I love credit cards so much!

[Alexle2007]

I am hoping to snag a *gt rate and use points thru the portal...well the cruise phone line anyways. Haven’t done it yet though. Keep us posted!!

Oh how I love VGT rates! We’ve used them for all 3 of our Disney cruises. Sadly, with DS being in MS now, it just doesn’t work to pull him out for a week. We’ve actually be lucky enough to upgrade twice at the port to concierge. That really has us spoiled now!

 

[pillow]

Thanks for this. We definitely could have rolled over the old IRAs but just didn't then, and it's been many years since either of us has changed jobs. I have some IRAs that have been sitting where I left them for more than 20 years . . . there's not a lot of money in them but now that my youngest is finishing his next-to-last year of college, the next financial issue to get control over is the retirement accounts. Neither DH nor I have any desire to retire early -- we both actually really like our jobs (most days). Our current accounts (the ones we are currently paying into) do have low-fee options -- DH has TIAA-CREF and I have Transamerica. We want to increase our contributions (we pay slightly more than what we need to to get our employers' match, but we are far from maxing them out) and I'm thinking about whether we should add the extra funds to the employers' companies or Vanguard. All of my kids have Roth IRAs with Vanguard and I spent some time on the Bogleheads website several years ago, but most of it was beyond my very-beginner comprehension level. I need a Bogleheads for Dummies website

I am definitely not a financial advisor. But after lots of mistakes, lots of reading, and lots of watching, my conclusion is that low fee index funds are the way to go - especially if you don't need the funds any time soon. I have Roths for my kids at Vanguard, but my accounts are at Fidelity (I like Fidelity's interface better). As far as employer funds vs Vanguard funds, I would go for whichever fund has the lowest fees. If I'm trying to decide between two funds, I will check the fund ratings on Morningstar as well.

I know at one point, Fidelity was offering bonus Delta miles for new money (that may have been non IRA accounts though??). I would definitely check for any promotions like that if you're thinking about moving and consolidating.

 

[Alexle2007]

All these approvals today!!! AWESOME!.....giving me an itchy trigger finger, but I am still working on 3 MSRs.

I know! I want to put DH in for the CIC. But he told me no more new CC after I applied for SPG Biz for him and me

 

[gottalovepluto]

Did everyone finish up those SPG spends early? Leave you people alone for Mother's Day and you go application crazy! I love it!!

 

[speedyfishy]

Thanks for this. We definitely could have rolled over the old IRAs but just didn't then, and it's been many years since either of us has changed jobs. I have some IRAs that have been sitting where I left them for more than 20 years . . . there's not a lot of money in them but now that my youngest is finishing his next-to-last year of college, the next financial issue to get control over is the retirement accounts. Neither DH nor I have any desire to retire early -- we both actually really like our jobs (most days). Our current accounts (the ones we are currently paying into) do have low-fee options -- DH has TIAA-CREF and I have Transamerica. We want to increase our contributions (we pay slightly more than what we need to to get our employers' match, but we are far from maxing them out) and I'm thinking about whether we should add the extra funds to the employers' companies or Vanguard. All of my kids have Roth IRAs with Vanguard and I spent some time on the Bogleheads website several years ago, but most of it was beyond my very-beginner comprehension level. I need a Bogleheads for Dummies website

Bogleheads confuses me too. When I have more time I need to learn. We just put SO’s 401k contribution into a target date fund. I wish I could be more helpful, but I’m really just learning. I hate the career choice I made and I’m so jealous you have a job you love. I’m hoping I can find something tolerable and retire early and then find my passion. Also, that’s fantastic your kids already have Roth’s. My favorite FIRE stat is if you put $5,500 into a IRA from 22-29 and do nothing after you will still have 2 million at 65. And if that’s all in a Roth that’s tax free money!!

 

[Lain]

Not good news on the Costco deal.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/visa-checkout-costco-not-honoring-50-back-250-deal/

Not yet. They have another week or 2 before it needs to post I think. I check the last comments on the SD thread to see if it's posting for anyone every once in a while https://slickdeals.net/f/11413007-c...0-credit-w-visa-checkout?page=100#commentsBox

I saw word about this a few weeks back in the Slickdeals thread that @gottalovepluto referenced. I still have yet to receive my $50 credit even though I made the purchase before 3/26/18 at 4:45 p.m. But because I ordered Costco Cash cards and there was a run on those, my order didn't ship and purchase didn't post until 4/6/18. Like @gottalovepluto said, there's still a few more weeks for the credit to post so I'll wait until then. Some people who have complained were told to wait and others were given some compensation from Costco. I have my timestamped receipt and a screenshot of VisaCheckout's tweet, so I'm ready to go to the mat for my $50.

 

[speedyfishy]

Did everyone finish up those SPG spends early? Leave you people alone for Mother's Day and you go application crazy! I love it!!

Still have $400 left on SO’s. It’s taking me a lot longer then I expected, but it was time for more cards.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just saw this post on twitter from DOC - https://www.doctorofcredit.com/visa...0-deal/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Looks like it may end up being way more YMMV than previously thought.

I love DoC but that's inappropriate imho. NOBODY has gotten credit yet and we have another week! (I think... Mar 26 plus 8 weeks is May 21, so yes 1 more week!)

 

[speedyfishy]

I know! I want to put DH in for the CIC. But he told me no more new CC after I applied for SPG Biz for him and me

It’s time to churn your husband. Jk.. maybe...

 

[pillow]

Bogleheads confuses me too. When I have more time I need to learn. We just put SO’s 401k contribution into a target date fund. I wish I could be more helpful, but I’m really just learning. I hate the career choice I made and I’m so jealous you have a job you love. I’m hoping I can find something tolerable and retire early and then find my passion. Also, that’s fantastic your kids already have Roth’s. My favorite FIRE stat is if you put $5,500 into a IRA from 22-29 and do nothing after you will still have 2 million at 65. And if that’s all in a Roth that’s tax free money!!

The tricky piece of this is that nobody has any money when they are 22-29!!! I had to coerce my teen kids to contribute to their Roths (I matched what they put in). Its hard when all they make is a few thousand, and they don't want to give any of it up (I don't blame them!). But given that they are in the 0% tax bracket, that money will never ever ever ever be taxed!!

 

[palhockeymomof2]

On May 10 (last Thursday) I was approved for the CIP. Said it would be sent in 7-10 business days. I didn’t call to expedite it. Is it too late to do that? Is there a charge to expedite shipping? I want to start earning those points!

I don’t know if it’s too late to call... it there isn’t a fee

 

[speedyfishy]

The tricky piece of this is that nobody has any money when they are 22-29!!! I had to coerce my teen kids to contribute to their Roths (I matched what they put in). Its hard when all they make is a few thousand, and they don't want to give any of it up (I don't blame them!). But given that they are in the 0% tax bracket, that money will never ever ever ever be taxed!!

Wow, I wish my parents helped me set up a Roth when I was a teen. I’m 23 now. I hope to max it this year. I am a year behind though. It’s hard when you are young.

 

[AmyAnne]

I am definitely not a financial advisor. But after lots of mistakes, lots of reading, and lots of watching, my conclusion is that low fee index funds are the way to go - especially if you don't need the funds any time soon. I have Roths for my kids at Vanguard, but my accounts are at Fidelity (I like Fidelity's interface better). As far as employer funds vs Vanguard funds, I would go for whichever fund has the lowest fees. If I'm trying to decide between two funds, I will check the fund ratings on Morningstar as well.

I know at one point, Fidelity was offering bonus Delta miles for new money (that may have been non IRA accounts though??). I would definitely check for any promotions like that if you're thinking about moving and consolidating.

I am pretty sure that most of our accounts are invested in index funds but I haven't checked in on them in years. Thanks for the suggestion to check on Morningstar (although I think I remember something in the news a few years ago about Morningstar possibly fudging its ratings -- although I could be completely wrong about that). We don't need the funds any time soon. In fact, it's kind of odd that 20 years ago I was sure we should invest in tax-deferred plans because our tax bracket would be lower when we retired, but now I'm pretty sure (assuming we both remain healthy) we will have to start taking mandatory withdrawals before we actually retire, so that's another thing I don't really know what to do about.

Bogleheads confuses me too. When I have more time I need to learn. We just put SO’s 401k contribution into a target date fund. I wish I could be more helpful, but I’m really just learning. I hate the career choice I made and I’m so jealous you have a job you love. I’m hoping I can find something tolerable and retire early and then find my passion. Also, that’s fantastic your kids already have Roth’s. My favorite FIRE stat is if you put $5,500 into a IRA from 22-29 and do nothing after you will still have 2 million at 65. And if that’s all in a Roth that’s tax free money!!

I'm so sorry that you regret your career choice! If I recall correctly, you are just finishing your degree, so I'm crossing my fingers for you that it turns out better than you are expecting. I've had some positions that were kind of awful--nothing that I absolutely hated, but bad enough to motivate me to look for a different environment. About 15 years ago, I made major move from a big corporation (my first post-graduate degree job) to a government job and took a big pay cut, but the work was more fulfilling and the co-workers more tolerable. I've switched jobs a few times since then, but those have been more "right place at the right time" moves. It definitely took awhile to find my current, not-planning-to-retire-from job. (Which is why I have those IRAs from 20 years ago that I need to figure out what to do with.)

And that's a great statistic about the Roth. I can't even take full credit for getting them started for the kids -- when my oldest son was in high school, his best friend's parents were both economists, and this kid would talk to my son about how much money his Roth was making. My son decided he also wanted a Roth -- which at that point I'm not sure I had even heard of. So not all kinds of peer pressure are bad!

 

[AmyAnne]

Wow, I wish my parents helped me set up a Roth when I was a teen. I’m 23 now. I hope to max it this year. I am a year behind though. It’s hard when you are young.

The other tricky thing is that the contributions are limited to actual earnings. So even though the general limit is (something like) $4000 (I think), there were years when my kids earned less than $4000. There were a few years when the kids received some small inheritances that we would have put in a Roth, if the kids had earned enough . . .

 

[GusGus16]

Finally catching up with the thread from last night to this evening, things again are moving fast after a pretty slow weekend! Congrats on all the approvals.

DH and I currently get 3% back on our checking account per month if we make 15 transactions with over $10 for each transaction. He is a little worried we will lose that 3% cash back by charging everything to credit cards.

I also get 3% on my checking, except my bank requires 10 transactions and no minimum amount, so I try to limit the usage to only charges less than $5 dollars and typically less than a dollar. You will have to do the math and determine if it is worth it, as I'm sure they have a maximum amount that you can get the 3% on. Someone asked if they count credit card payments and at least for my bank they don't, so if that is possible I would double check before assuming those payments will work. I think with the $150 dollar of spend a month, you likely would be better off with the credit card bonuses. I know that, a minimum $10 dollar purchase would be very difficult for me to do.

I'll have to talk to DH and see what he thinks. I guess I'm a little worried that I will get a lot of UR and be too late to get the flights we want.

Nice thing about UR's are they are so versatile, you may have to pay cash for the flights, which may be a good thing to help with minimum spends, but you can use them for hotels, tickets, etc.

Also, should I create RR accounts for DH and DD now or can I add numbers later? Adding later would probably save time during booking.

Truthfully no need to have RR accounts for you DH and DD (although you may just want to set them up to have for later use), I would just book all your tickets from your RR account with your points, all on one reservation. Given you are using points they would not earn RR points. Much easier to check in when you are all on one reservation as well! Oh and you probably know this, but in case of a point decrease book your depart and return flights on separate reservations, so if the price drops on one and not the other you can rebook with the cheaper price!

 

[speedyfishy]

I am pretty sure that most of our accounts are invested in index funds but I haven't checked in on them in years. Thanks for the suggestion to check on Morningstar (although I think I remember something in the news a few years ago about Morningstar possibly fudging its ratings -- although I could be completely wrong about that). We don't need the funds any time soon. In fact, it's kind of odd that 20 years ago I was sure we should invest in tax-deferred plans because our tax bracket would be lower when we retired, but now I'm pretty sure (assuming we both remain healthy) we will have to start taking mandatory withdrawals before we actually retire, so that's another thing I don't really know what to do about.



I'm so sorry that you regret your career choice! If I recall correctly, you are just finishing your degree, so I'm crossing my fingers for you that it turns out better than you are expecting. I've had some positions that were kind of awful--nothing that I absolutely hated, but bad enough to motivate me to look for a different environment. About 15 years ago, I made major move from a big corporation (my first post-graduate degree job) to a government job and took a big pay cut, but the work was more fulfilling and the co-workers more tolerable. I've switched jobs a few times since then, but those have been more "right place at the right time" moves. It definitely took awhile to find my current, not-planning-to-retire-from job. (Which is why I have those IRAs from 20 years ago that I need to figure out what to do with.)

And that's a great statistic about the Roth. I can't even take full credit for getting them started for the kids -- when my oldest son was in high school, his best friend's parents were both economists, and this kid would talk to my son about how much money his Roth was making. My son decided he also wanted a Roth -- which at that point I'm not sure I had even heard of. So not all kinds of peer pressure are bad!

Love that was his friend. I’m just starting out, but I have hated every internship. I’m hoping I can find something though.

 

[GusGus16]

The other tricky thing is that the contributions are limited to actual earnings. So even though the general limit is (something like) $4000 (I think), there were years when my kids earned less than $4000. There were a few years when the kids received some small inheritances that we would have put in a Roth, if the kids had earned enough . . .

Agree with the above!

Just a word of warning as well, which would not apply to teenagers as they don't earn enough, there are income caps for Roth IRAs. If you are a single individual, making 120,000 or more a year, you are only eligible to contribute a prorated amount into a Roth IRA and there are also income caps for couples as well, otherwise there can be tax penalties associated with the contribution.

 

[DaveL]

Yes, I would rather keep the URs and transfer only what I actually need. What time does the booking window open? Midnight? Sometime in the morning? I want to make sure I am up and ready to go to get this all done as easily and quickly as possible.

ETA: I am on Eastern time.

I read a bunch of posts then went home and mowed the lawn so this might have been answered or possibly not even the question you asked... I have transferred some points from Chase to SW twice... It takes just a few minutes in my experience. At first I was worried because it didn't show up at the top of the page, but when I went to recent activity it showed up there within a few mins and I think it allowed me to use them then.

As for bookings, So far out of the last three trips, two have been the cheapest by FAR right when they were released (Like 6k each way vs 25k each way a week or two later, to totally sold out a month later). The only one that went the other way was our December 19-25 trip went from 75k points for three round trip tickets to 22k for three round trip tickets!!! Our Christmas day return flight I think was down to 2k/person. I rebooked that trip four times to keep taking advantage of the cheaper flights. It even got to the point I would see the standard fare (Cheaper that what I paid) and it would be crossed out and an even cheaper fare was displayed like it was trying to keep me on that flight vs changing to a different time.

 

[AmyAnne]

Love that was his friend. I’m just starting out, but I have hated every internship. I’m hoping I can find something though.

I do take credit for immediately realizing that the Roth was a good deal. In fact, my son was sort of surprised that I was 100% in favor of his request -- I think he was gearing up for a battle where he would have to convince me, but I was like, "Okay, what's your checking account routing number? Let's transfer those funds!"

Also hoping you find something you like. Maybe one good thing about those internships is that they will steer you away from certain kinds of positions. At 23, you're actually younger than my oldest child, so I feel I'm allowed to say what I would say to him, which is that now, when you're young, is the ideal time to take chances and find out what works for you. I went to graduate school after I had my youngest child, which many people thought was crazy, but it turned out to be absolutely the right choice for me.

 

[speedyfishy]

I do take credit for immediately realizing that the Roth was a good deal. In fact, my son was sort of surprised that I was 100% in favor of his request -- I think he was gearing up for a battle where he would have to convince me, but I was like, "Okay, what's your checking account routing number? Let's transfer those funds!"

Also hoping you find something you like. Maybe one good thing about those internships is that they will steer you away from certain kinds of positions. At 23, you're actually younger than my oldest child, so I feel I'm allowed to say what I would say to him, which is that now, when you're young, is the ideal time to take chances and find out what works for you. I went to graduate school after I had my youngest child, which many people thought was crazy, but it turned out to be absolutely the right choice for me.

Thank you! I’m going to try working for a few years doing different things. If none of it works, I would have no problem going back to school.