💵 How Much $ You Need to Retire Early
After reading Karsten Jeske's Safe Withdrawal Rate Series, I knew he'd be the perfect guest to talk about strategies for financial independence and early retirement. We discuss sequence of return risk, market risks, the 4% rule, taxes, annuities, inflation protection, portfolio allocation, and even the psychological aspects of retirement planning.
🛫 Travel, Points & Miles
🏨 Hilton Q3 Promo: 2,500 Bonus Points Per Stay
Hilton’s Q3 Promo is out and pretty easy. For stays completed between 9/3/24 and 12/31/24 at any Hilton hotel/resort, you earn 2,500 Bonus Points as long as you register in advance here.
🚗 Earn a Quick 1,000 Marriott Points with Uber
Marriott Bonvoy members can now earn an easy 1,000 bonus points by linking their Uber account and completing their first ride by 9/30/24. Unfortunately, Uber Eats orders doesn’t qualify for this promo.
In other Marriott news, they’ve partnered with Sonder, adding 100+ apartment-style properties where Bonvoy members can now earn and redeem points.
👑 Free Radisson Rewards VIP Status
Radisson Rewards has an offer for free upgrade to their top VIP tier, which includes perks like room upgrades, breakfast for two, lounge access, and early/late checkout. The bad news is that I tried every tactic mentioned in the post above and couldn't get it to work. The good news is that I managed to figure out my own method by using the promo code and appending it to another sign up URL, which I put together for you here. I expect they'll turn this way off too, so act fast.
🛫 JetBlue Mosaic Elite Status Match
JetBlue has relaunched a status match program for elites from American, Alaska, Delta, and United, offering broader eligibility but with stricter requirements. The match is only up to Mosaic 2, with the opportunity to earn up to Mosaic 3 by earning tiles (JetBlue's elite status-qualifying units). If you time you match right, you could potentially secure status for the current and following years.
🤝 Update: Alaska and Hawaiian Merger
Looks like the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines merger is moving forward and this article talks about what’s next for Alaska Mileage Plan. If you've been looking for a way to get some more Alaska Miles, this article covers the risks of transferring points to Hawaiian (with a 20% transfer bonus through 8/31) expecting they'll become Alaska Miles (which was recently confirmed that they will transfer 1:1 here).
🤑 Latest Deals
🎯 $50 off $50 at Target
If you don't already have a Target Circle™ Card, they're currently offering new cardholders $50 off $50 when you get approved. A $50 bonus wouldn't usually excite me, but this offer works with the Debit Card version of the card, which has no impact on your credit. It also offers 5% off Target, free 2-day shipping and some other benefits.
🚖 $75 Uber Credit with CLEAR Enrollment
Through 9/3/24, you can get a $75 Uber voucher (also good on Uber Eats) with any new CLEAR Plus membership when you enroll at this link with the code BETTERTRAVEL75. Membership is $199/yr, but if you've been considering joining or have an Amex card that reimburses the fees (like The Platinum Card® from American Express or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express), it might be a good time to sign up. I have 3 cards with a CLEAR credit and I've only used two, so I'm actually considering offering to pay for a family member's membership if they give me the Uber credit. Win-win for both of us :)
💸 Two SoFi Offers Expiring Soon!
SoFi still has two expiring deals that can help you earn some extra $$:
- Up to $680 Bank Bonus (through 8/30/24): When you open a SoFi Checking and Savings account and receive a qualifying direct deposit within 30 days, you can earn a bonus of up to $300. Plus, if you sign up for SoFi through Rakuten and set up a direct deposit of $500+, you can earn an additional $350 bonus. Finally, if you use this link to get an additional $30 when you sign up for a new Rakuten account.
- 1% Unlimited 401(k) Rollover Match (through 9/15/24): SoFi has extended their 1% unlimited match offer on 401(k) accounts rolled over into a SoFi IRA (Traditional or Roth).
🕵️ Great Finds
🩺 Peter Attia: Longevity 101
If you’re interested in learning more about longevity, this episode put together a really thorough introduction to the subject and covered CVD, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and more! It's also available as a podcast episode here and if you're a premium member of the podcast you also get their comprehensive show notes.
💰 New Solo 401(k) Features at Carry
Since we started running our own business, we opened a Solo 401(k) at Carry and consolidated all our old 401(k)s into it as well. It's been a fantastic experience, but they just launched 3 more features I'm super excited about:
- Alternative investments lets you invest in startups, real estate, and more from your account.
- Automated "mega backdoor roth" to simplify the process of fully maxing out your Solo 401(k) by automatically converting your after-tax contributions to Roth
- Payroll integrations to fully automate contributions to your Solo 401k from payroll providers like Gusto (what we use)
P.S. If you want to learn more about how to save on taxes, check out ep #147 with Carry’s co-founder Ankur Nagpal. During that episode, he offered a deal for new customers that I think still works here.
Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
