A couple of days ago I mindlessly opened two emails from Yazing, indicating they had $17.34 to each of our PayPal accounts. I mindlessly transferred the windfall into our checking accounts. It got me thinking about the ways we use our manufactured spending profits and it kind of disappointed me. We are all of different … Read more
Remember a month or so ago, I was whining about not kicking up my game on the 5X Staples Free Week. Well I kicked it up and overdid it for an old guy. In the last 21 days I’ve: 1. I spoke at the Chicago Seminars and reconnected with some great old friends. My topic … Read more
I’m having a great time writing again, and I want to thank you for the warm welcome back. You’ve taught me some new tricks about the hobby. Even more important to me is you have reinforced my belief that “change is hard”, particularly on us old guys. Ariana and I have been going back and … Read more
I found a great niche several years back that led me into a partnership with four others and a great retail opportunity. I became an Amazon FBA seller, selling low-end computers. Well, I picked computers and Staples based on several key factors: 1. 5X Ultimate Rewards points on purchases at Staples. 2. Constant $$$ off coupons from … Read more
The Simon Mall $1,000 Visa gift card promotion continues through the end of the month (fingers crossed it gets renewed – again). When the promotion started back in July, I wrote about how these gift cards were not the cheapest way to manufacture spend. At $3.95, the cost of a $1,000 Visa gift card is significantly … Read more
I got too frugal over the last month or so. With all these fee-free Visa deals at Staples, I quit ordering Visa gift cards online. I got so tied up with the idea of fee-free that I’ve missed at least two months of opportunity to buy these gift cards at a very reasonable price. And, … Read more
A few weeks ago I wrote about a possible Moneygram ban on churners buying money orders at Walmart. At the time, I was getting flooded with reports from readers who had tried to purchase money orders over $1,000 (which triggers an ID check) and were told they couldn’t buy money orders because of a message popping … Read more
These two questions haunt me almost every day. It usually goes like this: Me: “You’ve got a free hour today, shall I go MS?” “When was the last time I went?” “If I go, how much can I do?” The questions are motivated by fear, without a doubt. Fear of missing out on income or … Read more
There’s a tendency in this hobby to proclaim everything “the death of” whatever isn’t going well at the moment. I remember back in 2011, I came across a FlyerTalk thread where a long-time gamer announced that he was quitting points and miles because the game was “dead”. What followed were eight years of the most … Read more
Now that tourist season is over, its much easier to get about and make good use of my retired time. I’m an early riser and after grabbing coffee, I head to the Internet for email and to see what’s new in the manufactured spending world. Monday, October 1st, turned out to be a profitable one. … Read more