Due to the Memorial Day weekend there is not much material worthy enough to curate for you today. So, I am going to post links to eight past blog posts that most readers may have missed and in a way introduce myself to new readers.
I have been blogging here since November 2012 which is an eternity in internet time. It started as a joke and it was focused primarily on travel using frequent flyer miles and points, my main hobby since the early 90’s. The blog has since evolved into curating the most eclectic web content about personal finance, business, crypto, scams, tech, travel, geopolitics and of course travel using frequent flyer miles and points. It is a one man operation, no ads, no clickbait, no sponsored posts. I will see you Friday, hope your weekend was great!
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Four Key Money Lessons I Learned as a Child
About ten years ago, I was picked as one of the Experts in Wealth Management for the Wall Street Journal. I ended up writing 102 pieces for the Journal over the years. And this one is by far my all time favorite because the editors published a family pic from my childhood. Too bad my father was not around to see it. I sent my mother copies of it and she still shows it around with pride. Oh, the lessons were:
The importance of hard work
The importance of saving
The importance of budgeting
The importance of compounding
Financial Independence, Retire Early FIRE: Not So Fast
Another one I conveniently pasted here from my Wall Street Journal days. I did not hold back against the FIRE crowd…
One of my main points is this:
For one thing, it appears that many of those touting the movement might have quit their 9 to 5, but they didn’t stop working. They’ve started online businesses espousing the benefits of FIRE, and are working more hours than ever before.
Top 10 Financial Lessons
Yes, another WSJ piece I pasted here. These are all lessons I have learned as a financial planner. Legislation has pretty much taken care of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) problem we had (#10). Along with some progress with IRS doing better dealing with identity theft (#5). The rest of the issues are still relevant today, sadly.
Cross Country Amtrak-Seattle-Santiago & Buenos Aires
One of those special trips I arranged with my miles and points taking the family along for two weeks around the US and South America. It involved an Amtrak sleeper cabin across the US from Ann Arbor to Chicago to Los Angeles and then up to Seattle for a few days and then flying to New York City. And then flying Business Class on LAN to Santiago, Chile and then Buenos Aires, Argentina. Staying in the W in Santiago and the Hilton in Buenos Aires which came with a fantastic suite upgrade. Many memories from this trip, take your kids abroad, show them how privileged they are living in the US!
Been doing this a long time, took the familia to Tahiti in French Polynesia more than twenty years ago, back in the days digital cameras did not exist and The Points Guy was in diapers…So, value true expertise, okay?
So You Want To Travel For Free Like Me? Are You Sure?
I wrote this back in 2016 and everything pretty much still applies. For the record, many devaluations have come along since then so the rewards afforded to us are just not as large as they used to be. But, I guess, as long as US banks are willing to shower us with thousands of miles/points for a credit card just to sign us up…it still makes sense. But nowhere near as much as it did years ago! And that is how things roll. It will be interesting to see what happens as award charts disappear and the opportunity to fly up front on an award becomes priced in the stratosphere…
The White Man in That Photo
Still one of my favorite posts here, the story of the Australian athlete on the podium in that picture from the 1968 Olympics we have all seen!
My Running Journey to Becoming a Marathoner In Detroit October 2019
I wrote this just a few days after running my first marathon. And I have become addicted to running ever since. If I can do it, you can too! I mean, look at how fat I was in the picture above lol.
Banff & Jasper, Canada
When I am asked what is the most beautiful place I have traveled to, I reply with “Lake Louise” in the Banff National Park area in Canada. The natural beauty, the hiking, the bears and…that lake!
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TBB
travelbloggerbuzz@gmail.com
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Good to look back at such accomplishments!
Thanks for the memories.
Good idea to have a posting like this! There’s been a lot of valuable information and opinion here over the years so this is a wonderful sampling! Hope it was a fun and relaxing weekend for you and your family!
Got my first-ever business class upgrade coming up in a few days (CLT to Louisville) and I have a lot of questions. What color tuxedo should I wear? What type of caviar should I select? Should I wear a monocle to blend in with the other titans of industry at the front of the plane?
Oh man, I read every single one of those posts as they came out fresh! That’s some dedication…
And I still have a quote of yours on my desk “We are all different”. (Yeah, you probably said it in jest, but it’s a good reminder for me not to judge)
Keep on TBBing!
I re-read the Amtrak / South America one and now I’m nostalgic for 2012-era redemption values.
@ DML: Thanks again. I still feel I am promoting too much and that it’s not my thing…I need to get over that, it is mental 🙂
@ Carl: Yeah, I always take Memorial weekend off…to recharge in a way. Thanks.
@ Nick: Don’t forget to ask if they have any Grey Poupon? I paid more for my Amtrak trip to Chicago in coach than I did on that cross country sleeper cabin trip…Long live 2012 lol.
@ bluecat: Oh shoot, your comment about fresh posts just reminded me I never finished the Iran Trip Report….it was 2016. I did joke back then it would probably be posted before 2026 Lol. Yeah, we are all different, I came up with it and the more I age I recognize how powerful it is, especially with so many shenanigans from a specifically loud group of people in the US.
I have enough material for Friday. And I am so sore today because my 8 mile run yesterday in a heatwave was painful…need to start waking up early as we are expecting close to 90 degree temps, the summer is on!