Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review

One of the most talked about cards on the web is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. People tend to abosolutely love it so I decided to give it a spin. Why? 40k rewards points sold me on the signup. My review is below:

Point Accumulation
40,000 Sign-On Bonus: This is what ultimately drove me to signup for the CSP. 40k in points can be valued at $400. I wanted the reward points for travel rewards where Chase gives a 20% bump so my 40k was actually worth $500.

Double Points on Travel, Restaurants, and Transportation: This means travel spending results in 2 points per dollar. 2 points spent on travel yields 2.4% in cash back return. 2.4% is nearly unheard of in return.

Triple Points on Restaurants for First Fridays: Do you like to let loose after a long work week? Chase Sapphire Preferred offers triple points at restaurants on the first Friday of each month for the rest of 2013.

7% Annual Point Dividend: We know that you receive double points on travel, restaurants, and transportation, but you will also generate a 7% annual point dividend on all of the points. Even points that were redeemed.

No Foreign Transaction Fees: Fees can run 3% for many credit cards. This is a huge money saver for any overseas traveler. 

Annual Fee: Waived for the first year. After that $95. Why would you not want to take a test drive for free?

I clearly took the deal and went for the CSP test drive. If you are looking for a card that will give you a great signup bonus as well as perk throughout the way you should strongly consider this card.

Net Worth July August 2013

I am consolidating all accounts into one master list. Previously I was only tracking non-joint accounts, but now that student loan debt is at zero it makes sense to be completely representative of the household assets and liabilities.

We are about to close on a house soon so there will be drastic changes in cash and debt levels. We intend to save systematically via 401(k) accounts, SEP-IRA accounts, taxable investment accounts, and high yield savings accounts while paying the mortgage. 

Just the facts:

Assets are $484,646 debts are $95.45 for a net worth of $484,550.Assets are composed of: $286,952 in investment/retirement accounts and $197,694 in cash.Debts are composed of: $0 in student debt (woot! woot!). Other liabilities include $95.45 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.



The journey continues....

Net Worth June 2013

Just the facts:

Assets are up to $112,067.11 from $109,875.37 and debts down to $27,998.60 from $28,344.24 for a new net worth of $84,068.56 up $2,537.33 from $81,531.23 .

Assets are composed of: $76,311.21 in investment/retirement accounts and $35755.9 in cash.
Debts are composed of: $28,344.10 in student debt. Other liabilities include $0 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.

Thanks for reading.

-educated debt

Net Worth May 2013

Just the facts:

Assets are up to $109,875.37 from $106,204.53 and debts down to $28,344.24 from $29,599.40  for a new net worth of $81,531.23 up $4,926.05 from $76,605.18.

Assets are composed of: $74,627 in investment/retirement accounts and $35,248.37 in cash.
Debts are composed of: $28,344.10 in student debt. Other liabilities include $0 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.

Thanks for reading.

-educated debt

Net Worth April 2013

Just the facts:

Assets are up to $106,204.53 from  $101,838.24 and debts down to $29,599.40 from $30,546.95  for a new net worth of $76,605.18 up $5,313.89 from $71,291.29.

Cash ought to be slightly volatile in the next month as some home goods purchases are made. I hope to keep my cash level steady as new inflows cancel out my small dip into savings.
Assets are composed of: $72,880.32 in investment/retirement accounts and $33,324.21 in cash.
Debts are composed of: $29,424.15 in student debt. Other liabilities include $175.20 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.

Thanks for reading.

-educated debt

I've paid off 40k private student loans in 2.5 years

When I started this blog in 2010 I was making around 80k. I also had nearly 80k in debt. Times have changed. Debt is down to 29k of only federal (fixed rate) student loans and assets are very strong. My ability to pay off my debt and save is no small part due to income growth. I am now earning over 130k and I will be saving and paying down debt at an accelerated rate. I plan to have zero debt by the end of 2014 and it could occur as early as 7/14.

I hope my readers follow my lead to financial freedom and know a huge mountain of debt can be eroded with persistence.

Thanks for reading

Educated debt

Net Worth March 2013

Just the facts:


Assets are down to $101,838.24 from $108,235.26 and debts down to $30,546.95 from $39,952.20 for a new net worth of $71,291.29 up $3,008.26 from 68,283.03.

Cash dropped because I paid roughly 10k to private student loans. I no longer have private student loans!!! I still have about 30k of federal loans to pay off. I plan to pay these at the rate of 1k per month.
Assets are composed of: $70,606.77 in investment/retirement accounts and $31,231.47 in cash.
Debts are $30,421.95 in student debt. Other liabilities include $125 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.

Thanks for reading.

-educated debt

Net Worth February 2013

Just the facts:

Assets are up to $108,235.26 from $97,471.56 and debts down to $39,952.20 from $40,302.88 for a new net worth of $68,283.03 up $11,819.69 from $56,463.34.

The main bump in assets is due to a annual cash bonus that hit my account. I plan to use roughly 10k of cash to pay down private student loan debt this month. This will allow my to completely eliminate all of my private, and thereby variable, student loan debt. I plan to keep my student loans payments around 1k a month. I will now focus on paying off federal loans at an accelerated rate. 
Assets are composed of: $68,046.31 in investment/retirement accounts and $40,188.95 in cash.
Debts are $39,706.87 in student debt. Other liabilities include $245.36in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.
Thanks for reading.
-educated debt

Why I love Personal Capital.com: Mint.com For Rich People

PersonalCapital
If you have been searching for an app that focuses on investing: retirement, asset allocation, and tax impact your wishes have been answered. The application is Personal Capital, sign up is available through personalcapital.com.

If you have already used Mint, Pageonce, or some other personal finance software you will already be comfortable with sharing your finances with a aggregation site. If this is a new concept, personal capital is extremely secure. In fact, each time you login from a new device or computer the site forces you to validate via email or phone. This is well beyond what your actual bank asks for. Once you have signed up adding accounts to Personal Capital is easy, all you need to do is select or search for the bank, credit union, credit card, or investment management firm you want to track data for and then enter your current login information for that entity. Personal Capital will then log in to the site and begin aggregating your financial data. If the financial site you’re connecting to requires additional authentication information, like your mother’s maiden name or the first elementary school you attended, personal Capital can handle this too, without any problems.

Key Features

• Universal Checkbook – Deposit checks via their mobile app. Take a picture of your check and the funds are deposited.
• 401(k) Fee Analyzer – Find out how much your retirement plan is costing you.
• Tax Optimization – Are your investments fully optimized for taxes? Though currently Personal Capital does not understand the difference between taxed differed accounts and taxable accounts (another planned feature).
• Investment Checkup – Are you meeting your retirement goal? It is simplistic compared to other planners, but a good starting point.
• Asset Allocation Target – Are you overweight or underweight in any of the major equity categories? This currently lacks customization with adjusting allocations and is currently hard coded to their formula (additional future feature).
• Fund Costs – How much in taxes and expenses does it cost you with each fund you own? Currently it does not understand taxable, and tax differed accounts.
• Stock Option Tracker – Track the value of stock options and exercising from the company you work at.

What's the downside?
Personal Capital is a registered investment adviser and the hope is that you’ll like what you’re getting for free enough that you’ll hire Personal Capital to manage your finances. In order to be a a potential customer you must have assets that exceed $100,000. If you do, you’re assigned an investment adviser who will make some initial contact with you. Interestingly, once that contact is made, there is no hard sell for these services. If you want more guidance you are welcome to contact the adviser with basic questions about your finances, but the onus is on you to pursue Personal Capital if you want them to manage your assets.

Net Worth January 2013

This was a very good month in regards to Net Worth increase. I am up almost 9k. Debts are down 3k and assets popped 6k.

Just the facts:

Assets are up to $97,471.56 from $91,127.43 and debts down to $40,302.88 from $43,366.52 for a new net worth of $56,463.34 up $8,998.24 from $47,812.61.

All in all I am still paying down debts at a good clip and still saving at a good rate as well.

Assets are composed of: $62,758.23 in investment/retirement accounts and $34,713.33 in cash.

Debts are $41,008.20 in student debt. Other liabilities include $705.34 in credit card debt that is paid off in full each month.

Thanks for reading.

-educated debt