A Checklist for Quitting Your Job

One of the most pervasive dreams in our culture is that of quitting your job. Whether you plan to quit and retire to some beach somewhere, or quit and start your own business so you can be your own boss, leaving a mind-numbing job might be at the top of your bucket list.

It’s important to realize, though, that quitting your job isn’t something that you can just do on a whim. You need to be ready to take that step. Here is a checklist that can help you as you get ready to move on to a new stage of your career:

1. Get Your Finances in Order

Before you quit your current job, you need to make sure your finances are in order and that you’re not making any of these money mistakes. Are you on solid financial footing? You should be living within your means, have a solid emergency fund built up, and be ready to cut the less important expenditures from your spending. Before you hand in your resignation, be sure that your finances are ready.

2. Diversify Your Income

While you don’t need to have side income that overtakes your “day job” income, it can help to have a little diversity in your revenue streams. Look for other sources of income, beyond what you have at your traditional job. One popular approach these days is to do some freelancing work in your area of expertise.

Depressed real estate markets have given some people an opportunity to buy apartments or duplexes for cheap and rent them out. If those don’t appeal to you, you can often get a part-time/seasonal job to help hold you over.

If your entire income is going to be in jeopardy when you quit, you need to have a little something to help pick up the slack.

3. Create a Plan

Before you quit, make sure you have a plan in place. You want to make sure you have a plan for earning more money, as well as a backup plan. Know what items you will cut from your budget. If you are starting a business, have a plan to direct you through the process. Think things through before you quit your job.

4. Have Something Else Lined Up

If you are switching jobs, you should have something else lined up before you quit your current job. This means that you should have an offer, in writing, from someone else before you leave your current job. If you are starting your own business, it helps to have the basics in place before you leave your job. If you’ve started a home business working a few extra hours in the evenings then you’ll have a foot in the door at least. Get the ball rolling, at least a little, before you quit your traditional job.

5. Refresh Your Network

Before you quit your job, make sure your contacts are up to date. Make contact with people in your professional network before you quit — just to catch up. (You can ask for job leads later.) Make it easy for your friend to refer you for a job.

If you have already renewed the relationship prior to quitting, you will be in a better place to let people know you have left your job down the line. An updated and supportive network can help you find a new job, or provide you with leads if you are starting your own business.

Also, keep in mind that you should try to quit your current job on good terms. Give your boss two weeks notice, and be a good worker until the end. If possible, you will want to add your former boss and co-workers to your network.

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Interview Series – Budgeting In The Fun Stuff

I met Crystal, the woman behind Budgeting In The Fun Stuff, a few weeks ago in Chicago. She definitely has some fun stuff up her sleeve : )

We spent an hour or two chatting with a few other personal finance bloggers and learned about some of Crystal’s adventures in money making. The most interesting one was her story about how she sold her hair to the highest bidder on eBay! I’ll let her share all the detail on her site some day but it’s definitely an interesting story.

Before the conference I had asked Crystal to share her experiences dealing with financial bullies, here are her answers.

1) Describe a time that a person or company tried to take advantage of you financially and what you did to stop them.

Comcast could never get our bill right.  Every month, they “forgot” about a discount and every month I spent an hour or two making sure we only paid what we agreed to.  As soon as AT&T U-Verse became available in our area, I called and dropped Comcast like a hot potato and made sure to let the customer service department know the exact reasons.  I wrote an email to them as well.

2) Describe a time you were bullied into a financial decision (by a person or a company).  How did it end up impacting you and if you could go back in time how would you handle it differently?

We used to have our taxes done every March by a professional CPA.  For the 3 years we worked with her, she was never upfront about her rates and would just spring the bill on us at the end when we’d be signing off on our return. 

I was young and stupid and just accepted this until the 3rd year, when the bill went from $300 to $475 without any notice.  I was horrified and asked what happened.  She explained that her secretary got a raise and her costs went up. 

We gave her a check and have done our own tax returns since then.  If I could go back, I would have explained to her that she should have let us know beforehand about a huge increase in rates and would have refused to pay her $475.  I would have offered her the $350 we were expecting.  I now have very little trust in outsourcing and am very careful to get all rates up front.

Comcast Follow Up

After reading Crystal’s story I told her that we had a similar experience with Comcast. We went through the same hassle but eventually they got it right so we’re still with them. However, I was tempted to switch to AT&T U-verse though because at the time they were offering like $300 for new customers.

So in a follow up question I asked her if she’d had any customer service or billing problems with U-verse, here’s her response.

The only hassle I have ever had with U-verse was when our credit card info was stolen.  Even though I went in and changed all of my auto-pay info, they still screwed stuff up for a month, but they waived the late fee that had occurred without any problems and apologized. 

I have been very happy with their service and their customer support is way better than Comcasts’ if you ever have a technical problem.  Someone accidentally cut our dsl line once and U-verse sent someone out to fix it within 3 hours instead of the following day as I was told.

Thanks to Crystal for sharing her story! Another interesting tidbit about Crystal is that she quit her job a few months back to work online full time. Good luck to her in her new venture!

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8 Ways to Waste Your Cash Back

Debit and credit card reward programs sometimes come with cash back that offer cold hard cash (or a statement credit) based on how much you spend on your card. As we’ve seen with Ben’s Blue Cash card, the right cash back program can earn you hundreds of dollars per year for your everyday spending.

Although it sounds great, there are several things that can stand in the way of you maximizing the cashback you earn. If you have a cash rewards card, here are 8 ways to waste your cashback that you definitely want to avoid.

Cash Back Mistakes to Avoid

1. Pay an annual fee
Earning cashback on your credit card is great, but you wipe out a big chunk of your rewards by paying an annual fee. Essentially, having an annual fee means your cashback account starts out in the hole every year.

You have to spend a lot of money just to break even with an annual fee but having a fee doesn’t necessarily rule out a card. Just be sure that you research the card’s cash back program well enough that you feel confident your spending habits will make the fee more than pay for itself. You can find some good credit cards without annual fees in this look at the best cash back credit cards.

These days it’s becoming more common for banks to charge a fee for you to use their debit cards as well.  There are companies that offer cash back debit cards that don’t charge a fee – for example check out Perkstreet Financial.

2. Pay interest
Similar to paying an annual fee, any interest you pay reduces your cashback reward significantly. Interest can be even worse than an annual fee because while the annual fee is a fixed cost, the interest can get higher and higher depending on your balance.  Earning 5% cash back but then paying 20% in interest fees defeats the purpose of earning cash rewards.

3. Pay late fees
Likewise, paying late fees because you sent in a late payment will wipe out a large chunk if not all of your cashback rewards. Set up automatic payments on the card so you don’t pay late fees.   If you’re a long time customer and it’s the first time you’ve been charged a late fee, a phone call to customer service may be able to get that fee waived.

4. Forget big purchases
If you’re buying a bick ticket item and pay cash then you could be missing out on a big chunk of cash back.  Obviously, you have to make sure you pay off the big balance at the end of the month or you’ll end up owing interest.

For example, last summer when Ben remodeled his kitchen in his new house he put the countertop and the appliances on his card.  He had the cash to pay it off right away but going through his Blue Cash Everyday card earned a lot of cashback.

5. Convert dollars to other reward programs
Many credit card companies allow you to swap out your cash back dollars for reward points in other programs. You could turn your cash rewards into hotel card points or airline card miles. While this can be convenient if you’re about to take a trip many times those points are worth less than the cash you earned.

Many points programs give you points at what comes out to less than 1% returns on your spending. If your cash back is earned at a higher rate like 2% or 5%, you are losing out. Additionally, you can spend cash on anything. You can’t control the value of the travel points.

6. Forget to cash out your rewards
This isn’t relevant for cards that automatically send you a check or credit your cash back to your statement.  But for cards that require you to request your cash back, make sure you do it!  If you’re not sure how yours works, be sure to look into it and find out how you can redeem your rewards. 

7. Miss out on top reward categories
Some cashback credit cards, like the Discover More and the Chase Freedom card, offer bonus cashback on certain rotating categories of spending on a monthly or quarterly basis. Extra cash back is great, but some of those same programs ask you to “opt-in” for the bonus rewards every time the category changes. Failure to do so will mean fewer rewards for you.

8. Miss a payment
Not only does missing a payment result in late fees and interest charges, many cards won’t give you credit for cashback you earned during a month that your payment is late.  This could have a particularly big impact on your earnings if it’s a month where you made a lot of big purchases.

Maximizing Cash Back

As you can see from that last point, these are all mistakes that can compound if you make multiple of them at once.  Here are some best practices to follow to help you maximize your cash back:

• Use a card without an annual fee
• Make your payments on time to avoid fees & interest
• Remember your rewards card for really big purchases (if you have the cash)
• Don’t convert your cashback to other rewards points
• Cash out your rewards as soon as possible
• Remember to opt-in for cards with rotating rewards categories

For more detailed information on frequently asked questions and misconceptions about cash back cards you can enter your email address below and I’ll send you the report, “10 Secrets to Maximizing Your CashBack Rewards”:

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Best Angies List Discount Available – 45% Off

Angies List reached out to me after my post on Why I Stink at DIY and offered an exclusive Angies List discount for readers of this site – 45% off! In my post I mentioned that one of the ways I find contractors is to search their reviews on Angies List, which is exactly why Angie Hicks started the service for homeowners over 15 years ago.

Getting Your Discount

If you’ve been a reader for a while you’ve probably heard me talk about how I use the service and seen the coupon codes that I publish in my deals section.  Since I’m such a fan of Angies List and use the site regularly, they’ve offered you guys the biggest discount you can get on memberships – 45% Off !  For the discount – Click here.

Thanks to the tech team at Angies List, you don’t even have to enter a coupon code to qualify for the discount, all you have to do is go through a link on this site and they’ll know you’re a Money Smart Life reader and give you the discount (they did mention that if you’re not seeing the 45% discount, you should clear your browser cookies, and visit the link again).

How to Use the List

Of course, the service isn’t right for everyone.  Earlier this year I wrote about 5 Reasons Not to Join Angies List, if these apply to you then it may not be a good fit.  The last reason on that list is – you don’t think it’s worth the money.  I asked the team at Angies List what the biggest reason is that people don’t join and they confirmed that it’s because people don’t want to pay for the membership.

Having to pay a fee was the reason I didn’t join for a long time.  In my Angies List review I mention that I first tried the service out for free by logging into my co-workers account and searching for painters in our area.  After finding some good candidates I realized that it was worth my money to access the reviews and signed up as a member. 

Earlier this year I did a write-up on the process I use to find and filter good contractors on the list.  I put together a spreadsheet you can use to get bids from contractors and compare their costs and services.  I use Angies List to build my short list of contractors but you wouldn’t have to, anyone can use my contractor checklist to narrow down the bids and choose the best company for what you need.

Angies List Members

I remember a few years ago when the site was excited to have 1 million members, now they’ve reached almost 2 million members. Of course, the reason that matters to you is that the more members there are, the more reviews that are left for contractors in your area. 

As they’ve grown it’s also given them the ability to get better discounts for their members.  A while back I wrote about the Angies List Big Deal, kind of like a Groupon for local home improvement work. I’m notified via email when a new deal launches in my area – looking back through my email there have been deals on things like landscaping, tree service, carpet cleaning, window cleaning, junk removal, plumbing, sink & bathtub restoration, home organization, and A/C tuneups.

Angies List Answers

Something else that they’ve added recently is a section on their site called Angies List Answers.  You can ask your home improvement questions and have them answered by someone at Angiest List or by a contractor. 

I tried it out this morning, I asked a question about sealing our windows and had an answer back in under an hour.   You don’t have to be a member of the service to ask a question but you do have to register with a name and email address.  Here’s an example of the kind of questions that were up there today:

• How do I handle mold in my a/c coils?
• Can we get a building permit after a room addition was built by a contractor?
• I want to patch and caulk my home to conserve energy. What type of contractor is best?

Most of the answers I’ve seen are pretty detailed, the contractors answering them leave their business name and contact info so they want to make a good impression and make sure they give you a good answer.

Angies List Discount

Thanks to Angies List for making this exclusive discount available to Money Smart Life readers!  If you want to give it a try, you can take 45% off with this link.

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Why I Stink at DIY

My dad will probably shake his head at this post because he is Mr. DIY.  He is amazing, can fix pretty much anything you put in front of him.  Our son loves it because anytime one of his Star Wars toys breaks he knows he can give it to DIY grandpa and it will get fixed.

Unfortunately for me, those do it yourself genes didn’t get passed down to me.  I’ve learned a lot of great things from my dad but being a jack of all trades, handy fixer-upper isn’t one of them.  I feel badly for my wife, house projects her dad or my dad could knock out in twenty minutes take me hours – and never turn out half as good.

I’ve thought about why I stink at DIY and came up with these 5 reasons:

1) I don’t have the tools

I do have many more tools for jobs around the house than when we first got married.  We finished off our basement at our last house so I had to buy a set of tools but my tool collection is still pretty small.

One of the things I’ve learned in the projects I’ve worked on is that having the right tools can make an incredible difference in how long it takes to do the work and how well it turns out.  If you hire an expert that has the right tools, they can get the job done more quickly and with a better outcome because they have all the right tools.

2) I don’t have the skills

The first point I made was that experts do the work more effectively and efficiently because they have right tools.  Of course, having the skills to know which tools you need and how to use them is a big part of it.

Skills for house projects or car projects can take a while to learn.  When you’re a do it yourselfer picking up these skills usually means trial and error – trying something out and learning along the way.  I love learning new things through trial and error but I’m a product of the virtual age.  I spend my days building software where testing and learning is the name of the game. 

I can create something amazing, test it, watch it crash and burn, then tweak it all with my five fingers and a keyboard.  I could literally spend all day, every day online reading about the latest developments in technology, marketing, or blogging but I have zero desire to learn how to build a bookshelf for my study.

So I guess the problem is not only that I don’t have the skills, but that I don’t really care to learn them.  There are other things I’d rather be learning instead.

3) My standards are lower

As I mentioned, trial and error is the name of the game when it comes to DIY.  My problem is that I’m often content with the outcome of the first trial when it comes to house projects.  It may not look great but its semi-functional and that’s enough for me.  Time to call it a day and move onto something else.

Unfortunately that approach is usually not acceptable to my quality assurance partner.  She wants it done the right way (understandably) and won’t put up with a shoddy end result.  Which leads me to the fourth reason I stink at DIY.

4) I don’t have the patience

Here’s how my projects usually look.  I come home from Home Depot or Lowe’s with the parts and tools I think I need for a project.  I sit down and tinker with it for a while before I realize I didn’t get the right size or forgot to buy something I needed.  Then I load the kids in the car and drive back to the store (cursing under my breath so they can’t hear me). While they’re climbing out of the cart and running down the aisles, I wait for the Home Depot worker to finish answering someone else’s question.  Then I finally get his attention, explain what I’m trying to do and why it’s not working.

He usually asks questions I don’t know the answers to so I end up buying more than I need.  I get a quarter inch elbow and a half inch elbow because I don’t know what size I need.  It goes on like that until my kids are lost in the store and I have twice as much as I probably need in my cart.

By the time I get home my patience is worn thin and the last thing I want to do is go mess with a project that I don’t fully understand and don’t even really want to be working on.  By the time the weekend’s over, I’ve visited the store a few more times and perhaps managed to pull something together … however it usually looks awful or doesn’t work exactly like it should.

5) I don’t have the time

I was telling my co-worker about an oil-change appointment and he asked why I don’t change my oil myself. I didn’t even mention some of the points I’ve already covered (I don’t have the tools, skills, or patience) because I know that changing your own oil isn’t that difficult of a task. 

I basically told him that I don’t have the time to do it.  Sure, if I blocked off part of a Saturday I could squeeze it in but when you add it in on top of mowing the grass, taking kids to soccer games, running errands, etc – there’s just not enough time to get it all done.  So I hire someone to change my oil and mow my grass for me and spend my time doing the things I enjoy – like spending time at my kids soccer game or working on this site.

My DIY Mentality Shift

When I have a new project or something to fix with our car or our house I don’t sweat it, I just log into Angies List or call up friends for a referral and hire an expert to do it for me.  It wasn’t always that simple.  When we were first married I hated paying other people money to do something that I could eventually (kind-of) figure out for myself.

I struggled through not having the skills, tools, patience, and my lower standards and would spend forever working on DIY projects.  Then once we had kids and things got really busy, I quickly realized that I had to find a better way.  I could no longer spend my whole weekend wrestling with a home project, especially once the kids were old enough that they wanted to “help” which made everything take even longer.

Maybe when I’m retired with no kid and no job I’ll have more time and patience to learn the skills and buy the tools I need, but until then I’ll pretty much avoid DIY when I can.  What about you, do you love or hate DIY?

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8 Ways Football Fans Can Save Money

Being a diehard football fan is an expensive undertaking. Ticket prices, astronomical concession costs, parking, tailgating, and TV packages can all add up to thousands of dollars every year. For some, football is “the” thing their family does every year so the spending is just part of the annual budget. But are there any ways you can save money without sacrificing your football fandom for the season?

How to Save on Football Costs

Saving money on your football fan experience doesn’t have to put a damper on the season. Sometimes you have to cut back, but you can also get creative to lower your costs.

Save Money on Tickets

If you want to see every home game and sit in the same seat every time, you are out of luck when it comes to saving money. Tickets are usually the item that takes the biggest chunk of your football costs, so any savings here can go a long way. Buying season tickets is expensive and many universities require a donation on top of the face value of the tickets. If you aren’t flexible, you can’t save.

But if you aren’t that picky, consider the following:

1) Splitting Season Tickets with a Friend and Go Together. Season tickets come in pairs. You can split the cost of the tickets (and the donation) with a friend and still get to go to every game.

2) Splitting Season Tickets with a Friend and Pick Games. If you each want to bring someone, you could buy season tickets with a friend and split up which games you get to go to. Make sure you even things out so both sides get to go to at least one of the “big games” of the year. You only get to be in the stadium for half of the home games, but you lower you costs significantly.

3) Buy Season Tickets, Sell a Big Game. If you buy season tickets before the season you can sell one of the “big games” that is likely to be sold out before the season. Every season hope springs eternal, and if a big rival is coming into town you can easily sell tickets for 300-500% more than their face value. You miss out on the rivalry game, but the proceeds from the sale can wipe out the cost of the added donation and even give you some games for free.

4) Buy from Scalpers. This is frowned on in many communities, but there is always a group of scalpers selling tickets around the stadium before the game. The closer kickoff time comes, the more negotiating leverage you have with the scalper. It does him no good to be holding tickets during the game, so you can get some great deals if you are willing to wait. This strategy carries some risk because the tickets might be fake or you might not get the best seats, but if everything works out they can be a great deal.

5) Save Money on Concessions

Concession prices are ridiculous. A soda that would cost you $0.50 at home is $5.00 at the game. The prices are set across the entire stadium, so you can negotiate a lower price. The only true way to save on concessions is either to not purchase them (good luck with that) or to sneak in your own drinks and snacks. Be forewarned: many stadiums search your belongings and your person to make sure you don’t bring in alcohol or weapons, so if you get caught you have to throw away what you were going to sneak in.

6) Save Money on Parking

Universities and professional teams alike know that parking close to the stadium can generate significant revenues. Your parking pass could easily add $150 to the cost of a season. The easiest way to save money on parking is to elect to park somewhere nearby for free and simply walk to the stadium. You are trading convenience for cost. If you still want to park close (for convenience or tailgating purposes), carpooling with other friends can help split up the cost of the parking pass.

7) Save Money on Tailgating

There are varying levels of tailgating. There is “having a few drinks and throwing around a football” tailgating, and there is “I spent my life savings on a massive truck or RV, satellite service, big screen TV, and generator, plus I spend $500 every week on food and alcohol” tailgating. Where you fall on this spectrum determines your costs. You don’t have to go all out, and you can share costs with your friends to bring down your costs. Plus, if you are going to have a crazy setup with satellite service, you probably aren’t physically going inside the stadium to watch the game. You’re their to tailgate.

8 ) Save Money on TV Packages and Pay Per View

If you can’t make it to every game you can always buy a TV package that provides access to your team’s games throughout the season. Saving on this cost isn’t easy because your cable or satellite provider usually has a fixed price. However, you could split the cost of the package with friends and have them over every game during the season. This works especially well if you live far from your team and the odds of making it to the actual stadium are slim.

The same holds true for Pay Per View games even if you live in the same city as your team. Some college games get pushed to PPV because your team isn’t really playing anyone significant. The media companies don’t think they can sell enough advertising and draw enough eyeballs to the game, so it goes to Pay Per View. PPV costs vary based on cable/satellite provider and area you live in, but you might be forced to spend over $100 just to watch the game. Don’t fork out that cash alone, invite some friends over and split the cost.

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Affording Family Lifestyle Design

Rachel and Greg Denning travel the world with their kids and honestly make me fee like kind of a wimp.  I struggle taking our two little ones on a 6 hour drive through the Midwest, they’re taking their 5 kids on a massive road trip from Alasksa to Argentia!

The Denning’s lifestyle fascinates me not only because they’ve figured out how to manage 5 kids on the road for months at a time but also because they’ve figured out how to make it work financially.  Neither Rachel or Greg have “day jobs” – how could they, their family spends months at a time on the road.

Rachel and Greg have to make adjustments to be able to afford the lifestyle their family enjoys, I had a few questions about how they manage money and Rachel took the time to answer them.

1) When you’re living on such a variable income, how do decide when (and if) to splurge?

We live very frugally and simply for the most part. In the past, when we made a lot of money, I would feel ‘poor’ if I felt I couldn’t spend money on something (like if my kids asked for a new pair of shoes, etc.) Now I’ve changed my view of things, and I realize that I don’t want to buy more things for myself or my children, unless it is really going to add value to our life, i.e. they really need a new pair of shoes, or what we’re buying is going to make our life simpler, easier or more enjoyable.

I feel that my purchasing decisions are more logically, instead of emotionally based. I purchase because of actual need or deep desire, not of emotional attachment or infatuation with some ‘doo-dad’. When we do spend money, I feel that we can splurge because 1) we’re buying something we need, and 2) it needs to be quality and last a long time.

2) What are your best health insurance tips for a traveling family w/out an employer’s insurance plan?

Our family personally follows a 3 Part Health Care Plan, that focuses on:

1. Prevention of illness through proper diet and exercise
2. Personal care of minor illness and injury through education of treatments and  (this is our unconventional first aid kit)
3. Use professional medical care when necessary – for example, when we were in a car accident and our three year old broke her femur.

When we our outside of the country, medical care is often free or inexpensive. We prefer to pay for these costs out of pocket, rather than to ‘be in debt’ to an insurance company each month ‘just in case’ something happens. This is the approach that works for us, though not for everyone.

3) What do you do when you run out (or are close to running out) of money?

In the past, we’ve returned to the United States to look for employment. Now we have an online business (selling a course on Family Lifestyle Design), so when the coffers are low, we’ll take a few days or weeks to focus on marketing and sales.

4) Do you give your kids allowance to spend on your travels?

Our children have the opportunity of earning money by completing their ‘job chart’ – essentially it’s a list of the activities they need to complete throughout the day – brush teeth, make up bed, grooming, education time, etc.

The aim is to teach personally responsibility. If they remember to do their jobs, or do them when mom or dad ask, and they remember to mark their charts (an app on our iPhone), then they can earn money on payday for every completed activity. Their memory for being responsible improves when they find something they want to spend their money on

Otherwise, we don’t buy anything for them. But we do buy things for ourselves, which sometimes includes something they will enjoy. I’ll buy a coloring book and crayons of animals in the Southwest – but it’s mom’s coloring book and crayons, that she bought with her money that she earned. They can borrow it, as long as they take good care of it and return it when they’re done.

I’ve found that this results in better care of the belongings we do have. My children still have toys that were given to them as gifts, but they don’t take very good care of them, because they didn’t earn it themselves.

5) What are the biggest financial obstacles to what you’re doing and how does your guide “Family Lifestyle Design” help people overcome them?

The biggest financial obstacles are finding a way to earn money to pay for living abroad or being nomadic. The way to accomplish this is as diverse as the individuals that are seeking the answers. Some create online business (whether blogging or online stores), others become freelance writers/contract workers. Some take jobs abroad (with non-profits or NGO, with the foreign service, etc.)

Our course will discuss all the of the options (and give concrete examples and resources) that we have personally used or seen used by the countless families we’ve encountered in our travels around the world.

Thanks to Rachel for sharing how they can afford to be “travel nomads”!  If you think your family might want to try something similar someday check out their guide, Family Lifestyle Design.

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Interview Series – Budgets Are Sexy

J. Money is the pen name for the guy behind the site Budgets are Sexy and the focus of today’s interview series. There’s a lot about J. Money that’s totally different than me – he has a big mohawk poking out of his head, he doesn’t have a “day job”, and he’s really good about connecting with people online.

What Makes J. Money Tick?

As I sat and chatted with J. Money at the Financial Bloggers conference this weekend I learned there’s also lot we do have in common.  One of the big things is that we both grew up as army brats.  Growing up as a military kid gives you a good sampling from the buffet of life.  You meet people from all walks of life, live in all different places, learn to adapt to your surroundings, become more accepting of ideas and other people, and are willing to try more new things. 

Giving Back

I think many of these qualities are some of the reasons that after J. Money lost his day job just under a year ago, he was able to partner with a friend and start a really cool charity project called Love Drop.   I was fortunate enough to join over everyone in the picture above last weekend (thanks pffirewall) in the latest Love Drop project, donating our time and money to partner with Phil’s friends and help people struggling to beat cancer. (See if you can find me in the picture).

I’m really proud of what J. Money and the Love Drop team have been able to do for others, I think it’s a great example of how anyone can find a way to give back and I think it’s very noble of them to pour their heart into it they way they do. 

On the Move

One of the many thigns that J. Money likes about Love Drop is that it lets him stay a “ramblin man”.  His roots as a kid in military life mean he’s accustomed to traveling and Love Drop helps him scratch that travel itch.

In fact, he’s been moving and traveling so much his whole life, it led him to try something a little more permanent.  In an attempt to put down some roots, he and his wife bought a house a few years back which is the subject of his second interview question.  Check out  below how J. Money’s been pushed around financially in the past and how he decided to deal with it.  

1) Describe a time that a person or company tried to take advantage of you financially and what you did to stop them.
Funny you should ask that, I literally just got taken advantage of by United Airlines! They charged my credit card $75 for nothing.  And then couldn’t tell me what it was for after 2 hours on the phone with people. So I called American Express and they happily disputed it for me  

I haven’t heard back on it yet, but I know for 100% certainty that it was not deserving and will get credited.  It just amazes me how large corporations can just charge you for something without an ounce of an explanation.  And then makes you go through hoops to resolve it

(I was advised to email United by one of their reps, which I did and then received back a note that it could take a couple of business weeks to get an answer back.  And that’s just the explanation – God forbid if I have to start debating an email robot!)

2) Describe a time you were bullied into a financial decision (by a person or a company).  How did it end up impacting you and if you could go back in time how would you handle it differently?

Hmm… I don’t think I’ve ever been “bullied” per se, at least in my grown up years, but I know I rushed into buying our house when I shouldn’t have!  (Can America bully you?  Cuz if so, that’s what it did – haha…). 

I bought into the “American Dream” of owning a home when I was not the right candidate for a variety of reasons (mainly, I don’t like to be “settled”).   It’s what got me to start blogging about money to begin with, but here we are 4 years later with $60k+ underwater and me trying to figure out how to unload it. 

The current plan is to just start going hardcore with mortgage payments for the next few years and REALLY knock it down enough to at least break even, and then we’ll probably sell it or maybe rent it out.  Financially speaking, I’d go back in time and just never have bought it, but Life speaking – I wouldn’t change a thing. 

I’ve learned an incredible amount since that fateful day, and my new career/lifestyle/friends/everything that’s “me” right now came out of that decision.  Buying a house when we shouldn’t have led me to the online world of blogs and knowledge, and I wouldn’t have changed it for a thing.

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Thanks to J. Money for sharing his stories and for giving so generously of himself in life, if you want to learn more about his charity projects, check out Love Drop.

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Best Airline Credit Cards

The best airline credit cards not only earn you the most airline miles but also make it easy to use your frequent flyer miles.  You have two main choices when it comes to airline rewards, go with an airline specific card or a card that has a flexible travel rewards program.

If you prefer to always fly the same airline then an airline specific card like those from Delta, Continental, and Southwest can be good for racking up free flights the fastest.  Airline branded cards from can also earn you extra perks and can help waive some fees.

On the other hand, travel cards like the CapitalOne Venture card, Discover Miles, or Blue Sky from American Express offer more flexibility since you can use them across airlines.  Another benefit of these types of cards is that they often don’t have blackout dates or travel restrictions.

First we’ll take a look at some airline cards and then we’ll go over some of the travel cards that are airline independent.

Airline Credit Cards

Gold Delta SkyMiles from American Express – Delta actually has three cards, the Gold, Platium, and Reserve.  All three cards earn miles at the same rate, double miles on purchases from Delta and 1 point for every dollar you spend elsewhere.  The Delta Reserve and Platium cards can earn you extra Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) that come with extra benefits and additional SkyMiles.  However, the annual fees for the Reserve and Platinum cards are higher and they require certain annual spending limits to reach those reward levels.

The Gold SkyMiles card does have an annual fee, $95, but its the lowest of the three and it’s waived for the first year.  It typically features a new card promotion where you earn bonus SkyMiles with your first purchase. 

As I referred to earlier, airline specific cards do come with additional benefits, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card will get you your first bag checked for free.  The Delta cards also have a feature that you mostly only find in airline independent cards, the ability to use your miles with no blackout dates.  Use the “Pay With Miles” feature and you can apply your miles towards a plance ticket without restrictions.

Continental Airlines OnePass Plus – A nice benefit of the Continental OnePass card is that you can use the miles you earn to fly on any airline in the Star Alliance (United, US Air).  The OnePass card also helps with checked bag fees, your first bag is free when you book with the card.  The card is somewhat flexible for travel since it also lets you use your miles for car rental and hotels, but you’re probably better off using a hotel credit card or a rental car rewards card to get the most rewards for hotel or car spending.

One frustrating thing about airline miles is when they expire without you using them.  Fortunately you’re seeing less of that as airlines are starting to realize that can drive away customers.  Continental has obviously realized it, the miles you earn with the OnePass card don’t expire. 

You can earn some decent bonus miles with the OnePass Plus.  You get a big chunk after making your first purchase with the card and after you spend $25K in a year you get another 10K bonus miles.  If you add another authorized user onto your card you can earn an extra 5K miles.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards – Southwest airlines gave their rewards program a major makeover earlier this year and offers two airline rewards cards, the Rapid Rewards Plus and the Rapid Rewards Premier.  Both the Rapid Rewards Plus and Premier cards earn the same amount of points – double points for spending with Southwest or it’s partner programs, one point for for each dollar spent elsewhere.

Both cards earn points instead of miles, part of the Rapid Rewards overhaul was a switch from miles to points. One of the goals of the change was to make it easier to earn Rapid Rewards points by adding more partners into the network (giving you more places to earn double points).  Southwest has also seen the light and updated their program so that your points don’t expire.  They do have some requirements though, you either have to fly or spend with one of their partners every 2 years to keep your points safe.

The main difference between the Rapid Rewards Premier and Plus cards is the amount of bonus points you can earn.  You earn points every year you’re a member, the Premier card earns twice as many as the Plus card.  There is downside, the annual fee for Premier card is higher, $99, compared to $69 for the Rapid Rewards Plus.  Both cards give you enough bonus points with your first purchase to earn a free round trip flight on Southwest.

Travel Credit Cards

Miles by Discover – One of the great things about the Miles by Discover credit card is that it is one of the few airline rewards cards that doesn’t come with an annual fee. You can use your travel rewards on a variety of airlines and you’re not limited to booking your flights on a certain website.  Another benefit of the Discover Miles card is that you can earn and use your miles for multiple travel expenses – air, hotel, and car rental.

Many of the airline specific cards earn you double points when spending with them and 1 point or mile per dollar spent other places.  The Miles card earns you double points on any travel or dining purchases, regardless of what company it’s with.  Another benefit of this card is that you earn bonus points every month you use it for a purchase.

The drawback of the flexibility of the Miles card is that your miles may not add up to free flights as quickly as they would with an airline specific card.  You earn a $100 credit on your Miles card for every 10K miles you accumulate.  If you always use the same airline then a card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards or Delta Gold SkyMiles might be best, but if your travel varies then the Discover Miles card is a good option.

CapitalOne Venture – The benefit of the Venture card is that you earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend on anything.  Above we looked at how Discover Miles earns double miles on all travel spending, which is better than the airline cards.  In comparison, the Venture card earns 2 miles for every dollar, not just travel, which is even better. 

Unfortunately, the Venture card doesn’t share the zero annual fee policy of the Miles card.  You pay $59 a year as Venture cardmember, however, the fee is waived for the first year.  I’ve seen the Venture card offer bonus miles for opening a card in the past but it seems they don’t offer new card members a sign up bonus as often as many of the other airline and travel cards.

After you book your travel using the Venture card you call in or go to their website to redeem your existing miles, they’ll give you a credit on your next statement.  The redemption policy is comparable to Discover Miles, every 10K miles earns you a $100 credit.

Blue Sky from American Express – Like the Miles card, the Blue Sky card doesn’t charge an annual fee.  Unlike the Miles card, the standard Blue Sky card doesn’t offer double points on travel purchases.  However there is a Preferred version of the card ($75 annual fee) that earns 2 points for dining, hotel, and car rental.

The Blue Sky card does have a nice feature that other cards don’t offer, the Blue Savings program.  The “Blue” family of cards, Blue Cash and Blue Sky, have a partner network of companies that offer you a discount if you buy with a Blue card.  There are hotels (Marriott, Renaissance) and rental car companies (Alamo, Enterprise, Hertz) in the program.  So if you pay for your hotel or rental car with the Blue Sky you get a discount (5–20%) and you earn miles.

There are bonus miles for opening a Blue Sky card if you open the Preferred version but none for the standard version of the card.

Airline Card Considerations

If you’re not a frequent traveler and you only fly during the peak seasons (like Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays) then an airline credit card might not be the best choice.  Ticket prices tend to go up during those times, offsetting the value of miles earned.  There’s also a higher likelihood that your flight will fall under restrictions during peak times and you might not be able to take full advantage of your frequent flier miles.

If that’s the case, you might look into a cash back credit card where you can maximize your earnings throughout the year and then use some of that cash back to help pay for your airline ticket.

On the other hand, if you are able to find a card with a big enough sign up bonus to earn you a free flight – and you can get the annual fee waived – then an airline card could still come in handy.

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Best Hotel Credit Cards

The best hotel credit cards not only help you earn rewards for a free night stay, they also earn points for each hotel room you pay for on your travels.  Whether it’s for business or pleasure, travel isn’t cheap, and a great way to maximize the money you spend is to use a hotel credit card.

We’ve talked before about how to choose the best credit card for you and how to decide which is the best reward cards but we kind of lumped all the travel rewards cards together in one category.  Today we’re going to look at some of the top hotel rewards cards and tomorrow we’ll drill down and take a look at some good airline credit cards.

Three Great Hotel Credit Cards

Three of the best hotel credit cards include hospitality chains all over the world. These credit cards include:

Marriott Rewards Visa Signature Card: Use this card, from Chase, to earn points toward free hotel stays. There are thousands of Marriott hotels around the world, from the Fairfield Inn to the Courtyard to the Renaissance to others. My parents stayed free on a recent trip to the U.K., thanks to their Marriott Rewards card.

You earn three points for every dollar you spend at Marriott, and one point on other purchases. Get a free night’s stay just for being approved, and earn more after your first purchase. Annual fee: $30. You can “upgrade” to the Premier version for more perks, but the annual fee is upgraded to $65.

Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card: American Express offers this credit card that helps you earn Starpoints, good toward free nights at any of the Starwood hotels.  There are a range of hotels in the Starwood family like St. Regis, Sheraton and Le Meridien.

The tiered system allows you to increase your benefits as you use the card, so frequent travelers can really benefit from the rewards program. There are additional promotions you can take advantage of with this credit card, including a third night free when you book two nights in a row. There are no blackout dates associated with this program and Starwood allows you to transfer your points to around 30 airline companies if you want to use your rewards to help with a flight as well. You’ll pay an annual fee of $65 for the Starwood Preferred Guest card.

Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card: If you prefer Hilton properties around the world, this card from Citi might be just the thing. You get six points for every dollar spent at a Hilton property, as well as three points for supermarket, drugstores and gas stations. Other purchases provide you with double points.

It is worth noting that you need a higher point count to earn a free stay with the HHonors card than with other cards. You do get enough points for a free stay if you spend $1,000 in the first four months. The Citi card does have an advantage over the other two: No annual fee. There is also an AmEx version (that does have an annual fee).

Choosing Your Hotel Rewards Credit Card

When deciding on your hotel rewards credit card, it is best to consider your needs. Marriott works great for my parents, and for me, because we stay at Marriott properties frequently.

Choosing a Hotel
When I was in training a few months ago I started chatting with the instructor about his travels and where he stays.  He flies all over the country, teaching courses in a different city every week.  Being curious about travel rewards, I asked him how he flew and where he stayed. 

He uses airlines in the Star Alliance (United, US Air, Continental) because they have the best flight options from where he lives to the places he flies most frequently.  Most every city he teaches in has a Marriott, or one of the variations like Fairfield Inn or Courtyard, so he always stays there.  The Marriott card is great for him because of how he uses it.  However, if you prefer other hotel properties, you might consider a different card.

Credit Card Terms 
In addition to the hotel chain your prefer or vist most frequently you should also consider such items as interest rate, annual fee and other fees. Pay attention to foreign transaction fees if you frequently travel abroad.

Also, make sure you understand blackout dates, and redemption policies. You want a card that is convenient for you, and makes it easy for you to redeem your free stays when you want to.

Credit Card Usage
Consider your spending habits as well. If you are a frequent traveler, and stay at hotels, using a hotel card that helps you earn large amounts of points quickly can be beneficial. However, if you do a lot of other shopping, and only use your points occasionally, you might want a card that offers extra points for regular, every day purchases.

Happy travels! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on some airline credit cards you should check out.

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