In addition to no change fees and including check-in bags in the fare, I like Southwest Airlines also because its frequent flyer program Rapid Rewards is the easiest to use. Other airlines limit seats available for reward travel. I have miles but when I want to redeem them for a free ticket, I often find […]
Latest Blog Posts
Income Bunching Under Obamacare ACA Premium Subsidy
If you can’t qualify for the premium subsidy under the ACA, if may be helpful to bunch up your income.
Book Round-trip On Southwest As Two One-Way Flights
Southwest Airlines is the largest domestic airline by the number of passengers getting on and off a plane ("enplanements"). Its reasonable prices and consumer-friendly policies make it my number one choice for leisure travel. I’d like to share a tip about flying Southwest Airlines: book your round-trip travel as two one-way flights. Southwest prices its […]
Marriage Penalty Under Obamacare ACA Premium Subsidy
Married couples are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the premium subsidy under the ACA.
Free Flu Shot Covered In Full By Insurance
This year’s flu shot campaign seems to have started earlier than previous years. My employer had the on-site flu shot clinics in mid-September. I got the email from HR but I didn’t pay attention to the dates. I thought it would be later in October or November; so I missed the on-site dates. Grocery stores, […]
Using a Reward Checking Account For Emergency Fund
A reward checking account is a checking account that pays a high interest rate up to a balance cap but requires you to use its debit card X number of times a month among some other easy-to-meet requirements. For instance the account I recently opened with a credit union pays 3% interest on balance up […]
Lifestyle Design: Choose What You Know
Not having had a personal finance class in high school isn’t an excuse. It’s always a choice. We all have limited time. You choose to invest your time in what matters.
World MasterCard Price Protection Refunds the Difference If You See a Lower Price
When you get a new credit card, you usually also receive a small brochure describing the various benefits your new card offers. Most of the benefits are common: rental car coverage, protection against loss or damage of a new purchase within the first X days, extended warranty, travel accident insurance, etc. Don’t just throw away […]
How To Get Money Off Rebate Debit Cards
I bought tires from a tire shop when it offered a $100 mail-in rebate for a set of 4 tires of certain brands. The mail-in rebate came in the form of a prepaid debit card instead of just a plain old check. Companies do that because their rebate vendors convince them prepaid debit cards work […]
Higher Yield On Brokered CD vs Early Withdrawal Option
Bond interest rates came up by about 1% after the Fed started talking about tapering Quantitative Easing. We are starting to see some higher rates in brokered CDs. This makes sense because brokered CDs compete directly with bonds. Brokered CDs don’t have the early withdrawal option. If you want out, you have to sell them […]