Our Two Cents, Side Hustle $ Tips, and the 101 on Travel Credit Cards

Welcome to Work & Wallet—a newsletter where finance meets career advice.

Our Two Cents with Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro  

We recently chatted with Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro here at Fidelity, about financial storytelling, career advice, and more. 

How would you describe your role to those unfamiliar with finance? 

At the end of the day, I’m a storyteller in that I help investors understand the narrative of the market. There’s a lot of data out there for investors to digest on a daily basis, but the signal-to-noise ratio is not as good as we’d like. So, my job is to distill the data into a usable narrative so that investors can make the best investment decisions possible without getting bogged down by all the information that’s out there. 

How do you bring creativity into your role?  

Creativity is a major part of my work. The analytical side is left brain, but the communication side is right brain. For me, it’s important to find a balance between the analytical left brain and the more holistic right brain. While studying the market and economy are very analytical, the way I communicate those ideas is creative. That’s the intersection of art and science. 

What’s the one piece of career advice you think is most helpful? 

Compounding is not just for investing. Careers and relationships benefit from compounding as well, i.e., doing small things right consistently. The effects of that really scale up over time. 

What part of your role brings you energy?  

Getting on stage and telling the market story to investors. Being on stage or in front of a camera forces me to leave everything else aside and to be in the moment. It’s always a challenge and a thrill to distill four decades of learning into 45 minutes of a shared experience. 

What brings you joy outside of work? 

Cooking, cycling, and hanging with my festival friends. For me, cooking is therapy. It’s an exercise in mindfulness and an opportunity to connect with my partner after a long workday. For my festival community, food is our common denominator, and food is what brings us together. Cycling is another mindfulness exercise while staying healthy. I think of it as meditation in motion. 

What would you say to people who are hesitant to start investing? 

Start small but start now. 

Catch Jurrien live every Tuesday at 2 p.m. for Market Sense on Fidelity’s LinkedIn. 

Financial tips for your side hustle  

Side gigs can provide great opportunities for diversifying your income and earning extra cash that can help you reach your financial goals. But they also come with some financial complexities. Here are 3 tips for getting the most out of your hard work:  

• Plan for taxes. Set aside a percentage of your gig income just for taxes so you aren’t scrambling when it comes time to pay. 
• Stay organized. Tax time can be more stressful than it needs to be if you don’t keep records of payments and expenses throughout the year. 
• Always have a backup. If you rely solely on your side hustle, consider beefing up your emergency savings so you’re prepared for any disruptions to that income if something unexpected happens. 

Find more money tips for side hustles here. 

A beginner’s guide to travel credit cards 

Travel rewards programs allow you to earn points or miles when you make purchases with certain credit cards. Here’s an overview of how they work: 

• Once you hit a specific spending threshold, points can be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, and other travel-related perks. 

• The point-to-dollar exchange rate varies widely with each program and could add up to big savings, but program fees could offset the benefits in some cases. 

• Rewards cards that aren’t tied to a specific company often let you transfer points to a participating travel partner, like a hotel or an airline. 

Features and rewards to consider: 

• Annual fees 
• Initial spend/sign-up bonuses 

• Cash-conversion rate for points 

• Foreign transaction fees 

• General travel vs. specific travel company rewards 

• Transfer point programs 

• Airport perks 

No plans to travel soon but still want to cash in on some perks? You can always consider a general cash-back program card.  

Explore more key takeaways for your next getaway. 

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