Money Management

Canary Clean Products is a small business focused on sustainability. See how this startup makes uniquely designed hand soap, mouthwash, and more. [[{“value”:”

Earth Day is coming soon (April 22) and it’s an occasion to think about how each of us can make a difference to help the environment. Small businesses are finding creative ways to help people fight climate change and live a greener and more sustainable life. The Ascent is spotlighting a few unique eco-friendly startups and small businesses that are doing good things for the planet — while making great products!

Canary Clean Products (www.canarycleanco.com) is an eco-friendly personal care products company that makes toothpaste, hand soap, mouthwash, skincare products, and other “clean” products. But unlike many companies, Canary Clean Products does not use plastic packaging. Its unique product designs can help reduce packaging waste, carbon emissions, and chemical pollution in the environment.

Let’s look at the story of Canary Clean Products and why you might want to try this special eco-friendly company’s goods for your own home.

Sustainable entrepreneurship

Canary Clean Products was founded by Luke Wilson, a former marketing executive for The Gap Inc’s Old Navy and Banana Republic brands. Luke grew up on a small family farm in Texas. He earned an MBA in sustainable entrepreneurship, and he always had an interest in the natural environment and how companies can reduce plastic waste, chemicals, and toxins.

Only about 5% of all plastic used in America gets recycled. The rest goes into landfills or ends up as litter and pollution in the environment. Personal care products can be a big part of this plastic problem — think of all those empty plastic toothpaste tubes and shampoo bottles. Luke Wilson and the Canary Clean Products team decided to develop new ways of packaging toothpaste, soap, and other personal care products — while also formulating the products in ways that did not include chemicals and toxins.

Wouldn’t you prefer to use products for cleansing (i.e. hand soaps, toothpastes, mouth wash, laundry detergent, etc.) that are actually “clean” and not full of potentially harmful chemicals? That’s the mission of Canary Clean Products Company.

Elevating everyday hygiene

Instead of just buying a plastic tube of toothpaste or a plastic dispenser of liquid hand soap, Canary Clean Products is giving people a new, sleek way to handle their hygiene products.

Tube-free toothpaste “tablets”

Canary’s line of toothpastes come in solid “tablet” form — you chew the tablets and then mix the toothpaste to create foam in your mouth, just like “regular” toothpaste, but without the plastic tube package. The toothpaste tablets are stored in a refillable glass jar, and the refill tablets come in flat (plastic-free) packaging.

Plastic-free hand soap

So much typical hand soap gets packaged and shipped in liquid form, in bottles. (Think of all the plastic soap dispensers you see on the shelf at the store.) But too often, as soon as the liquid soap inside gets used up, those plastic bottles get thrown away.

Canary Clean Products is doing something interesting with hand soap: Instead of a plastic disposable bottle, Canary gives you a glass reusable bottle as part of its hand soap starter kit. Then you can fill that bottle (and keep refilling it) with Canary’s soap concentrate — a small bar of solid soap, mixed with water in the bottle.

Peppermint mouthwash concentrate

Another concentrate product from Canary is its peppermint mouthwash concentrate. Instead of a big plastic bottle of unnaturally colored mouthwash, Canary Clean Products sends you a small glass bottle of (clear) mouthwash that you then mix with water at home. You can then keep your everyday mouthwash in Canary’s (larger) refillable glass bottle, and use the smaller concentrate-sized bottles for travel.

How to reduce carbon emissions: Stop shipping water

Using concentrated hand soaps and toothpaste like Canary Clean Products can be good for the planet in a surprising way: It reduces shipping costs and carbon emissions that come from shipping water. By sending “dry” solid toothpaste tablets and concentrated soap bars (instead of liquid paste or liquid soaps), or by shipping you a smaller bottle of highly concentrated mouthwash, Canary Clean Products is helping to eliminate carbon emissions.

Water is heavy. Bottles of water (and tubes of toothpaste) take up more space on trucks than small packets of soap or toothpaste tablets. By adding the water at home, you can reduce the carbon emissions of these simple everyday household products. Canary Clean Products does not offer specific data on the carbon-reducing impact of its products. But there are lots of ways that reducing “water weight” from your everyday packaging purchases can help fight climate change.

The University of Wisconsin has research that shows the carbon footprint of a plastic bottle of drinking water is about 1,000 times the carbon footprint of using a refillable water bottle. By refilling bottles and using water at home — instead of paying a trucking company to ship water across the country — people can reduce carbon emissions.

Bottom line

Americans are becoming more interested in the ingredients and packaging designs of their everyday food, drink, and hygiene products. If you want to eliminate possibly harmful chemicals from your everyday life; if you’re concerned about reducing packaging waste and cutting carbon emissions from your everyday purchases; or if you just want to try some fun, sleekly designed new hand soap, toothpaste, or mouthwash, check out Canary Clean Products.

This small business is a great example of how companies can launch innovative products that help people and the environment. “Going green” can be a great strategy to “get more green” (dollars) in your business bank account.

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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Have access to a health savings account? Here’s why you may want to prioritize contributions there over a regular savings account. [[{“value”:”

It’s important to have a solid emergency fund at all times in case unplanned expenses or circumstances arise. But once your emergency fund is complete, you may wonder what to do with the extra money you have at your disposal.

You may be inclined to put that money into a savings account. However, if you have access to an HSA, or health savings account, you may want to prioritize contributions there. Here’s why HSAs are actually far superior to regular savings accounts.

1. You get a tax break on the money you put in

You might earn $5,000 a month and decide to put $300 of that into a savings account. That’s all fine and good. But making those contributions won’t exempt your $300 a month from taxes.

An HSA will, though. As long as you don’t exceed the annual limit set by the IRS, HSA contributions will help reduce your tax burden.

This year’s HSA limits are $4,150 for self-only coverage and $8,300 for family coverage. If you’re 55 or older, add $1,000 to whichever limit applies to you. So if you’re at least 55 years old and funding an HSA at the family level, you might manage to shield $9,300 from taxes this year.

2. You can invest the money you don’t pull out right away

The money you keep in a savings account can earn interest for you. These days, the amount of interest you earn might be pretty generous, with many banks paying more than 4.00%.

But with an HSA, you can invest the funds you don’t need right away. And you might earn a lot more on your money that way.

The stock market’s average annual return over the past 50 years has been 10%. Even if your HSA doesn’t do quite as well, you might still grow your money a lot more than you would in a savings account (keeping in mind that today’s higher interest rates are far from the norm).

3. Investment gains in HSAs are tax free

When you invest money in a regular brokerage account, gains in that account are subject to taxes. With an HSA, investment gains are tax free.

Now let’s compare that to a savings account. You can’t invest within a savings account — you can only earn interest on your money. But the interest you earn is not only taxed, but taxed as ordinary income — meaning, at the highest rate possible based on your tax bracket.

So let’s say you earn $500 in savings account interest this year, and you also gain $500 in your HSA through investments. The $500 from your savings account will add to your tax burden, and you’ll lose a chunk of that to the IRS. The $500 from your HSA won’t add to your tax liability, and you’ll get to enjoy that gain in full.

Of course, not everyone is eligible to fund an HSA. To qualify, your health insurance needs a minimum deductible of $1,600 for self-only coverage or $3,200 for family coverage. And your out-of-pocket maximum has to be capped at $8,050 or $16,100, respectively.

As the name implies, HSAs are meant to serve as a savings tool for healthcare costs. So you don’t get as much flexibility as with a savings account, since non-medical HSA withdrawals incur a penalty if you take them before reaching age 65.

But HSA funds also don’t expire, so you can carry your balance forward as long as you want to. And at age 65 and beyond, the penalty for non-medical withdrawals is waived, so at that point, you can use an HSA like regular savings.

All told, HSAs offer a lot more tax benefits than regular savings accounts. While it’s important to have money in a regular savings account for emergency fund purposes, once you’re set in that regard, you may want to give your HSA priority over your savings account.

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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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These might sound like the same thing, especially if you’re buying an Airbnb. But they aren’t. Read on to learn more. [[{“value”:”

Are you interested in buying a vacation home that you can rent out when you aren’t there? How about a home in a vacation area that you live in during the winter months and rent to tenants for the rest of the year? Or do you want to buy a property to turn into an Airbnb, and use it occasionally yourself?

If you’ve considered any of these options, you should know that there’s a difference between a second home and an investment property. Which category your property falls into can have major implications when it comes to obtaining a mortgage, as well as when filing your tax return each year.

What makes a property a “second home”?

The broad definition of a second home is a property you purchase and plan to live in some of the time.

To be clear, second homes can be rented to others. However, they cannot be exclusively for rental use. If you plan on buying a home and using it as a long-term rental property, it is an investment property and must be treated as such for financing purposes.

Second homes must also be a certain distance away from your primary residence, and they can only have one housing unit. In other words, a duplex or any property that is in the city you live in doesn’t count.

There is no set-in-stone rule that mortgage lenders use to determine whether a property qualifies as a second home. Some lenders have rather strict rules on renting second homes, while others only require you to live in the home for 14 days or more each year to qualify as a second home. Some might not allow you to rent a second home at all, at least not at first.

While lenders might not all agree, the IRS has a pretty clear definition of what it considers a second home to be. If you use the home for at least 14 days each year or 10% of the days you rent it, whichever is greater, it is considered a second home for tax purposes. In other words, if the property rents for 200 days in 2024, you will need to stay there for a total of 20 days or more to meet the definition of a second home.

The tax definition is important, because the interest you pay on a second home loan can be deductible via the mortgage interest deduction. But the interest you pay on an investment property is not.

Two different types of mortgages

Here’s why the definitions are important from a financing standpoint. The ways you finance second homes and investment properties are very different from one another. There are mortgages specifically designed for purchasing second homes and others specifically designed for investment properties.

The general idea is that second home financing is usually the better of the two, at least from a financial standpoint. Second home loans tend to have lower interest rates than comparable investment property loans. According to The Mortgage Reports, investment property mortgage rates tend to be 0.5%-0.75% higher than you’d get on a primary residence loan, while second home mortgage rates tend to just be slightly higher than primary residence loan rates.

Second home loans also have lower down payment requirements. For example, Fannie Mae’s underwriting standards require a minimum down payment of 15% for a one-unit investment property (in practice, lenders often want 20%), but allow down payments as low as 10% for second home loans. However, it’s worth noting that in both cases, a 20% down payment allows you to avoid mortgage insurance.

Mortgage lenders don’t all have the same definition of what a second home is. And if your property doesn’t meet all of its criteria, and you aren’t living in it full-time, it will generally be considered an investment property. However, if the property you want at least meets the IRS’s general definition of a second home, it could be a smart idea to shop around with a few different mortgage lenders to see if it qualifies for second home financing.

What is right for you?

To be sure, I’m not saying that one type of loan is good and the other is bad. Investment property mortgages can make great financial sense if you find a cash-flowing long-term rental property, especially one with more than one housing unit. But it’s important for aspiring real estate investors, future Airbnb owners, and people who simply want a vacation home that can be rented when they aren’t around to know the rules.

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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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Transitioning to a one-income household can be daunting. Here are three financial errors that can impact stay-at-home parents. [[{“value”:”

Being a stay-at-home parent (SAHP) is one of the most gratifying, frustrating jobs in the world. However, unless a SAHP household is flush with cash, financial sacrifices are required to allow one parent to be home. The good news is that there are plenty of ways for a SAHP household to save money. The bad news is that there are plenty of mistakes a SAHP household can make that will cost them money. Here, we cover three of those mistakes.

1. Failing to create a new budget

As someone who opted to put their career on hold and become a SAHP, I can assure you that one of the most important things soon-to-be SAHPs can do is understand that their financial situation is about to change drastically.

Once you stop paying for child care, you’d think you’d feel rich. After all, the average weekly cost of daycare in the U.S. is $321 (per child!). It’s wild to think that the average young family spends almost $17,000 annually on child care — nearly $34,000 for two young children.

While child care is a huge expense, and cutting it from the household budget can help offset the loss of income, there are other financial issues to plan for. For example:

Chances are, the cost of utilities will rise once there are people at home all day.Planning for monthly bills is not enough. Families still need to plan for semi-regular expenses, like auto insurance and personal property taxes.Once a family is down to one consistent salary, having an emergency savings account is more important than ever. The goal is always to have enough money to cover unexpected expenses and avoid counting on credit cards to get through tough financial situations.

In other words, planning for the worst as they set up a new household budget is a good way to be prepared for whatever may come. After a few months of living within the new budget, adjustments can be made. For example, if a couple sees that their utility bills have increased, they may also notice that the money they once spent on gasoline has decreased enough to cover higher utility bills. It’s all about preparing the best they can and then being flexible enough to adjust their budget as needed.

By the way: The high cost of daycare is pushing some parents out of the workforce. According to a recent Baby Center survey, 45% of the parents questioned said they’ve considered reducing their hours or quitting their jobs entirely due to the high cost of child care. Another 13% have already quit and become SAHPs.

2. Not accepting the new financial reality

As a parent quits their job and heads for home, it’s easy to have stars in their eyes. They may be so focused on the thought of being with their children that they lose sight of what it will take to make the change sustainable. Here are some of the changes they may need to make if they want to take care of monthly bills on a single salary:

Purchase fewer meals (and snacks) outside the homeSpend less money on attireAdhere strictly to the household budget (no more impulse buys)Plan for off-budget spending, like day trips and holiday giftsPaying for “extras” may involve taking on a part-time gig or working from home

Like most things in life, being a SAHP involves a learning curve. Even if a parent doesn’t get it right immediately, they should be fine if they’re willing to make small alterations along the way.

3. Lending money to Uncle Sam for free

It’s sobering to watch the checking account balance drop as a two-income household becomes a single-income household, but there’s an easy way to reduce financial stress: Stop loaning money to the government interest free. Every dollar that unnecessarily goes toward income taxes each year could remain with the household.

Let’s say a couple earned a combined income of $130,000 when they both worked, but now that only one partner works outside the home, their income has dropped to $90,000. Instead of being in the 22% tax bracket, they move into the 12% bracket. That means their tax obligation drops by almost half.

Failure to adjust their withholdings means allowing the government to hold their money for free instead of putting it into their own bank account and using it as needed throughout the year.

There’s a great deal to consider when transitioning to a SAHP household. However, getting one’s personal finances in order first is one of the best ways to ensure success.

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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 may be possible to work remotely while at sea, but there are some important things to keep in mind. Keep reading to learn the details. [[{“value”:”

If you can work remotely, there certainly are some great reasons to work from a cruise ship. Cruising can be a cost-effective way to travel to several places in one trip, and a cruise vacation includes a lot. There’s entertainment, shopping, fitness classes, movies, games, pools, and more within a short walk at all times.

While cruises can be a great choice for remote work, there are certain things you need to consider before you write a to-do list, set meetings, and prepare for a productive time. Here are three things in particular to keep in mind that I’ve gathered from my own experience while working at sea.

Things to keep in mind

There are a few questions that you’ll need to answer before you leave dry land. And while this isn’t an exhaustive list, they include the following.

Is internet access good enough (and affordable)?

In most cases, cruise ship internet access isn’t free, so you need to budget for it. Virgin Voyages is one of the few that includes it in your cruise fare, but if you sail on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or most other popular cruise lines, expect to pay anywhere from $15-$30 per day per device for internet access. (Note: You can switch back and forth, meaning you could use one-device internet on your laptop while working, and switch to your smartphone when you’re done.) One suggestion is to prepay for internet access, ideally with a travel credit card, as it’s almost always cheaper than buying it on the ship.

The bigger issue is whether the internet is reliable enough to work. Some cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Carnival, have started using Starlink satellite internet, which is far superior to what was previously available. It’s still likely to be significantly slower than the connection you have at home or at the office, but it’s sufficient for most work activities.

With modern cruise ship internet access (especially Starlink), you should be able to participate in Zoom meetings, stream video, etc. But even the best ship internet can be spotty at times, so if you need the ability to do these things at specific times, it might not be the best choice.

Does my cabin have a good place to work?

You might be surprised to learn that not all cabins on all cruise ships have a functional space to get work done. There might just be a small makeup stool near a ledge and a wall mirror, or a couch with a coffee table as the only real seating areas.

And even if there is space to put a laptop, there’s no guarantee there will be power nearby — most cruise cabins (especially those on relatively older ships) have outlets in just one or two places in the room. Plus, not all cruise ships have many public spaces that are conducive to getting work done (although some newer ships have coffee shops designed with this in mind).

If I’m planning to get any work done at all on a cruise, one thing I do is head to YouTube and search for the name of my ship and the room type I’ve booked. For example, if I search for “Independence of the Seas Balcony Room,” I can find several short videos that will walk me through a room similar to the one I’m staying in.

Am I allowed to work internationally?

Some companies might have restrictions against working overseas, mainly for tax reasons. In the eyes of the IRS, any money you earn while on board a cruise ship in international waters is “sourced in the United States,” as long as you’re a U.S. citizen.

But let’s say you get off the ship in Mexico and decide to work in a coffee shop. That might be something you want to check with your HR department about if you’re a W-2 employee (self-employed people shouldn’t need to worry about this).

The bottom line on working from a cruise ship

Working on a cruise ship can certainly be done. I often spend at least a few daytime hours working while I’m on a cruise — at least on “sea days.” However, there are some practical considerations to keep in mind that can help you manage your productivity expectations and prepare accordingly.

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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’s nice to want to help your children purchase a home. But read on to see why you may want to think twice. [[{“value”:”

When you have children, you make a commitment to being there for them indefinitely. And while some parents take the attitude that they no longer have to support their kids financially once they leave the nest, others aim to continue offering financial support to some degree for as long as they can.

Now that support can come in different ways. But in your mind, it could mean giving your children money toward a down payment on a home.

In a recent survey by T. RowePrice, 27% of parents say they feel they can help pay for a home for their kids. But helping your children buy a home might backfire for a few big reasons.

Can your kids afford that home in the absence of further help?

It’s one thing to write your kids a $50,000 check to help them come up with a down payment on a home. It’s another thing to commit to giving them $1,200 every month to cover the mortgage.

If your kids aren’t in a position to buy a home without help, they might also struggle to keep up with their costs as homeowners. Remember, they’ll have to worry about property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance, and repairs. And if they can’t afford all of those costs, they might end up turning to you for help on a regular basis, even after you’ve already given them a large financial gift.

To put it another way, if you hand your kids money to buy a home, don’t assume your job is done. They may come back asking for more — not to be greedy, but because they’re in over their heads with their newfound expenses.

So if you’re going to gift your children some down payment funds, set clear expectations about ongoing help. If the $50,000 you give them to close on a house is truly a one-time thing you can afford, make that clear from the start. And encourage them to use a mortgage calculator to see what costs they’ll be taking on.

Will you impede your own financial goals by helping your kids buy a home?

If you’re truly sitting on a pile of extra money, then sure, why not use it to help your kids achieve a financial goal of theirs? But if your ability to help your children buy a home hinges on having to raid your IRA or 401(k) ahead of retirement, then that’s a decision you may want to reconsider.

Let’s say that at age 63, you take $50,000 out of your IRA to help a child buy a home. You may not lose out on too many years of growth on that money since that’s so close to retirement. But still, you’re denying yourself $50,000 of retirement income. You might end up needing that money for a variety of reasons, whether it’s unexpected healthcare bills or home repairs of your own.

Of course, if you have a $3 million IRA balance, by all means, give your kids $50,000. But if you have $500,000 in savings, it’s probably not a good idea to hand over 10% of it.

It’s a nice thing to want to help your kids buy a home, especially at a time when property values are so high. But just make sure you’re not doing it at the expense of your own financial well-being, and that you’re not setting yourself up to become your children’s personal ATM.

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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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