemized bill and pay for what you got, and if the others want to evenly split the rest, they are free to. This is another situation where you can slay the awkwardness ahead of time. Ask the waitstaff at the restaurant for your own separate check before someone has the chance to spout off about wanting to split the bill evenly. You can also take out cash ahead of time and be ready to just plunk down the amount of your meal, and pretend you left your credit card at home.
Loaning money to friends and family is never a great idea, especially if you’re not sure they’ll be able to pay you back. That said, you may decide to, if your own financial situation is good (say, you’re not carrying credit card debt and have a solid emergency fund saved up). If you’re not in such great financial shape yourself, it’s easier to decline a request like this.
However, if your finances are in good shape, and the person asking knows this, it’ll be harder to say you can’t swing it. Approach with caution, and if you know this person will not be able to pay you back in a timely manner, or has some dangerous financial habits that you’re not willing to participate in, politely (but firmly) say no and try not to feel guilty. You might point them to helpful resources for money management. And if you do decide to make a loan, set up a repayment schedule and clear terms, so you have something in writing to make things easier for you and the borrower.
Unfortunately, financial awkwardness frequently pops up in adult life, and if you’ve never encountered one of these situations before, just wait. Having a cool head in the moment and doing some thinking in advance to find ways around the discomfort can help. Ultimately, you are responsible for your own finances, and should feel fully empowered to stand up for yourself when someone tries to take advantage of your giving nature.
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It’s important for retirees and retirement savers alike to know these strategies.
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While many Americans save for retirement in pre-tax 401(k)s and IRAs, not all understand the potential costs associated with stealth taxes. Because assets withdrawn from pre-tax accounts count as taxable income, they can expose retirees to higher healthcare costs and higher taxes. Read on to learn how retirees can avoid stealth taxes using the strategies below.
Stealth taxes are often additional costs or taxes that are levied on those with earnings above a certain threshold. They apply on common government benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare.
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For many retirees, Social Security benefits are received tax-free. However, those with combined income, which is largely based on taxable income, above certain limits could pay tax on 50% or even 85% of their benefits. Knowing these thresholds, and keeping your taxable income below them, could save you thousands of dollars in taxes on Social Security benefits.
Up to 50% of your Social Security benefits may be taxable if your combined income is between:
$25,000 and $34,000 as an individual taxpayer, or$32,000 and $44,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may be taxable if your combined income is above:
$34,000 as an individual taxpayer, or$44,000 for a married couple filing jointly.
This data is based on 2022 limits
While Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) benefits are free to most retirees, Part B (medical insurance) and Part D (drug coverage) come with a monthly premium. This premium is fixed for most recipients, but some retirees may have to pay a surcharge known as the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. Most recipients of Medicare benefits will not be subject to IRMAA, but those with higher taxable income should know the below limits:
For Medicare Part B and Part D benefits, individual taxpayers with:
$91,000 or less of taxable income will pay the standard monthly premium.Over $91,000 of taxable income will pay the standard monthly premium, plus an IRMAA surcharge.
For Medicare Part B and Part D benefits, married taxpayers filing jointly with:
$182,000 or less of taxable income will pay the standard monthly premium.Over $182,000 of taxable income will pay the standard monthly premium, plus an IRMAA surcharge.
This data is based on 2022 limits
While many retirees have the bulk of their savings in pre-tax accounts, there is another option for funding your post-retirement lifestyle. Roth, also known as post-tax, accounts are available to many Americans in the form of Roth 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. In addition to offering the same compounding power as pre-tax accounts, Roth accounts do not subject savers to stealth taxes.
When choosing between traditional and Roth savings options, consider when you will pay taxes. With a traditional, or pre-tax, account, you defer taxes when you contribute, but pay taxes when you withdraw from the account. With a Roth, or post-tax, account you pay taxes on your contributions, but can withdraw from the account tax-free. Unlike those from a pre-tax account, withdrawals from a Roth account are not counted as taxable income by the IRS. Therefore, withdrawals from a Roth account won’t put you in a higher tax bracket, and fly under the radar when it comes to Social Security’s combined income and Medicare’s IRMAA calculations.
For many Americans, stealth taxes can be an unexpected and misunderstood cost in retirement. By drawing down their pre-tax accounts, some retirees may face higher taxes on Social Security benefits and higher Medicare premiums. The savvy saver, however, can avoid stealth taxes by keeping their taxable income below certain thresholds and by taking advantage of Roth accounts.
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Prices are falling deeper in these cities than they have at any point since 2015. Rigucci / Shutterstock.com
After months of a stalled housing market, home values now are moving in reverse in some key cities. Higher mortgage rates and fears of a possible recession have sent many potential homebuyers to the sidelines. And with fewer buyers, nationwide prices are falling. In the four-week period ending Jan. 8, U.S. home prices were up 0.8% year over year, at a median of $351,250, according to real estate…
The answer might surprise you.
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Now that a new year has officially kicked off, a lot of people are doing their best to uphold the financial resolutions they set at the end of December or beginning of January. And some of the items on your list may have included boosting your savings and eliminating the credit card debt you racked up during the holiday season.
But there’s another important financial item to add to your 2023 to-do list — checking your credit report. Credit reports are actually free on a weekly basis through the end of the year. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to check yours every week.
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It’s important to check your credit report on a regular basis for a few reasons. First, your credit report paints a picture of your borrowing history. It shows you what accounts you have open, what your various loan and credit card balances entail, and how timely you’ve been with paying bills.
That’s important information to have, because if you’re applying for a large loan, like a mortgage, you’ll want to make sure your credit report looks good. If you spot any red flags, you’ll want to address those before submitting that application.
Plus, it’s not a given that the information contained in your credit report will be 100% correct. Credit report mistakes are actually pretty common, and if yours has an error that paints you in an unfavorable light, it could make it difficult to qualify for a loan (or snag an affordable interest rate on one). So checking your credit report regularly will help you spot errors and have them fixed.
Finally, your credit report could alert you to fraud you’ve fallen victim to. Let’s say a criminal opens a new credit card in your name and starts racking up a balance on that account. You may not have a clue that’s happened. But if you check your credit report and notice an open account that’s unfamiliar to you, you’ll know to investigate — and flag that account as fraudulent.
But as essential as it is to check your credit report every so often, you generally don’t need to review it every week — even though you can do so for free this year. Rather, a quarterly check-up should be just fine.
Even if you’re following up on a credit report mistake you want corrected, chances are, that won’t happen from one week to the next. And so for the most part, checking your credit report every three months is a reasonable approach.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers were entitled to a free copy of their credit report once a year from each of the three major bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Due to high levels of fraud that emerged during the pandemic, credit reports were made available for free on a weekly basis, and that provision has gotten extended several times over.
But even if 2023 is the last year you can check your credit report for free every week, doing so is probably overkill. So don’t sweat it if that benefit goes away in 2024.
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It could boil down to a single number.
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There’s a reason so many consumers turn to personal loans when they need to borrow money. Personal loans make it possible to borrow for any purpose, whether it’s a home repair, car repair, or small business venture.
Other types of loans are more restrictive. If you take out an auto loan, for example, you can only use the proceeds to finance a car purchase. And the only thing you can do with a mortgage loan is purchase a home.
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Personal loans also tend to offer competitive borrowing rates. Now these days, it’s more expensive to borrow money across the board thanks to a string of interest rate hikes implemented by the Federal Reserve in 2022. But you’ll generally pay a lot less interest on a personal loan than you will on a credit card balance (assuming you don’t have a card with a 0% introductory rate on it).
But just because personal loans exist doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to qualify for one. And if your personal loan application was recently rejected, the reason for that could be quite simple.
Personal loans are unsecured, which means they aren’t tied to a specific asset that can be used as collateral. When you finance a home with a mortgage, your home serves as collateral for that loan. Fall behind on your mortgage, and your lender could, in an extreme situation, force the sale of your home to get repaid.
Personal loans don’t work like that. If you fall behind on your personal loan payments, your lender is basically out of luck. That’s why personal loan lenders rely so heavily on applicants’ credit scores when determining whether to loan them money.
Your credit score essentially tells lenders how risky a borrower you are. If you have a strong credit score, it generally tells your lender that it won’t be taking on so much risk, since you have a tendency to pay your bills on time, when you’re supposed to.
A low credit score, on the other hand, sends the message that you don’t tend to do as good a job of paying your bills on time. And so if your credit score isn’t in such good shape, it’s pretty easy to see why a lender may not want to give you a personal loan.
If your less-than-stellar credit score is the reason you were denied a personal loan, the sooner you boost it, the more borrowing options you’ll have. One of the best ways to raise your credit score is to pay all of your bills on time. You can also increase your credit score by paying off a chunk of existing credit card debt if you’ve racked up a large balance relative to your total spending limit. Once you start utilizing too much of your credit, it tends to drag your score downward.
Finally, make a point to check your credit report for errors. You can order a copy for free on a weekly basis through the end of the year. Correcting mistakes that paint a less favorable picture of you as a borrower could result in a higher score.
Getting denied a personal loan is no fun, but it’s important to recognize why that’s happened. And if a poor credit score is to blame, it pays to take steps to bring that number up so you have more borrowing options down the line.
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