Blog

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

On questioning the extravagance of eating out

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  I’m in London now, my first time here in a while. (Put it to you this way: the London Eye is new to me, and last time, there was no distinction between the Tate Britain and the Tate Modern.) … Read More … Read More

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Why not to get the London Pass (or any multiple attraction ticket)

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  It’s a standard part of the American vacation: We only have limited time, so let’s try and see as much as possible! It’s an understandable impulse, especially if you don’t assume you will return. However, there are of course … Read More … Read More

Getting my mom and I to London and back: a study in trip planning

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  In my last post I talked about how my mom and I were going to Europe together. Specifically London, although we threw in Paris at the last moment. It’s a really exciting time. For me, one of the best … Read More … Read More

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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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