Tentmaking Tips

That is, finding ways to reduce the costs of our home by renting something out on our property.

In the last 2 homes we’ve lived in, we have covered all of our primary housing expenses just by renovating a garage space and putting it on Airbnb. This reduced our ongoing housing costs to essentially $0.

We moved into a new house last year and we’ve been trying to figure out how we want to “hack” it. Once you get used to not having housing expenses, it’s hard to go back to paying them. 🤣

We’ve had multiple options:

1. There is a large storage shed in the backyard that we could renovate.

2. There’s a separate wing of our house that we could wall off for guests.

3. We could build an additional small structure in the backyard.

But, honestly, we didn’t love these options for a variety of reasons.

That’s when we had an idea.

Unique Airbnb experiences are becoming more and more popular. An

My Dad used to say it tastes better when it’s free! 😂

I’ve recently entered the world of online meal kits.

Not so much because we didn’t like cooking, but just because it seems like they’re trying to give you great meals for almost nothing.

It saves on groceries & eating out.

Now you may be thinking, “Whoa! I thought those online meal kits were really expensive?”

They can be.

If you just subscribe to a single kit & get a delivery week after week, it really adds up.

But I don’t do that.

I’ve gotten two meal kits now.

The first kit was 3 meals for 2 people for free (retail at nearly $70). I only had to pay $11 in shipping. This was from Marley Spoon.

The second was 3 meals for 4 people for free (retail at nearly $120). I only had to pay $5 in shipping. This was from HelloFresh.

Lest you think they were just sending us cheap food, the first one had multiple steak dinners and the second box had high quality dishes as well.

Ok, so what’s the

Well, we decided to try something that we haven’t done before & we weren’t sure if it would even work.

Here’s a little backstory:

• When the big Chase Ink welcome bonus first came out, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get it. Why, you might ask? Because I was already at 5/24. Technically, Chase shouldn’t approve me for any more of their cards until I drop back down under 5/24.

• I thought I would try anyway since the bonus was so great, and to my surprise, I was instantly approved! What?!? It’s not common that they’ll violate their 5/24 rule, but I’ve read online that sometimes they may still let you nab a business card. It’s rare, though.

• Once I hit the minimum spend, we immediately had my wife apply for the same card. We applied under the same exact business name, but she wa
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One concern people often have with a card like this is, “How do I meet the high minimum spend?”

The minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus on this card is $8,000 in 3 months.

That’s a lot.

You may not be sure how you could spend enough to hit it.

Not to worry.

There are other ways to generate this spend.

I’ll share one of my favorites today.

Funding bank accounts.

Some banks allow you to fund accounts using a credit card.

That’s what I did this past week.

We needed some extra spend to hit the $8,000 for our 2nd Chase Ink Business Preferred card.

US Bank is known to allow credit card funding of new business accounts up to $3,000.

I opened up a new account for one of our businesses & used the credit card to fund $3,000 into the accoun

My wife chose the Cayman Islands where we went this summer & loved it.

My oldest daughter chose to go back to Beaver Creek to ski this Christmas & it’s already booked nearly free with points.

My youngest daughter wanted to go to Las Vegas over Spring Break to see some shows & visit a famous donut shop that she’s seen on YouTube.

We decided to try to book the Bellagio based on family recommendations from people who had been before.

Here’s how we booked 3 free nights with points:

I have the Capital One Venture X credit card which includes a $300 yearly travel credit when booking travel through their portal. I booked the first night using this travel credit combined with points I had in my Capital One account.

I booked the next two nights with Marriott points that we had earned in 2019 from a welcome bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card from Chase. We had earned 100

And the most sought after business class seat on Qatar is called the Qsuite.

It’s literally a small suite in the sky. Check out this video to see it.

Our family has been planning to go to Thailand next summer to see our extended family. We’ve hosted multiple exchange students from Thailand and they’ve become like family to us. We’ve been wanting to take a trip to see them before my oldest daughter graduates from high school.

I knew getting all 4 of us in Qsuites with points would be extremely difficult, but I was up for the challenge. The reason it’s so difficult is because they don’t release many award bookings for Qsuites per flight & they sell out quickly. Many travel enthusiasts are competing to book these seats right when they release them.

I needed to book each leg separately because if I waited for the round trip booking, the first leg would’ve already sold out.

I was told

And, who wouldn’t?

They are offering $325 if you open a new Everyday Checking account (at this link) by August 20, 2024. You can also open the account in-branch and give them the code that you get at the same link.

To earn the bonus, you need at least $1,000 in qualifying electronic deposits (think direct deposit of your paycheck) within 90 days of the account opening.

That should be pretty easy for most people.

And the good news is, you can do it twice. Once for you and once for your spouse (if you’re married).

That’s $650 in just a few months by direct depositing at least $1,000 into the two accounts you open.

Wells Fargo is also offering a $2,500 bonus (at this link) if you’re willing to do something a bit more complicated with significantly more money.

They’re giving a $2,500 bonus (in branch) if you’ll open a Premier Checking Account and deposit $250,000 i

I calculated the other day that between all of the cash in our business accounts & personal accounts, I was losing about $300/mo in interest I could be earning if that cash was invested with my other short-term monies.

But if I transferred it all out, I’d need it right back again for the various activities that happen inside my personal/business checking accounts.

Ugh.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a checking account equivalent that returned ~5% on your sitting cash like the money market accounts are doing right now?

Welcome to Fidelity Cash Management Accounts.

I was listening to a podcast recently where the host was transferring most of his “bank account cash” over to

I sent my Dad a video the other day of a Toyota Tundra that made it to 999,999 miles on the odometer before the owner finally decided to get a new one. I told him that was my goal too! 😂

These Toyotas can go forever!

My previous car was a Toyota Camry. And before that, I had a Toyota 4Runner.

All bought used, with cash, with quite a few miles already on them.

Only reason I didn’t drive them forever is because someone hit me in the 4Runner and totaled it & we sold the Camry so my daughter would have a larger car to drive for her first car.

I learned early on in our financial journey that cars are a terrible investment & can crush all of your financial dreams if you buy them the wrong way. LOL! 😂

Dave Ramsey has joked that driving cars, especially new cars, is like driving around with your window rolled down & throwing hundred dollars bills out of it.

And, while most people probably know cars aren’t g

Many of the travel hackers I follow are sending out red hot alerts about this new card bonus.

And they aren’t exaggerating.

It really is amazing!

It’s the highest welcome bonus ever for this card.

120,000 points for $8,000 in spend over 3 months with a $95 annual fee.

It’s the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.

Now, don’t immediately write it off because it’s a business card.

Hang with me for a second.

You may be thinking, “But I don’t have a business, are you sure this applies to me?”

Are you sure you don't have a business?

Do you know how these card companies define a business?

Do you make any money on the side? If so, you have a business.

Do you plan to make money on the side & you’re just getting started? If so, you have a business.

The definition of “business” for these credit card companies is quite expansive.

You don’t have to have an LLC or be incorporated.

It can be a sole proprietorship using your social se