Day: September 4, 2024

If you need more $4.99 rotisserie chickens or 72-pound Parmigiano Reggiano cheese wheels in your life, it helps to live near a Costco. But what if you don’t have the convenience of a nearby warehouse? Fortunately, Costco plans to add four new locations in the U.S. through the end of 2024.

Where are the new Costco locations?

As of August 2024, Costco had 884 locations worldwide, with 611 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and another 108 in Canada. The warehouse giant plans to add the following new warehouses in the U.S. through the end of the year:

• Bend, Oregon (October 2024)

• Napa, California (October 2024)

• Pleasanton, California (October 2024)

• Madison, Alabama (November 2024)

In August 2024, Costco opened the following new U.S. locations:

• Covington, Louisiana

• Ridgefield, Washington

• Tomball, Texas

Costco has also recently opened or will soon open new warehouses in South Korea, Japan, Spain, and Mexico.

What to know about shopping at Costco

If you’re a Costco novice, you need to know a few facts before you dash over to your nearest warehouse club:

• You’ll need to pay for a membership. Costco raised the price of an annual membership on Sept. 1, 2024, to $65 for Gold Star and Business memberships and $130 for Executive memberships.

• Don’t count on sharing your membership card. Costco is cracking down on membership sharing by installing card scanners at each entrance. You’re allowed to bring up to two guests, but only members can make purchases.

• You can’t pay with just any credit card. Costco only accepts Visa credit cards for payment, though you can also pay with most PIN-based ATM and debit cards, cash, check, or Costco Shop Cards (Costco’s version of its own gift card).

• You don’t need a membership for some purchases. You can use Costco without a membership if you’re getting a prescription filled at the pharmacy, getting an eye exam, or buying booze in several states. However, most purchases require a membership.

Should you rush to join Costco?

If you’re on the fence about whether to join Costco, consider these questions before you shell out for a membership:

• Is the location close enough that you’d actually shop there? If you’d spend an hour driving each way to shop at Costco, make sure the savings are enough to offset the time and transportation costs.

• Will you save money buying in bulk? If you live alone or have limited storage space, buying giant quantities from Costco or another warehouse club may not be worth it.

• Are you prone to impulse buying? You can buy everything from groceries to clothing, saunas, remote-controlled toilets, and more at your local Costco. If you tend to make impulse purchases, think twice before becoming a Costco member.

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Should you decide to join Costco, you can bolster your savings with a credit card (but remember, only Visa credit cards are accepted). Take a look at our list of the best credit cards for Costco to earn cash back on Costco and Costco.com purchases.

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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.JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Robin Hartill has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale, JPMorgan Chase, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Costco Is Opening New Stores in 2024. Here’s What You Should Do Next was originally published by The Motley Fool

Thinking back on the first Social Security assignment of my career tends to make me laugh. Back then, which was about a decade ago, I found the idea of reporting on the topic daunting.

After all, I knew little about Social Security other than it being a program that pays benefits to people when they’re older. I had no idea when benefits started or what the rules for claiming them entailed.

These days, I could bore you with hours of conversation about Social Security’s numerous rules and nuances. And with a catalog of more than 1,000 articles on the matter, I can probably answer any question you have about how or when to claim benefits.

But with all of that Social Security knowledge floating around in my brain, there’s one piece of advice I’m eager to share more so than any other. And it’s something I feel strongly that every single person should know about Social Security ahead of retirement.

You can’t rely too heavily on those benefits

A lot of the Social Security content I’ve written through the years focuses on when to claim benefits. And that’s an important decision.

Your Social Security filing age plays a big role in determining what monthly benefit you get. You’re allowed to sign up for Social Security as early as age 62. But you’re not entitled to your complete monthly benefit based on your personal income history until several years later, or when your full retirement age arrives. Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

There’s also the option to delay your Social Security claim past full retirement age. Each year you hold off boosts your monthly benefit by 8%, up until you turn 70. At that point, there’s no sense in delaying Social Security, since you can’t grow your benefits any longer.

But as important as it is to land on the right Social Security filing age, what’s even more important is to understand the role those benefits should play in your retirement finances.

Many people are shocked to learn that Social Security will only replace about 40% of the typical wage-earner’s pre-retirement income. And if that sounds like a small percentage to you, well, it is.

It’s common for retirees to need 70% to 80% of their former income once their job-related paychecks disappear. This puts seniors who don’t save independently and rely on Social Security alone in a very tight spot.

So if there’s one piece of Social Security advice I’d give everyone, it’s to not plan to live off of those benefits alone in retirement, and instead, save as well as possible.

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This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice every bit of extra spending during you working years to retire with millions of dollars. But it does mean you should try to contribute to a retirement plan consistently, and invest your savings through the years for additional growth.

It pays to be informed

Reading about Social Security may be interesting to me, but I get that it’s not a top activity on most people’s lists. However, those benefits will likely play an essential role in your retirement finances one way or another. So it’s a good idea to get reasonably educated on Social Security while you’re still earning a paycheck from a job.

This doesn’t mean you have to research Social Security endlessly like I do. But try to set yourself up with a basic understanding. And also, get an estimate of your future Social Security so you know what number to expect to some degree. It’ll only put you in a stronger position to approach retirement with confidence.

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The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

I’ve Been Writing About Social Security for Almost 10 Years. This Is the Best Advice I Can Give You was originally published by The Motley Fool