Personal Finance Tips

- Only use Charles Schwab, Fidelity Cash Management or Betterment debit cards at ATMs outside the US (or in ATMs that charge a fee in the US). They will reimburse you for all fees the ATMs charge you and give you the best exchange rate possible. Use these instead of money exchange services - Never ever use debit cards for anything other than getting cash at ATMs. Use US credit cards for every purchase since you have zero liability and also earn points. Always use Credit Cards without foreign transaction fees to buy everything abroad. - Always choose to pay in local foreign currency while paying for something abroad with a credit card or when withdrawing cash with a debit card. Dynamic Currency Conversion will screw you over otherwise - Don’t be tricked by no-fee international money transfers. There’s almost always a fee hidden in the exchange rate. An FX trade in Interactive Brokers is the optimal way to convert supported currencies. Transfer wise, Western Union, and similar services will give you better rates than banks for other currencies - All savings accounts are useless. Buy treasury bills and a diversified portfolio of stocks since that will also give you sufficient liquidity. - Redeem your credit card points by transferring them to airline partners for booking award flights especially for long haul business class. This will almost always give you much better value - Sometimes paying cash to buy hotel points and redeeming them is cheaper than booking the cash rate especially when there’s a promotion (e.g. Marriot and Hilton right now). Remember that the 5th night is free when booking using points at Marriott and Hilton. Lots of hotel credit cards pay you much more than their annual fee in free nights every year - Get the Bilt Card if you’re paying rent. This card will send a physical check to any landlord or direct deposit for free and you earn points on rent. This is a no-brainer since it has no annual fee and has one of the most valuable points. Feel free to share any other tips in the comments! Edit: TC 413k (1M+ including wife), NW 1.5M (3.5M including wife). Age 29. Digital nomad traveling and living in hotels full-time in 21 countries in the past 3 years #personalfinance #investments