Finance Hub

💸 All my finance stuff in one spot 💰

Let's Get Into It

💳 Credit & Banking

My card collection, credit tips, and everything I've learned about building credit. Don't believe everything you hear — here's what I know matters.

My credit card collection:

Prime Store Card Prime Store Card
  • 5% back at Amazon & Whole Foods
  • Prime members only
  • No annual fee
 Prime Visa Prime Visa
  • 5% back on Amazon & Whole Foods
  • 2% restaurants, gas, transit
  • 1% everything else
  • No annual fee
 Blue Cash Preferred Blue Cash Preferred
  • 6% back on groceries (up to $6k/yr)
  • 6% streaming subscriptions
  • 3% transit & gas
  • 1% everything else
 Everyday Card Everyday Card
  • 2x points at grocery stores
  • 1x everywhere else
  • No annual fee
 Customized Cash Rewards Customized Cash Rewards
  • 3% back in a category you choose
  • 2% grocery stores
  • 1% everything else
  • No annual fee
 SavorOne SavorOne
  • 3% dining & restaurants
  • 3% entertainment
  • 3% streaming
  • 3% grocery stores
  • No annual fee
 Freedom Flex Freedom Flex
  • 5% rotating categories (quarterly)
  • 3% dining & drugstores
  • 1% everything else
  • No annual fee
 Custom Cash Custom Cash
  • 5% on your top spend category each cycle
  • Up to $500 per billing cycle
  • 1% everything else
  • No annual fee
 Double Cash Double Cash
  • 2% on everything
  • 1% when you buy, 1% when you pay
  • No annual fee
 Simplicity Simplicity
  • 0% intro APR on purchases
  • 0% intro APR on balance transfers
  • No late fees ever
  • No annual fee
 Coinbase Card Coinbase Card
  • 2% back in Bitcoin on all purchases
  • Coinbase One perk
  • No annual fee
 It Cashback It Cashback
  • 5% rotating categories (quarterly)
  • 1% everything else
  • Cashback match your first year
  • No annual fee
 It Chrome It Chrome
  • 2% back at gas stations & restaurants
  • Up to $1k per quarter
  • 1% everything else
  • No annual fee
 Fidelity Visa Fidelity Visa
  • 2% back on everything
  • Deposited into a Fidelity account
  • No annual fee
 IHG Premier OneRewards IHG Premier OneRewards
  • 26x points at IHG hotels
  • 5x travel, dining, gas
  • Free night certificate annually
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
 PlayStation Visa PlayStation Visa
  • 5x points at PlayStation Store
  • 2x dining & entertainment
  • 1x everywhere else
 T-Mobile Visa T-Mobile Visa
  • Rewards on everyday purchases
  • T-Mobile customer perks
 Preferred Cash Rewards Visa Preferred Cash Rewards Visa
  • 1.5% base cashback on everything
  • Preferred Rewards: 25-75% bonus

🧊 Freeze Your Credit

A credit freeze prevents new accounts from being opened in your name. A credit lock does the same but is usually app-based and instant. Freezing is free and recommended.

🧊 TransUnion Freeze 🧊 Equifax Freeze 🧊 Experian Freeze

🏗️ Credit Building Strategies

  • Utilization ratio: Keep it under 30%, ideally under 10% of your total credit limit
  • Payment history: This is 35% of your score — never miss a payment
  • Credit mix: Having both revolving (cards) and installment (loans) accounts helps
  • Authorized user: Being added to someone's old card with good history can boost your score
  • Credit limit increases: Request them every 6-12 months to lower your utilization ratio
  • Dispute errors: Check your reports annually and dispute anything inaccurate

🎯 Rewards Stacking

Use the right card for the right purchase to maximize cashback:

  • Groceries: Blue Cash Preferred (6%)
  • Amazon: Prime Visa or Prime Store Card (5%)
  • Dining: SavorOne or Freedom Flex (3%+)
  • Gas: Customized Cash Rewards (3%) or It Chrome (2%)
  • Streaming: Blue Cash Preferred (6%)
  • Everything else: Double Cash (2%) or Fidelity Visa (2%)

📎 Sources

Where I've learned this stuff:

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📊 Credit Monitoring & Comparison Tools

Credit Karma Annual Credit Report Experian Consumer Privacy NerdWallet CFPB Card Comparisons Doctor of Credit

Banks I use — some may have signup bonuses for new checking accounts. Sites like Doctor of Credit and NerdWallet track the latest offers.

American Express American Express Bank of America Bank of America Capital One Capital One Chase Chase 💰 Often $300-400 bonus Citibank Citibank Discover Discover Liberty FCU Liberty FCU PlayStation Visa PlayStation Visa Samsung Financing Samsung Financing

🏦 Banking Tips

  • High-yield savings: Your money should be earning interest — look for 4%+ APY accounts
  • FDIC insurance: Your deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank
  • Multiple institutions: Spreading accounts across banks gives you more FDIC coverage and backup access
  • Avoid fees: Most checking account fees can be waived with direct deposit or minimum balance
  • Auto savings: Set up automatic transfers to savings — pay yourself first

🪙 Crypto

The rabbit hole goes deep. Here's a quick look at my crypto world — hit the full page for the deep dive.

What's the deal with crypto?

Cryptocurrency is digital money that runs on blockchain technology — no banks, no middlemen. DeFi (Decentralized Finance) lets you lend, borrow, trade, and earn interest without traditional financial institutions. Web3 is the next evolution of the internet where users own their data, identity, and digital assets. It's still early — and that's what makes it exciting.

My focus is on the real-world utility — cutting through the noise to find what actually works.

⭐ Favorites & Essentials

📄 Bitcoin Whitepaper 📄 Ethereum Whitepaper 🔵 Coinbase 📊 CoinMarketCap 🏆 Layer3 📈 DefiLlama 🔐 Trezor Suite 🟤 Brownie Points (BP)

📈 Investing & Markets

Stocks, ETFs, market vibes, and the tools I use to stay informed. Whether you're researching or just watching the chaos — it's all here.

🏦 My Brokerages

Fidelity Portfolio Fidelity Trading Dashboard Robinhood Legend

🔬 Research & Analysis Tools

Danelfin AI Stock Analyzer ETF Fund Overlap Tool testfol.io (Backtesting) Stock Trends Psychedelic Stock Trends TradingView

🌍 Market Monitoring & Indicators

Fear & Greed Index (CNN) S&P 500 Map (Finviz) US Debt Clock US Debt in Perspective Gold Price DJIA Holdings Top World Assets by Market Cap IPO Calendar (MarketWatch) IPO Listings (Nasdaq) Visual Capitalist MarketWatch Capitol Trades (Politician Tracker)

📚 Investing Basics & Tips

  • ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds): Bundles of stocks/bonds you can buy like a single stock — instant diversification without picking individual companies
  • Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA): Invest a fixed amount on a regular schedule regardless of price — smooths out volatility over time
  • Diversification: Don't put all your eggs in one basket — spread across sectors, asset types, and geographies
  • Fear & Greed Index: When everyone's greedy, be cautious. When everyone's fearful, look for opportunities. It measures market sentiment on a 0-100 scale
  • Reading a stock chart: Green candles = price went up, red = price went down. Volume bars show how many shares traded. Moving averages smooth out noise to show trends
  • 401k / Employer Match: If your employer matches contributions, always contribute at least enough to get the full match — it's literally free money you're leaving on the table

📎 Sources

Where I've learned this stuff:

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📋 Taxes & Legal

The boring but important stuff — taxes, government resources, and money you might not know you're owed. Seriously, check the unclaimed money sites.

🧾 Tax Filing & Tools

FreeTaxUSA IRS.gov CoinTracker (Crypto Taxes) Fidelity Crypto Tax Guide

🧮 W-2 Withholding Estimator

Make sure you're not over- or under-withholding from your paycheck. The IRS tool walks you through income, filing status, dependents, and deductions — then tells you exactly how to fill out your W-2.

IRS Tax Withholding Estimator

💸 Where's My Refund?

Track your federal and state tax refund status.

🇺🇸 IRS — Where's My Refund? 🏛️ USA.gov — Federal + State Refund 🗺️ State Refund Hub (All 50 States)

📚 Tax Tips & Things to Know

  • Key deadlines: Federal taxes are typically due April 15th. Extensions give you until October 15th to file, but you still owe by April 15th
  • File even if you don't owe: You might be leaving refundable credits on the table (like the Earned Income Tax Credit)
  • How crypto is taxed: Selling, trading, or spending crypto triggers capital gains tax. Held over 1 year = long-term (lower rate). Under 1 year = short-term (taxed as regular income)
  • Unclaimed money: States hold billions in unclaimed property — old bank accounts, forgotten deposits, insurance payouts. Check every year, it takes 2 minutes
  • Withholding matters: If you get a huge refund every year, you're giving the IRS an interest-free loan. Adjust your W-2 to keep more in each paycheck

📎 Sources

Where I've learned this stuff:

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🏛️ Government & Identity Protection

Essential government services and what to do if your identity is compromised. Freeze your credit (Section 1 above), report it, and use these resources to recover.

📋 Government Services

These are the big ones — Social Security for benefits and earnings history, IRS for taxes and refunds, USA.gov as the central hub for all federal services, and VA benefits if you or a family member served. Bookmark these and check in every once in awhile.

🏛️ Social Security 🪙 IRS.gov 🇺🇸 USA.gov 🎖️ Veteren Affairs
🛡️ Identity Theft & Recovery

If your identity is stolen: freeze your credit immediately (Section 1), report it at IdentityTheft.gov, and file a police report. The FTC walks you through a personalized recovery plan.

🛡️ IdentityTheft.gov (FTC) 🔒 What to do right away 📊 Annual Credit Report ♟️ HaveIBeenPwned

💰 You might have money sitting out there waiting for you 👀

States hold billions in unclaimed property — old bank accounts, forgotten deposits, insurance payouts, utility refunds. It takes 2 minutes to check. Do it every year.

USAGov Unclaimed Money Unclaimed.org MissingMoney.com

📊 Net Worth & Budget

Track the big picture. Here's my net worth, credit score, and the budget sheet I use.

💎 Net Worth $--,--- Last updated: --/--/----
688 FICO 8
676 FICO 8
694 FICO 8
Last updated: 03/29/2026

📝 My Budget Spreadsheet

Budgeting is the foundation of everything else on this page. If you don't know where your money's going, you can't make it grow. I use a simple Excel sheet to track income, expenses, savings goals, and subscriptions every month. Feel free to download it and make it your own.

— Placeholder: link to your Excel budget sheet when ready