Blog

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

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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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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