👋 Hi Reader,

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an amazing holiday and got to spend some quality time with family! Here are the highlights from today's newsletter:

🤔 How to choose the problems worth struggling for
💳 Last chance on a 100K welcome bonus
💰WeBull: 4% match + up to $5K referral bonus
🏛️ Free museum entry for BoA cardholders this weekend
🏦 Easy $250 Capital One bank bonus
🎁 Increased rewards on Giftcards.com
🥞 My favorite pancake recipe and more!

If you enjoyed reading, please forward this email to a friend who might too! And if that's you, make sure to subscribe here. Thanks!

Chris

🤔 How to Choose the Problems Worth Struggling For

Learn how to pick challenges in life that actually matter, without trying to avoid them. This week, Mark Manson and I break down how to stop optimizing for the wrong things, why values trump goals in decision-making, practical strategies for building real friendships, and more.

📺 Watch or 🎧 Listen

💸 Start 2026 in Control of Your Money

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… Copilot Money

The New Year is the perfect time to take control of your finances, and Copilot Money is the personal finance app I trust most to stay organized and confident about where our money’s going.

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Since I started using it, I’ve felt more in control of our spending—and I’m sure it’s helped us spend better without micromanaging every dollar.

Right now, new users get 26% off their first year when you sign up here, plus an additional 2 months free with code HACKS.

📋 My Past Two Weeks

Here's a quick recap of what I was up to the past two weeks:

There was finally some snow in Tahoe, so we took a last minute ski trip and had such an amazing time. Our oldest improved her skiing enough to make it down her first blue run (though we didn't tell her until she got to the bottom) and thanks to ski school, Amy and I got to enjoy a day of skiing all over the mountain together. It's still hard for me to spend on experiences like this, but it was such an amazing trip and I'm hoping that spending gets easier with more "practice".
I haven't been to the movie theatre in so long, but we took our girls to see Zootopia 2 yesterday and the whole family enjoyed it! That said, I forgot how loud the movies are, so I highly recommend picking up some earplugs when taking kids to the movies. We found some silicone moldable ones (like this) at Walgreens and they worked great and received no complaints.
We got my parents some Air Purifiers for Christmas and after way too much research, I ended up narrowing it down to 4 options: Winix or Coway (less expensive) and IQAir or Austin Air (more expensive). I was surprised in all my research how many other options aren't nearly as effective as their fancy marketing and design might make you think.
I've made these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes dozens of times, including twice over the holidays, and they're always a big hit. They're also good enough on their own that you don't even need maple syrup!
It felt great to end the year having used all the big credits on our credit cards, but now that the year has reset, they're all available to use again. I'm trying to get ahead of my 2026 credits early so it doesn't feel like there's as much work at the end of the year. You can find my summary of all the major credits towards the end of my 2025 End of Year Checklist. If there were one to prioritize sooner, it'd be the $50 Saks credit, given the news of their possible bankruptcy.

Travel, Points & Miles

💳 Last Chance: 100K Welcome Bonus Ending on 1/5

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is about to end their incredible 100k mile welcome bonus, which you earn after $10k spend in 6 months. After meeting the minimum spend, you would end up with at least $1,200 in travel, which is one of the best consumer card offers I've seen. The offer is set to expire on 1/5 and if my wife and I didn't both already have the card, we'd be taking advantage of the 100k offer.

If you're open to getting a business card, the business version of the card has an even better welcome offer of up to 400k miles, but requires spending $30k - $200k in 6 months to hit.

✈️ $15 Lyft Credit When You Link Your Alaska Account

Link your Alaska Atmos Rewards and Lyft accounts before 1/14 and get a $15 ride credit (to be used by 1/31). Plus, for every 3K Lyft points you earn, you’ll receive an extra 1K Atmos status points.

📣 New Hotel, Airline and Points Promos This Week

Airline Promos

JetBlue Vacations: 40% off flights to North America when you book by 1/4 and travel before 3/31.
Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 25% off award tickets when you book before 1/31 for travel through 6/30.
Ryanair: Big Seat Sale has 10 million seats up for grabs, with some flights as low as $18. Book before 2/8 for travel between 3/1 and 10/31.
TAP Air Portugal: Round-trip fares between the US and Europe for $369 when you book before 1/13 for travel by 5/31.

Hotel Promos

Marriott: Up to 20% off when you book a weekend stay before 1/4 with promo code QRI and complete the stay by 1/25.
IHG: Unlimited 2x points on stays between 1/1 and 3/31. Registration is required.
Vacations by Marriott: 20K bonus points for an eligible 4+ night stay booked before 1/31 and completed by 5/31.
World of Hyatt: 500 bonus points per night at select new hotels when you book for eligible stay dates listed here.
Select Hotels: A card from a popular bank is offering $250 in statement credits, which can also be stacked with other hotel credits and redeemed via the bank's travel portal.

Status Match Opportunities

Marriott + Singapore Airlines: Marriott elite members can match up to Silver status, with the ability to earn Gold status with just 4 Singapore flights within 6 months.
Caesars Diamond: Available for new and existing members with qualifying Atlantic City competitor cards. Earn 100 tier credits to unlock Diamond status.

🤑 Latest Deals

💰WeBull: 4% Match Bonus + Up to $5K Referral Bonus

Earn a 4% match bonus when you transfer assets to a WeBull account before 3/31. You must hold the funds for 5 years to qualify for the full bonus. While the hold period is longer than most other offers, the 4% rate is one of the highest brokerage transfer bonuses I've ever seen.

You can also stack this with a referral bonus of up to $5,000 if you refer a new customer who transfers in brokerage assets and maintains the balance for 60 days (no referral sharing required). Or if you plan to take advantage of the 4% bonus, you could have your partner, friend, or family member refer you :) As always, be sure to review all the terms for each promotion.

🏦 Easy $250 Checking Bonus from Capital One

Capital One is offering a $250 checking bonus when you open a new account with promo code DEBIT250 and complete 20 qualifying transactions of $10+ within 75 days. No direct deposit required.

📦 100% Off Storage Containers at Staples (Up to $40)

If you’re looking to get a bit more organized for the new year, Staples is offering 100% back in points (up to $40) on storage containers through today, 1/3. This offer is valid in-store only.

🧴 $15 off $50+ Amazon Household Products

Amazon is offering a $15 credit when you spend $50 on select household products. And you can save even more if you have a credit card that has increased earning rates for Amazon purchases.

🔗 Card-Linked Offers Worth $250+

Here are a few card-linked offers I found this week with expiration dates in parentheses.

Kroger/Harris Teeter: 5% back, up to $10 (1/20)
Travel Portal of a Popular Bank: $100 off $600+ (1/31)
Airfare: $50 off $499.99 (1/31)
JetBlue: $50 off $200+ (2/28)
Checkout with Paze: Up to $55 off $100 (3/20)
Calm App Subscription: 100% cash back (3/31)

🎁 Increased Rewards (Up to 8x) on Giftcards.com

Giftcards.com is offering increased rewards (up to 8x points/$1) through shopping portals today, 1/3. You can earn 4x miles on Visa and Mastercard via Rove and up to 8.08% cash back on brands like Airbnb and Home Depot through TopCashback and BeFrugal, and more.

🏛️ Free Museum Tix for BoA Cardholders This Weekend

Bank of America credit and debit cardholders get free entry to 200+ museums, including some popular ones like the Met and the MoMA in NYC, on the first weekend of every month. So that’s today, 1/3, and tomorrow, 1/4.

🛍️ $10 Walmart Cash on Orders $35+ (Targeted)

There’s a targeted offer for Walmart+ members to get $10 Walmart Cash on orders of $35+. Check your account to see if you're eligible.

🕵️ Top Finds

⏰ Time Spent with Others

I came across these charts that visualize the time spent with others throughout different life stages. It's a powerful reminder to be intentional about spending time with the people who matter most, which is something I'm focused on in the new year.

✈️ Airplane Seat Map Sites (SeatGuru Replacements)

With SeatGuru being recently shut down, One Mile At A Time shared two websites, aeroLOPA and SeatMaps, as great alternatives with comprehensive and accurate airplane seat maps.

💬 Parting Thoughts

As always, thanks so much for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts on today’s newsletter, and if you enjoyed it, please let me know why!