Money Management

Southwest flights now show up on Google Flights. This change will make it easier for travelers to compare flight prices across multiple carriers. Find out more. [[{“value”:”

Many travelers use digital tools to save money on airfare. Google Flights is a popular tool for comparing airfare prices across multiple carriers. Until recently, Southwest flight data was excluded in pricing search results. But Southwest flight prices will now be displayed on Google Flights. This update could help you save money when booking flights for your next trip.

Southwest data was previously excluded from airfare pricing tools

If you’re a seasoned traveler who has used tools like Google Flights to compare flight prices, you may have noticed that Southwest Airlines fares weren’t displayed. Until recently, the airline didn’t allow online travel agents and booking tools to access its pricing data. Instead, travelers could only search for and book Southwest airfare directly through Southwest.

But that’s recently changed. Now, travelers will see Southwest flight prices when using Google Flights. This could make it easier to compare prices from multiple airlines quickly. If you search for a flight that’s part of Southwest’s route, Southwest flight prices will be displayed.

However, Google Flights is the only online search tool or travel agency (OTA) currently displaying Southwest prices. So, you won’t see Southwest fares displayed when using other booking and pricing tools like Expedia — at least not yet. Plus, you’ll only be able to research Southwest fare prices using Google Flights — not make a booking.

If you want to book a Southwest flight, you must do so directly with Southwest. An easy way to do that is to visit the Southwest website or mobile app to make a booking. With some other airlines, you can book through Google Flights. But that’s not the case with Southwest.

How to use Google Flights to save money on flights

Are you new to using Google Flights? Let me show you how it could help you save on airfare.

I love to travel, but I dislike overpaying for airfare. Before booking flights for an upcoming trip, I research airfare prices. I’m not loyal to one airline, so it’s beneficial for me to review prices for multiple carriers before making a reservation. Doing this allows me to find the best itinerary and price that fits my preferences, schedule, and vacation budget.

I don’t always choose the cheapest airfare, but I try to avoid overpaying. For example, I’ll pay more for a direct route. But if the itinerary and ticket type are almost identical between two airlines and one round-trip journey is $400, but another is $600, I’m booking the $400 ticket.

Here’s how to use the tool to find the best airfare prices:

Visit Google.com/travel/flightsEnter your desired departure and arrival airports and travel dates.Use the stops, price, airlines, duration, fare type, and bag filters to narrow your results.Search to compare flight prices.

The included search filters make it easier to find the right flights for your needs. For example, you can search for direct airlines only, all, or only a few airlines to find desired flights. You can also track prices and get email alerts when prices change for your desired route.

Bonus tip: If you’re not yet set on a vacation destination, enter “anywhere” as your arrival location. This will let you search for flights worldwide departing from your preferred airport so you can find the most affordable destinations to fly to for your preferred dates.

Don’t ignore travel credit cards

Another tool that can benefit travelers is travel credit cards. These cards allow users to earn valuable rewards that they can later redeem for free travel. General travel rewards credit cards are a good fit for travelers who aren’t airline loyalists. When you swipe your card for travel purchases, you can earn points or miles and redeem your rewards for flights or hotels.

However, you may benefit from airline credit cards if you typically fly with the same airline. For Southwest loyalists, there are several Southwest credit cards to choose from, and these cards offer rewards and benefits that could improve your flight experience when traveling with the airline. Check out our list of the best Southwest credit cards to learn more about these cards.

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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. The Motley Fool recommends Southwest Airlines. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Investing in the broad market is a great way to grow your money. Read on to learn more about how this move can benefit you. [[{“value”:”

You’ll often hear that the key to growing wealth, whether for retirement or another purpose, is to invest your money in the stock market despite the risks involved. If you play it too safe and limit yourself to vehicles like certificates of deposit (CDs) and bonds, you risk falling short of your goals.

But what if you’re not comfortable hand-picking stocks for a portfolio? That’s totally understandable. You may not have the background in investing to confidently choose one company’s shares over another. And you may not have the time it takes to research stocks individually.

The good news is that you can do quite well for yourself by investing in the broad market instead of individual stocks. In fact, putting money into an S&P 500 ETF, or exchange-traded fund, is a great way to grow wealth without having to do much thinking at all.

It pays to go broad

When you hear people on TV talking about how the stock market did on a given day, they’re often talking about the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 consists of roughly the 500 largest publicly traded companies today. And if you buy shares of an S&P 500 ETF, you’re basically putting your money into those 500 largest companies without having to go out and buy shares of each one.

How well might you fare if you focus your investment strategy on the S&P 500? Well, over the past 50 years, the index has delivered an average annual 10% return. That accounts for years of strong performance and major market crashes. And in recent years, the S&P 500 has rewarded investors even more.

The S&P 500, as of this writing, is up 85% over the past five years. This means that had you invested $1,000 in the S&P 500 five years ago, you’d be sitting on $1,850 today. Considering that means you would’ve almost doubled your money, that’s pretty impressive.

But it’s also worth noting that the past five years haven’t been completely smooth sailing for the S&P 500. In 2020, the stock market experienced a short-term but notable crash when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. And in 2022, inflation-related fears fueled a substantial sell-off, driving portfolio values down.

In spite of all of this, the S&P 500, still managed to rise 85% over the past five years. And while you may have gotten even higher returns with a portfolio of individual stocks if you’d picked all the right ones, 85% isn’t a bad consolation prize.

Aim to invest on a long-term basis

Of course, the S&P 500’s return over the past 50 years isn’t quite as impressive as its return over the past five. The point, however, is that putting your money into the broad market could be a fantastic strategy if the idea of hand-picking stocks doesn’t sit well with you.

To be clear, though, your best bet in investing in stocks is to do so over many years — not just five. If you put $1,000 into an S&P 500 ETF that delivers a 10% yearly return over a 45-year period, you’ll be looking at a portfolio worth almost $73,000. That’s a huge gain.

Plus, the longer your investment window, the better positioned you are to ride out periods of stock market turbulence, like the ones discussed above. So in addition to going all-in on S&P 500 ETFs, pledge to keep your money invested for as long a period as 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.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Most tax filers get refunds. Not me. Read on to see how I managed a whopper of a tax bill for 2023. [[{“value”:”

Many people who file a tax return wind up getting a refund from the IRS within a few weeks of submitting it. So far this year, the average tax refund issued by the IRS amounts to $2,864.

But while it’s easy to assume that you’ll end up on the receiving end of a tax refund, things don’t always work out that way. Take it from me.

As someone who’s self-employed, I’m used to not getting money back from the IRS in April. Quite the contrary — I almost always end up owing the IRS money when I file my taxes, and sometimes, a lot of it.

Such was the case this year when my accountant and I ran the final numbers and realized that I’d underpaid my 2023 taxes by over $10,000. Ouch. But while that was certainly a painful sum of money to part with, it didn’t upend my finances because I was prepared for it.

Why it’s so hard for me to get my tax payments just right

Because I’m self-employed, I don’t have taxes withheld from my wages as I earn money during the year. If a client owes me $500 for a project I’ve completed, I’m getting a $500 check, and it’s on me to make sure I’m setting aside a portion for the IRS.

Figuring out that portion, however, isn’t so easy. Different variables could dictate what your total tax obligation looks like for a given year.

In my case, I worked with an accountant to make estimated quarterly tax payments in 2023 based on my anticipated earnings. But while my job-related estimates were fairly accurate, I wound up earning more money in savings account interest and dividends from my stock portfolio than I’d expected. That, combined with the fact that I had fewer business expenses to deduct in 2023 than in previous years, led to a major underpayment on my part.

When you anticipate owing money from the start

The bad news in all of this is that I recently had to send more than $10,000 of my hard-earned money to the IRS instead of getting to keep it for myself. The good news is that I had the money on hand to make that payment. In fact, I always keep extra cash in the bank until my tax bill is reconciled for the year. So I didn’t have to charge my tax bill on a credit card and pay it off over time, and I also didn’t have to approach the IRS about setting up a payment plan.

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with paying off your taxes over time via an installment plan, and the IRS is typically pretty flexible when it comes to setting up these arrangements. But under an IRS installment plan, you continue to accrue interest on your tax bill, which is something I’d prefer to avoid.

All told, I’m not shocked that I owed the IRS money for 2023, but I was somewhat surprised at how much money I owed. If you’re self-employed, learn a lesson from my experience and make it a point to set aside extra money just in case your IRS bill comes in higher than expected.

Also, don’t assume that working with an accountant will ensure that your four estimated quarterly tax payments will cover your IRS obligation in full for the year. Accountants can’t always get those numbers down pat.

However, the more accurate those estimates are, the less likely you are to be unpleasantly surprised come tax season. So think about your total income picture, including money you earn from savings or stock investments, to come up with those numbers.

You could also err on the side of padding your estimated quarterly payments if you’re worried about owing the IRS money during tax season. That’s something I’ve thought about doing, since I pretty much always end up owing some money. However, the way I see it, if I pay the IRS extra during the year, the IRS gets to earn interest on my money. I’d rather be the one to earn interest on my money, which is why I prefer to keep the cash on hand and simply send it over to the IRS on or around April 15 each year.

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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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