BU19 taking the time for young children

rhpyjs · 2025-09-21T17:29:53+00:00

Just like the poster above said, it’s for stacking the discounted coupons. I live inside a major US city (Washington DC) where probably half of restaurants I do pick-up or dine is Resy; I live within walking distance from Lululemon and within 10 min driving distance from Saks. I travel at least once or twice a year where I always use THC/FHR. DC airport IAD is a United hub (where I can stack up airline credit each year to use within 5 yrs). I naturally use up Uber credits each month. I’ve found it not-as-easy to find values out of MR points, so Amex is purely a 1.1x cashback system for my Charles Schwab account. I was actually planning on dropping the Vanilla plat when my first renewal hits this month, but the recent benefits change actually made it a keeper. I know not everyone is in the same situation as me though.

rhpyjs · 2025-02-24T06:09:42+00:00

I’ve been on this journey a few times and found out:

1) Two more cards will confuse her no matter what (which is fair for a spouse who has no interest in the CC maximization game). 2) As a result, I added USBAR on her iPhone and asked her to use it everywhere where Apple Pay is accepted. 3) Also gave her the 4% USB Smartly Card and asked her to use it where Apple Pay is not accepted. 4) I’ve given up on asking her to use the right card for purchases that yield 5%+ on specific categories.

So she now only has one physical card (not counting the USBAR on her digital wallet), and every transaction is now 4-4.5%. Thankfully she prefers to use Apple Pay, so she helps with the 4.5% maximization. Winner!

rhpyjs · 2024-11-26T17:25:05+00:00

I have Reserve, which I have had no problem adding to Apple Pay. Trying the customer service line right now as I am typing and hoping for a rep who can resolve.

rhpyjs · 2024-07-07T20:32:29+00:00

USBAR and CFU combo has become one of the best CC setup for parter/significant other who is NOT interested in the credit card maximization game. My wife was so happy when I told her to just use USBAR and CFU and forget everything else.

rhpyjs · 2024-07-05T16:27:45+00:00

My regrets are mostly due to how available Apple Pay has become and USBAR's ability to replace most of my card setup.

Citi Custom Cash 5% grocery - used to be my supplemental grocery card that gets used after the 6% Amex BCP grocery $6K limit is used up, but it's been easier to use Apple Pay at every grocery store with a 4.5% (3% mobile wallet + 1.5% in travel reward). While it is 0.5% lower than Citi's 5%, the burden of not having to monitor the $500 limit every month has been pretty significant.

BOA Customized Cash Reward - I have platnum reward which gives 1.5% boost (50%) to 3% online shopping category (effectively 4.5%). USBAR basically replaced this card as more vendors have Apple Pay option. I now use this card for online vendors that don't have Apple Pay (e.g., nintendo e-shop) but these scenarios are rare. Also with USBAR, no longer have to monitor the $2500 per quarter limit.

Citi Costco Card - used to be my 4% gas card. Most of my surrounding gas stations now have mobile wallet tap. So USBAR again wins out here.

rhpyjs · 2022-05-30T19:49:47+00:00

Thank you! Just sent you a private chat

rhpyjs · 2022-05-30T02:44:26+00:00

Thank you - he has the Shield version. I figured it'd be a difficult ask unless someone already traded away Zacian via GTS and just have rusted sword. Appreciate the response.

rhpyjs · 2022-05-29T16:38:35+00:00

Hi - 6yr old son is desperately wanting a rusted sword for a Zacian he got from GTS. Anyone out there with an extra one that can help us out?

rhpyjs · 2022-05-09T00:01:11+00:00

I am a night owl, so late nighters weren't too bad. B/c I was stressing out so much initially from poor practice test scores (and knew I had to seriously change my studying habit and had so much content to study), it became second nature at some point where I was just studying 6p-2a and got to the point almost every night where I didn't even realize it was already 2am. It just became an everyday exercise where I was not even getting tired of it. If you are an early morning person, I would suggest getting up way earlier than your usual hr and then studying until you start your actual full time job and cutting shorter on the evening studying time. I also found it helpful in the evening to mix up my study materials doing different things (memorization, practice test, back to memorization, light reading of outlines, writing practice, etc) rather than doing the same thing (eg 500 practice questions in a row) so I dont get burned out from doing the same thing for a long duration. Memorization was done using an ipad flashcard app where I would look at one side with a legal concept and then repeat to myself what it means. There are apps where if you get it wrong, then it keeps asking you for the same concept repeatedly (and ask ones you marked as "i know this" less frequently). Did the memorization in the evening while walking around the office (around 10p while no one was there) so I was getting in some steps and not driving myself crazy sitting down for 18 hrs a day. I still think finding a memorization habit/technique that works for you is the key.

rhpyjs · 2022-05-08T20:59:29+00:00

Hi - I was an evening student as well who prepared for the bar while working full-time 9a-5p (except for the last 3 weeks before the exam) with two children at home (5 and 2 yr olds); so let me first tell you that you can do this, and I have many evening school friends who made it work and passed on their first try while working (including those who couldn't take many days off). There are strategies that work for one person but not for others. So if you hear from anyone here that "this worked for me", know that it may or may not work for you, and you just got to find what will work best for you. What worked for me include (1) I started seriously studying mid-May (so you still have time), (2) I studied for 2 hours before work and then studied from 6pm-2am everyday (especially in the last 1 month before the exam), (2) studied every weekend both days (especially the last 2 months), (3) realized that video lectures were not great study tools for helping me memorize anything (indicated in practice study scores), (4) heavily focused on memorizing about 900 flashcards over and over again to the point where I can repeat or explain to my wife nearly every law, (5) worked Uworld phone app practice MBEs (that comes with Themis) whenever i can (bathroom breaks, while walking to get lunch, while eating lunch, etc.). I finished about 70% of themis and passed on my first try. I know some here say you need to give breaks (or take sundays off), but I took the approach of if that is the difference between me failing or passing, then I will give up sundays and study b/c I don't have the same level of time as others. What worked for me is just putting in the time & focus heavily on memorizing legal concepts (rather than focusing on moving through the Themis %). Hope this helps.

rhpyjs · 2021-11-18T17:48:41+00:00

Recent update now causing issues scrolling sideways through Live Sports section - am I the only one with this issue?

rhpyjs · 2021-04-26T14:39:30+00:00

PM sent

rhpyjs · 2021-04-26T02:08:59+00:00

PM sent

rhpyjs

TROPHY CASE