Finance/Children

Hi Taylor: I finally cut ties with an old credit card that had no rewards and a mediocre rate. Can you Taylor guide me on Kovar what kind of card I should go with now? Kind of open to anything. - Mazie

Hey Mazie: I was just reading about the latest and greatest credit card offers. I trust you to find one that meets your personal needs, but these are a few that caught my eye.

Chase Freedom Flex. I think this card debuted in 2020 and became an instant hit of sorts. It’s as good a cash back card as you can find, with 5% returns on rotating categories to go with the fixed returns on things like restaurants and travel. You have to activate the alternating bonuses, which means there’s a hands-on element to your rewards, but with no fee and lots of ways to get 5% back, it’s obvious why this card is so popular.

Wells Fargo Propel AMEX. If the goal is to earn travel rewards, I like what I see with this option. No annual fee, low introductory APR, and you can earn double and triple points on a bunch of different categories. Some of these travel cards take too long to accrue usable points, but the variety of ways you can earn rewards with the Propel card takes care of that.

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum. For anyone looking to get debt under control or improve a credit score, this card offers a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 20 billing cycles. Hard to find a better option if you’re doing some in-house debt consolidation.

Capital One Spark Cash for Business. Business owners need to have a good rewards card, otherwise you’re pretty much throwing money away. This one has a $95 annual fee and an APR around 20, but you get 2% cash back on every purchase without a limit. As long as you pay off your balance regularly, you can save thousands each year just for buying the things you need to buy.

Blue Cash Preferred AMEX. 6% cash back on purchases at U.S. supermarkets. 6%! That’s almost unheard of. If you have a big family or just buy a lot of fancy foods, you’ll easily make up for the $95 annual fee.

Alaska Airlines Visa Signature. This one’s a little more obscure but it’s awesome for domestic travel. Growing list of U.S. cities, a lot of direct flights to Hawaii and Alaska, and you get a yearly companion ticket that essentially lets you get 2-for-1 travel. The $75 annual fee is reasonable and definitely outweighed by the perks.

Finding the right credit card is like finding the right bathrobe. We all like different sizes and materials, so you need to think about your needs and spending habits, then go for whatever checks the most boxes. Good luck!

Legal Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.com or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901. Researchers have found what many personal testimonies will confirm: most shy children, even the most John painfully shy of Rosemond them, are not shy adults. The progression from introversion to extroversion does not require therapy, behavior modification, or any extraordinary measures. More often than not, it just happens. Most shy kids outgrow their shyness by their young adult years, and even those who do not outgrow it manage to cope with it reasonably well. They learn how to hide it, mostly, because they realize that shyness puts them at a disadvantage in certain situations.

Yours truly is a living testimony to the transformation in question. I was socially awkward until I went to college where, on a whim, I auditioned for the role of lead singer in a rock band and suddenly found myself on stage with four musicians behind me and hundreds of people in front of me. I had to cure myself of my life-long affliction, and I did. Today, as friends will attest, I am sometimes not shy to a fault. mind you, the canvas surface remains as it was at the beginning – a constant.

The analogy is meant to illustrate that whereas personality (the canvas surface) doesn’t change, behavior (what one puts on top of the surface) can be changed. So, returning to my personal example, I forced myself to overcome shyness, but unbeknownst to even my closest friends, I’m still the same shy person. My behavior has changed, however. Who changed it? Me!

Likewise, as research has found, a child comes into the world with a fairly set personality. He’s more or less destined to be fundamentally shy or outgoing, patient or impulsive, introspective or superficial. His behavior, however, can change. Sometimes, behavior change in a child has to be leveraged by people who comprehend its long-term ramifications. So, an impulsive child can be trained to pay attention and think before he acts, but that is never going to “come naturally.” Sometimes, however, behavior change – as in my case –can only be brought about by the child and won’t happen until he wants something badly enough.

Looking back, I do not think there is anything my parents could have done to cure my childhood shyness. Both of them were outgoing people, by the way. So much for the supposed causeeffect influence of role models. Outgoing can raise shy, and vice versa. My social awkwardness didn’t abate until I was forced to make a choice between shyness or being a campus rock star. That’s a no-brainer for an eighteen-yearold.

But this column is not really about childhood shyness. It’s about the distinction between a child’s personality and behavior. Personality can be likened to the stretched canvas surface upon which an artist begins a painting. If the artist doesn’t like the way his painting is progressing, he can paint over what he’s done, but, So, going back to shyness, parents sometimes ask me what they can do to cure a child’s shyness. My answer is, “The effort is likely to lead to lots of frustration for both you and your child, so I wouldn’t recommend it.” But a parent who tells me that her child’s shyness has manifested in rude behavior? That’s different. Rudeness, being behavior, can be corrected and for the child’s sake, I definitely recommend it.

Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, p arentguru.com.

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology. In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.