Hi frequent viewer. I really don’t know how many of you come to my blog because I don’t keep track. Maybe I should. Maybe I will add some addon to my site to see how many visitors I get.
Anyhow, the whole point of this 2026 post is to let you all know that I am thinking of shutting down and saying farewell to my blog. Really. I think nowadays, you all can get what you need from AI. There is no point in posting here other than my sharing what I am doing and what I am doing with my finances. But as you all know, I don’t get a penny from this blog other than feeling good I made someone’s day with my advice and direct to the point to BS advice.
AI is here to stay. Check this out. I will post what I get from AI if I ask a question. I will ask “How much I need to save weekly to have $100,000 in five years earning 9% from the S&P 500?”
To figure this out, we need to assume regular weekly investing with a constant 9% annual return, compounded weekly.
Assumptions
- Target amount: $100,000
- Time horizon: 5 years
- Contributions: weekly
- Annual return: 9%
- Weekly return rate: 0.09/52≈0.00173
- Number of weeks: 5×52=260
Formula used (future value of a series of investments)
FV=PMT×r(1+r)n−1
Solving for PMT (weekly contribution):PMT=(1+r)n−1FV×r
Result
Using the numbers above:
- Weekly contribution ≈ $300–$310
- Best estimate: about $305 per week
What this means
If you invest around $305 every week for 5 years, earning an average 9% annually, you would end up with approximately $100,000.
Important notes
- The S&P 500 does not return 9% every year—this is a long-term average.
- Actual results will vary due to market volatility.
- Starting earlier or increasing contributions reduces risk significantly.
If you’d like, I can also:
- Compare weekly vs monthly investing
- Show how much total cash you’d contribute
- Run scenarios for 7%, 10%, or 12% returns
- Adjust if you already have money invested
You see what I am talking about. You can ask AI anything about finance and it will give you the best advice. Let me try it again. Remember I wrote my last post about the money-making hungry credit card industry, which interestedly enough president Trump is trying to cap the interest rate at 10%. He said it, these credit card companies have been stealing from Americans for a long time.
Let me ask AI something about credit cards. How can I avoid paying so much in credit card interest?
Paying high credit-card interest is one of the biggest drags on your finances, but there are very effective ways to reduce or eliminate it. Here’s a clear, practical plan—start with the highest-impact moves first.
1. Stop New Interest From Accruing (Critical)
Always pay the statement balance in full by the due date if you can.
If you don’t, interest starts compounding daily.
If you can’t pay in full:
- Pay as much as possible above the minimum
- Focus extra payments on the highest-APR card first (avalanche method)
2. Use a 0% Balance Transfer (Huge Savings)
If your credit is decent:
- Look for a 0% APR balance-transfer card (12–21 months is common)
- Transfer high-interest balances
- Pay it off before the promo ends
⚠️ Watch for:
- 3–5% transfer fee (often worth it)
- No new purchases on that card
3. Negotiate Your Interest Rate (Yes, Really)
Call your card issuer and say something like:
“I’ve been a customer for years and my APR is very high. Are there any promotions or rate reductions available?”
This works surprisingly often, especially if:
- You have a payment history
- Your credit score has improved
- You threaten (politely) to move balances elsewhere
4. Replace Credit Cards With Cheaper Debt
If balances are large:
- Personal loan (often 6–12% vs 20–30%)
- Credit union loan (usually the cheapest)
- Home equity loan/HELOC (only if very disciplined)
⚠️ Do NOT do this unless you stop running balances again.
5. Lower Your Utilization (Fast APR & Score Boost)
High balances increase interest pain.
Actions:
- Make multiple payments per month
- Ask for a credit-limit increase (no hard pull sometimes)
- Pay cards down below 30% utilization (ideal: under 10%)
6. Use the Right Payment Strategy
Two proven methods:
Avalanche (best mathematically)
- Pay minimums on all cards
- Extra money → highest APR card
Snowball (best psychologically)
- Pay smallest balance first
- Builds momentum
Either beats doing nothing.
7. Stop the Cycle
Interest keeps coming back if spending habits don’t change.
Practical fixes:
- Use debit or cash temporarily
- Freeze cards in your app
- Set purchase alerts
- Budget categories with hard caps
8. Emergency Fund = Interest Insurance
Even $1,000–$2,000 in savings prevents new card debt when life happens.
You see! All is there. Nice analysis. Who needs bloggers like me? Unless you all like my style of writing. It may not be perfect, grammar errors everywhere but you all get my point.
Heck, even the creators of The Thing from Netflix have been accused of using AI to make the last episodes. No creativity anymore.
Anyway, don’t know if I will keep this blog. I can’t put my email here because I will get a bunch of AIs spamming me. I can’t put a section for comments here because again too many spam posts to spend time separating from legit posts.
The Chief out.