Blog

Blog

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

How to plan for yearly bills

  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 MoreRead More

The benefits of anxiety while flying

  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 MoreRead More

NEXUS is inconsistently awesome: a report on flying to Canada

  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 MoreRead More

What are your ulterior motives?

  In my post on affiliate links, I talked about how it has always felt important to me to keep this site non-commercial, and have all commercial intentions on other sites. (This is an evolving viewpoint, and part of me … Read MoreRead More

Affiliate links, or can you trust anyone online?

  A little while back, I wrote a post where I mentioned AwardWallet, a service that keeps tracks of all your different loyalty accounts (airline miles, hotel points, etc.) I’m a huge fan of AwardWallet, and have used them for … Read MoreRead More

How Ebola made me rethink responsibility (and flu shots)

  Sooooo, heard about any infectious diseases recently that have a non-zero mortality rate and no cure? You guessed it: It’s flu season again! … Read More

Be wary, but don’t give in to conspiracy

  I have been jokingly (I hope) accused of wearing a tinfoil hat. The reason for this is most likely related to my vigilance when sharing things online, my desire to be on as little social media as possible, and … Read MoreRead More

On poverty and self-description

  When you’re offering advice, it’s sometimes hard to know what kind of tack to take to be most effective. Would it be best to offer some gentle hand-holding, or do they need a swift kick in the pants? I … Read MoreRead More

Spend more for food

  When I lived in New York City, money was a big concern, and food was a big part of that. I never went out to restaurants, and in fact the once-monthly trip to the grocery store was a big … Read MoreRead More

Flex your discomfort muscle

  What am I doing right now to challenge myself? I usually like to have some kind of challenge for myself in my life, some kind of project to embark on or task to accomplish, so periodically when I feel … Read MoreRead More