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birb_cromble  1mo ago (text post)   1025 thread views

Weekly Finance Thread - 2026-08-01

A weekly thread to discuss financial matters - from personal all the way up to global.

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  • 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.
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For somebody who has that extreme level of risk aversion, what options are there that beat a HYSA? Browbeating her into equities isn't going to fly.

There's really not much if you want a hands off experience. If you live in a state with income tax, perhaps look into municipal bonds that offer tax exemption, that's about it.

I have experience with slowly convincing my father from only ever investing into real estate and never using a credit card to having around 25% of his networth in equities and putting everything through 2% credit card. It took a few years, but you just gotta be persistent. Combination of him seeing me do well with equities and seeing non stop SPX ATHs on the news did their thing over time. He started off with a $10k investment and once he saw the green numbers, it was easier to convince him to put in more. You really just gotta have her start and the green numbers will do the rest. Monkey brain loves seeing green number.

I don't use credit cards outside of the bare minimum necessary to keep them active.

I really don't understand this aversion of credit cards from some people. Do you believe you're so bad at controlling yourself that you will spend more than you can afford if you use a credit card?

Do you believe you're so bad at controlling yourself that you will spend more than you can afford if you use a credit card?

I've met a surprising number of people over the years who seem perfectly functional, only to later learn that they have five figures of credit card debt. I'd rather not even put myself in a position where I could find out I'm that kind of person. I've got a lot of people in my family with addiction and impulse control problems, and putting a fence around temptation has kept me from finding out I have the same problems.

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