Decisions

Conference badges

I’m going to FinCon 2017!

If there’s anything I know a lot about, it’s that there are so many ways that we are enticed to spend money. I know how advertising works. You are shown something that makes you feel like you want/need some thing or … Read More … Read More

Rebate sign

Fortune favors the diligent

Recently, I was at one of my favorite pizza places in town (try the vegan ranch, seriously!). I dug out a filled-out punch card and so got one of the slices for free. I then paid for the remaining balance … Read More … Read More

Reading the paper

You’ll never believe what we can do to reduce the prevalence of clickbait and fake news

If you’re anything like me, you’re horrified by the revelation that we’re living in a “post-fact world“,  where being truthful seems to not matter as much as the emotional appeal. I’m not on Facebook (thank heavens, now more than ever), … Read More … Read More

"Do Not Paint" sign

Should you get a loan to pay off your debt?

Paying off debt is hard. It can feel like you’re not even making progress. Sometimes this is actually true. If you make minimum payments on your credit cards, you’re basically never going to pay anything off. And if you’ve got … Read More … Read More

Ski slope

Why I’m thinking about getting life insurance (before I need it)

Life insurance is the teeth-flossing of financial products. It’s something you know you need to deal with, but you really don’t want to. Luckily, unlike flossing, there are those who don’t really need it. The question about life insurance is … Read More … Read More

The time I almost thought that Amazon Prime was a good deal for me

I’ve talked about Amazon Prime before. My general take is that it’s probably not worth it, unless you would be paying for the music/movie streaming service, or buy a lot of stuff from Amazon. Amazon really really really wants you … Read More … Read More

Over-water bungalows

Why standard hotel stays can be better than aspirational hotel stays

I’ve been very fortunate to stay at some pretty nice hotels. A few years ago, I stayed at the Grand Wailea on Maui for a night. I was (as far as I could tell), the only traveler staying there who … Read More … Read More

Hotel sign

How I redeemed my points from the Priceless Surprises promotion

Earlier this year, I talked about the Priceless Surprises promotion. Put on by Mastercard and IHG, the company behind Holiday Inn and a bunch of other brands, this sweepstakes was ostensibly about staying at lots of hotels, but had a … Read More … Read More

Bucket being filled

How to pay for non-emergencies

We know what an emergency is. It’s an incident that is both unexpected, urgent, and unavoidable (and unfortunate). When you have an emergency, you use money from your emergency fund. (And if you have debt, here’s how you can still … Read More … Read More

U Boat

How to know when something is really an emergency

I’ve talked a lot about emergencies, those unfortunate aspects of life that you have to deal with sometimes, ones that often require a monetary outlay (dipping into your emergency fund, if you have one). I’ve made comments as to things … Read More … Read More