This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. The morning after the hurricane hit Florida, I got a text from my tenant. “I have completely moved out,” he wrote after the storm last fall, wishing me an abrupt “good luck” despite having been there over three years, with eight months left on his lease. The wind had just subsided, windows were still boarded up and my nerves were frazzled.
The building was unscathed from the hurricane, but a different storm had ravaged the apartment. Once inside, I found pet damage to the doors and walls, busted tile in the bathroom and broken kitchen cabinets — a list of repairs that would exceed the security deposit. My contractor quoted me around $9,500 to repair and update the whole apartment, and I was fortunate to have the necessary cash on hand. But he also noted the job could take months to complete, which gave me time to shop for deals on materials and figure out how to put some cash back in my pocket. Here’s how I stacked a new credit card with a high-yield savings account to save over $1,100 on the remodel.A triple-threat credit card The first step was finding a credit card that offered three things: a 0% introductory interest rate, cash back on purchases and a sign-up bonus. The 0% rate would let me pay off the expense over time, while the cash back and bonus would defray the cost. That can be a powerful combination when an unexpected expense arises, according to Michael Berkhahn, a certified financial planner with Graham Capital in Tampa, Florida. “Using an interest free c …
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