I once had a lazy landlord who made us vet prospective roommates, which meant awkwardly asking people for their credit report. While I vaguely knew that my “credit was checked” whenever I applied for an apartment, it didn’t become real until I was asked to assess a person’s worthiness based on a bunch of stats. […]
How to Get Free One-Way Flights with this Little-Known United Airlines Perk
When we found out our friends were getting married across the Atlantic, I, forever the maximizer, thought to myself: while we’re in the UK, might as well hop to another European city, right? After the wedding, instead of heading straight home to New York City, we’re stopping in southern Portugal to relax for a few […]
My $6,000 Mistake–and How My Credit Card Saved Me
Here’s a reason why you might want to have an emergency fund. Say you rent a car in LA, decline the insurance, and drop off the car right on time. Per usual. Then the car rental clerk takes you outside to point out a two-inch dent on the passenger-side door. Well, here’s a first: you […]
The Best First-Time Rewards Credit Cards–By Spend-Level & Personality
Have you ever been at a group dinner where everyone except you put down a Chase Sapphire card, and wondered: what do they know that I don’t? Maybe you got your first credit card at your local bank, because you didn’t know other credit cards existed. Or like me, you were a hapless college student […]
My Super Easy Financial To-Do List for 2018
When my husband and I first moved in together, we assigned ourselves roles and responsibilities with corresponding job titles. My husband is the cook in the house, so he became Executive Chef. And me? Naturally, I filled the role of VP of Finances. I just crunched the numbers, and we saved a decent amount on […]
My Favorite Credit Card Perk You Might Not Know About
As you know, I like to live dangerously. And is there anything more risky than buying things on final sale? I’ve been living on the edge ever since my friend told me about how she bought a pair of shoes, wore them, them decided they were in fact, the wrong size. Then somehow the credit […]
Credit Cards Are My Best Friend. Why Aren’t They Yours?
I like to joke that credit cards are my best friend. It’s a known thing in my circle. So much so, that for my office Christmas party my coworker ignored the wish list I sent him and bought me a credit card holder instead. Many of the luxe strategies I talk about involve working your […]