Reward Realities, Budget eBooks, & Happy “Middle” Day 🥳

Good morning, happy people!

Here are some random facts about today, July 2nd…

• Today is the exact middle day of the year. 182 + today + 182 = 365 days. I feel very centered 🧘‍♂️
• 62 years ago today, Walmart opened it’s first store in Rogers, Arkansas. They now have ~11,000 stores worldwide, which means on average they’ve opened up 1 store every 2 days since. 😳
• It’s Lindsay Lohan’s birthday today! Lindsay, if you’re reading this, we hope your day is so fetch. 🎂
• Today is National Wildland Firefighter Day. Cheers to all the folks out there protecting our nation’s wildlands. We appreciate you! 🔥

OK, enough with that. Let’s talk about money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

Net Worth Check Up! 🧮

Tallying your net worth can be a strong motivator to continue saving and investing. It reveals your progress over time, and proves that your good financial decisions and frugal habits are paying off!

The formula is: Assets – Liabilities = Net Worth

But if you have a lot of accounts, it’s way easier to use a free app like Empower that calculates your net worth automatically. Figure out yours today, then compare it to your number 6 months from now. Onward and upward! 📈

SAVING

Cheap (or Free) Audiobooks & eBooks! 🎧

One of the best frugal hobbies is reading! But if you’re a total bookworm and burning through 5 books a week, it might not be as inexpensive as you think.

Born from our own audiobook/ebook addiction, here are some places to source books that won’t cost you a fortune…

Libby & Hoopla: Both of these connect to your local library card, getting you digital access to a healthy variety. Libby is our fave for audiobooks and e-reading, but Hoopla has movies/tv shows/games etc. also! Always check for books here first because they are freeeee 😉

OpenLibrary: Works similarly to Libby and Hoopla, but it’s only for ebooks. A kind of cool differentiator is its organization and gamification features. You can keep a reading log, a wish list, and can even create and keep track of a yearly reading goal. Makes reading a bit more fun!

Spotify: If you already pay for Spotify Premium, you can listen to audiobooks for up to 15 hours each month at no additional cost! It’s not a huge amount of time, but for casual listeners it’s a sweet benefit. If your library selection isn’t up to snuff, Spotify Premium might make sense for you.

Audible: They do have a paid service (for access to their full library), but what most people don’t know is Audible also has a selection of free books that you can access with your Amazon Prime account.

Continue to full post —> 12 Places to Find eBooks and Audiobooks for Cheap (or Free!)

Nectarine is an “advice-only” financial advisor marketplace. Basically, they help you find financial advisors that are honest, and don’t try to sell you anything you don’t need.

Nectarine advisors don’t earn any commissions, or manage your money in an ongoing way. Instead, investors pay just for hourly advice. You can compare experience, reviews, availability and book video chats with advisors directly online. One hour sessions with a vetted fiduciary are a flat $150, and that includes a wrap-up email with actionable next steps.

Check out Nectarine!**

**Affiliate disclosure: How To Money may be compensated by Nectarine if you use our affiliate link to make a purchase, which creates an incentive and conflict of interest. We are not current clients or employees of Nectarine.

POINTS

Credit Card Winners & Losers 🏆

We’ve shared this chart a while back, but it’s worth looking at it again as a reminder of how great — and horrible — credit card rewards programs can be.

It’s from a long research study by the Federal Reserve, showing how much average consumers make or lose with credit card rewards programs…👇👇👇

As you can see, only a small portion of folks have a net positive outcome using credit cards. And it’s typically those with lofty credit scores.

Sadly, the overwhelming majority of people pay more to the credit card companies than the benefits they receive.

How to be on the winning side:

First of all, if you have poor credit and are in the process of repairing your finances, stay away from credit cards! Solve those bigger money priorities in your life first before trying to maximize reward points. The risk of getting in trouble isn’t worth the potential rewards.

But for those who can handle responsibility, credit card rewards can pay off in a massive way. You just need to know the right rules to follow and stick to them…

• Only open cards with rewards you will actually use
• Track and manage your cards diligently
• Always pay credit card bills in full, and on time
• Watch out for annual fees!
• Keep a really simple strategy
• Avoid “status” traps that cost more than what the benefit is worth
• Don’t break the rules or manufacture spending
• Watch how much time you sink into it all

TLDR; Credit card rewards are absolutely worth it if you have a high financial IQ and avoid common credit traps. This includes always always always paying the bill before interest accrues. But if you have poor credit and are not on top of your finances, you will almost certainly find yourself on the losing end of credit card rewards, and even the best offers won’t be worth it.

More stuff:

• 💻 Full Post: Are Credit Cards Rewards Worth It? (traps to avoid and how to stay on the winning side!)
• 💳 Best Practices: The 7 Golden Rules of Plastic
• 🔍 Bonus Finder: HTM CC Search Tool

ICYMI

In other news…

One Less Car 🚘
Uber will be paying people up to $1,000 to ditch their car for 30 days, as part of their One Less Car Experiment. If you live in San Fran, LA, Chicago, Miami or Washington DC, you can apply here.

No Phones 📵
LA has approved a strict student cell phone ban during school hours. A great move considering the link between heavy social media use and increased mental health and well being issues with teens.

HYSA > Checking 💪
A seasoned bank teller shares 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Keep More Than $3,000 in a Checking Account. Great reminders for those of you who haven’t opened an online HYSA yet!!

Heat Wave 🥵
For those of you blasting the AC, the US Department of Energy recommends setting your air conditioner to exactly 78°F when you’re home to save energy while still staying cool. You can save up to 3% on your cooling costs for each degree you set above 72°F. Here are more ways to get your electricity bill down this summer!

Firework Safety 🧨
About ~7,000 people go to the emergency room each 4th of July with firework related injuries! Please please please celebrate safely this week!

Welp, that’s it for this week!

Wishing you all a lovely Independence Day! Hope you’re enjoying the summer and hanging with the people you love most.

Best friends (and our wives) out! 🍻