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Highest Amex Platinum Offer Ever
Amex platinum referral offers are up to 150k points after spending 8k in 6 months. That’s worth between 1.5k – 3k. See if you qualify here.
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Convert Currency For (Essentially) Free
TL;DR: Convert your currency in IBKR for a 0.2bp fee, then use Wise to transfer the desired amount for free. This post is not about getting spending money in foreign countries. For that – you can get decent conversion rates with credit cards that have no foreign transaction fees, such as the CapitalOne SavorOne card or Discover card. You can also get decent conversions using a foreign ATM (most of the time, do make sure the ATM is with a legit bank and not a scam!). Just make sure not to get owned by those currency conversion counters or shops, like those found in airports, that charge insane spreads (think…
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529 -> Roth IRA Contributions
TL;DR: You can now contribute up to $35k of excess funds from your 529 to your Roth IRA. Beginning in 2024, the Secure ACT 2.0 (signed into law by Biden) means you can move up to a lifetime cap of $35k from your 529 to your Roth IRA. The Roth IRA must belong to the beneficiary of the 529 (usually the student, not the parent). This means that if you have overcontributed, you can move some of the excess funds into jumpstarting a retirement fund! Some rules: the 529 account must have been opened for at least 15 years, and you cannot contribute funds that were added in the most…
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10% Back on Uber!
TL;DR: Capitalone has some cards (like the SavorOne) which will offer 10% back on Uber and free UberOne for a year. Check it out! Happy Uber’ing, TheJKW
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TheJKW Finally Reveals What’s in His Wallet!
TL;DR: I reveal which credit cards I use currently, and which are on my wishlist here.
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They Shut Down My Oldest Credit Card! AGH
TL;DR: Current FICO models usually take your credit card account ages into account. Don’t let them get shut down. Despite knowing about this effect, I (accidentally) let my oldest credit card account get shut down. I had gotten my first credit card in 2014, and recently after 2 years of having no expenses on it, the bank decided to close it. I had heard this sometimes happens – banks will shut down your credit card after 1-5 years of not seeing any significant purchases made. They claimed they sent me notices warning about this, but they sent physical mail to an address I had prior to moving to where I…
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Biden’s Tax Policies: It’s Happening! (Probably)
TL;DR: Before Georgia went blue in the senate, we had an article about potential Biden tax policy changes. Now with democrats in charge of the house/senate/presidency, these changes seem much more likely. The new tax policies have the full intention of having no nominal change to most of Americans, but the wealthiest can expect to pay more. The main changes are: People who make over 400k might expect their marginal tax rate to increase from 37% to 39.6% Social security taxes, which right now is a 12.4% tax split between employee and employer that phases out at an income of $142,800, might now be re-introduced for those earning over 400k…
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Juicing Your Brokerage Returns: Get a Head Start with Free Money!
TL;DR: With free commissions everywhere, brokerage bonuses could become the tie-breaker. IBKR is one to consider. With so many brokerage firms out there, it could be a daunting task to choose where to begin your investing journey. When you choose, here are some important factors to consider: Brokerage bonuses! Commissions + Fees assessed when trading Price Improvement Customer service quality SIPC Insurance Investment products offered Margin/stock lending capabilities For the most part most big brokerage firms (like Schwab, Fidelity, IBKR, etc) will offer pretty competitive points on all of these, and honestly there’s not a huge difference. As a rule of thumb smaller firms you’ll need to check on all…
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Verizon: Another Card on the Efficient Frontier
TL;DR: It gets 4% back on groceries. That’s pretty much all. It’s a no annual-fee card, and you’d think it gives some Verizon-related perks but it doesn’t really. It claims to give an extra $10/month boost on Verizon phone plans, but it doesn’t stack with the $10 you’d already get with auto-pay. It has a spot in the most efficient collection of no-annual fee credit cards (no other has the cash-back for groceries), but it’s definitely not recommended as a starter card. Check out the details here. Happy Verizon’ing, TheJKW
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529 Plans: How to Save Tax-Free for Your Child’s Future
TL;DR: 529s are a way to invest and have your money grow tax-free, as long as you spend it on qualified education expenses. Most posts on the internet are INFURIATING because they’re so long and just don’t get to the point. You need to read multiple blogs to get all the info you need. Here, I will have a very short point-by-point summary of the basics, for the maximal useful material/words ratio. What is a 529? An investment account run by states where you can grow funds tax-free, as long as you withdraw and eventually spend the money for qualified education expenses. Each state will have their own program, but…