Money Management

You can’t cross off every item on your shopping list. 

There’s a reason so many people like shopping at Costco — and are willing to bear the expense of a membership for the ability to walk in the door. Costco tends to offer a wide range of products at affordable prices.

Need to load up on tissues and cold medication for the winter? Costco’s got you covered. Have a household of hungry kids to feed? You can buy everything from granola bars to huge blocks of cheese to fruits and vegetables in bulk at a fraction of what you might spend at a supermarket or big-box store.

But while shopping at Costco might leave you with a lower credit card tab than what you’ll get by shopping elsewhere, the warehouse club giant may not have every item you’re looking for in stock. In fact, here are a few things you probably won’t find at Costco.

1. School supplies

You can buy plenty of household essentials at Costco. But have you ever tried to stock up on things like notebooks, pencils, and glue sticks? If so, you probably weren’t successful.

Costco doesn’t tend to offer these items in bulk. If you need school supplies for your kids or school classroom, you may be better off heading over to Target or seeing what prices Amazon has to offer.

You can also try looking at office supply stores, like Staples, and seeing what deals they have. Some retailers offer extra discounts for teachers during certain times of the year, so those are worth looking into as well.

2. Allergy-friendly baked goods

Costco’s in-house bakery offers a host of delicious goods that are made fresh every day. You can buy everything from gigantic muffins to assorted cookies to sheet cakes to bread. But if you have allergies in your household, you may be out of luck.

While you may find some packaged baked goods at Costco that are allergy-friendly, Costco’s bakery is most certainly not nut- or dairy-free. And even though many of its bakery items don’t actually contain nuts, you’ll face issues with cross-contamination no matter what.

3. French fries at the food court

Shopping at Costco can help you work up an appetite — one that those free samples just won’t satisfy. Thankfully, you can always head over to Costco’s food court to fill up on things like frozen yogurt, pizza, and the chain’s famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo.

But oddly enough, Costco doesn’t include french fries on its food court menu. And so if you want them as a side for your hot dog, you’ll have to stop by a fast food joint to pick some up.

Costco truly offers an impressive range of products, from groceries to electronics to apparel. But if you’re in need of school supplies or allergy-friendly bakery items, you’ll have to look elsewhere. And if you have a hankering for french fries, the best you can get at Costco is a massive package of frozen ones that you have to haul home and make in your own oven.

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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.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Get ready to spend less and save more. 

If it seems like your credit card bills keep growing month after month, higher food costs could be to blame. Food is one of those things you really can’t skimp on. And thanks to inflation, the cost of groceries has soared over the past year.

That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to sky-high credit card bills, though. In fact, here are a few steps you can take to save money on groceries in the coming year.

1. Get the store card

You’re probably used to swiping a credit card when you shop at stores. Well, it’s time to get in the habit of swiping a loyalty card at the supermarket.

Unlike credit cards, which require an actual credit check, grocery store loyalty cards don’t require you to meet specific financial criteria. And swiping one could mean enjoying a world of savings, since often, sale items will only be available to loyalty card holders.

Plus, your supermarket might put out a list of weekly digital coupons you can load to your card for added savings. Granted, “clipping” those coupons can be a little annoying, but chalk it up to something you do while you’re waiting on hold or riding the bus to meet a friend for coffee.

2. Shop with a list

It may seem simplistic, but the mere act of making a grocery list can result in big savings — provided you don’t go off-list. When you wing it at the supermarket, you may be more likely to get sucked into buying things you don’t need or may not even consume before they go bad.

Let’s say you hit the supermarket without a list and find yourself wandering down the chip aisle. You might grab a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips because they’re delicious and you’re hungry and they sound like a great snack. But had you stuck to a list, you might’ve avoided the chip aisle — and that impulse buy — in the first place.

3. Shop when you’re not in a rush

Many people are in the habit of stopping at the supermarket on their way home from work, when they’re tired, frazzled, and eager to get home to their hungry kids and pets. But if you rush through the supermarket every time you shop, you may not pay close attention to the finer details — such as which brand is on sale and which product has the better expiration date. The result? Wasted money.

A better bet is to shop for food when you’re not as pressed for time. Come home, make dinner, get your kids settled, and then head to the store later on. Or, get up early and do your food shopping while most people are still deep in REM sleep. That way, you can avoid crowds, and you may be more likely to exercise more patience while you shop.

Food costs are way up, and it could take a while before that changes. But these hacks could help you lower your grocery bills in 2023 — and lower your stress load in the process.

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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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It’s something consumers should gear up for. 

For pretty much all of 2022, consumers were forced to grapple with soaring inflation. And as a result, many depleted their savings and racked up debt just to stay afloat.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, implemented a series of aggressive interest rate hikes in 2022 in an attempt to bring inflation down to a more moderate level. The Fed doesn’t set consumer borrowing rates, like auto loan or mortgage rates. Rather, it oversees the federal funds rate, which is the rate banks charge each other for short-term loans.

But when the federal funds rate goes up, consumer borrowing rates tend to follow suit. And as it becomes more expensive to borrow, consumers are likely to cut back on spending.

That’s what the Fed is banking on. It wants consumers to start spending less so the supply of available goods can catch up to demand. Once that happens, it should help inflation soften and give those who have been cash-strapped some relief.

But while the Fed might have good intentions with regard to its rate hikes, the reality is that those can be brutal for consumers. These days, it costs more money to borrow in just about any form, whether it’s a credit card or personal loan. And so consumers are probably tired of rate hikes at this point. Unfortunately, though, we may not be done with them — even though the pace of inflation has indeed slowed down.

Expect more rate hikes in 2022

As of the end of 2022, the rate of annual inflation was around 7%. That’s better than during the summer of 2022, when inflation peaked at around 9%. But 7% is still an extreme level of inflation. And the Fed is by no means satisfied with the progress that’s been made on the inflation front.

As such, we can expect the Fed to keep moving forward with rate hikes in 2023. Those rate hikes may not be as steep or as frequent as they were in 2022. But the Fed has made it clear that it won’t be halting that practice until inflation reaches more moderate levels.

In fact, the Fed has specifically alluded to wanting to see inflation fall back into the 2% range. Given where it’s at right now, we’re unlikely to see a 2% annual rate of inflation for quite some time. And that means interest rate hikes may be with us for a while.

Prepare to spend more to borrow

If you’re not planning to take out any loans in the next year or so, and you don’t tend to carry a balance forward on your credit cards, then interest rate hikes this year may not impact your finances so much. But if you are planning to borrow, you may end up spending more than expected. And so in that case, one of the best things you can do is work on boosting your credit score. That way, you’ll at least make it more likely that you’ll be eligible for the lowest rate a given lender can offer.

Now the one good thing about the Fed’s recent rate hikes is that they’ve led to higher interest rates on savings accounts and CDs. So while borrowers may be looking at spending more, savers can at least benefit by virtue of earning more on the money they have tucked away in the bank.

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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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It’s an important thing to consider. 

If you have people in your life who stand to get hurt financially in the event of your passing, then it’s essential that you put a life insurance policy in place. And you may want to opt for term life insurance over whole life insurance due to the gigantic difference in cost.

But that’s not the only life insurance decision you’ll need to make. You’ll also have to decide how much coverage to buy.

Now a good rule of thumb is to secure enough coverage to replace 10 times your salary. And some experts will even tell you that you ought to replace 20 or 25 times your salary.

The number you land on will hinge on different factors, such as whether you’re the sole earner in your family, who you’re trying to support (and their respective ages), and the other income sources you might be able to leave your survivors with. For example, if you have a $100,000 savings account balance, that’s money your heirs can use to pay their living expenses in your absence.

But the amount of life insurance you decide to get may end up falling short for one big reason. And it’s important to account for that when doing your calculations.

Don’t forget about inflation

Many people are familiar with inflation these days. But while inflation was notably rampant in 2022, the reality is that inflation is something that tends to be persistent.

To put it another way, the cost of living tends to rise over time, and the value of a dollar tends to erode over time. That’s something you should absolutely account for when calculating the amount of life insurance you need.

Let’s say you earn a salary of $80,000 a year that covers your family’s expenses in full, and you want to put enough coverage in place to replace your salary 10 times over. That means you’re potentially looking at an $800,000 life insurance policy.

You might assume that if you buy that policy, you’re ensuring that your family can pay their expenses for a decade in your absence without anyone having to go out and earn money. But remember, while your family might manage to get by on $80,000 a year right now, who’s to say if they’ll be able to get by on $80,000 in 10 or 15 years from now?

And so rather than stick to $80,000 as your baseline for calculating your coverage, you may want to inflate that number to account for your family’s future spending needs. That could mean buying $1 million in coverage versus $800,000. Or, it could mean buying an $850,000 or $900,000 policy if $1 million is too much of a financial stretch.

Don’t leave your loved ones short

The whole purpose of getting life insurance is to protect the people you care about financially. So you might as well really get the job done by putting enough coverage in place to account for not just your family’s current financial needs, but also, their future needs.

Our picks for best life insurance companies

Life insurance is essential if you have people depending on you. We’ve combed through the options and developed a best-in-class list for life insurance coverage. This guide will help you find the best life insurance companies and the right type of policy for your needs. Read our free review today.

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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