Blog

Blog

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

The absolute best way to use frequent flyer miles

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  I’m going on a big trip starting this week, and I’m really excited about it! I’ve hinted about it in previous posts, but I wanted to lay it all out here so you can share in my excitement and … Read More … Read More

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Listen to what makes you defensive

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  When discussing my experience on the Slow Carb Diet, I mentioned getting upset when I first read that the best way (purportedly) to lose weight was to eliminate/minimize grains and eat lots of meat. And I mean actually upset. Almost … Read More … Read More

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How to lose 20 pounds on the Slow-Carb Diet (without eating meat)

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My experience on losing weight with the Tim Ferriss “Slow-Carb Diet”, as made famous in his The Four Hour Body book. I live a good life here in Portland. Almost too good at times. With excellent food at overly reasonable prices … Read More … Read More

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How to get fake internet for free when flying

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  I’m one of those people who thinks it’s nice not to have internet access everywhere and at all times. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t use a smartphone, but also, it’s one of the reasons why I … Read More … Read More

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The surprise I got from spending only cash for a month

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  For the past month, I have spent nothing but cash for all my expenses. (Bills were paid automatically.) You can read about why I did this in greater detail, but more than anything, I basically just wanted to see … Read More … Read More

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You are no longer allowed to say you didn’t know your college degree wouldn’t pay off

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  College tuition in the US rises somewhere in the vicinity of 7% a year. Wage inflation rises between 1%-4%, depending on the source you consult and how good a year we’re having. This is clearly, mathematically unsustainable. You don’t … Read More … Read More

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How to do college wrong

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  There were parts of college that I did pretty stupidly. I mean, I guess everyone is stupid in college in some way, but I mean that I made some decisions (or rather, didn’t make some decisions) that I would … Read More … Read More

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How entering the job market during a downturn is like a disability

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  Media likes to talk about “Millennials“. And there’s nothing that is said about them that isn’t a total contradiction. Are they slackers who just want to pursue their dreams without having to pay any dues? Or are they all … Read More … Read More

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Income, Bills, and Expenses: a glossary

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  I often capitalize three specific words when talking about personal finance: Income, Bills, and Expenses. I’ve defined these ideas in different posts throughout the history of this site, but I’ve found that I haven’t actually devoted a place to … Read More … Read More

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The necessity of being a millionaire

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  So I talked about how being a millionaire is both more achievable and less meaningful than ever before. In fact, I’ll go even further by saying that for many of us, it’s also effectively mandatory. Yes, I’m saying that … Read More … Read More

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