February was a mixed month: DH and I spent a week at Turks and Caicos – that was a lot of fun! Our eldest son decided to withdraw from college – not so fun…
The most fun event of February, of course, was the trip to T&C. I have a dedicated post to that trip, but in short, we spent nine days traveling, transitioning through NYC and spending a week in paradise. I now will always compare the beaches I visit to the ones I saw in Turks and Caicos, they were that beautiful! In fact, I am on Maui right now, and the Maui beaches as NOT as good!
On the other hand, our eldest kid decided to temporarily withdraw from college and come back home. It was hard for us, because, in our minds, the path school->college->well paid job is proven and dominant, so the new path school->no college? is unknown and worrisome for us (we are worried about his future). But that’s the path we are on right now, so we need to see how that develops.
Credit card hacking:
I would also like to provide an update on our Credit card hacking progress, as this is my new hobby, which provides both financial benefits and entertainment for me.
In January I met SUPs on both Southwest Chase cards I had opened in October and November and indeed received SW Companion Pass! This is a first time for me owning SW Companion pass, so I am very excited! In fact, in February I booked tickets to Hawaii (Maui) for April trip for the entire family! I first booked the trip for five people (including our parents-in-law) and later added the eldest kid, who came back from college to live with us. All in all, I used SW companion pass and RR (Rapid Rewards) miles I received through the sign up bonuses from the two SW cards, and had to pay only ~$70 in fees. The total value of about $2,500! This may not have been the best usage of Companion pass (the best would have been on the trips where there are only two of us, so every second ticket is free), but since I wanted to bring along my entire family, NOT paying for six tickets is a huge benefit.
DH also completed his spend required to receive SUB for his Capital One Venture card, which positioned him well for opening a new card, which we opened in March. Stay tuned for our March credit card hacking activities!
Conclusion:
In short, February was a month of an amazing trip to Turks and Caicos (just a taste of what FIRE would be for the two of us), but also brought our kid back from college, so our lives are on a new uncharted (for us) path. We’ll have to see where this path will take us. Hope for the best!
Also, February was a month of the largest (if not the best) single redemption resulting in huge savings ($2.5K)!
How did your February look like? What changes happened in your life?