Since a lot of us here have expressed interest in not starving to death in a gutter, I figured I'd start a weekly thread to discuss financial matters.
Ground Rules
- Remember that we're all just Internet randos. Don't bet your life savings on a hot tip from this thread.
- Keep culture war in the culture war thread. Yes, global events may impact our personal finances, but that does not mean we have to incessantly harp on culture war aspects here. If you are going to discuss it, please stick to the practical impacts of it on an individual level.
- Be kind. Remember that everyone here comes from different circumstances. We all have different resources available and different risk tolerances.
- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Better is better. Celebrate people when they take a step up and work to move their finances in the right direction. Don't flame out because they haven't followed what you consider the optimal path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Financial adjacent question, I guess: I'm expecting to make a large purchase via credit card (and pay it off immediately). If I'm not much of a traveller, how worth it are some of the fancy credit cards with massive sign-up-bonuses (and then cancel after a year to not pay the next annual fee)? I have no interest in churning, merely taking advantage of a rare large purchase.
Yes, this can be quite lucrative. BTW Chase Sapphire Reserve is running a pretty large promotion now, which can get you about $3k value in bonuses if you play it right (and if they accept you) at the price of $795 annual fee. So, over $2k pure profit (I don't even think it's taxed? Not sure). Plus you get all the goodies they provide for a year, and then you can cancel. These things are absolutely worth it, if you play them right. The catch is: you need to have the excellent credit, Chase would not allow you to do it too often (look up 5/24 rule) and only once per card usually (though some forget about it in 3 years or so) and of course you need to make the minimal spending ($6k for CSR, higher for more lucrative cards like Amex Gold and Platinum), and of course you need to have the discipline to pay it off in time, never overspend and cancel in time when it stops working to your advantage.
Depending on how big the purchase it and how good you credit report is, there might be even more profitable offers around. Absolutely worth it and can get you thousands of dollars in direct or indirect (e.g. miles or points) bonuses. Of course, you need also to be able to use it - e.g. Chase points are great when used for travel, but you need to actually travel for that, if you never travel, you don't get the benefit. I travel almost every month, so for me there's a lot of use in such offers.
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Very worth it. Credit cards are tools for massive wealth transfer from the incompetent to the competent. Capital One actually reject me recently which after some light research, it's likely because I won't be profitable (in interest and fees) for them. There is usually one or two purchases a year that it's always worth it to open a credit card for. For example opening a Hawaiian Airline credit card to get highly subsidized flights due to the Sign On Bonus (SUB) to Hawaii that year for example.
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