Good morning Reader? As 2025 draws to a close, you only have a few weeks left to do all those "year end money moves" people talk about it. If you aren't sure what I mean, here are a few ideas of what you can do before January 1st. These are things like harvest capital gains or losses, accelerate deductions, etc. Better to start them now than scramble December 30th! Happy holidays! 💲 Best Bank Rates (as of 12/16/2025): High Yield Savings - 4.31% APY from Axos Bank Certificates of Deposit (see...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader? When I was younger, I was very much an optimizer. I had the time to analyze and study and deliberate on what was best. As I've gotten older and my responsibility has increased, I've slowly morphed into a satisficer. That's someone who is quick to make decisions and that may mean you don't get the optimal result, but a "good enough" one. This is why I invest in index funds, have just a few credit cards, and automate practically everything. I really enjoyed Christine Benz's...
21 days ago • 1 min read
How are you doing Reader? It's felt like every investment has gone up this year. Stock market, bonds, precious metals, crypto... But crypto has been getting hammered lately and one of the reasons is known as the "yen carry trade." It sounds more complicated that it is - it just means that when Japan has low interest rates, people borrow in yen, exchange it into U.S. dollars, and then invest the money in assets in a higher rate economy (i.e. United States). When the Bank of Japan hints at...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, To those who observe Thanksgiving, Happy almost-Turkey Day! It's one of my favorite holidays not because of the food but because it's a reminder of how good we have it. It doesn't matter if the year has been good or bad, the fact that we can spend it with family and friends makes it better. I hope you are able to spend it with the ones you care about. And, can I ask a small favor? Would you be able to add Wallet Hacks to your list of Preferred Sources in Google? Go to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, The final penny rolled off the Mint a week ago and now the U.S. Mint is auctioning off 24K gold three-coin sets. You can tell they're part of the final run because, well, they're made of gold but also because they have a special Omega (Ω) privy mark. I get that the Mint sells coins for a profit... ... but this one feels a little weird. What do you think? (View this email as a webpage) 🧮 IRS Updates Limits for 2026 The IRS released the contribution limits, income...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, At last check, the government looks to be on the verge of reopening after eight Democrats agreed to the resolution in return for a promise of a vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies. Despite what you may think about the politics of the matter, we can all agree it's crazy our country punishes itself like this every few months. Oh, and in the meantime, we haven't gotten any government reports but Goldman Sachs thinks we lost 50,000 jobs in October. That's not good. (View...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, I've been playing around with the idea of creating a community where we could all hang out - share ideas, ask questions, etc. - is that something you'd be interested in? Hit reply and let me know what you think (good or bad!) - I'd love to hear your thoughts on something like this. (View this email as a webpage) 🥶 Freeze your credit reports There is a no-cost way to stop identity thieves in their tracks and takes must a few minutes to set up. You should do this today. I...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, Quick heads up: This afternoon, the Fed will announce what it'll do with interest rates and traders expect it'll get lowered by 25 basis points to 3.75-4.00%. (nationally available CD Rates are mostly under 4% these days) When rates go down, borrowers get rewarded and savers get punished. It's cheaper to borrow and you get paid less to save. The economy will like it, as companies like to borrow money, but remember that if you want to get higher yield on your savings, lock...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Good morning Reader, My parents visited last week, the first week of the government shutdown, but their friends were able to visit various D.C. museums because they still had funding. Now most are closed. NPR has a good updated recap of what's being impacted as the shutdown enters it's 4th week. Has the shutdown impacted you? (View this email as a webpage) 🗑️ You're allowed to outgrow things When I started working, I kept a budget in an Excel spreadsheet. I tracked everything down to the...
2 months ago • 1 min read