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Travel Rewards, FI Resources, Teach Me Something

Brad
Posted by Brad Barrett

Travel Rewards Updates

Our team worked hard to update and streamline the free travel rewards course on the ChooseFI website and now it’s available as a series of 6 blog posts (instead of a 20-part email series) you can digest quickly and easily to get started maximizing travel rewards.  Get started with Part 1 now and there’s a link at the bottom where you can navigate to Part 2 and beyond…

Two FI Resources

Our good friend Cody Garrett, an advice-only financial advisor at Measure Twice Financial, continues to add tons of value to the ChooseFI Facebook group.  Here are two posts that I think will add value to your life:

Teach Me Something Interesting

Tim Urban, from ‘Wait But Why’ (I’ve mentioned his article ‘The Tail End’ numerous times, but can’t mention it often enough. Read it.) posted one of the most interesting requests I’ve ever seen on Twitter:

"Teach me something interesting using one comment"

The hundreds of replies he received ran the gamut from odd and bizarre to utterly fascinating and enlightening.  Too many to go through here in this newsletter, but if you have a few minutes and want to expand your mind, check out the Twitter thread here.

ChooseFI Community Taking Action This Week

  • Jennifer said, "My 1% this time is saving on home and auto insurance. I've been thinking about it for a while and I'm catching up on your podcasts (I'm around Fall of 2021). I kept hearing the theme of it's not 1 big thing, it's a bunch of little things. And you know what's been holding me back...I hate the phone. Can't stand making phone calls. I didn't want to spend the time on the phone talking to a representative. But I finally set my mind to it and even set a day and time to make that call. Then I shared with a good friend that I would be doing it...to give myself some outside accountability. Then he shared with me, "You know I have a really good agent. His office calls me when they think I can make changes on one of my policies to save money, or improve my coverage". Brad, I about fell off my chair. I have never had an agency do that for me before. So, I call them, got quotes on 2 cars, personal home and a rental home. I have to say the conversation was a pleasure (as much as insurance can be) and I was thrilled to switch my policies saving $270 a month! Also going to add 1 more thing. Another improvement is involvement. I started listening to Bigger Pockets and found you guys on there. Starting listening to you a long time ago. But recently I realized that I need to stop just listening and start getting involved a little. Signing up for this weekly email and replying are also part of my 1% improvement."
  • Emily said, "My 1% better this week is actually 44% better! I have heard you and Jonathan talk about negotiating a raise at work so many times, but I didn't muster up the courage until now. I went out and got a strong offer from another company, but I love my current job and was hopeful I could negotiate so that staying would also make financial sense. After going back and forth a few times with my boss and sticking to my guns, I was able to negotiate my way to a promotion and a 44% raise! This will help me blow my savings goals out of the water this year!"
  • Bob said, "Love the weekly updates. My 1% better was courtesy of YouTube and inspiration from others on here. Our dishwasher air gap (the spout above the sink) was leaking and pouring water under our sink leaving our dishwasher basically unserviceable. I had a handyman come over and look at it who said he was going to need to replace most of the sink and buy some materials from Home Depot. He was going to come back later in the week. After two no shows I reached out to some other folks. One quoted me at $75 an hour and a three hour minimum. So $250. I decided to look on YouTube. Watched a 5 minute video, learned how to snake out the air gap, and worked for about 10 minutes. Fixed it and it's running like a champ! So in 15 minutes total time invested I saved a minimum of $250, learned something and got inspired to do some other projects around the house, ultimately saving more money. And, there is no greater satisfaction of knowing you fixed something. Our extended family has a running joke about who holds the title of "Mr. Fix-it" based on little projects like these. Over the years thanks to the convenience of the internet we have gotten lazy. But now the race for Mr. Fix-it is back on and I'm currently the title holder!"
  • Amanda said, "My 1% better was shopping my pantry first this week. I plan all our meals to ensure we have left overs for lunch each day, and this week I shopped the items in my pantry first, so our bill at Aldi was $31 for an entire weeks’ worth of meals for my husband and I!"
  • Jeremy said, "My 1% is recently starting a side hustle! I started a vending machine company and recently secured my first location. I installed a snack machine in the breakroom of an office building and am eagerly seeking my next location. It required capital to get up and running and my first machine is not selling product as much as I'd hoped but I'm staying diligent as I try to grow the business. Supplementing the income from my 9-5 will move me closer to my FI goals and my ultimate goal of not being reliant on a sole source of income."
  • Dalisha said, "My 1% better this week was saying no to financing a "good deal". My husband and I were offered a vacation package for $1700 to two high end resorts. We could manage the monthly payment, but I don't want to return to a life of financing luxuries. I'm proud I said no! We both just earned raises at work and I don't want to fall into the lifestyle creep trap."

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