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Back again, new expiration date 7/15/2026. Here’s another megabank bonus to pick up if you haven’t already. Chase Bank has a Total Checking + Savings account promotion offering up to $900 total for new customers that open both a checking and savings account with them along with additional specific requirements. This offer comes around regularly, but right now the bonus amount is higher than the standard amount. I recommend the e-mail option where you get an e-mail along with a unique 16-character coupon code. Otherwise, make sure you click on the correct online link on the $900 page to apply the proper code to your application. Current shown expiration is 7/16/2026, but it may end earlier.

Be sure to read all the requirements, including what is required to avoid the monthly fees for each account. Notably, you need direct deposit to the checking and you’ll need a $15,000 deposit for 90 days in the savings. You enter your e-mail address, and you will get a unique code for your online application. Some of the language suggests you should reside near a physical Chase branch, but the link lets you apply online and it should work from anywhere (you will know via instant approval). If you already have a Chase credit card, the application can be pre-filled.

Chase Total Checking $300 bonus details. Checking offer is not available to existing Chase checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance. You must:

1. Open a new Chase Total Checking account, which is subject to approval;
2. Have your direct deposit made to this account within 90 days of coupon enrollment. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government.
3. After you have completed all the above checking requirements, [Chase will] deposit the bonus in your new account within 15 days.

Avoid monthly service fees on Total Checking when you do at least one of the following each statement period. Otherwise a $12 Monthly Service Fee will apply.

• Have monthly direct deposits totaling $500 or more made to this account; OR
• Keep a minimum daily balance of $1,500 or more in your checking account; OR,
• Keep an average daily balance of $5,000 or more in any combination of qualifying Chase checking, savings and other balances.

Chase Savings $200 bonus details. You must:

1. Open a new Chase Savings account, which is subject to approval.
2. Deposit a total of $15,000 or more in new money into the new savings account within 30 days of coupon enrollment;
3. Maintain at least a $15,000 balance for 90 days from the date of coupon enrollment. The new money cannot be funds held by Chase or its affiliates.
4. After you have completed all the above savings requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 15 days.
5. 0.01% effective APY in the zip codes I checked.

Avoid monthly service fees on Chase Savings when you do at least one of the following each statement period. Otherwise a $5 Monthly Service Fee will apply.

• Keep a minimum daily balance of $300 or more in your savings account; OR,
• Have at least one repeating automatic transfer from your Chase checking account of $25 or more. One-time transfers do not qualify; OR,
• Chase College CheckingSM account linked to this account for Overdraft Protection, OR,
• Account owner who is an individual younger than 18, OR
• Have a linked Chase Premier Plus Checking, Chase Premier Platinum Checking, or Chase Private Client Checking account.

To receive the $400 extra bonus: You must open the checking and savings account at the same time and complete all requirements above for BOTH the checking bonus and savings bonus. After you have completed all requirements, [Chase] will deposit the remaining bonus due in your new account within 15 days.

I have read no reports of a “hard” credit check, and did not experience one myself on a previous offer years ago. Note that that to receive any of the above bonuses, the enrolled account must not be closed or restricted at the time of payout.

This is the highest bonus I’ve seen for this Chase combo. Earning $900 on $15,000 in 90 days is the equivalent of a 24% annualized return. The bonuses are considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

Bottom line. This is one of those bonuses that if you haven’t picked it up yet, it’s a pretty solid one. It’s a convenient megabank account with a large branch footprint, but also one that notably pays nearly zero interest. With a total opening deposit of $15,000 in new money, you can open both accounts and avoid both monthly fees. You’ll also need to change your direct deposit (any amount). Earning $900 on $15,000 in 90 days is the equivalent of a 24% annualized return.

A new Morningstar article points out that between December 2016 and December 2025, Vanguard investors contributed about $2 trillion in net investment flows, while also gaining $5 trillion in market appreciation (income and gains). They listed two major reasons for this result.

• Stock returns averaged 12.6% a year annualized. On an asset-weighted basis, Vanguard’s equity funds returned 12.6% per year over the decade ending 12/31/2025.
• Vanguard investors mostly bought and held during this time, allowing them to capture the vast majority of the overall gains, more so than other fund families. Morningstar tracks something called the “timing gap”, which measures how the timing and size of investor trading affects their actual return vs. the overall fund returns. Vanguard investors don’t time the market very much.

I would also add a reminder about a third reason:

• Vanguard continues to not only offer low costs but encourage them across their platform, allowing investors to keep more of the market’s return. There are many new products out there (sometimes called “Boomer Candy” but really just “candy” for everyone) that dangle appealing features: Aggressive covered-call ETFs for high-income, buffer ETFs for downside protection, leveraged ETFs for boosted returns. These all have a common feature: much higher fees and lower expected long-term returns! Vanguard offers none of these products. That’s not an accident!

Here are historical average expense ratios, as of December 31, 2025 (source: Vanguard):

Vanguard isn’t perfect, but they are “staying the course” with enough of their core values that I am still keeping the majority of my assets with them.

Side note: In the M* article was a disclosure that back in February 2026, Morningstar bought the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) from the University of Chicago. CRSP created many super low-cost indexes so that Vanguard could offer index funds at rock-bottom prices, not having to pay higher fee to track similar things like the S&P 500 index. CRSP indexes are why the Vanguard Total US Stock fund and similar are so cheap. Morningstar is a for-profit company, so that is a possible concern.

Here is my 2026 1st Quarter portfolio update that includes all our combined 401k/403b/IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts but excludes our house and small side portfolio of self-directed investments. Following the concept of skin in the game, the following is not a recommendation, but a sharing of our real-world, imperfect DIY portfolio.

“Never ask anyone for their opinion, forecast, or recommendation. Just ask them what they have in their portfolio.” – Nassim Taleb

How I Track My Portfolio
Here’s how I track my portfolio across multiple brokers and account types:

• The Empower Personal Dashboard real-time portfolio tracking tools (free) automatically logs into my multiple accounts, adds up my various balances, tracks my performance, and figures out my overall asset allocation across the entire portfolio. Formerly known as Personal Capital.
• Once a quarter, I also update my manual Google Spreadsheet (free to copy, instructions) because it helps me calculate how much I need in each asset class to rebalance back towards my target asset allocation. I also create a new sheet each quarter, so I have a personal archive of my portfolio dating back many years.

2026 1st Quarter Asset Allocation and YTD Performance
Here are updated performance and asset allocation charts, per the “Holdings” and “Allocation” tabs of my Empower Personal Dashboard.

The major components of my portfolio are broad index ETFs. I do mix it up a bit around the edges, but not very much. Here is a model version of my target asset allocation with sample ETF holdings for each asset class.

• 35% US Total Market (VTI)
• 5% US Small-Cap Value (AVUV)
• 20% International Total Market (VXUS)
• 5% International Small-Cap Value (AVDV)
• 5% US Real Estate (REIT) (VNQ)
• 20% US “Regular” Treasury Bonds and/or FDIC-insured deposits (VGSH)
• 10% US Treasury Inflation-Protected Bonds (SCHP)

Big picture, it is 70% businesses and 30% very safe short-term bonds/cash:

By paying minimal costs including management fees, transaction spreads, and tax drag, I am trying to essentially guarantee myself above-average net performance over time.

I do not spend a lot of time backtesting various model portfolios. You’ll usually find that whatever model portfolio is popular at the moment just happens to hold the asset class that has been the hottest recently.

The portfolio that you can hold onto through the tough times is the best one for you. I’ve been pretty much holding this same portfolio for 20 years. Check out these ancient posts from 2004 and 2005. Every asset class will eventually have a low period, and you must have strong faith during these periods to earn those historically high returns. You have to keep owning and buying more stocks through the stock market crashes. You have to maintain and even buy more rental properties during a housing crunch, etc. A good sign is that if prices drop, you should feel the urge to buy more of that asset instead of less. I don’t have strong faith in the long-term results of commodities, gold, or bitcoin – so I don’t own them.

Performance details. Here’s an updated YTD Growth of $10,000 chart courtesy of Testfolio for some of the major index ETFs (total US stock, total international stock, total US bond) that shows the difference in performance in the broad indexes:

Nearly everything went up in 2025. So far in 2026, if you had a good dose of international stock diversification, you were pretty much flat. I read that the S&P 500 went down about 5%, and the Magnificent 7 went down about 13% in the first quarter. I’ll share about more about the income aspect in a separate post.