Archive for the ‘Ask the Readers’ Category
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Best Credit Card for Foreign Travel? (Ask the Readers)
Last week, I mentioned how my wife and I are going on ambitious trip to Phuket (and Australia). It’s been a little while since I went outside the US. Last year, we went to Aruba, but I’m so familiar with saving money in Aruba, that I didn’t feel the need to conserve every last cent. More importantly, they accept US Dollars so there’s no conversion.
Australia and Thailand are two different monsters entirely. I have no clue what to expect for prices. I’ve heard that credit card companies can play some tricks with conversion rates and […] -
Ask The Readers: Getting a Contractor through Angie’s List?
Longtime readers know that while I live near San Francisco, my wife and I own rental properties in Boston. We didn’t set out to buy them as an income stream. She owned her place before she met me. I bought my place soon after we started dating. While neither one of us intended to move to San Francisco, my wife’s career stood to significantly benefit from relocation.
As you may have heard, it’s not a good time to sell homes. Having bought out homes in 4 and 7 years ago at near market highs, there wasn’t […] -
Finovate Start-up: What Would You Ask Vestopia, SmartHippo and other companies?
This Tuesday, I’m heading to Finovate Start-up hosted by Jim Bruene of NetBanker fame. There are a ton of companies presenting there. Some of the highlights that I’m looking forward to are Buxfer, Loanio (are they ever going to launch), Mint, Prosper, SmartyPig, Wesabe, Zecco, Zopa. I’m disappointed that Geezeo isn’t going to be there. Lending Club bowed out, which is reasonable considering their quiet period.
I’d like to single out Vestopia and SmartHippo (not to be confused with SmartyPig or my upcoming start-up SmarterBoar). These companies have contacted me for one-on-one interviews. I’ve been […] -
Travel Computer Project: I Need Your Advice
I’m finding myself doing quite a bit more traveling that I have in the past. Since I spend a good deal of my time on the Internet, as a software engineer as well as writing this blog, I developed a bit of a dependency on it. It’s probably not a good thing in terms of my social development, but it hasn’t been all-together bad either. Either way, that’s a question for another day. Today, I’m looking for straight-forward technical advice.
I read an article yesterday about Palm and how it’s business has always been a roller coaster. […] -
Tenant Troubles: Update
I want to thank those responding to my article on Friday. I had some tenant troubles, and you helped me out by giving your advice. In fact, it was the most advice I’ve ever gotten. Overwhelmingly you said what I thought was right - let my tenant break her lease without penalty. A few of you mentioned that karma would make it right. I don’t believe in karma, but perhaps you were right.
I had my real estate agent list the property and in less than 24 hours we had four prospects. One of them […]
