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A traditional IRA can cut your taxes now and taxes withdrawals later. A Roth taxes the money going in, and qualified withdrawals come out tax-free. Choose the Roth if you expect a higher tax rate in retirement than today, and the traditional IRA if you expect a lower one.
Open a second checking account just for bills, and move each paycheck’s share of your fixed costs into it on payday. Send every autopay there and keep your everyday debit card on the other account, so the spending account’s balance tells you exactly what you can spend.
Before you pay a hospital or medical bill, ask for an itemized statement and check every charge against your insurer’s explanation of benefits. Then call the billing office and ask for a lower price, financial assistance, or an interest-free payment plan, and get any deal in writing.
Before you buy online, click through a cash back shopping portal to the store you already planned to use. The store pays the portal a referral commission, and the portal passes part of it to you, on top of your card rewards. Use it only for purchases you would make anyway.
Debit card fraud pulls money straight from your checking account, and your bank can take 10 business days to return it. A fraudulent credit card charge is the issuer’s money while you dispute it, and federal law caps your loss at $50. Pay with a credit card you clear each month, and keep debit for the ATM.
Every few months, audit your subscriptions against your card and bank statements and your phone’s app store, and cancel anything you haven’t used since the last check. Recurring charges keep billing whether or not you remember them. Make your first audit cover a full year, since annual renewals show up only once.
A donor-advised fund lets you donate stock you’ve held more than a year, skip the capital gains tax on its rise, and deduct its full market value now. The money stays invested while you pick charities over time. If you give every year and own winners like that, open one before your next donation.
When you want something you didn’t plan to buy, put it in your cart and wait 24 hours before checking out. The 24-hour rule gives the rush of the moment time to fade, so tomorrow you judge the item instead of the urgency. If you still want it at that price, buy it.
Your internet, phone, and credit card bills are more negotiable than they look, and most people who ask for a better deal get one. Call each provider with a competitor’s price in hand, say you’re ready to switch, and ask what they can do to keep you.
Bank fees look small one at a time, which is how a monthly charge, a few out-of-network ATM withdrawals, and an overdraft or two can cost you $200 or more a year. Add up the last 12 months of fees on your statements, then eliminate the biggest one first.
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