Decisions

Go, if you can, because you can

  I’m writing this on a plane bound for Europe. I used miles to pay for this flight, so it cost me only around $100 in fees. I’m flying Coach (though I’ll be testing my own advice when I fly Business … Read MoreRead More

How to plan when you fear the worst

  I think investing is fun. I mean, you put some money aside, sit on it, and then after a while, you get more of it. Couldn’t be easier, right? All you need to do is spend some time setting … Read MoreRead More

Is it safer to work for yourself?

  Safety and security are important components of anyone’s life, whether physical (we won’t be mugged or assaulted), financial (we will have enough to eat, have shelter), or any other metric. But when it comes to less universal metrics, people’s … Read MoreRead More

Do you need to be certified in order to do your work?

  As a proponent of what I call “integrative financial coaching” I get to help people not only with improving their finances, but also help them heal their relationship to money, allowing them an easier path towards success in more … Read MoreRead More

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

  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 MoreRead More

When to let your points expire

  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

The joys of not driving to work

  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 MoreRead More

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

  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 MoreRead More

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

  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 MoreRead More

Your new holiday calendar

  As I’ve said before, you don’t need to celebrate holidays if you don’t want. More importantly, you don’t need to celebrate holidays in the way that they were intended. But what to do instead? I decided to come up … Read MoreRead More