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Travel hacking in weak periods of manufactured spend
Sometimes it feels like the travel hacking community only has two speeds: greed and panic. It’s always either the golden age of manufactured spend or its funeral. Worse yet, it’s
Direct indexing and shareholder democracy
The late Paul Volcker is famously said to have quipped that he hadn’t seen a worthwhile financial innovation since the ATM, which makes him slightly more cynical than even I
Prosperity, precarity, anxiety, and solidarity
Become a Patron!As we plunge into a second decade of economic and employment growth since the global financial crisis, I’ve noticed an interesting divide open between different m..
How to think about the Spousal IRA deduction gap
Become a Patron!With the end of the year in sight and tax season around the corner, I’ve been brushing up on the rules for IRA contributions and deductions. Remember IRA
The SECURE Act is headed into law; small employers get a few handouts
Become a Patron!I’ve written extensively about the hilariously-named SECURE Act, which sailed through the House but was frozen in the Senate while Ted Cruz extorted his colleague..
Donor-advised funds are in the news, here’s why it matters
Become a Patron!Attributing quotes to famous dead people is, as the great Greek poet Homer is said to have once remarked, one of mankind’s oldest storytelling traditions. In that..
Airline Portal Holiday Bonuses for December 2019
A new wave of airline portal holiday bonuses have appeared. AA and Southwest look to be the most compelling of the bunch this time, but they can all be worth
Strategies to pay for an early retirement
Become a Patron!Last month I got to spend some time with a relation who recently left a high-powered tech job, and who asked for some advice about financing a more
Cool – Instant retro mileage credit at United
Hello and happy Thanksgiving to those in/from the US. It’s the day to reflect on how lucky many of us are to have what we have – be it loved ones, stockpiled mileage balances, o..
Less than 2 weeks to Toys for Tots Happy Hour! Here are some toy recommendations!
We’re excited! We are inside of 2 weeks to the Frequent Traveler Toys for Tots Happy Hour! This is a great opportunity to give back, and as I’ll show in
What the media can’t get right about retirement, and why
A long-time reader passed along an article from the World Economic Forum’s blog (yes, for some reason the World Economic Forum has a blog) titled “To retire at 65, American
Finding the Best Priority Pass Membership for my Family
Priority Pass has always been one of those things that has been nice to have but hasn’t felt essential in my travel hacking experience. But maybe I just have been
Reminder: restrictions do differ between different shopping portals
Starting online purchases at a shopping portal is one of the simplest techniques travel hackers use, and it’s also one of the most reminiscent of extreme couponing: click through..
Save The Date: Frequent Traveler Happy Hour in support of Toys for Tots – 6 December!
We’re getting the word out a little earlier than usual this year, but, we have a shorter holiday season this year, so better save the date early! Its time again
Don’t get too excited if you see the Chase Black Star
It’s known that you may be able to bypass 5/24 if you see a “black star” for business card offers in the “just for you” section of your Chase account. If you read DoC’s data poi..
Drew’s $100 Bet With The Blog-Haters
As of today: $0.00 has been claimed by haters. (I’ll update the dollar amount the minute it changes).
To those who complain about bloggers killing your deals, I’ve got a $100
Microhacking fixed-value prepaid debit cards: when is it worth it?
Long-time readers know that for many years my main method of prepaid debit card liquidation was through Walmart money orders, which typically allowed me to liquidate $2,000 in de..
The Extreme Maximizing of JAL Miles
Whenever I’ve done posts comparing the prices across different programs I’ve already found that JAL Miles are among the lowest, but today I’ll show you how to potentially double ..
What to watch for as the Senate panics over the SECURE Act
My readers know that the SECURE Act, passed unanimously out of its House committee and overwhelmingly on the floor of the House, was conjured into existence by the insurance indu..
Earn 55,000 Fee-Free Dollars for Making $50,000 in Payments from a New Plastiq Business Account
I recently received the following referral offer on my Plastiq account: We’re running a new promotion that could earn you fee free spend on Plastiq for every business customer you
Barclaycard gutting Arrival+ travel benefits November 1
I’m not sure how old this news is since I rarely log into my credit card accounts on my desktop, but when I logged into my Barclaycard account the other
British Airways Avios: Award Efficiency Rating
Drew, what in the world is an award efficiency rating, and how does British Airways Avios have one? Did you just make this up?”
Yes, I did. But get used to
The backdoor VAT is an ideological project that must be defeated
It’s a banality among progressives in the United States to observe that we collect too little in taxes, spend too little on government programs, and consequently enjoy the least-..