The Intersection of FIRE and Disney

[DisneyMandC]

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

I mean... you know you can like just learn both, right?

 

[calypso726]

Ah yes, because the average person gets $100k in free vacations. These billion dollar finance companies are too stupid to keep up with some intrepid forum warriors.

The point is that they can if they choose to do so. I do it and there are a handful of others on I love credit cards thread that do too. Everyone does what works for them. That’s the beauty of churning and that thread. We all help and learn from one another regardless of how modest or aspirational our travel goals may be. I don’t judge what others do or don’t do. I also don’t call the hobbies that others choose to engage in stupid. Furthermore, I find it ironic that you do since you’re on the same thread with the rest of us in the stupid credit card churning hobby

 

[Andysol]

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

I made $160k cash last year from churning credit cards and MS. Forget the travel/credit redemptions.

Thinking you’re successful day trading in one of the best times to ever day trade in history isn’t much of an accomplishment, tbh. Also, why not both? 2008 will happen again; then you’re hosed if you’re overconfident. I hope you get in and out at the right time. Me? I’ll take the sure thing that’s as easy as a few clicks of buttons.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

My point is just that FIRE is about cutting all costs going buck wild to get financial freedom to retire as soon as possible. If you take a $10k vacation before you’re retired, you are by definition not doing FIRE.

It’s perfectly fine to enjoy life, but you can’t say you’re doing FIRE.

It’s like going on a diet where you’re cutting calories but still eating carbs and saying you’re on Keto. No, you’re not on keto but you ARE on a diet.

Lets break this down:
FI = Financial Independence
RE = Retire Early

"Early" is a very broad concept and there are all kinds of people within the community that are pursuing their version of "FIRE." If someone is making 6 figures and saving 50%, they still have an above median amount of money to spend. They'll also be in a position to retire after 17 years of work which is "early" by pretty much anyones standards.

I think credit card churning is stupid. If people spent as much time and energy learning skills (like day trading or things that would advance their career) as they do trying to find "life hacks" and cheats, they would have so much more money. If you find it satisfying opening tons of credit cards, tracking benefits, spending more than you normally would to get space points, then go right ahead.

I'll just stick with day trading.

Day trading requires availability during market hours and a lot of luck... I mean "skill". Most of us still have day jobs so it's not a practical thing for us to pick up and you're realistically looking at a couple years of paying "tuition" until you're at a point you can trade large enough sums of money to make a difference.

CC churning really doesn't take much skill or time and is possible to do when you have free time. Search one of the many well established websites to find a card that meets your criteria (I like doctorofcredit), sign up for it, and use the card until you hit the bonus. The entire process takes 15 minutes on the high end? And it yields rewards that are typically in the $500 range? I'll take a risk free $2000/hour anyday.

Real world churning result: Just returned from Hawaii this morning. Our flight to Oahu was on AA miles received from CC churning. Our flight back was on Delta miles received from CC churning. $1600 worth of flights for $24 and 3 CC bonuses.

I'm not in love with CC churning and it's by no means a game changer in most people's finances but it's an incremental improvement... and that's all most of us are chasing day to day. If I can reduce our vacation spend by a 4 figure amount annually I would be foolish to ignore it.

 

[Rob Huff]

I made $160k cash last year from churning credit cards and MS. Forget the travel/credit redemptions.

Thinking you’re successful day trading in one of the best times to ever day trade in history isn’t much of an accomplishment, tbh. Also, why not both? 2008 will happen again; then you’re hosed if you’re overconfident. I hope you get in and out at the right time. Me? I’ll take the sure thing that’s as easy as a few clicks of buttons.

This thread got heated and I don't want to get involved in that.

I do, however, want to know how in the world you got to $160K cash from churning cards and manufactured spending. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that number. Do you have a multi-million dollar annual spend? I've read plenty about folks generating a few grand in a year, but $160K is such a massive jump that I'm seriously curious.

 

[Andysol]

This thread got heated and I don't want to get involved in that.

I do, however, want to know how in the world you got to $160K cash from churning cards and manufactured spending. I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that number. Do you have a multi-million dollar annual spend? I've read plenty about folks generating a few grand in a year, but $160K is such a massive jump that I'm seriously curious.

Hah!

I’d say don’t do it if that’s the expectation. It takes a lot of knowledge and connections from relationships built to find ways to hit that enormous amount of spend. Last year was a bit of anomaly with Covid credits and cash out methods. Combine that With PayPal key tricks in the fall (now dead) and I was pushing roughly $2m spend/month. Combine that with the fact I’m running the accounts of 4”players”, and it adds up very quickly.

Much of that is dead, but ~$300k/mo is still readily doable if you put in the homework and time. And it’s just a matter of time before other lucrative stuff pops up it’s head. Like anything; you get what you put into it; and to be honest, just getting a card a month for an extra 10-15k/year per person is much less work and stress than I do. Mine is somewhat a part time job at this point and not as “fun” as it once was (especially with no travel).

But dipping your toe in (especially if married) is certainly worth it.

Speaking out of ignorance annoys me; hence my initial response. Saying something is “stupid” because you don’t understand it/are ignorant to it doesn’t make you smart. I appreciate the question

 

[RamblingMad]

Does anyone else trade options?

I'll occasionally sell covered calls.

 

[cjlong88]

So I finished preparing my tax return yesterday evening. Will file on February 12th. I'm expecting a large return, bigger than I've ever seen in my 15 years of filing taxes, and I am completely shocked at how much I'm getting back. Even when you take out the $600 stimulus, it's still larger than anything I've ever gotten.

Did maxing out my 457, 403(b), and Roth IRA accounts in 2020 cause this?

 

[Mome Rath]

So I finished preparing my tax return yesterday evening. Will file on February 12th. I'm expecting a large return, bigger than I've ever seen in my 15 years of filing taxes, and I am completely shocked at how much I'm getting back. Even when you take out the $600 stimulus, it's still larger than anything I've ever gotten.

Did maxing out my 457, 403(b), and Roth IRA accounts in 2020 cause this?

Is it possible it was enough to bump you down into a lower tax bracket?

 

[cjlong88]

Is it possible it was enough to bump you down into a lower tax bracket?

I just checked. YES! Wow. Thank you!

 

[georgina]

So I finished preparing my tax return yesterday evening. Will file on February 12th. I'm expecting a large return, bigger than I've ever seen in my 15 years of filing taxes, and I am completely shocked at how much I'm getting back. Even when you take out the $600 stimulus, it's still larger than anything I've ever gotten.

Did maxing out my 457, 403(b), and Roth IRA accounts in 2020 cause this?

Congrats! The Roth wouldn't affect your taxes since that is after tax contribution. Vanguard says my last tax form will be available Feb 12 so it will be a few weeks. You may want to adjust your withholding for 2021.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Anyone following the r/wallstreetbets craziness that has been going on? Some people on Wall Street were very unhappy today when they realized they don't control everything.

You may want to adjust your withholding for 2021.

Exactly what I was going to recommend if the plans for 2021 are the same. No reason to give the government an interest free loan.

 

[cjlong88]

Exactly what I was going to recommend if the plans for 2021 are the same. No reason to give the government an interest free loan.

Definitely something I am considering for next year. I typically claim 0 because I receive a number of 1099's. I usually don't get a return since my return and the taxes I owe often cancel each other out. Since those extra opportunities for income were canceled due to COVID, I didn't even think about changing my allowances.

I'm getting married in April and we will be filing jointly in 2021. Any recommendations on how many allowances we should claim would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bernina]

I'm getting married in April and we will be filing jointly in 2021. Any recommendations on how many allowances we should claim would be greatly appreciated!

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding.

It will depend a lot on your combined incomes. Maybe at some point try a dummy filing using both of your W2s and estimate where you fall.

DH and I both work full time and we both needed to switch our deduction at work from married to single. I claim 1 deduction, he claims 0. We have 1 kid. In the end we usually get $1-$2k back. I could adjust to get back less but at this point it's more hassle than it's worth.

 

[cjlong88]

It will depend a lot on your combined incomes. Maybe at some point try a dummy filing using both of your W2s and estimate where you fall.

I love this idea.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm getting married in April and we will be filing jointly in 2021. Any recommendations on how many allowances we should claim would be greatly appreciated!

There's a Withholding Estimator tool on the IRS website where you can put in info from your most recent paystubs and it will tell you exactly what to put to wind up as close to $0 as possible.

 

[cjlong88]

There's a Withholding Estimator tool on the IRS website where you can put in info from your most recent paystubs and it will tell you exactly what to put to wind up as close to $0 as possible.

Awesome! I’ll check it out.

 

[AlohaNow]

Anyone following the r/wallstreetbets craziness that has been going on? Some people on Wall Street were very unhappy today when they realized they don't control everything.

Yes, and it is fascinating beyond words.

 

[alryan]

Anyone following the r/wallstreetbets craziness that has been going on? Some people on Wall Street were very unhappy today when they realized they don't control everything.


Exactly what I was going to recommend if the plans for 2021 are the same. No reason to give the government an interest free loan.

Heard about it yesterday and just read an article that explained it pretty well. The reddit thread was already closed by the time I tried looking. I find it fascinating too.

 

[RamblingMad]

Anyone following the r/wallstreetbets craziness that has been going on? Some people on Wall Street were very unhappy today when they realized they don't control everything.

Yep. Super interesting.

Did you read about brokerages not allowing people to buy new positions certain equities?