Money Management

Need to book flights? Take advantage of this limited-time Southwest Airlines gift card deal from Costco. Find out how Costco members can save. [[{“value”:”

Airfare can be expensive, even if you book your tickets well before a trip. Luckily, there are ways to save money when buying plane tickets. One way is to purchase discounted gift cards for your favorite airlines and use the gift card funds to pay for your flights.

Costco members can save big. If you’re a Costco member, you can get a $70 discount on a Southwest Airlines gift card now through Nov. 4. This offer could help you save money on Southwest flights for your next trip. Here’s what you need to know about this limited-time deal.

Get $500 to spend on Southwest flights for $429.99

Costco sells gift cards for major brands at a discount to its members. You can maximize your Costco membership by taking advantage of these gift card deals. One travel gift card that the warehouse club sells is a $500 electronic Southwest Airlines gift card.

This gift card typically costs $449.99, but it’s on sale through Nov. 4. Members can buy it for $429.99, which is $70 off the face value. If you like to fly with Southwest, you may want to scoop up this deal before the sale ends to maximize your savings on upcoming flight bookings.

The gift card can be used to pay for Southwest Airlines flights and is redeemable at Southwest.com, the Southwest Airlines mobile app, Southwest ticket counters, or by calling 1-800-I-FLY-SWA. Once purchased, you will receive your digital gift card via email.

Note that there is a limit to how many gift cards you can buy. Costco members can purchase up to five Southwest Airlines gift cards in one transaction. After Nov. 4, the price of this gift card will return to $449.99, so now is an excellent time to purchase this deal if you have a flight to book soon.

If you’re not earning rewards for your Costco hauls, you’re leaving money on the table. Click here to explore the top credit cards for Costco that offer big rewards on your spending.

Here’s another way to save on flight costs

If you’re looking for more strategies to stretch your vacation dollars, use airfare price comparison tools like Google Flights.

You can search for flights across multiple carriers and compare prices quickly to find the most affordable flight options that fit your needs. For those with flexible travel schedules, Google Flights provides additional tools to help you save more.

You can use date grid and price graph tools to find the best departure and arrival dates with the most savings. Flying on a cheaper date could leave more room in your budget for activities.

If you scored Costco’s Southwest Airlines gift card deal, these pricing tools can help stretch your gift card funds further. Every dollar you save adds up.

Travel credit cards can help, too

Ready to book and pay for your flights? Remember to use credit cards that earn rewards. You can earn rewards on travel bookings with the right credit card. Many travelers redeem their travel credit card points or miles for free or lower-cost travel.

Want to get rewarded for traveling? Click here to see our curated list of the best travel credit cards with valuable perks and plentiful rewards.

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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.Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Natasha Gabrielle has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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If you’re ready to save more money for retirement, the new 2025 IRA contribution rules could help. See how people aged 50 and over can save extra in 2025. [[{“value”:”

The end of the year is a new occasion to boost your retirement savings. As part of your year-end planning for 2024, it’s important to look ahead to the new 2025 IRA contribution rules from the IRS.

Each year, the IRS sets new limits on how much you can contribute to traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. This contribution limit goes up each year based on inflation (what the IRS calls cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA).

As of this writing, the IRS has not yet announced the new IRA contribution limits for 2025. But no matter what the new IRA limits are for 2025, here are a few key strategies that everyone should consider as you get ready to save and invest for retirement in 2025 and beyond.

Use a Roth IRA if you qualify

Using a Roth IRA is one of the best ways to save for retirement, because it lets your money grow tax free, and gives you tax-free distributions in retirement. Unlike a traditional IRA or 401(k), the money you put into a Roth IRA does not give you a tax deduction. But instead, that money grows tax free and can provide you with tax-free income in retirement.

For 2024, people who qualify for a Roth IRA can put up to $7,000 into this special retirement account. And people aged 50 and over can put in an extra $1,000 as a catch-up contribution.

Ready to boost your retirement savings with tax-free growth and tax-free distributions? Click here to learn more about the best Roth IRA accounts — these top-ranked brokerages can help you open a Roth IRA quickly to start investing your extra cash.

But not everyone qualifies for a Roth IRA. There are some restrictions based on your income and tax-filing status. For example, for 2024, these people can make a full contribution to a Roth IRA:

Single filers with modified adjusted gross income of less than $146,000Married filing jointly with modified adjusted gross income of less than $230,000

Other people with higher incomes or different filing statuses might be able to make a partial contribution, or no contribution, to a Roth IRA. These limits are likely to be slightly higher for 2025, but we won’t know until the IRS makes its announcement of new IRA contribution rules for 2025.

Maximize your combined IRA contribution limit

If you would rather get an upfront tax break on your IRA contributions, you don’t have to use a Roth IRA. You can choose a traditional IRA and get a tax deduction (for 2024) of up to $7,000 if you qualify — or up to $8,000 with a catch-up contribution for people age 50 and up.

There are a few restrictions, based on income and tax-filing status, for who can get a tax deduction from a traditional IRA. As of 2024, these people can deduct the full amount of traditional IRA contributions:

Single filersMarried filing jointly with a spouse who is not covered by a workplace retirement planMarried filing jointly with a spouse who is covered by a workplace retirement plan, with modified adjusted gross income of less than $230,000

Other people with different filing statuses or higher incomes might only be allowed to deduct part of the money they put into a traditional IRA — or not get a deduction at all. This makes it important to be strategic about your IRA contributions.

Keep in mind: If you qualify for both types of IRA accounts, you can put a total of up to $7,000 for 2024 into traditional IRA and Roth IRA accounts combined (or $8,000 if you’re age 50 and over). Based on your income and tax goals, you might want to split up that money — put half into a tax-deductible traditional IRA, and put half into a Roth IRA for tax-free income in retirement.

Age 50 and over? Make IRA catch-up contributions

If you’re 50 years old or over, your retirement age is getting closer — and that makes it even more important to boost your retirement savings. The IRS gives the 50-plus cohort an added bonus by letting you make an extra $1,000 (for 2024) of catch-up contributions to your IRAs — traditional, Roth, or both combined.

We don’t know yet what the 2025 IRA catch-up contribution limit will be. But this limit will now be indexed to inflation. And based on recent high inflation, it’s possible that the 2025 IRA catch-up limit could be slightly higher than the usual $1,000.

Every extra dollar of retirement investments counts. If the IRS gives you permission to save an extra $1,000 (or more) in tax-advantaged retirement accounts, you should take that deal.

Bottom line

The new IRS rules for 2025 IRA contribution limits could be announced any day. Based on 2024 rules, it’s possible that many retirement savers could be allowed to put up to $7,000 (or more) into traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, or both. People aged 50 and over should maximize their catch-up contributions in 2025, which might be higher than previous years.

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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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