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2020 is the Year to Visit Yosemite – Without Crowds
On June 12, I saw a post in one of my hiking groups that Yosemite National Park is basically empty. This was just one day after Yosemite reopened its “doors” to the public. I k..
Education, advice, and evasion
Become a Patron!A few years ago I wrote about one of the curious fixations I observed among the wealthy denizens of the finance industry: the need for “personal finance” education.
Revisiting the Bumped App
Back in November, 2018, I wrote about a then-new app called Bumped which awarded fractional shares of stock when using linked credit cards at participating merchants. Over the la..
Affordable Luxuries #2: Filters and Routers
Become a Patron!After almost 6 months of working from home (i.e., bed) in a one-bedroom apartment, I’m about 95% of the way through a move to a preposterously decadent two-bedroom
My First Trip Since Covid: Understanding and Managing Risks
Greetings from San Diego. I took a driving trip the week of July 4, my first trip since Feb 2020. I drove up to Carmel / Big Sur for a change of scenery. I wanted to share my ..
Three questions to ask as the unemployment insurance fight enters its (abbreviated) endgame
Become a Patron!Back in April I wrote an overview of the state of the federal pandemic response, and said (optimistically, I thought), of expanded unemployed insurance benefits t..
Did the Paycheck Protection Program fail, and if so, why?
Become a Patron!While billions of dollars remain available to fund new Paycheck Protection Program loans, and some banks continue to accept applications, at this point it’s fair ..
Episode 42: Manufactured Spend Setbacks and Opportunities, and Limited-time Promotions
Today we’re back with a standard No Annual Fee episode. We do the news, and then talk Personal Finance and Amex Small Business Credits. 0:30 GiftCards.com joins giftcardmall wit..
Stop It
I’ve become increasingly annoyed by an expression journalists and commentators use to describe public policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. It seems lik..
Checking back in on the Long Game savings app
Become a Patron!Several years ago there was a brief flurry of online interest in an app called “Long Game.” The flurry of online interest was presumably because of the easy
Some time-sensitive thoughts on fall higher education enrollment
Become a Patron!Long-time readers know that one of my earliest recurring themes here on the blog was techniques to bring down the cost of higher education. Not by “applying for
Patreon Subscriptions Triggering Amex Shop Small Promo
Direct Link to Amex Promo Amex is back with a new iteration of their popular Shop Small promo for 2020: Register by 7/26/2020 Spend $10+ by 9/20/2020 Get $5 back
Episode 41: Milenomics Second Podcast Preview – Wine Deals
A couple months ago we launched the Milenomics Podcast Network which now includes three shows: Milenomics² Podcast with Sam Simon and Robert Dwyer Milenomics Second Podcast hoste..
When better-than-free grocery store manufactured spend pours
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say we’re in a kind of golden moment for grocery store manufactured spend, with widely-held credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and
Episode 40: Summer Travel, AirBnB / VRBO Vacation Rentals
We’re back with a bit of a stretch for our ‘short cut’ topic. Robert and I sat down to have a quick chat about our upcoming summer travel plans, both
The Plastiq website redesign and a "known issue" with recurring payments
Plastiq occupies a strange space in the world of travel hacking, since almost everyone seems to have strong feelings about it, but for a wide range of different reasons. When
Five profitable things to do with low-interest loans
Become a Patron!I’ve written many times about my fondness for low-interest, and especially low-fee, balance transfer and cash advance credit cards, which allow consumers to borro..
Interest rates on rewards credit cards are all over the place — act accordingly
In the range of hobbies between croquet and wingsuiting, most people recognize that travel hacking is on the more dangerous end of the spectrum. Not because you’re likely to be
Making the decision to keep my Delta Platinum Business card
I wrote last month about a little experiment I was running with my American Express Delta Platinum Business companion ticket. By booking a ticket before May 31, 2020, for travel
Pro tip: using the 1Password iPhone browser to painlessly add just for U offers
On the occasion of a new Safeway offer for $10 off $100 in Visa gift cards, I thought I would share my preferred technique for adding these offers to all
IHG Award Sale Extended to California and More
Recently, IHG’s dynamic award pricing went live. Up to then, “dynamic pricing” has registered in my brain as synonymous with evil devaluation. In this case though, it introduce..
The more you know: earning secret Giant gas and grocery points
I’ve been doing most of my grocery store manufactured spend lately at Safeway, since they’ve had great offers recently for better-than-free Visa and MasterCard prepaid debit card..
Three notes on Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve grocery statement credits
I haven’t had a Chase Sapphire card in a long time, having downgraded my Preferred years ago to a second Freedom card and replacing it with an Ink Plus card