The holiday season is quickly approaching, a time when many are hoping for or expecting a hefty year-end bonus.
Without traditional employers, alas, nobody will be sending us a check to install a new swimming pool or even a membership to the jelly of the month club. (The gift that keeps on giving.)
So not wanting to go without, I decided to just go ahead and create my own bonus season. I ended up leaving $425 on the table and one bank is still holding some funds hostage, but this year we are getting another $2,575 worth of holiday cheer. (As an added bonus, only $825 of it is taxable.)
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A little over a year ago, with much fanfare Chase launched a new travel oriented rewards credit card, the Sapphire Reserve.
Despite a seemingly steep annual fee (now $550), we were eagerly among the early adoptees.
After a year of card use, did the benefits exceed the cost? Let’s check (hint: yes, they did indeed.)
That Time I Intentionally Overdrew Our Bank Account (photo credit)
An important principle at the heart of successful financial management is “don’t spend more cash than you have on hand.”
Cash flow is important. Run out of cash and bad things can happen… banks charge overdraft fees / businesses charge late fees & interest / Uncle Vinny busts your knee caps…
Why then did I overdraw our bank account this month? On purpose. Twice.
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Recently I mentioned that our upcoming visit to Philadelphia will earn us a few free hotel nights. Several people wrote to ask how that works. Sorry for being too vague.
Thanks to the quarterly IHG Accelerate promotion our 3 nights in Philly will earn over 62,000 IHG Rewards Club points.This is worth over $400 or somewhere between 2 and 3 free nights.
