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.

Get Me Out Of Here button
Sniffing Out a Website Scam
A few weeks ago, I wrote an entire post dedicated to cool items I've discovered thanks to Instagram ads. However, this week my wife and I had a slightly different experience on the platform — one that almost led us right into a potential scam. To set the stage without getting into too much detail,...
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Looking for Some Edu-tainment? MasterClass is Offering a Special Deal
Wouldn't it be cool if you could learn about photography from Annie Leibovitz, take in filmmaking tips from Ron Howard, or even get a crash course in magic from Penn & Teller? Well, that's exactly what MasterClass offers — video courses taught but some of the most prominent celebrities in their field. Unfortunately, while the...
frustrated woman holding a credit card
Filing My First Ever Credit Card Dispute
One of the benefits of using a credit card over a debit card is that it typically includes more protections. For example, in the event a company takes your money and doesn't fulfill their end of the deal, you may be able to file a dispute, essentially deputizing the card company to help you get...
Local shopkeeper
Support Your Local Businesses Right Now (If You Can)
As you are surely depressingly aware, the COVID-19 outbreak is having a massive impact on the United States at the moment. With health being of paramount concern, many businesses are either proactively closing or are complying with local or statewide orders. Unfortunately, these closures are hitting small businesses especially hard as they likely don't have...
Brandon Flowers
"It Could Have Been Worse"
This week has not been great for me. Well, all things considered, I'm pretty sure there are few who would rank the past seven days among their best. However, in addition to all that general stress, this week we found out that my wife would need to undergo surgery for a wrist injury. Thankfully, she's...
under a waterfall
Don't Go Chasing APY
If you have an online bank account or other high-yield savings, chances are you got an e-mail this week informing you that your interest rate was being cut. That's thanks to the Federal Reserve cutting rates by a half-a-point in an emergency move amid the spread of COVID-19. Yes, that's kind of a confusing sentence...
handing out a credit card
How Adding an Authorized User to Your Card Can Benefit You (and Them)
First of all, I realize I've been writing about the American Express Platinum card a lot lately — but, hey, it's my shiny new toy so please bear with me. While penning my full review of the card recently, I realized there was one way I might be able to further benefit from the card....
Lexus with Carvana license plate
The Spreadsheet and Comparison Figures I Used When Buying My Used Car
Last summer, my wife and I decided it was time to replace our aging sedan. But, instead of buying an actual new car, we decided to shop the used market for something that would be an upgrade for us but at a decent price. Basically, the goal was to find a reliable car that would...
Credit Karma shield
Credit Karma Can Show You What Passwords You Really Need to Stop Using
We all know that, in order to keep your online accounts and data protected, you shouldn't reuse passwords. Of course, actually sticking to that sound advice can be a bit more challenging. Moreover, if you've since wised up and changed your ways, accounts you may have forgotten about could still leave to trail for hackers...
HelloFresh
Stock-Earning App Bumped Adds HelloFresh to Its Line-Up
Considering the number of apps I review, it's rare that I can keep track of when I first heard about the tools in question. But, in the case of Bumped, I distinctly remember scrolling through my Instagram feed when I saw an ad for an app that said it would reward you with stock from...
tail of an American Airlines plane
Miles Instead of Cash Interest? That's What Bask Bank's Savings Account is Proposing
It seems that I often blog about how I have too many savings accounts these days. That's thanks to my dedication as a reviewer that insists that I get first-hand experience with all of those apps and accounts that grab my attention. Therefore, when I read about how Texas Capital Bank was launching Bask Bank...
Global Entry card and passport
Global Entry's Backlog Problem May Be Worse Than I Realized
In the summer of 2018, my wife and I decided it was time for us to get Global Entry. At the time when I wrote about the service, I noted that my application took a few weeks to get conditionally approved and wondered if that was a long time or not. Well, as it turns...
Featured Articles
Travel Tuesday: The Club ATL Grab & Go Pantry Lounge Review
Last week, I set off for San Francisco from my home in Springfield, Missouri. But, since I was flying Delta, I of course needed to make a stop in Atlanta before my flight back in the correct direction. Over the years, I've spent plenty of time at ATL, so when something new pops up, I...
4 Daily Games I Play That Somehow Make Me Feel Smart
Remember a few years ago when Wordle took the world by storm? Well, after that, it seemed that several other daily games popped up as well. Over time, the lineup of games I actually bother to play daily has evolved — but there are a few that I keep returning to. That's probably because, even...
Hotel Vandivort Review: Springfield, Missouri's Four Diamond Boutique Hotel
When it comes to my Travel Tuesday hotel review series, I often wonder what travels might be featured in my latest installment. That's when it hit me that: instead of looking to other cities for adventure, I could feature a property found right here in Springfield, Missouri.  Hotel Vandivort is a unique boutique hotel we’d...
I'm 40 and Finally Figured Out How to Properly Shave My Face
For a good portion of my mid to late 20s, I made my living pretending to be in high school for television. As it turns out, part of the reason why I could pass for younger is that I can't grow a beard to save my life. Unfortunately, this lack of growth also means that,...