Category Archives for Finance.
I wanna type out loud for a sec to assess which card offers I can still earn. Before I begin, I know there aren’t many.After all, I currently have about 30 cards and have rotated through many others since I started the points & miles game in 2012 (and heavily in 2013).
My first award trip was to Hawaii in 2013, with Delta miles and Hilton points
So what’s left for me? I know it’s not much.
Let’s take a deep dive.
Also see:
I wrote how I bought a car with credit cards in early 2016. It was a used 2004 Subaru Forester. And it fit my needs at the time.
I swore I’d never buy a new car. It’s a badge of honor within the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) community to have an old car with tons of miles on it. It means you’re frugal. And saving. And “doing it right.” A quick search on Reddit returns more opinions than you can ever filter through.
There’s even a rap song called “No Car Note.” (“I love my ’98 Honda!”)
But after running the numbers, I broke my own rule. And bought a 2017 Nissan Versa Note. With a car note.
Also see:
If you’re paying fees to access your own money, it’s time to dump your stupid bank.
Do it now do it now DO IT NOW. If you pay $10 a month for not carrying a minimum balance, $2 to request a balance, or ATM fees when you need to withdraw money, vote with your feet. Get. Out. NOW.
Nope nope nope
I’ll share bank accounts that are completely FREE to have and use with NO minimum. Oh, and you don’t need a physical branch.
Recently, a friend recommended now is a good time to buy a little of 4 big cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, the new Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. So I bought $100 of each, mostly for the sake of curiosity. I do NOT recommend cryptocurrency as an investment (try these platforms instead!).
Monaco will exchange currency and earn crypto rewards with a prepaid debit card
And today, I heard about Monaco, which aims to exchange currency at perfect interchange rates (including crypto). And if you pledge to invest in the card, you can earn “crypto back” rewards – which you can redeem for real crypto.
There are NO fees because your money is always treated as local currency no matter if you’re spending US dollars, a foreign currency, or crypto.
Monaco isn’t available yet in the US. But they expect to launch globally any time now. If you use my link to sign up, you’ll get $10 added to your account for free. Ten US dollars. 😉
Update 8/3/18: Fidelity now has the cheapest fees and NO minimums to start investing. Check out my full write-up!
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A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Acorns, an app I think is a great place to get started with investing (especially for millennials). Talking about investing is dicey. For one, because it’s personal (duh). For that reason, everyone has an opinion on it. And that’s where the confusion starts.
My view is: it doesn’t matter where you begin, so long as you do. You can always switch things around later. To that end, I feel Acorns has the most approachable interface for a beginner “despite” costing $1 a month. And there’s no minimum to start investing.
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is RIGHT THIS SECOND. Start NOW!
That said, it’s an app and doesn’t let you choose your own funds (you pick from their portfolios). Same with Stash, Wealthsimple, and Betterment. Of course, you’ll get the best deal with a self-directed account – but the minimums are dauntingly high for a beginner, with the exception of TD Ameritrade.
I’ll compare these companies for expenses, account and fund minimums, and quirky extras:
I am focusing on IRAs here – although they all have the option to simply be an investment account (which is why I excluded Robinhood – they do NOT have IRAs).
If you plan on purchasing gifts online this holiday season, there are two major things to watch for: price drops and missed delivery dates.
Price drops are extremely common with the onslaught of Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals – and often there are even more as “the big day” draws near.
Trim is useful to:
Trim lets you know when a price on Amazon decreases
And I wrote about Paribus waaaay back in May 2015. Not only has their service improved – it’s now completely free.
It’s helpful for tracking price drops at tons of merchants. And helps you get a little something if there’s a late delivery.
Both of these tools can save you money in the background while you go about your shopping. They’re even better when their powers combine.
Lately, I’m concerned with helping my 24-year-old brother develop healthy financial habits. I didn’t take control of my financial life until I was nearly 30. And god I wish I could get back those early years. Why?
Compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe.
The earlier you start, the longer your money grows. It’s a simple concept. But so many peeps put off investing.
It’s perceived as complicated, overwhelming, and something to fear. The financial industry made sure you feel that way so you’ll overpay some bozo to manage your finances. Don’t get tricked. Get smart – and fast. Your financial future is an out-of-control emergency you can’t afford to sleep on.
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just as long as you do start.
Am I crazy about Acorns? No. But it’s a great place to begin
Acorns is a micro-investing app that will fit the bill nicely. Here’s my review.
Well, the day is finally here – tomorrow begins FinCon 2017 in Dallas! I got early bird tickets back in February and it seemed the day would never arrive. I’ve been looking forward to attending my first FinCon expo for a while!
Finally, FinCon 2017 is here!
I know a lot of fellow bloggers and readers will be there – so if you see me around, say hey! Read More
Also see:
I’ve written extensively about my adventures hosting on Airbnb. I’ve always leased apartments, then listed them on Airbnb. That formula worked in New York and continues to work in Dallas.
The Airbnb service is intended to rent space in your primary residence. I’d never done that because I didn’t want strangers in my actual home. But last month, I took a weekend and converted my spare bedroom and bathroom into a private guest room and listed it on Airbnb.
My guest bedroom
And so far… wow! The response is incredible. Guests are loving it. And something that surprised me… so am I!
A nice benefit is I’m earning more than if I had a roommate. And I’m even thinking it could get to the point where it could cover my entire mortgage payment – I could live in my own place for basically nothing!
It occurred to me I only drive for a handful of reasons:
Most of the time I walk or use Uber/Lyft. Because if I intend to drink, I don’t want to deal with parking (and possibly having to pay for it) or of course driving back unsafely. And I live so close to many of the places I frequent that I can walk.
I realized, surprisingly, there are lots of peeps in Dallas who don’t have cars. And I I was shocked by how extremely walkable certain parts of the city really are.
Lookit all my Lyft credits
I’ve also been using the $325 travel credit from my US Bank Altitude Reserve card for Lyft rides lately (I prefer Lyft for many reasons). Then it hit me that I could subsidize $825 in Uber and Lyft rides thanks to travel credits of 3 of my premium cards. It got me thinking – are those credits enough to consider getting rid of my car?
Update: Some readers let me know not all mortgage payments are working, but many are!
Here’s an example from my account:
A mortgage payment you can still pay with Plastiq
As long as the “Submit Payment” button isn’t grayed out, you should be good to go! Let me know if it works for you!
More data points slash adventures with Plastiq.
So I just got a new Bank of America Alaska Airlines card – I get a new one every 45 days for a quick injection of 30,000 Alaska miles. Those are, of course, Visa cards, which Plastiq said would no longer work.
Well today, I paid the rent for one of my Airbnbs with this card on Plastiq.
This Plastiq payment is clearly marked as rent
And it went through without a hitch:
Boom
Considering the minimum spending on this card is only $1,000, I was able to knock most of it out with a single rent payment. Then I sent $50 to my utility company to trigger the sign-up bonus. Minimum spending done in under a minute. AWESOME!
This isn’t a fluke. My friend Angie used her Chase Fairmont card to pay her mortgage via Plastiq recently, too – that’s also a Visa card. And I’ve heard others have had success, too.
While I think 3X with the Chase Sapphire Reserve is long gone, using Plastiq to meet minimum spending on Visa cards is extremely easy. Even with the 2.5% fee considered, having it done in seconds sure beats having to monitor it for a few months. Especially if you need to spend a few thousand.
I also just confirmed 3X still works with the Citi AT&T Access More card. And wrote about why you’d even consider using the new Blue Business Plus Amex for Plastiq payments, too.
But given that I can still get 3X, the gravy train is still on – at least for now.
And moreover, it seems you can use your Visa cards again. So if you have a Visa and want to make some Plastiq payments for rent, mortgage, or HOA, they should go through just fine. 🙂
Have you had recent success using a Visa card for a rent payment through Plastiq?
You got an Airbnb so you could make extra money, yeah? Well, congrats, you’re officially a small business owner. You can get business credit cards based on your yearly income. Those cleaning supplies I mentioned in Part 4 are now expenses. And, you might be on the hook to pay taxes.
Evernote is key to keeping track of receipts and expenses
I personally use Evernote to save every single receipt. And tag them with the tax year and “expenses” for easy work at tax time. After a while, you definitely find your rhythm with this Airbnb stuff. You might even want to get another.
This series is meant for peeps who want to list an entire home separate from their primary residence on Airbnb.
Hello and welcome to Out and Out! My name is Harlan – I’m a points and miles enthusiast who loves to travel. I am interested in personal finance, the power of positive thinking, and the extraordinary journeys that make life worth living.