I’m doing something a bit different today.
Every day, I’m asked questions or I see something on a forum that piques my interest, but isn’t full-post worthy. I might have a thought or two about it, but I don’t want to write a full post about it or don’t think it’s worth it.
Today, I’m going to do a bit of stream-of-consciousness to get some of those thoughts down for posterity. Hopefully it provides a bit of amusement or knowledge to you. If not, well, at least I can stop trying to remember all of these things!
Some people are better at learning through words. Others need to see pictures. On one of the many Facebook forums about personal finance, we were recently talking about when to close credit cards in order to earn another signup bonus. A couple people mentioned that a visual aid would help them understand it better. I said I’d try to create a chart that explained it. Well, here you go.
(You can click on that chart to make it bigger)
Note that this is an entirely notional plan and should not be used as a guideline. I did not delve into the rules for each card to create this. This just shows how you can plan out your credit card churning plan. For those cards that allow you to re-earn a signup bonus, you need to know how long you have to wait before reapplying. You also want to keep track of when you should cancel or downgrade cards.
The way I set this up is that as you build your plan, you would estimate out how long it would take you to reach the minimum spend. Then you would mark the calendar in green (or whatever color you choose) when you earn that bonus. I also recommend marking the month before any annual fee is due as the month you should either cancel the card or downgrade it to a no fee card. You can always keep it open, too, which would just be the continuous white block.
Then, looking at the rules for that particular card, mark down which month you are eligible to apply again that would allow you to re-earn the signup bonus. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Make sense?
If you want my current thoughts on how I will be deciding whether to cancel or downgrade credit cards in my own card churning experiment, you can find that here.
I’m tired of seeing articles about how expensive pets are. First of all, what are you doing that is making your pet so expensive? I have a 65 pound dog and he costs on average $70/month. That’s counting food, vet trips, toys, treats, and anything else I may need. For a whole living being! In exchange for that, here’s the value:
- Constant companion! Unconditional love!
- Work out partner (key for me because I am inherently lazy and my job requires a basic level of fitness)
- Security system
- Lower stress
- Gets me outside the house (I could happily stay indoors for days at a time)
- He attracts tons of attention from strangers. This forces me to interact with people (hardcore introvert over here)
- He is hilarious. Especially when he falls off the couch. And when he is dreaming and starts quietly barking!
All that and more for about $840 per year? That’s a bargain.
Also, my dog is awesome.
It’s almost the end of 2017! If you have some spare money and haven’t maxed out your workplace retirement account or IRA, go put that money in that account! There are only a few weeks left!
I had a coworker recently who had a small battle with Finance. He PCS’d to our base a few months ago and his paycheck was still reflecting his last location. Of course, because part of our paycheck includes locale-specific amounts (BAH, tax status, etc) that meant his pay was wrong. And in this case, wrong meant he was getting paid too much. I don’t know if the military is the only place where getting paid too much is a bad thing, but I know this is a bad thing.
He’d told this to Finance multiple times but nothing was getting fixed. Predictably, they finally “fixed” it…by subtracting the full amount without warning from his paycheck. That means he’s going into December, typically an expensive time of the year, with thousands of dollars missing from his paycheck! Thousands of dollars – poof! – not there. And it’s not clear yet whether they even withheld the right amount.
There’s really nothing else he could have done, since he’d been telling them this for months and trying to get it fixed. But c’mon, Finance. Why can’t we at least give servicemembers a heads up before shrinking their paychecks??
It really bothers me that people hate on Black Friday and Cyber Monday so much. If you are buying things you don’t need with money you don’t have, then yes – that’s bad. But what exactly is it about these particular days that causes people to mock others for getting a good deal? I really needed a new computer. Mine is literally falling apart. By buying this weekend, I bought it at its all-time lowest price (verified via CamelCamelCamel). I saved $100 over the normal “sale” price!
And since when does the personal finance community mock people for going after deals? Chill out, everybody.
Question on Chase Sapphire…I can’t remember, do they waive fees for Military now? I thought I remember you talking about them having a new policy.
Also, congrats on your Black Friday Deals. Getting a new computer is fun imo! I treated myself to a FitDesk…saw it on Amazon for $300 and then found it at Hayneedle for $212. #winning
Nice!
Chase is now waiving the annual fee if you applied after September 20th, 2017. Any cards in existence before then aren’t getting waived as part of the program. I’ve heard a few people say they were successful, but I wouldn’t rely on it. I suspect people who opened cards before then will be more successful if they frame it as “I’m canceling this card unless you are willing to waive the fee” instead of saying “I’m in the military, I deserve free stuff.” I know which one I’d rather help if I were a business owner, anyway.
That’s a cool churning map! I haven’t done any credit card hacking (except for measly points I already get with my ancient card) specifically because the tracking involved seems like way too much work. Do you have a post on how you started?
I bought my mother-in-law a new iPad mini 4 for $275 on Thanksgiving Day because her old mini was dying. It normally sells for $399 and supposedly was just available in store at BestBuy on Black Friday. The grownups in our family don’t do Christmas gifts — BUT, Mr. Groovy and I will be living with his parents for at least a few weeks, more likely a few months, when we build a house. We tried to discuss paying rent and they laughed at us. So they better get used to receiving gifts.
I sure do! This post begins with links to all of the prior posts if you really want to dig into the whole thing. https://militarydollar.com/2017/11/22/card-churning-month-four/
If you just want to see what inspired me, that’s in this post: https://militarydollar.com/2017/07/19/travel-hacking-credit-card-churning-lets/
Wow, that’s a fantastic deal! And I hear ya on the gift giving vs paying rent. I’ve done that a few times as I’ve moved around the country and had to wait for my place to be available. None of my hosts would ever let me pay rent, so I’ve bought them everything from a year’s supply of laundry detergent to a Dyson to a fancy watch. They are already doing me a huge favor – no way would I not repay them somehow!
That’s an awesome chart. I do a much simpler one for my own churning because I’ve been doing it so long it’s nearly second nature.
DOGS I LOVE DOGS. Since you asked: Seamus is my spendy pup. He’s older so his annual vet appointments cost $500 in exam and bloodwork. Then he’s got chronic conditions that require $40 of fish, $50 of medications, $40 of food, $20 of ointments, and $20 of chewies a month. When his condition flares up a few times a year that my thrice daily ointments can’t fend off, that’s another $120 of medications per visit. I work REALLY hard to keep those flare ups to a minimum.
He’s the BEST dang dog in the world. He was JB’s staunch protector until ze could walk, then backed off to give zir independence. He’s gentle with everyone unless they want to play rough and then he’s all in. He’s incredibly responsive to our commands and what he thinks we want and sleep growls, barks, snorts and runs which makes me laugh every time. Also he sleeps on his back.
He’s worth every penny.
And I’ve maxed out both our IRAs this year! And we spent a lot this BF/CM weekend but on things we needed, for the best historical price. Fistbump to camelcamelcamel.
Seamus absolutely sounds worth it! That’s my point. Even with everything you described, you are looking at a monthly cost of ~$200-$300 per month. That’s still pretty dang cheap when you think in terms of him being a friend, protector, comedian, and therapist! Totally worth it!
My dog runs in his sleep sometimes too. HILARIOUS!
Woah that chart is awesome. Definitely going to take a closer look at that when I have some time.
I’m going to own a dog one day and I’m so excited for that in advance.
No maxing out IRAs for me this year, whomp whomp. But perhaps I can get closer with my Roth IRA next year!
I am also excited for that in advance!
That’s about what my dog has cost for the first 7 years of her life. And in the last 3 months… closing in on $3500 on a heart condition. Worth it, absolutely. But older pets can get really expensive really fast (much like older people, really).
Ah, yes. I do realize that. I just think it’s still a value. My dog gives me much more back than what I pay, even in the years when his care has been more expensive for some reason. As you say, humans get more expensive too, but nobody complains about that or suggests a $2000 limit on their medical care (a recent amount I heard suggested for pets). I’m not saying people should pay an unlimited amount for pets, of course. I just see a lot of complaining about even the basic costs (food is often mentioned). I wish 65lb humans could eat as affordably as my dog!
Our dogs (2 65ish lb dogs) have cost us $43/month on average over three years. For two dogs! We’ve been fontunate and only had the annual vet visit (they go together for a 15% discount).
Whoa….$43/month for TWO big dogs??? How???
I love that you love your pup 🙂 I’ve honestly been aghast at the number of personal finance bloggers who have advocated giving away pets for the sake of frugality 🤬. I know it’s a bit silly, but I’ve stopled following them over it. I figure people advocating for frugality at the cost of compassion and responsibility (and downright basic human decency decency) arent worthy of my time to read them and aren’t a good example to emulate. After all, it’s only money and you can’t take it with you when you go! My pup is one of the greatest things I’ve done for my physical/mental health…dogs are just pure goodness/joy!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Exactly!
Re: Black Friday & Cyber Monday
Are you camping out the night before to get that deal? Are you getting into fistfights in the middle of the aisle? Are you a store employer who told his cashier “Scarf down that turkey and get your butt back to work behind the register!?”
If not, the ire of pop culture towards those two events (mostly the first one) is not aimed at you. Cyber Monday is probably the best thing that could happen to people like me who absolutely hate shopping. I don’t buy a lot of stuff, but sitting behind a computer is definitely the safest way to do it. I think it gets lumped into the Black Friday hate because it’s really just an extension of that in-person shopping fiasco and gets the same amount of ridicule.
Re: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Unless you’re one of the shoppers camping out the night before or punching somebody in the middle of the aisle, or you’re a store owner ordering his cashiers to put down the Thanksgiving turkey and get their butts back to work that evening, then the hate towards this event isn’t directed at you. Cyber Monday is one of the greatest shopping gimmicks ever. I hate being in crowds and shopping, and shopping online allows me to avoid both. Any hate for Cyber Monday is just because it is considered a consumerist extension of Black Friday.