Mint to Credit Karma Transition: Financial Account Tracking and Budgeting Alternatives

Mint.com, the financial dashboard and budget tracking website bought by Intuit in 2009, is “shutting down” on January 1st, 2024 (update: now extended to March 2024). Shutting down doesn’t feel like quite the right word, as though the Mint brand is going away, Intuit is transitioning nearly all the core Mint features into Credit Karma, also owned by Intuit.

💰 Credit Karma. Basic balance tracking for free with ads. Direct import from Mint. Known best for their free credit scores and free credit monitoring services, Intuit bought Credit Karma in 2020 (sense a trend?). If you want to continue with tracking account balances, monitor overall spending broken down by category, and be shown ads for credit cards, then you can just migrate all your info to Credit Karma without having to type in all your logins again. Honestly, this seems like a reasonable merger as both used an ad-supported free service model, although the Credit Karma ads are definitely more prominent.

I am already a Credit Karma user for the free credit monitoring, but have not been invited to the formal migration yet. I plan on migrating and giving them a chance first, although I think the current CK website is quite… ugly. The app screenshots look a lot better, so we’ll see. Feature-wise, their FAQ makes it sound pretty similar to what Mint used to offer:

You will be able to bring the majority of your Mint financial account balances, your entire net worth history, plus all of your supported account connections and transactions.

Here are a few more non-Intuit alternatives to Mint to consider:

💰 Quicken Simplifi. Fully featured with automation and forecasting features. No ads for a monthly fee. Quicken has made a more “Mint-like” version called Quicken Simplifi, and the regular price is $3.99/month (discounted 50% to $2/month for first year currently). Deemed “Best Budgeting App” by Wirecutter.

💰 Empower Dashboard. Free financial account tracking more focused on investments and asset allocation. Well, free with one sales phone call. I personally use Empower (formerly Personal Capital) to track all of my investments across different brokerage accounts and 401k providers. Empower also tracks bank accounts, but due to habit I initially preferred to use Mint to track all of my cash across different banks and credit unions. Empower is probably my fallback if Credit Karma gets too annoying, as I’m already familiar with it (and it’s also free with no ads).

I like to tell people upfront that even though it is “free”, after you sign up for Personal Capital, they will call you on the phone to see if you might like their financial planning service. This is how Empower makes money, and I’m fine with that. If you ignore their calls, they will keep calling. If you answer it once and politely decline, they will never call you again (it’s been years and years now) and let you use the dashboard completely free and in peace (and without huge banner ads). I highly suggest the latter option.

💰 Money by Envestnet Yodlee. Free, basic account tracking. No ads. Yodlee was one of the earliest aggregators that allowed you to view all of your balances in one place. Envestnet is a provider of technology for wealth management and financial advisors, and bought Yodlee in 2015. They appear to make most of their money selling this aggregation service to large financial institutions and now financial advisors for wealthy clients, and I can only guess that they offer this “Money” dashboard without ads (or support) as a sort of free beta testing preview for individuals. If you just want to see your various balances in a nice barebones list and don’t need any additional cool features, this may fill all your needs. Note that in my limited experience, Yodlee has more connection issues with certain banks and credit unions than Mint or Plaid, so test it out first.

💰 Monarch Money. Fully-featured budget tracking. No ads. $99 per year regular price. If you wished Mint would have stayed an independent company and continued adding new features and stayed alive by charging money for those features, Monarch Money has the closest feel to that. I haven’t used it myself, but that is certainly my impression after reading through its website, looking at the UI screenshots, and skimming reviews. It uses rollover budgeting like YNAB (You Need A Budget), which is has a very similar feature set and pricing to Monarch Money. It does come in at the highest price here at $15.99/month or $99 a year (discounted to $50 for first year with code MINT50).

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Where will you be going when the Mint.com site shuts down in 2024?

Costco.com: Disney Gift Card 10% Off ($25 off $250, Limit 2)

Costco.com is selling $250 Disney gift card for $224.99 (limit 2 per membership). These are eGift cards, but you can use them anywhere a normal Disney gift card would work. You are saving 10% off up to $500 in gift cards. These aren’t available all the time and usually sell out.

If you are planning a Disney Parks vacation, Aulani stay, or Disney Cruise, this is an easy $50 savings for each member. You may even be able to apply to an existing reservation that you haven’t made final payment for yet. Disney Gift Cards are valid at:

  • Walt Disney World® Resort (including hotels, restaurants, gift shops, etc.)
  • Disneyland® Resort
  • Disney Cruise Line
  • Disney Store locations in the U.S.
  • ShopDisney.com
  • Disney PhotoPass™
  • Disney Vacation Club®
  • Adventures by Disney®
  • Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii
  • Disney’s Hilton Head Island and Vero Beach resorts

Best Interest Rates on Cash – December 2023

If you’re leaving your cash in a checking account earning zero interest, you’re missing out on a lot of potential interest. Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of December 2023, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. There are often lesser-known opportunities available to individual investors. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 12/6/2023.

TL;DR: Mostly minor movements. 6% APY now (barely) available with 12-month CD and a new 7% APY rewards checking accounts. More 5%+ savings accounts. Compare against Treasury bills and bonds at every maturity, taking into account state tax exemption.

Fintech accounts
Available only to individual investors, fintech companies often pay higher-than-market rates in order to achieve fast short-term growth (often using venture capital). “Fintech” is usually a software layer on top of a partner bank’s FDIC insurance.

  • 5.30% APY ($1 minimum). Raisin lets you switch between different FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions easily without opening a new account every time, and their liquid savings rates currently top out at 5.30% APY amongst multiple banks. See my Raisin review for details. Raisin does not charge depositors a fee for the service.
  • 5.36% APY (before fees). MaxMyInterest is another service that allows you to access and switch between different FDIC-insured banks. You can view their current banks and APYs here. As of 12/6/23, the highest rate is from Customers Bank at 5.36% APY. (At the moment, Customers is also the top bank at SaveBetter at 5.30% APY.) However, note that they charge a membership fee of 0.04% per quarter, or 0.16% per year (subject to $20 minimum per quarter, or $80 per year). That means if you have a $10,000 balance, then $80 a year = 0.80% per year. This service is meant for those with larger balances. You are allowed to cancel the service and keep the bank accounts, but then you may lose their specially-negotiated rates and cannot switch between banks anymore.

High-yield savings accounts
Since the huge megabanks STILL pay essentially no interest, everyone should have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Raisin has a 12-month No Penalty CD at 5.41% APY with $1 minimum deposit. CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.90% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. Ally Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.55% APY for all balance tiers. Marcus has a 13-month No Penalty CD at 4.60% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • CIBC Agility Online has a 12-month CD at 5.66% APY. Reasonable 30-day penalty if you withdraw your CD funds before maturity. They are the online division of CIBC Bank. CIBC Agility also has an ongoing savings deposit bonus that can work out to a good APY while maintaining some flexibility.

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs*
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). * Money market mutual funds are regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms. I am including a few ultra-short bond ETFs as they may be your best cash alternative in a brokerage account, but they may experience losses.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 5.30% (changes daily, but also works out to a compound yield of 5.43%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 5.61% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 5.54% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months.

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 12/5/23, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.39% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.06% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 5.24% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.10 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 5.26% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.08 years.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov. You can also buy an additional $5,000 in paper I bonds using your tax refund with IRS Form 8888.

  • “I Bonds” bought between November 2023 and April 2024 will earn a 5.27% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-April 2023, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • OnPath Federal Credit Union pays 7.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and login to online or mobile banking once per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Pelican State Credit Union pays 6.05% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, log into your account at least once, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization membership.
  • Orion Federal Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make electronic deposits of $500+ each month (ACH transfers count) and spend $500+ on your Orion debit or credit card each month. Anyone can join this credit union via $10 membership fee to partner organization membership.
  • All America/Redneck Bank pays 5.30% APY on up to $15,000 if you make 10 debit card purchases each monthly cycle with online statements.
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • Workers Credit Union has a 5-year CD at 5.25% APY. $500 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty is half of the dividends that the withdrawn amount would have earned for the remaining term. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • Farmer’s Insurance FCU has their 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, or 60 month CDs ALL at 5.00% APY for a limited-time. $1,000 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty for all terms longer than a year is 180 days of dividends OR half of the remaining term’s daily dividends, whichever is greater. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • BMO Alto has a 5-year CD at 4.90% APY. 4-year at 4.90% APY. 3-year at 5.00% APY. 2-year at 5.25% APY. 1-year at 5.65% APY. No minimum. The early withdrawal penalty (EWP) for CD maturities of 1 year or more is 180 days of interest. For CD maturities of 11 months or less, the EWP is 90 days of interest. Note that they reserve the right to prohibit early withdrawals entirely. Online-only subsidiary of BMO Bank.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable CD at 4.45% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that now both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at 4.25% (callable: no, call protection: yes) vs. 4.15% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.

All rates were checked as of 12/6/2023.

Daffy DAF Review: The Best Donor Advised Fund For Smaller Individual Investors?

Updated review 2023. A donor-advised fund (DAF) helps you manage the timing of your charitable giving while also maximizing your tax benefits (allowing you to give more). You get the tax break at the time of contribution, which means you can give more when your income and tax rates are higher.

Donating appreciated stock or mutual fund shares (or crypto) is one of the most efficient ways to donate. You avoid both paying taxes on capital gains and get a tax deduction for the full current market value if you itemize. Here is an examples of the double tax advantage of donating appreciated stock. Your contributions can then be invested to grow a tax-deferred manner until you decide to make a grant to the charities of your choice.

One problem for small investors is that the “Big 3” of DAFs: Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab all charge annual administrative fees of 0.60% of assets with a minimum fee of $100 to $250. (Update: As of 2024, Schwab no longer has a minimum asset-based fee.) In addition, you are usually stuck with a limited menu of investment options, many of which may have expense ratios that are higher than common index ETFs. Vanguard has cheaper options, but they have a $25,000 minimum opening amount. Both the account management fees and portfolio investment fees are funds skimmed away from the charities themselves.

Daffy is a newer DAF startup that charges only $3 a month, or a flat $36 a year regardless of asset size. Importantly, this tier now also allows the donation up to $25,000 in appreciated stock (lifetime cumulative). Their 13 preset portfolios include ones with four low-cost and broad Vanguard ETFs (VTI, VXUS, BND, and BNDX) with a rock-bottom overall expense ratio of as low as 0.05%.

If you are an individual investor that also wants to donate a modest amount of appreciated stock from any brokerage, the end result is that with Daffy, a larger percentage of your donation will end up going to charity.

Personally, I’ve had a Fidelity Charitable DAF for a few years now, and it has been a smooth experience even though I am a small fry customer. I am able to donate appreciated assets from my Fidelity brokerage accounts with ease, and then give most of it away. I don’t maintain an exceptionally large balance (so I worry less about the portfolio fees), and my fees are the $100 a year minimum.

Other competitors include CharityVest, which has a higher $4/month minimum (0.40% asset-based) but also no limit on the amount of appreciated securities that you can donate. The 0.40% asset-based fee does mean that starting at a $12,000 balance, you are going to exceed the $4/month minimum. They do offer a low-cost ETF portfolios.

$25 referral bonus (for charity). I have just opened a Daffy account to try them out. I was able to contribute up to $1,000 initially via credit card with no processing fees. I discovered that if you open via a my Daffy referral link, you will get an extra $25 in your DAF after funding. If four people open with my link, I will get $100 added to my charitable fund. (All proceeds on both sides go into the DAF, and thus will eventually go to a charitable non-profit.)

Bottom line. If you plan on donating modest amounts of appreciated assets under their $25,000 lifetime limit, then Daffy is the lowest-cost DAF that I am aware of that lets you manage the timing of your charitable contributions and invest it tax-free until you decide to make a grant. (Update: As of 2024, Schwab no longer has an asset minimum. Thus, if you hold less than $6,000 in the Schwab DAF at 0.60% fee, then your annual account fee will be lower than Daffy’s flat $36 a year.)

PenFed Credit Union Premium Online Savings: Up to $750 Deposit Bonus (New & Existing)

Update 11/30/23: At some point after publishing this post, PenFed changed the terms of this offer. It used to say:

Can I share/forward this offer to a friend or family member?
Yes, this offer is open to everyone. Maximum bonus received is $750 per member.

But, now it says:

This exclusive Bonus Offer is only available for the original recipient of the email and cannot be shared or made eligible beyond the original recipient.

Not a customer-friendly move, PenFed, to pull such a bait-and-switch!

Original post:

Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is offering a up to $750 deposit bonus when you add new funds to their Premium Online Savings account. You get $150 for every $10,000 of new deposits, up to $750 for $50,000 in new deposits. Must deposit new money by 12/30/2023 and maintain that level until 4/30/2024 (four months). There are two different offer links, one for those opening a new account and those adding new funds to an existing account:

From the offer FAQs and fine print:

What is considered new money?
New money is funds deposited from an external account into your new Premium Online Savings account. The funds must be new funds to PenFed.

Can I share/forward this offer to a friend or family member?
Yes, this offer is open to everyone. Maximum bonus received is $750 per member.

Can I open multiple Premium Online Savings accounts and receive a bonus for each?
No, this offer is limited to one bonus and one new Premium Online Savings account per member.

Your account must stay open and be in good standing when bonus is credited to your account. Please allow up to 60 days for the Bonus to appear in your account.

Here are the highlights of the PenFed Premium Online Savings account:

  • 3.00% APY as of 11/29/23.
  • No monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement.
  • Anyone can join PenFed via partner organization. You’ll have to keep $5 in a Share savings account, in addition to opening a separate Premium Online Savings account.

Napkin math. If you deposit towards the end of the 30-day funding period, your technical minimal holding period is 4 months (~120 days). If you meet one of the tiers exactly (such $10k or $50k), then the bonus works out to an additional 4.50% annualized yield. If you assume the current 3.00% APY, that adds up to a total effective interest of roughly 7.50% APY annualized for 4 months.

In absolute terms: If, for example, you deposit $50,000 right before December 30th, 2023 and keep it until April 30th, 2024, you’ll end up with $750 bonus + $500 in interest (from the 3% APY) = $1,250 at the end of the 4-month period.

PenFed no longer does a hard credit pull on new membership applications, so anyone should be able to join without having to pay any fees, other than a $5 deposit into Share Savings (only refundable when you close your membership). They also have interesting certificate rates from time to and time, and right now I see them advertising 5.35% APY on 15- and 18-month certificates (as of 11/29/23). If you’re in the market, also take a look at their interest rates on car loans and mortgages.

I already have a PenFed membership, so I hope to time things properly so that this can be another drop in my 2023 IRA challenge bucket (maybe count as 2024?).

Buy $100 Apple Gift Card, Get $15 Amazon Promo Credit

As part of their Amazon’s Cyber Week gift card deals, get a $15 Amazon Credit with $100 Apple gift card purchase. Must use promo code APPLET5USAP at checkout, or see the “Qualifying offers” box with promo details. While supplies last, and it will probably sell out.

Apple gift cards are now good for everything from Apple Watches to iPhones to music to iCloud storage. The code just adds to the balance in your Apple account, allowing you to lock in a discount even if you buy as soon as a new Apple product is released (most other Apple “deals” are on older models). I now view them as sort of an “iPhone + Apple Watch layaway plan”.

Stuff I Bought Myself and Would Buy Again (2023 Edition)

Many “buying guides” are bland and generic, but I find that I still enjoy hearing what works for the discerning creators that I follow. I went through my buying history and these are random items that I have bought myself from Amazon (no free samples) that I would gladly go out and buy again. I’ll also list a few misses at the bottom of stuff I wish I hadn’t bought.

(Note: If you are reading this in an email/RSS reader, I am not allowed to include any Amazon affiliate links in e-mails, so they have been removed. Please click here or on the post title above to view the links in a browser. Thanks!)

LISEN 15W MagSafe Car Mount Charger

I finally upgraded to the latest iPhone this year after a 3-year wait, and wanted to take better advantage of all the MagSafe features. After a bunch of research, this car mount charger allows your phone to both display information and receive power magnetically with no plugging in required and no spring-type or gravity-type mounts. The magnetic connection is strong and has the extra aligning magnet in addition to the circular ones. Air vent attachment system works well. Includes the USB-C cable (some don’t). Even lights up so it’s easy to find at night. After buying the first one, I bought another one for my spouse’s vehicle.

YETI Rambler 46 oz Bottle w/ Chug Cap and YETI 64 oz Rambler

I have tried many water bottles, as I’m sure you probably have, and this is the best combination of my favorite drinking spout style (no straws!), nice handle, quality construction, and ease of cleaning. I wish it wasn’t the expensive YETI brand, which is very nice but also very expensive, but alas it was. I just have to focus harder on not losing them. The 64 oz bottle is good for longer outings, while the 46 oz is a hard-to-find size that I find perfect for everyday use (holds significantly more than “just” 32 oz, but not unwieldy).

COSORI Air Fryer Pro LE (5 Quart)

Love our air fryer. Use it at least every other day. Air fryers are like microwaves but the food doesn’t get soggy. Reheat all kinds of stuff, from pizza to roasted veggies. Cooks steaks (really!). This Cosori brand was a Wirecutter recommendation that worked out (my average success rate with them is ~70%). Good quality, easy to clean (entire tray is dishwasher safe), nice user interface.

PopSockets Phone Grip with MagSafe

PopSockets are popular due to their comfort and overall high quality, but these are unique because you can easily remove and/or add them off instantly with no adhesives. Works with any MagSafe case or directly onto a naked iPhone w/ MagSafe. The magnets are very strong so it won’t fall off by accident. Clear color also goes with everything.

VEVA HEPA Filters Compatible with Coway Airmega AP-1512HH (2-Pack)

The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH is a very effective and reliable air filter and has been running in multiple rooms in my house basically non-stop for years. I love the simple, functional design and once you see how much gunk gets caught in the filters, you won’t want your family breathing that into their lungs ever again. I go through a lot of HEPA filters (and use a garden hose on the screens) regularly. These VEVA filters are the highest-quality aftermarket filters that I have found, yet they are only half the price of the OEM filters.

Arctic Zone Titan Cooler – Zipperless Hardbody Cooler

I have traditional big Igloo coolers with and without wheels, but I wanted a lightweight cooler that I could easily carry (but still holds 30 cans!) but also wouldn’t break the bank (i.e. not YETI). This thing has surprisingly good insulation and durable construction. Combines well with reusable ice packs. Easy cleanup. Has a lot of little thoughtful features like a comfortable shoulder strap and the quick-access zipperless lid.. This $300 YETI looks great but only holds 18 cans.

KitchenAid Classic Pizza Wheel

Another random kitchen tool on my list!? Years ago, I got a free promo pizza wheel with an insurance company logo on it. I ended up using it so much it finally got too dull. Cuts so many things faster than a knife. I’ve found KitchenAid brand stuff to be pretty decent quality overall, and this one did not disappoint.

Rester’s Choice Ice Pack for Injuries Reusable

Both old adults (like me) and young kids need a lot of ice packs for their boo-boos. This reusable one is very high quality and goes back and forth from the freezer all the time. Much better than real ice in ziploc backs.

Misses: Here are stuff that was highly-rated in other places like Consumer Reports or Wirecutter, but did not perform up to my expectations.

AmEx Offers: Shop Small Saturday, Walmart+, Gas Stations, Wireless Bills

New offers added, including Shop Small credit that expires Saturday. Amex Offers are targeted offers that either offer discounts in the form of statement credits on your account or as extra reward points earned. To view your offers, visit your americanexpress.com account or within the Amex® Mobile app for iPhones and Android phones. You must activate each offer individually. Sometimes the offers are different for consumer and small business cards.

Note that these are now limited to one per credit card member. So if you sign up for it on one card, you won’t be able to use the same offer on another AmEx card. Be sure to add it to the card you want.

Here are some currently available offers that you might be targeted for:

  • Shop Small Map: $5 on $50+ purchase. Get a one-time $5 statement credit by using your enrolled eligible Card to make a single purchase of $50 or more at “Shopping” businesses listed under the “Shop Small®” filter on the Shop Small Map or Online Directory in the US & US territories by 11/25/2023. See terms.
  • NFL Shop $20 off $100 (up to 2 times).
  • Lululemon $20 off $100.
  • Walmart+ $40 back on $98 annual membership.
  • Gas Stations +1 point/dollar spent.
  • Any wireless bill 10% back (up to $30).
  • National Car Rental +5 points/dollar spent.
  • Under Armour $10 off $50.
  • JetBlue $40 off $200.
  • Paramount+ $11 off $11 (up to 3 times).
  • Peacock $5.99 off $5.99 (up to 3 times).
  • Levi’s $35 off $175.
  • Columbia $25 off $150.

These are targeted at small business cards:

  • Lowe’s $50 off $250+. Get a one-time $50 statement credit by using your enrolled eligible Business Card to spend a minimum of $250 in one or more purchases in-store at Lowe’s or online at lowes.com by 12/31/2023.
  • Amazon +5 MR points/dollar. Get 5 additional Membership Rewards® points for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases made using your enrolled eligible Card online at Amazon.com by 12/31/2023. Limit of 2,500 Membership Rewards points.
  • Dell.com
  • Verizon Business
  • Marriott 20% off.
  • Expedia.
  • Hilton
  • Microsoft Store.

There are many different flavors of American Express, but here are my “keeper” consumer and business cards:

The Half-Hour Car Rental Hack

When you make a reservation at nearly every car rental website, you simply agree to a price and make a non-binding reservation without giving any payment information. You can cancel at any time, without penalty. I’m really not sure why this is still standard industry practice, but I guess it works for them.

AutoSlash takes advantage of this quirk by helping you repeatedly rebook whenever it manages to help you find a lower price. I just came across a “tip” from their blog where they discovered that you can get differing prices by changing your pick-up time by only a half-hour:

Instead of automatically booking your pickup time to be on the hour — say, 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. — ask for a second quote for the half hour before or after your original time — 9:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.

Skeptical that this car rental hack can work? Let’s look at a few examples. We ran a quote for a weeklong minivan rental at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), picking up and returning at noon. In this particular case, Alamo and Payless tied for the cheapest of the major car rental brands, delivering a price of $525. Then ran the same quote request at the same airport, for the same car at the same time, but bumped back the pickup and return time to 12:30 p.m. Alamo’s price dropped to $470, while Payless and Enterprise came in at $525. The upshot: If you booked with Alamo, you’d save 10% without breaking a sweat.

For a recent quote at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), we saw a whopping $143 difference in National’s price simply by shifting the pickup and return time by 30 minutes.

You can also potentially save money by changing the drop-off time by a half-hour or hour:

I tried this “half hour hack” with a few of my existing reservations, and strangely it did take off a few dollars per day on some of them! Not a huge savings, but definitely good to know. Honestly, just using Autoslash at all will probably save you much more money by itself. I’ve used Autoslash as “price drop insurance” for several years now; my old Autoslash review is still pretty much accurate.

Best Interest Rates on Cash – November 2023

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of November 2023, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. There are often lesser-known opportunities available to individual investors. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to see how much extra interest you could earn from switching. Rates listed are available to everyone nationwide. Rates checked as of 11/16/2023.

TL;DR: Mostly minor movements, both up and down this month. 6% APY now (barely) available with 12-month CD and rewards checking accounts. More 5%+ savings accounts. Compare against Treasury bills and bonds at every maturity, taking into account state tax exemption.

Fintech accounts
Available only to individual investors, fintech companies often pay higher-than-market rates in order to achieve fast short-term growth (often using venture capital). “Fintech” is usually a software layer on top of a partner bank’s FDIC insurance.

  • 5.30% APY ($1 minimum). Raisin lets you switch between different FDIC-insured banks and NCUA-insured credit unions easily without opening a new account every time, and their liquid savings rates currently top out at 5.30% APY amongst multiple banks. See my Raisin review for details. Raisin does not charge depositors a fee for the service.
  • 5.36% APY (before fees). MaxMyInterest is another service that allows you to access and switch between different FDIC-insured banks. You can view their current banks and APYs here. As of 11/16/23, the highest rate is from Customers Bank at 5.36% APY. (At the moment, Customers is also the top bank at SaveBetter at 5.30% APY.) However, note that they charge a membership fee of 0.04% per quarter, or 0.16% per year (subject to $20 minimum per quarter, or $80 per year). That means if you have a $10,000 balance, then $80 a year = 0.80% per year. This service is meant for those with larger balances. You are allowed to cancel the service and keep the bank accounts, but then you may lose their specially-negotiated rates and cannot switch between banks anymore.

High-yield savings accounts
Since the huge megabanks STILL pay essentially no interest, everyone should have a separate, no-fee online savings account to piggy-back onto your existing checking account. The interest rates on savings accounts can drop at any time, so I list the top rates as well as competitive rates from banks with a history of competitive rates. Some banks will bait you with a temporary top rate and then lower the rates in the hopes that you are too lazy to leave.

  • The top rate at the moment is at Elevault (app only) at 5.65% APY (5.50% rate) on up to $50,000, but as of 11/20/23 they are changing their rate to (Prime minus 3.5%) which would be 5% currently. PopularDirect at 5.40% APY. CIT Platinum Savings at 5.05% APY with $5,000+ balance.
  • SoFi Bank is now up to 4.60% APY + up to $275 new account bonus with direct deposit. You must maintain a direct deposit of any amount each month for the higher APY. SoFi has their own bank charter now so no longer a fintech by my definition. See details at $25 + $250 SoFi Money new account and deposit bonus.
  • There are several other established high-yield savings accounts at 4.25%+ APY that aren’t the absolute top rate, but historically do keep it relatively competitive for those that don’t want to keep switching banks.

Short-term guaranteed rates (1 year and under)
A common question is what to do with a big pile of cash that you’re waiting to deploy shortly (plan to buy a house soon, just sold your house, just sold your business, legal settlement, inheritance). My usual advice is to keep things simple and take your time. If not a savings account, then put it in a flexible short-term CD under the FDIC limits until you have a plan.

  • No Penalty CDs offer a fixed interest rate that can never go down, but you can still take out your money (once) without any fees if you want to use it elsewhere. Raisin has a 5-month No Penalty CD at 5.36% APY with $1 minimum deposit. CIT Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.90% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit. Ally Bank has a 11-month No Penalty CD at 4.55% APY for all balance tiers. Marcus has a 13-month No Penalty CD at 4.60% APY with a $500 minimum deposit. Consider opening multiple CDs in smaller increments for more flexibility.
  • Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union has a Santa Special 12-month CD at 6.18% APY. Minimum opening deposit is $1500. Early withdrawal penalty is 90 days interest. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.

Money market mutual funds + Ultra-short bond ETFs*
Many brokerage firms that pay out very little interest on their default cash sweep funds (and keep the difference for themselves). * Money market mutual funds are regulated, but ultimately not FDIC-insured, so I would still stick with highly reputable firms. I am including a few ultra-short bond ETFs as they may be your best cash alternative in a brokerage account, but they may experience losses.

  • Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund is the default sweep option for Vanguard brokerage accounts, which has an SEC yield of 5.29% (works out to a compound yield of 5.42%, which is better for comparing against APY). Odds are this is much higher than your own broker’s default cash sweep interest rate.
  • The PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active Bond ETF (MINT) has a 5.61% SEC yield and the iShares Short Maturity Bond ETF (NEAR) has a 5.75% SEC yield while holding a portfolio of investment-grade bonds with an average duration of ~6 months.

Treasury Bills and Ultra-short Treasury ETFs
Another option is to buy individual Treasury bills which come in a variety of maturities from 4-weeks to 52-weeks and are fully backed by the US government. You can also invest in ETFs that hold a rotating basket of short-term Treasury Bills for you, while charging a small management fee for doing so. T-bill interest is exempt from state and local income taxes, which can make a significant difference in your effective yield.

  • You can build your own T-Bill ladder at TreasuryDirect.gov or via a brokerage account with a bond desk like Vanguard and Fidelity. Here are the current Treasury Bill rates. As of 11/15/23, a new 4-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.39% annualized interest and a 52-week T-Bill had the equivalent of 5.29% annualized interest.
  • The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) has a 5.13% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.10 years. SPDR Bloomberg Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (BIL) has a 5.27% SEC yield and effective duration of 0.08 years.

US Savings Bonds
Series I Savings Bonds offer rates that are linked to inflation and backed by the US government. You must hold them for at least a year. If you redeem them within 5 years there is a penalty of the last 3 months of interest. The annual purchase limit for electronic I bonds is $10,000 per Social Security Number, available online at TreasuryDirect.gov. You can also buy an additional $5,000 in paper I bonds using your tax refund with IRS Form 8888.

  • “I Bonds” bought between November 2023 and April 2024 will earn a 5.27% rate for the first six months. The rate of the subsequent 6-month period will be based on inflation again. More on Savings Bonds here.
  • In mid-April 2023, the CPI will be announced and you will have a short period where you will have a very close estimate of the rate for the next 12 months. I will have another post up at that time.

Rewards checking accounts
These unique checking accounts pay above-average interest rates, but with unique risks. You have to jump through certain hoops which usually involve 10+ debit card purchases each cycle, a certain number of ACH/direct deposits, and/or a certain number of logins per month. If you make a mistake (or they judge that you did) you risk earning zero interest for that month. Some folks don’t mind the extra work and attention required, while others would rather not bother. Rates can also drop suddenly, leaving a “bait-and-switch” feeling.

  • Credit Union of New Jersey pays 6.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • Pelican State Credit Union pays 6.05% APY on up to $10,000 if you make 15 debit card purchases, opt into online statements, log into your account at least once, and make at least 1 direct deposit, online bill payment, or automatic payment (ACH) per statement cycle. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization membership.
  • Orion Federal Credit Union pays 6.00% APY on up to $10,000 if you make electronic deposits of $500+ each month (ACH transfers count) and spend $500+ on your Orion debit or credit card each month. Anyone can join this credit union via $10 membership fee to partner organization membership.
  • Genisys Credit Union pays 5.25% APY on up to $7,500 if you make 10 debit card purchases of $5+ each, and opt into receive only online statements. Anyone can join this credit union via $5 membership fee to join partner organization.
  • The Bank of Denver pays 5.00% APY on up to $25,000 if you make 12 debit card purchases of $5+ each, receive only online statements, and make at least 1 ACH credit or debit transaction per statement cycle. Thanks to reader Bill for the updated info.
  • All America/Redneck Bank pays 5.30% APY on up to $15,000 if you make 10 debit card purchases each monthly cycle with online statements.
  • Find a locally-restricted rewards checking account at DepositAccounts.

Certificates of deposit (greater than 1 year)
CDs offer higher rates, but come with an early withdrawal penalty. By finding a bank CD with a reasonable early withdrawal penalty, you can enjoy higher rates but maintain access in a true emergency. Alternatively, consider building a CD ladder of different maturity lengths (ex. 1/2/3/4/5-years) such that you have access to part of the ladder each year, but your blended interest rate is higher than a savings account. When one CD matures, use that money to buy another 5-year CD to keep the ladder going. Some CDs also offer “add-ons” where you can deposit more funds if rates drop.

  • Farmer’s Insurance FCU has their 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, or 60 month CDs ALL at 5.00% APY for a limited-time. $1,000 minimum. The early withdrawal penalty for all terms longer than a year is 180 days of dividends OR half of the remaining term’s daily dividends, whichever is greater. Anyone can join this credit union via partner organization.
  • BMO Alto has a 5-year CD at 5.25% APY. 4-year at 5.20% APY. 3-year at 5.10% APY. 2-year at 5.00% APY. 1-year at 5.65% APY. No minimum. The early withdrawal penalty (EWP) for CD maturities of 1 year or more is 180 days of interest. For CD maturities of 11 months or less, the EWP is 90 days of interest. Note that they reserve the right to prohibit early withdrawals entirely. Online-only subsidiary of BMO Bank.
  • You can buy certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. You may need an account to see the rates. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance and easy laddering, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. Right now, I see a 5-year non-callable CD at 4.75% APY (callable: no, call protection: yes). Be warned that now both Vanguard and Fidelity will list higher rates from callable CDs, which importantly means they can call back your CD if rates drop later.

Longer-term Instruments
I’d use these with caution due to increased interest rate risk, but I still track them to see the rest of the current yield curve.

  • Willing to lock up your money for 10 years? You can buy long-term certificates of deposit via the bond desks of Vanguard and Fidelity. These “brokered CDs” offer FDIC insurance, but they don’t come with predictable early withdrawal penalties. You might find something that pays more than your other brokerage cash and Treasury options. Right now, I see a 10-year CDs at [n/a] (callable: no, call protection: yes) vs. 4.47% for a 10-year Treasury. Watch out for higher rates from callable CDs where they can call your CD back if interest rates drop.
  • All rates were checked as of 1/16/2023.

Primis Bank Novus Checking: 6% APY Guaranteed for 6 Months (4.00% APY Standard)

Primis Bank just rolled out a new Novus Checking account that includes an introductory period of 6.00% APY guaranteed for 6 months on up to $50,000 with qualifying direct deposits. Hat tip to reader Bill P. Highlights:

  • 6.00% APY guaranteed on up to $50,000 for 6 months, when you set up and use direct deposit within 60 days of opening your account and maintain it through the 6-month period.
  • Otherwise, earn 4.00% APY (with no direct deposit or after the initial 6 months). Note this is a variable rate.
  • No minimum balance requirement.
  • Open with just $1.
  • Must open online.
  • Free starter pack of 40 checks (upon request).
  • Free cashier’s checks.
  • Free ATM rebates.

Napkin math. If you consider the 6% APY to be a 1% APY improvement over 5% APY, on a $50,000 balance that works out to $250 extra interest over 6 months. Of course, interest rates could change in the future (up or down). The fact that this is a checking account rather than a savings account makes it easier to maximize your interest earned while still performing everyday transactions.

You may recall that Primis Bank was mentioned previously for their 5.07% APY Premium checking and 5.07% APY Primis savings accounts (rate as of 11/15/23). These still exist. The problem is, I’m not really sure what the difference between the “Novus” and the “Premium” accounts are… could it be that the Premium may be phased out soon in favor of the Novus with lower base interest rate? Perhaps it is a good idea to open up those accounts now as well to take advantage if they grandfather in existing customers?

Premium Checking details:

  • 5.07% APY as of 11/15/23.
  • No minimum balance requirement.
  • Open with just $1.
  • Must open online.
  • Free cashier’s checks and starter pack of checks.
  • Free ATM rebates.

Primis Savings details:

  • 5.07% APY as of 11/15/23.
  • No minimum balance requirement.
  • Open with just $1.

Reader Adam says to make sure to download the “Primis Digital Mobile App” and not the other one which applies to their physical branch accounts (their two systems are currently separate). Also, you may have issues syncing your existing bank (or Personal Capital) with Primis because they try to log into the physical branch account interface and not their online-only accounts.

Capital One Spark Cash Select Business Card Review: $500 Intro Bonus w/ No Annual Fee

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The card_name is a business credit card with simple, straightforward cash back along with no annual fee. This no-annual fee card is currently offering a strong $500 cash bonus for new cardholders after qualifying purchases, while also requiring an excellent credit score. Here are the highlights:

  • $500 Cash Back once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
  • Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back for your business on every purchase, everywhere – with no limits or category restrictions.
  • 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One’s travel booking site.
  • Rewards won’t expire for the life of the account.
  • Redeem your cash back rewards for any amount.
  • No annual fee.

This card does not have all of the bells and whistles like top-level rewards, transferrable airline miles, or airport lounge access. For that, look into the Capital One Venture X Business Card and its higher annual fee.

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that they can apply for business credit cards, even if they are not a corporation or LLC. The business type is called a sole proprietorship, and these days many people are full-time or part-time consultants, freelancers, eBay/Amazon/Etsy sellers, Uber/Lyft drivers, or other one-person business owners. This is the simplest business entity, but it is fully legit and recognized by the IRS. On a business credit card application, you should use your own legal name as the business name, and your Social Security Number as the Tax ID.

Bottom line. The card_name is a business credit card with simple, straightforward cash back along with no annual fee. This version requires excellent credit, but is also currently offering a one-time $500 cash bonus for new cardholders after qualifying purchases.

Due to the $500+ first-year value, I will be adding this to my Top 10 Best Small Business Card Bonus Offers.