A new study suggests a counterintuitive way to promote better sleep. javi_indy / Shutterstock.com
Hoping to improve the quality of your sleep? You might think living like a bat and spending more time in darkness would help. However, a new study suggests just the opposite. It found students at the University of Washington tended to fall asleep later at night and wake up later in the morning during winter, when there was less daylight. That surprised researchers who expected to find that…
Don’t risk overspending at Costco because you fail to follow this advice.
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Many people join Costco in order to save money because the warehouse club offers discounts on bulk products and house-brand items. But, with so many great brand-name and Kirkland products, it’s easy to end up spending a lot more on your credit cards than you should with every visit to the big-box store.
Some Reddit advice, however, could help you to keep your costs down by reducing the likelihood of impulse buys as you stroll the aisles of your local Costco store.
In a Reddit thread dedicated to tips about Costco shopping, one experienced club member gave some great advice that many warehouse club members should consider following. “Best Costco money saving tip I know is food court THEN shop,” wrote MyCatEdwin.
This tip is a valuable one for every Costco shopper for an important reason. Costco has great deals on food products at its food court. These bargains make it a great place to grab an affordable, quick meal while you’re out doing your shopping. However, you don’t actually want to be hungry while you are walking around Costco to pick up your purchases because doing so could lead you to make unnecessary impulse buys.
If you follow the sage advice of this Redditor, you get to take advantage of the bargain prices on food court deals at Costco — but you don’t end up overspending on the many attractive items that Costco has put around the club to tempt you.
Following this Reddit tip could actually help you save more money than you might think at first read.
See, most people are well aware that they’re more likely to throw a bunch of food products into their cart when they’re shopping hungry. That’s because their empty stomach makes everything sound delicious. But, surprisingly, research has actually shown it isn’t just food that you overspend on if you are starving while you are out doing your shopping.
Researchers looked at whether hunger affects impulse buys of non-food products as well as consumables and their findings were unexpected. Shoppers who were hungry ended up spending 60% more on other non-food products at department stores compared with people who didn’t have empty bellies while shopping. The hunger that some shoppers felt made them more willing to acquire anything to satisfy the longing that they were experiencing.
This means if you are wandering the aisles of Costco while you are craving food, you are at risk of impulse buying items in all departments that you don’t really need — especially given that stores often specifically target impulse buyers with strategic placement of attractive products.
If you don’t want to end up making purchases you regret, but you also want to be able to take advantage of Costco’s meal deals and delicious food, be sure you follow this Reddit tip and always make a beeline for the food court at Costco before you do any other shopping. Your wallet will thank you.
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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.Christy Bieber 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.
Paying off purchases over time isn’t necessarily a good thing.
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Black Friday is commonly a popular day to shop. But a lot of people who shop that day don’t pay for their purchases outright in cash. Instead, they use different methods to finance their purchases and pay them off over time.
For some people, that means swiping a credit card. But for others, it can mean signing up for a “buy now, pay later” plan, or BNPL plan.
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In a recent report by PYMNTS, BNPL plan usage increased this year. A good 10.2% of shoppers used a BNPL plan for Black Friday purchases, whereas last year, only 8.2% did the same. And in 2020, just 3.7% of consumers used one of these plans.
Clearly, BNPL plans are gaining traction. And they have certain benefits over swiping a credit card.
But BNPL plans can also end up being costly. And that’s something consumers should be aware of.
When you use a credit card to buy something and don’t manage to pay your bill in full, you get stuck paying some amount of interest on your purchase. That assumes, of course, you’re not taking advantage of a 0% introductory interest rate on a credit card. But those intro rates expire eventually, so in many cases, carrying a credit card balance forward means paying some amount of interest on it.
BNPL plans work differently. These plans don’t charge you interest or fees for paying for your purchases over time. They only impose interest charges and fees if you’re late with your payments.
Usually, with a BNPL plan, you’ll pay for a portion of your purchase upfront (around 25%) and then pay the rest of what you owe over a 12-week period or less. Because you don’t get a lot of time to pay off BNPL plan purchases, the penalties can be steep if you miss a payment. And just as problematic is the fact that being late with a BNPL plan payment can cause damage to your credit score, the same way a late credit card payment can bring your score way down.
That’s why it’s important to proceed with caution when using a BNPL plan — and to make sure you can easily swing your payments under that plan. Falling behind could have really negative consequences.
Sometimes, consumers get tripped up by BNPL plans because they’re not really sure how they work. To avoid that, make sure to read the terms of your agreement if you’re signing up for a BNPL plan. This holds true whether you’re using one during the holiday season or not. Understanding your payment schedule could help you avoid falling behind and getting slammed with fees and credit score damage as a result.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are going to sign up for several BNPL plans this holiday season, you’ll need to really keep good track of your various payment due dates. You may want to limit yourself to a single payment plan at a time to play it safe.
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Here’s how to resolve an always-annoying issue.
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When you’ve gone all the way through the purchase process, there’s nothing more deflating than seeing that the transaction was declined. It’s usually easy to order from online stores, but sometimes you can’t seem to get the purchase to go through.
This is most often due to an error with the information you entered, a problem with the card, or because the purchase set off a potential fraud alert. Below, you’ll find the most common reasons for declined transactions on your credit cards and what you can do about them.
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If the billing address you entered in the store’s site is different from what’s on file with your credit card issuer, the transaction will most likely be declined. This is a standard fraud prevention measure.
Fortunately, this is an easy fix. Double check the billing address on file with your card issuer. It could be out of date if, for example, you moved and haven’t updated it yet. Correct the billing address you’re using with the online store, and the purchase should go through.
Card issuers normally decline transactions that would exceed your credit limit. To see if this is causing the problem, log in to your credit card account and see how much available credit you have. If you have $200 of available credit, and you’re trying to make a $250 purchase, it’s going to be declined.
As a general rule, it’s better to not use too much of your credit limit. If you’re regularly near your limit because you’re in debt, then focusing on paying off credit card debt is a good idea. It can raise your credit score and help you save on interest charges. If the problem is that your card has a low credit limit, try asking for a credit limit increase.
The shipping address and the billing address on an order don’t need to match. Stores understand there are reasons to send an order to a different address, like if you’re ordering a gift for someone.
However, in some cases, this can trigger a store’s credit card fraud detection. If so, contact the store’s customer service to verify your identity and let them know you’re placing a legitimate order.
Credit card companies have their own fraud prevention systems that automatically block suspicious transactions. If all of your credit card purchases are $100 to $200 at most, and you then try to buy a $5,000 necklace online, that purchase could get flagged.
When this happens, your card issuer will typically get in touch with you via text message, phone call, or email to ask if you attempted the purchase. Once you confirm this, you can attempt the purchase again, and it should go through.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are a way people protect themselves online by encrypting their data and identity. But if you’re using a VPN while shopping online, it could be the reason your order gets declined.
Some online stores detect VPN use and automatically block those orders as a security measure. Although there’s nothing wrong with VPNs, they are often used by cybercriminals to hide their identity. If you’re using a VPN and your purchase isn’t going through, you’ll most likely need to disconnect from it, at least while you place your order.
If your online order is getting declined and you can’t figure out why, contact the store first to see what it can tell you. Customer service may be able to assist you with making the purchase. If not, the next step is to contact your credit card issuer. Between the merchant and the card issuer, you should be able to find out what’s going wrong and how to fix it.
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It’s a trap you don’t want to fall into.
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These days, signing a mortgage means taking on a really big financial commitment. Home values are still elevated on a national level, and mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been in decades. And so chances are, if you’re taking out a mortgage, you’re committing yourself to a fairly large series of monthly payments.
That’s why it’s so important to choose the right mortgage lender. But if these three signs apply to you, perhaps you’re about to make a giant mistake.
It’s common practice for mortgage lenders to impose closing costs in the course of finalizing a home loan. Those fees run the gamut from application fees to title insurance fees to recording fees.
Generally speaking, you should expect the closing costs on your mortgage to equal 2% to 5% of the amount you’re borrowing. So if you’re taking out a $300,000 mortgage, you may be looking at anywhere from $6,000 to $15,000 to finalize your loan.
But that’s a really large range. And so if your lender’s closing costs fall at the high end of that range, it’s a sign you may be signing up to pay more money than necessary.
Now in some cases, you may find that a lender that charges a lower interest rate on a mortgage will make up for it by imposing higher closing costs. So you’ll need to run the numbers to see if you’re getting enough savings on your mortgage rate to make higher closing costs justifiable.
You should also know that some lenders may be open to negotiating their closing costs. While there are certain fees your lender can’t dictate, but rather, needs to pass on to you (for example, the prepaid property tax portion of your closing costs), there are other fees your lender can control, like your loan origination fee. It pays to have that discussion if the closing costs you’re looking at are high. And if your lender isn’t open to that, you may want to take your business elsewhere.
There are a lot of moving parts that have to come together to finalize a mortgage. If your lender wasn’t particularly helpful or communicative during the application process, then it’s a sign you may be in for a frustrating number of weeks if you move forward with an actual mortgage.
Remember, it can easily take up to 60 days to close on a mortgage. Do you really want to spend eight weeks of your life chasing a lender for updates and getting aggravated?
Even though mortgage rates are up across the board right now, ultimately, you’re apt to find that different lenders are able to offer a range of different interest rates. But if you’re thinking of signing a mortgage without having shopped around first, you could be setting yourself up for higher payments needlessly.
It’s always a good idea to compare offers when you’re in the market for a larger loan. And if you don’t take that time, you might end up regretting it.
The last thing you want to do is use the wrong lender for what could be the largest sum of money you’ll ever borrow in your lifetime. So if these signs apply to you, consider it a wake-up call to look at different options before moving forward with a mortgage.
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Valuable items could be stashed away in your home. This is how to search for hidden cash and goods under your roof. Sergey Podlesnov / Shutterstock.com
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder. You might think a treasure hunt means diving in the ocean to find sunken ships or exploring ancient ruins in faraway countries looking for hidden chambers full of gold and jewels. But fortunately, you can also become a treasure hunter in and around your own house, starting with nothing or perhaps a small investment in a metal…
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