Newsletter 1/16/2026 - Weekly Update: Rates, Big Catalysts, and My Son’s Money Plan
What’s up What’s A Mortgage fam — hope you had a good week.
Quick apology: I missed last week’s newsletter. Things got crazy once rates dipped and I spent a lot of time helping people re-price and revise. If you already own a home, I hope you were able to drop your rate. If you’re buying, I hope you were able to lock a solid one too.
1) The Market + Mortgage Rates (what happened + what I’m watching)
What happened this week
Rates nudged up a bit toward the end of the week after job numbers came in stronger than expected. Do I personally trust every headline number? I’m not sure — but the market reacted, and that’s what matters for pricing.
Big picture: the overall trend still looks like it wants to cool back down, so if you’re watching rates day-to-day, just know it’s normal to see a couple “up” days inside a bigger move.
The “rate help” proposals people are talking about
There are a couple ideas floating around that, if they ever became real policy, could help rates later this year:
A) Prepayment penalty proposal (lower rate in exchange for commitment)
The pitch is: if someone agrees to stay in the mortgage for a set period (instead of refi’ing right away), lenders could offer a lower rate — the number being floated is around0.65% improvement. We’ll see.
B) Government / agency bond buying talk
There’s also chatter about agencies buying a large amount of mortgage bonds to help mortgage pricing. Again: watchlist, not a promise.
Two catalysts I’m nervous about
These are the two “wild cards” I’m watching because they can cause bond volatility:
Tariff refund / court risk — If the outcome forces big refunds, that can create turbulence.
Shutdown / lockout risk — End-of-month headlines like that can shake confidence, which can push rates around.
Bottom line: be patient, stay ready, and don’t get caught off guard. If you’re in contract, make sure your lock strategy matches your timeline.
2) What I’m Learning + Building: Covered Calls (“Wall Street Landlord”)
Quick personal update because a lot of you ask what I’m studying:
The guy who’s been mentoring me on covered calls is starting to take students personally.
He’s charging about $500–$600/month
First two sessions (two weeks) are free
After that, if you decide to stay in, you pay monthly
If you don’t know what covered calls are, here’s the simple version:
Instead of buying real estate and renting it out… you buy a stock you like long-term, then you “rent it out” by selling calls against it. People call it being a Wall Street landlord.
Now, I’m not telling anyone what to buy — I’m just sharing what I’m learning.
The reason I’m sharing this:
I’m helping him build a free beginner course, and once it’s organized and clean, I’m going to share it with you guys.
That free course will cover:
What a covered call is (in plain English)
How the platform works (like Fidelity/Schwab)
What expiration means
How to keep it simple and not gamble
And yes — people throw around “10% a month” numbers. I’m going to keep it real: returns are not guaranteed, and strategy matters a lot. My goal is to teach the concept and structure so you don’t get smoked by the details.
3) My Son’s Money Plan (11 years old) — simple and consistent
He’s making about $1,000/month, and we’re building a plan that balances:
Long-term investing
Safe parking
Cash access
Step 1: Fidelity Custodial Roth IRA (“Roth IRA for Kids”)
We’re going with Fidelity and opening a custodial Roth IRA.
Key rule: Roth contributions can’t exceed the child’s earned income for the year.
Our plan:
$625/month into the Roth (that’s $7,500/year pace)
Step 2: What we’re buying in the Roth
Inside the Roth, we’re keeping it simple, diversified, and low-fee.
S&P 500 foundation (SPY-style exposure): FXAIX (Fidelity 500 Index Fund)
Nasdaq-100 foundation (QQQ-style exposure): QQQM (lower-fee Nasdaq-100 ETF)
He also wants to own Apple and Starbucks, and we’ll add those as a smaller slice so he stays interested and learns ownership.
My guardrail: index funds are the foundation… single stocks are the “learning/fun” layer.
Step 3: Fidelity brokerage account (for T-Bills + extra investing)
On top of the Roth, we’re also opening a Fidelity custodial brokerage account. That’s where we’re going to buy T-Bills (and where gift money can go too).
Where the leftover monthly money goes (after the Roth)
After the $625 Roth, we have $375 left each month.
Here’s the split:
$200/month → T-Bills (in the custodial brokerage)
$175/month → High-Yield Savings (cash access)
Step 4: High-yield savings (kid cash bucket)
For the HYSA, we’re going with:
Capital One 360 Performance Savings
The reason I like it: it’s simple, competitive, and doesn’t do weird tiering games where your rate drops once the balance changes. It’s his “cash drawer” for flexibility.
Why I like T-Bills for him (and why they can beat a HYSA)
Backed by the U.S. Treasury
Great for short-term parking
Interest is federal-taxable but state-tax-free (nice perk)
Short terms like 4–13 weeks keep it relatively liquid
You can ladder them so money is always maturing
Also: any birthday money, Christmas money, Chinese New Year money, or gifts from family?
➡️ We’re sending that straight into the T-Bill bucket so it grows and doesn’t disappear.
Quick recap (the whole plan in one shot)
✅ $625/month → Fidelity custodial Roth (FXAIX + QQQM + small Apple/SBUX)
✅ $200/month → T-Bills (inside Fidelity custodial brokerage)
✅ $175/month → Capital One 360 Performance Savings (HYSA cash bucket)
✅ Gift money → More T-Bills
If you missed the buyer seminar, message me and I’ll send the link. February webinar topic is Buying a Home: New Construction Made Easy.
Have a good weekend — and if you’re buying or refi’ing and want help with strategy, just reply and I’ll point you in the right direction.
