This past week has been a lot of fun, as we’ve been hanging in Los Angeles for our vacation. It’s great to have some fun while getting work done as we headed to the E3 Expo to check out the latest video game technology.
Our trip out west went smoothly, and we arrived in LA on [...]

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Despite my revelation on Friday that we’re getting an AmEx Delta SkyMiles card, I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of travel-based rewards. This goes for both airline and hotel rewards programs. There are several reasons for this…
Redemption difficulties
First and foremost, it’s often difficult to redeem your rewards even if you’ve saved [...]

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We’re in the midst of some travel planning, and have decided to pull the trigger and apply for an American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles card. Why? Several reasons…

Baggage fees. As I noted about six weeks ago, Delta is now waiving their baggage fees for AmEx Delta cardholders. When we take long trips as a family, [...]

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As life has gotten busier and busier, I’ve had an increasingly hard time keeping track of the many deadlines and due dates that I run across in daily life. Depending on the context, this has the potential to result in late fees, embarrassment, etc.
I’ve thus become increasingly dependent on automated reminders to keep things on [...]

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A reader named Vivian recently wrote in to ask if it’s okay for people with variable incomes to tap into their emergency fund during anticipated slowdowns:
My husband is a landscaper. During the winter his work gets a little slack. Does that mean that we can tap into our emergency fund to help cover our expenses [...]

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Earlier this week, I attended a career development seminar that talked about how to find a satisfying career. In general, this was a pretty low level presentation, and it was largely based on a diagram similar to the following.

Breaking it down…
Simply stated, we each have a unique set of passions/interests as well as a certain [...]

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This is just a quick reminder that second quarter income tax payments are due today. I almost forgot about this myself, but remembered at the last minute and have just written the state and federal checks.
If you’re wondering what this is all about, estimated tax payments most commonly apply to the self-employed and/or those with [...]

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Many of us are currently dealing with financial and/or economic challenges. One devastating problem that some of my neighbors and friends have recently faced is unemployment. Surviving with one less source of income due to a job loss can cause a lot of financial and personal stress.
As of right now, the Bureau of Labor Statistics [...]

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Time for a minor rant… Back in the fall of 2008, I asked if fuel surcharges were here to stay. At the time, gas prices had fallen from $4+/gallon to the mid-$2 range, but those pesky surcharges that cropped up when fuel prices spiked were still persisting.
At the time, I suggested that these sorts of [...]

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Last night, I finally got around to converting my wife’s recent traditional IRA contributions into her Roth account. As I’ve noted in the past, we’re currently above the income limit for Roth IRA contribution, so we’ve been unable to contribute to our Roth accounts for the past couple of years.
However, as many of you know, [...]

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