Three Easy Financial Wellness Hacks for 2023

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Good morning, this is Thinking Capital. A weekly An occasional mission for you to optimize your financial life. Today’s mission: financial wellness hacks.

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Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

Here we are, it’s almost mid-December and as we plan for the holidays and new year we can reflect on 2022 while setting goals for 2023.

I’ve written plenty on goal setting and financial wellness prior, but realize I haven’t shared a few hacks that have been super helpful while navigating what was likely the busiest year of my life.

“To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life.”
- Derek Sivers

Derek’s interview on the Tim Ferriss Show is one of my all time favorites, and while I agree with his quote, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to know you temporarily relinquish control over your life when starting something new, whether that’s a job, a project, a relationship, or a family. There’s an inevitable period of adjustment, in which you need to learn how to incorporate whatever is new into your life. Easier said than done, but absolutely necessary.

Some years we have more new in our lives than we were prepared for, and other years we do such a great job of incorporation that we create new out of fun, curiosity or boredom.

During periods of new, there are inevitably areas of our lives that are neglected and the following three hacks were helpful tools to maintain financial wellness amidst a year where my focus was mostly elsewhere.

1. Consolidating Checking Accounts

One of the easiest hacks was consolidating my personal checking accounts into Wealthfront. Wealthfront had an online savings account for some time, but only recently added checking features to their Save accounts, allowing you to receive direct deposit, pay bills, transfer funds, and do whatever else you would want from a checking account. All without fees, with up to $2M FDIC insurance and currently offering 3.30% APY

This account is not to be confused with their robo-advisor investment product. While I use their Save & Invest products, only the Save account can be used as a checking account. The Invest product is a brokerage product intended for long-term investing.

Now my paycheck is sent directly to Wealthfront Save, my credit card bills are pulled directly from that balance, and during the interim those funds are all earning 3.30% — it’s beautiful and easy.

2. Credit Cards for Tax Planning

It’s no secret that I love credit cards ( All Ways Away ) but despite understanding point values, transfer partners, and hidden benefits, I only recently realized the organizational power that comes with multiple cards.

Assuming you have good credit and great self-discipline when using cards, it’s not only convenient but very powerful to use specific cards for specific areas of your life.

For instance, one card for all work-related expenses that you submit for reimbursement, another card for your side-hustle or personal business, etc. This makes tax season many times easier to navigate and ensures you’re accounting for every eligible expense and/or reimbursement.

If you have a business or side-hustle and are looking for a card with no annual fee to help organize your spending, I’d recommend the Chase Ink Cash card, learn more here.

3. Shopping Rewards Portals

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the holidays top of mind, I’ve been doing a little more shopping than usual. A few years ago I would be searching for coupon codes, comparing credit card offers and seeing how I can stack for the ultimate savings. While there’s nothing wrong with putting in extra effort for large purchases, I’ve come to the conclusion that for most purchases, Rakuten (formerly Ebates) remains #1 for most likely to have the best cash back and even if it is slightly beat by someone else, they remain far and way the best when it comes to customer service. For extra ease, install their Chrome extension and it will automatically show up when there’s an offer or cashback available.

Photo by Mira Kemppainen on Unsplash

So there you have it!

1. A high yield checking account through Wealthfront

2. Sorting your spend through separate credit cards

3. Automatically earning cashback through Rakuten

What are you favorite financial hacks?

Happy Holidays!

<3

Armand