Blog

Blog

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

Why would anyone buy loaded mutual funds?

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  One of my first rules of investing is: don’t invest in anything that you don’t understand. As we all need to be investing experts, this carries a certain weight with me. And while the answer to “what should I … Read More … Read More

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How to plan for award travel when you’re an infrequent flyer

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  While some folks who read this site are avid travelers, zooming around the globe as frequently as a satellite, others may fly infrequently and think that award travel is completely irrelevant to them. Nonsense. Award travel is open to … Read More … Read More

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When to let your points expire

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  I once wrote to not let your airline miles expire.  But there are always exceptions, and I am starting to think that there are reasons worth discussing. Sacrilege? No, just simplification and efficiency. … Read More

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Transit is not expensive

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  Common in any ongoing discussion of transit is the price. It seems like a fare hike has either just happened or is about to happen soon. This brings out the usual amount of griping, mostly about how expensive transit … Read More … Read More

The joys of not driving to work

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  At around 5PM each day, I look out the window of my office building. Across the street is a parking garage, one of those brutally functional structures whose slanted sides always brings to mind Donkey Kong. What I see … Read More … Read More

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Beware of induced spending (or the perils of credit card travel benefits)

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  I read lots of travel hacking blogs, as I’ve mentioned many times. And because sometimes travel hacking blogs seem more like credit card sales pages, I ingest many marketing messages on a regular basis. So when I was writing … Read More … Read More

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How to get Global Entry for 50% off (and zip through customs and security lines)

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  Going through customs can be a drag. You are accosted by a bored-yet-potentially-malevolent customs officer, who volleys questions at you. These questions seem innocuous, but are can be phrased so as to imply subtle accusation (“Why did you leave the … Read More … Read More

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Treat time like money

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  Any visitor to my home will notice a distinct lack of clocks. At some point during their visit (not a short time, because I assure you I am a deeply scintillating host), they will look around to see what … Read More … Read More

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This is why you feel like you don’t have enough time

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  I once read a book in which the author opined how a person should be willing to work double time, or on the weekends. The idea was that if one worked weekends, it will be all overtime, and thus … Read More … Read More

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You are more than lucky

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  “You’re really lucky.” I hear people say this a lot. And not just when they’re talking to me, of course! I just thought that was easier to type than the phrase “he/she/they/you is/are really lucky.” This phrase is usually … Read More … Read More

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