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Welcome to āMoney Minutesā the weekly finance newsletter keeping you in the loop of all things stocks, crypto, and corporate drama with a splash of humor. I consume a ton of finance content all week and filter through the best stuff, so you donāt have to. If you want to save time and laugh at my dads jokes, consider joining the 3,200+ other readers and subscribe below.
This weekās newsletter is 920 words and should take you 5.2 minutes to read.Ā
In this Email:
How I used credit card points to pay for my trip to Tahiti
Going over the business headlines of the week
Sup. Zaid here.Ā
If you read my newsletter from last week (or follow me on IG) youāll know that I was in Tahiti celebrating my 7 year anniversary.
The trip was fun. Except for the fact I got the worst sunburn of my life. Also, my wife fell of a jet ski while I was drivingā¦but thankfully nobody got hurt (except for maybe my ego).Ā
Overall, it was a fun trip. We stayed in those overwater bungalows that were all over Instagram back in 2017.
The best part, I used credit card points to save a ton of money. Here is a breakdown of how much the trip cost.Ā
Flight: Free (using 140,000 credit card points)
The roundtrip flight from Houston to Tahiti was 70k points per person (140k total for wife and I).Ā
I already had about 60k United airline points because I signed up for the United Explorer Credit Card a couple years ago
I transferred 90k points of my Chase Points (that I accrued over 4 years using my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card) to United
Hotel: $1,500 for 4 nightsĀ
Food / Entertainment: $500
Total: $2,000 for 4 nights
This trip was special for me. My wife wanted to go to Tahiti (and stay in an overwater bungalow) for our honeymoon 7 years ago. But back then, I couldn't afford it. I told her weād go once we had the money. Fast forward to today, we were able to go and save money on flights.Ā
Plus, if crypto keeps pumping like this, we might be able to go back next year š
Market Vibe Check
Stocks: Good times don't last forever. The S&P500 and Dow Jones had their first down week of 2023, likely due to the debt ceiling drama and mixed earnings reports. Nasdaq is still partying on, finishing in the green.Ā
Crypto: It's amazing how quickly the crypto market can turn around! One minute we're in a bear market, the next everyone's predicting Bitcoin will hit $30k. Talk about a vibe shift! Iām still not convinced itās sustainable though.
Business News You Should Know
> Microsoft, Google and Amazon announce layoffs: 10k at Microsoft. 12k at Google. 18k at AmazonĀ Layoffs sucks. I hate that people are losing their jobs. But tech companies hired too many people during the pandemic. Even after these layoffs, Microsoft, Google and Amazon all have more employees today than they did before the pandemic. I wouldnāt be surprised if we see even more layoffs from these companies later this year.
(Read More: See Big Tech Headcount over the last 2 years)
> US Hit Debt Ceiling $31.4 Trillion: *sigh* I feel like the debt ceiling is in the news every 2 years. Itās more politics than economics at this point. As of right now, the US canāt borrow any more money, until the debt ceiling is raised. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the government has enough money to pay all the bills until June. Weāre probably going to be talking about this for months.Ā
(Read More: How the U.S. Debt Ceiling Works and Why It Matters)
> Netflix added 7.66 million subs in Q4: Netflix had a HUGE Q4. Adding 7.66 million subs (vs 4.57 million expected). Iām still not bullish on Netflix long term, or the streaming business in general. But Netflix might have gotten their mojo back. Netflixās Founder Reed Hasting is stepping down after 25 years.
(Read More: CNBC)
> Tim Cook Taking a Pay Cut: Tim Cook will ONLY take home $49 million in 2023. Thatās down from the $99 million he made in 2022 (50% pay cut). Tim Cook requested this pay cut himself. Smart PR move by Timmy? Note, Apple is the only big tech company that hasn't announced layoffsā¦yet.
> Appleās M2 MacBook Pros and Mac Mini: Appleās had a lowkey product announcement. New Macbook Pros and Mac Mini with M2 chips coming very soon. But unless youāre editing 4k videos, (or are rich af) you probably donāt need one. The M2 Mac Mini is pretty enticing though. Itās only $599. Iāll likely be buying one. Stay tuned for a review.Ā
Throwback Headline
JANUARY 16, 2007: Netflix Launches Streaming
Thanks for reading! Iām still making tweaks to this newsletter. If you have any recommendations on how I can make improvements (or if you want to help write this it) please send me an email at AdmaniExplains@gmail.com
š¤ I Flew to Tahiti For Free
diamond hands ETH to the moon... hopefully
Good stuff!