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Flexperks for FIRE but not Cashing Out
3 Oct. 2019
Flexperks for FIRE but not Cashing Out
Depreciated Like any currency, reward points and miles devalue over time.  Perhaps there is one, but I’m not aware of a single rewards currency that has actually appreciated over time.  With that said, in my 6th year of collecting travel rewards, I have developed healthy, but not grossly overweight, balances of various points and miles
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MoneyGram Shutdowns on the Horizon
3 Oct. 2019
MoneyGram Shutdowns on the Horizon
Shut (It) downs This isn’t going to be a long post, but just a few words about some troubling trends. There have been some reports over the last several weeks about occasional manufactured spending (MS) shutdowns linked to Moneygram.  I’ve been aware of shutdown scenario before it hit blog print, but initially chose not to
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The Risks Of An App-O-Rama
24 Sep. 2019
The Risks Of An App-O-Rama
Strange Fruit Are you still using an app-o-rama to apply for new rewards credit cards?  You might want to reconsider. Recently I had a strange experience in the points and miles space.  After an app-o-rama (or multiple credit card applications at nearly the same or similar time frame) last month, I applied for, and was approved
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Mall of America Implements Gift Card Changes
9 Sep. 2019
Mall of America Implements Gift Card Changes
Winds of Change Although there were rumors that the start of the gift card changes at the Mall of America (MoA) were delayed until the end of September, the actual change happened as previously announced, today (Sept 9).  In a nutshell, Mall of America made significant changes to their gift card program, essentially all designed
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Losing a Friend
2 Sep. 2019
Losing a Friend
News Last weekend I lost a friend of mine.  Death isn’t an uncommon thing, but my friend (Gary) died in a rare and freakish boat accident in Canada.  In fact, if you’ve kept up to date in the news you may have seen the story.  Basically, my friend was killed by either Kevin O’Leary (from
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Mall of America Changing Gift Card Purchases
28 Aug. 2019
Mall of America Changing Gift Card Purchases
The Basics It’s only a local play, but Mall of America has long sold gift cards to customers.  They sell up to $1,000 in gift cards per day to individual customers at any of the (4) customer service booths inside the mall.  The maximum dollar amount is $500, each with a $2 fee.  The cards
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Hoarding Points and Saving Money
26 Aug. 2019
Hoarding Points and Saving Money
No Savings When I was in my 20’s I didn’t save money towards retirement.  Zero, zilch, nada, zip.  That period wasn’t savings free though, as I did save $30,000 or so for travels to around 35-40 countries during that time.  In terms of retirement though, I was basically brain dead.  I remember willfully ignoring the
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My Podcast is Now on Stitcher Radio
23 Aug. 2019
My Podcast is Now on Stitcher Radio
Finally Many people don’t know that I have a podcast.  Actually many people don’t know that I have a website or a podcast!  Neither ventures are profit driven, but rather are an attempt to be creative in different ways.  When I was younger I used to be into varieties of creative outlets like drawing, acting,
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