Best Interest Rates on Cash – January 2020
Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash for January 2020, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. I track these rates because I keep 12 months of expenses as …
Category: My Money
Low Stock Market Return Expectations For The Next Decade (2020-2030)
We’ve seen that stock market investors have been rewarded for investing regularly during the last decade. $10,000 invested in the Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 fund in January 2010 would ha…
Chase Sapphire Cardholders: Free DashPass Membership (Up to 2 Years)
Chase has partnered with food delivery service DoorDash to offer free DashPass membership to select Chase credit cards for up to 2 years. DashPass is a subscription service that offers a $0 deliver…
What If You Invested $10,000 Every Year For the Last 10 Years? 2010-2019
Now that you’re done reading articles about what happened in 2019, how about stepping back and taking in the longer view? Most successful savers invest money each year over a long period of t…
SECURE Act Highlights: Summary of Retirement Plan Changes
I try to ignore talk about pending legislation, but the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act) has now been passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump…
Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card: 0% APR For 21 Months on Balance Transfers (Until October 2021)
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to pay down debt. Rewards-earning credit cards may not be optimal for those carrying balances and thus more impacted by 18% interest rates tha…
Major Asset Class Returns, 2019 Year-End Review
I used to add up my net worth every month (if not more frequently), but nowadays I limit myself to quarterly portfolio checks to coincide roughly with when my dividends arrive. There is so much dai…
My Money Blog Portfolio Income Update – December 2019 (Q4)
How do you turn a pile of money into income for the rest of your life? I have read hundreds of articles about this topic, and have found no ideal solution. Much of the advice applies to those aged …
Domino’s Pizza Gift Cards: 25% Cash Back
MyGiftCardsPlus has a promotion with 25% cash back on Domino’s Pizza gift cards for a limited time. For example, buy a $100 gift card and get $25 cash back. The gift card has no expiration. L…
MMB Portfolio Asset Allocation Update, December 2019 (Q4)
Plenty of people will tell you what you should own, but I’d rather they just share what they actually own. Here’s my year-end portfolio update for Q4 2019, including all of our 401k/403…
Dunkin Donuts Gift Card Promotion: Buy $50, Get $30 Promo Credit
Update: This promo has also been sold out. Here’s another caffeine promo from Dunkin Donuts: Buy $50 worth of Dunkin gift cards, get $30 in promo gift cards. There is a banner at the top and …
Long Cycles and Hot Asset Classes: Large Cap Growth vs. Value Stocks
As this decade comes to an end, I find it noteworthy that Large-Cap Growth stocks have outperformed Large-Cap Value stocks during most of the the 2010s. When I first started learning about investin…
Starbucks Mastercard Promo: Buy $10 Gift Card, Get $10 Free
(Update: This promotion appears to have ended as they have stopped issuing the promo gift cards. Check out these discounted gift cards at Amazon, which right now includes $5 credit back on a $30 St…
Stocks, Bonds, and Gold: Historical Charts Since 1800
StarCapital Research has shared a series of interesting long-term charts comparing the long-term returns, drawdowns, and volatility of stocks, bonds, and gold over the last 220 years. There are als…
Keep or Close Old Bank Accounts? How To Manage Multiple Bank Accounts
In 2019, I opened new accounts at the following banks and credit unions in order to earn higher interest on my cash reserves. Some of the offers are now expired, but the idea is to show you that I …
Solo 401k vs. SEP IRA Contribution Limit Example For $50,000 Income
I use a Solo 401k plan because it lets you contribute the most tax-deferred money for a modest amount of self-employed income. At the end of each year, I can more clearly estimate my total income f…
Best Interest Rates on Cash – December 2019
Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash for December 2019, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. I track these rates because I keep a full 12 months of expe…
Fidelity Charitable Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Opening Process Review
It took me an extra year to get around to it, but it only took me about 15 minutes to actually open and fund my new Fidelity Charitable Donor-Advised Fund (DAF). I even donated stocks instead of ju…
Amazon Prime Photos: Free $15 Amazon Credit for First-Time Users
One of the perks of Amazon Prime membership is that you get unlimited cloud storage of your photos in full resolution. Amazon Photos is currently offering targeted users a free $15 Amazon promo cre…
The Double Tax Advantage of Donating Appreciated Stocks Directly
If you own stocks in a taxable brokerage account and make charitable donations, consider donating your stocks this year instead of just writing a check. Why? Given the all-time market highs, your s…
