• 4 Posts
  • 24 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 10th, 2023

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  • I think it’s disingenuous to make it sound that simple.

    If Congress supported forgiveness, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Whether they had implicitly given that power to the executive with previous legislation is controversial, thus the SCOTUS case. But it’s not like SCOTUS was the first to question it. Pelosi and even Biden had previously stated it was not an executive power.

    Again, it could be easily settled now by the legislature if they supported it, but they do not.








  • I think you’re okay either way but personally if I have an emergency fund and no higher interest debt, I’m paying that off for sure. Even if I lost a couple bucks, worth it for peace of mind.

    Would be different if the debt was a mortgage at 3%, which many people do have right now.

    Edit: One note for folks doing similar math, don’t forget interest and yield on bonds are taxed as ordinary income (20~30% in the US).





  • If it’s just a card you like anyway and it’s easy then great, but to spend time figuring out 2% vs 1% and meeting all the requirements, that’s a damn small amount compared to increasing your income potential, learning skills, or getting various other life choices right.

    I just think overall, personal finance folks spend too much time on these gimmicks vs maximizing their income or avoiding costs. Probably because it seems easy and you can do it from your couch.

    Also, I shouldn’t have said income. It’s more like 1 or 2% of your credit card spend, which is hopefully a much smaller number (say $800 on a $100k income with $40k CC spend)



  • I feel the need to counter this comment and point out that while churning is a cool thing, it shouldn’t be on anyone’s list of ways to save or make money.

    For all the planning, opening and managing new accounts, fulfilling requirements, and then jumping through hoops to take advantage of those rewards, you really have to be committed and give up some sanity and freedom for a pretty marginal gain at the end of the day.








  • Controversial take - no budget. Split income into 3 or more buckets - savings, critical bills (rent, utilities, debt, etc), and discretionary. I manage as separate accounts.

    Spend discretionary freely and enjoy the peace or mind that your financial future is secured by the first 2 buckets. If you run low, rice and beans til next paycheck.

    No need to track coffee expenditures, you’ll realize during rice and beans week that you can make it at home.

    Your mileage may vary.