Tag Archives: Money

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How to Get 23 Months of Free Flights with the Southwest Companion Pass

Act by 10/4 (ideally *on* 10/3) to Maximize the Best Deal in Travel, Worth More than $1,800

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The Southwest Companion Pass is arguably the best deal in travel. It allows a companion to fly for free with you on any Southwest flights you book. The pass is good from the time you earn it until the end of the following calendar year. The opportunity has arisen to enable a companion to fly for free with you for 23 months: most of 2018 and all of 2019. But you have to act by October 4, 2017 (and, ideally, on 10/3) to take advantage of this opportunity.

The Southwest Companion Pass works on all Southwest flights.

Following is more about the Companion Pass and exactly what you need to do by October 4th in order to score 23 months of free flights for your companion (and a lot of free flights for you as well): (more…)

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How to Decide Which New iPhone to Get

And is the iPhone X worth $1,000 -- $300 more than the iPhone 8?

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Last week, Apple announced three new iPhone models: the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. (The “X” is pronounced “Ten,” in commemoration of the iPhone’s 10-year anniversary, but probably only “I in X” people will pronounce it correctly.) My first reaction to the X was this well-thought-out response: “I want.” I still do. But I’ve stopped drooling long enough to ask myself the question: is the iPhone X worth its $1,000 price tag? More specifically, is it worth $300 more than the also brand new iPhone 8? At least one person on Twitter thinks maybe not:

Funny picture suggests the iPhone X will cost one human life

In this post I’ll compare the three new iPhone models. My aim is to help any of you looking to get one of them to decide how best to spend your money. (more…)

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Last Chance for Merrill+ Card, Worth $500 – $1000

The Generous/Easy Bonus on this Card is Rumored to End “Mid-September”

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One of the best credit card offers on the market—the Merrill+ card—will be discontinued by September 18-19 at the latest. The card has no annual fee and comes with 50,000 bonus points. Those points are worth $500 in cash or up to $1,000 in airfare.

Sarah's Merrill+ card

My wife’s Merrill+ card

In this post I’ll cover the basics of the card and how to apply for it. But if you’re interested, you should act fast. A source told Doctor of Credit that the card will be discontinued on September 18 or 19. But another source told Frequent Miler that the card will be discontinued “mid-September,” which means it might not last until September 18. (more…)

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Money Can Buy Happiness? It’s About Time.

New Research Reveals a Previously Unexamined Route to Happiness: Spending Money to Buy Time

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If you were given $40 on the condition that you had to spend it, what would you spend it on? What type of purchase do you think would increase your happiness?

If you’re like 98% of people studied, you wouldn’t choose to spend the $40 on time-saving services such as someone else cleaning, shopping, or cooking for you. But new research suggests you might want to rethink that decision. (more…)

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How to Blow $4,000 on a $56 Vacation

It’s All Too Easy to Do

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When people go on vacation, they often pay face value. According to Forbes, the average vacation costs $1,145 per person or $4,580 for a family of four. I love family vacations because I like going on an adventure with my wife and kids. But I would never consider paying over $4,000 for a vacation. And I don’t want you to, either.

The three kids and I on the beach during our vacation to San Diego

On my last two family vacations combined, I spent less than $100 total on hotels and flights. Earlier this year, we took a $5,000+ vacation to Cabo San Lucas for $42. Last week, we took a short (2 night) vacation to San Diego for $56. Had we paid face value, the hotel and flights would have cost $4,012.

If vacations are part of your life—or if you’d like them to be—you should seriously consider a total paradigm shift in terms of how much you think they need to cost.

In this post I’ll share how we spent so little on a great vacation. And I’ll show how you can do similarly. (more…)

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How to Save Money on Rental Car Insurance

Car Rental Insurance is Confusing and Expensive. But Should You Get It?

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You just landed at the airport, ready to start your beach vacation. You can’t wait to change your sweaty clothes for a swimsuit. So you head to the car rental agency to grab your car and be on your way. But first, you must make a series of important decisions that you feel completely ill-equipped to make. Do you want collision coverage on the car? What about liability insurance? Seems expensive. But the agent swears you’d be crazy not to purchase the coverage he’s selling.

Long lines at rental car agencies as renters contemplate what rental car insurance to purchase

Your eyes begin to glaze over. You quickly initial here, here, and there. Depending on your decision, you either just forked over a bunch of cash or waived coverage. Either way, one thing is likely: you don’t have good reasons for the decision you made.

I know, because I’m right there with you. Or at least I was until last week.

Over the past week, I’ve done a bunch of research to try to answer the question: When renting a car, should I buy rental car insurance?

Following is the fruit of my research. It will shape whether I accept or decline rental car insurance moving forward. (more…)

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AutoSlash: How to Get the Lowest Price on a Rental Car

And Do So with the Least Amount of Effort

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When renting a car, I want to get the cheapest rate possible with the least amount of effort. You, too? If so, you need to use a free site called AutoSlash. I’ve used AutoSlash dozens of times since 2011. On one occasion, AutoSlash saved me a whopping $2,178 (74%) on a 27-day SUV rental. On at least 10 separate occasions, AutoSlash saved me more than 31% off the lowest rate I could find. Due to its considerable savings and ease of use, I highly recommend using AutoSlash every time you book a rental car.

Woman in rental car holding car keys

In this post I’ll explain what AutoSlash is and show you how to use it to quickly save a ton when renting a car.

(more…)

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1 Big Reason to Shop at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

And the Top 4 Stories that Illustrate their Amazing Return Policy

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What if you could buy a product, use it until it wears down or breaks, and then return it—even years later—for a full refund or exchange? Sounds like wishful thinking, right? Amazingly, that is precisely how returns work at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. In this post, I’ll explain how to make the most of their generous return policy. But first, I want to share four quick stories that illustrate just how absurdly generous the policy is. You won’t believe what they are willing to let you return.

The front of a Bed, Bath, & Beyond store

Top 4 Stories of Returns to Bed, Bath, & Beyond

The following four stories illustrate the absurdly generous return policy of Bed, Bath, & Beyond:

#4. My Return of a Patio Umbrella

(more…)

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Should You Get a Credit Card that Earns 5x Rewards?

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You’ve probably seen commercials advertising credit cards that earn 5% cash back or 5 points per dollar spent. Compared with standard cards that often earn just 1% cash back or 1 point per dollar spent, these 5x cards seem amazing. But are they? Should you get them?

A number 5 made out of coins, representing 5x

In this post I’ll cover the 4 main cards that earn 5x rewards. I’ll then provide my recommendation for whether to get them. (more…)

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Increase Your Income with 5 Topgrading Competencies

These 5 Abilities are Important and Comparatively Easy to Develop

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While there are many ways to earn extra money on the side, the primary way to earn more is to get paid more for your work. Improving your skills is a key ingredient to getting paid more. But there are many ways to improve. The question is: which improvements are both easiest to make and likely to have the greatest impact on your ability, value to your employer, and income?

Man watering a plant that he is standing on

In the book Topgrading, author Bradford Smart lays out no fewer than 50 job competencies. These are 50 areas in which every employee has more or less ability. Topgrading is a book about hiring. The competencies are discussed to help an employer make a top hire.

But in reading about the competencies, I realized it could be reverse-engineered to help someone become more valuable to a current or perspective employer.

Specifically, 5 of the 50 competencies are considered by experienced Topgraders to be both highly important and easy to change. Focusing on growing in those 5 competencies presents a leveraged opportunity. They offer 5 ways to make yourself more valuable to an employer with comparative ease.

In this post I will provide a snapshot of the 50 Topgrading competencies. Then I’ll discuss how to increase your ability—and hopefully your income—through improving in the key 5. (more…)