Here's my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of April 2022, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities (useful for both cash reserves and as possible bond substitutes). I look for lesser-known opportunities available to … [Read the rest]
Best Interest Rates on Cash – April 2022 Update
The Power of the Default: 401(k) Auto-Enrollment, Auto-Increase, and Default Investment Options
Vanguard has an interesting whitepaper called Automatic Enrollment: The power of the default [pdf]. It takes effort to make a choice beyond the default setting. Doing nothing is always easier. Behavioral economics is still gaining popularity and … [Read the rest]
Backdoor Roth IRA Contribution 2022: Tips and Vanguard Example Screenshots
The official IRA contribution deadline for Tax Year 2021 is April 15th, 2022. However, I choose to use April 15th as the informal deadline for my same-year IRA contributions (Tax Year 2022). By around April 1st, I have usually finished filing my … [Read the rest]
Optimal Target Date Fund Glide Path, Per Deep Learning AI
The WSJ article Why Target-Date Funds Might Be Inappropriate for Most Investors (free gift article) discusses new research using "deep learning" artificial intelligence to find the optimal asset allocation over time. There are several interesting … [Read the rest]
Marcus Bank CD Promo: 1.10% APY for 10-Month Term, Rising Rate Commentary
Rates are rising... slowly. Marcus Bank has a 10-month promo CD paying 1.10% APY ($500 min, early withdrawal penalty is 90 days of interest). Ally Bank has a 14-month promo CD paying 1.00% APY (No min, early withdrawal penalty is 60 days of … [Read the rest]
Mint Mobile: My Canada International Roaming Experience and Tips
After a delay of two years, my family finally used up our flight credits and stash of hotel points to travel internationally to Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia for some snow-filled fun. I was a bit worried about how well my "budget" … [Read the rest]
Schwab Starter Kit: $101 in Free Stock (or Cash) For New Customers
I'm a old fart now, but if I am going to keep most of my net worth somewhere, I want it somewhere that if I called their phone number, I'd be confident to have a knowledgable human pick up the phone and help me with my problem. That means Vanguard, … [Read the rest]
Amazon Pickup Points Promo: $10 Off First Order of $20+ (Targeted)
Amazon has a targeted promotion of $10 off $20+ purchase when you try out an Amazon pickup point, which include in-store pickup counters (like Whole Foods) and self-service Amazon Hub lockers. Enter the code 10OFFPICKUP and select an Amazon pickup … [Read the rest]
Historical Asset Class Correlations: Stocks vs. Bonds, International Stocks, Commodities, Gold
Morningstar has published their 2022 Diversification Landscape (direct link?, but free with email), another useful whitepaper for DIY investors that looks closer at the correlations between different asset classes. The first three sentences quoted … [Read the rest]
S&P 500 and Global Stock Market Dividend Yield 2000-2020
Here is an article about dividends by Capital Group. I didn't really find the analysis very actionable, but I did like their chart that tracked the historical yields of the S&P 500 index, the MSCI ACWI index, and 10-year US Treasury bonds from 2000 … [Read the rest]
PFS Buyers Club: New US Mint Coin Arbitrage Opportunity ($250+ Net Profit, March 2022)
New deal March 17th, 2022. The US Mint regularly releases limited-edition coins to collectors. The coin sets are often limited to one per household, but end up with a market value greater than the initial cost. PFS Buyers Club is a website broker … [Read the rest]
Major Asset Class 10-Year Return Forecast 2022 Collection From Huge Investment Management Firms
Christine Benz at Morningstar has helpfully compiled the 7 to 10-year forecasts for major stock and bond asset classes from some huge investment firms that collectively manage trillions of dollars. The problem is... they are all over the … [Read the rest]