Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Time to update my FoundersCard review for 2022! I’ve been a member for 8 years by now. Each year, they add more (and more useful) benefits, keep the best ones, and refine their partnerships based on member demand and use. The upshot is making the most …
Author: Out and Out
Down $8K and sticking to the plan – February 2022 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
January 2022 felt like the longest month in a while. As I write this, the stock market will close on a downswing, which means all the numbers I just changed from pluses to minuses are going further into negative territory later today. Such is the stock…
Almost to $250K & new goals for the year – January 2022 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
With 965 days left to reach my goal, I think I’ll cruise past the halfway mark of $250,000 this month! December was a doozy. The markets rallied, I had over a week off to rest, and had my first Christmas in my new house in Oklahoma. I’m still reeling f…
Success! How I got my Capital One Venture X approval (The BEST premium card)
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
I just got my first Capital One card over the weekend – and not for lack of previous trying. I’ve applied several times over the past few years but have always gotten a big fat denial. The official reason has always been “too many card accounts” or som…
In recovery: Down $24K & bought a house – December 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
It’s getting real in Oklahoma City. What a month. I’m emotionally and spiritually depleted – and my finances took their expected dip. Along with furnishing a down payment for a house, the markets also reacted because of Omicron fears. Moving and setup …
$200K invested, up $14K, and buying a house in Oklahoma – November 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Hi from Oklahoma City! I have a house under contract here and am scheduled to close in two weeks. Hell on an intro, eh? I figure it can be a primary residence, and later on, an investment property. I’m finally getting started with real estate investing…
Down $4,000 & getting back to nomadic life – October 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
I’m writing this on my last day in upstate New York, between bouts of packing. I have been here for 76 days. In that time, I’ve saved a few checks, completed my savings goal, and looked into buying a couple of properties (but haven’t pulled any trigger…
Up $13K and near the halfway point – September 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Hi again from Upstate New York! I’ll be here a couple more weeks, then drive to Vermont and Delaware – then home to Memphis. From there, I’ll regroup and maybe do one more big loop around the Southwest this winter. And then? Well, you know I don’t plan…
Booked for April 2022: Business class flights to Japan on JAL worth $19,000!
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Late on a Saturday night, I ran award searches on the American Airlines site, as one does. Tokyo is one of my favorite places on this planet, and I found business class flights on JAL for only 60,000 miles each way – and dates were (are!) wide open in …
Nearly $200 invested, up $7K, with sights on the future – August 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
This August 2021 Freedom update finds your protagonist in beautiful Oak Hill, NY – upstate in the Catskill Mountains. It’s certainly welcome after July 2021, which was a doozy of a month. I went from West Virginia to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to upsta…
Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia review: A repeat stay 5 years later – this time as a Globalist
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Last time I was at the Hyatt Bellevue Philadelphia was in May 2016. The visit was my last trip before I left New York for Dallas in June 2016. I was with my ex at the time. We were already drifting apart, but for this trip, we put that aside – and had …
Kimpton Palomar Philadelphia review: My first (free!) Kimpton hotel stay was a $500 value
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Before this week, I’d never stayed at a Kimpton hotel. I realized I had two IHG free award nights (thanks to my Chase IHG card) that were expiring soon. So I combined them with my four Hyatt award night certificates and put together a fun week in Phila…
New River Gorge trip report: Almost heaven in wild and wonderful West Virginia
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Wow. Go now. It’s amazing. That’s my New River Gorge trip report – thanks for reading! Oh wait – I need to be specific and add photos and say what I did and stuff? Well OK – but only if you need any more convincing. 😉 This was my first time in …
FoundersCard Members: Enroll for a Marriott Platinum status challenge (15 nights in 3 months)
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Wanted to be sure I wasn’t gonna get Bonvoyed before I posted this, but can now confirm it works exactly as advertised. For $395, you can join FoundersCard (Out and Out readers get a $200 discount on the usual $595 rate, and the $95 initiation fee is w…
A shift to investing, travel while traveling, & up $8K – July 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Hi from wild and wonderful West Virginia! I’m stationed right outside New River Gorge National Park – our newest one. The Mountain State surely lives up to its name. I’ll spend the weekend hiking in the park and exploring the little towns up and down t…
6 ways I’d personally use 100,000 Chase points
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
I’m bananas over the new offer to earn 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. (Here’s my recent post on this incredible offer with even more ways to redeem Chase points.) Which got me thinking – how would I use 10…
Hiking day pack essentials: What I bring on every hike
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
If you follow me on Instagram, you might think it’s turned into a #hiking account. That wouldn’t be far off the mark! 🥾 Now that I’m a nomad, I’ve reconnected to traveling and being outside in a way that feels really good. That includes explori…
Three months a nomad: Personal finances and points on the road
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
On March 21, 2021 (3/21 – like a countdown), I put all my stuff in storage and headed out on the road as a digital nomad. I spent the first month in Memphis to be near family and find my road legs. Today, I’m in Asheville, North Carolina, after spendin…
Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K offer: It doesn’t get better than this!
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K? Holy wow am I kicking myself. Chase keeps upping the ante on the Chase Sapphire Preferred. First 60K, then 80K, and now – 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months fro…
Crypto, traveling, & getting through a volatile market month – June 2021 Freedom update
Written by Out and Out @ BoardingArea
Howdy from Knoxville! I’ve been in Tennessee for a couple of months, but later this week I’m heading to Asheville, North Carolina – and very much looking forward to it! Tennessee’s been great. I reconnected with hiking and made an effort to get moving …