Booking trips with miles and points has more benefits than just saving you money. Most award trips increase the amount of flexibility you have after booking, just in case you need to make any last-minute changes for any reason. With standard travel booking, you usually have to pay a hefty premium in order to get […]
Author: Noah
Random Musings as 2016 Comes to a Close
I haven’t published a post in a while, so I thought I’d close out 2016 with a few things that are on my mind at the end of the year. Expect my high level thoughts on our spending, credit cards, financial independence, and more.
What Over $2,000 in Annual Fees has Earned Us This Year
When I first started signing up for credit cards to get crazy cheap flights and hotels, my primary goal was risk aversion. Despite plenty of research on the process, there are still a lot of unknowns signing up for that first card simply because I’ve never gone through the process before. Overall, the risks are […]
‘Tis the Season for Amex Offers
If you have at least one American Express credit card, this is the time of year you’ll want to be sure to pay attention to the various Amex Offers that are available. There have already been some very profitable ones and there may be more to come! The best ones will fit with your regular […]
Earning the Southwest Companion Pass Beyond 5/24
Near the end of 2014, we strategically applied for credit cards with the specific goal of getting the Southwest Companion Pass for 2015 and 2016. This companion pass let’s you get unlimited buy-one-get-one free on all Southwest flights with the same person, whether the first ticket is booked with points or cash, and lasts for up […]
Addition By Subtraction: We Love Getting Rid of Stuff!
A little more than a year after we moved into our house, certain parts started to feel a little cluttered. Considering that only two of us (plus a dog) were currently living in a 3 bedroom house, this was quite alarming! Apparently, all of the stuff we owned was multiplying at an unsustainable rate that would […]
Off To FinCon 2016 in San Diego!
As I’ve mentioned previously, Becky and I will be attending FinCon this year in San Diego. We fly down today and will be in and around the conference up until Sunday! I’m looking forward to seeing people again that I’ve met in the past and hopefully meeting some awesome new people at the conference and various […]
Ebay Gift Card Arbitrage Update: It Lives, but Keeps Getting Tougher
Over the past month or so, ebay has changed numerous rules that make flipping gift cards on ebay a little harder, but the good news is that it isn’t dead yet. First, ebay added back the limit on using ebay gift cards by restricting everyone to $2,000 per rolling 60 days. There was a brief […]
Early Retirement Cash Flow With The Roth IRA Conversion Ladder
Most people exploring financial independence and early retirement quickly arrive at a similar question: “How do I access the money I’m saving away between early retirement and traditional retirement age?” It’s one of the most common questions I see in the early retirement community and a very important one to understand the answer to if you […]
Might Be Time To Check Your Raise Account Status
One of my current side gigs is buying and selling discount retail gift cards and reselling them to gift card exchanges through a process I call Gift Card Arbitrage. I’ve written about it numerous times and while I don’t move as much volume as I used to, ebay is still great source for easy flips […]