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  Update 4/14/25: On 4/14/25, U.S. Bank essentially neutered this card for new applicants. The $100k balance must now be held in a checking account rather than a brokerage account (and thus incurring a ~$4k/year opportunity cost for new applicants). Further, there is a list of exempted categories (taxes, education, etc). Given this, I’d now … Read more

64 years old. Gone too soon. She was a wonderful mother and grandmother.

The 2024 version of FreeTaxUSA is now live: https://www.freetaxusa.com/ Usual disclaimer: the name makes it sounds like a horrible scam. But it is my favorite tax filing site, found through my favorite resource on the planet for all things personal finance: the Bogleheads forum. If you need to adjust your W4, now is the time … Read more

Disclaimer This blog isn’t profit-driven — I don’t receive money from credit card referrals, and there are no affiliate links here. I write because I enjoy analyzing these topics, so the thoughts below reflect my genuine opinions, unclouded by profit motives.   Background I’ve been a long-time user of Bank of America credit cards, particularly … Read more

I loathe Robinhood for a multitude of reasons, but I transferred the entirety of our ~$200k Roth IRA balances to them six months ago because they offered us a 3% bonus (~$6k). The bonus was paid in full, tax-free, directly into the Roth IRA, with the condition that the money remains there for five years … Read more

Buffett’s Folly I was fortunate enough to see Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger in person at the Berkshire meetings several times. Their wit and common-sense wisdom never ceased to amaze me. One of the many lessons I’ve internalized from Buffett over the years is the reality of opportunity costs. Here’s how Buffett thought about them … Read more