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.

AMEX Gold and Capital One SavorOne cards
2 Current Increased Credit Card Offers Worth Considering
Earlier this year, it was pretty unclear what the future would hold for rewards credit cards. While it seemed as though issuers might start cutting back, things turned around as they, instead, added new features to help cardholders get more value out of "the new normal." Now, things are ramping back up with new products,...
blackjack table
Economic Inequality as Explained by Vegas Table Games
A mere few weeks after my road trip to reopened Las Vegas, I found myself back in Sin City just a couple of days ago. This time around, I actually did a bit of playing — my second-ever time hitting the table games — and, surprisingly, managed to come out ahead. However, it was while...
Venmo credit cards
The Venmo Credit Card is Here and It’s Not So Bad
Nearly a year ago, Venmo announced plans to release a credit card in partnership with Synchrony. Like most people (presumably), I completely forgot about this ambition until it became a reality earlier this week. At long last, the Venmo Credit Card is here — or nearly here as applications are currently only being offered to...
a pile of foreign currencies
A Surprising Place to Potentially Exchange Leftover Foreign Currency
Last week, for my Travel Tuesday installment, I wrote about a few different options you have when it comes to obtaining foreign currency for traveling. Naturally, each of these approaches had its own set of pros and cons. For example, buying foreign funds ahead of time or pulling out money from an ATM while you're...
stack of tee-shirts
More Tidying Projects We've Recently Tackled
Just a couple of weeks ago, I shared some of the ways my wife and I were working to tidy up our apartment, get rid of stuff, and perhaps even try on minimalism for style. Well, following a short break in progress due to our Vegas trip, we were back at it this week, taking...
mlife-cascading-member-cards
MGM's Mlife is Status Matching for a Limited Time
If you happened to miss my Travel Tuesday entry this week, I'm currently in Las Vegas on a what I'll call a "change of scenery but stay safe" trip. As you might expect, it's been an interesting experience as the city attempts to bring guests back and revitalize the Strip after months of closures. It...
Walmart deliveries
Walmart+ is Interesting... But is it $98 Interesting?
Just in case you didn't already have enough subscriptions to your name, Walmart is rolling out another one. Earlier this week, the retail giant announced the launch of a new service its calling Walmart+. Apparently they wanted to join Disney, ESPN, Apple, and others by tacking on the mathematical symbol — but I digress. The...
T-Mobile Money app and debit card
T-Mobile Money is Now Allowing Sprint Customers to Earn 4% APY Too
I'd have to imagine that most people reading this (at the least the ones based in the United States) are familiar with T-Mobile. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that a significant percentage of my readers are on T-Mobile or have been at some point in their lives. And yet, I'd also go out...
American Express logo
Two Current Amex Offers That Essentially Amount to Free Stuff
It's now been nearly a year since I decided to apply for the American Express Platinum card. Of course, the landscape is quite a bit different now than it was at the time when I was looking forward to all those airport lounges I'd get to visit. Despite this, as my annual fee gets ready...
Square Cash app loan option
Square's Cash App is Testing Short-Term Loans — Is That a Good Thing?
It's now been a few years since I first came across Square's Cash app. At the time, I had already been familiar with Square's card readers and POS machines that are a staple at many small businesses, so I figured I'd check out their peer to peer payment tool and even snap up one of...
Yoga stretching
My Latest Quarantine Hobby? Yoga
During this increasingly-extensive time of quarantine, it seems that many among us have taken on new hobbies. In some cases, these have been somewhat productive, such as learning a new skill, language, etc. Meanwhile, it would appear from stock shortages that others have discovered the awesomeness of the Nintendo Switch. Over here in the Burbank...
money pinwheel
Now Seems Like a Pretty Good Time to Try UBI, Doesn’t It?
In recent months, I’ve found myself growing increasingly interested in the concept of universal basic income (UBI). Even before Andrew Yang’s presidential run helped bring the idea further into the mainstream, I had come across articles and books devoted to the topic. More recently, I just read and reviewed Rutger Bregman’s 2017 book Utopia for...
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...