This year my life felt busy in all directions — business, family, planning, the usual chaos.
On paper my finances looked totally fine, but inside I felt scattered.
Too many little things stealing attention.
Changing a few things brought me back to calm again.
And that’s what surprised me the most ❤️
1. Closing my cards felt like a deep clean for my brain
Over the years I had collected way too many cards. Each one seemed “useful,” but together they created constant noise.
At some point I got tired of tracking random pushes, balances, and which card was “for what.”
So I closed almost everything — and kept just one card that actually fits my real needs: the Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business.
The annual fee is $795, which sounds like a lot at first.
But once I actually broke it down, it stopped feeling expensive. Between the $300 travel credit, hotel credits through Chase Travel, and the points we earn on business expenses, it pretty much covers itself.
This didn’t feel like a “luxury” choice to me. It just felt like a cleaner setup that made sense.
2. Maxing out 401(k) gave me rare peace this year
For the first time ever, my husband and I both contributed the full $23,500!!
And even though retirement feels “far away”, the real shift happened inside.
It felt like we’re actually building something lasting, not just running from task to task.
When I asked ChatGPT to calculate what these contributions could grow into by age 60, I was shocked.
Even with no additional deposits:
by 55 → around $380k — $670k
by 60 → $540k — $1.08M
by 65 → $760k — $1.74M
It reminded me that retirement isn’t about age, it’s about having a foundation.
Year after year, the maximum contribution — and suddenly there’s this quiet confidence:
“We’re going to be okay.”
3. Moving our cash to Fidelity finally made it work
Our business cash used to sit in a regular checking account.
The return was basically zero.
And it always annoyed me — money was there, but it wasn’t doing anything.
After Humphrey Yang’s advice, we opened a Fidelity business account and moved our free cash into a money market fund (right now it’s around 3.6% APY).
And yes — this one is very real money.
It’s not just the idea that “cash is working.” You see it add up month after month, and the money is still fully accessible.
For me, this was one of those changes that just felt obvious once I did it.
What I’m taking into 2026
Financial confidence isn’t about complicated strategies.
It’s about making decisions that give you back your attention, energy, and clarity.
For me that meant:
removing what was adding noise
investing in the future with intention
letting money work quietly in the background
If you want me to go deeper into how we structured everything — just reply to this email!
I hope 2026 brings you less chaos and more peace of mind too ❤️