profile

Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

πŸ›οΈ Rates to go a bit higher soon...

Published about 2 months agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

Good morning Reader!

Last week, the Fed kept rates steady but they indicated that there was likely to be one rate increase this year. Trump wants rates to go down but the new Fed chair has said "not so fast..."

Interest rate traders peg the chances of an increase at the next meeting at 36.3%.

If you were hoping for a rate decrease, unfortunately it's not coming unless something significant changes. The 2-year Treasury bond yield is at the highest it's been since early 2025. The 10-year, used to price mortgages and other consumer debt, rose too.

We're already seeing CD rates increase. CD Valet publishes a monthly RateWatcher Report and in June, 68% of rate changes were increases.

πŸ’΅ Savers: Go with 6 or 12 month CDs and avoid anything long term. It's not clear when rates will go up but you don't want to let your cash sit too idle.

πŸ’³ Borrowers: Think about refinancing if you can lower your rates now, they are unlikely to go lower now that the Fed has hinted at a rate hike. Our partner Credible can help you compare personal loan rates from 20 lenders for free.

πŸ’² Best Bank Rates (as of 6/23):

πŸ’° High Yield Savings - 3.80% APY + $400 from SoFi​

πŸ›οΈ Short Term Treasury - VBIL 3.56%, SGOV 3.55%

πŸ“€ Certificates of Deposit (see all 40k+ rates)

πŸ” We list nationwide rates, CD Valet has local rates which can be higher so click through to double check for your state.

πŸ’΅ Bank Bonuses - $400 US Bank, $400 SoFi, $500 Bank of America, $400 BMO & more​

​(View this email as a webpage)​

πŸ€– Is It Safe to Tell AI My Finances?

AI is everywhere and you might be wondering if it's safe to give it access to your financials, whether it's directly into ChatGPT/Claude or to AI-powered apps.

The answer is Yes and No...

Here's what I do:

β€‹πŸ‘‰ Is It Safe to Tell AI My Finances?​

πŸš€ SpaceX Lockup Expirations

SpaceX only issued around 5% of total shares during its IPO. This is part of the reason why the stock has been so volatile (it took a 16.43% haircut on Monday and is now only a few bucks over it's IPO price of $150).

A lockup-period is when owners of shares aren't allowed permitted to sell until key dates pass. The next big date is after their earnings announcement in mid-August. That's when 20% of shares will be unlocked.

An additional 7% are unlocked on 8/21 and again on 10/10.

It doesn't mean the stock will go down (or up), but it's extremely useful to know because we know what happens to prices when supply of something increases...

β€‹πŸ‘‰ SpaceX has several big dates coming up that investors shouldn't forget​

πŸ—žοΈ Money Stuff I Found Interesting

Here are some interesting articles you may have missed (a lot of Wall Street Journal this week!):

πŸ’΅ Good Deals If You Need Them

What did you think of today's email?​
βœ… I Loved It! 🟨 It Was Okay ❌ Not My Favorite​

Talk to you soon!

Jim

PS. It's Amazon Prime Day... and normally I don't buy anything but there are some great tech deals that I might pounce on especially since Apple is going to raise prices due to memory chip costs:

​(see archive of previous emails)​

You signed up for this newsletter via wallethacks.com​

We respect you and your attention. If you no longer wish to get emails from us, you can unsubscribe and we will still be friends.​

If you like sending gifts, we like getting them here - P.O Box 323, Fulton, MD 20759

Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

πŸ’΅ Founder of WalletHacks.com

I have been writing about money for nearly 20 years and believe that personal finance is one of those subjects that is made complicated because it benefits a select few. Our aim is to help make it easier to understand so that regular folks can use what we teach to take control of their money and build wealth.

Read more from Hi, I'm Jim Wang and I share my strategies and tactics for managing your money and enjoying more out of life.

Good morning Reader! My family spent the better part of a week and a half up in the Lake Tahoe region, near Fallen Leaf Lake. I barely had cell service, no WiFi, and loads of hiking and nature. I loved it. This is the view from Mt. Tallac at 9,739β€² above sea level: Lake Tahoe & Fallen Leaf Lake It's important to unplug sometimes and get a bit of perspective on life without the interruptions. It doesn't have to be at 9,739 feet but I find that nature helps. And it doesn't have to be for a week...

4 days agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

Good morning Reader! We spent the last week or so up in the Lake Tahoe region and so I haven't been thinking too much about work and money. It's been a great chance to disconnect and recharge... and hike a lot! So this week's email will be brief. I did want to share a post I wrote a while ago that I still think about it frequently. It's the idea of Winner's Games and Loser's Games... check it out and let me know what you think. πŸ’² Best Bank Rates (as of 7/21): πŸ’° High Yield Savings - 3.80% APY...

11 days agoΒ β€’Β 1 min read

Good morning Reader! The CAPE Index is a number some investors look at to help understand if the S&P 500 is overvalued. With consumer spending down and the market at all time highs (thanks to AI!), you might be curious what the number is ... it's 40.64. Is the market overvalued? Maybe. Can it stay overvalued and get even more overvalued? Yes. Don't try to time the market but stay informed. It may be a good time to do something responsible like rebalance your portfolio. If your allocations are...

18 days agoΒ β€’Β 2 min read