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.
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This Instacart Express Free Trial is Either the Best or the Worst Thing I’ve Ever Done
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my first-ever experience ordering from the grocery delivery service Instacart. Cut to today and things, as they say, have escalated. Since that initial order, I’ve used the service three more times. That’s mostly thanks to my decision to try out the platform’s paid membership plan called Instacart Express,…
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Long Game is Now Charging to Use the App (Unless You Use Their Debit Card a Lot)
Ah, that familiar feeling of betrayal. First, the promising-sounding Aspiration underwent a series of head-scratching changes. Then, the Uber Visa Card that I exalted so highly was revamped to the point of near uselessness. Now one of my favorite free apps — and one that made my list of the top money apps to try…
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Where My Stimulus Payment is (Probably) Going
This past week, my bank account was “stimulated” with funds from the federal government. That development came after days of me encountering frustratingly vague errors on the IRS’s “Get my payment” page, followed by another week of waiting to see when my deposit was expected. Thankfully, my wife and I are not among the millions…
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This Special Offer Makes Joining Sam’s Club Even More Affordable
It was a few months ago that my wife and I decided at long last to become Sam’s Club members. That milestone was mostly made possible thanks to an Amex Offer that saw me earning a $25 statement credit, bringing the effective rate of my first year of membership to just $20. Well, this week,…
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Earning 20% Cash Back on DoorDash, Streaming with SoFi Money
Ever since I started taking an interest in FinTech and reviewing various apps and services, SoFi has stood out to me as one of the most interesting companies. While they were previously known mostly for their student loan refinancing (something that thankfully doesn’t apply to me), in just the past couple of years, they’ve expanded…
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Why the New iPhone SE is Probably My Next Phone
This week, without much of the pomp and circumstance Apple is typically known for, the company unveiled its latest iPhone: the iPhone SE. Now, if you’re like me, this is slightly confusing because there already is an iPhone SE — I know, because it’s what I currently own and use (then again, the iPhone numbering…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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“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…
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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…