Category: Kiplinger’s

Costco Vacation Deals: Should You Buy One?

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Costco doesn’t just sell cheap hot dogs, rotisserie chicken, and 30-roll boxes of toilet paper to its legions of customers. The big-box retailer also offers vacation packages to destinations around the globe, from 5-star hotels in New York City and Las Vegas to all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic, to cruises in Asia and Australia.

Costco isn’t the only wholesale club offering vacation deals. BJ’s and Sam’s Club also sell travel packages to their members. But should you buy a bundled vacation deal from a warehouse club?

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Six Travel Mistakes to Avoid

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Even the most seasoned tourists can make travel mistakes when planning a vacation. Some blunders can be minor infractions, but others can cost travelers a lot of money and heartache. 

But there are steps you can take to avoid travel mistakes. Here are six slip ups that travelers may make this year, plus tips on how to avoid them.

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9 Tips to Successfully Rent Out Your Home

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During the pandemic, many home buyers — as well as homeowners who refinanced their loans — attained exceptionally low mortgage rates. As of the third quarter of 2023, an estimated 60% of homeowners reported that they had a mortgage rate below 4%, and more than 20% had a rate under 3%, according to a Redfin analysis of data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. 

If you’re a homeowner with a rock-bottom mortgage rate and you’re looking to move, now could be a good time to purchase a new home and turn your current home into a rental property. Or, if you’d rather stay put, you could take some of the equity you’ve built up in your home and buy an investment property. Although rents decreased slightly in 2023, the national median rent is still almost $250 per month higher than it was three years ago, hitting $1,379 last December, according to Apartment List. 

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Your Guide to the Housing Market in 2024

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The one-two punch of swelling mortgage rates and record-low home supply dealt a tough blow to many aspiring home buyers in 2023. Just ask Drew and Lauren Coppel of Herndon, Va. The couple, who purchased their current townhome in October 2019, were looking to buy a larger house toward the beginning of last year but were reluctant to let go of their 30-year mortgage rate of 2.899%, which they scored by refinancing in 2021. When mortgage rates rose above 6.5% midyear, the Coppels decided to put their house search on ice.

“We’re going to wait for rates to come back down,” says Lauren. “We’ll probably wait for them to drop below 6% so that we can get more home for our money.” In the meantime, they’re going to beef up their down payment savings, zero in on what home features matter most to them, and research neighborhoods they want to live in.

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What Factors Affect Your Home Insurance Cost?

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It’s no secret that home insurance costs are rising, in large part due to increased claims from floods or other natural disasters. Prices are also increasing due to industry consolidation and disruption as insurance companies exit whole markets. You’ll need to check your policy more frequently to ensure you get a good deal and enough coverage.

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What You Can Negotiate When Buying a Home

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Good news, house hunters: Home buyers are getting more negotiating power.

Buyers received concessions from home sellers in 45.5% of home sales by Redfin agents between December 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023. That’s up from 31.1% in February 2022, according to a March 2023 Redfin report. And we’re not just talking about price cuts. As mortgage rates rise and home buyer demand cools, more sellers are picking up closing costs for buyers and footing the bill for home repairs to close deals. 

Still, most buyers don’t know what bargaining chips are on the table. “Many times, home buyers aren’t aware that they can negotiate for things other than a home’s sale price,” says Jason Gelios, a real estate agent at Community Choice Realty in southeast Michigan. 

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10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Summer Weather

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Summer is around the corner, and it’s shaping up to be a scorcher.

According to the Farmers’ Almanac’s summer 2023 forecast, most regions in the United States can expect warmer-than-average temperatures. Thunderstorms are also on tap for the Southeast and south Central regions of the country, and heavy rainfall is expected in the Central states.

Kiplinger talked to home experts on how to prepare your home for this summer’s weather conditions.

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Save Big By Going Green At Home

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here has never been a better time to make your home more energy efficient. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year, is a game changer for homeowners looking to make green home improvements and save money on utility bills. “It’s a monumental piece of tax legislation” that’s packed with tax credits and deductions, says Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt. 

At the same time, the new law has “a lot for homeowners to parse through, and there are a lot of nuances for what qualifies and what doesn’t qualify for a tax break,” Steber says. 

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How to Save Money on Pet Costs

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Seven out of 10 American households own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA)(opens in new tab). And pet costs consume a significant portion of many people’s budgets. Dog and cat owners, for example, spend an average of $111 each month on their animals, according to a recent AskVet(opens in new tab) survey. Some surveys suggest pet costs may be even higher. According to a 2022 Lemonade poll(opens in new tab), pet owners spend an average of $276 on their animals each month.

Multiply the monthly cost by the typical lifespan of your pet, and you’re talking serious money. However, many people “underestimate the lifetime cost of owning a pet,” says Brandi Hunter Munden, a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club(opens in new tab). “From emergency vet visits to food to doggy bags, these costs add up.” And 26% of pet owners said they were struggling to afford their pet due to inflation, an August LendingTree survey(opens in new tab) found. The good news is there are smart ways to trim your pet’s expenses.

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