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Blog

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

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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The burnt toast method of discovering your calling

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  I was working on a project one evening recently, mixing down some tracks from a recording session I had engineered of a friend’s band. (The Famous Haydell Sisters, a comedy country band, are amazing and your life would be … Read More … Read More

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When cultural expectations don’t fit

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  I was at the gym the other day, and as all the machines were pointed toward the TVs, I watched for a little while. Yes, I know this was my first mistake. Actually, the show was quite compelling. It … Read More … Read More

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Is it subversive to repair things?

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  I had the pleasure of stopping by a “repair cafe” this past weekend. A repair cafe is an event that matches up people who can repair things with people who need things repaired. Organized by RepairPDX, a local organization … Read More … Read More

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Christmas is always in December, or why to plan for holidays

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  So, we know that we need to save for yearly bills. Well, we need to save for yearly expenses too. (To those who are new here, welcome! You may be wondering what’s the difference between a Bill and an … Read More … Read More

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How to plan for yearly bills

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  Recently, I had a number of large bills come due at the same time. My web hosting service (that contains this site) came due, and I always renew for as long a time as possible (to get the best … Read More … Read More

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The benefits of anxiety while flying

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  For the past few years, I’ve flown over 25,000 miles each year, a respectable distance. With such a experience, you would think that I would have no problems with anxiety while flying. You would be wrong. But I consider … Read More … Read More

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NEXUS is inconsistently awesome: a report on flying to Canada

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  I’ve written before about NEXUS and how much of a good deal it is for most people who fly on any regular basis. To recap: $50 and an interview (and your eyeballs scanned) will get you expedited security and … Read More … Read More

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