TBB family is going to Maui during Spring Break next year. Well, going there but not sure how we are coming back yet! Used combination of American Airlines and Southwest points. Thanks to Jeff at Canadian Kilometers for all the help finding FOUR award seats on partner Hawaiian Airlines flight direct to Maui from Oakland! Please get us back a week later, thanks. I think just managed to get under 1 million AA miles finally!
We plan to spend about six nights there and booking the Fairmont Kea Lani for three of them all complimentary (one Platinum, two Visa from annual spend). Where should we spend the other three nights?
What to do? What to eat? Car rentals? Any feedback appreciated. Plan to refer to this post in the future!
I hope I can catch up with the blogs on Thursday, this new client is totally kicking my butt. Another four hour meeting yesterday and we have merely scratched the surface! Please, please get some estate planning done and have a plan for what is going to occur after you pass away; do NOT leave your loved ones hanging, they are already dealing with grief!
Yeah, this is pure filler post so far…
I will leave you with this in case you had a 21 year old kid at home or in college or a friend or whatever wondering about financial security, send him this from me with love:
ADVICE TO A 21 YEAR OLD HOW TO BE FINANCIALLY SECURE
First, I would concentrate on getting a good education in something you enjoy doing that will provide you with good income with potential [for growth].
Whatever you do, work a little harder than the next guy and always be connected by getting involved in your chosen profession/industry. Never stop networking.
Always have some money laying aside in the bank or an online savings account for emergencies. As you will find out, [bad stuff] does happen when you least expect it.
Avoid carrying credit card balances, they are truly evil!
If you have a 401(k) at work, sign up right away and maximize your contributions!
Start saving for a house down payment. Renting is also okay, too, until you have a 20 percent deposit for you first purchase. And whatever you get, do not buy more house than you can afford!
Marry well. (Just kidding…well, not really.)
Never ever spend more than you earn!
Always save, at a minimum, 10 percent of what you earn. 15 percent is better, 20 percent is super.
Don’t blow your money in a brand new sports car. Buy one a little used and have two or three dealers compete against each other on the price you got on the Internet. And, don’t fall in love with those wheels, they are just transportation.
When you do have an investment portfolio, always diversify with no-load mutual funds, preferably cheap index funds and ETFs.
Never believe that there are gurus who have “proven” systems who can make you rich, they are full of it and are looking for suckers to separate from their money.
And TBB leaves you with this, no comment 🙂
first!
Jeff is slacking…again;-)
Guten Morgen! Did alll the above since 26, but no house or car so far :p
My post applied to debt friendly US folks lol
“First, I would concentrate on getting a good education in something you enjoy doing that will provide you with good income with potential [for growth].”
I’m a tiny bit older than 21, but this piece of advice just doesn’t pertain to today’s employment market for college grads. College costs $$$$$ nowadays and people my age are burdened with debt for a long time to come, and not getting jobs that justify the expense of college.
And that’s why I sometimes have affiliate links.
From College Board:
In 2008, four-year college graduates earned nearly $22,000 more yearly than those with just a high school diploma, according to the report. That’s an average annual salary of $55,700 for college grads as compared to $33,800 for high school grads.
College graduates also had a far lower unemployment rate during the current recession: 5.1 percent lower than people with only a high school diploma.
But the benefits of a college degree could extend beyond just salary numbers. Adults with a college degree are healthier, more active citizens who read to their children more often than those without a college degree, according to the report.
The College Board’s report also found:
College graduates ages 25 to 44 are 14 percent less likely to be obese than high school grads.
Adults ages 25 to 34 with a college degree are nearly twice as likely to exercise vigorously.
Smoking among those with a bachelor’s degree is 9 percent. High school grads: 27 percent.
68 percent of college-educated parents read to their kids daily in 2007 – over 20 percent more than high school grads.
The percentage of people with college degrees who donate their time to community organizations is higher than other groups.
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/college_degree_benefits.htm
There are lot more stats like this! It absolutely makes sense…still! I hear yr point about debt and job prospects…
Loved the last line lol. But…reality is…affiliate links marketplace is getting saturated:-)
The problem with that “advice” (advertising?) from the College Board is that they are making a statistical mistake! They’re saying that people with a college education are all these lovely things — however it could be EQUALLY likely be that people who are (already!) all these lovely things are more likely to go to college! Like the old idea that “if-only” parents had books in the house and read to their children, then their children would be smarter. Except, it turned out that smarter parents BIRTHED smarter children AND they were more likely to have books in the house and read to children. The ‘causal direction’ is not ascertained: A could be causing B, B could be causing A — or BOTH A and B could be caused by *C*!
For a great (and easy to follow) introduction to these concepts (in a very funny, but science-based way) on YouTube in a video by Tom Naughton called Science for Smart People. It will make you smarter about statistics and drawing (or NOT drawing) conclusions! (And in this case, the causal direction is easily ascertained! Watch this video and you’ll be smarter!)
For some reason your comments were showing double so I fixed it.
I agree with what you are saying….I just really wanted to drill the point that going to school is still a smarter choice. There are kids reading my comments you know;-)
The problem you’re seeing is people choosing to get a degree in something they want, not something that will be economically wise.
Use your mind, not your heart when choosing schools.
Affiliate Links Rock 🙂
Lol, thanks. I think this will make it to the Weekly Gems in the Comment section 🙂
Oh, you mean your other filler post?
Sounds good
This type of filler post: Educate
The other type of filler posts: Entertain
Looks like I need another type of filler posts: To Inspire
I’m glad I left you those OAK-OGG seats for spring break. 🙂 I found them a couple weeks ago while looking for a way to get my family from the east coast to Hawaii, preferably using my AA miles. Sadly, with AA now offering DisAAdvantage miles (their equivalent of Skypesos) I couldn’t find any connections to the Bay Area to link up to the Hawaiian flights. It’s obviously very frustrating when there are hundreds of possible flight connections, and zero award seats (just like Delta).
If I understand you correctly, you’re using other award tickets to get to Oakland? Once I couldn’t get all the way for free, we changed our vacation plans. It’s April in Paris.
Yeah, kind of frustrating. Blew southwest points to get to OAK. Hate it but…target has been Maui, will not be denied. Now need help to get out Maui 🙂
Girls in my house were sent for a week to Paris last month;-)
Things have really tightened up with domestic award availability. My family has been spoiled by free tickets to Hawaii for years. In recent years, it’s been harder (and probably too hard for “normal” travelers), but I’ve still be able to cobble together plausible itineraries — even at peak times. The trick was always to find flights to Hawaii, and figure out a creative way to get to the gateway city. But for next April, I just couldn’t find seats to California without completely changing our travel dates (and having the kids miss several days of school). It seems unbelievable that the airlines will routinely sell $119 transcons, but refuse to load ANY routine “saver” domestic award seats. I’m surprised we don’t see more tales of woe in the media.
Yes I hear you. A couple of more years of this and I can see myself moving to…cash back cards 🙂
“If you have a 401(k) at work, sign up right away and maximize your contributions!”
I followed this advice and by 2008 I would have been better off had I kept the money under the mattress. And anyone doing it now is going to be in the same position when the markets come down from their irrational levels. this is just safety advice, not good advice
The key is in the current TAX deduction! And the compounding that happens the more you keep shoving in the account. Of course it makes sense to have it well managed and not be 100% in stocks:-)
Even if 401k choices suck (talking to you client B) it still remains a great bang! The people who don’t do it say they will invest on their own outside of the 401k plan and…never get around to it! The ones who say “we can not afford it” I say “you can not afford NOT to afford it” and raise the nightmarish picture of “Welcome to Wal Mart” lol
Arguably more important than the tax deduction is whatever company match is available.
Company matches and tax deductions I agree are very valuable. And to be clear I would actually advise the same, but the problem is where the money ends up. Even if you have appropriate diversity into fixed income, most FID funds are based on trading bonds and not holding them to maturity. Not so long ago people and pension funds saved for retirement by investing in bonds with maturities aligned with their liabilities. Interim values were irrelevant. Problem was neither people nor institutions saved enough, so they were left short, and the fixed income returns were no longer sufficient to cover their needs, so the great stampede into the irrational stock market ensued. And the 401k industry is all built around this. Actually now I am very fortunate in that I have a 401k plan that lets us invest broadly through a brokerage account, so I can actually put some thought and research into planning a proper portfolio of stocks and bonds that have some bearing on my retirement plans. If you are just telling people the usual 401k schtick of put x% in “low cost” index funds and y% in “low cost” bond funds then you are just setting people up for the next lost decade. And don’t cop out of the debate with the “it’s like the Middle East we can never agree” waiver 😉 I know you say the hedge funds are just fee machines but Vanguard are just as bad, they just a smaller % of a vastly larger number and the 401k’s keep feeding them more and more capital to do so. We’d all be a wealthier nation if we did a more appropriate mix of liability driven fixed income retirement investing coupled with Buffet style equity investing – actually understanding the companies you are investing in, why they have long term growth prospects and what differentiates them, and holding them for the long term to see through that growth. But no most people – based on the kind of advice I am critiquing here – just invest in every single “in vogue” company by buying into the index bandwagon.
and I also advocate for investing in alternatives… but certainly not blindly. people are lazy and just want to be told what to invest in. they should take the time to learn about something and how best to invest in it. oil & gas or timber investment have made some people very rich – good for them. i know nothing about them so would not invest. but there are other unusual assets i know a great deal about, and there ways to invest that i have *know* i can invest in and have return expectations not dissimilar to equities but certainly lower risk (to me, as an educated investor in very specific niches)
@MDR: Even if no match was present, it still makes sense even if available choices suck. There would be at least one that does not suck so bad & then you can build portfolio around/outside that less sucky choice 🙂
MA: Ok, let’s not go Middle East here…so how about “this is like the abortion debate” instead? Lol. We are in different camps. I am a huge advocate of passive management. I have veered towards it over the years and now I have come to realize it IS the way to go with my own money and my clients’ money. And debating about it is not going to change my mind and I am not going to change yours. You just need to….get around to it eventually 🙂 If it has been working fine for you, great! There was no lost decade for my portfolio and for my clients. The tech/internet stock bubble was clearly irrational and made some active bets that worked well. I was blindsided by the 2008 debacle but never sold anything and instead made additional purchases and we have all come very far since then! I do not believe prices are as irrational as you think they are at these levels. I feel more optimistic lately. Regardless how I FEEL, everyone sticks to the plan: fund the pot at agreed upon levels, diversify, keep costs low as possible, keep Uncle Sam in the picture to avoid stupid tax moves and, most important, rebalance every 6 months. Rinse and repeat. Completely boring, it’s like watching paint dry. Investing should not be exciting! Not rocket science. Discipline and consistency. Keeping emotions out of it. I make an active call once every five to ten years or so. Last one was picking up Ford for less than a value meal lol. That’s my style and I am sticking to it 🙂 And, I agree most people have no clue what they are doing…too busy and too emotional about this stuff. Greed & fear must be fought every day 🙂
All of the above are done with Vanguard ETFs for the most part. Works for us…
And this is how we roll in the passive camps.
Short term anything can happen. This is not to be considered investment advice – cya language requited for compliance reasons
Middle east/abortion it’s all the same. I am just glad you have taken the bait and are not dismissing the argument.
First of all let me be clear I am not a fan of “over” active management either or activity for the sake of it, i.e. to show that somehow you are adding value. So truth be told, we probably agree on 99% of actively managed funds out there. And I also have a lot of money in Vanguard ETFs because for certain investment vehicles, they are the best I can do.
But now let’s just take me as a reasonably simple example. Roundabout 40 years old so about 20 years into my working life and maybe around 20 years from when I’d ideally want to retire. Your camp would likely put me in something that looked like an equity index tracker for 60% of my money and 40% in some crappy bond fund. My camp on the other hand says that today I can buy 20 year maturity US treasury bonds and earn 3.65% on them. First of all, US treasuries are very easy to understand. They are the top of the food chain in financial instruments. You may claim the equity index is easy to understand, but do you know what you are actually investing in? Just take the DJIA. It’s made up of such names as IBM, Amex, Bank of America, Caterpillar. What do you know about these businesses? What do you know about there debt levels, their growth plans, their business model? My guess is very little. You really have no business investing in them without that knowledge IMHO. Instead you are simply investing in the “market”, i.e. you are depending on other people buying in to and driving up prices. So let’s see where we go by my retirement timeframe of 20 years. Well if the DJIA is at 15,3k today, then just to *match* the US treasuries I can buy today the DJIA needs to be at 30k in 20 years (and on the way it needs to be up to 21.5k in 10 years). Now while the chances of the US seriously defaulting on it’s debt in the next 20 years is IMHO relatively low, the chances of the DJIA being well below those levels for the entirity of the next 20 years is very real. So why don’t we do what you stock market equity guys do and look back at what happened in the past for guidance? And let’s do it without cherry picking time series, let’s just go back 20 years and see what would have happened. Well back in Sep 1993 the DJIA was at 3.5k. It’s growth in the following 20 years has been spectacular at 15.3k today. High five!!! But the IRR on that is around about 7.5%. Still good, but not as spectacular as the cash returns sound. But better than my 3.65% treasury note right? Well wrong actually. Back in Sep 1993 20 year treasury yields were actually 6.5%. So while the equity index would have still beaten my treasuries, but not by anywhere near enough to justify the additional risk. Now if I add to my treasuries some carefully selected and well researched additional corporate debt, I can probably add the missing 1% return without anywhere near the level of risk I am taking with randomly indexed equities (indeed by definition I am going to be higher in the pecking order than the equity schmucks when the poop hits the fan). Add on top again one, maybe two equity selections based on companies I have taken the time to learn about and understand their business model, cash management style and long term growth prospects and I think I end up with a very good investment portfolio. It’s not very exciting because probably more than half of it is in US treasuries, the next biggest junk is in long dated corporate debt with not very exiting names, and then there is a sliver of individual equities. Oh and I allow myself maybe 5-10% to invest in completely whacky stuff like wine or shorts on Tesla (love the company, can’t wait to see what my $165 Jan 2015 put options will be worth in 12 months though!) (This last bit I would not recommend to anyone else unless they had an interest in it and a view on it!). Oh and my transaction costs? WAY lower than you index guys who are paying Vanguard 25bps a year for 20 years. I just pay my purchase commission today and then leave it until the final proceeds of the bonds are paid into my account upon maturity (just think of that – have you ever actually owned a bond through maturity and just see the money roll back into your brokerage account? the fact that most people have not is a sad sign of how f**ed up “investment” is in this country). But I don’t think my model is crazy or really can be argued against. I am *planning* for my retirement by buying assets linked directly to my future liabilities and I can make a good estimate today of where they will be when the time comes. You are paying Vanguard to flip coins for you all day
MA: I think you suffer from…overconfidence 🙂
http://www.investopedia.com/university/behavioral_finance/behavioral9.asp
Some things to think about as I am getting ready to go to the gym and then come back and attack about 800 blogs (OMG!) for new blog post:
Nobody knows what the future holds, especially when it comes to individual stocks.
If your way of doing things is working for you, great. Keep on doing it. But for most investors, for every Apple or Tesla they get an Enron and, at the end of the day, they would have been better off in broad based Vanguard ETFs and index funds. The longer the period, the better the numbers for the indexers. This has been proven again and again. I am not the only one saying, bunch of Experts;-)
I am a financial planner. PART of what I do is money management. What I do actually is behavior modification and saving people from…themselves.
If a prospect keeps bringing up performance…I turn, no…I run away. They will never be satisfied, just another performance chaser, world is full of them 🙂
Most investors are better served by keeping it simple and keep costs low and rebalancing regularly. And then focusing on what matters more: enhancing the quality of their lives and achieving their long term cherished goals.
You are not my target market lol.
New client can’t wait to leave their big broker. Crapiola collection of high cost mutual funds and an overall allocation that makes me throw up inside my mouth! And never had any clue the other money in other accounts…And, u guessed it, performance totally sucked. But graphs always looked good 🙂
Maybe Ingy is right, I should add the Personal Finance angle to my blog. I can write about the crap I see all day long and debate with you lol.
I am paying Vanguard avg 0.15 bps and somehow feel good letting them “flip coins for me all day” 🙂
I am no stockpicker. I tell prospects up front “If you are looking for a stock picker, you got the wrong guy”.
Gotta run!
Oh, I like to drink wine. Would not have a clue how to invest in it. I buy it on sale at Whole Foods lol
Excellent article on alternative investments from my colleague and why I cringe about them;-)
http://www.fa-mag.com/news/better-alternatives-11197.html
I need to catch up…
Aloha mixed plate is a local favorite. Also you have to try leodas kitchen and pies. I love that place.
Making notes, thanks!
Don’t miss Old Lahaina Luau! We were just there for my birthday last week and it is the best luau I have ever been to. I booked it 9 months in advance and we had seats right up front. The food is amazing (same people run Aloha Mixed Plate). Drinks are to die for and it killed me that I was driving that night (husband can’t drive) but even the virgin “Lava Flows” are divine! I’m back on my blog live and in person, was auto-blogging over the past month so will have pics in due course.
Got a long time to plan this one. Making notes, thanks!
How did I miss that, F2B has a Blog called FREAK WENT FLYING or FWF. My reaction is WTF.
He is the nicest guy, too busy picking up Vanilla Reload cards. He needs to, well, blog 🙂
Buzz, I need your investment advice. I am thinking of buying YAHOO stock because
Marissa Mayer is totally smokin hot looking. Seems like a good idea and sound investment strategy. Don’t ya think??
LRR I’d say that is about as rational a justification as most other stock decisions
Buying all the stock b/c of the new logo…
That logo reminds me of…DOS 🙂
I wodnder how the smoking hit index is doing. The screw u over index is performed worse than SP
Smoking Hot index
I must admit that YAHOO has been good for me and one of my clients. Her timing was impeccable…as good as Ingy’s getting the buyout offer from IB lol.
Got there when stock was in low digits, rode it up to $40 cashed out at $36. Ever since she left the company kept falling!
Used to be a great company, everyone I know in there left a long time ago. Never underestimate the value of good management!
My Facebook stock is on fire lately. Glad if is above $40 again. I’m hoping I will be a me to retire on my 10 shares. Keep up the good work Zuckerberg!
With 10 shares Grant the sky is the limit for you 🙂
Wish I had 10 shares of Tesla instead
I’d suggest you check out the comments in the Mommy Points thread where she asked for Maui advice. Except actually do some of the things, don’t stay in Wailea the whole time.
My suggestions:
Activities
The Blue Water Rafting 5.5hr Kanaio Coast boat trip. 3-4 snorkel spots, crazy tour of the south shore with waves and caves. They’re the only company that takes you to the back wall of Molokini.
Haleakala is worth the drive, but sunset and sunrise can be awesome, but crowded, cold, and quality is too dependent on weather.
A walk around Paia is quite entertaining.
Head all the way south to La Pérouse Bay. Cool drive and you may see dolphins resting (leave them alone).
Above Lahaina, we like Napili beach and Honolua for snorkeling.
Food
#1 Happy hour(s) at Monkeypod for craft cocktails
Also #1 Foodland poke (Wasabi, Shoyu, and Cali Roll are our favorites)
Another #1 Ululanis Shave Ice
808 Deli
Coconuts Fish Tacos
Aloha Mixed Plate
Star Noodle
Honokowai Okazuya Deli
Costco
Download the Maui Revealed App for your smartphone. Worth every penny.
Reserve a car ASAP. I wrote a guide for TripAdvisor.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g29220-c170868/Maui:Hawaii:Rental.Car.Faq.html
This is great, thanks TJ!
I am making a Maui folder in Evernote with all the info I get!
Happy hour at MonkeyPod was great! Our two nights in Maui were way too short!
If you want to do the drive to Hana and sunrise at Haleakala, save money/points by spending the night in Kahului, you will also save a 45-60 minute positioning drive from the resort area. We drove through Wailea (too exclusive looking, nothing to do), Kihei (seems to be the budget area), Kanaapali (close enough to shopping/activities in Lahaina but still beautiful surroundings). I was glad we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. Got upgraded to partial ocean view which was actually a great view of the pool, flamingoes an docean just beyond and they recognized my birthday.
Nothing to do in Wailea?!? Those “exclusive” hotels front some of the best beaches in the entire state (Wailea/Polo/Ulua/Mokapu)! And not exclusive, as the public access/parking is decent.
And i think there’s better hotel value in Kihei vs Kahului. Only 10mi apart.
“Little blue words
All scattered thru posts
The “angries”can’t stand them
They mean nothing to most”
“But those with a vision
And a profit to glean
Look at little blue words
And see nothing but Green”
What have you been drinking this time?
must be some good ganja.
Roses are red violets are blue…
I really pity Ingy for what he’s become. It’s sad really, turning into a troll; I’ll be honest I never saw it coming, so much anger from him.
Disappointing.
Troll? Just love busting you guys chops.
Pity? It’s a pity you guys don’t just let your anger go and be done with the daily blogger flogging.
Anger? I’m done being angry with you guys. I’m here for the laughs.
Honestly, what was flogging about this post? For you to troll it, well, it’s just sad really
People here aren’t angry. They just ask more out of the spokespeople of their hobby. And they enjoy the entertainment
I get that you belong to the country club of the bloggers, and that’s what makes you the real angry… But it’s disappointing that you act so childish and so different from everything you once represented.
Anger on Rick… After all, you the guy making sob speeches about this blog at a third set of for profit “seminars”
Here is your big mistake here Jay. bloggers are not and let me repeat this not spokespeople for this hobby. for some reason you have personally swallowed the idea that bloggers know anymore than you do. Here is a secret, THEY DON’T. we may call ourselves the worlds expert on flying free but it is nothing more than marketing. every single commenter in this blog and any other blog could write a blog and contribute to the hobby.
some decided to do it, and others just sat back and started to complain. You are not paying to read the blogs you complain about. quit reading them. do you complain about tv commercials? I doubt it. You change the channel.
There are no spokesman for this hobby. Hell, I have a video of Randy Petersen doing a promotion piece for Capital One cards.
hers what I represent on this blog, and it is not a country club of bloggers. I am fascinated about a minuscule segment of our hobby that goes so far overboard trashing others and yet can’t take a little heat in return. I am fascinated about the personality type that hides behind the anonymity of the Internet and yet in real life, are probably pretty nice guys. I played golf with one of the “spokespeople” for the “angries” last week and in real life, he is a nice guy. we had fun.
as far as sob speeches in Charleston, I stated the facts, the space is not really as friendly and helpful as it used to be, and in my opinion this blog is the nest of that discontent.
when I’ve got you guys figured out and can put to rest in my mind, why you do this, I’ll be done with Tabloid Blogger Buzz. I just can’t get my mind around it.
Is it jealousy? That’s your own fault for not doing your own blog.
Envy? Totally misplaced
Altruistic, to save the newbie? People can take care of themselves Nobody appointed you guys savior s of the space.
I’ll let you all in on a little secret. when I was George’s favorite blog, before the big money came in, I loved what I was doing. I wrote once a day, contributed to the space, helped the newbie get his credit card questions answered and made a couple grand a month for my efforts.
The world changed in One Day. Income skyrocketed to numbers I could not imagine nor fathom and my reaction was FEAR. I was afraid it would change me. It would change the hobby, it wouldn’t be fun anymore.
thankfully, I’ve still stayed frugal. No debt. Modest lifestyle. Still try to give a little bit back.
but it lost its fun and the hobby has been changed forever. money changed this hobby and although I was one of the financially fortunate ones, it doesn’t take the sting away of the trashing that goes on now among our members and is centered here on TBB. what this site represents to me is the saddest part of the addition of money to the hobby. the bitching complaining and snarky ness of the anonymous members here.
maybe I need to accept that you as a minuscule minority are the price that we all must pay for money being in the game now, But yet when I meet you guys face to face, you are all really nice people. Yes including George.
and maybe by me being here, and calling you on your anger, you’ll just let some of it go and quit criticizing others. It is nothing but marketing.
take bloggers off a pedestal. They are just hackers like you, that decided to write a blog. It is all that simple.
That is a very good response Rick. I actually wondered what makes this place “tick” and really it has become the home of the folks that spent a lot of time on the FT “blogger-basher” threads. FT being the FT it is today of course managed to screw that up for themselves in closing down popular discussions and then moving it to dedicated forum buried so deep only Kokonutz ever bothers to go there (Way to go FT! And don’t get me started on how they took the heart of FT MilesBuzz! and ruined it….) Anyway I think George presents this view in a funny and intelligent way, but much of the commentary is just blogger bashing. And I just don’t buy that it’s all about “protecting the newbie”. Nobody gives a crap about the newbies. But I do get that the card pushing is nauseating, and it’s easy and funny to make fun of. Anyway nice response
I think ft is very happy to have blogger bashing in a hidden forum. The less of it that goes on the better.
I think ft is very happy to have blogger bashing in a hidden forum. The less of it that goes on the better. It serves no constructive purpose.
>>>>>>>>we may call ourselves the worlds expert on flying free but it is nothing more than marketing
Well, we know that. Most newbies do NOT know that and are easy targets for deceptive marketing. And then YOU get angry when people call out bloggers on such practices?
>>>>>>>>>every single commenter in this blog and any other blog could write a blog and contribute to the hobby.
Yes they could but that does not mean that they should as most do not really have anything to offer that has not been blogged to death already.
>>>>>>>>>>There are no spokesman for this hobby.
YOU could have been the one. You blew it because money always mattered more to you than credibility. My humble opinion. Now you are just trying to remain relevant in this space and instead looking like an angry old man trolling my blog.
>>>>>>>>> I am fascinated about a minuscule segment of our hobby that goes so far overboard trashing others and yet can’t take a little heat in return.
We are all fascinated how YOU can not take any criticism at all and go nuts. Please learn from Mommy Points on how to respond to criticism. I have been taking your heat since day one here and it is highly entertaining I must admit!
>>>>>>>>>as far as sob speeches in Charleston, I stated the facts, the space is not really as friendly and helpful as it used to be, and in my opinion this blog is the nest of that discontent.
Did you ever consider that YOU may be contributing to this space not being as friendly anymore with your actions? “nest of that discontent” —–> Yawn
>>>>>>>>when I’ve got you guys figured out and can put to rest in my mind, why you do this, I’ll be done with Tabloid Blogger Buzz. I just can’t get my mind around it.
You obviously have way too much time on your hands. Money does not bring happiness!
>>>>>>>> I was afraid it would change me. It would change the hobby, it wouldn’t be fun anymore.
Yes it did! The hobby changed THAT day. And changed for the worst. I think it could have been handled with more credibility. Thanks for the FTG legacy! And you have the cojones to keep trolling my blog most times looking like an unstable angry old man? (not today, that post at least had some thought behind it, too bad you don’t do that at least once a week when you mail it in to FTG the blog).
>>>>>>>>>>money changed this hobby
Money changed you! Do you even realize how much your rants here are costing YOU? No you don’t.
>>>>>>> what this site represents to me is the saddest part of the addition of money to the hobby.
Respectfully, I don’t give a damn what YOU think my site represents! I think you are way off as usual. Our favorite commenter, harvson3, once said: “…to the extent that the community comprises functioning businesses, criticism of the product is valid. Saying that these businesses/bloggers should escape criticism because they “are just trying to help” is bullsh-t.
>>>>>>>>>> the bitching complaining and snarky ness of the anonymous members here.
TBB does not censor. TBB beileves in the right of self-expression. Blogs that censor, in my own humble opinion, suck. You think my blog sucks. Fine. You are welcome for letting you express your feelings 🙂
>>>>>>>>>>and maybe by me being here, and calling you on your anger, you’ll just let some of it go and quit criticizing others. It is nothing but marketing.
You sound bitter and angry all the time! Crappy businesses built on false/deceptive marketing praying on newbies who don’t know any better SHOULD be criticized constructively. Bottom line, you just can not stand ANY criticism PERIOD & you go nuts when someone dares to call the spades, well, spades. How about you letting some of it go so we can let some of it go huh? “It is nothing but marketing” —-> Sounds to me like “It is nothing but bullcrap”.
>>>>>>>>take bloggers off a pedestal. They are just hackers like you, that decided to write a blog. It is all that simple.
No they are not. All that changed THAT day.
Thank you for commenting here!
Georgie boy. You sound so angry?
1. I never wanted to be the spokesman for the space. Way too old and does not relate to younger angry crowd. Brian will become the voice of the space. He has the looks, presence, marketing and pr machine.
2. I never consider my calling you guys out detrimental to the space.
3. My (rants) as you call them here, cost me nothing. Your group is tiny, would never click on FTG links with all the anger at the change to a corporate blog anyway. And my deal was done long before you showed up.
4. And when you talk about taking criticism, you should look at your own responses Georgie boy. Talk about not liking the heat?
5. I’m glad you like mommy points method of responding to criticism. But to think you have any influence at all on how to post, comment, write blog posts, insert links, push cards is the biggest laugh of all. In eleven months you’ve backed away from your full disclosure rant as you can’t do it yourself, talked about top ten lists for months, but never got around to it. Started adding filler posts like all the other bloggers, tried and failed at monetizing your blog with the simplest of advertising formats, now trying to go to posting very other day, and day in and day out complained about how much time it takes to blog.
And day in and day out you and your readers continue to take shots at others. What is your motive George?
Educate? That ain’t happening George. Your content is a rehash of others info, photos and all. And yur suggestions on better blogging practices have gone unheard in the space because of your angry delivery. There is nothing educational here.
Inspire? Sure if your idea of inspire is to provide a space for others to spew there anger. Not very inspirational to me
Entertain? You got that one George. I love watching the “angries” justify their importance in protecting the newbie. TBB is just that. Entertaining to a very limited angry few.
>>>>>>1. I never wanted to be the spokesman for the space
I said you could. You wanted the money.
>>>>>2. I never consider my calling you guys out detrimental to the space.
Not following, Whatever.
>>>>>>3. My (rants) as you call them here, cost me nothing. Your group is tiny, would never click on FTG links with all the anger at the change to a corporate blog anyway. And my deal was done long before you showed up.
As I said, you very clearly have way too much time on your hands trolling my site so much! I hope my readers do not click on FTG links and I trust they are educated enough to know better!
>>>>>>>>4. And when you talk about taking criticism, you should look at your own responses Georgie boy. Talk about not liking the heat?
I absolutely invite all comments all the time and I especially like criticism. I learn from it. And I am amused by it from some. Funny how negative criticism does not stay up on the FTG blog 🙂
>>>>>>>>But to think you have any influence at all on how to post, comment, write blog posts, insert links, push cards is the biggest laugh of all.
You laugh? Great! TBB is succeeding on the mission to entertain lol. I do my thing here and let readers make up their mind. You sound angry.
>>>>>>>>In eleven months you’ve backed away from your full disclosure rant as you can’t do it yourself, talked about top ten lists for months, but never got around to it.
I have higher priorities in life. Making money on this site is obviously not that high up on the list. Maybe I am afraid it will change me lol.
>>>>>>>Started adding filler posts like all the other bloggers,
Absolutely and confessed to it. Other blogs do this all the time marketing crap to their readers day in and day out. Travel challenge anyone? Puuuulease, you are the last blogger on the face of this planet to raise a peep about filler posts in my own humble opinion! I let my readers decide if they like my filler posts or not.
>>>>>>> tried and failed at monetizing your blog with the simplest of advertising formats
I wonder what happened…
>>>>>>now trying to go to posting very other day, and day in and day out complained about how much time it takes to blog.
You inspire me to keep going, that’s for sure lol.
>>>>>>>>And day in and day out you and your readers continue to take shots at others. What is your motive George?
My readers can freely express themselves in my blog. My motive is: To Entertain. Educate. Inspire. Do at least one well. Thank you for your contributions for the Entertainment part!
>>>>>>>>Educate? That ain’t happening George. Your content is a rehash of others info, photos and all. And yur suggestions on better blogging practices have gone unheard in the space because of your angry delivery. There is nothing educational here.
I respect your opinion. I respectfully disagree with it. In my opinion, you sound whiny.
>>>>>>>Inspire? Sure if your idea of inspire is to provide a space for others to spew there anger. Not very inspirational to me.
You are missing the point. Again.
>>>>>>>>Entertain? You got that one George. I love watching the “angries” justify their importance in protecting the newbie. TBB is just that. Entertaining to a very limited angry few.
So, you admit you are angry and you are entertained! Love it when TBB accomplishes its mission! Another happy reader who can’t let a day (few hours) go by without coming back for further entertainment.
All the best in Chicago. I mean it.
FYI, you sure were acting like a self annoited spokesman when you called Nightline in to do a feature on your seminars
Again jay running your mouth off without facts. Seems to be the norm here for some. They contacted us. And that is a perfect example of why I’m here. You don’t like he way bloggers push links. I don’t like the way you guys distort the truth.
See you all again soon
Rev up your engines folks.
If in fact the CIP and CIB is getting converted to a Visa, and people can now get the bonus again, there is going to be an onslaught like no other of bloggers tripping over themselves to remind their readers they can get the bonus again
“Get 50K points!!!!!!!!” headlines will be everywhere
Of course, that headline will have nothing to do with the Citi AA card, but I digress
You might be on to something: http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2013/09/12/chase-ink-plus-and-bold-now-being-issued-as-visa-rather-than-mastercard/
I think it is starting already…
And another:
http://boardingarea.com/onemileatatime/2013/09/12/chase-ink-cards-are-now-issued-by-visa/
Buzz, here is a Maui travel tip that you won’t find on Tripadvisor or one of the many travel Blogs you read…………..Want some Maui-Wowi? Ask the bellman at any of your finer hotels. Simple as that! No kidding…. Don’t forget to tip.
Ok, I goggled it, looks good. I first thought it was some type of ganja or something!
I agree with your idea to do more investment topics and commentary here.
I am a fan of Kauai over Maui. Maybe hop a flight there for a couple of nights? Much less traffic and fewer tourists.
The trick to getting good connections to Hawaii is to live on the west coast 😉 .
I am leaving Kauai for a separate trip in the future.
Thanks for the feedback!
Ok I’m going to give you the best advice you’ve EVER gotten in one short sentence.
“Stop talking so damn much.”
There you go , you’re already richer. I can feel it.
Thanks 🙂