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082R | The Paradox of Choice

Discussion of Brad and Jonathan’s purchasing habits, messages from the ChooseFI community, benefits and drawbacks of roboadviors, and a summary of capital gains harvesting.

  • Jonathan gives a review of some travel rewards wins on a recent trip to Chattanooga, TN.
  • Capital One Venture Card allows users to redeem miles for nearly any travel cost.
  • PSA: bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate if you’re traveling.
  • Review of Monday’s episode with Dani and Laura, Jonathan and Brad’s wife.
  • Jonathan is excited about the way Brad and Laura cut down on choices, purchases, and decisions for themselves and their children.
  • Brad aims to keep his life simple, particularly in regard to purchases.
  • Enjoying the journey is crucial; obsessing over small purchases probably takes away from someone’s enjoyment of life.
  • During your pursuit of FI, it’s important to remember your “why”.
  • Laura shops for the future, by purchasing clothes, presents, etc., way before they’re necessary, often finding items for a fraction of the normal cost.
  • Batch processing: blocking your time off to maximize efficiency.
  • Facebook Message from Jimmy:  met a friend on the airplane, introduced him to ChooseFI, and that friend reduced expenses and put himself on the path to FI in less than a month.
  • There are options for almost every financial position, to get yourself moving in the direction of FI.
  • Jeff, on Facebook, reports that he’s paid off $105k of student loans.
  • ChooseFI San Diego has had a real estate meeting recently – informing people about real estate options and discussing rent vs buy, among other topics of conversation.
  • ChooseFI local groups will be as good as the participants want them to be.
  • Voicemail from Ryan: question about using roboadvisors?
  • Fees matter: managing accounts directly saves money.
  • Benefits of a roboadvisor – automated services can help with some calculations that it’s difficult to do yourself, and it sometimes makes investing more accessible
  • Jonathan prefers and recommends M1 Finance. Here is our full M1 Finance Review if you’d like to learn more.
  • Voicemail from Bonnie: selling used items through the online Varagesale platform helps her bring in a little extra income as a stay-at-home mom.
  • Voicemail from Anthony with questions about increasing your capital gains basis.
  • Capital gains are typically taxes, but if you’re in a low tax bracket, long-term capital gains are not taxed.
  • Previous episode about capital gains harvesting in episode 18 and 18R.

Links:

Betterment

Wealthfront

M1 Finance Review

——————-

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As Jonathan would say, “The FIRE is spreading my friends!”

Choose FI has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Choose FI and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. American Express is a ChooseFI advertiser. Disclosures.
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