Good morning Reader!

I love the Olympics. I prefer Summer over the Winter because of fencing (I fenced foil in a high school club and picked it up recently as a fun sport to do with our son), but I enjoy it all.

For many athletes, it's a culmination of years of work and dedication to what is often a niche sport the world only cares about once every four years.

Well, this year they're introducing Ski Mountaineering, or Skimo, to the Olympics. It's a mix of alpine skiing, climbing, and hiking. Looks exhausting and amazing at the same time.

If you don't get NBC or pay for Peacock, below I share a few ways you can get them for free (or cheap) during the Olympics.

💲 Best Bank Rates (as of 2/4/2026):

• High Yield Savings - 4.31% APY from Axos Bank​
• Short Term Treasury - VBIL - 3.56%
• Certificates of Deposit (see rates on CD Valet, who just got a nice redesign!)
  • Best: 4.27% from Climate First Bank (6mo)
  • 3 months: 3.95% from State Bank of India (CA)
  • 6 months: ​4.27% from Climate First Bank
  • 12 months: 4.10% from Credit One Bank
  • 60 Months: 4.00% from Credit One Bank
• Bank Bonuses - $450 US Bank, $400 BMO, $200 Barclays, $1500 Marcus & more​

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📺 How to watch the Olympics

The Olympic Winter Games are set to start on February 6th and end on the 22nd, with some preliminary events starting as early as the 4th of February.

This year, the Olympics will be broadcast in the United States on NBC, which means you’ll need Peacock if you want to stream it.

There are a few ways you can get it for free or really cheap:

​👉 How to Watch the Olympics for Free (or really cheap)​

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💵 Vanguard cuts expenses on 87 funds

Vanguard announced earlier this week that they were lowering the expense ratios on 168 share classes across 87 funds - their "largest reduction in history."

There wasn't a change in any of the funds I consider to be the best Vanguard funds but it's always nice to see costs go down!

(VBIL, which I list in the rates above, did get cheaper though!)

​👉 Vanguard cuts expense ratios on many funds (full list here)​

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💸 Thoughts on Nook?

​Nook is an app that gives you a higher return (up to 7.6%) on your money by lending it out on cryptocurrency lending markets (DeFi, decentralized finance).

It's not a bank, you're not earning bank interest, you're earning interest from private borrowers who are putting up their crytocurrency as collateral to borrow against.

I'm researching this whole world (DeFi) so I'm not recommending this, but if you have experience with DeFi, I'd love to chat.

👉 Nook Earn App​

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What did you think of today's email?​
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Talk to you soon!

Jim

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PS. If you haven't comparison shopped car insurance in a year, this simple survey can tell you if you're overpaying.

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