This week, we'll cover how to choose the problems worth struggling for, last chance on a 100K welcome bonus, WeBull: 4% match and 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!

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🤔 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

📋 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

✈️ $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 thought 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.