I just remembered that I have a gift card with money on it that I haven’t yet spent. The gift card is for Williams-Sonoma, a nice place for sure, but looks like I’ll be able to afford only a pot … Read More … Read More
Radical Finances
Why the home mortgage interest deduction isn’t as disappointing as I thought
Often when I play board games, I enjoy the process of losing as much as winning. That’s why I love it when people comment on my posts pushing back against my arguments. I don’t consider myself an infallible expert in … Read More … Read More
Financial Cage Match: Paying down a mortgage versus investing
This is another entry in the Financial Cage Match series, where I look at two competing financial priorities and see which one comes out on top. Here’s another entry: Paying off student loans versus investing for retirement. WARNING: This post … Read More … Read More
Just making sure: Mortgage interest isn’t a reason to hold on to a mortgage
Unlikely Hypocrite? Costco versus Amazon Prime
I’ve got retail on the brain these days. Recently I talked about the new Starbucks Rewards program, and then more recently I talked about Amazon Prime. And now it’s on to Costco. Why Costco? Because as I was reviewing … Read More … Read More
The financial risks of Amazon Prime
I periodically buy things on Amazon. Not all the time, and I don’t keep up much what the giant of Seattle (the other one, not the one that makes the coffee) is up to. But I had recently put … Read More … Read More
Do we all need to work?
I believe that we are entering an unprecedented situation in America (if not the world), where the link between the existence of workers and the need to do work no longer correlates. We are seeing the ramifications of this … Read More … Read More
Guilt tipping, or another way that a card makes you spend more
Last year, I spent an entire month spending only cash. My review at the time was that it was a giant pain in the neck, but it nevertheless (somehow) saved me hundreds of dollars. Since then, I’ve gone back … Read More … Read More
94 index cards: My results from the Priceless Surprises promotion
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Priceless Surprises promotion, a way to earn hotel points and other prizes. This promotion was sponsored by MasterCard, which presumably had a vested interest in getting you to use one of … Read More … Read More