Writing self-congratulatory posts about trips booked with miles is great and all, but one risks becoming complacent and boring. Shall we mix it up a bit then?Dare I dip my toe back into the toxic cauldron of politics? You betcha! (but don’t worry, I’ll tie it in with personal-finance later.) I can see into Putin’s […]
Archive by Author
Full Circle
It was a little less than a year ago that I began playing the miles game. It was probably just about a year ago that I spent just under $8000 on plane tickets for my family of five to fly to Japan. So it felt pretty good yesterday to complete the booking of our trip […]
Unexpected Dividends
I’m glad I’m not a salesman. If I were, my children might look up at me each night with hungry eyes while pleading for another bowl of porridge. My son, If I were a salesman I’m the argumentative sort, even with myself. So when I make a case for something I convince myself to take […]
Putting it Together
Is this an early retirement blog? Or Is it a travel hacker blog? Well yes….. Just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is chocolate and peanut butter. There’s a certain synergy to these two fields. When you put 2+2 together, in this case, you get at least six. And the dial on the MD Squared […]
Below the Surface
One of the themes of this blog, I think, is “respect your subconscious.” As in; How the hell did my churning credit cards in order to gather frequent flyer miles lead me to reorganize my entire financial life and really start focusing on maximizing my own “happiness?” This is a puzzle, to be sure. And […]
Booking Up
Perhaps I am just a freak. Maybe all this early retirement stuff is just a post facto attribution as I try to justify my own neuroses. Perhaps there are just different breeds of people. Some who enjoy spending, and some who don’t. And I belong to that second strange herd. In any case I spent […]
Notes From Underground
I’ve written before that pursuing financial independence, and pursuing early retirement are not necessarily the same thing. If you love your job (as I do,) then the point at which you reach financial independence need not necessarily be the point at which you stop working. It can simply be the point at which you may […]
Utility Bills
My interest in early retirement is a recent development. (Further proof that the new convert is always the most fervent.) So I sometimes wonder what I would have done differently had I had this philosophy when I first finished my electrophysiology fellowship and started my career. From my current vantage point I can see that […]
Sooner or Later?
It is easy to get motivated for short term rewards. The carton of ice cream in the freezer need only be scooped into a bowl, The scoop picked up with a spoon, the spoon lifted to the mouth, and seconds later, heaven. A smooth,cool, sucrose and lipid rich emulsion melts over your tongue. Pleasure was […]
I Am Entrepreneurial. And So Can You!
Many facets of the miles game are not quite what they seem to be at first glance. Spending is not always actual spending. Miles and points are not always rewards for actual travel. And businesses are not always actual businesses. Previously, in my post “business time,” I explained how it is that you are probably […]
Recent Comments