Personal finance for people who want to be great with money — written by the friend who already is.
The one you text before you sign up for a new card, refinance the house, or open a Roth.
About Jordan
Jordan spent a decade in loyalty economics before quietly becoming the person every friend and family member calls before a big money decision. Not a licensed advisor. Not a hot-takes account. Just the friend who reads the fine print, runs the actual math, and gives you a straight answer.
The voice at the heart of The Smart Money: warm, plainspoken, and allergic to hype. If it doesn't work on a napkin, it probably doesn't work at all.
In their own words
“If it doesn't work on a napkin, it probably doesn't work at all.”
— Jordan Reyes, The Friend Who's Great With Money
The money story
Grew up in a household where money was a topic nobody explained but everybody worried about. Spent a decade inside airline and card loyalty economics — the industry designed to make optimization feel confusing — and walked out with one conviction: most people don't need more information, they need one friend who'll tell them the truth.
Signature playbook
You don't need a wallet full of cards. You need three, chosen on purpose, that quietly cover 95% of how you actually spend.
The Everyday
One card that earns well on groceries, gas, and dining — the categories you spend on every week.
The Big Purchase
One card with real purchase protection, extended warranty, and travel coverage for the things that actually matter.
The Flat-Rate Catch-All
One card that earns 2%+ on everything else, so nothing falls through the cracks.
A taste of the beat
Sample headlines from Jordan's desk.
Rules I won't break
The non-negotiables — the things Jordan refuses to recommend, no matter how good the pitch.
Filed by Jordan
Jul 19
Credit Cards Desk
Chase's five-cards-in-24-months rule is the invisible ceiling most points beginners hit. Here's how it actually works — and the order to apply in.
1 min read
Evergreen
Jul 12
Credit Cards Desk
Forget the leaderboards. Here's the four-card structure a friend who's great with money would build for you — and the honest reason each one is on the list.
2 min read
Fresh
Jul 5
Credit Cards Desk
Two cards the internet loves to argue about. Here's how to pick between them in about five minutes — based on the trip you're actually going to take.
1 min read
Evergreen
Jun 28
Credit Cards Desk
The airline co-brand math changes when your travel patterns settle. A candid look at when to keep them, when to downgrade, and when to just cancel.
1 min read
Evergreen
Jun 26
Side Hustle Desk
A working definition, an honest list of what actually qualifies, and the three things that don't but get sold as if they do.
1 min read
Evergreen
Jun 21
Retirement Desk
The single most overlooked retirement move for the middle-income saver in their 50s. It's not sexy. It compounds anyway.
1 min read
Time-sensitive
Jun 16
Lifestyle Desk
The frame that separates the purchase you'll still be glad about in three years from the one you'll quietly resent by fall.
1 min read
Evergreen
Jun 3
Lifestyle Desk
The lounge benefit that comes with most premium travel cards. Where it shines, where it disappoints, and whether the annual fee it justifies is real.
1 min read
Evergreen
May 20
Credit Cards Desk
One partner. Two years of free flights. Here's the honest playbook for earning it in a single quarter.
1 min read
Time-sensitive
The weekly dispatch
The kind of financial advice you'd get from a friend who's already figured it out. No hot takes, no leaderboards, no affiliate hustle.