My Money Blog has partnered with CardRatings and may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. MyMoneyBlog.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone.

$6,000 IRA Contribution Goal 2021 Final Results:: $5,592 in Bonuses, $2500+ in Extra Interest

2021 end-of-year update. I have an informal goal each year of earning the equivalent of the maximum annual IRA contribution limit of $6,000 using the profits from various promotions alone. If you had put $6,000 into your IRA every year for the … [Read the rest]

Anthony Bourdain: Not Too Late to Change Your Direction

[Programming note: Posting will be light through the end of the year. Hope you have a restful and rejuvenating holiday season!] The WSJ article Anthony Bourdain: Feast of Memory (link should bypass paywall as I am a WSJ subscriber) briefly … [Read the rest]

My Favorite Things: High-Quality 2021 Edition

Here are a few of my favorite things, sorted roughly with the most recent purchases on top. I enjoy reading about other folks' favorite things much more than those generic gift guides. These are my answer to the question "If all your possessions … [Read the rest]

Behavioral Activation: Mood Follows Action

On top of everything else, December and January are busy times for finance as well. There are "year-end moves" like tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing your portfolio, making sure you contributed to your 401k/IRA/HSA/FSAs, and charitable giving. Then … [Read the rest]

Lili Banking App For Freelancers: $100 Referral Bonus

Update December 2021: Follow-up that I eventually did receive my 90,000 Drop points (see screenshot) but I did have to contact Drop support and send them a screenshot of my account opening e-mail for proof as it didn't track on its own. Sometime … [Read the rest]

Year-End Portfolio Rebalancing Check-In Time

Although you can rebalance the stocks and bonds in your portfolio back towards your target asset allocation at any time, I usually see more articles about it at years-end. This works out well as the evidence doesn't really support doing it more … [Read the rest]

The American Express Blue Business Cash(TM) Card Review: 2% Cash Back on First $50k in Purchases, No Annual Fee

The American Express Blue Business Cash(TM) Card is a small business rewards card that earns a solid cash back rate with no complicated categories. There is also generous welcome offer for new applicants, which is great for a "keeper" business card. … [Read the rest]

Fidelity Investments Incoming Brokerage Asset Transfer Review

In order to use Fidelity's Fully Paid Stock Lending Program, I decided to transfer some of my individual stock holdings from Merrill Edge to Fidelity. I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth experience, and here is a quick review of the … [Read the rest]

Loan Out Your Stocks For Extra Interest? Fully Paid Lending Income Programs

A few readers asked about "fully paid lending programs" offered by some brokerage firms. The premise is very intriguing: You lend out the stock shares you own and earn interest, all while keeping full "economic" ownership. You still get any upside … [Read the rest]

Coursera: Free Online Courses on Accounting and Finance

One of my newer interests is better understanding individual businesses and how they work. Accounting is the "language of business" used to write annual reports, 10-Ks, 10-Qs, income statements, and so on. I was afraid a textbook would be too … [Read the rest]

Best Interest Rates on Cash – December 2021 Update

via GIPHY Here's my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash as of December 2021, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Significant changes since last month: Not much... NASA FCU has updated their CD specials, and I … [Read the rest]

Consumer Reports: Top 10 Most Reliable Car Brands 2021

Consumer Reports has released updated results from their 2021 Car Owner Survey in the articles Who Makes the Most Reliable Cars?, 10 Most Reliable Cars, and 10 Least Reliable Cars. Most of it is now behind a paywall, but more info can be found in … [Read the rest]