Cash+ Flexibility

The US Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card is a standout in a crowded field of mediocre cash back reward cards that offer around a 1% return on average. Most of the truly rewarding cards are geared toward the hotel points and airline miles folks - until now.

U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card

How the Cash+ card makes cash back flexible
Each quarter you are allowed to select your cash back categories. You select two 5% cash back categories (Department Stores, Restaurants, Airlines...) and one 2% cash back category (Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Drug Stores). The remaining categories earn 1% cash back. Check here to see how easy it is. 

Icing on the cake

Based on what I have talked about so far this card offers quite a bit of value, but you may ask, what makes this card border on the extraordinary? 

First, for each $100 in points you redeem you receive a 25% bonus! So you can technically earn 6.25% cash back on your 5% categories!  

Second, if you currently have a Gold or Platinum Checking account with US Bank you will receive either a 25% or 50% bonus on your rewards! Now before you get too excited the bonus rewards only count against the 1% base cash back rate, but any bonus is better than nothing.

Third, there is no annual fee for the card! This is awesome in a world where most of my cards charge  between $75 and $95 annually. (We will talk in the future about how to avoid these annual credit card fees.)

Bottom line

The The US Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card pits itself against the most solid of cash back card competitors like the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card. The key to success for US Bank's Cash+ Visa lies in flexibility in your spend categories, a strong cash back rate, and no annual fee!

As with any card the Cash+ Visa is not for everyone. If you book quite a bit of travel, then the card could be exceedingly rewarding. If you are looking for a grocery getter then the American Express Blue Cash Preferred could be the winner for you.

Disclaimer: In an effort to provide my readers with objective advice that is free of bias I have chosen to not receive referral bonuses from US Bank or any other credit card issuer. Compensation for my time comes from adds, donations, and the satisfaction that comes from folks enjoying my blog. Learn more in the about us section of this blog.

Giving Frugal This Holiday Season

How can we spread the gift of Frugal this holiday season?

God has blessed me immensely this year through both family and work. I have found a real peace in my heart, and I have to remind myself that many do not have this same feeling of peace as the global economy continues to struggle.

MY CHALLENGE 

Take your frugal efforts up a notch this year. 

When you see a free after rebate deal, buy it and donate the product to a school, library, or local charity. Yes you may benefit from the cash back or points, but the community as a whole benefits with your generosity. The only sacrifice you make is waiting for the rebate.

Donate some of those extra points and miles you earned this year. Below I have included links to a few of the hotel and airline folks I believe are true standouts. Please comment or email if you know of any other organizations.

• Delta
• US Airways
• American Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• United Airlines
• Hilton

To everyone I wish you Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas

The Sates of Money Series: Earnings

In part 1 of this series I talked about how, just like any element on the periodic table, money takes on three distinct states: earnings, savings, and spending. Now let's focus on one particular state, earnings.

My Question

What do you do with your paycheck?
   A. Don't open it and toss it in the shredder.
   B. Open it and see if the pay line is close to "normal".
   C. Open it and review that the pay and deduction figures are correct.

If you chose option A (Don't open it, and toss it in the shredder) then we have a good bit of work ahead of us. Keep reading and remember hope is not lost, because frugality is a learned trait. Now for those who chose B or C, and open your check. Please know that you are atypical, and you have developed some frugal tendencies.

My Challenge 

Everyone go find an old paycheck - really go grab one - now open it and look past the pay line. It is likely you will be presented with several lines of purposefully confusing deductions. Many relate to benefits from your employer, and the rest are for good Ol' Uncle Sam.

For your employer’s deductions you need to ensure two things. First, make sure the amounts leaving your paycheck match the amounts you expect...HR is not infallible. Annual elections get missed, and payroll entries get "fat fingered" all the time. In the past I have found several small issues that were caught by a simple 2 minute review. If the issues would have gone unnoticed; however, it could have been a headache at tax time.

Second, you need to know what you are paying for. HR is required to keep documentation on all of your benefits. Get a hand full of pamphlets and start reading. You may find something valuable, or you may also find you are wasting money.

Through this same research process I found many hidden gems. For example, one of my current benefits is an identity protection service. This service is free to employees, and  has the same level of coverage I was paying Zander $10 a month for (I still recommend and admire Zander). I also found I was eligible for PerkSpot.com, an employer sponsored shopping portal that saves me a good deal of money through coupon codes.

Next up in this series we will continue our discussion on earnings by focusing on Uncle Sam's share.

Disclaimer: Let me be clear, I am not a tax adviser and I do not, in any way, profess to offer tax, legal, or investment advice in this blog.  Visit the IRS website and see if you are overpaying. 

The Sates of Money Series: The Concept

Take a second and remember back to those elementary school chemistry classes. In the first week or so you probably learned that every element has 3 states: solid, liquid, and gas. This is a very simple and foundational concept in chemistry, and similarly a foundational concept to this blog series.

Money, just like any element you find on the Periodic Table, takes on three distinct states. You can earn it through hard work and ingenuity, you can save it in a bank or investment account, or you can spend it on the things you want or need. Each of these states offers the frugal minded an opportunity to maximize the value of every dollar.

Let's dig deeper...

In the earnings state you must be diligent. The key here is to know your deductions, your company benefits, and most importantly you need to know how much you owe in taxes so you don't overpay in withholdings each pay period (big tax returns are not cool folks).

The savings state is driven by two mottos, "Cash is king" and "He who has the gold makes the rules". Simply put, when you have money available for savings there is an opportunity cost to you holding the money. This is why banks pay interest, because you would have no incentive to take the money out from under your mattress if you did not receive some form of reward.


The spending state is my favorite. Not only is it fun buying new things and going interesting places, but this is often the most challenging state, because the opportunities come and go so quickly. In the spending state you are looking for two things: a discount on your purchases, and a method of payment that will provide you with a return through cash back or loyalty points. 

In the coming parts of this series, and as a more global theme behind this blog, I will walk you through the ways to benefit in each state. I also hope we can learn from each other in the comments section below.

A Vision of Frugality

Isn't frugal just a fancy word for cheap?

If I were cheap I would refrain from spending money all together. By saying I am frugal, I have committed to spending the money, but I will take a few extra minutes to plan out my spending.

Generally when making a big purchase I will look for online coupons, check my favorite shopping portal (TopCashBack) for cash back offers, and then use either a cash back or points earning credit card to make the purchase. Just by using these steps I can save 10% with an online coupon, get 5% back from TopCashBack, and another 3% back from credit card spend. Being frugal is like giving yourself a pay raise without the added expectations from your boss.

In my opinion the difference between frugal and normal is the incremental effort and time spent. More simply, frugal is about developing a lifestyle where you become aware of your money, and the patterns behind how you earn, save, and spend it. Frugal does not mean going without…frugal means being strategic with what you have in order to make it go further.

Enjoy your family and give them more by taking the extra time!