Using a financial advisor for your investment needs is 100% on brand, but what about the other parts of your retirement life? For example, a third of people ages 64 and up have a financial advisor, but only 2% of them asked their advisor to help with their Medicare choices, according to a July 2022 report from health care consulting firm Sage Growth Partners.

But Medicare and other non-portfolio topics — like travel and long-term care — can affect your finances.

“We are actively bringing these ideas to our clients, but there are still plenty of advisors out there that are not,” says Crystal Cox, a certified financial planner in Madison, Wisconsin. “They’re still focused just on the investments and the portfolio.”

Here are some questions to ask at your next meeting.

1. What retirement decisions do I need to think about?

Your life in retirement may not continue as it has in the past. Do you plan to travel? Do you intend to move to a different state or downsize? How often will you want to buy a new vehicle?

“Most people just think, ‘I need a certain amount of money to live on,’” says Daniel Lash, a CFP in Vienna, Virginia. “What about all the ancillary things that come along with living? All the things you want to do?”

Mapping your retirement plans can help you and your advisor pinpoint when and how you’ll need cash.

“Do you have an idea of where you’re going to move, and what does real estate look like in that general area?” Lash says. “They’ve thought about retiring, not ‘What am I going to do when I retire?’”

2. What should I know about Medicare?

Although you generally can’t sign up for Medicare until you’re closer to 65 years old, your income in the years beforehand will affect what you pay for coverage. Each year, both Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D base their premiums on your reported modified adjusted gross income from two years prior. So if you filed individually making more than $91,000, or filed jointly making more than $182,000, you’ll pay additional amounts each month.

“Because there’s a lookback on earnings for Medicare expenditures, we’ll adjust plans accordingly, because they might be paying considerably more the first couple of years in retirement than later in retirement,” Lash says.

It’s also wise to consider guidance on Medicare choices in general, because you sometimes can’t change coverage later if your health situation shifts — and Medicare is complicated. “We do an annual meeting with somebody that specializes in Medicare,” Lash says. “All clients are invited to attend.”

3. Can I afford to self-insure for long-term care?

A person turning 65 now has about a 70% chance of needing some kind of long-term care, and costs are steep: It’s $54,000 a year for an assisted living facility and nearly $95,000 for a shared room in a nursing home, according to insurance company Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey.

“Some people are well enough off that they’re comfortable self-insuring,” says Kevin Brady, a CFP in New York City. “Others have more limited assets.”

No matter what is the case, it’s crucial to discuss potential costs and whether you have the savings to manage them. If you don’t, you’ll need to run the numbers on products like long-term care insurance or a hybrid policy that combines permanent life insurance with a long-term care rider.

“We’re always working with an expert to do projections and see what makes sense,” Brady says.

4. Do I have enough money to have some fun?

A successful retirement isn’t always about the tangibles. For many, it’s a time to realize dreams of travel and other experiences, but spending too frugally can get in the way.

“Often clients are overly conservative for fear of running out of money, but in the process they shortchange the retirement experience,” says Kevin Lum, a CFP in Los Angeles. “By the time they realize their abundance, they’re too old to spend it.”

Talk to your advisor about your big-ticket wishes and whether you have enough money to splash out a little before you settle into quieter spending.

Actual retirement spending looks more like a smile than a straight line, Lum says, with more spending at the beginning on things like travel and more spending at the end on long-term care needs.

“I’m not saying people should spend irrationally,” Lum says. “But thinking about retirement spending as a fixed calculation that doesn’t change across the retirement life isn’t a smart idea.”

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

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Kate Ashford, CSA® writes for NerdWallet.

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If asked to picture a payday lender, you might think of a storefront in a strip mall with green dollar signs and neon slogans like “everyday’s payday.” You probably don’t picture a mobile app that advertises on TikTok and sports a colorful logo.

But cash advance apps like Earnin and Dave provide advances with the same borrow-and-repay structure as payday lenders, and consumer advocates say they carry similar risks. Both are fast, no-credit-check options to bridge an income gap or ease the pressure of inflation.

Neither is an ideal first choice for borrowing fast cash, but knowing their differences can help you save money and avoid damaging your finances.

Cash advance apps work like payday loans

Like most payday loans, a cash or paycheck advance app lets you borrow money with no credit check. You’re also required to repay the advance, plus any fees you agreed to, on your next payday.

A single pay cycle is usually not enough time for borrowers to repay a payday loan, so many people fall into a pattern of getting another loan to pay the previous one, says Alex Horowitz, principal officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

App users may find themselves in a similar cycle. A 2021 study from the Financial Health Network found that more than 70% of app users get advances consecutively. The study doesn’t say why users reborrow, but Horowitz says the behavior is notably similar to payday loans.

“Direct-to-consumer wage advances share DNA with payday loans,” he says. “They’re structured alike, they have repeat borrowing and they’re timed to the borrower’s payday, giving the lender a strong ability to collect.”

Apps may offer more flexibility

Payday lenders and paycheck advance apps both collect repayment directly from your bank account. If your account balance is too low when they withdraw funds, you could incur an overdraft fee, says Yasmin Farahi, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending.

An app might try to avoid overdrawing your account. Mia Alexander, vice president of customer success at Dave, says the app reviews users’ bank accounts before withdrawing repayment. If repayment will put the balance close to zero or negative, the app may not withdraw funds, she says.

However, apps commonly include language in their user agreements that even if they try not to overdraw your account, they aren’t responsible if they do.

In states where payday lending is allowed, it’s unlikely that a payday lender will offer a free, unsolicited payment extension, as some apps say they do. Some states require payday lenders to offer no-cost extended payment plans to struggling borrowers, but a 2021 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that some lenders misrepresent the plans or don’t disclose them.

Also unlike payday lenders, apps don’t make collection calls. If a user revokes access to their bank account to avoid repayment, the app won’t try to collect the funds. The user just can’t get another advance until they repay the previous one.

Payday loans cost more

Payday loans tend to have high, mandatory fees, while apps often don’t. Instead, they charge small fees that users can opt into throughout the borrowing process. Those fees can add up, but they’re usually less than what payday lenders charge.

For example, an app might charge a monthly subscription fee, or a fee for instant access to funds. Most cash advance apps also ask for a tip for the service.

The fee on a $375 payday loan is most commonly about $55 in a two-week period, Horowitz says. Because cash advance app fees are mostly optional, you can easily keep the cost below $10.

Earnin user Sharay Jefferson says she used payday loans in the past, but she switched to a cash advance app because it’s a cheaper way to cover bills and unexpected expenses.

“If you get a payday loan for $200, you’re going to pay maybe three-something back,” she says. “With Earnin, I’m going to have to pay back that $200, plus whatever I decide to tip them. It’s way less expensive.”

Technically, apps aren’t lenders

Regulators like the CFPB haven’t classified paycheck advance apps as lenders, despite their similarities to payday lending.

Earnin CEO and founder Ram Palaniappan says the app is more like a payroll service or ATM because it facilitates access to your own funds. Earnin requires users to upload a time sheet showing they’ve worked enough hours to have earned the cash advance amount. Other apps scan a user’s bank account for income and expenses to determine whether they qualify for an advance.

Farahi says apps should be treated like creditors, meaning they would follow the Truth in Lending Act, which requires creditors to disclose an annual percentage rate. An APR lets consumers compare costs between financing options. For example, users could compare a cash advance app’s APR to a credit card’s and choose the most affordable one.

“People still need to know what the actual cost of credit is and be able to evaluate it and truly compare that cost against other options,” she says.

Apps would also have to adhere to applicable state lending laws. Currently, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have maximum interest rate caps that could limit app fees, she says.

Cash advance app vs. payday loan: Which is better?

If you urgently need cash, you may have better alternatives than payday loans and advance apps, Farahi says.

Local nonprofits and charities can help with basic food and clothing needs. A family or friend could loan you money without charging extra fees. If you have a few hours to spare, a side gig could generate as much money as a typical payday loan or cash advance app.

If the choice is between an app and a payday loan, the app is probably the better option because:

• It’s cheaper.
• It may not trigger an overdraft fee.
• If you don’t repay it, the app won’t send you to collections.

A cash advance from an app is unlikely to leave you in a better financial spot, Farahi says. But it may be a little less likely than a payday loan to leave you worse off.

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Annie Millerbernd writes for NerdWallet.

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Flipping cars has been a side hustle for years as a way to make a little extra cash. But in an era of rising used car prices and online vehicle ordering, the game has changed — and the profits are much higher.

Here’s how car flipping works: A person orders an in-demand vehicle from the factory at a fixed price. When it arrives months later, the vehicle’s value rises; because of the current car market, it can be sold at a profit.

Yes, there are related fees — sales tax and registration — and it can be risky, as you can’t guarantee the price will increase after you have the car. But it’s become so popular that it’s caught the attention of carmakers, which are trying to clamp down on the practice.

For instance, the Ford F-150 Lightning, a truck that sold out before production started, comes with an agreement stating that the buyer won’t resell the truck for at least a year (this additional agreement is included at the dealer’s discretion), as reported by car news website Carscoops. And, GM will cancel the warranty on the popular Chevrolet Corvette Z06 if it’s resold in less than a year, according to auto site Jalopnik.

A modern way to buy new cars

The trend these days is for highly anticipated models to be ordered online and built to the buyer’s specifications. Buyers will have to put down a deposit, usually only a few hundred dollars, and they can decline the car later if they change their mind.

Electric cars and hot new models, such as the Corvette Z06 or Cadillac Escalade-V, are the prime target of flippers because the rollout is slow and inventories are limited.

Success stories

While some buy a car with the intention of reselling it, that’s not the case for all car buyers. Sometimes the idea of flipping a vehicle occurs to an owner because they see car prices climbing and figure, well, why not?

Kirk Dunn, a Long Beach, California, contractor took advantage of both kinds of flipping. He saw the value of his Chevrolet Silverado pickup increase so much he sold it to Carvana for a $3,500 profit. Over the following months, the market stayed hot, allowing him to purchase two new trucks, then flip them at a profit and enjoy driving newer and better models.

“I can’t even tell you how many hours I spent negotiating and researching,” he says. “But it was a game and kind of fun.”

Similarly, I was driving a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, which cost me $13,000 out the door. I had no intention of selling it — until I realized Carvana would give me $16,800 for it, even after I’d added 30,000 miles to the odometer.

Risky business

While the current car market is still hot, with electric vehicle prices rising five times faster than gas car prices, according to a study by iSeeCars, the fun might be coming to an end. In fact, used-car prices have begun to soften recently.

According to car research site Edmunds, the average transaction price for 3-year-old vehicles was $31,302 in July, a 4.6% decrease, or $1,526, compared to their peak of $32,828 in January.

“There’s a gamble that prices could settle down between when you buy it and when you flip it,” says Richard Arca, director of vehicle evaluation and analytics for Edmunds.

“This situation won’t last forever,” says Karl Brauer, iSeeCars executive analyst. “Time it poorly, and you’ll be stuck with that new car, or have to sell it for a loss.”

And then there’s the sales tax and registration fees that will cut into your profits. In California, for instance, those fees come to $5,745 for a $50,000 vehicle. That’s a big nut to crack.

Before you flip

Successfully flipping a car starts with having a good eye for the market so you can buy low and — hopefully — sell high.

Start by looking up the value of the car you want to flip in pricing guides such as Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds. Here are a few additional tips from the experts to help you decide whether flipping is worth the risk.

• Get estimates from online car retailers, such as Carvana, Shift, Vroom and CarMax.
• Estimate all fees and the cost of any work that has to be done to the car.
• Look for a well-maintained model, with low miles and few owners, if you want to flip a used car.
• Make sure there isn’t a penalty or restriction on selling the car you’re considering buying.
• Consider whether the amount of money you’re expecting to make is worth your time and effort.

And finally, choose a car to flip that you wouldn’t mind owning in case the music suddenly stops and the market finally cools off.

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Philip Reed writes for NerdWallet.

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The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

Managing money is an essential life skill, yet most U.S. adults would fail a financial literacy test. Consider the results of a survey meant to measure financial literacy, called the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index. On average, U.S. adults correctly answered only 50% of its financial literacy questions in 2022.

In other words: If you find money confusing, you’re far from alone. But the reasons you’re baffled may have more to do with how our brains work than how money does. Understanding some of the common barriers, along with strategies to cope, could help you finally get a handle on your finances.

Money is a new language

You wouldn’t expect to carry on a fluent conversation in Madrid or Mexico City if you only knew a few words of Spanish. Similarly, personal finance is loaded with terms, jargon and concepts that take a while to learn.

“Entering the world of money is like entering a whole new culture and learning a new language,” says Ed Coambs, a certified financial planner and couples therapist in Charlotte, North Carolina.

You shouldn’t feel stupid for not understanding everything instantly, and no one should make you feel that way. However, learning can be more difficult if we encounter judgmental, condescending or dogmatic people — which unfortunately describes many people who are fluent in personal finance lingo.

“Many money experts, professional or non-professional, can become varying degrees of authoritarian: ‘Yes, I know what’s best for you. This is what you should do,’” Coambs says.

People with a rigid approach to personal finance may not understand the culture and life experiences that shaped you. They may insist you funnel every possible dollar into paying off debt or saving for retirement, for instance, but you may feel it’s important to tithe to your church or support your elderly parents.

Rather than dictating how you should spend your money, helpful advisors meet people where they are, says Rachael DeLeon, interim director of the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education, a nonprofit foundation that administers financial counseling credentials.

“It’s figuring out: What are your values? What’s important to you? And how do you make that work within your own financial situation?” DeLeon says.

Money is emotional

For many people, money evokes strong and often negative emotions. For example, if you struggle with managing your finances, you may be so embarrassed that you try to avoid talking or even thinking about money.

“That’s what really stops people from making money progress,” Coambs says. “They feel ashamed that they don’t know, and they feel like they should know.”

Painful early experiences often shape our view of money, says Coambs, author of “The Healthy Love & Money Way: How the Four Attachment Styles Impact Your Financial Well-Being.” Listening to parents fight about money or suffering financial hardship can be traumatic, leaving us convinced that money is dangerous or shameful.

Coambs suggests discussing your feelings about money with supportive and compassionate people. That could include an empathetic financial advisor, a financial therapist or trusted, knowledgeable friends.

“Action is predicated on feeling safe for many of us,” Coambs says. “Until we feel safe and accepted, we’re typically going to feel stuck and stalled.”

Money is collaborative

Fear is another common emotion people experience around money: fear of making a mistake, not having enough, or being scammed or misled.

“There are a lot of predators in this space, and knowing who to trust is hard,” DeLeon says.

Educating yourself is crucial. You can learn about personal finance basics from trusted sources, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the JumpStart Coalition, which focuses on financial literacy for young people, DeLeon says.

But you also can hire people to help you. DeLeon recommends fee-only advisors, meaning they’re compensated only by the fees paid by their clients rather than by commissions or other financial arrangements that could influence their advice.

Look for advisors who are fiduciaries, which means they are required to put your interests ahead of their own. Fiduciary advisors include CFPs and people with the credentials offered by DeLeon’s organization, the AFCPE, including accredited financial counselors and financial fitness coaches.

Currently, the AFCPE offers free virtual financial counseling sessions. You can learn more at AFCPE’s site. In addition, your employer, 401(k) provider, bank or credit union may also offer free or low-cost financial advice.

With money, it’s more important to know whom to ask than to have all the answers ourselves, DeLeon says.

“Not everybody needs to be a personal finance expert,” DeLeon says.

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