Really interesting discussion. I’m swayed by a tough experience in the early 90s where I ended up with way too much credit card / revolving debt. ISTM the bottom was reached sometime after I received a CC that had some type of cash-back incentive. Anyhow, I stopped using credit cards, paid off all that debt over a year or two and then tackled paying off motor vehicle loans. Eventually I began to save. I’m sure that’s an often-told tale.
That’s when I began living on a written budget, updated once a year. Major expenses like travel, health care deductibles, taxes, new furniture, home maintenance, auto maintenance, etc. are pre-funded with monthly deposits into a bank or money market fund. Those lend themselves to being paid by credit card (which I often do), since every purchase is recorded and the “books need to balance” at year’s end. I believe Elan provides cash back for hotels. Not sure what else.
Where I have a problem using a credit card is for the “incidental / discretionary” items like food, beverage, media subscriptions, motor fuel, and odds & ends. These are paid with what I consider “pocket money”. It’s the balance in the checking account remaining after making the monthly deposit to cover pre-funded (major) expenses. It’s self regulating. Once the checking account falls to near 0, it’s time to stop spending. Since I receive SS mid-month and a pension payment around month’s end, it works well.
True, the budget process could be reworked, I suppose, to put more of those “pocket” expenses into the pre-funded camp. One problem is that it’s difficult to set up a one year budget with items that are likely to change during the next 12 months (adding or cancelling newspaper subscriptions for example).
It remains my belief that most of us mere mortals tend to spend more on incidental items (especially food, beverage, attire)) when shopping with a credit card than with cash. So if my total at the checkout is 5% higher due to the cash back incentive I’m trying to garner reap and the credit card gives me back 2% of what I spent there at the end of the month … am I coming out ahead?
Do Consumers Tend to Spend More With A Credit Card?

I searched for credit cards with good overall cash-back policies and minimal hassles.
I didn't want to play games with rotating categories, travel rewards, or some other BS.
Show me the money!
My experience with PenFed credit cards is that their points are worth less than $0.01 when redeemed for cash back or statement credit. So, the 5x points for gas and 3x points for supermarkets isn’t quite equal to 5% and 3%.
There are two different matters here - how you earn rewards (flat rate, special fixed categories, rotating categories) and how you redeem them (cash, miles, unrestricted bill credit, restricted bill credit).
On the earning side, rotating categories are the most nuisance to deal with. Even here, one can get some benefit by using a card for bills you pay automatically, like a gym or a cable/streaming service. When a rotating category card starts giving more rewards for a category, change your autobilling for services in that category to use the card. Change your autobilling back at the end of the three month rotation period. You don't have to think about categories any other time.
Fixed categories like PenFed's Platinum Rewards card (gas, supermarkets) let you avoid the hassle of dealing with continually changing categories. You can mimic this effect with Citibank Custom Cash by selecting a single category for which to use the card. Though with fixed categories you still need to remember which card you have dedicated for which category.
Truly minimal hassle means fixed rate bonus, no limit, no expiration.
On the redemption side, anything other than cash back (cash or statement credit) or actual frequent flier miles reduces redemption value. If you've got $30 in value that you redeem for a gift card (unless at a discounted price) you'll get $30 of purchasing power in the gift card, but you'll lose the opportunity to earn more cash back when you spend that $30. You'll be using the gift card and not your credit card.
Then there are redemptions that are worth less than a penny per point. This is a problem with PenFed's Platinum Rewards and even with Fidelity's credit card (if not redeemed into a Fidelity account). It is not a problem with Pen Fed's Cash Rewards card (flat 2% if you have a free Penn Fed checking account).
Some cards let you get statement credits for full value, but restrict how much you can redeem. This is often tied to travel. Capital One Venture miles can be redeemed for credit against past travel expenses (or for cash at a reduced redemption rate); BofA's travel card restricts mile redemptions to credits for past travel. If you do any traveling this is merely a hassle. If you have no travel expenses at all, this is a major impediment.
Each person's tolerance for pain (hassle) and each person's spending pattern are different. I'm okay with rotating categories, but only for supplemental cards. I keep it relatively simple by using a primary card that credits me with dollars, flat rate rewards, and no redemption restrictions. Secondary is a fixed category card. Tertiary are rotating category cards, if I remember what the categories du jour are.

@yogibearbull, I follow. Hmmm
You can start and end before 2015... up to ten years
You can start and end after 2015... up to today's date (almost 10 years)
But you can not start before 2015 and end after 2015 without PV shortening your inputs dates.
Hopefully they'll be a fix coming.

@bee, now try to run 10 years to 2020, i.e. 2010-2020 (i.e. 1/1/2010-12/30/2020 under Year-to-year), but you can not. The result is truncated to 1/1/2015-12/31/2020 (well under 10 years). Then see my post just before yours - my guess is that your 10-year test periods were all pre-mid-2014 except the full 2014/2015-2024.
https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=1F7QzYmcVWRuBv5WmY6L5B

Playing around with the new version of PV and the Backtesting Asset Allocation Portfolio tool:
1. I first select "Custom Portfolio" and eliminate the four funds that are preloaded as the "Sample Portfolio".
2. I enter a single ticker for Asset 1 (I used PRWCX) for my purposes. Change this as you please.
3. I keep SPY as the Specified Benchmark ticker. Change this as you please.
4. I run "Analyze Portfolio".
5. I then select the "Link" option and copy this link to a location such as an email to myself or as a hyperlink in a spreadsheet file.
6. I now have my own personal link to PV backtesting and my personal "Sample Portfolio".
Here's my Link to my personal "Sample Portfolio" that I could further customize.
7. Eliminate or keep the Asset 1 as Portfolio 1, enter assets for Portfolios 2 & 3 as you have in the past.
My PV Sample Portfolio
note:
Changing setting to stress test your Portfolios
To Stress test Custom Portfolios, select individual 10 year periods. I have used 2002 - 2011 as one stressful investment period. To choose your 10 year period, click on the setting tab adjusting the start and end dates.
To stress test your portfolio further (say by taking annual withdrawals), I set my withdrawal amount by selecting the "Cashflow" options . I use 4% withdrawals as my annual withdrawal.
With only a 10 year look back period I segment my look backs into distinct time periods.
One of most stressful decades (10 years) to have started retirement would have been the start of the Tech bubble followed by the GFC say, 2002 - 2011.
I compare these withdrawal results to other 10 year time frames, including the last 10 years (2015- 2024).

It seems that PV runs for the RECENT YEARS can go back only 10 years from now (i.e. 5/1/2014 in Month-to-month and 1/1/2015 in Year-to-year in 05/2024), but longer than 10-year runs are possible for start and end dates before this 10-year window.
If so, that seems an odd way to implement the 10-yr restriction.
BTW, these issues (and loopholes, workarounds, tricks, etc) are for free PV only. The PV subscribers may have a different view of this update or streamlining. Unfortunately, there is free/$0, and then quite steep $360/yr and $660/yr. If there was a tier around $100/yr, I could consider subscribing. As a subscriber to M*, Stock Rover (SR) and MFO Premium already, I don't find additional value in PV to justify $360-660/yr, but it's good for what it does.
https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/pricing

My experience with PenFed credit cards is that their points are worth less than $0.01 when redeemed for cash back or statement credit. So, the 5x points for gas and 3x points for supermarkets isn’t quite equal to 5% and 3%.

@Observant, new limitation is for 10 years. But you have to change both the start and end dates to capture the older 10-yr periods. Some periods > 10 years do slip by randomly, but I haven't figured out any pattern.
For example, these old 20-year periods ran,
5/1/1994 - 4/30/2014 https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=5XAbTVqb4yt0BQuvbe9O3F
5/1/1990 - 4/30/2010 https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=25WEYneHHRZLPu7sE6csqE

@BaluBalu Can't you place the buy in $ amount instead of shares ?

I will look into this which might solve some problems. however, that does not change Schwab’s requirement that I place a sell MM first. I always try to buy in round lots so I have flexibility to sell calls and thus, buying fixed dollar amount is not a good choice for me.
The other inconvenience is I have to bid for the shares aggressively or use market orders because if they do not fill, I have to remember to cancel the MM sell order. Otherwise, cash sits in sweep over a long weekend earning nothing.
I dislike these frictions about Schwab, same friction at TD, which forced me to move money out of TD and converting most of MM into ultra low duration bond ETFs. These bond ETFs really do not solve the frictions entirely, except that the issues with non-marginable MM balance is not there. There is an additional cost with using ETFs as a substitute for MM funds - I lose a penny per share because of bid-ask spreads (retail clients are not allowed to place trades in fractions of a penny).
On Friday alone I lost $50 because by the time I calculated how much MM I needed to sell and place the sell order, my buy market order Ask price moved by 2 Pennies. At Fidelity I simply place my buy order. No need to sell MM and sweep earns almost as much as MM. At Fidelity I also happily leave a lot of cash in sweep if I think I am going to use it shortly and it does not matter if I forget to move to MM.
Most of those issues at Schwab do not apply if you are a mutual fund trader - the non marginable MM issue is there though. But for a stock trading account, it is very bad. Ironically, Swab are the ones that started the zero commission war on stock trades.
Now that I wrote down, that is a lot of BS and economic impact I have been putting up with at TD/ Swab. It was OK at TD because a lot of other things were good at TD and they didn’t have their own MM funds. Swab are praying on human inertia issues.
Any one else that has @MikeM privileges at Swab pl share how to get them.

@FD1000
Thanks. I’ve saved the link to penfed. Just wondered … Do they have 24-hour live phone support? Easy to call? How well do they treat clients who call with inquiries, issues, etc?
I don’t think the live support at Elan is as good as it was a few years ago. I had a Citibank MC up until about 2005. Not only was the support lacking, but back then they besieged you with promotions. Can’t remember the exact nature of these. But it was annoying to call in. There may have been some “hard-sell” tactics by the phone reps trying to sell you unwanted services. Can’t remember the details. But that was the main reason I moved to Elan.
I appreciate that many people are reaping profits in the form of cash back, bonuses, travel points, etc. Never been my goal. Just good service w/o pressure tactics is what I’ve always cared about. And, of course, I pay balance off at the end of each cycle.

One PV LOOPHOLE is that the 10-year periods don't have to be recent, so free PV runs can be made for successive 10-year periods. Following are the PV runs for Bengen-type 4% withdrawals with annual COLA for 3 10-yr periods covering 30 years. Of course, some additional calculations will be needed to consolidate the data for straight 30 years.
5/1/1994 - 4/30/2004, PV Run 1 https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=3v2yQJiyMm7H7MVQ6KQQQM
5/1/2004 - 4/30/2014, PV Run 2 https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=41iTQ6EPGl0IjDgu80T37C
5/1/2014 - 4/30/2024, PV Run 3 https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&sl=4DBz45FjX7qA3Lh3nfENnz

An online bank with "impact" goals that started only in 2022 offering 100-yr CD, 4.75% fixed, as a publicity stunt - 10-yr interest penalty for early withdrawals. Alternatives? 30-yr Treasury bond or zero.
"We had not yet opened for deposits in 2022, but have amassed over $22 million in the first quarter of 2023, with roughly a third of this coming from businesses, and two-thirds from consumers."
https://walden-mutual-public.s3.amazonaws.com/WaldenMutual_AnnualReport_23-05.13.2023.pdf

A 100 year Certificate of Deposit is being offered by a mutual bank in New Hampshire. Between $1,000 and $150,000 can be invested.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/100-cd-brings-meaning-concept-192127054.html

In theory, you could add some money and subsequently pull it out as an "excess contribution". I would not suggest that without a lot more research. The IRS frowns on maneuvers done to circumvent rules. And even if you could do this, you'd need to check the exact mechanics and timing. Also, it could trigger a requirement that you file an 8606 form every year because you'll have added a non-deductible contribution. (Though pulling the money out might save you.)
Bottom line: you might be able to make a temporary contribution, but the complexities and risk don't seem to make it worthwhile to earn a couple extra pennies interest.
Since you have posted the size of the account ($11K), I can now illustrate how disclosing just a little information may reveal more than intended. People should be careful about posting any dollar amounts. (Percentages are usually okay since they don't say anything about the size of accounts.)
Schwab's cash account (or bank sweep) pays 0.45% APY Assuming daily compounding and a 365 day calendar, that's 0.00123%/day.
An account of $10,568 would earn 13¢ in a day at this rate. An account less than $11,381 would earn less than 14¢. So without being told that the account size was $11K, we already knew that the IRA cash transferred in amounted to between $10,568 and $11,381.

@Crash

But there's a wall around wifey's Trad IRA.

What does this mean?

Hello, @catch22.
There are a few angles going on. Neither of us has any earned income. Not officially, I mean. I don't think we are even eligible to put anything more into either of our Trad. IRAs. Years ago, you were recommending that we convert to Roths. We didn't, and it's worked out better for us.
So... It's too early to withdraw anything from wifey's IRA without a penalty. She's not 59 and a half, yet. And we can't ADD, either. Neither can we add to my own IRA. No earned income. Which is why we created the taxable trading account.
Here at MFO, we religiously don't speak in terms of raw dollar amounts. That's a good idea. So, in practical terms, we have erected our OWN wall around wifey's IRA, because it's premature to make withdrawals, and also because the whole thing is worth just a hair more than $11k. Kinda useless to be rearranging and "diworsifying," while dealing with only that much money.

With respect to Schwab IRAs why not just transfer a small amount of whatever's there now to a new MMKT account within the IRA? In fact both of our IRAs consist, at the moment, of nothing but MMKT accounts currently paying about 5%. And of course those accounts deal with odd change amounts. Those are generated when the monthly interest is paid, no?

Ostensibly, that's an idea; that would work. Anything we put in either of our IRAs these days would be non-deductible. But you're saying: just create a MMKT fund within that IRA and the spare change could go in there. We'd just have to combine the .13 cents with something big enough ($1, at least) in order for it to become actually useful money. Right?
EDIT TO ADD: By law, are we even able to add to an IRA, if we both have no EARNED income? Even if we were to do it on a non-deductible basis?
*Her IRA is at $11,000.00, and so I'm not seeing much use in diversifying and splitting up only that much.

With respect to Schwab IRAs why not just transfer a small amount of whatever's there now to a new MMKT account within the IRA? In fact both of our IRAs consist, at the moment, of nothing but MMKT accounts currently paying about 5%. And of course those accounts deal with odd change amounts. Those are generated when the monthly interest is paid, no?

An ETF's intraday indicative value (IIV) can be obtained on Yahoo Finance (ticker followed by "-IV")
or on Fidelity's website for current account holders.
I recently attempted to get the IIV for an ETF with over $500mm AUM
and a 30 day average share volume greater than 300,000.
No IIV information was available.
What is the criteria for determining whether intraday indicative values are available for ETFs?

October 2016 - The Next 10 Years Will be Ugly for Your 401 (k) https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/81779/#Comment_81779
February 2021 - Waiting for the Last Dance https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/137072/#Comment_137072
September 2022 - Pessimism is deepening as bellwether companies warn of worsening economic and business conditions. https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/153433/#Comment_153433
October 2022 - WTO Sees Sharp Slowdown in Global Trade, Pointing to Possible Recession, Lower Inflation https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/60122/wto-sees-sharp-slowdown-in-global-trade-pointing-to-possible-recession-lower-inflation/p1
June 2022 - NY Fed Sees 80% Probability of Hard Landing https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/150603/#Comment_150603
February 2023 - Jeffrey Gundlach says he’s preparing for a recession and it doesn’t matter what you call it— ‘In eit https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/60716/jeffrey-gundlach-says-he-s-preparing-for-a-recession-and-it-doesn-t-matter-what-you-call-it-in-eit/p1
March 2023 - Could First Republic’s collapse trigger a recession? https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/discuss/discussion/comment/161473/#Comment_161473
November 2023 - Leuthold: the lights have all turned red, time to lighten up on stocks https://www.mutualfundobserver.com/2023/11/