Category: Finance

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.

In holiday hiring news, Target and Walmart are planning to add a total of 140,000 temporary workers for the upcoming holiday shopping season. But if you had a Walmart holiday job last year and were planning to work there again this year, you shouldn’t necessarily count on it.

That’s because Walmart is going to hire only 40,000 workers for this holiday season — far fewer than the 150,000 workers it brought in for the holidays last year.

Meanwhile, Target plans to pick up 100,000 seasonal employees for the holidays, the same number it hired for the 2021 shopping season.

When to Apply

Both companies announced their holiday hiring plans in late September. It’s not clear exactly when the holiday hiring will start. Target and Walmart say they’ll start hiring seasonal workers after their current employees are given a chance to set their holiday shifts.

“We’ll begin, as usual, by offering additional hours to current associates who want them,” Walmart said in its announcement. “After that, we’ll offer the opportunity for those who want to earn extra money working on a temporary basis.”

Where to Apply

People interested in picking up holiday shifts at Target should apply here.

Those interested in working holiday shifts at Walmart should keep an eye on its website’s careers page.

Seasonal Jobs at Target

Target’s seasonal job openings span a variety of in-store and distribution center roles.

In-store roles include cashiers; general managers; Starbucks baristas; tech, style, grocery and beauty department associates; general merchandise associates; and shelf stockers. These in-store positions will be trained to staff pickup and drive-up orders.

Jobs at Target’s distribution centers include general warehouse workers, packers and fulfillment center and operations workers. These positions require frequently lifting and carrying items up to 60 pounds.

Starting wages range from $15 to $24 an hour, Target says. On average, more than 30% of workers who are hired as seasonal employees stay on after the holiday season.

Seasonal Jobs at Walmart

Walmart will hire temporary help in three categories:

• Seasonal store associates who work in the store and also for Walmart’s pickup and delivery services
• Customer care associates who work in the retailer’s customer call centers
• Full-time truck drivers

Walmart doesn’t have a companywide minimum wage, but it says its average U.S. wage is more than $17 an hour.

A peculiar convention of getting hired in the U.S. is that a question job seekers may want to ask first is often addressed last: How much does the job actually pay? In the working world, it remains common for employers to keep that vital information under wraps, keeping applicants in the dark while giving hiring managers a competitive advantage in setting pay.

Now, a growing number of U.S. states are moving to shed light on the issue of starting salaries. New laws are requiring companies to disclose the pay range in job postings and on their websites. The rules represent a growing push for more transparency on compensation and aim to even the bargaining power between employers and employees, empowering workers while also narrowing long-standing pay gaps for women and people of color.

In California, under a law signed last week by Gov. Gavin Newsom that takes effect January 1, 2023, companies with more than 15 employees must include salary ranges for jobs and share the same information with current employees. In New York, a law requiring private-sector employers to disclose salary ranges in job postings awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature. And Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, Rhode Island and Washington have enacted their own pay transparency laws.

“Good faith” salary range required

In New York City, a law that takes effect November 1 requires businesses to include a “good faith” salary range for every job that is advertised. Employers are not required to disclose information on bonuses, benefits and other forms of compensation. 

“Going forward, every time a job is posted on an Indeed-type website, in the workplace, or advertised in a newspaper or online, [job seekers] should expect to see a salary range for that position if the job is in New York City or could be done in New York City,” Domenique Camacho Moran, a New York-based employment attorney at Farrell Fritz, told CBS MoneyWatch. “The aim is to make sure there is pay equity based on the job performed as opposed to who might be applying for the job.”

In other words, if an employer advertises a job that pays between $60,000 and $90,000 a year, anyone who applies for the position can expect starting compensation within that range, regardless of their age, gender or race.

“This is a situation that in the past tended to favor the employer, who could ask about your salary and not reveal what it was going to offer,” said David Gordon, a partner in New York City law firm’s Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp’s employment practice.”This is part of an overall shift of information from employer to employee that will aid certain employees in negotiating their compensation.”

“Employers have to show their cards”

The New York City law works in tandem with a January 2020 law that prohibits employers in the state from asking prospective and current employees about their salary histories, which was also enacted to help close pay gaps and end potentially discriminatory compensation and hiring practices. 

The laws will help workers decide what jobs they will apply for based on salary range, while also discouraging employers from seeking “discounts” on employees, who might otherwise accept a smaller paycheck. 

“Employers are in a position where they have to think very carefully about what they in good faith believe a particular position should pay,” Jason Habinsky, chair of Haynes Boone’s employment practice in New York City, told CBS MoneyWatch. “Employers have to show their cards and put them on the table first. You can’t make decisions based on someone’s membership in a protected category.”

The salary must be disclosed as a range, and not in the format of “up to” or “at least” a certain figure. 

“A potential risk is that certain employers are not going to operate in good faith and instead of providing a good faith range, in order to cover themselves they’ll provide a much broader range than they ordinarily would have provided to give themselves an opportunity to decide what they’re going to pay someone,” Habinsky said. “It doesn’t serve the purpose to say someone gets paid between $5 and $5 million.”

Could lead to more word-of-mouth hiring

Under the New York City law, companies aren’t required to disclose compensation components including bonuses, benefits, commissions or tips. And the rules apply only to external job ads and internal postings. That means if an employer lands a new hire by word-of-mouth, they are not required to disclose the role’s pay range in advance of making an offer. 

“The law does not prohibit employers from hiring without using an advertisement,” said New York employment lawyer Josh Zuckerberg. “There is no law that says you have to advertise positions.” 

That could lead to more word-of-mouth hiring. 

“Certain types of employers may call head-hunters and say, ‘We’re looking for this type of position, what can you find for me?’ — if you don’t want to be broadcasting the salary,” Zuckerberg said. “There’s a chance there will be less transparency, not more.”

“Potential fallout”

The hot job market has been driving up wages for workers and compelling employers to pay top dollar to attract talent. An employer could very well have to pay a new hire more money to perform the same job function as an existing employee, potentially creating tension and divisions in the workplace. 

“There is a lot of potential fallout as a result of this law. You could have a current employee who will see what prospective employees are getting paid, and that can result in disgruntled employees and hurt feelings,” Habinsky said. 

Any employer with four or more workers, at least one of whom works in New York City, should prepare to comply with the new regulations, according to workplace and employment attorneys. 

“It would be prudent for any employer that doesn’t want to run afoul of the law to have someone in place monitoring any job postings internal or external to ensure they comply with what the law requires,” Gordon said.

Human resources staff also should be prepared to explain any pay discrepancies, said Carol Goodman, chair of Herrick Feinstein’s employment practice.

“It will probably raise a lot of questions and HR departments should be prepared to field questions from existing employees who may call in and say, ‘I see a posting for a similar position as I am holding but my pay is lower,” she said. “HR pros will want to be prepared to speak with their employees about that.”

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on The Penny Hoarder.

Don’t underestimate the money-saving might of a humble library card.

You don’t have to be a bookworm to benefit from your local library’s offerings. Some library systems allow you to reserve free or discounted passes to local museums, zoos, aquariums and other arts and culture organizations like theaters and orchestras.

Often, museum pass programs are offered in partnership with city-level governance and are designed to allow free or reduced-price entry to vital arts and cultural resources. Think of the programs as an extension of the mission of public libraries to provide public access to information.

Not only are free passes a terrific option for families with children, but also for people of all ages who love visual and performing arts and animals. Some pass programs, though, are only open to families with children.

We’ve highlighted a few programs below.

Check with your local library to see whether it operates something similar. Instead of free tickets, some library systems offer discounts on merchandise or parking.

New York City

Brooklyn, Queens and New York Public Libraries offer the Culture Pass museum program for access to a long list of cultural institutions. We lost count at 30.

The impressive list of museums includes the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Jewish Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Any regular card holder, ages 13 and up, can reserve passes, but Ecards and Educator card holders are not eligible. Passes are available on the first of each month for the following month and the amount of people admitted for each pass varies by institution.

Boston

Available at all locations of the Boston Public Library System are passes to six museums, plus the New England Aquarium. Passes to additional museums and attractions are available at select branches.

To reserve a pass, you must show proof of Massachusetts residency and have a physical library card, not an e-pass. Some passes are disposable and some need to be returned. Returnable passes include fines if not returned on time, so be sure to read the rules.

Atlanta

The Fulton County Library System offers a ticket to the city for card holders through the partnership pass program.

Participating Atlanta attractions include the Alliance Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts, state parks, the Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Georgia Aquarium. Passes to the Atlanta zoo are available for a family of three after checking out the Zoo Atlanta DVD.

Tampa Bay Area

With over 30 museums in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties, the Tampa Bay Area public library systems support pass programs that can get you into some of the area’s most popular museums and venues. All you need is a library card.

Hillsborough County’s Discovery Pass offers access to 13 museums and attractions including the Glazer Children’s Museum, Stageworks Theatre and The Florida Orchestra. The number of admissions varies with each venue and some have waiting lists. You can check availability online, but passes must be picked up from a Hillsborough library branch.

Pinellas County Library System’s museum pass program features 11 museums including family favorite Great Explorations Children’s Museum, as well as the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art and the Museum of Fine Arts. Passes can be checked out in person on a first-come, first-served basis and are good for a seven-day loan period.

Miami

The Miami-Dade Public Library System’s museum pass program lets library card holders check out free passes to 18 local attractions, including the Coral Gables Museum, the Miami Children’s Museum and Pérez Art Museum Miami. Though not technically a museum, Zoo Miami is also part of the museum pass program.

Library patrons can check out one pass per seven-day period. Passes provide one day of free admission for a family of four, with age requirements for kids at Deering Estate, Fruit & Spice Park and Zoo Miami.

Patrons cannot renew the passes or reserve them for a specific date. Passes are first-come, first-served.

Chicago

The Chicago Public Library has a Kids Museum Passport program that offers free museum passes for a dozen local attractions, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. Library card holders can even get free admission at places that aren’t museums — like Brookfield Zoo and Shedd Aquarium.

Family passes are available for up to four people. Families must include at least one child under 18 and no more than two adults.

Families can check out one museum pass per week for a one-time visit per reservation. There is a 24-hour waiting period before library card holders are allowed to check out another pass to the museum they just visited.

Denver

Those who have library cards with the Denver Public Library can get free admission at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the History Colorado Center, the Molly Brown House Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver.

A party of seven can visit the nature and science museum with one museum pass. The History Colorado Center and Molly Brown House permit only groups of four per each museum pass. The pass for the Museum of Contemporary Art covers admission for four adults.

Museum passes can be reserved up to 30 days in advance.

Dallas

The public library system in Dallas partners with the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture to provide the Culture Pass Dallas program, allowing patrons with a library card access to museums, theaters and other arts venues. With a catalog of 34 cultural institutions, the Culture Pass Dallas program is one of the most robust on our list.

Library card holders can have up to five reservations at a time and as soon as a reservation date passes, another can be added. There is no limit to the amount of pass reservations you can make in a year.

Los Angeles

The County of Los Angeles Public Library and the city’s public library system share Discover & Go, a museum pass program that gives library card holders free admission at 12 museums, including the Craft Contemporary museum, the Chinese American Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo.

Library patrons can make reservations up to three months ahead of time but can have only two active reservations at a time. Some passes will admit up to four museum visitors. However, the number of free tickets per pass varies by attraction.

San Francisco

The public library system in San Francisco also offers the Discover & Go museum pass program, which provides library patrons access to 29 museums and other attractions in the Bay Area.

Passes may include the Conservatory of Flowers, Exploratorium, Haas-Lilienthal House and the Museum of African Diaspora.

Online reservations are available and passes are valid for one use within a seven-day period. The passes are only available for families with children.

Seattle

Seattle Public Library card holders can visit 11 local attractions, including the Museum of Flight, the Seattle Art Museum and the National Nordic Museum. The museum pass program even includes attractions that aren’t museums, like the Seattle Aquarium and the Woodland Park Zoo.

Library patrons can reserve one pass per week. However, they can’t reserve a pass to the same museum twice within 30 days. Passes can be reserved up to 30 days ahead of the scheduled date.

Museum passes offer free admission for at least two adults.

Mutual funds are an important part of investing in the stock market. While you can buy and sell individual stocks directly, that can come with a higher risk (and a higher potential reward). When you buy and sell shares in one individual stock, your performance is tied solely to the performance of that stock and company. In the absolute worst-case scenario, if you invest all of your money in one company’s stock, and the stock price goes to $0, you will end up losing everything.

The good news for investors is that mutual funds can hopefully be a way to reduce your risk and still capture a good chunk of the potential investment return. In this article, we’ll talk about what mutual funds are, how to select the right mutual fund for you and how to get started. 

Active vs. Passive Mutual Funds

Before talking about why you should consider investing in mutual funds, it’s a good idea to take a step back and understand that there are actually two main kinds of mutual funds:

• Active mutual funds — active mutual funds usually have a professional advisor, team or company that actively manages the fund. While the fund may have a stated goal roughly detailing the type of investments the fund invests on, the fund managers will make the day-to-day decisions about what investments to make and when to buy and sell.
• Passive mutual funds — passive mutual funds are generally tied to mirror a specific index or benchmark. Index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are two common kinds of passive mutual funds.

While there can be reasons to invest in both active and passive mutual funds, it’s important to note that active mutual funds usually come with higher fees than passive mutual funds.

Why You Should Invest in Mutual Funds

One of the biggest reasons to invest your money in mutual funds is to spread out your risk. As we mentioned earlier, if you have all of your investment dollars in one company’s stock, you run the risk of that company’s stock going to $0, causing you to lose all of your money. Another related reason to invest in mutual funds is to increase your diversification. Mutual funds often invest in hundreds if not thousands of different stocks, bonds and other types of investments.

How to Select The Right Mutual Fund For You

There are many kinds of mutual funds out there, so you may wonder what are the best mutual funds or how to choose a mutual fund. There isn’t a single best mutual fund that is the right decision for everyone. Instead, what might be the right mutual fund for some people may not be the right mutual fund for you, depending on your own unique financial situation. When choosing a mutual fund, two things that you’ll want to consider is your time horizon and your individual risk tolerance.

Your time horizon is roughly defined as the length of time until you’ll need the money that you are investing today. If you’re in your 20s and investing for retirement, you may be willing to accept more risk, since you might have 40 years or more until you’ll need the money. With that much time, the long-term upward trajectory of the overall market is likelier to make up for any short-term losses. On the other hand, if you’re investing to save up for a down payment on a house or for your kids’ college, you may want to take fewer risks. 

Your individual risk tolerance speaks to how comfortable you are with risk. If you have a solid grasp of how the stock market works and are comfortable with short-term losses, you might be willing to select a mutual fund with higher average returns and higher potential short-term losses. If the thought of losing any money causes you stress and worry, you might want to choose a mutual fund that minimizes losses, even at the expense of a higher overall return.

Getting Started Investing in Mutual Funds

The great news if you’re wanting to get started investing in mutual funds is that it is quite easy. You can open an account at any number of online brokerages, and most of them will support buying and selling mutual funds. Once you have identified the mutual fund or funds that you want to invest in, just find its ticker symbol. Then you can enter that in on your brokerage and you’ll be well on your way to investing in mutual funds.

The Bottom Line

At its core, a mutual fund is just a collection of different stocks, bonds or other investments. Mutual funds can provide a bit more diversification and hopefully risk mitigation than simply investing in individual stocks. There are two main categories of mutual funds — active mutual funds and passive mutual funds. Active mutual funds are actively managed by an individual, group or company and usually come with higher fees. Passive mutual funds are often tied to mirror a specific index or benchmark. Once you’ve found the right mutual fund for you, you can start investing in mutual funds through your choice of brokerage.

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There’s an old adage: Money can’t buy happiness. But there are plenty of twists on that saying.

One 2015 country song by Chris Janson claims, “money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy me a boat.” Janson’s point is pretty clear: If you have money, you can certainly smooth the way for yourself in life, or treat yourself to material things which often do bring happiness.

But not every purchase that brings people joy has to be boat-level expensive. There are other ways to use retail therapy that don’t involve emptying your wallet.

Here’s a look at several purchases that can actually make you happier – some, of course, are more costly than others.

1. Slow cooker or Instant Pot

Not having to worry about dinner after work — or not spending a lot on meal delivery — can eliminate a lot of stress. But if your slow cooker is bubbling away all day, you can come home to delicious smells and a homemade hot meal.

Pro tip: If the Instant Pot is your cooking gadget of choice, the Delay Start button is your friend. Instant Pots cook meals much faster than slow cookers, but it’s still nice to be able to control the cook time so it begins while you’re commuting home.

2. Cleaners

Whether it’s a human cleaning service or a Roomba (robot vacuum), getting out of doing as many chores as possible is immensely satisfying. Anything that lets you spend more time making the messes rather than cleaning them is worthwhile. And if you can get your cat to ride the Roomba, and make a video of it, you might be able to go viral.

3. Travel and other memorable experiences

Possessions are fine, but it’s experiences, such as vacations and travel, that really create memories and bring us happiness.

There’s even scientific research behind this idea, with a published study showing that money spent on doing things brings more happiness than buying things.

I treasure the memory of riding a cable car in San Francisco more than I remember any one souvenir I purchased there. And travel needn’t be out of financial reach – here are seven ways you can travel for free.

4. Pets

Like happiness, you can’t buy friendship – but you can add a dog, cat, or other pet to your life, which is almost the same thing.

It may seem odd to list a pet as a purchase, though whether acquired from an animal shelter or a breeder, money often does change hands.

Still, the Humane Society of the United States says only 3% of pet owners consider their pets “property” – a whopping 80% say they’re “family.” Of course, remember that pets are living beings – only add one to your life if you’re willing and able to care for and love it. (And here are six sane ways to lower your pet bills.)

5. Houseplants

I do not have a green thumb. But even I recognize that the few houseplants I can keep alive (succulents, mainly) help cheer me up.

Studies cited by NBC News report that indoor plants not only boost their owner’s mood, but improve concentration and productivity by up to 15% while reducing stress levels.

And here are nine houseplants that remove toxins from your indoor air.

6. Charitable donations

By helping others, we help ourselves. There’s a charity for every person’s interest — animal shelters, cancer-research groups, organizations that feed the hungry or help children.

And a 2010 study reported by Utah State University found that people experienced happier moods when they gave more money away, as long as they had the choice of how much to give. Here are six tips for donating to charity in a smart way.

7. Birdseed

Wait, what? How can simple birdseed improve our happiness?

It turns out that feeding and watching our feathered friends, and simply being surrounded by a diverse group of them, can make us as happy as a monetary raise.

Birdwatching and bird feeding became even more popular during the pandemic, Forbes reports, since they can be done easily from one’s own home. And the hobby is inexpensive and can travel with you. That’s im-peckable logic.

The rent is too darn high, and the cost of buying a house keeps going up. Plenty of people are convinced they’ll never be able to afford to buy a home. 

Even if you do have the funds set aside for a down payment and can land a traditional mortgage, you might not love the idea of taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

If you’re feeling the housing market squeeze, you have options beyond the traditional single family home. Many are much cheaper than your standard home.

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Alternatives to Buying a House

It’s time to rethink the American dream. Your home doesn’t have to have a yard, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. If you want to live somewhere unique and save money doing it, a tiny home, container home, or embracing van life might be the way to go.

1. Condominium

• Pros: Most like a traditional house, usually doesn’t require any DIY, and many buildings have fun amenities and perks.
• Cons: Monthly maintenance fees can be steep and you share walls with neighbors.
• Cost: Varies based on the size and location of the condo, from under $150,000 in low-cost cities to more than $1 million in highly desirable areas.

Buying a condo instead of a detached home can be one way to get a toehold into the real estate market without going broke. Condos typically cost less than single family homes. 

They’re smaller than single-family homes, too. This can be a plus or minus, depending on your point of view. On the plus side, fewer square feet means less to clean and maintain. On the minus, it means less room to store your stuff and spread out. If you have a lot of stuff and don’t want to downsize beforehand, you might need to rent a storage unit, which can easily cost more than $100 per month.

Condominium buildings often have amenities, which can range from on-site gyms and pools to community nights. Some buildings have door attendants who monitor comings and goings and accept packages for residents. 

Those amenities come at a cost, though. You have to pay monthly maintenance fees on top of your mortgage (if you have one). Common areas and building systems are shared. If the entire HVAC system breaks down or the lobby floor needs to be retiled, you and your neighbors will need to chip in toward the cost of the repair.

2. Tiny Home

• Pros: You can move the home, it’s affordable, and it’s ideal for minimalists.
• Cons: Not much living space, the land isn’t included in the purchase price, and a traditional mortgage is not an option.
• Cost: $3,000 and up. DIY tiny homes cost a lot less than pre-built models.

Tiny house living isn’t for everyone. If the idea of fitting your life and your stuff into a 100-to-400-square-foot space is appealing, a tiny home could be the alternative housing option of your dreams. 

You can buy a tiny house kit on Amazon or work with a custom fabrication company to build a unique home. Whether you put the home on wheels or set it on a foundation is up to you. 

If you have a permanent spot to park the home, resting it on a foundation makes sense. But if you envision being mobile, a trailer allows you to move from one spot to the next. 

Speaking of being mobile: When you buy a tiny home, that’s all you’re buying. You have to find a place to keep it on your own. That might be in your parent’s yard, your adult kids’ yard, or at a friend’s place. Or you can find a tiny home community that lets you rent a spot to park your home — for a fee, usually between $300 and $600 monthly. 

3. Prefab Home

• Pros: It complies with building codes for standard homes, it’s built on a permanent foundation, and you can use a traditional mortgage to finance it.
• Cons: You need to have land and hire someone to put the home together and finalize the interior (or do it all yourself).
• Cost: Varies depending on size and finishes, but expect to pay at least $100 per square foot.

Also called modular homes, prefab homes get built in pieces in a factory, then shipped to a lot to be put together. If you want new construction, but can’t afford the price of a new site-built home, prefab housing is the way to go.

Once they’re built, prefab homes are permanent structures. You can’t set them on a trailer and hitch them to a truck to take from place to place. That means you also have to land to build your home on, along with enough money to buy the land and the building materials. 

Still, your all-in costs could be lower than a site-built home. So if the traditional route is just a little out of reach, a modular model can be the way to go.

4. Houseboat

• Pros: It’s a unique living option and the home is mobile.
• Cons: Limited living space, unique challenges related to living on the water, you have to find somewhere to dock the boat, and traditional mortgages aren’t available.
• Cost: Boats start at $5,000, plus the marina fees, which are based on the boat’s length and can be anywhere from about $10 to about $250 per foot, per year. The average marina fee is around $50 per foot, per year.

If you love the water, living on a houseboat could be for you. Houseboats cost significantly less than the typical single-family home and give you a unique living experience. 

Don’t confuse houseboats with floating houses. You can move a houseboat from place to place, so it helps to know how to drive a boat. Floating houses are just that, houses that float. They’re permanently attached to a dock. 

They’re also not great investments. Floating houses are slightly less expensive than land-based homes of similar size, but often not inexpensive enough to make them affordable to cash-strapped buyers. And their uniqueness can make them difficult to resell, which affects their market value.

Houseboats might be inexpensive upfront but may require expensive maintenance and repairs down the line, especially if they get damaged in a storm. You’ll also need to take extra precautions when storms roll through, such as tying down your furniture.

5. Manufactured Home

• Pros: More affordable than single-family homes and easy to customize.
• Cons: Traditional mortgages not available — you need to rent or purchase land separately.
• Cost: About $110,000, on average.

Don’t confuse manufactured homes with modular homes. Both are built in factories and assembled on-site, but manufactured homes are built on a chassis that’s technically moveable. Smaller models are often called mobile homes.

Since manufactured homes are moveable, they don’t count as traditional real estate property. If you need financing to buy one, you need to get a chattel mortgage, which usually has higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms than traditional mortgages. 

As with a tiny house, you need to buy or rent a lot to put your manufactured home on. Some manufactured home communities let you purchase your lot, starting at around $25,000. Other lease lots to homeowners, usually for $400 to $600 monthly. The costs vary based on the size of the lot and the location. 

While you can technically move a manufactured home, doing so is costly. Depending on the length of the trip and the size of the home, the move can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000. The average is around $7,000 per move.

6. Van or RV

• Pros: You have unlimited travel potential, your home is also your vehicle, and it could be your shortcut to Instagram influencerdom.
• Cons: You’re living in a van, you need to find a place to park, and tricking out the vehicle can add up.
• Cost: Varies based on the van or RV you buy. You can spend a few hundred dollars on a beat-up old van or more than $100,000 on a new RV.

Maybe you’ve seen one too many selfies with the hashtag #vanlife and now you’re wondering if buying an RV or tricked out van is the way to go. If you don’t have a lot of stuff, don’t mind living in close quarters, and have the itch to explore, buying a recreational vehicle or van could be for you.

Vanlife might be particularly appealing if you’re a digital nomad and can work from wherever. But there are some caveats to consider. One is that you need to find a place to hook up and park your van each night. Options include state and national parks and private RV parks. Prices vary based on the location and demand, but can be anywhere from $20 to more than $50 per night.

You can also park your RV for free in the parking lots of some retailers, like WalMart or on federal lands. You can trick the van out with solar panels and water tanks so it’s self-sufficient, but doing so adds up. 

Before jumping into #vanlife full-time, rent an RV or van to try out. The last thing you want is to spend your life’s savings on a van only to discover you don’t love the idea of sleeping in a cramped space.

7. Shipping Container

• Pros: Almost infinitely customizable and repurposes waste materials.
• Cons: Not legal everywhere, you have to set up the container to make it liveable, and you can’t get a traditional mortgage.
• Cost: Varies, depending on size and condition. The cost of a used container starts at around $1,500. There’s also the cost of outfitting the container with insulation, electricity, and other comforts of home.

Container homes aren’t always tiny homes. Sure, a home consisting of a single 20-foot container will be 160-square-feet, max. But you can stack and combine containers to make the affordable home of your dreams. 

Renovations transform an empty box into a livable space, though you’ll likely need to hire professional help along the way. The more creative you are with your design, the more engineering and finishing work your container house will need, and the higher the price tag. A complicated design can cost you up to $45,000 per container.

Of course, before you go and order a bunch of containers, keep in mind that your local zoning laws might not let you turn a few containers into your next home. And, if the law does allow container homes, you need to buy land to put those containers on. You’ll also need to hire someone to make your shipping containers into a home.

It’s a lot of work. But if you’re looking for a creative, affordable housing option, DIY-ing a container home can be the way to go.  

8. Go Halfsies With a Friend

• Pros: You can afford a bigger house or new home, you get to live with a friend, and you share mortgage payments
• Cons: Things can go bad quickly if the relationship sours, one of you can end up carrying the other financially, the ownership structure can get complicated, and your credit can suffer
• Cost: Varies depending on location, size of the home, and your budget. The median sale price in the second quarter of 2022 was about $440,000.

Maybe you have some money saved for a down payment but can’t swing mortgage payments on your own. You have a friend in a similar situation. If you get along well enough, you can buy a single-family house or duplex together and split the mortgage, property taxes, and other costs of homeownership. 

But buying a home with a friend, even your best friend, isn’t something to do on a whim. If things don’t go well, you can end up losing someone you previously loved. You need to be on the same page about how much of the home each of you own, who’s responsible for what, and what to do when one of you wants to move on but the other doesn’t.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Whether you choose to buy a traditional house with a picket fence or go off the beaten path in a tiny home or RV, buying a home is a complex process. It’s common to have a few questions about how it works and how to prepare.

How Can I Stay Within My Budget When Buying a Home?

Buying your own home often ends up costing more than expected. The best way to stay within your budget when buying a home is to stay near the lower end of your range. If you think you can afford something that costs $200,000 to $250,000, consider options under $200,000 as well. Give yourself plenty of wiggle room so you end up with a home you can comfortably afford.

What Are the Best Resources for Home Buying Research?

Home buying research involves learning about different neighborhoods, the mortgage process, and the price of houses in your area. Use apps like Zillow and Realtor.com to research pricing and availability. Talk to local real estate agents to get a sense of the market. And speak with a mortgage lender to find out if you can prequalify for a mortgage.

What Common Mistakes Do First-Time Home-Buyers Make?

First-time home buyers often make the same mistakes, such as not checking their credit score and report before starting the process, going over budget, and not leaving room for the unexpected in their budget. Underestimating closing costs is another common first-time buyer mistake.  

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Final Word

Home is wherever you feel safe and comfortable. That might be in a tiny house parked in your friend’s yard, in a houseboat docked on the edge of a city, or traveling the country in a converted van. 

If you’re feeling locked out of the traditional housing market, you still have options. And those options might be a better fit for you than a four-bedroom home with a white picket fence ever could be.

My mother turned 65 this August, and as millions of other Americans do when they reach that age, she hung up the gloves this summer. For the record, she wasn’t a boxer. But she did work just as hard as any champion to ever enter the ring, and her long-awaited retirement is a much-deserved retreat from the workplace. 

Like most recent retirees, she’s still getting used to the idea of not having a routine paycheck. Instead, she has to survive solely off of withdrawals and required minimum distributions (RMDs) from her retirement savings. And between escalating health care costs and premiums, soaring inflation, and a several-year wait for the full Social Security benefit she’s entitled to, she isn’t so sure she can make ends meet right now.

There’s been a notable uptick in recent retirees having to unretire due to these financial pressures. However, I suspect my mom won’t be one of them since she’s likely to follow these 14 strategies to stretch her retirement savings.

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Tips for Managing Money in Retirement

Whether it’s something as seemingly complex as an income source like a qualified longevity annuity contract (QLAC) or something as simple as creating and properly adhering to a household budget, there are numerous actions you can take in order to ensure your years of retirement planning isn’t squandered.

1. Make a Budget

Financial stability is important at any age, and it begins with sound personal finance habits and intelligent money management. Many retirees rely on a household budget to stay on the straight and narrow, financially speaking. 

A budget is critical to a financially healthy retirement because it shows you what your income is, what your expenses are and what amount of money you’ll need to be comfortable given those parameters. It does all this clearly and objectively. 

Specifically, a budget shows how retirement income sources — like Social Security withdrawals and RMDs from a Roth IRA or other retirement account — stand up against recurring expenses like healthcare, income taxes, utility bills, groceries, transportation, and other costs of living. 

Your budget can also help you prepare for unforeseen retirement expenses and emergencies like car troubles or nonelective medical procedures. 

Lastly, your budget helps you understand what you shouldn’t be spending your retirement savings on. If your bottom line looks too tight, perhaps it’s time to cut back on the weekly golf outings or dining out at your favorite restaurant. 

2. Cut Back on Your Expenses

You need to keep the lights on, the water running, and food in the fridge. These recurring expenses accrue, and you generally can’t avoid them. 

It’s your discretionary purchases — like entertainment, leisure activities and electronics — that often throw a wrench into what’s an otherwise well-managed retirement budget. 

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy your post-retirement years and entirely forgo travel, dining out, or home renovations. But you should pay for them out of savings allocated specifically for longer-term goals while working to trim discretionary expenses in the short term. Otherwise, you could end up draining your retirement accounts and having to go back to work. 

Knowing how and where to save money on a tighter budget will keep you on the financial planning track you committed to decades ago, when you first opened an IRA or other retirement account. Just as it was then, your goal now is to maximize your retirement savings to live comfortably with a reduced income stream. 

Which expenses count as unnecessary? Consider: 

• Cable Television. Join the millions of Americans who have already cut the cord in favor of one or two subscription-based streaming services — saving $100 or more per month in the process.

• Dine Out Less. Don’t entirely forgo eating at your favorite restaurants, but be mindful that the average cost of a meal while dining out is $13, while the average cost of a meal prepared at home costs just $4 per person.
• Costly Cell Phone Plans. Numerous mobile carriers provide low-cost plans for seniors. Look at T-Mobile, which offers a variety of plans for those aged 55+.

3. Be Smart About Your Withdrawals

One simple way to stretch your retirement funds further is to manage your withdrawals intelligently. To do this, you need to calculate how much you need each year to survive, then figure out how much you can safely withdraw each year to meet those needs. Don’t forget to account for the income tax impacts of those withdrawals.

The 4% rule is a good start. If you can accrue a comfortable nest egg, you should be able to withdraw 4% annually without running out of money for 30 years.

You can also postpone a significant portion of your RMDs. Annuities — specifically qualified longevity annuity contracts or QLACs —let you delay RMDs until age 85. QLACs not only allow retirees to prolong the life of their retirement income, but they reduce the income tax burden of RMDs.

You can purchase a QLAC with the lesser of $135,000 or up to 25% of your traditional IRA or qualified retirement account. You can then defer the amount of the QLAC until an age that you determine based on your living expenses, life expectancy, and other factors. 

An annuity won’t be as important if you’ve set up a Roth IRA since those individual retirement accounts don’t require RMDs.

4. Delay Taking Social Security

More people are tapping into their Social Security at an earlier age due to stock market volatility and persistently high inflation. So it’s no surprise that — despite the maximum monthly payment being $3,345 — the average American only receives $1,614 per month in Social Security benefits. 

But most adults don’t realize that the program is inflation-proof and constantly adjusted to account for increases or decreases in the Consumer Price Index. That means delaying your Social Security benefits is a great way to boost your retirement income. The longer you  wait, the higher your payments will be. 

You can start receiving payments at age 62. However, if you wait until the full retirement age of 70, you’ll maximize that amount by being eligible for the full monthly benefit. In 2022, that’s $4,194, or $1,833 more per month than you’d receive by retiring at age 62.

5. Create Alternative Retirement Income Streams

One way of delaying your retirement account withdrawals and Social Security benefits is to take a part-time job. 

A senior-friendly part-time job can supplement your RMDs with recurring, employment-based income. It also affords you the opportunity to work in industries you’ve always had an interest in, but perhaps weren’t able to join during your career.  

Another option is to establish a passive income stream. There are numerous ways of accomplishing this, but to name a few: 

• Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks. Shares of companies that yield dividend income historically outperform the market while paying you to hold the stock. They’re also far less volatile than their non-dividend-paying stock market counterparts. 

• Invest in Fixed-Income Funds. Also known as bond funds, these mutual funds are another income source with low risk and yields that can beat the average dividend-paying stock. Bond funds with a 100% allocation to fixed-income have a historical track record of producing a positive return 86% of the time. The average annual return is 5.33%, according to Vanguard.

• Rental Property Income. Rather than returning to work, try on the landlord hat. There are numerous companies specializing in turnkey rental properties. Despite recent rate hikes, interest rates on mortgages remain low by historical standards.

6. Downsize Your Home

I was elated when my mother retired this summer, but I was devastated when that decision was coupled with selling my childhood home. Despite my feelings, downsizing a home after retirement makes tremendous financial sense. My parents no longer require a few thousand square feet of empty nest. 

Saying goodbye to a home is never an easy task, but you can prepare by taking some simple steps. Measure your new space to determine what will (or won’t) fit. Be mindful of wants vs. needs; focus on essentials; and decide what can be sold, gifted, passed down, or donated. 

Lastly, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Your kids will want to create final memories of their childhood home, and it’s easier seeing a box of knickknacks being carried away by family than heading to Goodwill.

You won’t be alone in making this decision. Millions of your fellow retirees are doing the same right now.

7. Consider a Reverse Mortgage

Pros of a Reverse Mortgage	Cons of a Reverse Mortgage
No Fixed Terms	Interest Keeps Accruing
You Can Stay in Your Home	Vulnerable to Home Price Declines
Boosts Your Retirement Savings	Smaller Inheritance for Your Kids

If listing, showing, packing, selling, and moving seems too daunting a task, there are ways for you to tap into your home’s equity to bolster your retirement plan. A reverse mortgage is often the best choice if you own your home free and clear and don’t plan to move anytime soon.

A reverse mortgage is a special kind of mortgage loan that provides you with a lump sum payment. You’re not required to make monthly payments, which frees up funds to allocate to other areas of your budget. 

Reverse mortgages have upsides and downsides. The pros include: 

• No Fixed Terms. Reverse mortgages don’t have fixed terms, so you can reside there indefinitely. The loan doesn’t come due until move-out, death, or sale of the property. 

• You Can Remain in Your Home. Because you can remain in your home, there’s no need to downsize or minimize your possessions based on square footage. 

• Boosts Your Retirement Savings. You can liquidate the equity in your home to help increase your nest egg. This is particularly relevant if you don’t have enough retirement savings or income.

The cons include:

• Interest Grows Continuously. Reverse mortgages accrue interest. Because there are no monthly payments, the loan grows larger over time with the interest being tacked on.

• Vulnerable in a Weak Housing Market. The housing market can change at a moment’s notice. The value of your home could decrease, leaving you with less breathing room on the loan. 

• Smaller Inheritance for Your Heirs. Your heirs could see a reduced inheritance since reverse mortgages typically require the house to be sold in order to satisfy the loan. 

8. Consider Moving to a More Affordable Area

There’s a reason why everyone’s grandparents used to retire and move to Florida. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Florida had low taxes, uncrowded cities, and lots of cheap land. 

Those days are over. Florida now has more than 20 million inhabitants, and home prices in cities like Miami and Tampa rival those in greater New York and Chicago. There are much better places for retirees to relocate in the U.S. and abroad.

That isn’t to say value can’t be found anywhere in the Sunshine State. Like any region of the country, there are bargains and there are costlier markets. Finding the most affordable places to retire isn’t a challenge, either. There’s plenty of beautiful, cheap “coastal” real estate in the Great Lakes region, and you don’t have to pay Aspen prices for mountain views in the Appalachians.

Want to see what else the world has to offer? Consider moving overseas after you retire. In Spain, on the back of a U.S. dollar that’s recently gained parity with the euro, you can buy a modest but totally livable home for less than $200,000. I’ve heard the tapas and wine aren’t bad, either. 

No matter which state or country draws your attention, you can probably make it affordable. Though as a native Floridian who definitely won’t be retiring in the Sunshine State on account of its insufferable humidity, I’d advise somewhere more temperate.

9. Pay Off Debt

I’m always baffled by people who come into money and immediately look for investment opportunities. Personal finance 101 is clear on this: You should always pay off your debt first. 

Getting rid of those monthly car payments puts another few hundred dollars in your pocket. And I don’t know anyone — retired or not — who couldn’t use an extra few hundred dollars each month.

Begin chipping away at your debt that carries the highest annual percentage rate (APR). That’s often going to be the little square piece of plastic most consumers are addicted to. The average interest rate for a credit card in the U.S. is a staggering 19.2%, according to the CFPB. 

If you follow a strict household budget, you only need to keep the credit card around for emergencies or — if you’re extremely disciplined — points, rewards, and cash-back programs. But that requires you to pay off balances immediately, or else risk accruing runaway debt that grows by nearly 20% every year. 

10. Save Money on Travel

Travel is possibly what retirees look forward to the most. But it gets expensive quickly. So use these resources to save money while traveling during your golden years: 

• AARP. The AARP offers members discounts at car rental companies, including Avis, Budget, Payless Car Rental and Zipcar; hotel discounts at Best Western, Wyndham, Hilton Hotels and others; and discounts on airfare from British Airways and Expedia.

• Airfare Discounts for Seniors. Even without an AARP membership, some airlines provide seniors a discount. Both United and Delta offer them on select flights, but they aren’t available online and you’ll have to call to find out. 

• Cruise Discounts for Seniors. With cruise lines like Carnival and Celebrity, you don’t even need to wait until full-retirement age. Both offer senior discounts to those 55 and older. 

11. Live a Healthy Lifestyle

Healthcare costs tend to increase as you get older, but it’s never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle. When you embrace healthy living, you don’t just save money that would have gone toward bad habits. You may reduce your lifetime medical expenses too. 

For example, if you’re a smoker, quitting now saves you $10 per pack and significantly reduces your risk of costly lung and cardiovascular complications. Occasionally forgoing red meat in favor of fowl, fish, or plant-based meals is similarly cost- and health-effective. 

Even moderate exercise has exponential benefits. Exercising a few times per week — as little as 150 minutes total — reduces the odds of heart disease and cancer, extending life expectancy by as much as seven years. The longer you stay healthy, the longer you’ll preserve your retirement savings — or at least avoid spending them on treatment for preventable illnesses. 

12. Save on Medical Expenses

Even if you live the healthiest lifestyle you can, your medical expenses will increase as you navigate your golden years. By age 65 and older, healthcare expenses exceed $11,000 per year, the highest you’ll experience in your lifetime.

There are numerous ways you can save on medical expenses. First, always stay in-network. By doing so, your insurance provider covers most (if not all) of your costs aside from your copay. If you go out of network, costs rise dramatically. A $22,000 medical bill can cost you $2,800 out of pocket if you remain in-network, but $13,600 if you’re out of network, according to data crunched by Small Business Majority.

Second, unless it’s a real emergency, avoid the emergency room. Even a non-life-threatening complaint can cost thousands when brought to the ER instead of a walk-in clinic, urgent care facility, or telehealth consultation with your regular medical provider. If you’re not experiencing an acute medical issue, try any of those options first.

13. Rebalance Your Portfolio

In order to ensure your retirement savings last, you need to rebalance your Roth IRA or other retirement accounts. You want to reduce your risk exposure as you age and avoid the pitfalls of volatile asset classes. 

For example, instead of holding positions in overvalued growth stocks in the tech sector that often don’t pay dividends, you can turn to the U.S. Treasury Department’s nearly risk-free Series I Savings Bonds.

I Bond yields are weighted to inflation, so they maintain their value better than savings account deposits. Between April and October 2022, I Bonds paid 9.62%, annualized — higher than the roughly 8% inflation rate during the same period. You can buy up to $10,000 in I Bonds per person at TreasuryDirect.gov, and more if you use your tax refund to buy them.

If you want to keep some stock exposure, that’s fine. But focus on dividend-paying stocks and ETFs, both of which routinely outperform the broader S&P 500. 

This includes Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats — companies that have raised their dividends consecutively for 50 and 25 years, respectively. These value stocks are considered blue chips because of their low risk, high quality, and reliable performance. 

High-dividend exchange-traded funds are another option. ETFs offer a basket of stocks across a given sector or industry thereby increasing exposure while decreasing risk. 

Avoid ETFs with expense ratios above 0.75% — those management fees can erode potential gains. Fortunately, it’s easy to find high-dividend yielding ETFs with expense ratios below that, which will help your retirement savings continue to grow safely. 

14. Take Advantage of Senior Discounts

Finally, taking advantage of senior discounts helps you save money on easily overlooked things like online shopping, pharmacy items and groceries. You might not save much on individual purchases, but senior discounts add up over time.

Amazon.com offers seniors enrolled in Medicaid or other government assistance programs a discounted rate for their Prime memberships. Walgreens offers Seniors Day on the first Tuesday of each month with up to 20% savings. 

Numerous supermarkets offer senior discounts too. Fred Meyer gives seniors a break on the first Tuesday of each month, while Harris Teeter provides a 5% senior discount every Thursday.

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Final Word

With inflation at historic highs, the amount of money you’ll require in order to have a comfortable retirement is growing fast. 

But there’s a lot you can do to preserve and grow your retirement savings even after you stop working. 

You can create alternative income streams. You can streamline your investment portfolio. You can even downsize your home or use a reverse mortgage to recapture some of its value.  

You’ve spent decades preparing. Now, it’s time to reap the rewards. You’ve earned it.