IOW, the usual once a decade (or more) unexpected shocks.
https://www.ft.com/content/5148cd1e-cf01-11e4-893d-00144feab7de
At least we made it to 36,000, also predicted in 1999.
https://www.amazon.com/Dow-36-000-Strategy-Profiting/dp/0812931459

The Glassman [Dow 36,000] thesis was that investors had somehow, for all of history, misunderstood how truly risk-free investing in stocks was, and that they would within a few years come to this realization.
...
No one could have, in 1999, perfectly anticipated that there would be a crash in tech stocks, the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, two major wars and a global financial crisis over the subsequent decade.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/03/08/the-author-of-the-spectacularly-wrong-dow-36000-has-some-new-thoughts-on-the-stock-market/

No net inflation for me other that insurance since I am getting 5% on my MM account.
Insurance industry is working together as monopoly even though they are regulated.
I am sure people who are employed are getting more money in salary.
Reason - cars are costing more so more cost to fix in the event of an accident.
Home - climate events are more frequent and fixing home is costly (I didn't make any claim in the last 20 years doesn't make it). My ins. is increasing by 70%. A minor weather event (Hail) in my neighborhood & I see few houses getting roof replacements - I am indirectly paying for them in increased ins.

There’s also an offer to get $150 back after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days but only 12 months of zero interest: https://www.fidelity.com/go/visa-signature-rewards-1502
If you’d rather deal with another bank than Elan, there are other similar cards and offers including:
Citi Double Cash: 2% back, $200 bonus, 18 months zero interest
Wells Fargo Active Cash: 2% back, $200 bonus, 15 months zero interest
I wouldn’t worry so much about the hit to your credit score. As an semi-irregular credit card churner, I can say that your score might drop a few points but bounces back pretty quickly.

Dow 40,000: Strategies for Profiting From the Greatest Bull Market in History by David Elias, published in 1999, explores blue-chip stock investing. The book begins with a history of the Dow-Jones Industrial Average. It provides a foundation for understanding how to construct a portfolio that balances risk and growth potential.
Key features include:
- Model Portfolios: Combinations of stocks designed to outperform the Dow.
- Mutual Fund Strategies: Guidance on using mutual funds for diversification and profit.
- Historical Context: Insights into events shaping today’s market.
- The book predicts that the Dow will continue its bull run well into the 21st century, potentially reaching 40,000 by 2016.
- For perspective, the Dow hit a record high of 9,443 in August 1999 - about 2 months after the book’s publication.

The CPI index this morning (May 15) was down a bit, which is good; but Bloomberg cited that the very large increases in auto insurance (which is a portion of the index) had an affect on the CPI not being lower. So, as has been discussed here; auto insurance rates are being noticed by others, too.

We’ve had the Fidelity rewards VISA through Elan for several years with few problems. We use our credit card for almost all purchases, so the rewards add up — $1,245 over the past year. Our account has had false charges several times, which were immediately caught by Elan and refunded if applicable. In those cases, they’ve sent us new card right away.

Following are short excerpts from a current New York Times Report:

In a letter to a federal judge, the department said that Boeing had failed to “design, implement and enforce” an ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws in the company's operations. Creating that program was a condition of Boeing’s settlement ...

In order to feel obligated to comply with a settlement agreement, especially one requiring you implement an ethics program, wouldn't you already need to have a modicum of ethics?
Otherwise you don't do anything and just say with a straight face that you honored the agreement. Oh, wait ...

Boeing said that the company believed that it had honored the terms of the settlement

I recall my Fidelity Visa card had been 2% from the getgo, but evidently my memory is faulty. Never had to ask for 2%.
It all depends on timing. Fidelity had offered a MasterCard paying 1.5% and an Amex card paying 2% through FIA Card Services. Somewhere around 2015 Fidelity switched from MasterCard to Visa. That Visa, still with FIA, paid 1.5%.
When Fidelity moved to Elan in 2016, it upped the Visa rewards to 2% for new accounts and for accounts where the customer requested the better rate. Only then did I switch my Fidelity Amex account (paying 2%) to the Fidelity (Elan) Visa card (also paying 2%).
The "getgo" for the Fidelity Visa card was not long before the move to Elan, so it is quite possible that you only started with Fidelity Visa after that. Or you might have converted cards as I did. Or ...

Some great insights. The project’s funding (hopefully late summer) was already incorporated into my IRA withdrawal planning. I actually shifted some $$ Friday into cash as I noted on the “buy / sell” thread. If the Fido offer received yesterday by mail was indeed “free money” it would make more sense to leave the funds growing for another 12-15 months inside the 2 IRAs (Roth / Traditional)
But little is free in life. And there are the risks mentioned (mainly a possible hit to my insurance premiums) plus the unknown risk of assuming next year would be a better year to pull the IRA funds than this year. At 5% compounded, 15K would net something north of $750 over a year. Not a big deal in the whole scheme of things. Possibly, I might max the card out and pull the funds monthly to repay. When you’re mostly fully invested all the time as I tend to be, pulling money in stages is a bit easierl
Fortunately the project is 1-3 months away. No start date yet. Labor shortage here as has been for many years now.
Yuppers - As someone noted, some merchants (including one of my physicians) charge a fee for using credit cards. I’d be willing to bet that’s the case with this company. Just displaying credit card symbols on its webpage doesn’t mean they won’t charge a fee.
This “deal” is fast losing its luster. :)

I recall my Fidelity Visa card had been 2% from the getgo, but evidently my memory is faulty. Never had to ask for 2%. Have dealt w Elan a lot and no problems, except that the card gets hacked a lot. I have replaced ours maybe 4 times the last year-plus; one time the new one that came in the mail was hacked within a day or two.
The best simple card deal I know, if you're a Verizon wireless customer, is their Visa card, which lets you apply 4% of all food / dining purchases (3% gas and maybe some other things) toward your wireless bill. Some months we pay 1990s-level totals for three cellphones, or even lower.

4x in one year? Jeez, that would be a giant red flag to bail on them no matter how good the rewards are. That reeks of deeper problems with their back-end systems. It's like how after the 4th or 5th data breach @ TMobile I bailed on them both on principle and practical reasons .... not to mention, I have enough credit monitoring to my name to last a few lifetimes already.

• 5/14/24: Justice Department: Boeing Violated Settlement Over 737 Max Problems
Following are short excerpts from a current New York Times Report:

The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that Boeing was in violation of a 2021 settlement related to problems with the company’s 737 Max model that led to two deadly plane crashes in 2018 and 2019.
In a letter to a federal judge, the department said that Boeing had failed to “design, implement and enforce” an ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws in the company’s operations. Creating that program was a condition of Boeing’s settlement, which also carried a $2.5 billion penalty.
The determination by the Justice Department opens the door to a potential prosecution of a 2021 criminal charge accusing Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration, though Boeing can contest Tuesday’s decision.
In a statement, Boeing said that the company believed that it had honored the terms of the settlement, adding that it was looking forward to the opportunity to respond.

To recap, in the OT section the articles on the Boeing situation are as follows
• 4/6/24: Boeing workers falsified 787 inspection records- FAA will investigate
• 3/25/24: Shakeup: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down
• 3/12/24: Boeing quality whistleblower John Barnett is found shot dead
• 3/9/24: Boeing Subject of Criminal Inquiry by DOJ
• 3/6/24: Boeing stonewalling National Transportation Safety Board, says top US safety official
• 2/28/24: FAA gives Boeing 90 days to fix quality control issues
• 2/26/24: Boeing Efforts to Improve Safety Fall Short, FAA Panel Says
• 2/21/24: Head of Boeing’s 737 program will leave the company
• 1/25/24: Airlines Hoping for More Boeing Jets Could Be Waiting Awhile
• 1/25/24: Alaska holds Boeing accountable, wants to be made whole for $150M in losses
• 1/24/24: Boeing's quality control: "A rambling, shambling, disaster waiting to happen"
• 1/23/24: United Airlines re Boeing: "The Straw That Broke the Camel's Back"
• 1/22/24: FAA: Airlines should check the door plugs on another model of Boeing plane
• 1/12/24: FAA to increase oversight of Boeing citing ‘other manufacturing problems'
• 1/11/24: F.A.A. Investigating Whether Boeing 737 Max 9 Conformed to Approved Design
• 1/10/24: Boeing 737 Max 9: A closer look at the much-discussed "missing bolts" -
• 1/9/24: FAA says safety ‘not speed’ will decide how long Boeing jets are grounded
• 1/8/24: United finds loose bolts on Boeing jets grounded after blowout incident
• 1/7/24: Yet More Trouble on the Boeing 737... so it's asking for an exemption to safety rules

FWIW, I have never received notifications for voting for VG BOD
VFIAX owns AAPL, but if you own VFIAX you don't own AAPL directly. So you don't get to vote for AAPL's BOD. Your fund does.
Likewise, Vanguard funds own The Vanguard Group, so you don't get to vote for The Vanguard Group's BOD.
What you do get to vote on, every decade or so, are your Vanguard funds' BODs. The last time this happened was in 2017. If you owned a Vanguard fund then, you got a notice. Though most shareholders probably didn't "notice".

The Vanguard Funds
Notice of Joint Special Meeting of Shareholders
All Vanguard funds will host a Joint Special Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 8:00 a.m., local Arizona time, at the DoubleTree Paradise Valley Scottsdale, 5401 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, Arizona 85250. This joint special meeting of the Vanguard funds is being held so that shareholders can vote on Vanguard’s proposals to:
1. Elect Trustees for each fund.
2. ...

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/34066/000093247117004795/def14a.htm
Never mind the fact that "Each nominee [for fund trustee] also serves as a director of The Vanguard Group, Inc." OTOH, since the trustees of The Vanguard Group are identical to the trustees of each fund, you are effectively voting on The Vanguard Group's BOD.
Now doesn't that make you feel empowered :-(

Vanguard is private, so it doesn't follow the selection process used for typical public co BOD. FWIW, I have never received notifications for voting for VG BOD (some like TIAA hold only advisory votes). BOD is authorized to act on behalf of shareholders / stakeholders. Here are VG BOD members,
https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/corporatesite/us/en/corp/who-we-are/sets-us-apart/our-management-team.html#tabs-2be5cbb156-item-be6b32b2b9-tab

@hank : Did you happen to ask the contractor if he up charges for payment with the card? That wouldn't make you happy if he did ! Say 3% on $15K.

My experience is that the credit hits are at least that bad. When my current balance across all cards approaches 10% of my total credit limit across all cards (and not more than 25% on any given card), my credit scores take 20 point hits. I have a good enough credit rating that this doesn't worry me, but this is still crazy.
A hard pull can stay on your record for two years. Even if you abort an application before completing it. (I suppose one could contest that part of one's credit file, but what seems to matter is the fact that a credit inquiry was made, not so much whether it was justified.)
So I'm not too inclined to play the credit card application bonus game. If there's an offer on a card I wouldn't consider holding long term, I'll usually pass.

I dunno, make of it what you will.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vanguard-announces-appointment-of-salim-ramji-as-new-ceo-302145541.html

@Derf per Schwab: "The combined total of our SIPC coverage and our "excess SIPC" coverage means Schwab provides protection up to an aggregate of US$600 million, limited to a combined return of US$150 million per customer, up to US$1.15 million of which may be in cash. This protection becomes available in the event SIPC limits are exhausted."
https://international.schwab.com/account-protection
Standard SIPC coverage is described here and - depending on how your 2 IRAs are set up - would be between $1.5M and $2M total w $500K per "account" as defined by SIPC via 'capacity' ($250K cash).

I have 4 accounts with Schwab, 2 IRA's , 1 Roth , 1 Individual. How much SIPC coverage do I have ? $2 million , or $500k ?

@yugo is correct. If you use your credit card line in full, there is a penalty on the credit score. You should keep the usage % low, around 20-30% of the credit limit (per card). And 0% card offers may have initial 3-5% fee and duration of 12-18 months only.
Look into HELOC for home improvement loans.

I agree with pretty much everything said above. Something to add:
1. Elan is a real pain to deal with if you ever have a problem with an incorrect charge or, say, a refund that does not go through. I have had such issues on several cards and, in spite of an ultimately successful resolution, Elan was by far the most difficult to deal with.
2. You likely know this already, but in case somebody is not aware: even though they are offering this as a 0% APR promo, it will still count as a CC balance which may cause a larger hit on your credit report than other loan types.
@msf Citi is running a 75K mileage promo on their AAdvantage Platinum Select MC w $0 fee for the first year (spend $3,500 over the first 3 months). Depending on which estimate you believe, this is a $915 to $1,275 value. After the first year, you can switch to Citi AAdvantage MileUp MC, which - unlike most mileage cards - has $0 annual fee. (The conversion is free, preserves credit limit, and does not go on the credit report.) If you fly American Airlines only occasionally, any activity on these cards stops AAdvantage miles from expiring.