I absolutely love sharing the ins and outs of being a freelancer / full-time blogger with you all. As you guys know, Matt is a full-time freelancer for the film union in NYC, and I am a full-time blogger, so YUP we both freelance. It sounds impossible, but we make it work (in the most crazy way possible) and aside from the uncertainty of our schedules week-to-week, one of the biggest fears that I think all freelancers face is gaps in pay, or slow seasons with work. Basically, when I send an invoice out for a completed job, I am usually not paid for said job until 30, 60 or 90 days later, which sounds crazy when my checks used to be deposited bi-weekly into my bank account back when I had a 9-5 job. The BEST preparation for this lifestyle is PLANNING AHEAD + USING THE SYSTEM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.
We’ve always been big savers, so the planning ahead part was easy for us. We both have ROTH IRA’s that we max out every year, and we have a 529 account to save for Hudson’s college, but what we were lacking was learning the ins and outs of how we can use the system to our advantage: AKA rewards points, travel miles, etc. We recently sat down and looked through various options for credit cards that would help us get the most benefits. Because we’re parents, we are constantly spending money on small transactions like a diaper order from Amazon here and a quick grocery trip there, and when we stumbled upon the Amex EveryDay Card we knew it was a match for us. Let’s be honest here- points and credit cards are confusing. They confuse me. But I’ve read a lot of sites on this particular card, and how we can use it to travel more for less, max out our points, etc, and I am going to be sharing my tips with you over the next few months.
Hack #1: If you already have a credit card, but want to reap the benefits of the Amex EveryDay Card, there is a $0 Balance Transfer Fees**. This means that we were able to shift our balance from our old card to this one for ZERO DOLLARS.
Hack # 2: Because we transferred our balance to the Amex EveryDay Card we received 10,000 membership rewards points after spending $1,000 [within 3 months], and with Hudson’s expenses adding up, we knew we’d hit this number.
10,000 membership rewards points can equal around 1/3 of a trip!!! YUP, so we were basically being given 1/3 of a trip for free, just for buying the things we normally buy anyway. The concept blows my mind.
I am back after another month of racking up rewards points (thanks to our everyday expenses) to share another saving hack that we LOVE about our Amex EveryDay Card!
Hack #3: Using our Amex EveryDay Card, we can earn 2X points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases!* This one is a big one for us, as we are constantly cooking meals at home, and we feel like we pop into the grocery store at least 3 times a week, because Hudson eats so much!
For our next update we’ll be talking about what we plan to DO with all these points we’re earning, so be sure to check back!
Hack #4: We’ve been getting ready to head on the road in our camper van for the summer, and that means tons of prep work like buying baskets for organization, blankets, lights, etc. We’ve been using our Amex EveryDay Card so we, of course, keep earning points along the way! The even better news is that once you make 20 or more purchases on the Card in a billing period, you’ll earn 20% extra points on those purchases*! So instead of just 2x points on purchases at US supermarkets, you could get 2.4x on up to $6K in purchases per year. More points, even faster.
We’ve also been putting these points to use on some of our upcoming summer travels at amextravel.com. Make sure to check it out, it will definitely tempt you!
Hack #5: So, this isn’t exactly a saving HACK, but it can help you stay on track in other helpful ways! When we were buying our current home, one of the biggest factors when applying for our mortgage was finding out our credit score. We had no idea really where or how to get a credit report — it felt really confusing, as most things do during the home-buying process. Luckily the new American Express® MyCredit Guide tool is FREE and makes it super easy! It’s also available whether or not you’re an American Express Card Member, which is even better!
The tool offers helpful financial resources from your VantageScore® credit score by TransUnion® to TransUnion credit reports to a credit score simulator! Accessing MyCredit Guide doesn’t hurt your credit score at all! If you’re interested in finding out your credit score out of curiosity, or because you’re thinking of buying a home soon, too, you can check it out here!
Visit www.AmericanExpress.com/MyCreditGuide for terms and to learn more.
*Thank you to Amex for partnering on this post, as always all thoughts and opinions are my own
