Aldi is rapidly expanding — and for good reason. Sharkshock / Shutterstock.com
Aldi is a grocery store chain based in Germany that is quickly becoming a favorite alternative to other U.S. discount grocers like Walmart. The chain is known for carrying its own brands, which are generally less expensive than but comparable to national brand names. In fact, more than 90% of products at Aldi are exclusive to the retailer. Here are a few things to know before you go.
Did any of these make your list?
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The start of a new year is a great time to map out different goals. Those goals might be health-related, social, or financial. And if you’re curious as to what people are pledging in terms of the latter category, here are Americans’ top financial resolutions as per a recent survey by Principal.
The less money you spend, the more you can save — it’s that simple. Following a budget is a good way to keep your spending in check, as is having a system in place for avoiding impulse buys. That could mean making shopping lists before hitting stores and/or shopping only with cash and leaving your credit cards behind.
You may want to boost your savings account balance so you can put money toward a car or purchase a home. Or maybe you’re saving for a vacation. Sticking to a budget could help you meet your savings goals, but it also pays to look at automating the process by arranging for a portion of each paycheck you collect to bounce from your checking account to your savings account at the start of the month.
You never know when an unplanned bill might land in your lap, or when you might be forced out of a job. That’s why it’s so important to have money on hand for emergencies. Ideally, you should aim to sock enough cash away to cover at least three full months of living costs.
Carrying a credit card balance means signing up to pay interest. And that’s just a waste of money. Sticking to a budget could make it easier to keep up with your credit card bills. So can checking your balances weekly and adjusting your spending once you see them starting to creep upward.
Tired of seeing the word “budget” yet? Well, bad news, because many people are resolving to commit to one in the new year. Doing so could make it much easier to manage your bills and limit your spending, and you don’t have to spend tons of time setting one up. In fact, there are plenty of free budgeting apps that can help make the process a snap.
It’s important to have a plan in place in case something happens to you. This is especially important if you have dependents. If you don’t have a will, find an attorney who can draft one for you. And if you want to make sure your assets are distributed the way you want, go the extra mile and create a full-fledged estate plan.
The weight of credit card debt can be hefty. If you’re able to pay off your credit card balances in full in the new year, you’ll have one less set of expenses to worry about. You might also save yourself a bundle of money on interest and boost your credit score.
Procrastinating on taxes can lead to mistakes. The IRS typically starts accepting tax returns at the end of January, so if you’re able to get a jump start, you can cross that task off your list early on in the year. Better yet, if you’re owed a refund, the sooner you file your tax return, the sooner you can get your money.
Maybe you want to buy a car this year and a house in two years. But what plans do you have for the future? It could be a good idea to sit down with a financial advisor and map out some long-term goals, such as those that relate to retirement.
A higher credit score could make it easier to borrow money when you need to, and at a more competitive rate. If your credit score needs work, one of the best ways to boost it is to pay all of your bills on time. You should also make sure there aren’t any errors on your credit report that are causing damage to your score. You can get a free copy every week in 2023 if so you choose until you’re certain your credit report is devoid of mistakes.
All of these resolutions have the potential to bring about very positive changes. It pays to put some, or even all, of these on your list for 2023.
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How many of these spectacular failures do you recall? Cookie Studio / Shutterstock.com
We’ve all had brainstorms that didn’t work out. But some awful ideas get made into products that cost big bucks to promote and then become embarrassing belly flops. Those products live on in our collective memory, a reminder that even CEOs and high-paid marketing whizzes are capable of blowing it. Here’s a look at some fantastic flops that sent their inventors back to the drawing board.
All of these are worth considering.
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It’s common to exchange gifts during the holidays, and some people find that experience to be very enjoyable — even if they wind up with gifts they’re less than thrilled with. Certain people are just difficult to shop for. Or it may be that you’re easy to shop for, but somehow, your loved ones and friends just never seem to make the right call.
Either way, there’s a good chance you’ll be closing out the 2022 holiday season with at least a few gifts you don’t want or have a use for. And while you could simply stick those items in the back of your closet and let them collect dust, here are some options to consider instead.
A lot of people could use extra cash these days given that inflation has driven living costs upward. If you could use a financial boost, whether to cover everyday expenses or pad your savings account, then it pays to look into selling your unwanted holiday gifts.
In this regard, you have different options. If you’re looking at larger items, selling them locally may be your best bet so you don’t have to incur shipping costs. That could mean trying to sell unwanted gifts by advertising on your town’s social media page or participating in your next neighborhood yard sale.
For smaller items you won’t want, sites like eBay can make your life easier. There are also sites that allow you to sell unwanted gift cards at a discount, like CardCash.
Maybe you received jewelry as a holiday gift, only you’re not the type to wear it. If your friend who loves jewelry got a gift card to a local bookstore for the holidays but they’re not an avid reader like you are, they may be willing to do a trade.
Chances are, you’ll have birthdays, housewarming parties, and other events come up in the course of the year that will require you to bring a gift. It could pay to hang onto your holiday items and figure out ways to unload them on other people strategically.
If you’re doing well enough financially and you don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling or exchanging gifts, then you can always look at donating unwanted holiday items to those who are less fortunate. There are different charitable organizations that can help make sure your unwanted holiday gifts make a difference in someone else’s life. You can also see if a local house of worship can point you in the right direction.
In an ideal world, you’d get a string of holiday gifts you really love. But we all know how unlikely that is. So rather than bemoan those gifts you aren’t thrilled with or shove them in the closet to be forgotten for months on end, do something with them, whether that means selling them for cash, giving them to someone else, swapping them for something you want, or bettering the life of a person in need.
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It’s largely a matter of interest rate risk.
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If you have home repairs you’ve been putting off or a renovation you’re really eager to tackle, then you may be thinking about taking out a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, in 2023.
HELOCs actually have a number of benefits. First, if you have enough equity in your home, they can be fairly easy to qualify for — even if you don’t have the best credit score.
Discover: These personal loans are best for debt consolidation
More: Prequalify for a personal loan without impacting your credit score
Also, HELOCs are flexible. With a home equity or personal loan, you have to commit to a single sum to borrow. With a HELOC, you get access to a line of credit you can draw from over what could be a lengthy period of time.
If you’re borrowing for something like home repairs or renovations and you’re unsure of your total costs, a HELOC could take some of the stress off your plate. You could, for example, apply for a $20,000 HELOC and only borrow $12,000 if that’s all you need to complete the work at hand. If you don’t touch the remaining $8,000, you won’t have to pay it back.
But while HELOCs have their advantages, they come with one major drawback. And that drawback could be especially problematic in 2023 due to our current interest rate environment.
Although a HELOC is a flexible way to borrow, it’s still a loan, which means you’re taking on monthly payments. The problem, though, is that those payments have the potential to get more expensive over time.
Unlike home equity and personal loans, which come with fixed interest rates, HELOCs come with variable interest rates. That means the rate you start out paying isn’t guaranteed to be the rate you keep paying.
Rather, your HELOC’s rate could rise over time, making your payments harder and harder to keep up with. And if you fall behind on HELOC payments, the consequences could actually be quite severe.
First of all, any time you’re late with a loan payment, it has the potential to cause a lot of damage to your credit score. But also, HELOCs are secured by the equity in your home, so if you fall far enough behind, your lender could force the sale of your home to get repaid. That would clearly be catastrophic.
Meanwhile, right now, consumer borrowing rates are up across the board due to recent rate hikes on the part of the Federal Reserve. So it’s a tricky time to be signing any type of loan. But it’s an especially tricky time to be borrowing money without locking in a fixed interest rate in the process.
Because home values are still up quite a bit on a national scale, many homeowners will likely be able to qualify for a home equity loan or HELOC in 2023. But if you have a need for money, you may want to favor the former over the latter.
While a home equity loan will force you to commit to a single lump sum to borrow, you won’t have to worry about your loan payments rising. And at a time when it’s so expensive to take out a loan in the first place, that’s important.
Our team of independent experts pored over the fine print to find the select personal loans that offer competitive rates and low fees. Get started by reviewing our picks for the best personal loans.
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These all deserve a prime spot.
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Many people like to use the beginning of a new year as an opportunity to pledge to do better in some regard. That might mean getting more sleep, eating healthier food, and exercising more than once every six weeks. It could also mean tackling money moves you may have neglected in the past.
If you’re in the process of mapping out your New Year’s resolutions for 2023, it pays to focus on personal finance matters just as much as health-related ones. And here are five key items to put on your to-do list.
There’s no way to know if 2023 will be the year you’re laid off at work or your once-trusty car decides it no longer wants to run. That’s why you need a safety net — money you can tap when you’re stuck in a financial jam. And so at a minimum, you should aim to build yourself an emergency fund with enough money to cover at least three months of essential bills. That way, you’ll be able to dip into your savings account rather than resort to debt if life doesn’t go your way.
You’ll need savings to help pay the bills in retirement, and your IRA account or 401(k) isn’t going to magically fund itself. So make this the year you carve out money each month for your long-term savings. The sooner you contribute funds to a retirement plan, the sooner you can start investing your money so it’s able to grow into a larger sum over time.
You might think budgeting is boring or lame. But it’s an essential part of managing your money. The good news, though, is that you don’t have to actively work on your budget every day. You can sign up for a budgeting app that links to your checking account and credit cards so you can track your spending without having to constantly crunch numbers.
Consumer credit reports will be free on a weekly basis in 2023. But generally speaking, you don’t have to review yours once every seven days. Rather, a quarterly check-in should suffice. That should give you a snapshot of your financial picture and also help you spot errors or fraud early on.
It’s easy to skimp on home maintenance when things seem to be working just fine. But if you don’t do things like clean out your gutters, have your heating and air conditioning system serviced, and keep your trees nice and trimmed, you might end up with major issues down the line that cost you a lot of money. A much better bet is to tackle maintenance items during the year so you’re not hit with unpleasant surprises.
Financial resolutions are a good thing to make, and putting yours in writing might help you stay on track. Pledging to do these five things could help you close out 2023 in a financially strong place, so it’s worth making the commitment and effort.
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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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