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CategoryThe spooky effects of age differences on Social Security benefits
Become a Patron!I was skimming one of the interminable posts over at Michael Kitces’s Nerd’s Eye View blog by Jeff Levine and was struck by his description of a very
Modern economic growth (and personal finance)
Become a Patron!I’ve recently started listening to a podcast about economic history called, fittingly, The Economic History Podcast, and the last episode on the “Great Divergence..
Foreign exchange products: TransferWise and Revolut
As long-time readers know, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and so I end up hearing a lot of podcast ads. A few months ago, I started hearing ads
Episode 44: All About Amex (in 10 minutes)
Today we’re doing 10 minutes on the podcast All About Amex. This post is a companion piece to that audio. The goal here is…
Cheap lessons
Become a Patron!One of my favorite concepts to tell people about is “affordable luxuries,” the things that barely make a dent in your bank account but immediately spark joy: cheap
The Chase Freedom family of cards: it's (still) all about quantity
In a case of impeccable timing, at the beginning of this week I was high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Shenandoah National Park, far from cell service, and so
Non-owner car insurance
Non-owner car insurance is one of the least-understood insurance products because it is needed by so few people: most people who drive own a car, and most people who own
Kings Canyon National Park: An Underrated Gem
I’ll keep this short and let the pictures do most of the talking, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed Kings Canyon National Park on my first Sierra Nevada visit in late July. Kings Can..
Who is the Inspirato Pass ripping off (and who is rich or dumb enough to find out?)
Every 21st century tech scam involves ripping off some combination of three groups of people: customers, service providers, and investors. If you can exploit regulatory loopholes..
More Delta Platinum and refund hijinx
Right now all travelers, but especially travel hackers, are juggling even more decisions than usual. In the before time, we might make speculative bookings far in the future as s..
Personal finance during the plague: the lean months
Become a Patron!A stylized fact about the course of the current pandemic is that while the economic impact was swift and severe, the effect on personal finances was muted by
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….
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…