Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card (and Premium Rewards) Review

(Lack of) Disclaimer I don’t make a penny from credit card recommendations. There are no affiliate links in this post.   Background I’ve been a long-time user of Bank of America credit cards, particularly the Customized Cash Rewards and Premium Rewards cards, though it’s been several years since my last update (see previous posts: link1, … Read more

$1M in Investment Gains: A Finance Professor’s DIY Two-Fund Portfolio

If you’ve followed this blog, you will know that I find tracking personal finances both fascinating and insightful. With the recent bull market, our cumulative (nominal) investment gains since the birth of the blog 8 years ago surpassed $1M last month.   Some Backstory A little over eight years ago, I completed my twelfth year … Read more

US Bank Altitude Reserve Card Review

  Edit November 11, 2024 The card appears to have been nerfed with the introduction of the new Smartly 4% card on Nov 11, 2024. Existing users can still use the card, but it seems to be closed to new users. RIP. I asked ChatGPT to eulogize it. Here’s what it came up with: Farewell … Read more

Alaska Packrafting Adventure (Whale’s Tail)

For the past seven summers, I have gone backpacking with a group of undergrad friends (who I met in 1999). We’ve gone to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Peru. 25 years after meeting each other, we decided to backpack Alaska. Ironically, it was a Bogleheads post that inspired that decision. We eventually converged on this packrafting … Read more