Blog

Blog

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

Sleepless in San Diego, a holiday story

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  When you’re sleeping, there is a point at which the sounds you hear around you start to become part of your dreams. When you’re lying down in a public place, not sleeping deeply enough to be dreaming, the sounds … Read More … Read More

Year in review 2014: Your top 10 favorite posts

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  It doesn’t necessarily matter what my favorite posts for the year are. I’m more curious what has resonated with you. So without being able to ask each and every one of you, I’ve compiled your top 10 posts from … Read More … Read More

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Year in review 2014: My top 10 favorite posts

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  Last year, I highlighted my top 10 favorite posts for the year, and with the year closing out I decided to do it again. This gives you a chance to read some things you may have missed, and also … Read More … Read More

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Me as a remote worker, or how I became spatially independent

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  I’ve talked before about how the phrase “location independence” is actually two different situations that are often confused: spatial independence (being anywhere) and temporal independence (being, um, “anywhen”?) I believe that it’s much easier to transition to spatial independence … Read More … Read More

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What do people really mean by location independence?

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  A few years ago, I performed a feat of employee jiu jitsu: I was able to convince my boss to let me start working from across the country. Like many people, I first heard about the idea of “location … Read More … Read More

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The problems with charity

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  Ultimately, I think the system of charity, which is hard enough to engage in as it is, is all wrong. The system as it stands right now is: those who have more choose to give to those who have … Read More … Read More

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Why giving to charity is hard

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  You are fortunate. If you are reading this—and I am profiling you now—chances are that you have all of your basics covered (food, shelter, clothing, transportation). You may not be wealthy or buying your own island or anything, but … Read More … Read More

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Can I help you plan a flight?

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  “You could totally make a business out of that.” I was explaining the various details of my upcoming mileage run to my dinner companion. She must have noticed the wildness in my eyes as I talked excitedly about connections, … Read More … Read More

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Does a mileage run ever make sense?

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  I was trying to find a round trip ticket on Alaska Airlines that would end up being more than 6,342 miles round trip. This is difficult. Alaska runs a rather short-haul system, and the longest flight they run is … Read More … Read More

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Reminder: Everyone is a fraud

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  One of my first jobs was working for a (now-defunct) department store. I was assigned to the warehouse, when I would be in charge of retrieving items from the shelves and bringing them to the cashier or to people’s … Read More … Read More

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