Embark on a successful career in this growing field. DC Studio / Shutterstock.com
A career in the tech industry means you’re always keeping up with new trends and demands. As new technologies emerge, old ones fade into the background, and the day-to-day work lives of tech professionals evolve. One such shift is the rise of Web3 — a decentralized internet that promises to reshape how we interact online. Whether you’re an analyst, developer, engineer, marketer, designer…
Around 10% of today’s retirees make money from property rentals. Find out how else early retirees fund their post-work lifestyles. [[{“value”:”
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I don’t know about you, but my social media feed is full of stories of people who’ve retired at 40 or 50 and are living off of passive income. They’re often pictured in gorgeous international locations. It’s quite the dream.
The reality is a little different. Early retirement is achievable, but it’s not super common — and it’s unlikely to be all cocktails and luxury vacations. According to Gallup data, only 2% of people aged 40 to 49 are retired. That figure goes up to 11% for 50- to 59-year-olds.
If you want to stop work before you’re 65, creating passive income streams will be crucial. Here are three that can generate thousands of dollars a month.
If you own property, there are several ways you can put it to work for you — from renting out a room to getting people to pay to use your garage space.
Renting is a popular way for retirees to monetize their homes. Analysis by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research showed that rental income provided cash for around 1 in 10 households where at least one person was over 65, per the Wall Street Journal.
The difficulty with rental properties is that they aren’t very passive. Passive income should generate cash without you having to actively work. In contrast, managing property and handling tenants can feel like a full-time job. If you go this route, hiring a property manager could minimize the time involved. Also, having a separate business bank account can make it easier to manage your money.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are much more accessible than owning property — and they take a lot less work. REITs are companies that own and manage a mix of income-producing properties. That might mean office buildings, malls, hotels, data centers, and more.
Many REITs are listed on the stock exchange, so you can buy them through a brokerage account. The great thing about REITs is that they’re required to pay 90% of their income in dividends. This makes them a popular source of passive income.
The idea of creating a small business to fund your early retirement might sound counterintuitive. But once you’ve invested the time to get things up and running, some businesses will practically run themselves. Particularly if you’re able to automate customer interactions and other tasks. Here are a couple of ideas.
The fantastic thing about print-on-demand is that you don’t have to manage any inventory or shipping. Years ago, if you had an idea for a funny T-shirt or poster, you’d have to first pay to print and store them, then you’d have to sell them yourself. Technology has turned this on its head.
Now all you need to do is design your product — which might be a hoodie, mug, hat, book, tote bag, or something else. You can sell the designs on your own store or via marketplaces like Amazon or Etsy. When a customer makes a purchase, your print-on-demand partner will produce and ship the item.
Customer relationship tools can help you keep on top of sales and encourage repeat business. Click here to learn about the best CRM software.
If you have skills to share, producing an online course could be an excellent revenue stream. Bear in mind that it can take a considerable amount of time to create the material and videos. Research the topic and demand and think about how you can best share your passion and experience.
There are several online course platforms such as Udemy, Skillshare, and Teachable. Look for the one that has the right pricing and features for you. Some have a wide existing student base. Others might help you more with course design and customer support.
REITs aren’t the only investments that generate dividends — some companies pay them, too. One way to fund your early retirement is to shift your asset allocation toward dividend-paying stocks. Companies that pay dividends are often more stable, which might appeal to retirees.
The downside of dividend investing is that you might not generate the same investment gains as with, say, growth stocks. Each can have a place in your portfolio. The right mix of investments depends on your financial needs and goals.
Having several passive income sources is one way to make the dream of early retirement a reality. It takes planning and dedication to build the money streams that will fund your non-work life. But a combination of investments and low-maintenance businesses can make it possible.
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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.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Emma Newbery has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Etsy. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Perfect credit may be nice to have, but it isn’t everything. Read on to see why not having that perfect 850 credit score shouldn’t bother you. [[{“value”:”
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FICO, the most commonly used method of calculating credit scores, generates scores that range from a low of 300 to a perfect 850. As of 2023, only 1.54% of U.S. consumers had perfect credit, according to Experian.
If your credit score is close to 850, you may want to reach that elusive perfect score. But perfect credit can be pretty hard to achieve. And it’s not worth stressing over for these reasons.
Experian says that credit scores from 800 to 850 are considered exceptional. And what this means is that you’re likely to get approved for a loan or great credit cards like these whether your credit score is an 802, 820, or 850.
Now that said, you may run into issues with loan approval based on factors outside of your credit score, like income. If you’re applying for a $500,000 mortgage and earn $50,000 a year, a lender may deny you — but not on the basis of your credit score. There’s little point in pushing yourself to achieve perfect credit when a modest increase in your score may not change your borrowing picture.
Did you know that applying for a new loan will typically cause your credit score to drop by a few points? Indeed, each time you put in a loan application, there’s a hard inquiry on your credit report that typically drags your credit score down by a handful of points.
But what this means is that if you want perfect credit, you can’t apply for any new loans for a while, including a mortgage. And that’s not necessarily a wise financial decision if you can afford to buy a home.
If you apply for a mortgage, you can build equity in a home whose value increases over time. You shouldn’t deny yourself that opportunity because you don’t want the tiny hit to your credit score that prevents you from reaching 850.
Just as applying for a new loan will cause your credit score to drop by a small amount, so too will applying for a new credit card. But if you’re able to get approved for a new credit card with a generous sign-up bonus, the extra cash or bonus miles could do your finances more good than a perfect 850 credit score.
Say you’re close to having an 850, but you apply for a credit card that takes your score of 847 down to 844. Chances are, you’ll get the same loan rates whether you apply with an 844 or 847.
But if you claim a credit card welcome offer that pays you $300, that’s real money that can benefit you. So it pays to forgo perfect credit in this scenario to pocket the cash.
And if you’re wondering how to score a sweet welcome offer, click here for a list of the best credit card sign-up bonuses.
Having perfect credit may give you some bragging rights — but that’s about it. If it’s been a struggle to get your credit score up to a perfect 850, don’t keep torturing yourself. Instead, work on improving your credit as best as you can, or on maintaining the great credit score you already have.
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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 isn’t just the current interest rate environment that affects your mortgage rate. Find out how important good credit is. [[{“value”:”
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Mortgage rates have come down significantly since peaking in late 2023 and are widely expected to continue to fall for the foreseeable future.
However, it isn’t just the current interest rate environment that determines the mortgage rate you get — your credit score can also have more of an impact than you might think.
With that in mind, here’s a rundown of how much your credit score can affect your mortgage rate, and how much money a better score could potentially save you when buying a home.
According to recent data published on myFICO.com, here’s a breakdown of the average mortgage rates by credit score:
Are you thinking of buying or refinancing a home? Click here to get your customized mortgage rates from some of our favorite lenders.
To be perfectly clear, the average mortgage rates fluctuate daily, and depending on when you read this, could be significantly different than you see in the chart above.
However, the numbers themselves aren’t the most important thing here — the main point to notice is that there’s more than a 0.7 percentage point difference between the highest and lowest credit tiers on the list.
Here’s why this is so important. Let’s say that you want to buy a home, and you’ll need to take out a $400,000 fixed-rate 30-year mortgage. If you have a FICO® Score of 775, you can expect a monthly principal and interest payment of $2,630.
But if you have a score of 670, which is generally considered to be “good credit,” you can expect to pay $2,758 per month for the exact same home.
This is a difference of:
$128 per month$1,536 per year$46,080 over the life of a 30-year mortgage loan
To put it mildly, the difference between what you’ll end up paying with a good credit score and what you’ll end up paying with an excellent credit score can be more than you expect.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to continue lowering its benchmark interest rate for the foreseeable future, and most projections call for mortgage rates to move in the same direction. Fannie Mae predicts that 30-year mortgage rates will fall to 5.7% by the end of 2025, and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has a similar 2025 year-end forecast of 5.8%.
However, keep in mind that these are just averages. Based on the chart above, this implies that borrowers in the top credit tiers could see rates below 5.5%, while lower-credit borrowers would likely still get mortgage rates in the 6% range or higher.
So, if you’re thinking about buying a home or refinancing an existing mortgage, it could be a smart idea to wait for a little while and maximize your credit score in the meantime. Over a period of several months, strategies such as aggressively paying off credit card debt can have a big impact.
Here’s another tip: The FICO credit scoring formula only considers new credit inquiries from the previous year, so by simply not applying for any new credit, it could have a positive impact on your score.
These are just a couple of examples, but the bottom line is that the combination of a falling-rate environment and an improved credit score can quite literally save you tens of thousands of dollars (or more) in interest on a home purchase.
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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.Matt Frankel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Saving at Costco is easy, but some people still pay more than they need to. Here’s how to slash your Costco bill even further. [[{“value”:”
Image source: Getty Images
Costco is the most popular department store in America, according to YouGov, and a lot of that comes back to the great deals it offers its customers on everything from groceries and appliances to travel packages and auto insurance. For many of its members, the savings they earn in a year easily outweighs the cost of the annual membership.
But if you’re just taking the listed prices at face value, you might be paying more than you need to. Here’s a little-known way to earn cash back on your purchases too.
If you’re like a lot of people, you probably use a credit card for your Costco purchases. Cash back credit cards like these are a smart choice, as long as you can pay the charges off at the end of the month, because you’ll earn cash back you can use to cover other purchases. But most rewards credit cards only pay a standard 1% back at Costco. So if you spend $100 there, you’re only going to get $1 in rewards, and it can take a while to earn anything substantial.
Consider opening a credit card that offers bonus rewards for Costco purchases if you hope to maximize your earnings. Some cards out there offer these rewards specifically at Costco, while others more broadly offer bonus rewards at wholesale clubs, including Costco and Sam’s Club.
If the card you choose offers 2% back on these purchases, you’re now earning twice as much as you’d get with a standard cash back card. That can help you gain rewards a lot faster.
Now is a great time to open a credit card that offers bonus rewards at Costco because the holiday shopping season is just around the corner. You may not be able to rack up sufficient rewards to reduce your holiday costs. But if you use the card for holiday spending at Costco, you’ll be able to use any rewards you earn to reduce your everyday costs next year.
To get started, all you have to do is choose the card you’re interested in and fill out the online form. The issuer may need a little time to review your application. Then, if you’re approved, it’ll send you the card in the mail within a few business days.
You might be wondering if the card is worth it if your nearest Costco is far away. That’s ultimately up to you. If you choose a card that offers bonus cash back at other stores, too, it might still be worth the investment. But if rewards are limited exclusively to Costco, you’ll have to weigh your spending habits to decide whether you’ll charge enough to the card in a year to warrant owning it.
Just make sure you read the fine print before you sign up for any card so you understand what you’re getting. And if you have any questions about the card’s perks or its bonus rewards, contact the issuer for clarification before you apply.
We love versatile credit cards that offer huge rewards everywhere, including Costco! This card is a standout among America’s favorite credit cards because it offers perhaps the easiest $200 cash bonus you could ever earn and an unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, even when you shop at Costco.
Add on the competitive 0% interest period and it’s no wonder we awarded this card Best No Annual Fee Credit Card.
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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.Kailey Hagen 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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It’s important to have sufficient funds in your checking account. Read on to see if $1,000 gets the job done. [[{“value”:”
Image source: Upsplash/The Motley Fool
Your checking account is a convenient place to keep your money. You can use that account to pay bills or take withdrawals from ATMs when you need actual cash.
But it’s important to know how much money to have in your checking account. You don’t want to keep too much money in there, but you also want to make sure you have enough.
So how does a $1,000 checking account balance stack up? The answer is, it depends.
It’s common for checking accounts to impose a minimum balance requirement. If you don’t meet it, you could be charged a fee.
Usually, $1,000 is above that requirement, but it all depends on your bank. And you may even be able to find a checking account with no minimum balance requirement if you shop around. Check out this list of the best checking accounts as a good starting point.
Meanwhile, as a general rule, it’s smart to keep enough money in your checking account to cover at least a full month of bills. And you may even want to aim for two months’ worth.
You never know when your payroll department at work might hit a glitch, delaying your paycheck from hitting your account on time. Or, your bank might experience technical issues that stop you from being able to transfer money from your savings account to your checking account on the spot as you normally can. So it’s not a bad idea to keep a little extra cash in your checking account.
Of course, you don’t want to go overboard on funding your checking account either, since you may not be earning any interest on that money. Or if you are earning interest, it’s likely a pretty minimal amount.
But you also don’t want to risk a situation where your checking account has insufficient funds. If that happens, you may be forced to pay bills late, resulting in late fees and credit score damage. Or, you might overdraw your account and get penalized financially for that reason.
So with all of that in mind, if $1,000 is enough money to cover a month of bills or more for you, then it’s not too small an amount to keep in your checking account. But if your monthly expenses typically come to $3,000, then a $1,000 balance puts you in a not-so-great spot.
Keeping too little money in your checking account could have negative consequences. So if your monthly expenses are more than $1,000, aim for a balance of whatever amount they usually come to, whether that’s $2,500, $3,500, or more.
That said, don’t worry if you decide to only keep a month’s worth of bills in your checking account, especially if you have it linked to a savings account that has money. Most of the time, you can pretty seamlessly transfer money. And if there is a glitch that prevents you from transferring funds from your savings to your checking account electronically, going to your bank to do so in person may solve that problem.
This credit card is not just good – it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features a 0% intro APR for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow for no annual fee!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
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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