Category: Quick Tips

Every Friday I post a new Quick Tip covering a wide range of topics, including ways to save money, travel tips, personal products/services I find interesting, and more.

The Stem Player
The Dumbest/Coolest Gift I Bought Myself This Year
When I was in my preteen to teen years, I distinctly remember using the various tools available to me to alter music in what I thought were interesting ways. For example, I'd use my tape deck to record a part of a song, pause the tape, and then record it again to loop and extend...
PointCard Titan
PointCard is Introducing a Premium Charge Card Called Titan
A few months back, after seeing social media ads for a premium debit card called PointCard, I caved and decided to give it a shot. Since then, the offering has evolved some, recently moving its partner bank and issuing a new card design. On top of that, it seems as though Point has a new...
Fold - Welcome to the Metaverse
Fold Now Offers an AR Game Where You Can Win Free Sats
Late last year, I discovered an app called Fold that allows you to buy gift cards for top brands and earn Bitcoin back for your purchases. Then, this summer, I tried out their Bitcoin rewards debit card, which — while I was fairly lukewarm on it overall — does have some pretty interesting features and...
inside a parking garage
When Trying to Save Money Backfires: My Parking Fail
I like to consider myself a fairly frugal person. While I've been known to spend on a few splurgy items and like to have nice things, most of the time, I try to save money when possible or cut out expenses that aren't a priority for me. Alas, this week, my money-saving ways came back...
MacBook Air display
Another Open Box Win And Other Ways I Saved on My New Laptop
Last week, unexpected tragedy struck. Okay, before you worry, it's not real tragedy — it's just that my laptop decided to stop working. Out of nowhere, in the middle of a mundane task, it just froze up. Then, upon starting it back up, I got an error indicating something was wrong with my startup disk....
Capital One Venture X Travel Rewards Card
My Thoughts on the Capital One Venture X Card
I know I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I feel like I need to discuss the recently-released Capital One Venture X card — lest I lose what little credit card enthusiast cred I have. Following months of rumors that Capital One would be getting into the premium travel card game,...
Cash App Mega Boost offer
My Cash App 99% Off Win — And Why I Still Love My Cash Card
As someone who used to love but has since learned to (mostly) loathe Twitter, there are very few accounts that I have push notifications activated for. In fact, I can only think of two: @NWSSpringfield and @CashApp. Why the latter account? Exclusively for weeks such as this one. One of the star features of Cash...
Discover Card and Amazon gift logos
Discover's 2022 Cashback Bonus Calendar Includes Exciting Changes
You're surely just as shocked as I am that it is somehow already November. Not that I'm complaining, but this year has really flown by. And, as the new year approaches, Discover has released its 5% Cashback Bonus Calendar for 2022, featuring a few changes from this year's category line-up. For those unfamiliar, select Discover credit cards...
illustration of a woman sitting with a ghostly shadow overhead
Something Scare You? Try Learning More About It
Ever since we moved to the midwest, I've been paying far more attention to the weather than I ever have before. That's because, there's something called "tornadoes" that are a bit more frequent around here than, say, Los Angeles. So, little by little, I started to learn a bit more about severe weather and what...
How Using an Amazon Hub Locker Saved Me Money in Vegas
Have you ever considered buying an item for a trip or arrived at your destination only to realize that you forgot something useful? In the event that the item in question isn't easily found at local retailers, you might consider ordering off Amazon and having the package delivered to your hotel. While this may be...
T-Mobile Tuesdays logo
An Ode to T-Mobile Tuesdays
It's now been two and a half years since my wife and I decided to move to T-Mobile. In that time, I'm talked a lot about some of their auxiliary perks such as T-Mobile Money and, um, data breaches? Setting that latter one aside, one benefit I haven't really talked about much is T-Mobile Tuesdays....
American Express Platinum and Walmart+ logos
Your Amex Platinum Now Comes with Walmart+. Yes, Really.
Back in July, the Platinum Card from American Express underwent a revamp that saw the card increase its annual fee from $550 to $695 per year while adding a number of credits to offset that cost. If you'll recall, that trade-off ended up being a win for me as the incoming credits more than made...
Featured Articles
How Utilization Impacts Your Credit Scores: My Real-Life Example
You may already know that Credit Utilization is the second-largest factor FICO considers when determining your credit score. Specifically, it makes up 30% of your score, topped only by Payment History at 35%. But what does that look like in practice? Well, I recently got the "opportunity" to see firsthand. In April, I elected to...
Travel Tuesday: Allbirds Weatherproof Hightops - How They Compare to Mizzles
As I've mentioned more than a few times before, after purchasing a pair of water-resistant Allbirds Runner-Up Mizzles a few years back, they quickly became my go-to travel shoe. That's because they're not only comfortable but also help protect my feet from wet weather while on the road (there are few things I hate more...
This New Hardshell Carry-On Luggage Option Has My Attention
Welcome back to another Quick Tip — and the latest edition of our occasional, unofficial series Things Kyle Wants to Buy. When I returned from my most recent trip, for some reason, I had hardshell luggage on my mind. That's strange because my current soft-sided luggage has served me well and, moreover, I've traditionally not...
Would it Be Wrong to Try This Potential Free Checked Bag Trick?
I don't remember the last time I paid for a checked bag on a plane. Granted. I've paid for carry-ons while flying Allegiant — but, in the cases where I have elected to check a bag in recent years, it's been a free gate check since I occasionally volunteer to part with my bag early...