Things I wish I knew BEFORE I bought into The Villas at Disneyland Hotel

[stat]

Especially when we are all here to make bad financial decisions!

I optimize my finances in a hundred small ways so that I can make bad financial decisions at Disney Because to me it's not a bad decision if I love it and if I've been responsible in offsetting ways.

“Spend extravagantly on the things you love, and cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t.” ― Ramit Sethi

 

[VGCgroupie]

Look into some of the online HYS accounts. Lots of them offer sign up bonuses while earning 3.5 - 4.5%. Some can even be serviced in branch if you prefer that. The Apple Cash HYS linked to an Apple Card even provides 3.65%. That one is easy to setup if you have an iPhone.

I even have a Money Market with a local community bank that provides me tiered interest up to 3.78%. It's not the highest, but they are friendly and competent and I like dealing with them. I've actually switched all my primary banking to them.

I just got $1500 bonus with Cap One. But I still do my GC side hustle.

 

[PolyRob]

I just got $1500 bonus with Cap One. But I still do my GC side hustle.

I try to churn bank bonuses like I churn CCs

I started out covering the AFs for credit cards with the bank bonuses, but the CC fees easily surpassed what I could net with bank bonuses

 

[VGCgroupie]

I try to churn bank bonuses like I churn CCs

I started out covering the AFs for credit cards with the bank bonuses, but the CC fees easily surpassed what I could net with bank bonuses

I rarely do them since they take more work in my eyes. But I couldn’t pass up that $1500 from cap one. Now that I think about it I’ve done 3 of them in a span of about 2.5 years.

 

[PolyRob]

I rarely do them since they take more work in my eyes. But I couldn’t pass up that $1500 from cap one. Now that I think about it I’ve done 3 of them in a span of about 2.5 years.

Plus you lose at least 1/3 of the bank bonus like the CC referrals since you get a 1099-INT. I just do the bonuses that seem worth it. DOC comments are a life saver. I don't want to CFPB a bank (again ) for my bonus

 

[emchen]

Oh man you two aren’t in the churner thread here! English please…nvm my LLM got it:
Of course! Here's the translation in current millennial slang:

VGCgroupie's part:
"Translation:" Lowkey, I rarely do these because it's a whole thing. But Cap One was offering a bag—like, $1505—so I had to send it. No cap, I just realized I've done this three times in the last few years.

Polyrob's part:
"Translation:" Also, you gotta remember the IRS is gonna tax you, so you lose like a third of your bag. It's a whole vibe kill.
"Translation:" I only go for the bonuses that are actually worth it. The comments on DOC are literally my holy grail for the tea.
"Translation:" I do not want to have to file a CFPB complaint on a bank again to get my money. Been there, done that, and it was major side-eye.

-Sorry, I had set it to translate to millenial-speak.

 

[PolyRob]

Oh man you two aren’t in the churner thread here! English please…nvm my LLM got it:
Of course! Here's the translation in current millennial slang:

VGCgroupie's part:
"Translation:" Lowkey, I rarely do these because it's a whole thing. But Cap One was offering a bag—like, $1505—so I had to send it. No cap, I just realized I've done this three times in the last few years.

Polyrob's part:
"Translation:" Also, you gotta remember the IRS is gonna tax you, so you lose like a third of your bag. It's a whole vibe kill.
"Translation:" I only go for the bonuses that are actually worth it. The comments on DOC are literally my holy grail for the tea.
"Translation:" I do not want to have to file a CFPB complaint on a bank again to get my money. Been there, done that, and it was major side-eye.

-Sorry, I had set it to translate to millenial-speak.

Sorry! I re-read what I posted are there are so many acronyms

I did just say "Poly is a vibe" in another thread and text a friend that I "needed the tea" about something tonight so your translation is spot on

 

[AstroBlasters]

You pay federal income tax, but generally not any state income tax on interest from U.S government debt (it’s another benefit of most MMFs, as much or all of the interest is from U.S. treasuries). If you want to avoid federal income tax, you need a municipal bond fund.

Oh, not the case. Agency bonds and government repos do not count as US Treasures and you will lower the State and Local tax.

Your vanguard fund is only 32% in UST.

 

[AstroBlasters]

My HYSA sits at 4.02 currently (was more) but I still find buying GC's to be a larger savings and better way to go for me personally.

Remember, @ClaraOswald says she buys GC at a 5% target discount throughout the year and then spends them all on dues at once.

In that scenario, it would be better to park that money in a money market and then buy the GC @ a 5% target red card discount at the end of the year and then use that GC to pay off the dues.

I don’t have the time or mental bandwidth to chase down a lot of small GC through the year… I do hope Costco offers discounted GV again, but I think DIS broke their system….

 

[AstroBlasters]

Oh man you two aren’t in the churner thread here! English please…nvm my LLM got it:
Of course! Here's the translation in current millennial slang:

VGCgroupie's part:
"Translation:" Lowkey, I rarely do these because it's a whole thing. But Cap One was offering a bag—like, $1505—so I had to send it. No cap, I just realized I've done this three times in the last few years.

Polyrob's part:
"Translation:" Also, you gotta remember the IRS is gonna tax you, so you lose like a third of your bag. It's a whole vibe kill.
"Translation:" I only go for the bonuses that are actually worth it. The comments on DOC are literally my holy grail for the tea.
"Translation:" I do not want to have to file a CFPB complaint on a bank again to get my money. Been there, done that, and it was major side-eye.

-Sorry, I had set it to translate to millenial-speak.

CFPB…. Ha! I’m pretty sure they gutted that because…. you know… protecting the little guy

 

[PolyRob]

CFPB…. Ha! I’m pretty sure they gutted that because…. you know… protecting the little guy

UGH I really needed it the week it was being gutted

The website eventually came back and the bank finally responded in April (you know... almost three months instead of the previous 14 days), but it's definitely not the same

 

[AstroBlasters]

UGH I really needed it the week it was being gutted

The website eventually came back and the bank finally responded in April (you know... almost three months instead of the previous 14 days), but it's definitely not the same

Frustrating. I’m glad they finally responded.

 

[airjay75]

Oh, not the case. Agency bonds and government repos do not count as US Treasures and you will lower the State and Local tax.

Your vanguard fund is only 32% in UST.

Repos do not but most U.S. agency bonds absolutely do count - it generally depends on whether the agency debt is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The fund I recommended earlier - VMRXX - was 63.61% for 2024. Of course, there are also MMFs that maintain higher percentages of U.S. government debt (usually giving up a small amount of yield) if that is important to you. I'll note that a few states - CA, NY, and CT - have some further rules that only qualify some funds for exemption from state income tax.

A few examples of tax information all brokerages publish for their funds reporting what percentage of dividends is exempt from state income tax:
https://investor.vanguard.com/content/dam/retail/publicsite/en/documents/taxes/USGO_012025.pdf
https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public...documents/taxes/TY24GSESupplementalLetter.pdf
https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/resource/2024-supplementary-tax-information

 

[eticketplease]

Oh man you two aren’t in the churner thread here! English please…nvm my LLM got it:
Of course! Here's the translation in current millennial slang:

VGCgroupie's part:
"Translation:" Lowkey, I rarely do these because it's a whole thing. But Cap One was offering a bag—like, $1505—so I had to send it. No cap, I just realized I've done this three times in the last few years.

Polyrob's part:
"Translation:" Also, you gotta remember the IRS is gonna tax you, so you lose like a third of your bag. It's a whole vibe kill.
"Translation:" I only go for the bonuses that are actually worth it. The comments on DOC are literally my holy grail for the tea.
"Translation:" I do not want to have to file a CFPB complaint on a bank again to get my money. Been there, done that, and it was major side-eye.

-Sorry, I had set it to translate to millenial-speak.

I so don't speak Millenial but it was sure fun to read this translation

 

[atthebeachclub]

Here's the translation in current millennial slang

Isn’t this gen z though? Two generations removed? Us millennials are like 40 and some even have back pain and stuff.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Remember, @ClaraOswald says she buys GC at a 5% target discount throughout the year and then spends them all on dues at once.

In that scenario, it would be better to park that money in a money market and then buy the GC @ a 5% target red card discount at the end of the year and then use that GC to pay off the dues.

I don’t have the time or mental bandwidth to chase down a lot of small GC through the year… I do hope Costco offers discounted GV again, but I think DIS broke their system….

For me, I don't have the mental bandwidth to figure out all the money market stuff. Investment/money stuff just goes right over my head. But buying a gift card from Target once a month is easy for me and takes no bandwidth.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Repos do not but most U.S. agency bonds absolutely do count - it generally depends on whether the agency debt is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The fund I recommended earlier - VMRXX - was 63.61% for 2024. Of course, there are also MMFs that maintain higher percentages of U.S. government debt (usually giving up a small amount of yield) if that is important to you. I'll note that a few states - CA, NY, and CT - have some further rules that only qualify some funds for exemption from state income tax.

A few examples of tax information all brokerages publish for their funds reporting what percentage of dividends is exempt from state income tax:
https://investor.vanguard.com/content/dam/retail/publicsite/en/documents/taxes/USGO_012025.pdf
https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public...documents/taxes/TY24GSESupplementalLetter.pdf
https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com/resource/2024-supplementary-tax-information

Interest income from some agency bonds, such as those issued by Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, Federal Home Loan Banks, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is exempt from state and local tax. The interest income from bonds backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie, however, is not exempt from state and local tax.

https://www.fidelity.com/fixed-income-bonds/individual-bonds/agency-bonds

I think the main point I was trying to make is that just buying a US Govnt mkt does not mean it is all exempt from state and local. You really need a Treasury Only MMkt for that.

 

[airjay75]

Interest income from some agency bonds, such as those issued by Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, Federal Home Loan Banks, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is exempt from state and local tax. The interest income from bonds backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie, however, is not exempt from state and local tax.

https://www.fidelity.com/fixed-income-bonds/individual-bonds/agency-bonds

I think the main point I was trying to make is that just buying a US Govnt mkt does not mean it is all exempt from state and local. You really need a Treasury Only MMkt for that.

Yeah, totally understand. I don't think I ever made any such claim (or at least I wasn't trying to). But the fund I recommended, while not a treasury only MMF, still generally invests about 2/3rds in US Treasuries or agency bonds that are exempt from state and local tax and, tends to get a bit higher yield than a Treasury only MMF. That said, I live in a state with a relatively low state income tax, so the higher yield almost always makes more sense for me. That equation could be very different in state with higher state/local income taxes.

Ok, I'm sure we've bored most people to death with this minutiae

 

[AstroBlasters]

For me, I don't have the mental bandwidth to figure out all the money market stuff. Investment/money stuff just goes right over my head. But buying a gift card from Target once a month is easy for me and takes no bandwidth.

1) Step 1: Open a brokerage account online
2) Step 2: Link it to your bank account
3) Step 3: Transfer money to the brokerage account instead of buying a gift card (it will likely default to a government money market, you don’t have to do anything special).
4) Step 4: Watch your money pay your interest every month.
5) Step 5: Transfer money back to your bank account when the target bill is due from your gift card purchases in December
6) Step 6: Repeat every year except you don’t have to ever do Step 1 and 2 again!

 

[VGCgroupie]

For me, I don't have the mental bandwidth to figure out all the money market stuff. Investment/money stuff just goes right over my head. But buying a gift card from Target once a month is easy for me and takes no bandwidth.

Same. Im sure I could make my money work harder for us. I am lucky enough that I have the time to chase down GC deals, and just like buying resale I love the thrill of the hunt and scoring a deal. I have been doing GC deals for 15 years. So it comes easier for me. I can say year after year I save a consistent 15% minimum. I track all my GC purchases in a spreadsheet so I can add them and see my savings. After a trip I remove the amount I spent. Currently I have $3060 in GC and I saved 19.76% on these.