20 Something Finance

Groupon is exclusively offering bonus promo codes that can be used with new annual “Gold Star” Costco memberships (which currently cost $65) or on “Executive” memberships (currently costs $130). The bonus promo codes are either $50 (for Gold Star) or $100 (for Executive) for use on a qualifying purchase (more info. below). This is a nice offer that should more than make up for the most recent Costco membership price increase. Full details and link below.

In May, Sam’s club increased membership prices for both membership levels for the first time since October of 2022. The new prices are in line with what other membership clubs like Costco and BJ’s Wholesale charge (Costco’s fees are still higher at $65 and $130 per year after their most recent price increase) – but it’s never a great time to get a recurring price increase. Read on for details on the latest Sam’s Club price increase and how to soften the blow with a discount.

This maximum HSA contribution overview has been updated with information for the 2026 and 2027 tax years. If you’ve been following this site, you know that I have long been a big fan of health savings accounts (HSAs) and have made the maximum annual HSA contribution when I was eligible to do so. There is good news on that front.

There is yet another monthly Instacart credit promo offer that comes with 3-months of free Instacart+ membership to take advantage of – this time for Mastercard cardholders. This offer follows in the footsteps of the $10 monthly Instacart/Costco Same Day credit for Costco Executive members and the lucrative monthly Chase card Instacart credits of $10/month for many co-branded cards or $20 per month for Ink business cards (both are still active).

If you recently received your 2025 Form W-2 and noticed unfamiliar entries in Box 14, you are not alone. As I was filling out our tax return this year, I noticed something odd in Box 14 of my wife’s W-2 that I had not seen before: “OBBBTT” (followed by a dollar amount). With zero clue as to what it meant, I started with some research, and it expanded into an overview of the new OBBBA qualified tip and overtime deduction reporting, which I’ll share below.

This article has been updated for the 2026 vehicle model year. Each year, I enjoy researching and ranking the cheapest new cars sold in the U.S. market and sharing my findings. Transportation is the 2nd highest consumer expense category in the U.S., and almost all of that comes from the purchase or lease of vehicles (plus insurance, which is directly related to a vehicle’s replacement value).

Why I Compile a List of the Cheapest Electric Vehicles This article will rank the cheapest new electric vehicles in 2026 sold in the U.S. market (as of Jan., 2026), including a few prior year releases that are still for sale this year. For those not paying close attention, it’s been an insanely unstable past year for EVs. EVs had their 2nd best sales year ever in 2025, trailing only 2024 (by just 2%) – to finish at ~8% of U.S. market share.

This tax prep comparison review has been completely updated for 2026 tax return filing (for 2025 tax year returns). The tax season start date has arrived and the tax deadlines have been announced by the IRS. If you haven’t started filing your taxes already, you’re probably starting to look around for the best tax prep program online to e-file with in 2026.

This overview on whether you need to file a tax return (i.e. the minimum income when you are required to file taxes) has been updated for the 2026 tax season (for 2025 tax year filing). As the tax start date and inevitable tax deadlines approach, I wanted to share something that may come as a surprise to many – not all income-earning Americans are legally obligated to file a federal tax return.

This SIMPLE IRA overview has been updated with information for the 2025 & 2026 tax years. This is the third installment in a multi-part series on retirement accounts for self-employment income. We previously covered SEP IRA and Solo 401K basics. In this post, we’ll cover the SIMPLE IRA. You don’t have to be entirely self-employed to find this or the other two retirement account options relevant.