Modeling
Two retirees, the same average return, very different endings. Sequence-of-returns risk is why the order of your gains can matter more than the average, and why you cannot see it without simulating the path.
Review
From my Medium archive: rotating 5% categories, statement-credit simplicity, and the first-year match that turns 5% into 10%.
Review
From my Medium archive: rotating 5% categories, the Sapphire pairing that boosts every point, and what the no-fee math realistically returns.
Review
From my Medium archive: the CSP's 25% redemption boost (the 2022-era rule; Chase moved to Points Boost in 2025), the value math against its $95 fee, and my own mileage after a year and a half with the card.
Credit Cards
After four years with the Blue Cash Preferred I downgraded to the free Blue Cash Everyday. The break-even is $3,167 a year in groceries, and my life stopped clearing it.
Modeling
The technique quants use to stress-test everything was invented by a physicist who was bored, sick in bed, and losing at solitaire.
Investing
The compound-interest formula gives you one number. Running the same portfolio through 10,000 simulated decades shows you the range that number was hiding.
After four years with the Blue Cash Preferred I downgraded to the free Blue Cash Everyday. The break-even is $3,167 a year in groceries, and my life stopped clearing it.
The compound-interest formula gives you one number. Running the same portfolio through 10,000 simulated decades shows you the range that number was hiding.
In 2018, I wrote about the burgeoning space industry. Today, updated projections and industry trends paint an even more dynamic picture, but one thing remains constant: the challenge posed by space debris.
One or two emails a week at most, mostly credit cards, AI, and all things finance.
How getting used to life’s ups and downs reshapes risk tolerance, happiness, and spending habits.
Understanding cap rates to invest smarter in multifamily properties
Learn to evaluate multifamily properties, even if you’re living in one, with this guide to cash-on-cash return
Exploring and building a case for key Boston neighborhoods for first-time buyers
A case study into whether the opportunity cost of homeownership even makes sense.
How cash flow, equity, and leveraged appreciation can tilt the equation towards buying
Apparently unlimited amounts for the happiest among us and a ceiling for the saddest
The subtle (and often not-so-subtle) spending increases that can erode financial security as your income grows
A ratio to make smarter financial decisions about renting or buying (in Boston’s competitive housing market)
Thoughts on the pros and cons of house-hacking: owning property, earning rental income, and leveraging low down payment loans to build equity and offset costs
How FHA loans and multifamily properties can turn low down payments into rental income, equity, and tax advantages—even for first-time buyers
0% interest credit card promotions—how they work, their risks, and why lenders offer them as a financial lifeline or potential debt trap