Blog

Blog

Musings on personal finance and more. Not written with AI since 2012.

Gift cards

How to offload (or combine) unused gift cards

Posted by on | Featured

After the debacle of trying to use a prepaid card to anonymously purchase VPN service, only to find that I couldn’t use it for purchases outside of the U.S., I decided to just buy the VPN service outright. But I … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,
Cameras

Online trust, or How to figure out your biggest threats online

Posted by on | Featured

Greetings from Seattle, Washington! Actually, hello from Charlotte, North Carolina! On second thought, salutations from somewhere in Azerbaijan! It’s fun to be anywhere at the click of a button. By this I mean, anywhere as far as my computer traffic … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,
Corner store

Why prices actually fall as you build wealth

Posted by on | Featured

Cost is a psychological phenomenon as much as it is a mathematical phenomenon. Back in my college days, the question was, which can I afford to get at Denny’s, a soda or fries? Could I afford to get both? (Actually, … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,

Why prices will seem to change as you build wealth

Posted by on | Featured

(I don’t condone software piracy. But this is a story where some rules were bent. And then un-bent.) In college, when my income was basically nil, I was just starting to get into audio engineering. While I was primarily working … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,
Statue blindfolded

How I tried to buy something totally anonymously online

Posted by on | Featured

My experiences with trying to buy something online without revealing anything about my identity, and why this is so difficult. (I talk about using products or services, but I received no commission for this. I do not do affiliate marketing. … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , , , , ,
Mask ornament

Why it’s so hard to buy online and maintain any privacy

Posted by on | Featured

In a perfect world, no one would have any right to know what I buy, where I go, and what I do unless I gave them that access. This seems rather quaint now. Today, everything you do is scrutinized, advertised, … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,
Shadow selfie

I want you to be your own insurer

Posted by on | Featured

As I’ve stated before, I have a natural built-in aversion to many insurance products. Mainly, this is because they are so heavily marketed and advertised (and you know how I feel about that). I just am usually not convinced that … Read More … Read More

Tags: ,
Safe door

Can your money ever really be safe?

Posted by on | Featured

I feel like there are a lot more radio programs of a financial nature than there used to be. This might be a confirmation bias, in that I’m seeking these things out. I could just as easily say that I … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,
Tug of war

How not getting the sale can still be successful haggling

Posted by on | Featured

Haggling for purchases is a great idea. Not only does it allow the obvious benefit of getting something for less than the original price, but it also forces you to decide how much you want something, and forces you out … Read More … Read More

Tags: , , ,
Push pins

Is a credit card safer than a debit card?

Posted by on | Featured

I recently got some pushback about using debit cards. I always appreciate this. I want ideas to be battle-tested, and I welcome the opportunity to think critically about decisions I’ve made and suggestions I’ve given. I don’t need everyone to … Read More … Read More

Tags: , ,