Personal Profitability
Personal finance for hustlers and entrepreneurs
You reach into your pocket to grab your wallet. You feel around. Your stomach drops. It's not there!
Hopefully you will never have to go through this scenario that millions of people have had to deal with. Only one in five lost wallets makes it way back to its owner, so it is very important to be prepared for the worst case scenario if your wallet goes missing.
by John Schmoll
I have always loved to travel. Growing up, vacationing was a regular part of our family life. I consider myself blessed that I was able to see quite a bit of the world before I started high school. Now that I have a growing family, I see firsthand the increasing cost of indulging in that desire. As a family we’ve made it a habit to look for ways we can live more simply throughout the year so we can enjoy an annual vacation. However, I recently discovered a missing piece that I wish I had known decades ago…having someone else pay for our vacation! I know that credit cards might be a taboo topic for some, but we have found that we can quite easily use them to have someone else pay for our vacation off of points we’ve earned from budgeted purchases. Next year, I’m excited to say that we will nearly fully fund (airfare and hotel costs) a trip in January to Las Vegas for my birthday thanks to credit card rewards points.
[Read more…] about How Credit Cards Are Paying For My Birthday Party in Vegas
by John Schmoll
I remember the day like it was yesterday, I was looking at my four credit card statements and saw that I was just north of $20,000 in credit card debt. I asked myself, how did I get there? It did not help that I had just come back from the music store having purchased four or five CD’s that I had no business buying, yet I still did not see the issue. My problem was that I was using credit cards to fund a lifestyle that I wanted, and felt that I deserved but was doing it at the expense of my future. It would be one thing if the credit card debt was due to me losing a job or something like that, but sadly it was largely spent on junk that I did not need. One question kept running through my mind – was all that stuff worth the cost?
If you regularly read travel hacking blogs, you have probably heard the term “churn” used quite a bit. For the uninitiated, a churn is a strategy used to sign up for new credit cards to maximize signup and bonus offers to rack up a huge number of frequent flyer miles and travel points quickly.
I pay my credit card twice a month every month. I started bi-monthly credit card payments when I got my first job out of college, and I strongly believe that is the best way for the average person to handle their bills.
I have written about awesome mileage cards in the past, and just took advantage of a sweet deal that landed me a free round trip flight on American Airlines. Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. You can do it too.