Blog

Blog

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

Why bother to keep your miles from expiring

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  Let’s say you have 3,000 miles with Delta, 5,735 miles with US Airways, and 1,326 miles with Virgin America. Redemptions of frequent flyer miles usually start at the 25,000 mark. At this rate, you’ll have enough for an award … Read More … Read More

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How to keep your miles from expiring without spending extra money

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  Far too many sites about travel hacking seem to talk endlessly about how to get zillions of frequent flyer miles by signing up for credit card bonuses (that require spending thousands of dollars in a certain period of time). … Read More … Read More

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Pay what you owe (and take the high road)

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  Last time I talked about how I automate all my bills, and recommend that you do the same. But during the course of my argument, I dropped in this statement: …most of all, your record will say that you … Read More … Read More

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I don’t pay bills

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  …and you shouldn’t either. Here’s why: … Read More

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Don’t let being alone stop you

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  Last time, I talked about how experiences are better shared with people, and in fact can be less important than the people themselves and their camaraderie. But as I was writing, I had a interesting devil’s advocate thought: “That sounds … Read More … Read More

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It’s about the people

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  I climbed Mt. St. Helens a few days ago. I’m not bragging, though; it’s not actually a technical climb like you might expect. Despite the snow-covered peak you see north of Portland, peeking (peaking?) out in the distance, you … Read More … Read More

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Please don’t play the lottery

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  I was waiting for a bus a few days ago. I was the only one there, save for another guy, maybe 40’s or 50’s looking, a bit haggard, but dressed well. He was smoking and attacking a scratch card … Read More … Read More

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You’re not getting a raise

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  Work hard, get a raise. That’s the plan, right? But let’s say that you’ve been granted a 3% raise for the year. In all seriousness, bravo! But it’s not really a raise. … Read More

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Bookshelf: Heads in Beds

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  (The Bookshelf series discusses certain books that are relevant to some of the major themes of this site. They are not meant to be viewed as traditional book reviews. If you’d like a real review, there are plenty of … Read More … Read More

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Isn’t this all obvious?

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  I was talking about my seminar the other day to a friend of mine. I gave her an abbreviated spiel about budgeting, the Income, Bills, Expenses separation (or IBE, which I’ve been increasingly pronouncing as “Ebay” for some reason). … Read More … Read More

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